Besa: The Promise is the never-before-told story of the Muslims of Nazi-occupied Albania who saved the lives of thousands of Jews during World War II. It’s witnessed through the prism of two men joined together in a remarkable and unexpected quest: Norman H. Gershman, a renowned Jewish-American photographer determined to record the bravery and compassion of the Albanians; and Rexhep Hoxha, a Muslim-Albanian toy shop owner who sets out to return three precious books to the last surviving member of the Jewish family his father sheltered sixty years before. When these two men meet, an extraordinary and utterly unexpected personal drama is set in motion–one that bridges generations and religions…uniting fathers and sons…Muslims and Jews.
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In the wake of the colossal acts of terrorism of the last decade, the legal historian and human rights lawyer Sadakat Kadri realized that many people in the West had ideas about the origins and implications of the shari‘a, or Islamic law, that were hazy, contradictory, or simply wrong. Even as “shari‘a” became a loaded word and an all-encompassing explanation, most of us remained ignorant of its true meaning. And we were doing this at our peril. In Heaven on Earth, Kadri brings lucid wit and analytical skill to the thrilling and turbulent story of Islam’s foundation and expansion, and explains how, just in the last 40 years, the shari‘a has been appropriated and transformed by hard-liners desperate to impose their oppressive vision. In the second half of the book, Kadri takes us on an extraordinary journey through more than half a dozen countries in the Islamic world, where he explores, in striking detail, how the shari‘a is taught, read, reinterpreted, reverenced and challenged.
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Islam is the largest religion in Bulgaria and Muslims constitute the largest religious minority of the country. According to the 2011 census, the total number of Muslims in the country stood at 577,139, corresponding to 7.8% of the population. For the most part of Bulgaria’s modern history its Muslims remained at the margins of the country’s political life and were often regarded as second-class citizens. With the collapse of communist totalitarianism in 1989 Muslims for the first time gained political representation in the Bulgarian parliament through the establishment of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), a political party whose major electoral base has been Bulgarian Muslims. The MRF has been a stabilizing factor in the country’s post-communist life and has had a positive role in the country’s transition to political pluralism after 1989. It participated in many coalition governments and has pushed hard for improving Bulgaria’s records of human rights and people’s living standards as well as for securing Bulgaria’s pro-Western foreign policy orientation through accession to the European Union and NATO. This briefing aims to explain the reasons for this change – i.e. what were the reasons leading to the establishment of a “Muslim” political party – and discuss the extent to which this development has contributed to a real improvement of Muslims’ political, economic and social life in Bulgaria and had a positive effect on Muslim-Christian relations.
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Iran is again headed for presidential elections after the controversial presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the last four years. The country is going to the polls at a time of great economic hardship because of international sanctions and the still looming threat of a military attack. At this sensitive time in Iran's national life, what are the key questions that the presidential candidates must answer and who are these candidates? Will Iran's political factions be able to address the country's many problems and challenges and come up with realistic solutions, or will they persist in pursuing their narrow objectives at the expense of national interest? What is likely to be Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei's position at this sensitive time?
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The question of charisma in religious figures has become critical in our age because of the rise of modern media that produces overnight celebrities. Many are moved by them and convinced of their sincerity. Others dismiss them as profiteers. Do they matter, and if so, how do they matter? Professor Jonathan Brown and Professor James Wellman, experts in Islam and Christianity respectively, spoke about their recent research on celebrity religious figures, defined charisma, both its positive and negative effects, and examined this phenomenon in its historical and present day condition.
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Cosponsored with BMW Center for German and European Studies. Iberia is a place of historic and symbolic significance to all three of the world's major religions. Myths concerning Islam's origins collide with the story of the Christian reconquista, the subsequent Spanish Inquisition, and the massive expulsion of Muslims and Jews some five hundred years ago. Yet Muslims have made a significant comeback in this region, which now hosts one of Europe's newest Muslim communities. This volume recounts the "retaking" of Al-Andalus by Iberia's new Muslims, which include groups as diverse as students, farm workers, female professionals, and clerics, and their successful integration into a strongly Roman Catholic culture. Marvine Howe shares not only the experiences of Iberia's Muslims but also the reactions of Spanish and Portuguese officials, academics, NGOs, and ordinary citizens, who have found ways to incorporate Muslims and other immigrants into Iberian society despite domestic and European pressure to do otherwise. She also revisits the events of March 11, 2004, when Muslim extremists launched a devastating attack on Madrid's transportation system, and investigates these events in relation to Al-Qaeda's stated intent to reclaim Al-Andalus for Islam. Howe pursues several basic threads, such as whether Iberia's humane immigration policies can be exported to other European contexts and whether the Andalusian spirit of tolerance and diversity will prevail over a troubled economy and heightened radicalism -- in both the Islamic world and the West.
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Pelletier discussed violent extremism in Nigeria and West Africa more broadly as a phenomenon that is far more complex and complicated than being simply a religious issue. In countries such as Nigeria and Mali, the violence is linked to many issues. While some attempt to use religious terms to gain legitimacy and push their grievances, Pelletier made the case that we should not give these violent extremists the undisputed right to set the narrative.
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Pelletier discussed violent extremism in Nigeria and West Africa more broadly as a phenomenon that is far more complex and complicated than being simply a religious issue. In countries such as Nigeria and Mali, the violence is linked to many issues. While some attempt to use religious terms to gain legitimacy and push their grievances, Pelletier made the case that we should not give these violent extremists the undisputed right to set the narrative.
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This talk discussed the army's endgame as Pakistan approaches an important inflection point on its path to greater democratization. While Fair focused on near term developments such as the appearance of Imam Qadri, she contextualized his recent arrival on Pakistan's political scene within the larger landscape of Pakistan's judicial activism, the army's ongoing interest in retaining control of domestic politics and international affairs, and the refusal of political parties to confront internal democratic reforms.
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In spite of constituting only 1.46% of the population, Muslim political views are diverse and reflect the diversity of trends in South Africa. On the one hand, ardent democrats support the Constitution without question; on the other hand, certain individuals and groups regard the Constitution as a rival authority to Islamic Law. Michel Foucault’s concepts of utopia and heterotopia are helpful in revealing this complex relationship between South Africa’s constitution and public expressions of Islam. They capture the complexity of Muslim experiences – sometimes reflecting the goals of the constitution (utopia) but also inverting, subverting and often going beyond them (heterotopia). The presentation closely examined some examples to illustrate the diversity and fragility of South Africa’s democracy.
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