Proceedings of Graduate Workshop: ‘New Directions in Studies of the Arab World’ The Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World
    
    13-14 September 2007 The University of Edinburgh
    
    Edited by Saeko Yazaki
    
    Preface
    The Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World (CASAW) was pleased to hold the graduate workshop on ‘New Directions in Studies of the Arab World’, which was hosted in close collaboration with the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES) at the University of Edinburgh on 13-14 September 2007.
    
    Members of the Workshop Committee
    Professor Robert Hillenbrand (Honorary Professorial Fellow, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies) Professor Carole Hillenbrand (Honorary Professorial Fellow, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies) Saeko Yazaki (PhD candidate, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies)
    
    Acknowledgements
    The CASAW Graduate Workshop was made possible by a generous donation from CASAW in the first instance, and by other assistance received from the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and the University of Edinburgh. The Workshop Committee would also like to extend its appreciation to everyone who helped to prepare and run the workshop.
    
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    What is CASAW? In 2005, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) invited bids to create specialist centres for the advanced language-based study of the Arabic-speaking world, China, Japan and Eastern Europe. These areas and their languages were selected for their key importance to the UK's national interests on a cultural, political and economic level. The centre for studies and research relating to the Arabic-speaking world was awarded to CASAW (Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World), an Edinburgh-led collaboration between the Universities of Edinburgh, Durham and Manchester. CASAW began in September 2006 and operates with an initial five years of public funding. The Director is Dr Elisabeth Kendall (Edinburgh) with Professor Hoda Elsadda (Manchester), Professor Paul Starkey (Durham) and Professor Anoush Ehteshami (Durham) as Co-Directors. It fields one of the largest concentrations of expertise in the UK, bringing together over 50 full-time members of staff drawn from a variety of departments in the arts, humanities and social and political sciences, all working on areas directly related to the Arabic-speaking world. CASAW's priority is to safeguard the future health of the field in the UK, training the next generation of academics and providing a vital flow of expertise to sustain the needs of the public and private sectors. It will serve national strategic interests by building crucial capacity in Arabic language expertise coupled with advanced research methods skills in the social and political sciences, arts and humanities. In uniting to create CASAW, Edinburgh, Manchester and Durham have taken full advantage of the opportunities created for co-ordinated collaboration in teaching and research, centred around a variety of advanced training programmes, research and flagship activities such as conferences, symposia and workshops. Among those research areas to receive new investment are jihad and martyrdom, diaspora studies, minority identities, regional security, information and communication technologies, social and political activism and cultural studies. Through these activities, CASAW aims to become a focal point for advanced multidisciplinary expertise on the Arab world with its credibility firmly anchored in Arabic language ability. In its first five years, CASAW will support eight post-doctoral fellowships, over 50 PhD and Masters awards, as well as providing mid-career training opportunities and bursaries for visiting fellows. Of particular interest to students is the Centre's new two year Masters programme in Arab World Studies, which includes intensive Arabic language training and
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    fieldwork in the Arab world alongside advanced training in research methods. All intensive ab initio Arabic language training takes place in Edinburgh. CASAW aims to create opportunities for a vibrant culture of collaboration to emerge between scholars, disciplines, departments and institutions – in the UK, the Arab world and internationally. We look forward to including colleagues in our activities in the hope that we can make this exciting initiative as productive as possible for our whole community.
    
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    Contents
    Preface Members of the Workshop Committee Acknowledgements What is CASAW? Contents....................................................................................................................................5 Programme.................................................................................................................................6 Abstracts.....................................................................................................................................8 Selected Papers and Reflections...............................................................................................24
    Pious Gifts: Words, Witness and Agency in the Contemporary Egyptian Mosque Movement Paul Anderson....................................................................................................................24 Understanding Hadith Compilation: Canonical and Redaction Criticism in Hadith Studies Stephen R. Burge................................................................................................................32 The Construction of the Saharawi Political Identity Irene Campari.....................................................................................................................42 Power and the Conquest for Land: The ‘Uniqueness’ of the Landownership Conflict in British Mandate Palestine Aida Es-Said......................................................................................................................49 Academic Discourse and Translation from Arabic: A Case Study from the Spanish Tradition Anna Gil-Bardaji................................................................................................................59 Problematising the ‘Modern’: An Exploration of the Homes and Family Arrangements for the American Protestant Missionaries and Syrian Protestants in Ottoman Syria from 1823 to 1860 Christine Lindner................................................................................................................66 The Al-Sabah Family’s Relation to Democracy in Kuwait: Help or Hinder Ariabarzan Mohammadighalehtaki.......................................................................................74 Traditionists and Sufis: A Clash in Hadîth Methodologies? Muhammad Mustaqim Mohd Zarif......................................................................................81 Degrees of ‘Otherness’: Contested Approaches for the Representations of Arab Women Katherine Prescott...............................................................................................................87
    
    Report........................................................................................................................................94
    
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    Programme
    Thursday 13th September 2007
    9.15 – 9.45 9.45 – 10.00 Registration [Room G22, 19 George Sq.] [Room G2, 19 George Sq.]
    
    Opening Remarks (Prof. Robert Hillenbrand)
    
    I: Sociology 10.00 – 10.30
    
    (Chair: Prof. Robert Hillenbrand)
    
    [Room G2]
    
    Katherine Prescott (Manchester):‘A Critical Assessment of the Network: ‘Women Living under Muslim Laws’’
    
    10.30 – 11.00
    
    Christine Lindner (Edinburgh):‘Problematising the ‘Modern’: An Exploration of the Homes and Family Arrangements for the American Protestant Missionaries and Syrian Protestants in Ottoman Syria from 1823 to 1860’
    
    11.00 – 11.30
    
    Samuel Kuruvilla (Exeter):‘An Evaluation and Critique of the ‘Liberation’ Theology of the Rev. Naim Stifan Ateek of Sabeel-Jerusalem’
    
    11.30 – 12.00
    
    Break
    
    [Room G22]
    
    II: Anthropology & Politics 12.00 – 12.30
    
    (Chair: Prof. Robert Hillenbrand)
    
    [Room G2]
    
    Paul Anderson (Edinburgh):‘The Reproduction of Islamic Knowledge: Can Words be Gifts?’
    
    12.30 – 13.00
    
    Basheer Elghayesh (Manchester):‘Religion in Contemporary Egyptian Political Discourse’
    
    13.00 – 14.30
    
    Conference Lunch
    
    III: Religion (Chair: Prof. Carole Hillenbrand) 14.30 – 15.00
    
    [Room G2]
    
    Mustaqim Mohd Zarif (Edinburgh): ‘Traditionists and Sufis: A Clash in Hadith Methodologies?’
    
    15.00 – 15.30
    
    Stephen Burge (Edinburgh):‘Understanding Hadith Compilation’
    
    15.30 – 16.00
    
    Break
    
    [Room G22]
    
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    IV: Translation & Literature 16.00 – 16.30
    
    (Chair: Prof. Carole Hillenbrand)
    
    [Room G2]
    
    Mahmoud Baroud (Exeter):‘The Different Translations of Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy Bin Yaqzan and their Transfer to Europe’
    
    16.30 – 17.00 17.00 – 17.30
    
    Luai Hayajneh (Salford):‘The Translation of Stock Expressions Involving Allah’ Anna Gil-Bardaji (Barcelona):‘Academic Discourse and Translation from Arabic: The Case of Spain’
    
    17.30 – 18.30
    
    Reception
    
    [Islamic Library]
    
    Friday 14th September 2007
    V: Politics 9.30 – 10.00 10.00 – 10.30 (Chair: Dr. Tony Gorman) [Room G2]
    
    Rami Siklawi (Exeter): ‘Palestinian Political Endurance in Lebanon’ Luisa Gandolfo (Exeter):‘The Palestinian-Jordanian Identity: A Socio-economic Perspective’
    
    10.30 – 11.00
    
    Aida Es-Said (Exeter):‘Power and the Conquest for Land: The ‘Uniqueness’ of the Landownership Conflict in British Mandate Palestine’
    
    11.00 – 11.30
    
    Break
    
    [Room G22]
    
    VI: Politics 11.30 – 12.00 12.00 – 12.30
    
    (Chair: Dr. Tony Gorman)
    
    [Room G2]
    
    Irene Campari (Durham):‘The Construction of the Saharawi Political Identity’ Ariabarzan Mohammadighalehtaki (Durham):‘The Al-Sabah Family’s Relation to Democracy in Kuwait: Help or Hinder’
    
    12.30 – 13.00
    
    Ahmad Ayyad (Aston):‘Competing Narratives in the Middle East Conflict: A Case Study of the Geneva Accord’
    
    13.00 – 13.15
    
    Closing Remarks
    
    (Prof. Carole Hillenbrand)
    
    [Room G2]
    
    13.15 – 14.15
    
    Lunch
    
    [Room G22]
    
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    Abstracts
    Anderson, Paul (Edinburgh) The Reproduction of Islamic Knowledge: Can Words be Gifts?
    
    This paper makes two related suggestions. First, it considers the way that the Quran is recited, preached and listened to in the contemporary Islamic ‘piety movement’ in Egypt. Drawing on an ethnographic account of Egyptian pietists by Hirschkind (2006), this paper suggests that the Quranic word can be compared to the ‘gift’ in classical anthropological exchange theory because of the way it circulates and the social function it plays. Second, the paper critically considers way that Western social science tends to imagine the concept of agency. It suggests that a rather different concept of agency may be meaningful among Egyptian pietists. In pious circles, the most important words and actions are – like gifts – received and passed on rather than created. In order to highlight the cultural values associated with our own notion of agency, the paper draws a stark contrast between the world of pietists (where words are transmitted and actions are witnessed) and the world of academic social scientists (where ideally original words are authored, and actions produced by a free and autonomous self). The paper concludes by questioning whether an ‘authorship’ model of agency will make best sense of actions within the piety movement, where the self is realised through submission and faith rather than autonomy.
    
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    Ayyad, Ahmad
    
    (Aston)
    
    Competing Narratives in the Middle East Conflict: A Case Study of the Geneva Accord
    
    This study examines the concept of narratives as linked to translation on the basis of a case study, the Geneva Accord. The Geneva Accord is one of several peace initiatives drafted as an attempt to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was originally drafted in English in 2003 by two negotiating teams, one Palestinian headed by Yasser Abd Rabbo and one Israeli headed by Yossi Beilin. The translations into Arabic were commissioned by the Palestinian team signing the agreement and published on the Palestinian website of the accord and in the Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam, whereas, the Hebrew translation was commissioned by the Israeli team and published on the Israeli website of the accord. For the analysis of these texts, concepts of Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (e.g. intertextuality), Political Discourse Analysis (PDA) (e.g. recontextualizaton) and narrative theory (e.g. Public narratives, and Labeling) are applied. The study will first describe the textual profiles of the Arabic and Hebrew versions. It will then identify regularities in the translational behaviour. This will be illustrated with reference to the translation of ideologically sensitive keywords (e.g. ‘Haram al-Sharif/the Temple Mount’ and ‘homeland’). Identified differences will be explained with reference to the social, political, and ideological conditions and constraints of text production, and the narrative(s) of each side of the conflict. Finally, the study will examine the reception of these translations in Israel and Palestine. This study argues that the translations of such highly sensitive keywords are ideologically motivated and serve as a tool to reinforce and maintain the narrative(s) of each side.
    
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    Baround, Mahmoud
    
    (Exeter)
    
    The Different Translations of Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy Bin Yaqzan and their Transfer to Europe
    
    The motif of the castaway living and philosophising for years on a desert island is one which has captured the imagination of various writers in many cultures and literatures and over a very long period of time. Literary historians and critics in the West are most familiar with the famous example of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and the many versions and variations it spawned over the following three centuries, including in recent years works by Michel Tournier, J. M. Coetzee, William Golding and Derek Walcott. However, little attention has been paid to some of the antecedents of Defoe’s great novel, especially those from other cultures like the remarkable Hayy Ibn Yaqzan (Alive, Son of Awake) by the12th –century Arab Muslim philosopher and physician Muhammad Ibn Tufayl who was living in Spain. This text is Ibn Tufayl’s only surviving work apart from a few writings on medicine and astronomy. It summarises his own ideas and also encapsulates much of the philosophical and scientific thinking of his age in a direct, plain style. Due to its profound influence on European thought and philosophy, Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy Ibn Yaqzan was translated into no less than eight languages (Hebrew, Latin, Dutch, English, French, Russian, German, and Spanish), as well as into Persian and the other major languages of the Islamic world. This paper is an attempt to provide a critical account of some of the aforementioned translations, especially the English and Latin versions and their transfer to Europe. Accordingly, this study seeks to prove that English readers of the eighteenth century had access to four English translations of the Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, the fact which lends credence to the view of some critics that the Medieval story of Hayy Ibn Yaqzan was a model and a possible source for Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719), just as the real-life castaway Alexander Selkirk was.
    
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    Burge, Stephen R. (Edinburgh) Understanding Hadith Compilation
    
    How are hadith collections compiled? Is there art in compilation? Do hadith compilers tell us anything about their views through the way that a text has been compiled? This paper will highlight two methodological approaches used in Biblical Studies that may answer these questions and provide a new direction for Hadith Studies. The two approaches are Canonical Criticism and Redaction Criticism. Both Redaction and Canonical criticism could be easily introduced into Hadith Studies, both in the study of the six ‘canonical’ hadith collections, and the vast number of small subject-based collections. This paper will outline different ways in which these two approaches could be used and what we could learn from them, drawing on examples from al-Bukhârî and al-Suyûtî. Canonical and redaction criticism aim to understand how a compiler has arranged a text, and what thought processes they underwent. Understanding how collections are compiled may help us to understand a particular work as a whole, its relation to other hadith collections, and more about the individual opinions, methodologies and styles of the compilers themselves.
    
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    Campari, Irene (Durham) The Construction of the Saharawi Political Identity
    
    This proposal aims to look at the literature on the Saharawis and examine the construction of the Saharawi political identity. The population of Western Sahara is scattered in two separated groups. One part of the Saharawi population lives in exile in the refugee camps (Tindouf area in Algeria) while, the other part still lives in the Western Sahara Territory under Moroccan occupation. The process of identity construction of the Saharawis started as a confrontation with the ‘Other’ as the enemy, previously the Spanish and currently the Moroccan government. The condition of separation that this people have experienced has influenced the development of the political identity in two different ways in the camps and in the occupied Territory after the Moroccan invasion in 1975. The purpose of my research is to illustrate how Saharawi population has developed different strategies because of the different context they had to deal with. While in the refugee camps the emphasis was more on the ‘sedimentation’ of a political identity in order to create the bases for an independent state, in the Territory the situation is different because of the Moroccan presence. Thus, the identity construction in the Territory is based more on the direct confrontation through manifestations and strikes in order to undermine the control of the Moroccan government. I also intend to critically demonstrate the mutual influence of the both parties on the process of identity construction.
    
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    Elghayesh, Basheer Ibrahim (Manchester) Religion in Contemporary Egyptian Political Discourse
    
    Egyptian politicians would use religion to avoid criticism, escape some danger, support a view or defend an attitude. Stock gives the example of late Egyptian president Abdel Nasser (1918-1970). She compares his use of religious terms before and after the defeat of the 1967 war with Israel (Stock, 1999). During the era of President Sadat, the state used religion to achieve some political goals or gain political interests. In the 1970s, the aim was to counter the left, i.e. the communist ideas. The case was a little different during President Mubarak’s era in the 1980s as there was an attempt at adopt Islamist political groups within the fringes of formal politics; but in the 1990s there was an attempt at containing the Islamist challenge (Abaza, 2006). The current paper concentrates on the question of whether the current Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, follows in the mainstream in utilizing religion in his political speeches! The analysis of his speeches will show whether he resorts to religion when the occasion calls or he rarely uses it! In addition, the study will show whether the use of religion has any emotional effect upon the audience. This will be the result of an analysis of some of Mubarak’s speeches before the joint session of the Peoples’ Assembly and Al-Shura Council, because this occasion is one where the President will tackle almost every aspect of Egyptian policy; domestic and foreign. The reason behind selecting only some of his speeches is the great number of speeches; about 1080 speeches and even his speeches before the joint session are more than 27, ranging from 1233 to 22308 words in length. Hence, I will select only some of them to be analysed.
    
