Religious Conflicts, Political Fights: Turmoil in the Middle East, Pragmatism in Southeast Asia
Journal Title: Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization (JITC) - Year 2018, Vol 8, Issue 0
Abstract
The actual turmoil in the Arab world is the consequence of acute political crises (which have sometimes deteriorated into dramatic and inextricable situations of war). Among all the reasons of these crises (in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, etc.), the religious factor looks important. Contrarily, in Southeast Asia, political disagreements have been generally solved through negotiations and agreements (even if authoritarianism prevails in many cases), i.e. through pragmatism and away from sectarian divisions (with some exceptions like the Rohingas tragedy in Burma). Although the picture is not clearcut, the comparison between these two cultural zones (with a focus on the Arab world) is interesting in trying to assess the role of religion (here: Islam) in politics. This paper will deal with the whole Arab world, compared to Southeast Asia when deemed relevant. The analysis will endeavour to connect religious-cultural dynamics to social-political phenomena from an original theoretical angle: the perusal of the eventual link between (Arab) Islam and violence. Such issues as traditions, sectarianism, social homogeneity, external factors, etc., need to be analysed since they may push towards smooth political transitions or, on the contrary, violence and chaos, depending on circumstances. And when societal attitudes vis-à-vis the global system are characterized by fear (because of religious-moral-cultural apprehensions), popular contestation may lean more easily towards intolerant inward-looking attitudes, with the result that socio-political claims degenerate swiftly into religion-driven strife.
Authors and Affiliations
Stéphane Valter
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP491468
- DOI 10.32350/jitc.81.01
- Views 138
- Downloads 0
Religious pluralism in Islam
This paper is aimed at enumeration of some of the Quranic principles to suggest an account of 'Islamic pluralism'. The Quran accepts plurality as a natural phenomenon. Allah SWT states in the Quran: ―O Humankind! Verily...
Concept and processes of Wealth and Poverty in the Light of Islamic Tradition
This paper attempts to reveal Islam's concept and processes involved in the static and dynamics of wealth and poverty in the light of Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah - the primary sources of Islam.
Romancing the Sufi: Persian Sufi Poetry under the Western Gaze
The paper presents an argument against the problematic comparison of the Sufi poetry with Romanticism that is found among some of the most noted comparatists. It emphasizes the need to put both discourses within their co...
‘Fraternity of civilizatios’ and the role of Islam
The Clash of Civilizations has been extensively refuted, but remains a highly influential paradigm in international relations and intercultural discourse. It must, therefore, be exposed as a fallacious abstraction, and d...
Islamic Tradition and its Defining Characteristics
Tradition conveys the meanings of connectedness to past and transmission of knowledge, practice, laws, and many other elements of both an oral and written nature. “Islamic Tradition” is no different from the general defi...