Radical Islamism in Georgia

The paper describes and analyzes the chronology of radical Islamism activities in Georgia, the threats and challenges for Georgian state coming from terrorist organizations, the spread of Ideas of Militant Islamism and Jihadism, the possibilities of using Georgian territories by the foreign and local fighters and steps taken by Georgian State. Also popularization of the idea of creation world Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East and ISIL Caucasus Province, joining the terrorist organizations ISIL and A1-Nusra Front in Iraq and Syria by some of the Georgian Muslims. The author analyzes the factors of the popularization of radical Islamism ideas among the young generation, the problems of Georgian Muslim communities and gives the recommendations for state actors.

Packaging Zainab A1-Ghazali： The Gendered Politics of Translation and the Production of ＂Moderate＂ Muslim Sister and Islamism

This paper deals with translation and knowledge production of both an exemplar mould for Islamic woman identity and a cosmetic ＂moderate＂ veneer for Islamism. The paper particularly tackles the question of the visibility of Islamic women in the translational narrative sphere and its implication with respect to both the co-optation of ＂Muslim Sisterhood＂ within the dominant Islamist gender politics and selling political Islam to international politics. Utilizing Baker＇s thesis of translation as re-narration, especially narrative flaming strategies, the paper reads Mokrane Guezzou＇s translation of Zainab al-Ghazali＇s autobiography Return of the Pharaoh： Memoir in Nasir＇s Prison （2006） to examine the framing of al-Ghazali＇s personal narrative and its implications for furthering the Middle Eastern democratization march （in response to Bush＇s ＂Freedom Agenda＂）, while keeping the Muslim Brothers＇ gender politics intact. The paper＇s argument is the gendered politics of Guezzou＇s translation and their influence on the transnational and international spheres. Firstly, in tune with the expectation of the transnational constituency of Muslim Brothers＇ readership, al-Ghazali＇s personal and self-aggrandizing narrative is packaged and re-framed within the public narrative of the Muslim Brothers＇ gender/gendered ethos to co-opt her politicized inscription of ＂Muslim Sisterhood＂ within the Muslim Brothers＇ male-ranked organizational structure and thereby reproduce the mould of a ＂moderate＂ Muslim sister. The individualistic leaning of the narrative is transposed onto the meta-narratives of the Exodus in ancient times and Holocaust in modem times. The female imprint of the narrative is suppressed onto the conflict between militant masculinities with Nasir centerstaged in the title, referenced as the pharaoh, and semantically associated with Hitler and fascism in the translator＇s note. Her gender agency is de-framed and her visibility and access to organizational rank is harnessed to her social identity in marriage and her subscription to and fulfillment of the masculine constructed and assessed criteria of ＂virtue, piety and modesty＂ （Guezzou, 2006, p. ix）. Secondly, in line with the changing dynamics of geo-strategic realities, the translational renarration contributes to configuring the race-based underpinning of Arab exceptionalism onto the compatibility of （the ＂purely political＂ and hence ＂moderate＂） Islamism with democracy through projecting the Muslim Brotherhood＇s anti-fascist, democratic, modern/moderate and gender inclusive image. After all, Islamic women＇s visibility is a testament of feminism capable of redeeming Islamism and selling ＂moderate＂ political Islam to international politics/readership.

On the Three Pivotal Doctrines of Islamism

Previous studies of Islamism basically focus on representative scholars and their thoughts on Islamism.This article attempts to sum up the pivotal doctrines of Islamism and hopefully shed light on its future trends through a comparative study.It suggests that the doctrines of self-sufficiency and‘Jahiliyyah’(ignorance)of Islamism,the doctrine of‘Islamic State’and Islamic Order,and the doctrine of Allah’s Sovereignty and political consultation function as the three pivotal doctrines of Islamism.Relevant comparison indicates that,although specific Islamic thinkers have their own foci,their thoughts are all in a similar vein.In addition,with the development of times and the advancement of society,the analysis of Islamism,by no means a fossilised set of ideologies,also undergoes constant changes and adjustments.