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    Es-Said, Aida (Exeter) Power and the Conquest for Land: The ‘Uniqueness’ of the Landownership Conflict in British Mandate Palestine
    
    Landownership in Palestine is the crux of the conflict. During the British Mandate landownership was transformed as land policies from registration to tenure endured many changes in Palestine between 1917 and 1948. It led to the Zionist acquisition of landownership and the culmination of the dispossession of the Palestinians in 1948. The purpose of this paper is to answer the question, why is the issue of landownership in Mandate Palestine unique? This paper first explores the relationship between power, land tenure, and land tenure conflicts. It then takes a longitudinal approach to the case of Mandate Palestine, to analyze the differences landownership underwent in comparison to examples of other land tenure systems under colonial or imperial authorities in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and North America. Land is a significant factor in the formation of a state; however it can also be the underlying factor preventing the resolution of conflicts. Research and analysis of land tenure systems cannot be carried out without understanding its relationship to other systems which produce and influence it, including economic, social, and political systems. In order to study this distinctive history of landownership in Palestine, a four-fold matrix has been applied: (1) modernity, (2) capitalism, (3) nationalism and (4) colonialism. It is generally considered that the controlling colonial powers were the first in creating the necessary characteristics of a modern state by providing a centralized administration and a land tenure system. However the case of Palestine is unique to all other cases because it was not a relationship between the colonizer and the colonized, or an imperial power and an indigenous people. The case of Palestine was a triangle of British power, the Palestinian-Arab population, and finally the Zionist-Jews colonial-settler population.
    
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    Gandolfo, K. Luisa (Exeter) The Palestinian-Jordanian Identity: A Socio-economic Perspective
    
    To the external observer, the economic disparity between the affluent Palestinian-Jordanian Christians and the inhabitants of the Gaza Camp could contribute towards a varied approach to both their heritage and the preservation of the Palestinian identity. Moreover, while the dire conditions of the refugee camps could be conducive to a greater awareness of ‘being Palestinian,’ in comparison with their contemporaries residing in the prosperous districts of Amman, a closer inspection of the myriad of social and economic circumstances reveals a concern shared by both parties for the future of Palestine and a plethora of concerted efforts to maintain their Palestinian heritage in the host society. Yet even amidst the majority striving to sustain Palestine in the community, there remain a number of Palestinian-Jordanians who believe that full integration into the Jordanian-dominated élite requires but one identity, Jordanian. To fully comprehend the internal Palestinian-Jordanian relationship, it is necessary to explore their role in the economic development of the kingdom. As a consequence, this paper will open with an account of Jordan’s economic history – its tumultuous rise and fall amidst its inextricable association with rentierism, before progressing to discuss the relevance of the economic environment to the identity of the Palestinian-Jordanian population. Drawing on research conducted in Jordan over the course of six months, the paper will analyse how the simultaneous downturn in economic circumstances while on the cusp of a new life – in a country to which one is driven to as a result of war – is linked to the formation and evolution of identity, in addition to exploring three pre-defined social groups within the context of the Palestinian-Jordanian community: the élite, the middle-class, and the refugees – many of whom inhabit both the middle-class and the lower income category.
    
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    Gil-Bardaji, Anna (Barcelona) Academic Discourse and Translation from Arabic: The Case of Spain
    
    Translation, as any other mechanism of text production, has intrinsically the double potentiality of reinforcing and producing a specific discourse. In spite of the never-ending debate about the discursive character of academic knowledge and the particular interpretation of Foucault made by Edward Said in his Orientalism, it seems difficult to deny the fact that some of the most important misconceptions about the Arab culture(s) has grown, for a long time, inside the classrooms of many European universities. In this kind of academic discourse, translation plays a central role. Translated texts are one step further than those texts written about the other, for they are themselves the other (or at least a part of it). In this sense, the work of mediation carried out by countless generations of scholars, to whom we own the great majority of translations form Arabic, is undeniable. Time has come, nevertheless, to ask ourselves some important questions: what texts from Arabic have exactly been translated by European scholars and why? What have been the criteria to translate these texts instead of others? What has been the influence of these translations on the target culture? What representations of the Arab culture can we find in these translations and in the texts that enclose them (introductions, forewords, reviews, footnotes, etc.)? As far as Spain is concerned, Arabic studies have largely been reviewed by J.T. Monroe, Manzanares de Cirre, López García, etc., yet none of them approaches directly the problem of translation, neither its implications on the construction of a specific canon. In Spain, this canon has been limited for a long time to the andalusian heritage (especially in the fields of history, philosophy, theology, sciences and poetry) and to some universal works as The Arabian Nights, and has only opened itself to other spheres of the Arab culture in the last decades. My aim in this paper is to present, from a critical perspective, the results of my analysis of a corpus of translations form Arabic -carried out by a group of eminent Spanish arabists- and to use these results to understand how translation has helped to construct a specific academic discourse in Spain about the Arab culture and particularly about al-Andalus.
    
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    Hayajneh, Luai Ahmed Yasin (Salford) The Translation of Stock Expressions Involving Allah
    
    This study was prompted by the confusion resulting from the Egypt Air Flight 990 (Boeing 767-366ER) in 1999 concerning the relief first officer’s utterance: “tawakkaltu ‘ala llah” (Lit. I rely on Allah) just seconds before the plane crashed. The study deals with the translation of similar Arabic expressions into English where a reference to Allah (God) is made, such as: wahhidû llâh (‘Say that Allah is one’), yâ’hl llâh (‘Oh! People of Allah’), ’in šâ’ allah (‘if Allah permits’), ’in râd allah (‘if Allah wants’). The study takes as its data the use of such expressions in two novels by Nobel Prize winner Najeeb Mahfouz. It examines the hypothesis that during translation process, the literal meaning of the individual words and the conventional idiomatic meaning for such expressions are not of that importance when compared with the contextual meaning. It examines the translatability of expressions like tawakkaltu ‘ala llâh with an eye to exposing the options available to the translator in terms of translation equivalence. Special attention is given to the dichotomy of form and function in the process of translating. To do this, tawakkaltu ‘ala llâh-like expressions are divided into semantically translated and pragmatically translated categories. They are also subcategorized according to the speech-act functions they play in language, such as: request, affirmation, promising, leave-taking, dissatisfaction, and supplication. The findings show that problems in translating such expressions are attributed to the difficulties in distinguishing pragmatic imports from semantic ones.
    
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    Kuruvilla, Samuel Jacob (Exeter) An Evaluation and Critique of the ‘Liberation’ Theology of the Rev. Naim Stifan Ateek of Sabeel-Jerusalem An important corner-stone of the modern (post-First Intifada) Palestinian Christian political experience is the ecumenical movement in the Holy Land, as spearheaded by leading ‘Anglican’ and ‘Lutheran’ Protestant pastors and affiliated organisations. This movement seeks to unite Palestinian Christians, Muslims as well as sympathetic Western Christians and Israelis in a common voice against socio-political injustices in the Occupied Territories and Gaza. In this paper, I will focus on two organisations, the ‘Liberation Theology’ oriented ‘Sabeel’ Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre, headed by the Anglican Canon. Naim Stifan Ateek in Jerusalem and the ‘Contextual Theology’ oriented ‘International Centre of Bethlehem (ICB)-dar annadwa addawliya,’ led by Lutheran Pastor Rev. Mitri Raheb. By highlighting the politico- theological nuances that these two men have brought towards their analysis of the Israel-Palestine conflict and the role of Christians in it, I shall seek to analyse how their work is contributing towards liberating Palestinian Christians and the wider Palestinian community from the socio-economic malaise and political impact of over forty years of Israeli occupation in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. This will be through focussed interviews with the concerned Church leaders, conversations with the office staff and laity, as well as collecting archival reference material of important ecumenical meetings and international conferences hosted by these organisations in Israel-Palestine. My latest projected field trip to Palestine-Israel will be during the period from August 10- September 1, 2007. While existing work in this field has focussed on the Churches and Christians of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, per se, and the socio-political and economic issues confronting them, Dumper (1996, 2001, 2002) and Tsimhoni (1993), I shall seek to study and analyse the Protestant led ecumenical and politico-theological movement that came to fruition as a result of the above issues. As this has been largely a development of the last 10-20 years in Israel-Palestine, I can legitimately hope to be charting new territory here and carrying on the work of my predecessors in this field.
    
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    Lindner, Christine (Edinburgh) Problematising the ‘Modern’: An Exploration of the Homes and Family Arrangements for the American Protestant Missionaries and Syrian Protestants in Ottoman Syria from 1823 to 1860
    
    For many, the concepts of the ‘modern’ home is an isolated domestic space for women, separated from the public and inhabited by the nuclear family. This definition of the ‘modern’ home and family developed in conjunction with imperialism and contrasted the ‘traditional’ home and family found in the colonies and during the pre-modern era. My paper questions these assumptions. Through investigating the home and family created by the American Protestant missionaries and Syrian Protestants from 1823 to 1860, I argue that what has described the ‘modern’ home and family were not present within this ‘colonial’ relationship. Despite being historicised as ‘modern’, the homes of the American missionaries and Syrian Protestants (and the homes they shared), were active spaces created by the demands of this nascent community within the dynamic environment of Ottoman Beirut. As such, Protestant homes were sites for both male and female activities and were externally similar to other ‘Arab’ homes. Their homes’ internal spaces were arranged to fulfil the needs of the community and to house Protestant ‘mosaic’ families. These families were ‘mosaic’ combinations of identifiable family units that were frequently interchanged. In other words, stripping the ‘modern’ label from this relationship allows one to fully contextualise and historicise this ‘colonial’ relationship within both the Ottoman and American contexts.
    
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    Mohammadighalehtaki, Ariabarzan (Durham) The Al-Sabah Family’s Relation to Democracy in Kuwait: Help or Hinder
    
    Those who are against the rule of Al-Sabah family in Kuwait indicate the fact that must of Kuwait’s wealth and power is in the hands of few i.e. members of the Al-Sabah family. They also believe that by practising various forms of patrimonial and rentier behaviour the Al-Sabah family have managed to become the biggest political player in the country. The classic example for considering the Al-Sabah family an obstacle for democratisation is the suspension of National Assembly by the departed Amirs Sheikh Sabah Al-Salim and Sheikh Jabir Al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al-Sabah. They dissolved the National Assembly and suspended the constitution for more than11 years from 1976-81 and from 1986-92. During these periods the National Assembly was closed and elections were not allowed in the constitutionally mandated times. Sabah and Jabir ruled extra-constitutionally during these periods. But The National Assembly resumed functioning after the 1992 elections. However, defenders of the current system point at the balancing role which Amirs of Kuwait for long have played between the rival factions in Kuwaiti National Assembly and society. For example if there was not for the Amiri intervention in the course of constitutional mandated assembly in 1980, the Islamists members of that assembly were going to make Islam “the only source of legislation” in Kuwait (currently according to Kuwait’s constitution Islam is “a main source” of legislation and not the only one). The Amir stopped their activity and confirmed that he is going to work according to the constitution before amendment. The advocates of keeping the monarchy in Kuwait emphasize the risk of falling into the hands of fundamentalists. In their view the liberal minded ruling family must be in power, for the time being at least, to maintain the balance between the strong Islamist and the weak liberties, otherwise Kuwait could fell in the hand of radical Islamic groups such as Salafis .
    
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    Mohd Zarif, Muhammad Mustaqim (Edinburgh) Traditionists and Sufis: A Clash in Hadîth Methodologies?
    
    The Prophetic tradition as embodied in the bulk of hadith literatures represents, for the majority of the Muslims, an authoritative source of the religion; second only to the Quran. Yet, in approaching it, there is no uniformed view among them on what constitutes a reliable and sound tradition. While the Traditionists, in their assumed role as the guardians of the Prophetic legacy, have successfully campaigned for a mass accreditation on the physical aspects of studying hadith and its transmission as a means of attesting its reliability among the majority of their Sunni counterparts, they have, nevertheless, encountered much resistance from the Sufis. Interestingly, although not systematically and openly opposed to the Traditionists; some Sufis tend to emphasize on their spiritual links with the ethereal world as a sure means of ascertaining the reliability of a hadith, thus relegating the need for its physical analysis. As a result, contrariety between the two parties on this matter is bound to occur every now and then, thus contributing to the antagonistic attitude of the Traditionists towards them. However, despite its importance, this subject is often neglected and seldom discussed. This paper will attempt to undertake a careful examination of the writings and practices of selected key Sufi figures, particularly al-Makki (d. 386/996), al-Ghazali (d. 505/1111), and Ibn cArabi (d. 638/1240), so as to highlight their methods of ascertaining the reliability of hadith, comparing them with that of the Traditionists and consequently, their impact on their religious thought.
    
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    Prescott, Katherine (Manchester) A Critical Assessment of the Network ‘Women Living Under Muslim Laws’
    
    Representations should never be taken as fact; they are subject to politics of location and reception. Up to today the question of how to represent Arab women is a problematic issue both for Arab women themselves and for non-Arabs studying them and writing about them. For non-Arabs the main challenges include recognising the diversity of Arab women and permitting Arab women to have an equal platform, one which is not pre-defined for them. Western women must recognise that their feminist agenda is not the only valid agenda. Arab women also have complex issues to confront: they must escape being labelled as the sole "authentic" voice representing all other Arab women. The content of what they say or write is also subject to difficult to answer questions such as: How does one talk about oppression without feeding negative stereotypes? How do you ensure that the audience will fully listen to what you are writing or speaking about and not just hear what they want to hear? This paper will look at the different paradigms that have affected the way that Arab women have been and are represented by themselves and others and make suggestions towards dispelling negative stereotypes of Arab women.
    
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    Siklawi, Rami (Exeter) Palestinian Political Endurance in Lebanon
    
    This paper addresses the issue of the Palestinian presence in Lebanon, examining the position of the Palestinians before, during and after last civil war Lebanon (1975 – 1990), and assessing their future prospects in the country. The lessons and the aspects from 1975 – 1990 are assessed with a view to analyzing what is happening today. Among the issues raised are the extent to which the Palestinians carry some responsibility for the causes and the consequences of the last civil war Lebanon (1975 – 1990); whether Lebanese government policies fuel an atmosphere of confrontation between the Lebanese and the Palestinians; and whether there remains today a need for the Palestinians to remain armed. The wider significance of the Palestinian refugee situation within Lebanon is also given consideration. The paper will be divided into two major parts to fulfil its objectives. These are as follows: 1. The Palestinians and Lebanon: The Road to the Lebanese Civil War – Causes and Consequences 2. The Palestinians Post the Lebanese Civil War and their Politics to Survival in the ‘Variable’1 Lebanon.
    
    1
    
    The term ‘Variable’ can be use here to analyse the challenges and the changes that has been affecting
    
    Lebanon since the establishment of the UN Resolution 1559. 23
    
    Selected Papers and Reflections*
    Anderson, Paul Pious Gifts: Words, Witness and Agency in the Contemporary Egyptian Mosque Movement The Egyptian Piety Movement: Can Words be Gifts? Hirschkind (2006) and Mahmood (2001a, 2001b, 2003) describe the contemporary Egyptian “piety movement” as a trend of Islamic activism that does not aim to take control of state institutions. Instead, pietists focus on preaching, listening to and circulating the Quranic word through discussion, attending mosque circles, and listening to and exchanging sermons recorded on audiocassettes. In general, members of the contemporary movement – both men and women – aim both to cultivate high standards of personal piety across all areas of their own lives, and to “promote public virtue” by encouraging other Muslims to do the same (Hirschkind 1997:14, 2001:6). This section analyses the way that Quranic words are exchanged and passed on by men within the Egyptian piety movement. In order to do so, it borrows a distinction that economic anthropologists have used to make sense of the ways that material goods are exchanged between people: the contrast between “gift” and “commodity”. It applies this distinction to the exchange not of material goods, but of words. Mauss argued that gifts establish an obligation to reciprocate, and that “to make a gift of something to someone is to make a present of some part of oneself” (1990:15-16). Subsequent thinkers, drawing on Marx’s theory of alienation, developed Mauss’s ideas into the distinction between the “gift” and the “commodity”. Carrier (1995:21), following Gregory (1980:640), formulated the distinction in terms of three variables: the obligation to transact; the relation between the transactor and the object; and the relation between transactors. Gift exchange was the “obligatory transfer of inalienable objects or services between mutually obligated and related transactors”. Transferring this model to verbal exchange, this paper suggests that sacred words circulate as gifts in the Egyptian piety movement. Three things are meant by this: the Quranic word binds people in relationships; it entails an obligatory or reciprocal response; and, most importantly, it is inalienable: imagined to bear the presence of the original speaker. ___________________________________________________________________________
    *
    
    Editorial Note: Apart from minimal reformation, such as alignment and font, the original format of the papers
    
    is kept.
    
