| 1. |
- Petersen, Jesper
(författare)
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The making of the Mariam Mosque : Serendipities and structures in the production of female authority in Denmark
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation defines a number of new concepts, such as pop-up mosque, social media adhan, non-Muslim Islam, and warping, to give a detailed description how the Mariam Mosque (with female imams) was established and the kind of phenomenon it is. The latter concept (warping) plays an important role as the dissertation argues that, while Islams may be presented in a certain way, obeying rules such as scriptural accountability and claims of continuity with tradition, these are merely the form Islams take in spaces structured by power. That is, Islams are – irrespective of how they were originally produced – warped when presented in structured spaces, and thus, sampling strategies need to take the power dynamics of the spaces within which they are applied into account. Warped samples on Islams say something about the power dynamics of the space within which they are collected, but the production of these Islams may be erased due to the warping. This dissertation attempts to sample in “pre-warped” spaces and study the transition into warped spaces.I argue that the production of Islams takes place within structures and is often serendipitous, and from an etic perspective these two – structures and serendipities – can be considered sources of Islams in addition to for example the Quran and hadiths. Furthermore, the production of Islams is confined by contemporary discursivities, and thus, any claim to continuity or belief in previous generations’ Islam should be considered emic claims, and thus, studied as such. That is, the Islamic tradition is something simultaneously appropriated and produced in the present; from an etic perspective, it is ruptured, even if it, from an emic perspective, is produced as being a continuation of tradition. In short, Islams are products of human creativity formulated within discursivities that encompass the idea that Islam is singular and, when produced by Muslims in their role as believers, it is regularly claimed to exist independently of human communication and interaction.The Mariam Mosque is a pop-up mosque that calls social media adhans online. Although both concepts demonstrate the rupture, they are produced as part of the so-called Islamic tradition. Thus, even though the Mariam Mosque is not a building it has mosque in its name, and even though the social media adhan is not an actual soundwave – or use the words of an adhan – it has replaced the traditional adhan. The traditional adhan, called publicly, that throughout history has been used to call Muslims to the mosque (a building) is now called within the mosque spaces as part of a ritual sequence (in addition to the iqama).This means that only Muslims who have already arrived to the mosque can hear the adhan, and thus it has fundamentally changed. This dissertation focuses on this kind of ruptures and argues that they are caused by structures and serendipities rather than engagement with scripture.Interestingly, even if pop-up mosques are not mosques in the conventional sense of the word, they produce Islamic authorities; the Mariam Mosque produced Sherin Khankan and other women as female imams. In her capacity as imam, Khankan performs rituals such as conversions, aqiqah (name giving), women only Friday prayer, and nikah (Islamic marriage) between Muslim women and non-Muslim men, which is commonly seen as forbidden. These rituals – even if they are new and closely connected to the Danish context – are all produced as in compliance with and a continuation of the Islamic tradition. I argue that creativity and thus rupture is the norm in the production of Islams.The dissertation argues that non-Muslims also produce Islam and that these are productions in their own right and should be taken seriously as objects of study. Non-Muslims’ production of Islams are often oriented towards political goals or play an important role as an “Other” in the construction of non-Muslim identities. That is, while these Islams may not be oriented towards belief in Allah and salvation, they play important roles for non-Muslim identities and they significantly influence Muslims’ production of Islams.
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| 2. |
- Ataseven, Ilhan
(författare)
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The Alevi-Bektasi Legacy: Problems of Acquisition and Explanation
- 1997
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Mystics and amateur politicians in the margin of Turkish society. The specific case of marginalisation in the specific context of my choice provides a wealth of details to be accounted for. All details taken together are real life itself and can thus not be accounted for in a book. Enough can be said, however, about marginalisation in general in order for a meaningful discussion to take place. But generalisations make the problem of choosing and interpreting information poignant. I have dealt at length with this problem. Also when one talks about real life, instead of living it, the problem of talking in a meaningful manner comes to the fore. One might wonder what it is that makes statements meaningful and if meaning is static. And is it more meaningful to talk from a marginal position than from the center? Do the Alevis gain from their marginal position when they speak their (collective) mind? Why do the Bektasis feel they gain from their marginal position even if they keep silent? These questions, and others, are not answered in this thesis, but I have provided som arguments for a set of ideas concerning these questions and also concerning how to deal with these questions.