The Islamic Studies in China:Research in the Field of History

A history of the Islamic studies in China,not only includes studies on world Islam,it also includes research on Islam and Muslims in China.Before the Reform and Opening Up,China did not achieve much in this field,since then,the research field of Islam and Muslim in China has been expanding and the results have been published,forming a new trend.In this field,scholars such as Jin Yijiu,Li Xinghua,Qin Huibin,Zhou Guoli,Sha Qiuzhen,Zhou Xiefan,Wu Yungui,and Yang Huaizhong have made the most outstanding achievements.Especially in the collation of reference books and historical materials,in the past 20 years,The Encyclopedia of the history of Islam,The Chinese Encyclopedia of Islam have emerged,and the Chinese and World Encyclopedia of Islamic Law and other important historical books have been published.This paper focuses on the field of historical research and divided into academic research history at home and abroad,which is discussed from several fields such as general history,special history,national history,and regional history.

The Islamic Religion in Course Curriculums of High School History Textbooks in the Republic of Macedonia

History textbooks can and primarily should contribute to the strengthening of students’awareness of universal human values.However,history textbooks can also deepen the divisions,prejudices,and uncritical attitudes,contrary to the goals of education.The youth population,which is still building and creating their point of view towards the world is the main group in the education process.The learning period,in the elementary,as well as in the secondary education is of utmost importance for the development of every human.To that end,history,through the contents of the past largely shapes our perceptions of every individual,ourselves,and the others.Since we are living in a multiethnic and multi-confessional society,I have decided to conduct an analysis of the teaching contents of high school textbooks related to religion.Another reason for the analysis is the role of religion in the formation of Balkan nations,which have made it one of the key elements of their national identities.It is often given the role of raising and strengthening the national awareness,patriotism,as well as the country homogeneity,which most often leads to forming prejudices,divisions,and discrimination towards people of minority religions.The large volume of content related to the religion,and also the mere fact that Muslims are the second largest religion group in the population,I have decided to analyze the contents which are related only to the Islamic religion.The goal is to look for both the positive and negative sides of those contents in history textbooks in secondary schools,which are backed by state institutions that are supposed to take care of the development of competitive,creative,progressive,and ethically formed human potential.The critical review will give an additional impulse to the efforts of eliminating those parts of the teaching contents that create divisions and prejudices,especially in history textbooks,so that its studying can become the key factor in the building of trust between people of different religions.

Voice and Representation: Cultural Political Responses to Islamism in the U. K.

The impact of 9/11,the 2001 riots in the north of England and the London bombings of July 2005 led to shifts in how British Muslims feature in debates,policy,and representational practice in the media and popular culture in the U.K.Within this broader context,this article looks at how examples of film and life writing between 2001 and 2011 have attempted to make sense of the turn to fundamentalism,Islamism,and violent forms of Jihadism by some young British Muslims.It focuses specifically on questions of voice,political discourse,and the on-going debates about Britishness and its relation to and appropriation by British Muslims as they search for empowering forms of identity.

Anti-Militant Islamism and Self-determination in the Post-ISIS Era

Since 2017,multinational joint efforts to combat the terrorist organization‘Daesh’(ISIS)have achieved crucial victories.As a regional quasi-sovereign state,ISIS is almost finished.For a certain period,a power vacuum emerged due to the lack of effective authority after ISIS’s reign.After the withdrawal of those cross-border extremists political elites have sought to design or modify their new regime based on reviewing and amending previous governance systems and political structures.In the postcolonial era and the post-cold-war era,religious nationalism has become an important impulsion of ethnic aggregation and group mobilization for self-determination.In the post-ISIS era,anti-militant Islamism and de-extremism have had to set up a political agenda for potential successful self-determination,secession to subsequent independent regime and widespread international recognition.The resulting dilemma is that the successors in the areas used to be controlled by ISIS,especially those insurgent forces,are deliberately constraining their external religious expressions in order to achieve their primary political goals,such as autonomy and self-determination.However,if the measures aiming at antimilitant Islamism were not followed by spontaneously development of indigenous religious consciousness,and if the accompanied by self-determination claimant ended in frustration,then constrained religious expression would accumulate in adherents’sentiment and then cause retaliatory militarization threat to regional security in the future.