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    Inalienability is the main way in which the Quranic word can be likened to the anthropological notion of the gift. In the piety movement, as in the pre-modern tradition, the Quranic word is inalienable in the sense that it bears something of the divine presence. Just as, in the pre-modern tradition, merchants and craftsmen would attend lesson circles even though few understood classical Arabic well enough to follow the lesson (Eickelman 1985:93), so participants in the piety movement believe they receive beneficence simply by hearing the Quranic word recited (Hirschkind 2006:152). What applies to the Quran applies also to sermons. Participants believe that the sacred words of the sermon bear an ethical power that transforms their own behaviour (2006:68). Obligation is another important parallel between the Quranic word and the gift. According to anthropological theory, the “original gift” has a special quality: it is given freely and, as a result, has a quality that can never be properly reciprocated. We might draw a parallel here to the status of the Quran. Surah 96, believed to be the first revealed to Prophet Muhammad, links sacred words to divine generosity, implying that the Quran should be received as gift from God: “Thy Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by the Pen, taught Man, that he knew not” (Arberry 1964:651). Whereas God acted in perfect freedom, those in the movement are obliged to respond. The original gift, in other words, establishes chains of obligation. The penalty for refusing the gift is clear: as Mauss observed that to refuse a gift is “tantamount to declaring war” (1990:17), the Quran warns that those who refuse the word-as-gift “have lost their souls in Gehenna dwelling forever, the Fire smiting their faces the while they glower there” (Arberry 1964:350). The obligation on those who have received the word is both to return it to God and to help it circulate in the world. This second feature is given particular prominence in the modern piety movement. It is achieved by repeating the word in prayer, verbally reciting it in front of others, or by transforming it into ethical behaviour – the equivalent of bodily recitation. Hirschkind notes participants’ concern to use sacred words to comfort and correct others (2006:55). Such acts of passing on the sacred word create social bonds and bind the members of the movement together as an ethical community. This reflects the way that the gift is understood to create social bonds in anthropological theory. The human community formed by these exchanges is imagined as an egalitarian one, in the sense that any one member may correct, admonish or encourage another (2006:110). In summary, I have suggested an analogy according to which we might see the sacred Quranic word circulating in the Egyptian piety movement like a Maussian gift. With the Quran imagined as an “original gift”, recitation within the piety movement can be seen to
    25
    
    free the divine spirit of the gift to bind people in personal, reciprocal, social bonds as it once bound scholars in personal chains of transmission. In this ethnographic context, one joins the ethical community of the contemporary piety movement by receiving and passing on the sacred word-gift, whether the recited Quran, or sermons and other religious instruction derived from the Quran and hadith. The community created is egalitarian, in the sense that the duty rests on all members to be ready to receive and pass on the gift, whether as ethical words or as words transformed into ethical behaviour. A Different Concept of Agency? I argued above for a distinction between pious “gift” words and secular “commodity” words. I now attempt to use the gift-commodity analytic to distinguish between two different ways of imagining agency. Where words circulate as gifts, I argue that one acts by passing on gifts – in other words, by being a transmitter or a witness. Since Quranic gift-words are imagined to have an ethical quality, the reliable witness or transmitter must be considered ethically sound. By contrast, where words circulate as commodities (as in Western academic circles), one acts by producing or authoring words. In this case, it is important not that the author is ethically sound but that they are imagined as free and able to act “autonomously”. Underlying this discussion is an assumption that the concept of agency is not a value-neutral one that can be applied scientifically to any ethnographic context. Rather, I take agency to be a culturally specific model for the most valuable way of acting in the world. This discussion takes up an invitation from Asad (2003:73) who discussed the genealogy of the concept of agency, noting that it “defines a historical project aimed at increasing personal autonomy”. He asks “if agency need not be conceptualised in terms of individual self-empowerment, resistance and history-making, how should it be understood?” According to the Quran, the Prophet Muhammad became a channel for divine truth when he followed God’s command: “Recite, in the name of your Lord” (Arberry 1964:651). Original agency here is located in God, in two ways. First, God was the origin and source of the divine word: verse 53:3-4 of the Quran makes clear that the Prophet speaks not on his own account, but through revelation. Second, according to Muslim doctrine, Muhammad was illiterate, and therefore relied on God’s power to make transmission possible. The ideal of constant reliance on God’s power is reflected in the expression commonly heard across the Arab Islamic world: “la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah” (there is no power or might save through God).
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    The influence of the agency-as-transmission model can also be seen in the way that the divine word is recited and preached in the contemporary piety movement. Hirschkind reports a continual emphasis among participants in the movement on repeating what they have heard in sermons or learnt from Quran recitations and studies of the Hadith in order to interact with others (2006:108-11). Attitudes towards the way that such recited words influence people give the lie to the notion that agency is conceived of as autonomous human action: the word acts not through the “speaker’s persuasiveness”, but through the “instrumentality of God acting through his words on the heart of a listener”. As a result, Muslim scholars have shown little interest in developing an art of oratory (34). Rather, the job of a witness or transmitter is to behave ethically so as to make the transmission of knowledge secure. In the contemporary piety movement in Egypt, agency resides not just in the passing on of words, but also in the receiving of them. As an al-Azhar mufti noted, ethical listening involves intention: “God ordered man to listen to the Quran with intention…listening intently is the means to ponder over the meanings of the Quran” (in Hirschkind 2006:70). As the act of transmission is ethically important, so the act of reception is too. A writer popular with sermon listeners in Cairo commented that “the Quran is effective in itself, just as the electric current. If the Quran is present [to your ears], and it has lost its effect, then it is you yourself that you must blame” (in Hirschkind 2006:38). It is the responsibility of participants in the movement to make themselves able to hear: Hirschkind argues that the ethical listener “must make herself into an adequate ‘host’ for the presence of divine words…she must make her body and heart into an instrument capable of resonating (resounding) the words she submits to” (2006:81). Asad notes that agency as formulated in the modern Western tradition is opposed to passivity. This leaves the analyst only two options – to portray subjects as autonomous agents capable of representing and asserting themselves, or as passive victims incapable of changing or resisting the world around them (2003:79). Asad suggests that this is an intrinsically secular notion of agency, linked to the historical project of achieving progress through eliminating suffering and oppression. In particular, it ignores the religious tradition that saw embracing suffering as a form of active encounter with the world, and that rendered passivity as an active triumph (2003:85). Such a secular analytic of agency, which casts the world in terms of freedom or oppression, plays into neo-Orientalist discourse. Asad notes that Muslims are often portrayed as blindly following scripture, whereas Jews and Christians are said actively to construct the meaning of their religious texts (2003:10-11). Mamdani makes a
    27
    
    similar point about “culture”: moderns are often said to produce culture, pre-moderns (read Muslims) to have their beliefs slavishly determined by it (2002:767). The analytic of agency-as-witnessing avoids the stark binary of freedom or nothing. Indeed, witnessing combines both active and passive elements. It has the dual sense of (passively) receiving truth and (actively) proclaiming it. Asad suggested that openness to pain was understood as a form of agency (2003:85); I am suggesting the same of openness to truth, or being prepared to receive the word-as-gift. To recite, or to recall from memory, is to allow one’s body to be acted upon by the past, by a genealogy of knowledge and transmitters of knowledge; it is to make one’s body a vessel for others’ words. Witnessing makes physically present the presence or spirit of the original gift – it is for this reason that witnesses cannot be physically absent, and truth (at least in the pre-modern tradition) could not be confined to print without the risk of distortion. And just as Maussian gifts create social bonds, so witnessing – agreeing to help the gift circulate – is one of the conditions for membership of the ethical community. Indeed, the Quran (2:282) mentions the obligation to bear witness as one of the requirements of social life. I have suggested that agency-as-witnessing makes sense in a world where words are spoken as gifts: the gift must circulate, the word must be re-told. I now want to argue that agency-as-authorship belongs to a world where words are imagined as commodities. In particular, I suggest that the concept of agency in the modern Western tradition is closely connected to the notion of words as commodities. As commodity transactions are by definition “voluntary and free” (Carrier 1995:21), so agents in much contemporary social science analysis ideally enter freely into their acts. Asad notes that “post-Enlightenment moral theory insists that [the human agent] ought to be autonomous” (1993:13). An element of obligation – the sense that the agent had no choice in what they did – weakens the moral value of the act, whether positive or negative. Similarly, Carrier notes that according to the modern Western ideology of the gift, the perfect present must be given freely (1995:149). This stands in contrast to the notion of the obligatory gift outlined in relation to the contemporary piety movement, whereby the response to words-as-gifts is not freely chosen but is incumbent upon the ethical witness. Whereas commodity transactors are imagined as autonomous agents who impose their own will, gift transactors are imagined as ethical agents who help to instantiate a divine will.
    
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    Conclusion Borrowing a distinction from the anthropology of material exchange, this paper has characterised the contemporary Islamic piety movement in Egypt as a type of “gift modernity”. According to commodity logic, words are imagined as inanimate objects and utilitarian signifiers, and agency is akin to authorship. By contrast, the paper suggested that the “gift modernity” of the piety movement assumes a different concept of words and agency. In this world, I suggested that participants are imagined to have agency when they act as witnesses: receiving, embodying and passing on words-as-gifts. The movement forms itself as a moral community through the reception and transmission of these gifts. Because the Quranic word is imagined to be ethically powerful, witnesses must make themselves ethically sound in order to ensure that the transmission of the word, and more generally the performance of worship and moral acts, is authentic. The contrasts were intentionally provocative: “gift-modernity” and “commoditymodernity” were intended as ideal types whose purpose is to draw attention to difference. The differences are real: the piety movement constitutes a public in which participation is based not on the liberal ideal of individual freedom, but on the cultivation and embodied performance of virtue (Hirschkind 2001:4). However, despite the value of drawing contrasts, it may be that the movement combines aspects of both gift thinking and commodity thinking. My use of the gift-commodity analytic therefore implies two tasks. The first is to describe the different spheres in which “gift” thinking and “commodity” thinking operate. The second task, which I recognise but do not pursue here, is to consider whether and if so how the two spheres combine with and complicate each other. Bibliography Arberry, A. (translated) 1964. The Koran. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Asad, T. 1993. Genealogies of religion. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. ______ 2003. Formations of the secular. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Carrier, J. 1995. Gifts and commodities: exchange and Western capitalism since 1700. London: Routledge. Eickelman, D. 1985. Knowledge and power in Morocco: the education of a twentieth-century notable. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
    
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    Gregory, C. 1980. Gifts to men and gifts to God: gift exchange and capital accumulation in contemporary Papua. Man 15:626-652. Hirschkind, C. 2001. Civic virtue and religious reason: an Islamic counterpublic. Cultural Anthropology 16(1):3-34. ______ 2006. The ethical soundscape: cassette sermons and Islamic counterpublics. New York: Columbia University Press. Mahmood, S. 2001a. Feminist theory, embodiment, and the docile agent: some reflections of the Egyptian Islamic revival. Cultural Anthropology 16(2):202-236. ______ 2001b. Rehearsed spontaneity and the conventionality of ritual: disciplines of salat. American Ethnologist 28(4):827-853. ______ 2003. Ethical formation and politics of individual autonomy in contemporary Egypt. Social Research 70(3):837-866. Mamdani, M. 2002. Good Muslim, bad Muslim: a political perspective on culture and terrorism. American Anthropologist 104(3):766-775. Mauss, M. 1990. The gift: forms and functions of exchange in archaic societies. London: Routledge. Reflections I received several useful comments on my paper from the CASAW postgraduate workshop. We discussed how the “piety movement” was gendered: whether men and women have different kinds of relationship with the Quranic word, and what it means to be a pious man as opposed to a pious woman. While this is clearly a question for further research, the “piety movement” can be seen to challenge liberal feminism, because it shows women breaking through boundaries (meeting on their own in the mosque to discuss religion) but also affirming “traditional” religious notions of womanhood (being gentle, docile, and feeling pious shame). As Saba Mahmood has argued in “the Politics of Piety”, this question illustrates the importance of considering different notions of the self. She suggests that the piety movement is based around the idea of the docile self: one that must be subjected to ritual discipline in order to become ethical. On the other hand, liberal feminism assumes an autonomous self: one that must be free of patriarchal restraint, tradition and oppression in order to realise its potential. The question of agency, and the notion of embodied witness as a culturally specific form of agency, also led to much discussion. Some people asked how it might apply to the
    30
    
    way in which Quranic exegesis is performed. Others suggested that popular preachers, through their choice of subject and interpretation, exercised a great deal of agency. The question at issue was not whether or not people exercised agency, but how agency is understood differently in different spheres. A very interesting suggestion was that we might think about the agency of the preacher being “added” to the agency of God in the same way that Viner suggested that gifts accrue different identities as they circulate among several owners. Workshop participants raised some interesting questions about the concept of words-as-gifts, such as whether the concept might also be applied to non-sacred words. Steve Caton’s work on oral poetry in Yemen (“Peaks of Yemen I Summon”) and on forms of greeting among Yemeni highlanders suggests that some non-sacred words also act as gifts in the sense that they establish community and obligation, and are sometimes understood to bear the identity of their author. Some suggested that the term “piety movement” needed more explanation as the word “movement” when translated into the Arabic “haraka” implied that there was a unified and organised structure and leadership. It was helpfully suggested that the phenomenon of increased religiosity might be better described in Arabic as a trend (tayyaar) of behaviour.
    
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    Burge, Stephen R. Understanding Hadith Compilation: Canonical and Redaction Criticism in Hadith Studies Introduction In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly since Ignaz Goldzieher’s Muslim Studies, Hadith Studies focused on the study of the isnād. Despite the work by scholars such as Goldzieher, Schacht, Juynboll and Robson, it is almost impossible to assess whether a hadith is authentic or not; as a result, criticism of the isnād has largely ground to a halt, with the last notable study in this vein being G. H. A. Juynboll’s Muslim Tradition of 1983. More recent studies have looked at the use of hadith and hadith collections in the development of Islamic law: Christopher Melchert’s Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law (1997), Yasin Dutton’s Origins of Islamic Law (1999), Eerik Dickinson’s Development of Early Sunnite Hadith Criticism (2001) and Harald Motzki’s Origins of Islamic Jurisprudence (2002) are important examples of the recent trend in Hadith Studies to look at the way in which the science of hadith (i.e the practicalities of assessing which hadith are valid or not) and Islamic Law developed. However, despite this shift away from the study of the isnād to a study of the madhāhib, these works still tend ask questions about the processes that hadith scholars underwent when including hadith in their collections, focusing, again, on the isnād. There has, however, been little study on the form, structure or style of hadith collections themselves. This is an area that has, in my opinion, be rather neglected. Hadith compilation did not end with the scientific processes of hadith selection, with the assessment of the validity of all the hadith in a collection, but there was a further process of compilation: the material had to be organised into some sort of order. The resulting form of the compilation should reveal important things about the theological and ideological opinions of the compiler themselves. Critical methods based on the principles of structural semiotics and used in Biblical Studies could provide Hadith Studies with the methodological tools to unlock the processes of compilation that the hadith compiler underwent and the reasoning behind them. Interestingly, the Muslim commentator Ibn Hajar also asked questions about al-Bukhārī’s compilation methods in his Hady al-sārī which bear a striking resemblance to those that a contemporary semioticist would ask. Ibn Hajar attempted to understand the ordering of al-Bukhārī’s Sahīh, which was often seen as puzzling. Some, such as al-Nawawī, even believed that al-Bukhārī’s collection was inherited incomplete or unfinished. Ibn Hajar
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    believed that these puzzling passages were there for a reason, and he highlights the different ways in which al-Bukhārī expressed himself through the inclusion of titles for the chapters, and material which was not technically sahīh in his introductory comments before each chapter. What Ibn Hajar did not do in his Hady al-sārī was to explore the internal relationships between hadith within chapters, and the reasons behind their inclusion in that form. The methodologies most useful for the analysis of hadith collections are Canonical Criticism and Redaction Criticism. These two methodological approaches are particularly transferable to Hadith Studies because they do not ask questions about the origins of material included in a collection, but they ask questions about the material as it has been presented. Brevard Childs, the founder of one of the two forms of canonical criticism said that ‘It is a basic tenet of the canonical approach that one reflects theologically on the text as it has been received and shaped.’1 This is why the canonical approach could be useful in Hadith Studies, as it means that the question of the authenticity of hadith (which cause so much controversy) is never a problem, and is not one that ever has to be asked. Canonical and Redaction Criticism both attempt to understand the methodology that the redactor / compiler took, and to understand the theological and ideological principles behind the inclusion and exclusion of certain material. Two basic case studies have been included to illustrate how these two methods could be used in Hadith Studies: (a) the first chapter of Bukhārī’s Sahīh – the Chapter on the Beginning of the Revelation, and (b) a comparison of elements in two works of al-Suyūtī – his al-Habā’ik fī akhbār al-malā’ik and his al-Hay’a al-sāniya fī ‘l-hay’a al-sunnīya. The intention of the case studies to illustrate how critical methods in Biblical Studies may provide an interesting new direction for Hadith Studies to pursue. Authorship, Redaction, Compilation and Canon Having established what is in a canon and what is not in a canon, there is a second process in the production of the text that has been largely ignored in Hadith Studies. The accepted material must be placed into the text in an order; canonical and redaction critical methods were developed in Biblical Studies in order to understand these processes and the theological and ideological reasons behind them. The adoption of these critical methods could help lead to understanding of al-Bukhārī’s own theology, for example. These critical methods are not just limited to the study of the six canonical collections, but could provide interesting
    1
    
    Childs, Brevard S., Old Testament Theology in a Canonical Context (London: SCM Press Ltd., 1985) p. 11.
    
