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13221 results in Middle East Studies Hub

Page 134 of 662

  • 2 - Major Modifications of the Islamic Law of Homicide

  • from Part I - The Contribution of Islamic Values
  • Nurit Tsafrir, Tel-Aviv University
  • Book:
    Collective Liability in Islam
    Published online:
    19 December 2019
    Print publication:
    16 January 2020, pp 10-17

  • Summary

    In its transition from pre-Islamic Arab custom to the Shari‘a, the Islamic law of homicide underwent a series of modifications, designed to make it fit Islamic values and principles. This chapter discusses two such major modifications. The first one involves restricting the liability for blood revenge to the perpetrator, while the second sharpens the distinction between accidental and intentional homicide. It is argued that by these modifications Muslim jurists emphasized individual responsibility, intention, fault rather than mere causation, and punishment rather than compensation, thereby bringing homicide closer to a crime. In this way, they expressed the conception that homicide is an offense against the interests of the entire community, and not just against private rights.

  • 9 - A Wandering Mystic

  • Hamid Dabashi, Columbia University, New York
  • Book:
    Reversing the Colonial Gaze
    Published online:
    19 December 2019
    Print publication:
    16 January 2020, pp 240-259

  • Summary

    In Chapter 9, “A Wandering Mystic,” I turn my attention to Hajji Pirzadeh’s Safar-Nameh/Travelogue (1886–1889). Hajji Mohammad Ali Pirzadeh Na’ini was an eminent mystic in the Qajar era who came from a prominent Sufi family. In his travelogue, Haji Pirzadeh tells us about his observations as he travels from Tehran to Isfahan, Shiraz, Karachi, Bombay, Cairo, Alexandria, Paris, and London. What will mostly interest me in this Safar-Nameh is Hajji Pirzadeh’s mapping out the geography of major cosmopolitan urbanities, paying them all identical attention without privileging one city or country over another. His description of Shiraz and Isfahan, Karachi, Bombay, or Cairo and Alexandria, are almost identical in detail to those of Paris and London. This narrative in particular categorically dismantles the false notion that these travelers were enamored of or destined toward “Europe,” or worse, “the West” and reveals a radically different topography of their own wandering souls and the widening horizons they shared with their readers.

  • 2 - The Discourse of Civilisation

  • Peter Hill
  • Book:
    Utopia and Civilisation in the Arab Nahda
    Published online:
    19 December 2019
    Print publication:
    16 January 2020, pp 79-128

  • Summary

    Our first chapter has considered the cultural movement of the Nahda – or its distinct component formations, in Bilād al-Shām and Egypt – from a largely external point of view, in an attempt to ‘place’ it socially and historically. The remainder of this study will consider it to a far greater extent from an ‘internal’ aspect, by examining in detail some of the movement’s actual intellectual and creative production. I will turn first to the Beiruti ‘formation’ in the 1850s and 1860s, and concentrate on what seems to me probably the most crucial contribution of the Beiruti intellectuals in these decades. This is the discourse and vocabulary centred around the concept of ‘civilisation’, which may be seen as growing to maturity in this time and place – in conjunction with the literary forms in which it was expressed. It was to a large extent through this discourse that the Arab Nahda writers through the latter half of the nineteenth century and beyond would attempt to comprehend, come to terms with, celebrate or resist the forces that were changing their world.

Temporary Marriage in Iran
  • Gender and Body Politics in Modern Iranian Film and Literature
  • Claudia Yaghoobi
  • Published online:
    13 January 2020
    Print publication:
    30 January 2020
  • Proposing a methodology that brings feminist theories of embodiment to bear on the Iranian literary and cinematic tradition, this study examines temporary marriage in Iran, not just as an institution but also as a set of practices, identities and meanings that have transformed over the course of the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. Based on analysis of novels and short stories from the Pahlavi era, and cinematic works produced after the Islamic Revolution, Claudia Yaghoobi looks at the representation of the sigheh women, or those who entered into temporary marriages. Each work reflects the manner in which the practice of sigheh impacts women by calling into question how sexuality works as a form of political analysis and power, revealing how a sigheh woman's sexual bodily autonomy is used as ammunition against what governments deem inappropriate gendered expression. While focusing mainly on modern Iranian cultural productions, Yaghoobi moves beyond the literary and cinematic realms to offer an in-depth examination of this controversial social institution which has been the subject of disdain for many Iranian feminists and captured the imagination of many Western observers.