A Preliminary Study on the“Islamic State”Thought in Modern Islamism

As a significant idea in the ideology of modern Islamism,the terminology of“Islamic State”has strict political meanings beyond its cultural meanings.The formation and development of the“Islamic State”thought are closely linked to the reality of the environment and situation changes in the Muslim world,which gives it the characteristics of stability and change.As an important political role in the Middle East,modern Islamist forces‟ambition and efforts to establish an“Islamic State”has a major effect on regional and even global situations over a long period of time.Thus,understanding the“Islamic State”thought and its theoretical and realistic dilemmas will be an indispensable step to understand conditions in the Middle East.

Commentary on“Islamic State”Thoughts of Islamism

In the theories of modern Islamism,the terminology of“Islamic state”has special political meanings that include:objecting to modern nation state based on national sovereignty,reestablishing the Islamic state which carries out Islamic law and Allah’s sovereignty.This article probes the theories of modern Islamism thorough analyzing the thoughts of Islamism theorists,such as Muhammad Rashid Rida,Maududi,Hassan al-Banna,Sayyid Qutb,Khomeini,and Husan al-Turabi.The common characteristics of their theories on the“Islamic state”include:they objected to national identity and advocated religious identity;they refused the secular national sovereignty and advocated Allah’s sovereignty;they opposed the separation of politics and religion and claimed to establish the Islamic state;they rejected tyranny and despotism and advocated Islamic democracy based on the principle of“consultation”.

Epistemic Analysis of Kantian Ethics of Duty Call vis-a-vis Paranormal in Nigerian Society Among Nigerian Clergymen

This work is geared to carry out epistemic analysis of Kantian ethics of duty call vis-à-vis paranormal in Nigerian society among clergymen.The recent changes in Nigerian and other African countries like colonialism that brought Western education,globalization,urbanization,and new religion(Islam and Christianity)have made it that divination in traditional African religion is no longer in vogue in this contemporary period.Divination and fortune telling have taken a new dimension in form of faith healing and miracles by some prophets and so called men of God like pastors,priests,and imam.The quest for materialism among the ministers and clerics of Islamic,Christian and traditional religion has made them abuse their religious calling for their selfish interests.This work makes use of analytic and critical methods of data analysis.This work postulates that Immanuel Kant’s ethics of duty call serves to provide a guiding principle to Nigeria clergymen of different religions on the need for them to carry out their religious duties out of good will.On the other hand,twisting or distorting the teachings of their religion to serve their various selfish interests contravenes Immanuel Kant’s ethics of duty call.Finally,they have to contribute positively to nation building by propagating or fostering the positive ideology,theories,or doctrines that will promote love and national unity in a multicultural country like Nigeria.

Muslim Confucian Philosophy:Islamic-Confucian Dialogue and the Integration of Civilizations

At the end of the Ming Dynasty and at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty,a new theory of learning was created-Muslim Confucian Study(Chinese Islamic Philosophy)-on the basis of Islamic philosophy and under the influence of Confucianism.Wang Daiyu(1570-1660)and Liu Zhi(1660-1739)were two great Huiru(Muslim Confucian)scholars at that time.They published Zhengjiao zhenquan(The real commentary on the tire teaching),Tianfang xingli(Nature and principle in Islam)major books.Their approach is distinguished from that of other Muslim scholars in that they addressed the basic articles of Islamic thought with Confucian terminology and categories.The study deals with the Islamic worldview,and with the practices that make it possible for people to bring themselves into conformity with that worldview.However,the teaching of the Muslim Confucian was continuous with those of Mainstream Islam.In my research,I attempted to answer two questions:(a)How did Muslim Confucian Study Inherit the Mainstream Islamic Thought?(b)What is the value and contribution of the World Islamic philology and civilization?