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    insights into non-canonical hadith collections, historiography, the use of hadith in adab collections, comparisons in the use of hadith in Sufi collections and so on. Canonical and Redaction criticism both ask questions about the methods and reasons behind compilation. They are also both suited to very different situations. Redaction criticism predates canonical criticism, and was developed principally in New Testament Studies to understand the relationship between the (Synoptic) Gospels. Redaction criticism seeks answers to questions such as why Matthew included one narrative which was not included in Mark or Luke,1 or why one version includes one parable at the beginning of the Gospel, while others have the story at the end.2 Redaction criticism is based on the idea that there is not one single canon of ‘authentic’ traditions on the life of Jesus and that each Gospel author had to decide which parts to include and omit. This is why the authors of the Gospels are usually referred to as ‘authors’ and not as ‘compilers’ or ‘redactors’ – the work involved in the production of the Gospel required a high amount of what would normally be termed ‘authorship’, not in the sense of the production of fiction, but in the selection, retelling and structuring the Gospel. This is an aspect of redaction criticism that proves problematic for Hadith Studies because in the compilation of the six canonical hadith collections, al-Bukhārī et. al. did not have any decision over the material included. After the scientific process of the authentication of the hadith, all authentic hadith were canon and could not be omitted. Essentially, the Gospel writers had a relatively infinite corpus of traditions from which to compile / write their Gospels, but the six canonical hadith collectors had a finite and defined corpus of hadith that had to be included in their collection. The scientific methods of hadith authentication in early Islam mean that one of the six collections cannot be accurately compared with another: the inclusion and exclusion of hadith is not based on theology or ideology but on scientific method. It would be possible, however, to compare the general structure of the works, the use of Qur’ānic quotations, chapter headings, and why one hadith is placed in one chapter by one compiler and in another chapter by a different compiler and so on. Redaction criticism is probably most useful in the study of non-canonical hadith collections, of which there are many, usually on specific subjects, such as death, eschatology, qualities of good character and so on. In these circumstances the hadith collectors are not
    1
    
    e.g. Matthew includes the Adoration of the Magi in his narrative of the Nativity which is not found in Mark,
    
    Luke or John (see Mt. 2:10 – 12).
    2
    
    e.g. Jesus’ purification of the Temple occurs at the beginning of his ministry in John’s Gospel, but at the end of
    
    his ministry in the Synoptic Gospels (cf. Mt. 21:12–13; Mk. 11:15–17; Lk. 19:45–46 & Jn 2:14–22).
    
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    restricted by which hadith can be included, and often these include non-Prophetic hadith. In these cases, because the importance of scientific methods has been reduced, the compilation’s milieu is more akin to that of Gospel writers and an infinite (or at least very large number) of hadith are available for selection. The selection of different hadith by different hadith compilers tells something of the intention of both the work and the compiler. Canonical criticism is not, as a discipline, interested in comparison; rather it is interested in generality and unity – an attempt to understand a work as a whole. Where canonical criticism differs from redaction criticism is in the understanding of internal relationship within a corpus of related texts. Whereas redaction criticism tends to look at the inclusion and exclusion of specific sections of a text in comparison with different redactions of the same events, canonical criticism looks at only one text, and how the components in that text relate to each other. Canonical criticism has been most successful in attempting to understand the way in which certain books of the Bible were ordered: the Books of Psalms and Proverbs, as well as the Minor Prophets provide obvious questions. Canonical critical methods hope that by understanding the structure of the book(s), the theological and ideological processes behind the canonical construction can be understood. For example, the ordering of the Twelve Minor Prophets in both the Hebrew and Christian Bible is not done by any obvious process: they are not ordered by length (the traditional Semitic method of ordering texts), by chronology (either as understood by the text internally or by actual historical dating), or even alphabetically. As the ordering of the books in the canonical context was not done by standard procedures, it has to be assumed that the books were ordered in that way for a particular reason: canonical critics and theologians have attempted to study this. The basic drive behind this process is the idea that understanding a biblical text in its canonical context is important: a text is not just important in and of itself, but because of its place in the general scheme of a larger body of texts. This principle has also been an important part of literary theory. In the context of Hadith Studies, it is difficult to apply canonical critical methods to the general canon of authentic hadith (i.e. all six canonical collections as a whole), as the canons underwent a vastly different canonization process as compared with the canonization of Biblical texts. However, it is possible to apply canonical critical methods to the individual hadith collections: by attempting to understand the placement of hadith in overarching structures, it may be possible to understand the processes that compilers such as al-Bukhārī underwent when compiling. Like the ordering of the Minor Prophets, hadith are rarely organised according to length, chronology or letter, but hadith are typically ordered by topic:
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    faith, the hajj, funerals, asceticism and so on. Within these chapters, the hadith are still not usually ordered according to length, history or letter but have been placed in a seemingly random order. Unlocking the randomness of the order is the goal of canonical criticism, and this can be applied, quite easily, to Hadith Studies and the six canonical hadith collections. The advantage of both of these methods is that it does not matter whether scholars can or cannot know whether a hadith is authentic or not, what matters is the place of a particular hadith in the life of Islamic tradition and the fact that it has been deemed authentic. Compilation criticism of hadith collections, based on both the methods of canonical and redaction criticism, attempts to understand how the canon was shaped by the compiler, and the significance of the placement of hadith within the canon. Two case studies have been outlined below, which attempt to show the usefulness of compilation criticism: the first looking at the structure of al-Bukhārī’s Chapter on the First Revelation from his Sahīh and a comparison of the theme of the Angel of the Rain al-Suyūtī’s Al-Habā’ik fī akhbār al-malā’ik and Al-Hay’a al-sanīya fī ‘l-hay’a al-sunnīya. A Case Study in Compilation Criticism: al-Bukhārī’s Chapter on Revelation Al-Bukhārī is the only compiler of the six canonical collections who begins his work with a chapter on the First Revelation. The chapter itself has a few curiosities, and I want to use the principles just outlined to understand the relationship between the seven hadith included in the chapter, and possible reasons behind al-Bukhārī’s ordering. The chapter contains only seven hadith: (1) states that actions are only worth their intentions; (2) describes the physical effects of the experience of receiving revelation on Muhammad; (3) describes the First Revelation of the Qur’ān to Muhammad and the visit to Waraqa; (4) is a vision of heaven; (5) is an exegesis of Q 75:16; (6) describes Muhammad’s generosity and (7) is the so-called Hadith of Heraclius. It is not my intention to give full discussions of the meanings of these seven hadith but the significance of their ordering. The placement of the first hadith in itself is quite interesting and tells us a great deal about al-Bukhārī’s intentions for his Sahīh. The first hadith has nothing to do with revelation, but because of its placement in this chapter it must be assumed that al-Bukhārī gave the hadith such prominence for a reason. One possible reason could be that this particular hadith, that stresses the importance of intentions in action, is intended for the whole collection: al-Bukhārī could be saying that following the sunna of the Prophet through his collection is only valued according to the intention of the person doing the action. The fact that al-Bukhārī decided to
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    begin the collection with such a sentiment, implies that he may have intended the work to be read as a whole, rather than used as an encyclopaedia of Prophetic hadith. Another possible reason for its inclusion in this chapter, is that al-Bukhārī intended this hadith to be considered along with the six remaining hadith. The placement of the second, third and fourth hadith, is important and the order appears to aid the reading of the hadith. The second hadith, which describes the physical manifestations of Muhammad’s prophetic ministry, is used to help explain the physical aspects of Muhammad’s first revelation. Here are two short examples: (i) Gabriel comes in the form of a man and (ii) the sweating / fear associated with the revelatory experience. The second hadith essentially takes the role of a type of exegesis: one hadith helps explain elements of another. Likewise, the Throne vision of the fourth hadith gains more religious significance in the context of the second and third hadith. Not only this hadith, but in other accounts of the First Revelation, a Throne Vision (similar to this) occurs immediately after Muhammad’s encounter with Gabriel. The Throne Vision is not included in the Waraqa hadith, but by careful placement al-Bukhari relates a number of different narratives of the first revelation at the same time. These three hadith also present Muhammad’s revelatory experience in all aspects: Muhammad’s prophetic ministry is confirmed by his descriptions of the revelatory experience, the appearance of the angel Gabriel, the scriptural authority of Waraqa ibn Nawfal and the vision of the Throne. It does not seem to be coincidental that Muhammad’s revelatory experience is couched in Jewish and Christian prophetic imagery: such as prophetic dreams, unwillingness to accept the vocation, and fear. Khadīja’s descriptions of Muhammad also portray the Prophet as the embodiment of the pre-Islamic tribal concept of honour, muruwwa’: good relations, charity and generosity, hospitality, helping the afflicted and so on; depicting Muhammad in Arab terms as well. The seventh hadith, the Hadith of Heraclius, is a final confirmation of Muhammad’s prophethood. The Byzantine Emperor tests the emissaries of Muhammad and confirms Muhammad’s prophetic mission: the acceptance of an ‘outsider’ (especially in this case as Heraclius was a Christian Emperor with a fair degree of religious authority) is seen to be the ultimate confirmation. The importance of the ‘outsider’ is, perhaps, also seen in fact that hadith is narrated by Abū Sufyān ibn Harb, a leading Meccan who, concurrently with the events of the hadith was opposing Muhammad. What then of the fifth and sixth hadith? The fifth hadith, an exegesis of Sura 75:16, does not appear to be entirely relevant to a chapter on the First Revelation. However, its inclusion is significant. This particular hadith gives an account of the way in which the
    37
    
    Qur’anic text was transmitted: Ibn cAbbās says that ‘his lips moved as the Messenger of God’s lips moved.’ What his hadith does in this location is confirm that the content of the Qur’an is a direct copy of the text that was revealed to the Prophet, and not invented by others over time. The sixth hadith about Muhammad’s generosity serves two main functions: firstly the concept of generosity is important in both Judeo-Christian ideas of prophethood and pre-Islamic concepts of muruwwa’ and secondly, when read in conjunction with the fifth hadith, Muhammad’s qualities of noble character negate the possibility of falsifying the revelation. Al-Bukhārī is not simply presenting material that is relevant to the chapters, but he constructs it in a particular way. If we return to the first hadith again, the hadith gains significance when placed in the context of the remaining hadith. Acceptance of Muhammad’s prophethood is only valued if Muhammad’s prophetic role is accepted as part of true belief, the acceptance of Muhammad’s prophethood and his revelation for any other earthly reason is not valued and will not be valued on the Day of Resurrection. Al-Bukhārī’s construction of the chapter also seems to aid reading, which would further imply that al-Bukhārī intended the work to be read – had al-Bukhārī intended to compile an encyclopaedia the hadith would probably have been arranged in a different way, and with much less care. The care and consideration about the placement of the hadith is evident in the inclusion of hadith that could have easily been fitted into other chapters in the Sahīh and, indeed, were in the other five canonical collections. Taken as a whole, the chapter on Muhammad’s first revelation seems to have a wider message than simply retelling the story. The seven hadith seem to act as one unit, saying much about al-Bukhārī understanding of the Islamic conception of a prophet. A Case Study on Angels and Rain in Two Non-Canonical Collections of al-Suyutī Non-canonical hadith collections, of which there are a vast number, can produce interesting results if they are compared. For every given subject there are often a number of collections made by different authors. It is also possible for the same author to compile two different collections on similar, but slightly different topics. Below is a very brief study of two collections of al-Suyūtī: (i) al-Habā’ik fī akhbār al-malā’ik and al-Hayā’ al-sāniyah fī hayā’ al-sunniyah. The first is a collection about angels, and the second is usually translated as Islamic Cosmology but the work also covers a lot of hadith about meteorology. Both of these collections contain sections on rain and the Angel of
    38
    
    the Rain. What is particularly interesting is that very few hadith in one are found in the other, even though they talk about the same angels and the same concepts. Al-Suyūtī includes 10 hadith in his al-Habā’ik which are explicitly about rain and the Angel of the Rain. Five of the ten hadith in the al-Habā’ik are not relevant, as these are hadith in which the Angel of the Rain is mentioned but the natural phenomenon of rain per se is not. The remaining five are more interesting, of these: (i) two say that rain comes from angels; (ii) one says that God sends down angels to record who benefits from it; and (iii) two tell of humans that benefit from rain clouds. Al-Suyūtī’s al-Hayā’ al-sāniya he includes thirty-five hadith on clouds and rain, of which only one mentions an angel – and this is the angel that is sent down to record who benefits from the rain. These are the two hadith that talk about this angel found in both compilations. Al-Habā’ik [19] Abū ‘l-Shaykh from al-Hakam; he said: I heard that He sends down with the rain such and such from the angels, more numerous than the sons of Adam and the sons of Iblis. They record every raindrop, where it falls and who is sustained by that plant. Al-Hayā’ [27] Abū ‘l-Shaykh from al-Hasan: There is no year more abounding in rain than another year; but God directs it wherever He wishes. And with the rain He sends down such and such of the angels in order to note down where that rain falls, whom it provides with sustenance, and what results from every drop. These main parts of these hadith have common vocabulary and structure, yet they read very differently. The angels are the main focus in the al-Habā’ik version, but in the second version, the fact that angels are mentioned is not that important, the angels seem to be insignificant, an add-on, a piece of extra and not entirely relevant information. They are obviously different versions of the same hadith, but each one has a slightly different emphasis. What is interesting is that none of the hadith in al-Hayā’ explicitly state that rain comes from angels; all of the hadith locate the origin of rain in God directly or in heaven more generally. In the Habā’ik rain is said to come from an angel (in one hadith this is Gabriel) who bathes in the al-Kawthar river in paradise and shakes himself, making raindrops. Although this is a fairly minor point, it does raise some quite interesting questions about al-Suyūtī’s method of compilation. Why is rain brought by angels in one collection and
    39
    
    not mentioned in the other? Did al-Suyūtī have problems with the angelic origin of rain? Or was it simply not relevant? What is important is that Al-Hayā’ is concerned with the meteorological phenomenon of rain, whereas al-Habā’ik is concerned with angels: these different contexts mean that al-Suyūtī highlights different aspects of the same hadith. The two hadith mentioned above are clearly related: the one that mentions angels most (i.e. “…the angels, more numerous than the sons of Adam and the sons of Iblis…”) is included in al-Habā’ik and the other, which focuses on the quantity of rain is found in al-Hayā’. Furthermore, the version found in al-Habā’ik is not included in the chapter on the Angel of the Rain, but in a chapter that is about the great abundance of angels (which the hadith mentions). Location, therefore, is paramount in hadith compilation, and al-Suyūtī’s choice of hadith does make sense. Al-Suyūtī could easily have included the al-Hayā’ version in al-Habā’ik, as it does mention angels, but he chose not to. Asking these sorts of questions is the main premise of redaction criticism, and the use of this form of critical thinking could be a very interesting avenue to explore non-canonical hadith collections, particularly in the works of al-Suyūtī as he was so prolific. As there are some many of these different collections it would be interesting to see how chronology, theology or even location affect the inclusion of hadith in collections on the same topic. Conclusions Both Canonical and Redaction criticism could produce some interesting research in Hadith Studies. The way in which hadith are compiled is probably far more important than it has been given credit for in past scholarship, and perhaps, with these critical methods we can understand more about the intentions of the compilers themselves. Canonical and Redaction Criticism also avoid the question of the authenticity of hadith and the isnad: the question is not relevant. These critical methods could help scholars to understand hadith collections and their, all to often, enigmatic compilers in greater depth. Reflections As the material presented in my paper was concerned principally with issues of methodology in Hadith Studies much of the information was highly technical and theoretical. Covering both canonical and redaction criticism meant that I had to cover a lot of material and it would have been more successful had I focused and discussed one rather than both.
    40
    
    Questions about the validity of applying methodological approaches used in Biblical Studies to the study of hadith were raised. My paper hoped to show that there are approaches to Hadith Studies that are not currently being used, which could produce interesting work for both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars alike. The two approaches that I advocated in my paper allow for the study of the compilation of hadith, whilst moving away from the critical approaches of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Redaction and Canonical criticism illustrate how different hadith compilers constructed their collections. The advantage of Canonical and Redaction criticism over other secular approaches to texts (particularly structural semiotics and literary theory) is that they acknowledge the inherent importance of religion and theology in texts.
    
