Mathal/Mashal

Repurposed Narratives: The Battle of Ṣiffīn and the Historical Memory of the Umayyad Dynasty

Aaron M. Hagler — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:40:21 PDT

The Battle of Ṣiffīn (36/657) is the flash point in the emergence of sects within Islam. The presentation of the Ṣiffīn story in Arabic historical writing therefore changed over time as the sectarian split among Sunnīs and Shīʿites became increasingly defined. This paper will trace the development of the presentation of the Ṣiffīn story in Arabic histories across developing Sunnī and Shīʿite identity crystallization and the region of origin of their authors, as well as literary and stylistic developments in the field of Arabic historical writing.

The specific historians examined have been chosen in part because they demonstrate a particular chronological progression of the Ṣiffīn story from a fundamentally pro-ʿAlid episode of the first fitna to something approaching an pro-Umayyad apologetic, but also in part because they represent a broad spectrum of historiographical styles. This article will demonstrate that in these successive generations of historians, small (or large) changes in the presentation of the story, the main characters, and the style of narration reflect the regionally diverse and evolving sectarian memories, of Ṣiffīn in particular and the first fitna in general.

Islam and Qur'anic figures in Africa: Prophets, Sages and Disciples

Abdin Chande — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:23:32 PST

This is but a humble attempt to frame a discussion on Islam, prophetic voices and geographical spaces in Africa as territorial canvasses for sketching out Islam's sacred history. This way of thinking or conceptualizing about Africa is not as fashionable among Muslim Qur'anic scholars as it is among black Biblical theologians. Yet, this is not to suggest that the approach of this study is grounded in the Afro-centered methodology. Such an approach has its own place and serves certain ideological and cultural functions especially within a given African American diasporic scholarship. Rather, the aim of this research is two-fold: first, to critique Afro-centric thought and, second, to probe and re-center or re-state Africa's position within Islam's civilizational and spiritual narrative.

Hacer patria de David Blaustein: Reconstrucción colectiva e historia judeo-argentina reciente

Daniela Goldfine — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:54:29 PST

David Blaustein nos lleva en un recorrido íntimo por su familia migrante, el cual refleja la historia más abarcadora de una nación durante el siglo XX y XXI. Polonia, Argentina, España, Argentina. Blaustein y su familia hacen patria dándole a su identidad una maleabilidad en la que el judaísmo se filtra para ser parte del collage argentino. Sin embargo, es esta marca judaica—visible en los abuelos, invisible pero latente en los nietos—la que empuja a los miembros de esta familia a seguir rondando el mundo en su exilio intergeneracional.

Blaustein produce un documental en el que la inmigración y el exilio desestabilizan a su familia a través de los años a la vez que la unen en un espacio argentino-judío donde las fronteras se encuentran dentro del propio clan. Lo característico de este trabajo es lo colectivo del mismo: Es la inconfundible historia del inmigrante y, al mismo tiempo, es exclusivamente la historia de los Blaustein.

Review of Sandu Frunză, Dumnezeu şi Holocaustul la Elie Wiesel: O etică a responsabilităţii (God and the Holocaust according to Elie Wiesel: An ethic of responsibility).

Michael S. Jones — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:54:27 PST

In God and the Holocaust according to Elie Wiesel: An ethic of responsibility Sandu Frunza, professor of philosophy at Babeş-Bolyai University, explores the philosophy of Elie Wiesel, a Jewish scholar and holocaust survivor. Despite his prison camp experiences, Wiesel retains his faith in God. His experiences lead him to advocate an ethic of memory and alterity. Frunza relates Wiesel’s experiences, his approach to the problem of evil, and his ethic in conversation with contemporary philosophers and Jewish scholarship.

Religion, Ideology and Discourse: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Majlis-e-Hussain

Snobra Rizwan — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:54:24 PST

This paper intends to examine religious ideology and discourse conventions of majlis-e-Hussain; i.e. the speech to commemorate the martyrdom of Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad; from a critical discourse analysis (henceforth CDA) perspective. The analysis involves identification of multiple linguistic devices such as pronominalization, recontextualization, resemantisization, implicatures, interactional strategies and cohesive links; which serve to perpetuate the religious ideologies in Shi‘ah Muslims of Pakistan. In this way, this paper makes an attempt to highlight the way majlis discourse delegitimizes and deconstructs sectarian prejudice still prevalent in Pakistani society; and hence argues for a broader interpretation of majlis-e-Hussain than merely associating it with Moharram mourning rituals.