Hannah Arendt claims the concept of brotherhood presents false notions of political community that elide historic hatreds of others and threaten modern political life. This paper explores Arendt’s critical assessment of the concept of brotherhood in order to reflect on one specific example: the politics of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in the wake of the Arab Spring of 2011. While some observers reject Arendt’s assessment of brotherhood as too narrow, her criticisms raise useful questions about (...) democracy and plurality, which confront any community that exhorts its members to act as ‘brethren’ rather than as ‘citizens.’ The Muslim concept of brotherhood suggests many different possibilities for belonging: a classic universalism of the Abrahamic natural law tradition; a progressive counter-public sphere; and as well the authoritarian private community of believers as represented in the early writings of the Muslim Brotherhood leadership. Therefore, the politically controversial Muslim Brotherhood has no monopoly over the understanding of the Muslim concept of brotherhood. However, it is the most powerful, most well-organized brotherhood movement. The paper opens and ends with reflections on the Arab Spring of 2011, its one-year anniversary in January 2012, and considers other possibilities for the concept of brotherhood against the backdrop of Arendt’s analysis. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Frühmittelalterliche Studien Jahrgang: 50 Heft: 1 Seiten: 315-328.

When we look at a single example in the comparison of the West and the East, the ban on minarets in Switzerland or the absence of any churches in Saudi Arabia leads to incorrect conclusions. Such ideological selectivity hinders the model of coexistence. In this research study, we mentioned the possibilities, needs and minimum requirements of a coexistence model beyond the Ummah. We perform firstly (1) the description or diagnosis of the given situation, namely the determination of the problem: the (...) political or historical, theological and cultural sources, and origin of the problem; (2) the expansion of the given situation to the paradigm from the history, the spirit of the times, theological sources and principles; and (3) solution: updating the theological, political and cultural displacements and applying them in the current context. Contribution: This is the thesis of this paper: humans have enough theological, political, cultural and educational possibilities for a new global Convivencia for being able to realise ‘together and common living’. Humans have the theological, political and cultural opportunities to realise a new global Convivencia ‘living together even if not in unison’ for the future. (shrink)

The Holy Qur’an relates believers’ pure emotions to brotherhood. From the perspective of Islam, it has been also affirmed that two people have the same thoughts and opinions in one centre point of love in brotherhood, so fraternal feelings are not merely limited to kinship and consanguinity. In this line, the Holy Qur’an states that we have come to make you brothers with each other; not a brotherhood from parents, but an Islamic one, which is highly appreciated (...) in the Islamic society. In addition, a believing brother can never be filled when his fellow believer is hungry, and he cannot be clothed while the other is with nothing on. Islam further considers all Muslims as one family and calls everyone brothers and sisters or siblings. The true Muslims of any race and tribe as well as any language and age thus have a deep sense of brotherhood with each other, even if one lives in the Eastern parts of the world and the other in the West. In sum, this article aimed to investigate the role of religious teachings in strengthening believers’ brotherhood in the Islamic society. For this purpose, firstly, the definition of religious brotherhood was provided; secondly, religious brotherhood has been described based on the Holy Qur’an.Contribution: This article helped gain a new insight into the role of Islamic teachings in strengthening religious brotherhood in the Islamic society. Besides, the indicators of religious brotherhood were extracted and then enlightened according to the Ayat (viz. verses) from the Holy Qur’an. (shrink)

Desmond and Moore point out that the key to understanding Darwin’s The Descent of Man is his abolitionist motivation and his advocacy that races constitute subspecies. Roberta Millstein raises some doubts about the importance of this motivation. She points out that the inclusion of the extensive section devoted to non-human animals is not justified by Darwin’s treatment of humans per se, because his explanation of the origin of races is peculiar. In this sense, she argues that Darwin’s specific explanation of (...) the origin of races does not confirm the central importance that Desmond and Moore give to Darwin’s abolitionism. In this paper I have two different aims. On the one hand, to show that the human case actually is based on the treatment of nonhuman animals, and consequently, Darwin’s argument is not as poor as Millstein believes. My second goal, taking Millstein’s challenge seriously, is to show that Darwin’s explanation of the origin of races does confirm the Desmond and Moore thesis in a deeper sense than the one they propose themselves. For the anti-slavery motivation could not only explain the fact that Darwin sees all humans as forming the same species, but the specific explanation he gives for the origin of races. (shrink)