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    Campari, Irene The Construction of the Saharawi Political Identity
    
    The Saharawis are the population of the Western Sahara, which has been struggling for independence from Morocco for more than thirty years and it is often considered as the case of the “last colony”1, since it is an issue raised from a late decolonisation process. Before speaking about the identity construction it is necessary to depict a brief historical background. The territory of Western Sahara was a Spain colony until 1975, when under the double pressions of an agonic Franco’s regime and the requests of the International Court of Justice for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara Spain decided to leave the territory. However, before the withdrawal, despite the concerns of the ICJ the Spanish government signed with Morocco and Mauritania the Madrid Accords, which guaranteed to Morocco and Mauritania the control over the new-free land. Nevertheless, the Madrid Accords appeared to be illegal from the point of view of the international law, because the ICJ confirmed allegiance between the Sultan of Morocco and some tribes in the territory of Western Sahara, however it was concluded that the information and materials provided “did not establish any tie of territorial sovereignty between the Territory of Western Sahara and the Kingdom of Morocco or the Mauritania entity.”2 The Court of Justice also pointed out that the territory of Western Sahara was not terra nullius before the Spanish occupation, but it was not part of Moroccan territory either. Despite these premises, the King of Morocco Hassan II organized in 1975 the Green March that was an invasion of the territory of Western Sahara. It is considered an invasion because even though the King claimed that it was a civil march, there was the military presence and it is known also the use of napalm against the Saharawi population that was escaping from the territory. This second occupation started a war between Morocco, Mauritania and the Polisario Front, which is the party that represents the population of Western Sahara and it was established in 1973, still under Spanish rule. Afterwards, in 1979 Mauritania left the battlefield since it was not able to sustain the costs of that war.
    
    1
    
    See for instance, Smith Laura E., ‘The Struggle for Western Sahara: What Future for Africa’s Last Colony?’,
    
    The Journal for North African Studies, Vol.10 (Sep-Dec 2005), No. 3-4, pp. 545-563.
    2
    
    Jensen, Erik, Western Sahara: Anatomy of a Stalemate, (London, Rynne Lienner Publishers, 2005) p. 27.
    
    42
    
    As for the population of Western Sahara in 1975 part of it escaped toward the Algerian desert where they established their refugee camps. While one part of the population stayed in the occupied territory. This first division is one of the characteristic considered in evaluating the construction of the Saharawi political identity, since these two groups evolved separately and hence the way of constructed an identity as a people also evolved differently. The separation of the population was further increased in the 1980s with the construction of a massive 2000 km wall, known as the Berm, by the Moroccan government. The main difference to be considered regard the fact that while in the refugee camps there was the presence of the leadership of the Polisario Front, which create a structure for the population, in the occupied territory there was a lack of leadership. In order to supply to this lack of leadership the Polisario Front accepted the creation of oppositional movement by the civil society. These movements in the occupied territory were mainly struggling for the protection of human rights, since the Moroccan government is continuously violating human rights of the Saharawi population. Many are also the case of disappeared young people, with the accused of being part of the Polisario and hence plotting against the nation, because of the nationalistic discourse from the Moroccan side. The nationalistic discourse is actually present on both sides. On the side of Morocco is a case of defending the nation, to maintain the “Sahara Provinces” as the King Muhammed VI considers the territory. 1 Whereas on the Saharawi and Polisario side is a case of self-determination and shaping the nation, creation of a nation from the bases, hence not just defending their idea of nation but building the nation form anew, because it has never existed an independent Western Sahara. This is the reason why I have focused on the identity, because it is an interesting case of a whole construction of identity. Moreover, I have chosen to speak about political identity because I have looked at Laclau’s considerations: “‘Politics’ is an ontological category: there is politics because there is a subversion and dislocation of the social. This means that any subject is by definition, political.”2 According to this explanation the case of Saharawis in the refugee camps represents certainly a dislocation of the social, furthermore everything is political in the sense that all the life in the refugee camps is built on the purpose of acquiring a political meaning. This is just considering the situation in the refugee camps, where the Polisario Front has developed a project of construction of a rounded Saharawi people, in order
    1
    
    See the excerpts from the first speech of the king Mohammed VI
    
    [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/monitoring/408513.stm].
    2
    
    E. Laclau, New Reflection on the Revolutions of our Time, (London, verso, 1990), p. 61.
    
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    to achieve the self-determination. According to international law the request for self-determination can be done just by a people and since Saharawi were previously structured in a tribe system this could not have been possible. The main ideological programme for the realization of the Saharawi society is based on the social revolution. Two main instruments have been used for the implementation of the social revolution by the Polisario Front to shape and control the society: the establishment of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and the education system. The social revolution established the base for the new social pact, whose aim is to create an equal and, above all, united society, the achievement of which implied the necessity to forget the tribal affiliation that was symbol of a divided society. The anthropologist Annaig Abejan points out that the social revolution is an ‘ideological construction,’1 this construction starts from the idea that associates people to unity while tribes to division and to this the association of social equality to social cohesion. Moreover, the social revolution was the founding ideology of a movement established by an elite and it was just through the exile that this ideology was embraced by all the Saharawis and became a common cause, for this Abjean considers the exile as a source of political power.2 Exile, in fact, is an external element that has had a remarkable impact on the implementation of the social revolution. The new Saharawi people emerged from the ashes of the tribal society has strength itself idealizing their society in exile. The Saharawi people can claim that they physically exist; nevertheless, this existence is based on a continuous idealisation of themselves as people. The Saharawi society represents tantamount the myth of the unachievable fullness given by the exile, as Laclau points out “the fascination of an ideal society stems from this perception or intuition of a fullness that cannot be granted by the reality of the present.”3 This fascination is also increased by the fact that the actual Saharawi society is based on this “collective amnesia”4 (my translation) to forget the tribal affiliation. For this reason the social revolution represents, in a way, the first allowed memory thus is part of the newly created tradition and at the same time it is the Saharawi society itself. The young generations have been grown up and educated to build up the fullness of the myth.
    
    1 2 3 4
    
    Abjean, Annaїg, ‘Histoire d’exils: Les jeunes Sahraouis’, in L’Ouest Saharien, hors serie n. 3, (2003), p. 43. Abjean, (2003), p. 37. Laclau, Ernesto, New Reflection on the Revolutions of our Time, (London, verso, 1990) p. 63. Caratini, Sophie, La République de Sables, (Paris, l’Harmattan, 2003), p. 68 , «oubli» (the original).
    
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    As mentioned above education is one of the instruments of the creation of the society. The establishment of an organized and accessible education system was one of the first concerns of the Polisario Front in the refugee camps. It is possible to say that everyone in the camps, girls as boys, have access to education. The education system is rigidly structured and children leave their family very soon to go and live by the school in purpose-built houses. Then around 11 years old children leave the camps to continue their education in Algeria or abroad in Libya, Cuba or Spain. This is due to practical and political reasons. Practically, because of the lack of services to provide higher education and politically, because this creates international links between the Polisario and foreign countries that can back the Saharawi cause. The other essential element to give cohesion to the Saharawi population in exile was the establishment of the SADR in 1976. The Saharawi Republic has its exceptionality in being a state-in-exile and this is connected to the continuously search for normality in the context of abnormality.1 The main feature of this state-in-exile is that every adult citizen is involved at different degree in the process of the state through a system of representatives and popular councils. The SADR provides the institutional framework and it is clearly an instrument of the Polisario to cement the social revolution. Furthermore, the constant political participation of the people creates unity and also loyalty to the state. However, there is an overlapping role of the Polisario over the SADR, stated by the fact that the head of Polisario is also the president of the SADR and all the ministries are also part of the Polisario. On the other hand, in the occupied territory the political identity of the Saharawi population is shaped by the constant struggle for the respect of the human rights that has reached the highest peak in 1999 and in 2005. These two years signed the moment of the Saharawi Intifada, as it has been dubbed. The first protest in 1999 started as answer to the difficult socio-economic situation in the occupied territory after the death of King Hassan II. These first protests were violently repressed and they turned violent and spread also beyond the capital El-Ayoune. While the movements in 1999 were unprepared in 2005 the protest was organized and received also the support of the student in the Moroccan universities. The presence of many Saharawi students in the Moroccan universities was part of a plan by Rabat to co-opt the Saharawi population in the Moroccan society. Paradoxically, this plan had the
    1
    
    See Pablo San Martin, ‘Nationalism, Identity and Citizenship in Western Sahara’, in The Journal of North
    
    African Studies, Vol. 10, N.3-4, (September-December 2005), pp. 565-592.
    
    45
    
    counter-effect for the Moroccan government to ease the connections among the young Saharawi to support the protest, because the universities are perfect networking places. Consequently, the upheavals in 2005 spread also in the Moroccan territory and provoked more echo. Moreover, for the use of technology this time the disorders did not remain silent because they have been filmed by the activists and posted on internet so to maximize the widespread of news of what was happening in Western Sahara. The protests started in the occupied territory cover also an important symbolic role for the people in the refugee camps, especially after the ceasefire signed bilaterally by Polisario and Morocco in 1991. The ceasefire, in fact, provoked a setback in the shaping process of the society in the refugee camps. The struggle for independence and resistance give a meaning to the Saharawi identity and it could be also said that the war was one of the element that was giving the rhythm of the life in the refugee camps, otherwise deprived of any other activity. The ceasefire suddenly halted the main activity and apparently now the main feeling in the refugee camps is a situation of permanent ‘waiting’.1 For this reason the protests and the continuous struggle in the occupied territory are important to continue the Saharawi cause so that the situation will not be forgotten but also it is symbolically very important for the people in the refugee camps because re-state the meaning of their identity.2 Bibliography Abjean Annaїg, ‘Histoire d’exils: Les jeunes Sahraouis’, in L’Ouest Saharien, hors serie n. 3, (2003), pp.19-128 Caratini Sophie, La République de Sables, (Paris, l’Harmattan, 2003) Guy Roy, ‘Western Sahara: The wall of shame’ (17/11/1993), Green Left online, [http://www.greenleft.org.au/2004/585/32352] (last check 30.08.07) Jensen Erik, Western Sahara: Anatomy of a Stalemate, (London, Rynne Lienner Publishers, 2005)
    
    1
    
    This question of the ‘waiting’ feeling raised in a conversation with the deputy representative for the Saharawi
    
    in UK and Ireland Mr. Limam Ali, (July 2007).
    2
    
    In my dissertation I suggest to explain this fact using the concept of hegemonic relationship by Laclau in
    
    Emancipation(s), (London, Verso, 1996).
    
    46
    
    Judah Tim, ‘Background: The forgotten conflict’ (27/01/1999), BBC News Online, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/264052.stm] (last check 30.08.07) Laclau Ernesto, Emancipation(s), (London, Verso, 1996) Laclau Ernesto, New Reflection on the Revolutions of our Time, (London, verso, 1990) Laclau Ernesto (ed.), The Making of Political Identity, (London, Verso, 1994). Maghraoui Abdeslam, ‘Ambiguities of Sovereignty : Morocco, The Hague and the Western Sahara Dispute’, in Mediterranean Politics, V ol.8, n. 1, (Spring 2003), pp. 113-126 Miské Ahmed-Baba, Front Polisario: l’âme d’un peuple, (Paris, édition rupture, 1978). Mundy Jacob, ‘Autonomy and Intifadah: New Horizon in Western Sahara Nationalism’, Review of African Political Economy, n.108, (2006) Parker Richard B., North Africa: Regional tensions and strategic concerns, (New York, Praeger Publishers, 1984) Sayed Ismail, Les Sahraouis, (Paris, l’Harmattan, 1998) Shelley Toby, Endgame in Western Sahara, (London, Zed Books, 2004) Zoubir Yahia H. (ed.), North Africa in Transition, (Gainsville, University Press Florida, 1999) Julien Zahra, ‘Identite Sahraoui en question’, in l’Ouest Saharien, hors serie n.3, (2003), pp. 131- 237 San Martin Pablo, ‘Nationalism, Identity and Citizenship in Western Sahara’, in The Journal of North African Studies, Vol. 10, N.3-4, (September-December 2005), pp. 565-592 Smith Laura E., ‘The Struggle for Western Sahara: What Future for Africa’s Last Colony?’, The Journal for North African Studies, Vol.10 (Sep-Dec 2005), No. 3-4, pp. 545-563 Reflections The thing I have realized speaking about the situation in Western Sahara is mainly the fact that it is very little known argument. Speaking about Saharawi identity maybe was already a specific argument but it seemed to have interested the audience, also because it was in a way related to other arguments touched in other papers during the conference in relation to other countries that are experiencing similar situations. In this respect, it could be noticed that situation of exile and occupation are similar everywhere. As for the questions, I have been asked about the mode of the protest in the occupied territories; whether there are other implications, like economical and territorial implication such as interest in natural resources and whether it is realistically possible to think about a Western Sahara independent country. These questions allowed me to fill some gaps I left during the talking, more related to other
    47
    
    practical aspects of the question rather than merely the anthropological aspect of the identity. Being this conflict not very popular, it could have been useful also to expand more on the different historical passages of it, but I have tried to do it in the handout I gave to the participants, where there were displayed the main dates of the conflict. Overall, I can say I had a very positive experience and it seemed that people have appreciated the paper also for the fact that they have learnt something more about the Western Sahara conflict, which is generally little publicized.
    
    48
    
    Es-Said, Aida Power and the Conquest for Land: The ‘Uniqueness’ of the Landownership Conflict in British Mandate Palestine Introduction: “In short, then, the conflict is intractable only to the extent that it was always a contest over the same land by two peoples who believed they had valid title to it and who hoped that the other side would in time give up or go away. One side won the war, the other lost, but the contest is as alive as ever.”1 To this day the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis is based on two peoples and the legitimacy of their belief for their right to the land. Landownership2 is the crux of the conflict and to this topic all other unresolved issues are directly tied. This paper is a part of a thesis on landownership in British Mandate Palestine because it was during the British Mandate that landownership was transformed and land policies from registration to tenure endured many changes. The purpose of this paper is to confirm why the case of Palestine needs to be studied in depth on its own, meaning that a comparative political analysis would not be a suitable approach for the thesis. To support this, it is necessary to ask; how is the landownership conflict in Palestine unique to landownership conflicts elsewhere? In order to answer this question, the relationship between power and land is first explained to understand the significance of land tenure systems and methods of land transfer and acquisition. An important element in answering the question is colonialism. Therefore a modernity-matrix created by Mark Levine consisting of modernity, capitalism, nationalism, and colonialism is used to highlight the indigenous people’s narratives amongst the selected cases of comparison which are also colonial or imperial landscapes. They are the British Mandate in Iraq, British India, South Africa (prior to 1990), and the United States. This paper argues that the landownership issues that occurred in Palestine during the British Mandate involved variables and circumstances that were different to those in any other colonized
    1
    
    Said, Edward W. The End of the Peace Process: Oslo and After (New York: Vintage Books, A Division of
    
    Random House, Inc., 2000, 2001), p. 314.
    2
    
    Landownership is “those legal, contractual or customary arrangements whereby individuals or organizations gain access to economic or social opportunities through land.” Defined by John Ratcliffe in Land Policy: An Exploration of the Nature of Land in Society (London: Hutchinson and Co Ltd, 1976), p. 21.
    
    49
    
    country or area of land tenure conflicts because the triangular relationship of the British Mandate Government, the Palestinians, and Zionist-Jews made the landownership conflict unique. Power, Land, Tenure, and Colonial Landscapes: The relationship between power and land, or state and territory, coincides with the system of center and periphery. Power without a designated area to legitimize its authority within will be diluted and weak. The creation of a land tenure system is essential to a centralizing administration because it eliminates all existing revenue claims of previously dominant factions. However “rights of tenure are no stronger than the power of the sovereignty that grants them.”1 The role of the state in a land tenure system is essential, however the degree and method of state intervention varies. Land is a factor in the relationship between the state and its society as it is generally agreed that “all states intervene to some extent in exercising control over access to land.” Most countries have a mixed system of private and public landownership with government intervention for the development of land for certain uses.2 Political scientist Joel Migdal explains that quite often authorities in the state would discover that the land laws they would legislate did not secure state control over the land; instead it would increase the power of landlords who were against the centralization of the state.3 Land tenure laws are delicate tools that give considerable results in the state’s social control, however not always towards the advantage of the state. If all land is owned by the state, land transfer rules would only be for authoritative accessibility as opposed to private gain.4 Land policies and property rights significantly affect societies where the majority of
    
    1
    
    Dekker, Henri A.L. The Invisible Line: Land Reform, Land Tenure Security and Land Registration (Aldershot:
    
    Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2003), p. 24.
    2
    
    Hussein Abu Hussein and Fiona Mckay, Access Denied: Palestinian Land Rights in Israel (London: Zed
    
    Books, 1993), p. 1.
    3
    
    Migdal, Joel S. Strong Societies & Weak States: State-Society Relations and State Capabilities in the Third
    
    World (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988), p. 58.
    4
    
    Purdue, Peter C. “Constructing Chinese Property Rights: East and West,” in Constituting Modernity: Private p. 47.
    