Israel's Jewish Identity Crisis
  • State and Politics in the Middle East
  • Yaacov Yadgar
  • Published online:
    09 January 2020
    Print publication:
    30 January 2020
  • An important and topical contribution to the field of Middle East studies, this innovative, provocative, and timely study tackles head-on the main assumptions of the foundation of Israel as a Jewish state. Theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich, Yaacov Yadgar provides a novel analysis of the interplay between Israeli nationalism and Jewish tradition, arriving at a fresh understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through its focus on internal questions about Israeli identity. By critiquing and transcending the current discourse on religion and politics in Israel, this study brings to an international audience debates within Israel that have been previously inaccessible to non-Hebrew speaking academics. Featuring discussions on Israeli jurisprudence, nation-state law, and rabbinic courts, Israel's Jewish Identity Crisis will have far-reaching implications, not only within the state of Israel but on politics, society and culture beyond its borders.

Utopia and Civilisation in the Arab Nahda
  • Peter Hill
  • Published online:
    19 December 2019
    Print publication:
    16 January 2020
  • Exploring the 'Nahda', a cultural renaissance in the Arab world responding to massive social change, this study presents a crucial and often overlooked part of the Arab world's encounter with global capitalist modernity, an interaction which reshaped the Middle East over the course of the long nineteenth century. Seeing themselves as part of an expanding capitalist civilization, Arab intellectuals approached the changing world of the mid-nineteenth century with confidence and optimism, imagining utopian futures for their own civilizing projects. By analyzing the works of crucial writers of the period, including Butrus al-Bustani and Rifa'a al-Tahtawi, alongside lesser-known figures such as the prolific journalist Khalil al-Khuri and the utopian visionary Fransis Marrash of Aleppo, Peter Hill places these visions within the context of their local class- and state-building projects in Ottoman Syria and Egypt, which themselves formed part of a global age of capital. By illuminating this little-studied early period of the Arab Nahda movement, Hill places the transformation of the Arab region within the context of world history, inviting us to look beyond the well-worn categories of 'traditional' versus 'modern'.

Reversing the Colonial Gaze
  • Persian Travelers Abroad
  • Hamid Dabashi
  • Published online:
    19 December 2019
    Print publication:
    16 January 2020
  • Exploring the furthest reaches of the globe, Persian travelers from Iran and India travelled across Russian and Ottoman territories, to Asia, Africa, North and South America, Europe and beyond. Remapping the world through their travelogues, Reversing the Colonial Gaze offers a comprehensive and transformative analysis of the journeys of over a dozen of these nineteenth-century Persian travelers. By moving beyond the dominant Eurocentric perspectives on travel narratives, Hamid Dabashi works to reverse the colonial gaze which has thus far been cast upon these rich body of travelogues. His lyrical and engaging re-evaluation of these journeys, complimented by close-readings of seminal travelogues, challenges the systematic neglect of these narratives in scholarly literature. Opening up the entirety of these overlooked or abused travelogues, Dabashi reveals not a mere repetition of cliché accounts of Iranian or Muslim encounters with the West, but a path-breaking introduction to a constellation of revelatory travel narratives that re-imagine and reclaim the world beyond colonial borders.

Collective Liability in Islam
  • The ‘Aqila and Blood Money Payments
  • Nurit Tsafrir
  • Published online:
    19 December 2019
    Print publication:
    16 January 2020
  • Offering the first close study of the ʿAqila, a group collectively liable for blood money payments on behalf of a member who committed an accidental homicide, Nurit Tsafrir analyses the group's transformation from a pre-Islamic custom to an institution of the Shari'a, and its further evolution through medieval and post medieval Islamic law and society. Having been an essential factor in the maintenance of social order within Muslim societies, the ʿAqila is the intersection between legal theory and practice, between Islamic law and religion, and between Islamic law and the state. Tracing the history of the ʿAqila, this study reveals how religious values, state considerations and social organization have participated in shaping and reshaping this central institution, which still concerns contemporary Muslim scholars.