The Islamic Studies in China-Research in Political and Social Fields

In the research of political and social fields,modern Islamic politics has evolved into three schools of nationalism,modernism and fundamentalism in the 20th century.The research in the field of contemporary Islam involves different countries,nationalities and different economic and political conditions.It is not only the research field of religion,but also has the characteristics of interdisciplinary academic frontier.From the perspective of academic research,these trends have attracted the attention and research of scholars inside and outside the church on Islamic political and social issues.Recently,there have been many problems related to Islam and the current international political life,as well as the research results of Islamic social thoughts and social movements.

Performativity of Muslimness： The Exilic Encounters of African Muslims in Europe and the Intersection of Gender Race and Religion

As the construction of identities is said to be within and not outside discourse, identities are thus produced in specific historical and institutional sites and within specific discursive formations and practices. These formations and practices, under which identities are produced, are explored within the Diaspora space of West Yorkshire occupied by Sudanese Muslim women. The paper interrogates Sudanese women＇s identities and questions how the experiences of exile and Diaspora transform women＇s identities and influence the gender roles to which they relate. This study is an attempt to add to migration, refugee, exile and ＂race＂ studies and the studies of Black and religious identity in the Western Diaspora space. The paper maintains that if all identities are thought to operate through exclusion, then identities are constructed through difference. Therefore, the identities of African Muslim women are constructed through the relation to the Other.

Ideological Transition of the Afghan Taliban

The Afghan Taliban(hereafter termed the Taliban) has returned to power in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US troops from the country. However, acquiring political legitimacy at home and winning international recognition abroad remain daunting tasks for the Taliban, which will largely hinge on the group's transition away from its previously radical ideology. The ideology of the Taliban can be categorized as a brand of traditional Islamism blended with unique Afghan characteristics, which incorporates a variety of elements ranging from Deobandism, Pashtun rural and tribal cultures, Wahhabism, and Salafism to political Islam and carries a combination of many attributes. For instance, it emphasizes religious legitimacy stemming from the outward display of piety but overlooks the importance of political legitimacy. Moreover, it pursues Pashtun supremacy and practices sectarianism. However, driven by the needs of successive resistance and governance, the ideology of the Taliban has been undergoing a transition in recent years. Notably, pragmatism has begun to emerge, along with pluralism and religious inclusion;the emphasis on outward manifestations of piety has been reduced;efforts have been made to seek integration into the international system;and there appears to be a willingness to follow international norms. Despite all that, the core of the Taliban ideology remains intact, which still falls within the ambit of Islamism, as evidenced by the theocratic regime it has established in Afghanistan and its governing philosophies that advocate mullahs running the country. The Taliban has been shifting its ideology toward modern Islamism, which lacks successful governance practice. As an armed religious group, the Taliban faces tough challenges in governing the country, which include, but are not limited to, conservative mindsets and skill deficits. To tackle the challenges effectively, the Taliban should continue to focus on political legitimacy and advance the transition of its ideology.

Salafism in Azerbaijan

The article is written with the support of Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation and is based on the materials obtained in Azerbaijan relating to the spread of Salafism in Azerbaijan, the interviews with A. Shirinov, an associate professor at the faculty of Theology at Baku State University, S. Hasanli, a rector of Baku Islamic University and G Suleymanov, a leader of Azerbaijan Salafi community, which were recorded during the scientific visit in Azerbaijan.

越南发现的巴地市沉船初议

2020年以来,中国收藏界和文博市场出现了大批由越南商贩销售而来的唐代低温铅绿釉印花器物和白釉瓷器,引起学界关注及对相关问题的讨论。这些器物据传出水于越南南部的一条沉船,但并非正式发掘的器物。①经越南社会科学院皇城考古研究所杜长江(DOTruongGiang)博士核实,该沉船位于今胡志明市东南约百里的巴地市近海(图1),因此权且称之为“巴地市沉船”。

Islamic Finance in Theory and Practice

Perspectives of the early scholars of Islamic management of an account concurred that the arrangement of organization partnership in general and Murabah （benefit sharing） specifically is the fundamental technique on which Islamic banks must depend on contributing their money to related assets. Also, the research has found that financing under the Islamic management of an account has decreased intensely from the methodology created by the early scholars. In reality, these banks have received obligation based on financing techniques and underestimated the routines for financing taking into account benefit and loss sharing. This adjustment in financing technique has perversely influenced the bad name and the desire tied with the monetary part of these banks. The study focused on the reason behind the gap between theory and practice in Islamic finance. So, the study was divided in two parts： the first theoretical part of Islamic economy and Islamic banking system, the second practical part by analysing and evaluating the relative distribution of Islamic financing methods in four famous Islamic banks. The study selected a group of Asian Islamic banks as a model for analysis and evaluation through the period from 2012 to 2014. The study concluded that the gaps result from the misuse of the roles and norms of Maqasid Al-Shariah along with the diversion in the relatively allocation of the financing methods toward debt instruments rather than equity instnunents.

