Posted on by Christina Vlahos

Kezer, “Building Modern Turkey”

In December, the University of Pittsburgh Press will release “Building Modern Turkey: State, Space, and Ideology in the Early Republic,” by Zeynep Kezer (Newcastle University).  The publisher’s description follows: 

Building Modern Turkey offers a critical account of how the built environment mediated Turkey’s transition from a pluralistic (multiethnic and multireligious) empire into a modern, homogenized nation-state following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. Zeynep Kezer argues that the deliberate dismantling of ethnic and religious enclaves and the spatial practices that ensued were as integral to conjuring up a sense of national unity and facilitating the operations of a modern nation-state as were the creation of a new capital, Ankara, and other sites and services that embodied a new modern way of life. The book breaks new ground by examining both the creative and destructive forces at play in the making of modern Turkey and by addressing the overwhelming frictions during this profound transformation and their long-term consequences. By considering spatial transformations at different scales—from the experience of the individual self in space to that of international geopolitical disputes—Kezer also illuminates the concrete and performative dimensions of fortifying a political ideology, one that instills in the population a sense of membership in and allegiance to the nation above all competing loyalties and ensures its longevity.

Posted on by Mark Movsesian

Drakeman, “Why We Need the Humanities”

Congratulations to CLR Board member (and CLR Forum contributor) Don 9781137497468Drakeman, whose new book, Why We Need the Humanities: Life Science, Law and the Common Good (Palgrave Macmillan) appeared last month. Here’s a description:

This lively book explains why we need the humanities. It shows how society has long relied on humanities scholarship to address important public policy issues. Donald Drakeman, an entrepreneur and educator, builds a compelling case for the practical importance of the humanities in helping governments make decisions about controversial issues affecting our lives in fields as diverse as healthcare and civil liberties.

Bold, compelling, and accessibly written, Why We Need the Humanities sets out a fascinating case for the importance of humanities research in the modern world.

Don has already written a major book on originalism, Church, State and Original Intent, which has drawn admiration from scholars across the world. His new work addresses a subject that could not be more timely. In fact, Don previewed the book in a post on CLR Forum a couple of months ago — which is to say, CLR Forum fans saw it here first. Now, go out and by it!

Posted on by Mark Movsesian

Conference on Christian Responses to Persecution (Rome, December 10-12)

A reminder that “Under Caesar’s Sword,” a joint research project of the Center for Civil and Human Rights at Notre Dame and the Berkeley Center at Georgetown, will hold a conference in Rome next month on the Christian responses to persecution:

The main objective of the conference is to introduce the results of the world’s first systematic global investigation into the responses of Christian communities to the violation of their religious freedom. The scope of Under Caesar’s Sword extends to some 100 beleaguered Christian communities in around 30 countries….

The conference will feature plenary speakers from among the world’s most respected advocates of religious freedom. It will offer a lively discussion of the global persecution of Christians among church leaders, government officials, scholars, human rights activists, representatives of world religions, students, and the interested public. Finally, the conference will shed light on the experiences of millions of Christians worldwide whose religious freedom is severely violated.

Details about the conference, co-sponsored by the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome, are here.

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Ivanescu, “Islam and Secular Citizenship in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and France”

In January, Palgrave Macmillan will release “Islam and Secular Citizenship in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and France” by Carolina Ivanescu (independent scholar). The publisher’s description follows:

The past several years have seen many examples of friction between secular 9781137576088
European societies and religious migrant communities within them. This study combines ethnographic work in three countries (the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and France) with a new theoretical frame (regimes of secularity). Its mission is to contribute to an understanding of collective minority identity construction in secular societies. In addition to engaging the academic literature and ethnographic research, the book takes a critical look at three cities, three nation-contexts, and three grassroots forms of Muslim religious collective organizations, comparing and contrasting them from a historical perspective.

Carolina Ivanescu offers a thorough theoretical grounding and tests existing theories empirically. Beginning with the principle that religion and citizenship are both crucial aspects of religious migrants’ individual identities, she demonstrates the relevance of collective identity, which is shaped through articulations of belonging to geographical and ideological entities. This form of belonging, Ivanescu asserts, is filtered through the mechanisms of citizenship and religion in the modern social world.

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Shavit, “Shari’a and Muslim Minorities”

This month, Oxford University Press will release “Shari’a and Muslim Minorities: The Wasati and Salafi Approaches to Fiqh al-Aqalliyyat al-Muslima” by Uriya Shavit (Tel Aviv University). The publisher’s description follows:

Based on a comparative analysis of several hundred religio-juristic treatises and fatwas (religious decisions), Shari’a and Muslim Minorities: The Wasati and Salafi Approaches to Fiqh al-Aqalliyyat al-Muslima offers the most systematic and comprehensive study to date of fiqh al aqalliyyat al-Muslima – the field in Islamic jurisprudence that treats issues that are unique to Muslims living in majority non-Muslim societies. The book argues that two main contesting approaches to fiqh al-aqalliyyat al-Muslima, the wasati and the salafi, have developed, in part dialectically. While both envision a future Islamizing of the West as a main justification for Muslim residence in the West, the wasati approach is pragmatic, facilitating, and integration-minded, whereas the salafi calls for strict application of religious norms and for introversion.

The volume examines diverse and highly-debated juristic issues, including the permissibility of naturalizing in non-Muslim states, participating in their electoral systems and serving in their militaries and police forces; the permissibility of taking mortgages and student loans; the permissibility of congratulating Christians on Christmas or receiving Christmas bonuses; and the permissibility of working in professions that involve breaching of religio-legal prohibitions (e.g. serving pork). Discussions highlight the diversity within contemporary Islamic jurisprudence and introduce new nuances to highly-charged concepts such as proselytizing, integration, and multiculturalism.