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| 3. |
- Bergenhorn, Mats
(författare)
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Öppna universum! : slutna traditioner i Salman Rushdies Satansverserna
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis in islamology shows how Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses (1988) examines questions concerning religion, nationality, race, and power, compromise and authenticity in a time when different global processes have created new ways of perceiving and relating to different traditions. It examines how The Satanic Verses portrays how people apprehend themselves and others when the conditions for these traditions are changing, and the potential threats of religious fundamentalism, nationalism and racism. The thesis makes use of Mikhail Bakhtins theories of literature and language not only to analyze the novel and its artistic devices but also as a means of approaching and conceptualizing a multiplicity of different historical and contemporary discourses. Bakhtins thoughts about heteroglossia, hybridity and centrifugal and centripetal forces are useful for an understanding of different ways of perceiving discourses about religion, nationality and race. His understanding of genres as ways of seeing, through which we perceive and visualize the world, is used in the thesis to analyze The Satanic Verses' treatment of these issues. The thesis shows how The Satanic Verses depicts how conceptions of Englishness and Britishness are being used in racist doctrines and acts. The novel throws into light some of the consequences that these doctrines and acts have for those who are living in Great Britain but not considered part of these conceptions. The analysis of The Satanic Verses' treatment of religious issues is divided into three parts. In the first part the thesis suggests that the novel can be read as a critical dialogue with episodes, characters and beliefs from Islamic traditions as they are perceived, delineated, interpreted and put to use in both Muslim and non-Muslim accounts and acts. The second part offers an analysis of The Satanic Verses' criticism of Ayatollah Khomeini and the Islamic revolution of Iran. The thesis shows how the novel uses allusions to the reports of Muhammeds' nightly journey to Jerusalem, isra, and the following ascension, miraj. The last part depicts The Satanic Verses' critique of some of the consequences of Hindu nationalism and some of its conceptions of India.
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| 4. |
- Carlsson, Leif Å
(författare)
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Round Trips to Heaven : Otherworldly Travelers in Early Judaism and Christianity
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the beginning of the Common Era, a number of religious texts were written recounting heavenly journey adventures. These narratives have come to constitute a recurring theme in research regarding ancient religions. Round Trips to Heaven features several early Jewish and Christian heavenly journey texts. Most of them are included in the apocalyptic literature. During the earlier research, the heavenly journey motif was understood to be one of many elements in this literature. It was not until the latter part of the 20th century that the stories of the heavenly journeys were treated as a type of their own among these texts. The approach of this study serves to illuminate the function of the texts and the circumstances and settings in which they were composed and later passed on, something which scholars have only recently begun to acknowledge. Of vital importance is the status of the heavenly travelers as well as their relationships with other members of the Tradition Group considered to have authored the texts. Two main types of heavenly journeys appear in the accounts. One type has the function of providing an identity for the heavenly traveler, and the other constitutes a paradigm for the events awaiting mankind after death. The concluding section of the book is a relatively long exposition of 3 Baruch. This text, which in its entirety portrays a heavenly journey, informs the reader about death. In common with a number of other heavenly journey texts, 3 Baruch has both Jewish and Christian elements. Moreover, it clearly reflects a universal perspective. A similar perspective is also found in several of the other heavenly journey narratives which provides a reasonable explanation for how they could be used in both Jewish and Christian contexts.