  • Appendix D - H.M. Durand's Memorandum 1906. Memorandum, H.M. Durand, British Ambassador to the United States, to the Secretary of State, U.S.A., 23 June 1906

  • from Appendixes
  • D. S. Ranjit Singh
  • Book:
    The Indonesia-Malaysia Dispute Concerning Sovereignty over Sipadan and Ligitan Islands
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    26 November 2019, pp 206-207

  • Summary

    The Secretary of State's semiofficial note of January 12 in regard to the control of certain islands in North Borneo was duly forwarded by His Majesty's embassy to Sir Edward Grey, who has now replied, giving the views of the British North Borneo Company on the four points raised in that note.

    In regard to the first point, the company deprecate having to submit a chart showing the line dividing North Borneo from American territory. They point out that to prepare such a chart would necessitate the dispatch of a joint delimitation commission, which would involve considerable expense. His Majesty's embassy is, however, authorized to communicate to the State Department the inclosed map as showing the limits within which the company desire to carry on the administration.

  • The company would like to be left undisturbed in the administration of the islands without any detailed agreement, the United States Government simply waiving in favour of the company their right to administer, which it is believed they have no special desire to exercise; but if this is not possible the company would prefer to continue the administration on leases renewable say every twenty-five years, paying the annual rent of $150 as suggested before.

  • The company suggest that in case of denunciation the United States Government should agree to recognize titles and concessions granted in the islands by the company and should pay the company for improvements.

  • In the event of the United States Government agreeing to refrain from administering the islands, the company will, as a matter of course, agree to the exemption of the United States Government from any claim or allegation of responsibility arising out of acts done in or from any islands within the proposed line of demarcation.

    • They do not suppose that it was the intention of the Department of State to disclaim responsibility for the consequences of acts done in or from American islands under the direct control of the United States administration.

  • Appendix H - Boundary Convention between Great Britain and the United States, 2 January 1930, and Exchange of Notes, 2 January 1930 and 6 July 1932

  • from Appendixes
  • D. S. Ranjit Singh
  • Book:
    The Indonesia-Malaysia Dispute Concerning Sovereignty over Sipadan and Ligitan Islands
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    26 November 2019, pp 214-226

  • Summary

    Convention signed at Washington January 2, 1930: exchanges of notes

    at Washington January 2, 1930 and July 6, 1932

    Senate advice and consent to ratification February 11, 1930

    Ratified by the President of the United States February 21, 1930

    Ratified by the United Kingdom November 2, 1932

    Ratifications exchanged at Washington December 13, 1932

    Entered into force December 13, 1932

    Proclaimed by the President of the United States December 15, 1932

    47 Stat.2198; Treaty Series 856

    CONVENTION

    The President of the United States of America and His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India,

    Being desirous of delimiting definitely the boundary between the Philippine Archipelago (the territory acquired by the United States of America by virtue of the Treaties of December 10, 1898, and November 7,1900, with Her Majesty the Queen Regent of Spain) and the State of North Borneo which is under British protection,

    Have resolved to conclude a Convention for that purpose and have appointed as their plenipotentiaries:

    The President of the United States of America,

    Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of State of the United States of America; and

    His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India,

    For Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

    The Right Honorable Sir Esme Howard, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., C.V.O., His Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Washington;

    Who, having communicated to each other their respective full powers found in good and due form have agreed upon and concluded the following Articles:

    ARTICLE I

    It is hereby agreed and declared that the line separating the islands belonging to the Philippine Archipelago on the one hand and the islands belonging to the State of North Borneo which is under British protection on the other hand shall be and is hereby established as follows:

  • Appendix E - The Secretary of State (U.S.A.) to the British Ambassador, 19 December 1906

  • from Appendixes
  • D. S. Ranjit Singh
  • Book:
    The Indonesia-Malaysia Dispute Concerning Sovereignty over Sipadan and Ligitan Islands
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    26 November 2019, pp 208-209

  • Summary

    DEAR MR. AMBASSADOR: Your note of November 6 reminded me that a respond has not yet been forthcoming to the memorandum which you left with me on the 23rd June last in relation to the administration or leasing of certain small islands on the North Bornean coast by the British North Borneo Company.

    The matter has required much consideration and involved delay which I regret, and even at this late day I am not at all clear as to the most practical way to give effect to the desire of your Government by a formal agreement.

