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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Aspects of religions (non-Christian) > Religious life & practice
Folklore has been a phenomenon based on nostalgic and autochthonous
nuances conveyed with a story-telling technique with a penchant for
over-playing and nationalistic pomp and circumstance, often with
significant consequences for societal, poetic, and cultural areas.
These papers highlight challenges that have an outreaching
relationship to the regional, rhetorical, and trans-rhetorical
devices and manners in Kurdish folklore, which subscribes to an
ironic sense of hope all the while issuing an appeal for a largely
unaccomplished nationhood, simultaneously insisting on a linguistic
solidarity. In a folkloric literature that has an overarching
theory of poetics - perhaps even trans-figurative cognitive poetics
due to the multi-faceted nature of its application and the
complexity of its linguistic structure - the relationship of man
(and less frequently woman) with others takes center stage in many
of the folkloric creations. Arts are not figurative representations
of the real in the Kurdish world; they are the real.
Engaging with contemporary debates about the sources that shape our
understanding of the early Muslim world, Najam Haider proposes a
new model for Muslim historical writing that draws on Late Antique
historiography to challenge the imposition of modern notions of
history on a pre-modern society. Haider discusses three key case
studies - the revolt of Mukhtar b. Abi 'Ubayd (d. 67/687), the life
of the Twelver Shi'i Imam Musa al-Kazim (d. 183/799) and the
rebellion and subsequent death of the Zaydi Shi'i Imam Yahya b.
'Abd Allah (d. 187/803) - in calling for a new line of inquiry
which focuses on larger historiographical questions. What were the
rules that governed historical writing in the early Muslim world?
What were the intended audiences for these works? In the process,
he rejects artificial divisions between Sunni and Shi'i historical
writing.
It has been shown time and again that even though all citizens may
be accorded equal standing in the constitution of a liberal
democracy, such a legal provision hardly guarantees state
protections against discrimination and political exclusion. More
specifically, why do we find pervasive gender-based discrimination,
exclusion, and violence in India when the Indian Constitution
supports an inclusive democracy committed to gender and caste
equality? In Gendered Citizenship, Natasha Behl offers an
examination of Indian citizenship that weaves together an analysis
of sexual violence law with an in-depth ethnography of the Sikh
community to explore the contradictory nature of Indian
democracy-which gravely affects its institutions and puts its
citizens at risk. Through a situated analysis of citizenship, Behl
upends longstanding academic assumptions about democracy,
citizenship, religion, and gender. This analysis reveals that
religious spaces and practices can be sites for renegotiating
democratic participation, but also uncovers how some women engage
in religious community in unexpected ways to link gender equality
and religious freedom as shared goals. Gendered Citizenship is a
groundbreaking inquiry that explains why the promise of democratic
equality remains unrealized, and identifies potential spaces and
practices that can create more egalitarian relations.
Traditional Jewish family law has persevered for hundreds of years
and rules covering marriage, the raising of children, and divorce
are well established; yet pressures from modern society are causing
long held views to be re-examined. The Jewish Family: Between
Family Law and Contract Law examines the tenets of Jewish family
law in the light of new attitudes concerning the role of women,
assisted reproduction technologies, and prenuptial agreements.
Through interdisciplinary research combining the legal aspects of
family law and contract law, it explores how the Jewish family can
cope with both old and modern obstacles and challenges. Focusing on
the nexus of Jewish family law and contract law to propose how
'freedom of contract' can be part of how family law can be
interpreted, The Jewish Family will appeal to practitioners,
activists, academic researchers, and laymen readers who are
interested in the fields of law, theology, and social science.
What ways of distinguishing right and wrong are encouraged within
biblical writings? How did various bibical authors offer different
yet complementary motivations for promoting ethical action and
discouraging unethical behavior? The Ethical Vision of the Bible
equips readers with an interest in deepening their understanding of
biblical ethics to listen carefully to the variety of ethical
emphases found within the Bible itself. Focusing especially on
Torah (the Law), Proverbs, the Prophets, the Gospels and Paul, this
book enables the reader to trace key ethical patterns as they
develop from the flow of thought of these biblical texts in their
own contexts. Frequent summary overviews, suggestions for further
reading, and reflection questions at the end of every chapter make
The Ethical Vision of the Bible ideal for students and others.
The basis of Chinese religious culture, and with that many aspects
of daily life, was the threat and fear of demonic attacks. These
were inherently violent and could only be counteracted by violence
as well - even if this reactive violence was masked by euphemisms
such as execution, expulsion, exorcisms and so on. At the same
time, violence was a crucial dimension of the maintenance of norms
and values, for instance in sworn agreements or in beliefs about
underworld punishment. Violence was also an essential aspect of
expressing respect through sacrificial gifts of meat (and in an
earlier stage of Chinese culture also human flesh) and through a
culture of auto-mutilation and ritual suicide. At the same time,
conventional indigenous terms for violence such as bao were not
used for most of these practices since they were not experienced as
such, but rather justified as positive uses of physical force.