This open access book explores the gendered reality of learning philosophy at the university level, investigating the ways in which women and minority students become alienated from the social practices of a male-dominated field, and examining pedagogical solutions to this problem. It covers the roles and the interactions of the professor and student in the following ways: (1) the historical situation, (2) the affective, social and bodily situation, and (3) the moral situation. This text analyzes women’s passion for philosophy as (...) a quest for truth, as well as their partial alienation from the social practices of philosophy. It demonstrates that recognition, generosity, and care are central ingredients of good learning and teaching experiences. Providing case studies of experimental courses in philosophy, the book discusses a variety of pedagogical approaches that might increase the inclusiveness of a philosophical education: novel and more gender-balanced ways of interpreting the history of philosophy, problem-based learning as a means of emancipating the student from the traditional master–disciple relationship, body awareness practices as a way of challenging the “disembodying” tendencies of philosophy, and a pluralism of methods to address the needs of different kinds of learners. Thanks to these features, the book is particularly useful for philosophy professors at the university level, but it also provides insights for all readers who feel puzzled about the persistent underrepresentation of women in philosophy. (shrink)

ABSTRACT The golden age has not passed; it lies in the future. —Paul Signac.

Christianity has exerted invaluable influence on all spheres of human existence, first of all spiritual. Religious systems, being the same content for many nations, have a different effect on the history and consciousness of these peoples.Religious situation in Ukraine at the end of the XVI century. is marked by complexity. After the Union of Lublin in 1569, Ukrainian Orthodoxy, along with Catholicism, became dominant in the Commonwealth. But the episcopate of the Kievan Metropolitanate, worried about increasing its own and church (...) holdings, paid little attention to the training of staff for the Orthodox Church, the education of young people. At the same time, Catholic orders that appeared in Ukraine after the union, were active missionary work. Over time, they permeated all spheres of public life of the Ukrainian people. The prestige of Orthodoxy began to fall, causing the gentry to convert to Catholicism. The situation was complicated by the so-called right of "submission" to the king and "patronage" of the gentry, especially when the "patron" of Orthodox laymen became a Catholic or Protestant. Kievan Metropolis gradually embraced church disorder. (shrink)

Battles, Betrayals, and Brotherhood: Early Chinese Plays on the Three Kingdoms. Edited and trans lated, with an introduction by Wilt L. Idema and Stephen H. West. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2012. Pp. xxx + 469. $78, $28, $23.95.

The Closed Circle is the second book authored by the distinguished scholar of the Muslim Brotherhood, Lorenzo Vidino, director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. In his pr...

Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Ashʻarism, and Political Sunnism. By Jeffry R. Halverson. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Pp. vii + 188. $75.

Complex processes that accompany the formation and development of Ukrainian statehood have created favorable conditions for the spread of neo-religious churches, currents and trends. Most of them are mentally rooted, are spread predominantly owing to the activity of foreign missionaries. Therefore, given the local origin and social resonance, the Great White Brotherhood's phenomenon, whose propagation of faith was carried out and had some success in most of the post-Soviet countries, needs special attention.

After the end of World War II, Yugoslavia and Albania continued the cooperation that had been established during the war. The economic cooperation between the two countries began after the signing of the Friendship and Assistance Agreement in mid-1946. Part of the cooperation were joint ventures between the two countries and one of them was a railway company. The first Albanian railway, Drač-Elbasan, represented the result of Yugoslav-Albanian reconciliation. Its construction began in early 1947 and completed in November the same (...) year. A plan for the Drač-Tirana railway also existed and was to be implemented as a joint project, but due to the crisis of the relations between the two countries, it never materialised. Yugoslavia and Albania discontinued their cooperation after Albania’s acceptance of the Informbureau Resolution in mid-1948. (shrink)

Presents a look at the work of Pythagoras, a philosopher who lived in sixth century Greece, and the influence of his theories of mathmatics and music on subsequent intellectual traditions in both the East and West.