    I apprehend that the difficulty in the way of a conventional delimitation of the boundary between the former possessions of Spain in the Sulu Archipelago, now belonging to the United States, and the North Bornean territories on or adjacent to the mainland of Borneo, may lie in the circumstance that the North Bornean domain is not an imperial possession of Great Britain, but is held by a British Chartered Company under grant of the native Sultans and under the protection of the Crown in virtue of such grant. If this be so, I can discern impediments to an international convention between our two countries for establishing a boundary line between their respective sovereignties—and I can equally see that objections might be raised to undertaking to fix that boundary by agreement between this Government and a chartered corporation having per se no national status.

    Something of the same difficulty might arise in the case of the United States undertaking to lease the islands to a chartered company not having the standing of a government. The third condition of your memorandum illustrates this point, suggesting, as it does in effect, that such a lease should carry with it power to the company to grant titles and concessions binding upon the United States and to make valuable improvements, which would be an eventual charge upon this Government should the United States terminate the lease and reenter upon the property.

The Indonesia-Malaysia Dispute Concerning Sovereignty over Sipadan and Ligitan Islands
  • Historical Antecedents and the International Court of Justice Judgment
  • D. S. Ranjit Singh
  • Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    26 November 2019
  • In 2002, ASEAN made history when two of its founder members "Indonesia and Malaysia" amicably settled a dispute over the ownership of the two Bornean islands of Sipadan and Ligitan by accepting the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which ruled in favour of Malaysia. The case at once assumed great significance as a beacon of hope for the region which is plagued by numerous disruptive territorial disputes. As both the historical evidence and legal milieu are vital considerations for the ICJ to award sovereignty, this book covers in detail the historical roots of the issue as well as the law dimension pertaining to the process of legal proceedings and the ICJ deliberations. The work concludes by offering a set of guidelines on cardinal principles of international law for successfully supporting a claim to disputed territories. These may be usefully utilized by interested parties. "An invaluable account of the dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia over the Sipadan and Ligitan Islands. Written skillfully by a historian who is in clear command of the facts. Highly recommended for anyone who wishes to understand border disputes in Southeast Asia."—Professor James Chin, Director, Asia Institute, University of Tasmania

  • 6 - The Bases of Indonesia's Claim

  • D. S. Ranjit Singh
  • Book:
    The Indonesia-Malaysia Dispute Concerning Sovereignty over Sipadan and Ligitan Islands
    Published by:
    ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Published online:
    25 January 2020
    Print publication:
    26 November 2019, pp 127-143

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Indonesia advanced its claim to Pulau Sipadan and Pulau Ligitan based on a number of arguments. The linchpin of its submissions was that it held a legal title over these two islands as a result of historical circumstances; the Anglo-Dutch Boundary Convention of 1891; and the process of ratification of the said Convention which involved proceedings in the Dutch Parliament, especially those pertaining to the Explanatory Memorandum Map of 1891. To Indonesia, possession of a legal title was paramount, and no amount of subsequent effectivités could displace such a title; they could only enhance it. Indonesia built its case on four major bases as stated below:

  • A grand argument that Indonesia possessed legal title over Sipadan and Ligitan;

  • a supporting argument based on State Practice or Effectivités;

  • map evidence; and

  • activities of colonial powers in the region.

    • Indonesia's Case Based on the Possession of a Legal Title

    Legal Title Derived From Historical Developments

    In its written Memorial, Indonesia went to great lengths to explain the uncertain nature of the traditional territorial boundaries in the northeastern region of Borneo in the nineteenth century. The explanation was necessary as the native rulers paid more attention to control over people rather than territory. As such, territorial concessions made by local rulers to European powers in the region in the nineteenth century often overlapped so much so “that this lack of precision in determining territorial possessions in the area was the source of confusion among the colonial powers themselves”. The Memorial of Indonesia, vol. 1 proceeded to explain that the Sultan of Bulungan had jurisdiction over territories as far as Batu Tinagat, situated at parallel 4°19’ north on the northeast coast of Borneo. The Sultan of Bulungan, Muhammad Khahar-Oedien had signed a Contract of Vassalage with the Netherlands Indies Government on 12 November 1850, by which he acknowledged submission to Dutch overlordship as far back as 1834. Indonesia claimed that Article II of the 1850 Contract of Vassalage contained definitive evidence that the islands of Sipadan and Ligitan belonged to the Sultan of Bulungan.

Page 134 of 662