This book traces the mixing of musical forms and practices in
Istanbul to illuminate multiethnic music-making and its
transformations across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It
focuses on the Jewish religious repertoire known as the Maftirim,
which developed in parallel with "secular" Ottoman court music.
Through memoirs, personal interviews, and new archival sources, the
book explores areas often left out of those histories of the region
that focus primarily on Jewish communities in isolation, political
events and actors, or nationalizing narratives. Maureen Jackson
foregrounds artistic interactivity, detailing the life-stories of
musicians and their musical activities. Her book amply demonstrates
the integration of Jewish musicians into a larger art world and
traces continuities and ruptures in a nation-building era. Among
its richly researched themes, the book explores the synagogue as a
multifunctional venue within broader urban space; girls, women, and
gender issues in an all-male performance practice; new technologies
and oral transmission; and Ottoman musical reconstructions within
Jewish life and cultural politics in Turkey today.
What was the relationship between government and religion in Middle
Eastern history? In a world of caliphs, sultans, and judges, who
exercised political and religious authority? In this book, Ali
Humayun Akhtar investigates debates about leadership that involved
ruling circles and scholars of jurisprudence and theology. At the
heart of this story is a medieval rivalry between three caliphates:
the Umayyads of Cordoba, the Fatimids of Cairo, and the Abbasids of
Baghdad. In a fascinating revival of Late Antique Hellenism,
Aristotelian and Platonic notions of wisdom became a key component
of how these caliphs debated their authority as political leaders.
By tracing how these political debates impacted the theological and
jurisprudential scholars and their own conception of communal
guidance, Akhtar offers a new picture of premodern political
authority and the connections between Western and Islamic
civilizations. It will be of use to students and specialists of the
premodern and modern Middle East.
The purpose of The Jewish Communities in New England is to inform
readers about the Jewish community in each of the six New England
States: Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, and Vermont. Factual, inspirational, and poetic, it
serves as a scholarly guide to institutions of Jewish life in this
dynamic American region. Stocked with valuable information about
community, schools, restaurants, and synagogues, Keith Warwick's
study will appeal to members of the Jewish community, sociologists,
teachers, cultural anthropologists, and the general reader.
The visible increase in religious practice among young
European-born Muslims has provoked public anxiety. New government
regulations seek not only to restrict Islamic practices within the
public sphere, but also to shape Muslims', and especially women's,
personal conduct. Pious Practice and Secular Constraints chronicles
the everyday ethical struggles of women active in orthodox and
socially conservative Islamic revival circles as they are torn
between their quest for a pious lifestyle and their aspirations to
counter negative representations of Muslims within the mainstream
society. Jeanette S. Jouili conducted fieldwork in France and
Germany to investigate how pious Muslim women grapple with
religious expression: for example, when to wear a headscarf, where
to pray throughout the day, and how to maintain modest interactions
between men and women. Her analysis stresses the various ethical
dilemmas the women confronted in negotiating these religious duties
within a secular public sphere. In conversation with Islamic and
Western thinkers, Jouili teases out the important ethical-political
implications of these struggles, ultimately arguing that Muslim
moral agency, surprisingly reinvigorated rather than hampered by
the increasingly hostile climate in Europe, encourages us to think
about the contribution of non-secular civic virtues for shaping a
pluralist Europe.
Given the intense political scrutiny of Islam and Muslims, which
often centres on gendered concerns, Islam and Gender: Major Issues
and Debates is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the
key topics, problems and debates in this engaging subject. Split
into three parts, this book places the discussion in its historical
context, provides up-to-date case studies and delves into
contemporary debate on the subject. This book includes discussion
of the following important topics: Marriage and divorce
Interpretations of the Qur'an and Sunna Male and female sexuality
and sexual diversity Classical Islamic thought on masculinity and
femininity Gender and hadith Polygamy and inheritance Adultery and
sexual violence Veiling, female circumcision and crimes of honour
Lived religiosities Gender justice in Islam. Islam and Gender is
essential reading for students in religious studies, Islamic
studies and gender studies, as well as those in related fields,
such as cultural studies, politics, area studies, sociology,
anthropology and history.
This collection of inspirational stories will undoubtedly touch
many hearts. Written by authors who have lost loved ones, these
stories offer comfort, peace and understanding to those going
through the grieving process.