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| 5. |
- Fiscella, Anthony
(författare)
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Universal Burdens : Stories of (Un)Freedom from the Unitarian Universalist Association, The MOVE Organization, and Taqwacore
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Zen Buddhists have long given the following advice to attain liberation: “Eat when you’re hungry. Sleep when you’re tired.” In other words: “Freedom” is the “knowledge of necessity” (Hegel, Marx, and Engels). Early Islamic communities dealt with the challenge of internal warfare and tyranny and concluded that, “sixty years of tyranny is better than one day’s anarchy.” In other words, the worst-case scenario is a war “of every man against every man,” (Thomas Hobbes) and all theories of statecraft are built upon that premise. Ever since the dawn of colonialism, indigenous peoples have been struggling for self-determination. Many, such as Comanche thinker Parra-Wa-Samen, lived and died for the right to move across a land without state or borders. In other words, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!” (Patrick Henry). How is it then that an English textbook could possibly focus on “freedom” as a universal value and simultaneously exclude all non-European traditions and perspectives? Why should conversations about “freedom” begin with Hegel, Hobbes, and Henry rather than the earlier examples of Zen, Islam, and indigenous peoples? If “freedom” concerns everybody then do not the conversations in academia about “freedom” by scholars (as well as rising economists, planners, and politicians) affect everybody? If democratic inclusivity entails the demand that all people affected by decisions are to be included in those very decision-making processes then contemporary academia has a problem when talking about “freedom.” In selling the term “freedom” as a universally applicable but uniquely European (and sacrosanct) idea most of the planet has been excluded from these conversations. This means that control over the idea and how it is interpreted has been determined by a very narrow range of persons, from the mid-1600s to mid-1900s: almost exclusively white, male, heterosexual, property-owning, able-bodied, and, not uncommonly, racist. This thesis argues that the problem goes deeper than white supremacy and patriarchy and cannot be resolved with quota systems to ensure inclusion on the basis of race or gender. Instead, the problem is two-fold: (1) dominant conceptions of “freedom,” as the opposite of “slavery,” “tyranny,” or “constraint,” are seen here as bound to a mentality and language of domination, and (2) “freedom,” as a central value in social orders, perpetuates white supremacy and patriarchy. Focus on “freedom” contra “unfreedom” obscures, disguises, or denies those “unfreedoms” upon which “freedom” is necessarily bound. Once those “unfreedoms” are exposed or recognized (whether violence, obligation, responsibility, dependency and interdependency, equality and inequality, needs, justice, limitations, etc.) the conversations about “freedom” can be spoken in a language that all cultures can understand in order to participate as equal parties. Toward these ends, this dissertation engages in stories from three contemporary empirical contexts in the U.S.: the Unitarian Universalist Association, the MOVE Organization, and taqwacore. Through a blend of text analysis, ethnography, storytelling, and personal experience, the purpose of this thesis is to imagine what more inclusive conversations might look like. Using the term (un)freedom to transcend the false binary of “freedom” and “unfreedom,” three potential types of (un)freedom are conceived to further the aim of democratic inclusivity: Negotiating the Limits of Language, Shouldering Incalculable Responsibility in Community, and Feeling an Obligation to Challenge Injustice.
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| 6. |
- Gansten, Martin
(författare)
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Patterns of Destiny : Hindu Nāḍī Astrology
- 2003
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Like all divination, Hindu astrology (jyotisa) is concerned with central religious issues such as man’s relation to the world, moral responsibility, and the revelation of a coherent divine order underlying human experience. Comprising a descriptive as well as a prescriptive aspect, jyotisa allows for both prediction and the exercise of free will. This double nature enables a seamless union of astrology with the concept of karman, its descriptive aspect referring to ‘fate’ (daiva) or actions of previous lives now bearing fruit (prarabdha-karman), its prescriptive aspect to present action (kriyamana-karman) or ‘human effort’ (purusakara). Astrological divination is based on observation of planetary movements relative to the earth and to the zodiac. By the employment of a hierarchy of interpretative principles, the qualities of a given point in space-time are determined, representing a number of potential life events which by various prognostic techniques are translated into predictions. While some authors ascribe a form of causality to the planets, perceiving them as divine supervisors of karman, others reject causal language in favour of a view of the planets as mere signs, related synchronically to human experiences. Nevertheless, propitiation of the planetary deities for the alleviation of undesired results is a practice universally supported. Occasionally the astrologer himself serves as an object of such propitiation, becoming a full-fledged mediator between man and the divine planets by simultaneously disclosing the fate they dictate and accepting on their behalf the worship intended to remedy any anticipated misfortune. While nadi reading is commonly perceived as a form of astrology, and generally moves within an astrological paradigm, most current practitioners do not base their interpretations on the client’s natal horoscope, but rather on a method of thumb reading. The (alleged) reading of predictions from preexistent texts of supposed antiquity and divine or semi-divine origin is, however, a common characteristic of all nadi divination. The Sanskrit nadi texts examined in the present study – the Gurunadi, Amsanadi, and Dhruvanadi – deal entirely with the interpretation of natal horoscopes. The texts, datable by the astronomical information they contain to the 18th and 19th centuries, originate in the Dravidian language area (as, most likely, does the term nadi itself), and may be seen as representing a common school or style of astrology, known as devakerala. Divided into a number of individual horoscope readings of varying length, the texts reverse the general trend of Sanskrit astrological works to concern themselves only with universals. The readings, generally expressing a mainstream smarta Hindu worldview, are invariably based on minute divisions of the zodiac known as nadi or amsa, a unique feature not found elsewhere in jyotisa literature. The amsas, numbering 150 in each zodiacal sign, are thought to embody certain fixed destiny patterns, which undergo permutations by superimposition on the natal horoscope. This concept of a limited number of predefinable, basic patterns of destiny, to one of which every human being is necessarily born, marks the most drastic deviation of the nadis not only from mainstream Hindu astrology, but also from orthodox teachings on karman.