    Property in the East and West, edited by Huri Islamoglu (London and New York: IB Tauris, 2004),
    
    50
    
    the population depend on agriculture. Transformations in landownership change people’s approaches for survival, and hence the social structure of the society is altered extensively.1 “Every land transfer of any form included elements of law and elements of power.”2 The most obvious method of land acquisition is force. The conquering of one population by another can result in the defeated losing the rights to their land.3 However a common misconception in land transfer is that the only methods that exist are ‘conquest’ and ‘sale.’ Rarely does one consider digging deeper or admitting that coercion was used or that free will was absent when the transaction was fulfilled. This dichotomous form of thinking makes all transactions translate to voluntary equals fair and legal versus involuntary being equivalent to unfair conquest, and believing that it is that straightforward is actually another way of silencing the narrative of the inferior group, or in this case the land sellers.4 In Overthrowing Geography: Jaffa, Tel Aviv, and the Struggle for Palestine 1880-1948, Mark LeVine recognizes the effects of the colonialist ideology on the Palestinian landscape. He creates a four-fold matrix that highlights the similarities, differences, and misconceptions that the colonizer-colonized relationship produces in the study of these two cities. The matrix consists of four mutually constitutive discourses: modernity, colonialism, capitalism, and nationalism. By identifying and exploring the way these ideas were implemented in the example of Jaffa and Tel Aviv, LeVine succeeds in ‘disaggregating the landscape’ and releases the narratives that the discourses had silenced. 5 When describing a land to prospective immigrants, the colonial power describes the land as vast, beautiful, and fertile but desolate and uncultivated, and practically empty. This perception of the land was used not only in Jaffa and Tel Aviv, or Mandate Palestine as a whole, but all colonial landscapes. From the Middle East to Asia, all these colonial landscapes were given the ‘Orientalist’ image of being backwards and needing European colonizers to dominate them in order to modernize them. Examination of the discourses in specific land areas under colonization illustrates how the landscape was segregated into dichotomies. By recognizing these elements of the matrix, the narrative of ‘the other’ or the indigenous society can be revealed.
    1 2
    
    Migdal, Strong Societies & Weak States, p. 57. Banner, Stuart. How the Indians Lost Their Land: Law and Power on the Frontier (Cambridge Massachusetts
    
    and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005), p. 4.
    3 4 5
    
    Dekker. The Invisible Line, p. 55. Banner. How the Indians Lost Their Land, p. 3. LeVine, Mark. Overthrowing Geography: Jaffa, Tel Aviv, and the Struggle for Palestine 1880-1948 (Berkley
    
    and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2005), p. 2 and 5.
    
    51
    
    Iraq, India, South Africa, and the USA The British Mandates in Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Palestine were categorized by Article 22 of the League of Nations as Type A Mandates, meaning that “the existence of the communities concerned as independent nations can be provisionally recognised, subject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a mandatory until such time as they shall be able to stand alone.”1 In both Iraq and Palestine, the British sustained the 1858 Ottoman Land Code as the foundation of the land tenure systems. However the problems that they were to face in each were very different. One of the goals of the British in Iraq was to attain the allegiance of the Iraqi people to the Mandate government instead of the prior Ottoman one. The British added their administrative practices in India to the Ottoman land system, or in other words, giving more power to landowners and tribal shaikhs.2 Tribal shaikhs claimed disputed or unregistered land to be their own and the British Mandate Government guaranteed them the land tenure. This caused large areas of land to be registered in the name of the tribal leader only as opposed to the whole tribe.3 Members of the tribes became indebted to the landowners, but giving these tribal leaders more power within society resulted in greater loyalty towards the British government. However it has also been noted that the mandatory government had “deprived certain shaikhs and favored others according to their political inclinations and obedience to the central authority,” meaning that while power increased for some, for others it meant losing everything.4 The land conflict in Iraq developed into an internal one where the increasing power of the shaikhs and their possession of land resulted in
    
    1
    
    Keith, Berriedale A. “Mandates,” Journal of Comparative Legislation and International Law. 3rd Ser. Vol. 4,
    
    No. 1. (1922), p. 77.
    2
    
    Marion Farouk-Sluglett and Peter Sluglett. “The Transformation of Land Tenure and Rural Social Structure in
    
    Central and Southern Iraq, c. 1870-1958,” International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 15, No. 4. (Nov. 1983), p. 491.
    3
    
    Farouk-Sluglett and Sluglett.
    
    “The Transformation of Land Tenure and Rural Social Structure in Central and
    
    Southern Iraq, p. 496.
    4
    
    Jamali, M. F., The New Iraq: The Problems of Bedouin Education (The Rumford Press, 1934), p. 81 as quoted
    
    in Alwan, Abdul Sahib H. The Process of Economic Development in Iraq with Special Reference to Land Problems and Policies (PhD Thesis of Agricultural Economics at the University of Wisconsin, 1956), p. 316.
    
    52
    
    the majority of the agricultural land being owned by a minority.1 In 1932, the same year that the Mandate in Iraq came to an end, a law was passed to redistribute landownership but resulted in the contrary so that by 1958, “66% of all Iraq’s cultivated land was concentrated in just 2% of the population.”2 In Iraq and Palestine private landownership was established by the 1858 Ottoman land code. However in India, it was the British who introduced the concept in 1793. The conversion from communal to private landownership alone can alter a land tenure system. Various literatures differ on whether there were two or three main types of land tenure systems under British rule. The two uncontested systems are the zamindari (landlord based) and the raiyatwari (individual cultivator-based).3 The third is the mahalwari (village-based) system. The different systems were used throughout the provinces of India according to the area; sometimes if one was not working British officials would switch to another system. Each had system had its faults. For example, in the zamindari system the government gave the position of collecting revenues to the highest bidder, hence drawing out of the taxpayer as much as possible, resulting in a decline in revenues. British officials tried to carry out the task themselves, but it failed due to lack of knowledge about the land and the tenure system.4 In the mahalwari system, land was transferred through inheritance therefore the continuous divisions became a problem as the land areas became too small. Overall the main problem in British India were a combination of the government not being knowledgeable enough about the land, and the existence of more than once land tenure system causing mayhem and reshuffling in the society and rural hierarchies.5 Prior to the dismantling of apartheid, there were two significant causes for the unequal distribution of land in South Africa; first, the Dutch settlers’ “removal of native occupants from the majority of the land,” and second, the legislation that secured a
    
    1
    
    Mahdi, Kamil A. State and Agriculture in Iraq: Modern Development, Stagnation and the Impact of Oil
    
    (Reading: Garnet Publishing Limited, 2000), p. 97.
    2
    
    Kevin Cahill. Who Owns the World: The Hidden Facts Behind Landownership (Edinburgh and London:
    
    Mainstream Publishing Company, 2007), p. 499.
    3
    
    Morse, Richard. “Land Tenure and Indian Society,” Far Eastern Survey. Vol. 19, No. 22, Agrarian Reform in
    
    India (December 20, 1950), p. 224.
    4
    
    Edwards, Michael. British India 1772-1947: A Survey of the Nature and Effects of Alien Rule (London:
    
    Sidgwick and Jackson, 1967), p. 76.
    5
    
    Ibid., p. 82.
    
    53
    
    “White-controlled economy.”1 In 1913, the Land Act was issued a provision that “Africans could no longer buy, lease, or in any other manner acquire land outside a scheduled area, except by acquiring that land from another African, and Europeans were prohibited from buying or leasing land from an African. Only Africans could buy land within the scheduled areas.”2 And as a result of this more than nine million hectares of land were officially recognized as indisputable Black territory that would become Bantustans (reserves). 3 Therefore private landownership in South Africa depended upon segregation based on color. There were distinct sections and zoning ordinances that separated the society as the following groups; “Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Coloreds.” If Blacks were living in a “White-occupied area” they were denied landownership rights. The majority of Blacks were confined to specific reserve-like areas of land and were constantly being moved from White areas to these “homelands.” The land area (122 million hectares) of South Africa was distributed so that approximately 84.8% was under White occupation (often meaning ownership), this figure should actually be 81.2% however the Blacks occupying land in the White areas did not have legal tenure of the land.4 Over a span of 300 years, nearly all the land of what is currently the U.S.A. would be transferred from the Native American Indians to “non-Indian” Americans. 5 The idea of landownership did not exist to Native Americans the way it did to the European settlers. They lived and depended on the land, and they believed that they were linked to it, however private ownership did not exist. And even though a land tenure system did not exist either, each tribe had its territory. In the early 17th century, during the beginning, Native Americans and American settlers had more equal power and so the land sales were mutually beneficial to both peoples. However by the early 20th century, the power scale became asymmetrical and what were once legal contracts were in practice actually legal conquests.
    6
    
    As power
    
    increased, it became easier to shape the legal system in order to reach their objective of
    1
    
    Daniels, Rudolph. “The Nature of the Agrarian Land Question in the Republic of South Africa,” American
    
    Journal of Economics and Sociology. Vol. 46, No. 1. (January 1987), p. 1.
    2
    
    Feinberg, Harvey M. “The 1913 Natives Land Act in South Africa: Politics, Race, and Segregation in the Early
    
    20th Century,” The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1 (1993), p. 68.
    3 4
    
    Daniels “The Agrarian Land Question in South Africa,” p. 335. Daniels, Rudolph. “The Nature of the Agrarian Land Question in the Republic of South Africa,” American
    
    Journal of Economics and Sociology. Vol. 46, No. 1. (January 1987), p. 3.
    5 6
    
    Banner. How the Indians Lost Their Land, p. 1. Ibid., p. 6.
    
    54
    
    securing more land for more the new settlers. Many believed that Native Indians only had the “right of occupancy” to as much land as they needed to survive.1 The colonization of the United States from the its indigenous inhabitants took place over many years through a “complex kind of power” which created the necessary “legal institutions and the rules by which land transactions would be enforced.”2 One must ask, what choices were given to the Native Americans? They signed contracts and agreed to treaties, however they did not sanction the concept of selling their land, but rather were forced to accept the situation given to them by those who had the power. As stated by the Balfour Declaration in 1914, the main objective of the British Mandate administration in Palestine was to establish “a Jewish national home,” and it characterized its landownership policies accordingly. Even though land tenure reforms in Palestine began under the administration of the Ottoman Empire, there was no threat to Palestinian landownership. The British Mandate in Palestine facilitated the means for Zionist-Jews to acquire enough land in Palestine for not only a national home, but a Jewish state in Palestine. After the state of Israel was formed in 1948, land acquisition took on new forms. It was no longer a matter of competitive or assertive land purchasing schemes, the majority of which took place between 1928 and 1939 not only by individuals but by internationally funded Zionist companies. The British administration “acted only as an umpire in Palestine” amongst Palestinians and Zionist-Jews. Nevertheless Zionists were able to use their position in the Mandate to possess the most fertile and geographically strategic land (approximately 7% of Mandate Palestine, in order to eventually combine the lands into a state), and the British did little to aid the Palestinians and furthermore did not give them an equal voice in the policy making process. Zionists were able to influence the British administration at many levels starting with the Balfour Declaration, and even actually write the land tenure laws for the Mandate government. Zionists aggressively used their influence and power within the British Mandate government to ensure their needs were met in the acquisition of land for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.3
    
    1
    
    Vogel, Virgil J. This Country Was Ours: A Documentary History of the American Indian (London: Harper
    
    Torchbooks, 1974), pp. 103-104.
    2 3
    
    Banner. How the Indians Lost Their Land, p. 6. Stein, Kenneth W. The Land Question in Palestine, 1917-1939 (Chapel Hill and London: The University of
    
    North Carolina Press, 1984), p. 212; Abu Sitta, Salman H. Atlas of Palestine 1948 (London: Palestine Land Society, 2004), pp. 27-28.
    
    55
    
    Conclusion: In a sense, every land conflict may be described as distinct. The British Mandate in Palestine is unique however because it was not a conflict between the colonizer and the colonized, but rather a triangular relationship with the British government at the top of the triangle acting as an umpire, and Zionist-Jews and Palestinians at the lower two angles. Iraq is a good comparison to Palestine of another Type A Mandate in the region of the Middle East that had the same original land tenure system of the Ottomans; but the British Mandate administration in Iraq issued its land policies to attain the loyalty of its new subjects, whereas in Palestine the land legislation was altered to allow Zionist-Jews to purchase land. In India and Iraq, cases were seen where the British Governments gave too much power to tribe leaders and tax collectors, causing farmers to become indebted to these individuals and losing their land. In both Iraq and South Africa problems existed where a minority of the population owned the majority of the land, however in South Africa this was due to racial discrimination and segregation. In both South Africa and the United States, a settler population colonized the land and restricted the native populations to only own the land in specific reserves. While it is true that in British Mandate Palestine the immigration and colonization of the land by Zionist-Jews can be connected to that of the European settlers in the United States and South Africa, there are still crucial differences. In South Africa, there were divided areas but the land was not purchased or occupied with the intention of forming a separate state as it was in Palestine. This applies to the United States as well, however the more significant difference here is that a land tenure system did not exist for the indigenous population, nor did the concept of landownership; whereas in Palestine this had existed since the rule of the Ottoman Empire. For these reasons, a comprehensive study of landownership during the British Mandate in Palestine should not be carried out as a comparative study to other land conflicts. References Abu Sitta, Salman H. Atlas of Palestine 1948 (London: Palestine Land Society, 2004). Alwan, Abdul Sahib H. The Process of Economic Development in Iraq with Special Reference to Land Problems and Policies (PhD Thesis of Agricultural Economics at the University of Wisconsin, 1956).
    
    56
    
    Banner, Stuart. How the Indians Lost Their Land: Law and Power on the Frontier (Cambridge Massachusetts and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005). Cahill, Kevin. Who Owns the World: The Hidden Facts Behind Landownership (Edinburgh and London: Mainstream Publishing Company, 2007). Daniels, Rudolph. “The Agrarian Land Question in South Africa in Its Historical Context, 1652-1988,” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 48, No. 3. (July 1989), pp. 327-338. ______ “The Nature of the Agrarian Land Question in the Republic of South Africa,” American Journal of Economics and Sociology. Vol. 46, No. 1. (January 1987), pp. 1-16. Dekker, Henri A.L. The Invisible Line: Land Reform, Land Tenure Security and Land Registration (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2003). Edwards, Michael. British India 1772-1947: A Survey of the Nature and Effects of Alien Rule (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1967). Feinberg, Harvey M. “The 1913 Natives Land Act in South Africa: Politics, Race, and Segregation in the Early 20th Century,” The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1 (1993), pp. 65-109. Hussein Abu Hussein & Fiona Mckay, Access Denied: Palestinian Land Rights in Israel (London: Zed Books, 1993). Keith, Berriedale A. “Mandates,” Journal of Comparative Legislation and International Law. 3rd Ser. Vol. 4, No. 1. (1922), pp. 71-83. LeVine, Mark. Overthrowing Geography: Jaffa, Tel Aviv, and the Struggle for Palestine 1880-1948 (Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2005). Mahdi, Kamil A. State and Agriculture in Iraq: Modern Development, Stagnation and the Impact of Oil (Reading: Garnet Publishing Limited, 2000). Migdal, Joel S. Strong Societies & Weak States: State-Society Relations and State Capabilities in the Third World (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988). Morse, Richard. “Land Tenure and Indian Society,” Far Eastern Survey. Vol. 19, No. 22, Agrarian Reform in India (December 20, 1950), pp. 233-239. Purdue, Peter C. “Constructing Chinese Property Rights: East and West,” in Constituting Modernity: Private Property in the East and West, edited by Huri Islamoglu (London and New York: IB Tauris, 2004). Ratcliffe, John. Land Policy: An Exploration of the Nature of Land in Society (London: Hutchinson and Co Ltd, 1976).
    57
    
    Said, Edward W. The End of the Peace Process: Oslo and After (New York: Vintage Books, A Division of Random House, Inc., 2000, 2001). Sluglett, Peter & Marion Farouk-Sluglett. “The Transformation of Land Tenure and Rural Social Structure in Central and Southern Iraq, c. 1870-1958,” International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 15, No. 4. (Nov. 1983). Stein, Kenneth W. The Land Question in Palestine, 1917-1939 (Chapel Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 1984). Vogel, Virgil J. This Country Was Ours: A Documentary History of the American Indian (London: Harper Torchbooks, 1974). Reflections The paper generally received positive feedback from the conference. There were no questions or feedback to the first part of the presentation about the politics of landownership and the relationship between power, land, and land tenure systems. Questions seemed to be concentrated on the different comparisons and specific conflicts. In the future it seems that the focus point of the presentation should be the comparison of the actual land conflicts so that there is time to go into more depth in each case. This is perceived from the questions asked about the issues in South Africa and the United States. A general interest to understand more about each situation was shown. It was also mentioned that the table summarizing the different cases at the end of the presentation helped wrap up all the information, giving clearer answer to the question of uniqueness of landownership issues in British Mandate Palestine. To make the argument stronger in regards to its place in the thesis, perhaps more cases should be added to illustrate the other types of land transfer and acquisition methods that exist on a global scale.
    