It's not the date you were born, or the date you died that really
matters. It's "the dash" between those years and what you do with
it that counts. This beautiful book stems from Linda Ellis's
profound poem "The Dash." Uplifting photography, poetry, and
inspirational wisdom will take you through the year as you commit
to Live Your Dash every day.
Living in a market-driven economy where short-term profit and
economic growth appear to be the ultimate goal, this book explores
how Buddhist teachings could bridge the divide between our
spiritual and material needs and reconcile the tension between
doing good for social interest and doing well for financial
success. This book serves as a pioneering effort to systematically
introduce Buddhist Economics as an interdisciplinary subject to
audience with limited background in either Buddhism or economics.
It elaborates some core concepts in Buddhist teachings, their
relevance to economics, and means of achieving sustainability for
individuals, society and the environment with the cultivation of
ethical living and well-being. Through scholarly research from
relevant fields including Buddhist studies, economics, behavioral
finance, cognitive science, and psychology, this book illustrates
the relevance of Buddhist values in the contemporary economy and
society, as well as the efficacy of Buddhist perspectives on
decision-making in daily life.
Tradition and Modernity focuses on how Christians and Muslims
connect their traditions to modernity, looking especially at
understandings of history, changing patterns of authority, and
approaches to freedom. The volume includes a selection of relevant
texts from 19th- and 20th-century thinkers, from John Henry Newman
to Tariq Ramadan, accompanied by illuminating commentaries.
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Holy Ground
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Julie K. Aageson
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Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson was the charismatic leader of the
Chabad Hasidic movement and its designated Messiah. Yet when he
died in 1994, the messianic fervor he inspired did not subside.
Through traditional means and digital technologies, a group of
radical Hasidim, the Meshichistim, still keep the Rebbe palpably
close-engaging in ongoing dialogue, participating in specific
rituals, and developing an ever-expanding visual culture of
portraits and videos. With Us More Than Ever focuses on this group
to explore how religious practice can sustain the belief that a
messianic figure is both present and accessible. Yoram Bilu
documents a unique religious experience that is distinctly modern.
The rallying point of the Meshichistim-that the Rebbe is "with us
more than ever"-is sustained through an elaborate system that
creates the sense of his constant and pervasive presence in the
lives of his followers. The virtual Rebbe that emerges is multiple,
visible, accessible, and highly decentralized, the epicenter of a
truly messianic movement in the twenty-first century. Combining
ethnographic fieldwork and cognitive science with nuanced analysis,
Bilu documents the birth and development of a new religious faith,
describing the emergence of new spiritual horizons, a process
common to various religious movements old and new.
Living under settler colonialism and patriarchal oppressions,
Palestinian women in Israel are expected to operate even the most
intimate aspects of their lives according to what some call "The
Plan," which dictates everything from clothing, marriage, religion,
and sex to how children are born and raised. In Defying "The Plan,"
Kim Jezabel Zinngrebe draws from a series of moving interviews to
reveal that despite various forms of intertwined oppressions by
both the Israeli state and Palestinian society, Palestinian women
show defiance by the quotidian choices they make in their own
intimate lives under occupation, which, Zinngrebe argues, cannot be
perceived as a mere corollary but constitute a pivotal and
contested terrain of the struggle between settler and colonized.
Defying "The Plan" explores such issues as the segregation of
sexual education in Palestine; the politics of dress, menstruation,
and tattoos; and the roles of class, feminism, and race.
Importantly, she highlights the intersectional experiences of women
typically excluded from existing accounts, such as Black
Palestinian women, women with disabilities, unmarried and divorced
women, Bedouin women, and LGBTQI women. The stories gathered in
Defying "The Plan" trace and unpack settler colonial power at the
level of the intimate and native women's various practices of
defiance.
Veiled women in the West appear menacing. Their visible
invisibility is a cause of obsession. What is beneath the veil more
than a woman? This book investigates the preoccupation with the
veiled body through the imaging and imagining of Muslim women. It
examines the relationship between the body and knowledge through
the politics of freedom as grounded in a 'natural' body, in the
index of flesh. The impulse to unveil is more than a desire to free
the Muslim woman. What lies at the heart of the fantasy of saving
the Muslim woman is the West's desire to save itself. The
preoccupation with the veiled woman is a defense that preserves
neither the object of orientalism nor the difference embodied in
women's bodies, but inversely, insists on the corporeal boundaries
of the West's mode of knowing and truth-making. The book contends
that the imagination of unveiling restores the West's sense of its
own power and enables it to intrude where it is 'other' - thus
making it the centre and the agent by promising universal freedom,
all the while stifling the question of what freedom is.
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