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| 7. |
- Gasi, Ask
(författare)
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Melamisufism i Bosnien : en dold gemenskap
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation focuses on Melami history in Bosnia with emphasis on the 20th century. The well-known Melami master Hajrullah Abdurahmanovic (d. 1965) in this study becomes an exponent for changes in the political and social role of religion in course of the 20th century. The purpose of this research is to describe and analyze the theology of the Melami movement in the environments created by sufi and other traditions. Melami sufism in Bosnia is part of the social and historical context, and its development is intimately connected with the occurrences and changes that have taken place in the society. The texts created, the language used and the manner in which information and knowledge are conveyed, are thus related to social conditions, even though the informants speaking or writing about persons they have known, or events they have experienced, are dependent on time and space, and their statements and memories are influenced by changes in their environment. By presenting Melami sufism in Bosnia from the viewpoint of individual persons and small groups the object of the thesis is to present a micro history of Islam and sufism in the Balkans from the beginning of the 20th century up to and during the Communist period. The thesis includes the text of Risalei-salihijja in a Swedish translation, a selection of letters by Hajrullah Abdurahmanovic, as well the contents of his prayer mantle (vird). Globalization, increased mobility and migration caused by various upheavals have resulted in the presence of Melamet and its adherents in Sweden.
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| 8. |
- Halldén, Philip
(författare)
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Islamisk predikan på ljudkassett : en studie i retorik och fonogramologi
- 2001
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The dissertation deals with Islamic preaching in theory and practice, with special focus on material recorded and published in the format of audiotapes/cassettes. One aim is to explore possible implications of the use of this special format of publication in the context of Islamic preaching. How is this new format of publication to be understood in relation to the norms regulating the activity of preaching in Arabo-Islamic tradition? As an empirical phenomenon, Islamic preaching on audiocassette also have bearing on more general issues concerning the difference between speech and writing. By highlighting the format of publication as an instance of recorded speech, the dissertation aims at contributing to what might be termed a “phonogramology”, i.e. the study of audiomedia and its special characteristics. The primary material consists of four publications: “al-Hadith ’an Yawm al-Qiyâma” by Ismâ’îl Hamîdî [Saudi Arabia/Egypt]; “Min warâ’i l-Qudbân” by Salmân al-’Awda [Saudi Arabia]; ”at-Tarîq ilâ l-Janna” and “Qisas wa-’Ibar” by Ahmad al-Qattân [Kuwayt]. The material is described and discussed in relation to a theoretical framework constructed in the introductory chapter of the dissertation and centered around the following concepts: text vis-à-vis context (with special reference to “mediated” forms of publication); forms of enunciation (narrative-descriptive-argumentative-hortative); genre (i.e. “emic” categories and labels); persona (the “mask” of the preacher as preacher). This theoretical framework is intended to serve as a map for identifying aspects which go beyond simple descriptions of “thematic contents”, i.e. what the preachers are “saying”. Though not unimportant, “contents analysis” tends to overlook the significance of forms and formats of publication. According to the present study, the issue of “modernity in relation to Islamic preaching, for example, cannot be properly understood and discussed by simply commenting on whether the propositions, narratives and elucidations put forward by Muslim preachers are “modern” or not. With reference to the samples under study here, Islamic preaching published on audiocassettes is actually “modern” not because of, but rather in spite of, what the preachers are “saying”, since what they are saying is generally “traditional”. The notion of Arabo-Islamic “rhetoric” is another issue which is discussed in the dissertation. An overview of some of the ideas and concepts surrounding the art of speech/preaching when made into an object for reflection by Muslim authors is provided. One question is how these reflections may be situated in relation to the notion of ”rhetoric”. What is “Islamic rhetoric”? In what sense may this be related to rhetoric in the “Western” tradition? The dissertation is somewhat tentative in trying to answer these questions, but explores similarities and affinities as well as differences between “Islamic rhetoric” and “Western rhetoric”. One major point to be taken into consideration is that there are at least two different “rhetorics” (’ilm al-khatâba and ’ilm al-balâgha). In previous studies is is sometimes taken for granted that “Islamic rhetoric” is just ’ilm al-balâgha, while ’ilm al-khatâba, which more properly refers to “rhetoric” in the sense of public speech or ars praedicandi, has been neglected.