    58
    
    Gil-Bardaji, Anna Academic Discourse and Translation from Arabic: A Case Study from the Spanish Tradition Academic Discourse and Translation In social sciences, discourse is generally considered to be an institutionalized way of thinking, a social boundary defining what can be said about a specific topic. In our daily life, we are in fact surrounded by countless types of discourse coming almost from everywhere – mass media, political parties, educational institutions – and dealing with a wide range of subjects – the war in Iraq, the climate change, our children’s education –. Among these discourses, academic or scientific ones have the particularity, at least a priori, of enjoying a general credibility – which is not always the case in politics, for example – in particular among non specialists. Foucault’s avant-garde statements about the relationship between knowledge and power1, the changeable nature of episteme, led many scholars to rethink the basis of their own disciplines and many others to raise their voices to question or even contest the validity of certain academic discourses. Edward Said belongs to this last group. What he did in his Orientalism2 was to apply the foucaldian theory of the discourse through the critical analysis of a selection of texts taken from the French, British and American Orientalist tradition. It would be a long departure from the subject to comment now the achievements and limitations of Said’s project. Let us just say that Said’s tentative of applying the foucauldian theory of discourse, as points out James Clifford3, constitutes in itself a fundamental step in cultural studies, not to mention the book’s impact on an almost sacrosanct academic tradition and the subsequent intellectual debate that it generated. In linking Antonio Gramsci’s notion of hegemony to the foucauldian binary boundary knowledge-power (the notion that academic disciplines do not simply produce knowledge but also generate power), Said elaborated a personal approach to Orientalism, an approach that sees Orientalism as an instrument at the service of imperialism. For our purpose, however, the most interesting point – though no less controversial – in Said’s approach to Orientalism is the choice of discourse analysis as a methodological tool to prove and justify his thesis.
    1 2 3
    
    Cf. Les mots et les choses, L’archéologie du savoir and L’ordre du discours. Cf. Said, Edward (1978): Orientalism. Vintage Books, New York. Cf. Clifford, J. (1988): The predicament of culture. Harvard University Press. p. 255- 276.
    
    59
    
    This method, which has polarized most of the critics to Orientalism, gives those texts written about the Orient the possibility to talk, the chance to be opened and explored. “Too often, Said says at the beginning of Orientalism, literature and culture are presumed to be politically, even historically innocent; it has regularly seemed otherwise to me”1. Indeed, discourse analysis and literary criticism can be extremely helpful to understand individual and collective behaviours and ways of thinking, as Said himself brilliantly proved. Unfortunately, Said’s Orientalism lacks two fundamental analyses. The first, as Juan Goytisolo appropriately underlined in his presentation to the Spanish edition to Orientalism, is the lack of any consideration about Spanish Orientalism. The second one, and that one comes from us, is the discovery that among the texts chosen by Said there is not a single translation, in spite of the utility that this sort of texts might have to his own study. Examples might be taken from a wide range of Arabic, Persian or Turkish texts, from Antoine Galland’s Mille et Une Nuits to its English counterpart, Burton’s One Thousand and One Nights; from Savary’s French and George Sale’s English translations of the Koran to the Spanish versions of the Andalousian poetry, to mention just a few2. In this regard, the assumption that translation has the particularity of being intrinsically the other’s voice and not a mere essay or speculation about what the other says, makes any ideological bias inside the text or in its environment – footnotes, introductions, commentaries – less perceptible or suspicious. What we receive from the other will have here the appearance of being more “authentic” or “true” than the mere and subjective interpretation of him, especially when the transfer of this “original” text comes from a distinguished specialist on the subject. It is a well-known fact that scholars, in particular those belonging to the field of philology, have traditionally translated texts from the languages of their respective languages of study. Even modern literary works written in languages as widespread as English, French or Spanish are very often translated by eminent scholars. In the case of Arabic, translation is simply inseparable from the academic milieu. I don’t think there is a single place in Europe or elsewhere in the world where scholars specialized in Arabic language and literature (as it does happen with scholars of other disciplines) have not combined, at least once in their life, their academic activity with that of translating. In Spain we owe these philologists almost the totality of what has been translated from Arabic. Furthermore, translation has been (and still is) one of philology’s main methods
    1 2
    
    Op. Cit. p. 5. Cf. Carbonell i Cortés, Ovidi (1997): Traducir al otro. Universidad de Castilla la Mancha, Escuela de
    
    Traductores de Toledo, Cuenca.
    
    60
    
    to teach Arabic language in the classroom, both as a linguistic exercise as well as an instrument to accede to Arabic texts. Nevertheless, and in spite of the unquestionable importance of translation within Arabic studies, very little has been said or written about this matter1. Which texts from Arabic have exactly been translated by European scholars and why? What has been the criteria to translate these texts instead of others? How did these translations influence the target culture? What representations of Arab culture(s) can we find in these translations and in the texts that enclose them? As far as Spain is concerned, Arabic studies have largely been analyzed by authors like Thomas Monroe, Manuela Manzanares de Cirre o Bernabé López García, yet none of them approaches the problem of translation directly, neither its implications on the construction of a specific vision of the Other. Being the Andalousian heritage by far the most investigated field within the Arabic studies in Spain, it is logical that Andalousian texts represent those that have been translated the most. According to the results of Teresa Garulo’s analysis of her Provisional bibliography of Arab works translated into Spanish from 1800 to 1887, 47 % of the whole translations from Arabic in Spain belong to the Hispano-Arabic period, in front of 17% belonging to translations of classical works of other geographical areas, and 36% of translations of contemporary works2. The most translated genre within Andalusian texts seems to be poetry, whereas in translations from classical texts outside of the Andalusian context the main genre is history (particularly Andalusian history). Yet in these last twenty years, things have changed. If we look briefly into the UNESCO Index Translationum3, we will realize the high predominance of contemporary translated books from Arabic into Spanish, especially novels, which does not mean that the presence of translation of Andalusian texts has decreased. Let’s take a look now at a few examples of the results I obtained in my discourse analysis on a corpus of translations and its paratexts –introductions, notes, commentaries, etccarried out by the eminent Spanish arabist Emilio García Gómez. Throughout this analysis, I will attempt to show how translations might sometimes help to construct a specific discourse,
    1
    
    A recent work has been consecrated entirely to the translation activity of Spanish arabists: Arias, J. P.; Feria
    
    García, M.; Peña, S. (Eds.) (2004): Arabismo y traducción. CSIC, Madrid. It is also important to mention the different contributions in this subject carried out by Luis Miguel Pérez Cañada, Salvador Peña, Ovidi Carbonell, and Teresa Garulo, as well as the tireless activity in this respect of the Translators School of Toledo.
    2
    
    Cf. Gárrulo, Teresa (1988): Bibliografía provisional de obras árabes traducidas al español (1800-1987).
    
    Instituo Hispano-Árabe de Cultura, Madrid and Gárrulo, Teresa (1988): Las traducciones del árabe al español desde 1800. Awraq, IX. pp. 161-168.
    3
    
    http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=7810&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
    
    61
    
    in this case a discourse about al-Andalus that did exercise a considerable influence not only in academic spheres, but also in the literary and public domains. García Gómez and the Hispano-Arabic Poetry Today my analysis on García Gómez’s work will be focused –because of the short time- on the introduction of an anthology of Andalusian poems – Poemas arábigoandaluces1– which have been selected and translated by this famous scholar. This selection of poems, first edited in 1930 and reedited fifty years later – that is, in 1970 –, received an unexpected welcome among some Spanish literary circles of that time, particularly the so-called 1927’s generation, headed by figures like Federico García Lorca or Rafael Alberti2. It should be emphasized that this anthology plays, due to its influence on the public and academic milieu, a central role among García Gómez’s translations from Andalusian poetry, though I leave deliberately apart his titanic works on Andalusian strophic poetry, specially Ibn Quzman’s sajals and the Andalusian muwassahat, as well as his Book of the banners of the champions, an anthology of medieval Andalusian poetry that includes most of the poems already translated in the other two anthologies. Poemas arábigoandaluces In relation to the prologue of Poemas arábigoandaluces, which will constitute the central object of my study today, three main attitudes can be observed.  The first is the belief that the “Hispanic” component refines and purifies the “Arab” nature. While comparing the society of the Abbasid Baghdad to the city of Cordova, García Gómez says: “Era la misma civilización de la Bagdad de las Mil y Una Noches, pero desprovista de todo lo oscuramente monstruoso que para nosotros tiene siempre el Oriente; occidentalizada por el aire sutil y campero de Sierra Morena. El poder asimilador de Córdoba lo aceptaba todo, pero todo lo transformaba, depurándolo” (p. 25, italics mine)
    1 2
    
    García Gómez, Emilio (1930): Poemas Arábigoandaluces. Espasa-Calpe, Madrid. Cf. Pérez Cañada, Luís Miguel (2003): Historia de una traducción: Los poemas arábigoandaluces. Sendebar,
    
    14. 17-44.
    
    62
    
    “It was the same civilization as the one of Baghdad in the One thousand and One Night’s but devoid of this shady and monstrous side that the Orient has always had for us, westernized by the subtle breeze of the Sierra Morena. Cordova’s power of assimilation accepted everything, but transforming it and purifying it” The Orient is then described as being “dark” and “monstrous” (even the Baghdad of the One Thousand and one Nights!), features of which Cordova was devoid thanks to “subtle and rustic air from the Sierra Morena”. Cordova was therefore opened to foreign contributions, but these contributions, rough by nature, were transformed and “purified” by the Hispanic character.  The second idea refers to the existence of something that García Gómez called the “Spanish ideal”. This Spanish ideal is only to be found between the Caliphate period and the arrival of the North African dynasties to al-Andalus. Following García Gómez, after the fall of Cordova and the arrival of the Almoravids, al-Andalus “loses its political touch and, which is worst, the Spanish ideal. This “ideal” reappears in different passages of the prologue, as when García Gómez describes the military arrival of the Almoravid army to al-Andalus: “Camels in Spain! Al-Andalus is being Africanized, comes back to its provincial position, and if it succeeds in re-establishing its borders with the Christian kingdoms, it is at the expense of loosing all its ideals” (p. 33 italics mine). The ambiguity of the notion of “Spanish ideal” is reinforced by the ambivalent use of the adjectives “Spanish” (español), “Andalousian” (andaluz, not andalusí), Hispano-Arabic (hispanoárabe) and Arabic-Andalusian (arábigoandaluz). This “Spanish ideal” needs to be defined, in my opinion, in opposition to a sort of a “foreign” or “external ideal” mainly represented by the uneducated moors coming from North Africa at he end of the 11th century. The moorofobia, as it has been called, or animadversion for the Almoravids and Almohades, has been one of the most criticized attitudes of the Spanish arabists. That is probably also the case of García Gómez, though his main interest still lies on the “Hispanic” element and its transformation power:
    
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    “Es justicia, sin embargo, reconocer que los sucesores de Yusuf sucumbieron inmediatamente ante el embrujo de la cultura andaluza, y fueron más españoles que africanos” (p. 35, italics mine)” “We must recognize, however, that the successors of Yusuf [Almoravid’s chief] gave in immediately in front of the Andalousian culture, and they were more Spanish than Africans”.  The third and last idea is related to a series of cultural prejudices, from the strictly poetic or literary ones, as the very questionable “intellectual poverty” and “sentimental deficiency” of Arabic poets (p. 42) as well as their lack of sincerity and conventionalism (p. 43), to those related to the Arabic sensuality, where an ambiguous chastity is presented as a “morbid perpetuation of the desire” (p. 45). Another example of these cultural prejudices refers to a supposed “Arabic preference for the blond (girls)” (p. 45); to the Arabic adoration for the physical beauty (p. 46); to the “peculiar” condition of the Muslim woman, which makes García Gómez wonder about her systematic presence at the beginning of the qasida (p. 46 and 51); or finally to the insinuation that drinking wine was an exclusive Andalusian activity due to the Islamic “dry law” or “prohibition” (p. 47)1. Conclusions In this paper I have tried to give a few examples of how translation and its paratexts may help to produce a specific discourse: in this case an academic discourse about al-Andalus developed by one of the most influential Spanish arabists, Emilio García Gómez. The result of my analyses is that García Gómez’s vision of Al-Andalus is closely related to the ideas of “nation”, “identity”, “essence” and “hispanity”. Thus, for García Gómez, what gives Andalousian culture its value is its “Hispanic” element, and he disdains or even attacks any external influence, both Oriental or North-African. This study is a sample of my PHD dissertation, which more generally deals with the role of translation in the construction and spreading (dispersion) of a specific image of
    
    1
    
    García Gómez avoids any serious reference to the Khamriyya tradition, whose golden age was precisely at the
    
    Abbasid period and cultivated by those poets that he disdain, though most of the poems of the anthology deals with the wine and its pleasures.
    
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    al-Andalous. I will be pleased to answer any question you might have or to discuss with you about this subject. Thank you.
    
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    Lindner, Christine Problematising the ‘Modern’: An Exploration of the Homes and Family Arrangements for the American Protestant Missionaries and Syrian Protestants in Ottoman Syria from 1823 to 1860 What is modern? When does it begin? Who is modern? Despite twenty or so years of revisionist historians’ struggles to demonstrate the complexities of modernity,1 simplistic and binary definitions persist within both popular and academic discussions of the Middle East. These often pit the ‘modern’ against ‘the traditional’ or ‘backward’.2 My paper problematised the ‘modern’ as I explored how one group of persons, who have been regarded as modern, compared with a ‘plumb-line’ definition. This group were the American Protestant missionaries and the Syrian Protestants who lived in Beirut and upon Mount Lebanon during the early to mid nineteenth century. I refer to this group as the Protestant Circle or Community. It was founded as a missionary station in 1823 and developed into the Evangelical Church by 1847. The Protestant Circle included Bustrus al-Bustani, Mikayil Mishaqa and Nasif al-Yaziji. It was affiliated with the Syrian Protestant College (later the American University of Beirut), al-Madrasah al-Wataniyah, Al-Jinan, and the Nahdah. All of these have been regarded by as modern, and more interestingly modernising.3 In my paper, I looked at how the modern was displayed (or not) within the Protestant Circle’s homes and their definitions of the family. Family history is a relatively new but expanding area within Middle East studies. The works within this genre have challenged previously accepted concepts like the ‘traditional’ ‘Arab’ or ‘Islamic’ household.4 It is within
    1
    
    Jean Said Makdisi, ‘The Mythology of Modernizing: Women and Democracy in Lebanon’, in: M. Yamani
    
    (ed.) Feminism and Islam: Legal and Literary Perspectives (Reading, 1996), p. 231-249; Ussama Makdisi, The Culture of Sectarianism: Community, History, and Violence in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Lebanon. (Berkley, Los Angeles and London, 2000); Thomas Philipp, ‘Bilad al-Sam in the Modern Period: Integration into the Ottoman Empire and New Relations with Europe’, Arabica LI (2004), p. 401-418.
    2
    
    The binary continues within academia, as revealed at a workshop on Pierre Bourdieu and Algeria held at
    
    Goldsmiths College, London in May 2007.
    3 4
    
    George Antonius, The Arab Awakening: The Story of the Arab National Movement (London, 1945), p. 33-60. Ex. Margaret L. Meriwether, (1999). The Kin Who Count: Family and Society in Ottoman Aleppo, 1770-1840.
    
    (Austin, 1999)
    
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    the context of this new genre that I proposed to challenge the definitions of the modern house and family. I believe that the choices for the Protestant Circle’s homes and family arrangements were determined by the Protestants’ negotiations of what was ‘modern’, but affected by the specific context for this community; as a new social-religious group within the Ottoman Empire. In my paper, I employed the definition of the modern home presented by Mona Russell. These were: (1) being located within a good neighbourhood, (2) having a certain architectural style and (3) as being the realm of the ‘new woman’.1 Firstly, a modern home was to be intentionally located within a good neighbourhood. A modern homeowner carefully selected his home to be situated within a healthy, safe environment and surrounded by good neighbours. A home in the suburbs contrasted with a home in the dirty, noisy, dark and dangerous city. This definition of the modern home was upheld by the Protestant Circle. I located three houses occupied by the Protestants at their primary station in Beirut. These were ‘Burj Bird’, or the central ‘Mission House’; ‘Old Susa house’; and ‘Fetiph’s house’, the American consulate where the English Sabbath service was held. The missionaries’ described these homes as being ‘healthy’ located amongst gardens and with access to fresh air. 2 The missionaries’ residence in Beirut’s suburbs paralleled a general movement to the suburbs, as areas such as Ashrafiyeh, al-Qantari and Ras Beirut became increasingly populated after 1840.3 However, this definition for the modern house was problematic, as the selection of a modern home in a good neighbourhood was to be an intentional act that demonstrated the owners’ agency. Noticeably, the Protestant Circle was limited in their options for residency. For most of the nineteenth centuries, foreigners were prohibited from owning land in the
    
    1
    
    Mona Russell, ‘Modernity, National Identity, and Consumerism: Visions of the Egyptian Home, 1805-1922’,
    
    in: R. Shecter. (ed.). Transitions in Domestic Consumption and Family Life in the Modern Middle East: Houses in Motion (New York and Hampshire, England, 2003), p. 37-62.
    2 3
    
    Hetty Smith: 18 January 1847. Yale Divinity Library: ES Box 1: Folder 16. May Davie, Atlas Historique Des Orthodoxes de Beyrouth et du Mont Liban: 1800-1940. (Balamand, 1999),
    
    48-53.
    