School health promotion:A cross-sectional study on Clean and Healthy Living Program Behavior(CHLB)among Islamic Boarding Schools in Indonesia

Objective:This study aims to identify the knowledge,attitude,and behavior of students using eight indicators of Clean and Healthy Living Behavior(CHLB)in relation to the health education and grade levels in Islamic Boarding Schools(IBS)in Jember regency,East Java Province,Indonesia.Methods:A cross-sectional school-based survey design was used.About 114 students(mean age of 13.17 years old)selected through a multi-stage random sampling completed a selfadministered questionnaire to measure the eight indicators of CHLB,such as washing hands with running water and soap,eating healthy snacks,using clean and healthy latrines,exercising regularly and measurably,eradicating mosquito larvae,not smoking at school,weighing and height measurement every 6 months,and disposing garbage properly.The data analyses included descriptive and comparative analyses of the difference in knowledge,attitude,and behavior toward CHLB by health education and grade level.Results:About 66.7% students received health education.Significant knowledge in CHLB in relation to health education and grade was observed(P<.05),including in-depth knowledge of exercises,measurable weight and height,smoking,and healthy latrines.Meanwhile,no significant difference was observed between the attitude toward CHLB and health education in different grade levels.Furthermore,CHLB was associated with health education,including habitual exercise and using of clean and healthy latrines.

The Historical Logic of the Resurgence of the Afghan Taliban

In the wake of the Afghanistan War,the Afghan Taliban(hereafter termed the Taliban)quickly regrouped and set up a horizontal organizational structure in which their ethnic composition became increasingly diverse and their ideology appeared more pragmatic and moderate.The Taliban accommodated the political culture and demands of the vast rural and tribal societies of Afghanistan by providing necessary public goods and satisfying the need of local communities for survival and security.Hence,the Afghan society was mobilized.By contrast,the Afghan government failed miserably in its efforts to centralize power and develop rural areas,which resulted in lessened efficiency of the governance of the Afghan state due to intense competition among ethnic groups.Gradually,the Taliban filled the power vacuums in the countryside,eroding and dismantling the local institutions of the Afghan government.Ultimately,it returned to power during the withdrawal of the United States(US)troops from the country.Nevertheless,a long list of major challenges is awaiting the Taliban,including the reconfiguration of its loosely organized structure and the building of a sociopolitical system capable of melding Islamic traditions with modern spirits.In this manner,power sharing,political inclusiveness,and economic growth can be achieved in Afghanistan,and the country can be reaccepted into the international community.

Islamic Banks Impaired Financing： Relationship Between Shariah Committee Meetings Frequency and Shariah Risks Compliance on Assets Quality

This study made a pioneering attempt to econometrically examine what factors determining impaired financing using shariah committee meetings frequency from data on Islamic banks in Malaysia and how does it affects on the quality of assets. The objective of the study is to improve assessment of their assets quality so as to increase the reliability of the financial statements. The European Central Bank may find the findings from this study useful in their exercise to assess risks and assets quality of their commercial banks, a move to tackle the ailing banks in centralizing oversight supervision in late 2014. The major components of the Islamic banks＇ assets quality are impaired financing and provisions for financing impairment. In the Islamic banks, shariah committee principally manages the shariah risks non-compliance with other risks; however because their management is not straightforward, the study uses the shariah committee meetings frequency as an indicator of the assets quality. The study found the less-than-full frequency of shariah committee meetings resulted in less guidance and conformation of shariah principles, and consequentially the quality of the assets.