In almost every country in the world there are Muslim communities, numbering over one billion. Much of the Muslims are concentrated in the Middle and Middle East, where there are various political and civic organizations that take an active part in the life of the Islamic world and influence the development of modern society. Among them are organizations that provide regional stability and coordinate interstate relations. These are the League of Arab States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and several (...) others. International non-governmental organizations, such as the League of the Islamic World, the People's Islamic Congress, and numerous non-governmental religious and political organizations, are constantly active. There are many charitable, educational, cultural or political organizations within the laws of their countries. (shrink)

Purpose: Pencak silat has been a part of Indonesia's cultural heritage imparting lessons in Islamic morality, in addition to self-defense, cultural arts, sports, and mental and spiritual training. Members are trained in these skills along with Islamic religious lessons and the Sufi philosophy. Previous studies have however shown a grey side of pencak silat, which involved violence with other groups, and not the Sufi and the spiritual teachings. The current study, therefore, aimed to examine the Sufism in PSHT’s pencak silat (...) and how its members practiced the teaching of Sufism and Islamic philosophy. Qualitative ethnographic research approach was used, with observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentation as data collection instruments. Finds show that Sufism in PSHT means mastering a control over heart or mind, showing good behavior, de-radicalizing religion, and learn the meaning of life to develop spiritual intelligence. It was also evident in the study that Sufism can strengthen Muslim members' faith and aqidah as it also teaches religious tolerance towards non-Muslims. It strengthens inner relationships, builds noble character, preserves nature and peace, and increases ma'rifah knowledge by drawing closer to God. This research recommends that the government should support mental spiritual, cultural arts, martial arts, and sports in all pencak silat organizations in Indonesia and preserve the cultural heritage to benefit the nation, state, and society. (shrink)

Studies in Safed's kabbalistic-ethical literature in 16th century.

The Closed Circle is the second book authored by the distinguished scholar of the Muslim Brotherhood, Lorenzo Vidino, director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. In his pr...

A Igreja Católica legitimou prática e teoricamente o sistema colonial brasileiro e teve um caráter predominantemente leigo, por força da instituição do padroado. Pouco foi escrito sobre as irmandades de negros. As análises têm se restringido a observar que desempenharam um importante papel na manutenção das crenças religiosas africanas. Com a República, o processo de romanização empreendido pela Igreja teve por objetivo a desvalorização do catolicismo laico, com o desmantelamento das antigas irmandades e sua substituição por novas organizações leigas. Impõe-se (...) caracterizar o papel desempenhado pela resistência, sem o quê seria difícil entender a existência atual da Irmandade Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Homens Pretos de São Paulo, fundada em 1711, na região central da cidade. Sua história se confunde com a história das irmandades de negros em geral, mas oferece exemplo de como continuou a ser repositório da tradição popular, calcada em prática religiosa católica 'branca' e prática religiosa 'negra', pensada a partir do patamar da escravidão. Palavras-chave : religião; poder; laicidade.The Catholic Church legitimized practical and theoretically the Brazilian colonial system and had a predominantly lay character by virtue of the institution of patronage. Little has been written about the brotherhoods among black people. The analysis have been restricted to noting that they have played an important role in maintaining the religious African beliefs. With the Republic, the romanization process undertaken by the Church has aimed the devaluation of the laic Catholicism, with the dismantling of old brotherhoods and their replacement by new lay organizations. It is necessary to characterize the role played by resistance, without which it would be difficult to understand the actual existence of the Irmandade Nossa Senhora dos Homens Pretos de São Paulo, founded in 1711, in the central region of the city. Its history is mixed with the history of black people brotherhoods in general, but provides an example of how it continued to be the repository of folk tradition, grounded in the 'white' catholic religious practice and the 'black' religious practice, seen from the porch of slavery. Keywords : religion; power; secularism. (shrink)