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| 9. |
- Hellner Taylor, Kristina
(författare)
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"Who are you to tell us our history?" : kultur och religion i hawaiianers möte med amerikansk mission
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The life and history of the Hawaiians has been documented ever since the contact with Western adventurers at the end of the 18th century. In connection with the arrival of American missionaries in 1820, these missionaries introduced and established a puritanical doctrine and method of communicating knowledge by way of the written word. The encounters between the different cultures have been described as peaceful. It has, however, proven that these descriptions are not entirely truthful – there is another side to the story. It is thus reasonable to ask how the introduction to the Christian doctrine and so-called Western civilisation unfolded. Many Hawaiian academics and researchers emphasise that the way history has hitherto been written, which is considered colonial both in composition and expression, should be revised. It has become apparent that situations of conflict and resistance existed from the first encounter with Westerners, a fact that has not been made clear in the writing of history to date. Hence, relevant questions are: How have "we" Westerners interpreted and understood the Hawaiian culture and history? How has this understanding and interpretation been perceived by the Hawaiians themselves? In this thesis, focus is directed at the encounters that occurred between missionaries and Hawaiians chiefly in the first half of the 19th century. In these situations of encounter, a number of problems arose as a consequence of disparate opinions concerning the outlook on the human body, modes of dressing, sexuality, education, knowledge and, not least, opinions on social relationships. The strategies of dealing with these issues and situations, from the part of the Hawaiians as well as the missionaries, are in this context of utmost importance. Higly significant and also discussed, is the role of the missionaries as civilizational colonialists, and the colonial context in which the missionaries not only acted, but also generated. Thus, the aim and direction of this thesis is to locate, document and discuss discrepancies between the two cultural groups in the apprehension of history, civilization, culture, behavior, morality and religion. Furthermore, the intent is to question previous writings of Hawaiian history, and its angles, with the purpose not only to find a wider but also a new understanding of Hawaiian culture and histoy.
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| 10. |
- Hornborg, Anne-Christine
(författare)
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A Landscape of Left-Overs : Changing Conceptions of Place and Environment among Mi'kmaq Indians of Eastern Canada
- 2001
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation seeks to explore historical changes in the lifeworld of the Mi’kmaq Indians of Eastern Canada. The Mi’kmaq culture hero Kluskap here serves as a key persona in discussing issues such as traditions, changing conceptions of land, and human-environmental relations. In order not to depict Mi’kmaq culture as timeless, two important periods in its history are examined. The first study reviews historical evidence of the ontology, epistemology, and ethics – jointly labeled animism – that stem from a premodern Mi’kmaq hunting subsistence. This evidence dates from the period between 1850 and 1930, which is also the period when the Mi’kmaq were gradually being forced to settle in the reserves. The second study situates the culture hero in the modern world of the 1990s, when allusions to Mi’kmaq tradition and to Kluskap played an important role in the struggle against a planned superquarry on Cape Breton. This study discusses the ecocosmology that has been formulated by modern reserve inhabitants and that could be labeled a “sacred ecology”. If the premodern ecocosmologies have been favorably treated by Westerners, the modern Natives’ attempt to create a “sacred ecology” has been received with ambivalence. It has been welcomed by some as an alternative to Western ways of treating nature, which threaten our global survival. But it has also been criticized as a modern construction designed by Natives to gain benefits from Canadian society. In the example of the Mi’kmaq struggle against the superquarry, this critique is discussed, with a focus on how the Mi’kmaq are rebuilding their traditions and environmental relations in interaction with modern society. In this process, environmental groups, pan-Indianism, and education play an important role, but so does reserve life. By anchoring their engagement in reserve life the Mi’kmaq traditionalists have to a large extent been able to confront both external and internal doubts about their authenticity.
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