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    Ottoman Empire. Rather, they ‘rented’ out houses for extended periods of time.1 This practice necessitated alliances to be forged: between the foreigner, the land owner and an Ottoman broker. Leases and lease renewals for the Protestant homes were often signed by persons closely affiliated with the Circle and who later became prominent member of the community.2 I argued that the missionaries’ houses were not their intentional negotiations of the emerging cityscape, but rather, their only available option. The second characteristic of a modern home presented was that it followed new, modern architectural design. The architecture of ‘modern homes’ designated each room to a specific function, which emphasised the individuality of each family member. Furthermore, the modern home was the private domain of one nuclear family, separated and isolated from the public realm. The modern home in Ottoman Syria was manifest in the ‘Triple-Arched’, ‘Central Hall’ house. This housing structure emerged in Beirut during the 1850s, but defined bourgeois architecture throughout the Lebanon during the late nineteenth century. The Triple-Arch house was constructed around a central hall that ended in a triple-arched façade of windows. Flanking either side of the central hall were individuated rooms. The roofs of Triple-Arched houses were not the flat terraces, which encouraged movements between neighbours but peaked with red-tile roofing, which visually marked this house (or other buildings) as modern.3 It can be argued that the Protestants were somewhat slow to innovation, for it was only during the mid 1860s and 1870s that there is evidence that the Protestants actively sought to employ the Triple-Arch design. Rather, the Protestants continued to occupy houses of the functioning Syrian architecture. These were either the urban modified liwan design or
    1
    
    Marc Aymes, ‘The Port-City in the Fields: Investigating an Improper Urbanity in mid-19th Century Cyprus’.
    
    (unpublished paper) presented at: Eight Mediterranean Social and Political Research Meeting, Florence & Montecatini Terme, 21-25 March 2007, Organised by the Mediterranean Programme of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute.
    2
    
    Chasseaud, Gabriel (2 February 1831), Great Britain Public Record: Foreign Office 616-1; n.s. (19 April
    
    1844), Harvard Houghton Library ABC 82:17-Box 4: Folder 26.
    3
    
    Michael R. Davie, (2003) ‘La “Maison Aux Trois Arcs” Et La Construction Ideologique du Patrimont au
    
    Liban’, in: M. Davie. (ed.). La Maison Beyrouthine Aux Trois Arcs: Une Archetecture Bourgeoise du Levant (Beyruth et Tours, 2003), p. 12-29; May Davie, Beyrouth: 1825-1975: Un Siècle et Demi D’Urbanisme. (Beirut: 2001); Fridrich Ragette, Friedrich. (1974). Architecture in Lebanon: The Lebanese House During the 18th and 19th Centuries (Beirut, Lebanon, 1974), p. 92-120.
    
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    the small one- and two-roomed houses that were common upon Mount Lebanon. Before 1860, external modifications for these ‘non-modern’ houses were made by the Protestants to expand the size of the house. These expansions maintained the house’s original design.1 Furthermore, when given the option to construct an entirely new building for a home, the Protestants’ chose an architectural design that was similar to that of their non-Protestant neighbours, not an imported American or innovative, new design.2 More commonly, the Protestants modified the spaces within their homes. Consistent with the modern definition, space within Protestant homes was determined by function. There were separate rooms for bedrooms, dining rooms, parlours, kitchens and presses. However, the Protestants’ division of space itself problematises the modern definition, once we consider who actually used these spaces. The modern household centred around the nuclear family. In contrast, the Protestant household was, what I call, a ‘mosaic family’. It was made up ‘basic units’, which were married couples, married couple with children, solitary boarders, boarding students and temporarily ‘orphaned’ children. Each unit was regarded as distinct and was often allocated a private space within the household. A typical Protestant household included the senior housekeeping family (which the household was named for), another family (either Syrian or American) and some form of boarders. Protestant homes were not constructed for the sole use of the nuclear family, but were solutions to the limited number of available houses. One benefit of this shared mosaic family was that it reinforced the Protestant community. Meals, leisure activities of sewing and singing, prayers and religious events as well as parenting of children were shared activities.3 The third definition of the modern home promoted by Russell was that the home was the domain of the new woman. The ‘New Woman’, in both the Ottoman and American contexts, was an educated woman whose primary responsibility was to nurture and provide for her family. The primary sphere of the new woman’s work was the private realm of the home. This contrasted the public sphere, which was occupied by her worker-husband and the non-modern women.4 Although the concept of the ‘new woman’ proliferated primarily during the late nineteenth century-in both the United States and the Ottoman Empire- the ground works for
    1
    
    Sarah Smith, (5 August 1835). Harvard Houghton Library ES Box 3: Folder 110; Henrietta Smith, (16 April
    
    1847). Yale Divinity Library ES Box 1: Folder 17.
    2 3 4
    
    George B. Whiting, et al. (20 August 1844). ABCFM Microfilm Unit 5: reel 540, 9-12. Henrietta Smith, (18 January 1847). Yale Divinity Library ES Box 1: Folder 16. Russell, p. 42-5.
    
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    this concept has been affiliated with the Protestant Circle.1 One aspect of this new woman was that parenting shifted away from the father, as the authoritative instructor, to the mother, as the nurturer-teacher. This new emphasis on the woman as mother can also be found in the works of Butrus and Selim al-Bustani.2 Despite these ideological associations, the actual separation of home, as the site for women’s mothering and separate from the public realm, was not upheld by the Protestant Circle. The limited availability of space for the Protestants necessitated their use of homes for communal (read public) activities. Weddings, baptisms, funerals, parties, daily visitations, schools and regular religious services took place within the ground floor chapel, garden and presses and within the upstairs parlours, dining rooms and terraces.3 Furthermore, space within the one-roomed houses, was loosely divided by flags and curtains.4 In other words, the daily activities of a Protestant woman (not quite the ‘new woman’), although primarily confined to the space of her home, was not a private affair. Protestants in Ottoman Syria have been regarded as modern. However, my paper demonstrated that the homes and families of the Protestant Circle did not fully uphold what has come to define the modern home and family. Rather, the ‘modern’ is a constructed mythology that falsely pits the ‘traditional’ (often associated with the Arab, Muslim) versus ‘the modern’ (Euro-American, Christian, middle classed).5 This false binary covers up the depth complexities of historical realities. References Archives Great Britain Public Records Office: Kew Gardens Harvard University Houghton Library
    1
    
    Marilyn Booth, ‘“She Herself was the Ultimate Rule”: Arabic Biographies of Missionary Teachers and Their
    
    Pupils’. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. 13 (2002), p. 427-448.
    2
    
    Butrus Bustani, ‘Khitab fi T‘alim al-Nisa’ [1847], in Y. Qizma Khuri. (ed.) A‘mal al-Jam‘iyah al-Suriyah
    
    lil-‘Ulum wal-Funun, 1847-1852. (Beirut, 1990), p. 40-51; Stephen Sheehi, (2004). Foundations of Modern Arab Identity. (Florida, 2004), p. 83
    3
    
    Edward W. Hooker, Memoir of Mrs. Sarah Lanman Smith, Late of the Mission in Syria. (London, 1839), p.
    
    198-9.
    4 5
    
    Henry Harris Jessup, Fifty-Three Years in Syria: Volume I and II. [1910]. (London, 2002), p. 120. Makdisi 1996, p. 238.
    
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    Yale University Divinity Library Published Works Antonius, George. The Arab Awakening: The Story of the Arab National Movement. London: Hamish Hamilton, 2007. Aymes, Marc. ‘The Port-City in the Fields: Investigating an Improper Urbanity in mid-19th Century Cyprus’. (unpublished paper) presented at: Eight Mediterranean Social and Political Research Meeting, Florence & Montecatini Terme, 21-25 March 2007, Organised by the Mediterranean Programme of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute. Badr, Habib. Missions to “Nominal Christians”: The Policy and Practice of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and its Missionaries Concerning Eastern Churches Which led to the Organization of a Protestant Church in Beirut (1819-1848). (Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis) Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Theological Seminary, 1992. Booth, Marilyn. ‘“She Herself was the Ultimate Rule”: Arabic Biographies of Missionary Teachers and Their Pupils’. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, 13,4, 2002, 427-448. Davie, May. Atlas Historique Des Orthodoxes de Beyrouth et du Mont Liban: 1800-1940 Balamand: Universite de Balamand, 1999. Davie, May. Beyrouth: 1825-1975: Un Siècle et Demi D’Urbanisme. Beirut: Publications de l’Orde des Ingenieurs et Architectes de Beyrouth, 2001. Davie, Michael F. (ed.) La Maison Beyrouthine Aux Trois Arcs: Une Archetecture Bourgeoise du Levant. Beyruth et Tours: ALBA, 2003. Hooker, Edward W. Memoir of Mrs. Sarah Lanman Smith, Late of the Mission in Syria. London: The Religious Tract Society, 1839. Jessup, Henry Harris. The Women of the Arabs: With a Chapter for Children. New York: Dodd & Mead, 1873 Jessup, Henry Harris. Fifty-Three Years in Syria: Volume I and II. [1910]. London: Garnet Publishing, 2002. Khuri, Yusuf Qizma. (ed.) A‘mal al-Jam‘iyah al-Suriyah lil-‘Ulum wal-Funun, 1847-1852. Beirut: Dar al-Hamra’, 1990. Makdisi, Jean Said. “The Mythology of Modernizing: Women and Democracy in Lebanon”, in: M. Yamani (ed.) Feminism and Islam: Legal and Literary Perspectives. Reading, Garnet Publishing, 1996, 231-49.
    
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    Makdisi, Ussama. The Culture of Sectarianism: Community, History, and Violence in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Lebanon. Berkley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 2000. Meriwether, Margaret L. The Kin Who Count: Family and Society in Ottoman Aleppo, 1770-1840. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999. Murre-van den Berg, Heleen. (ed.). New Faith in Ancient Lands: Western Missions in the Middle East in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2006. Paton, A.A. The Modern Syrians: Or, Native Society in Damascus, Aleppo, and the Mountains of the Druses, from notes made in those parts during the years 1841-2-3. by an Oriental Student. London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1844. Philipp, Thomas. ‘Bilad al-Sam in the Modern Period: Integration into the Ottoman Empire and New Relations with Europe’, Arabica, LI, 4, 2004, 401-18. Ragette, Friedrich. Architecture in Lebanon: The Lebanese House During the 18th and 19th Centuries. Beirut, Lebanon: American University of Beirut, 1974. Russell, Mona. ‘Modernity, National Identity, and Consumerism: Visions of the Egyptian Home, 1805-1922’, in: R. Shecter. (ed.) Transitions in Domestic Consumption and Family Life in the Modern Middle East: Houses in Motion. New York and Hampshire, England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, 37-62. Sheehi, Stephen. Foundations of Modern Arab Identity. Florida: University Press of Florida, 2004. Stockdale, Nancy L. ‘Schools of Industry and Mothers Meetings: Late Ottoman Encounters between British and Palestinian Women’. Presented at: Christian Missionaries in the Middle East: Re-Thinking Colonial Encounters. Raleigh, North Carolina, 4-5 May 2007. Tejirian, Eleanor H. and Reeva Spector Simon. (ed.). Altruism and Imperialism: Western Cultural and Religious Missions in the Middle East New York: Middle East Institute, Columbia University, Occasional Papers IV, 2002. Thomson, William McClure. The Land and the Book: or, Biblical Illustrations Drawn from the Manners and Customs, the Scenes and Scenery of the Holy Land. London: T. Nelson and Sons, Paternoster Row, 1864. Tibawi, A. L. ‘The American Missionaries in Beirut and Butrus Al-Bustānī’, St. Antony’s Papers 16, 3, 1963, 137-82. Wortabet, Gregory M. Syria, and the Syrians; or, Turkey in the Dependencies. Volume I. London: James Madden, 1856.
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    Yazigy, Jamil M. American Presbyterian Mission Schools in Lebanon. (unpublished M.A. Thesis) American University Beirut, 1964. Reflections During the discussion, I was asked how this negotiation of the modern fit into the larger history of colonialism. The American Protestant missionaries that I research occupied an interesting place within this system. On the one hand, they were ‘agents of colonialism,’ for they advocated that their specific form of culture and religion was superior to that being practiced by Syrians. To the missionaries, being ‘educated’ (which they believed would result in conversion to Protestantism) allowed one to better understand the Gospel and personally engage with God. However, the missionaries were weary of imperialistic acts and the practice of ‘de-nativising’ converts. Firstly, the missionaries witnessed the various abuses and tensions mounting in Ottoman Syria due to the protégé system and the increasing infringement of European powers into the region. Although at times the missionaries were caught up in this process (functioning as branches for both the British and American government), they grounded their work as ‘benevolent disinterestedness’ and void of political motivations. Secondly, the missionaries did not want Syrian Protestants to fully give up their own culture. The missionaries criticised Syrians who adopted ‘Frank’ customs as an unsuccessful caricature of ‘enlightenment’. Praised were the Syrians who performed a new, hybrid identity that was approved/regulated by the missionaries. Like ‘modernity’, the missionaries’ activities problematises what has been defined as colonialism. A second point was made about the church-home structures occupied by the missionaries. It was commented that later modifications of ‘Burj Bird’ made this building appear similar to other basilicas in the region. This is one area of study that I would like to pursue: how the religious structures of the Protestants compared with other buildings of worship, not just with other homes.
    
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    Mohammadighalehtaki, Ariabarzan The Al-Sabah Family’s Relation to Democracy in Kuwait: Help or Hinder
    
    Those who are against the rule of Al-Sabah family in Kuwait indicate the fact that must of Kuwait’s wealth and power is in the hands of few i.e. the members of Al-Sabah family. They also believe that by practising various forms of patrimonial and rentier behaviour the Al-Sabah family have managed to become the biggest political player in the country. The classic example for considering the Al-Sabah family an obstacle for democratisation is the suspension of National Assembly by the departed Amirs Sheikh Sabah Al-Salim and Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad Al-Jabir Al-Sabah. They dissolved the National Assembly and suspended the constitution for more than11 years from 1976-81 and from 1986-92. During these periods the National Assembly was closed and elections were not allowed to take place in the constitutionally mandated times. Sabah and Jabir ruled extra-constitutionally during these periods. But The National Assembly resumed functioning after the 1992 elections. However, defenders of the current system point at the balancing role which Amirs of Kuwait for long have played between the rival factions in Kuwaiti National Assembly and society. For example if there was not for the Amiri intervention in the course of constitutional mandated assembly in 1980, the Islamists members of that assembly were going to make Islam “the only source of legislation” in Kuwait (currently according to Kuwait’s constitution Islam is “a main source” of legislation and not the only one). The Amir stopped their activity and confirmed that he is going to work according to the constitution before amendment. The advocates of keeping the monarchy in Kuwait emphasize the risk of falling into the hands of fundamentalists. In their view the liberal minded ruling family must be in power, for the time being at least, to maintain the balance between the strong Islamist and the weak liberties, otherwise Kuwait could fell in the hand of radical Islamic groups such as Salafis. Before we agree or disagree with any of these claims it is essential to realize the peculiarities of Al-Sabah family. What is it that makes the Al-Sabah a bit different from other gulf ruling families? In my view there are three characteristics which are the most important in shaping the historical behaviour of Al-Sabah family. 1. long-lasting stability 2. Historical bonds with Merchants
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    3. The evolution from family to institution By knowing these characteristic we can better understand the Al-Sabah’s relation to democracy and democratisation in Kuwait. Long-Lasting Stability Kuwait under Al- Sabah remained the island of stability. It was so stable that the English East India Company was using Kuwait as a substitute to Basra from time to time. Whenever the situation in Basra wasn’t satisfactory they were moving their trading post to Kuwait. This moving of trading post happened twice in Kuwait’s history once in 1775 when the Persians captured Basra and another time in 1821 when a terrible plague affected large parts of Ottoman Empire including Basra. Since the 18th century Kuwait was continuously ruled by members of Al-Sabah family and the succession process was always done in a peaceful manner except in the case of Mubarak the Great. In 1896 Mubarak Al- Sabah killed his own brothers, Mohammad and Jarrah. This assassination was done with the help of, Mubarak’s favourite suns Salim and Jabir who both later became Amirs of Kuwait. According to Sheikh Mubarak’s will, Jabir and Salim and their male descendents should become Amirs one after the other. According to the tradition of the principality, it was one of the living Emir’s cousins who’d become his successor. This method added to the stability of the principality since by this method the royal family of Kuwait made sure that both lines of the family (the line of Jabir and the line of Salim) will get their fair share of political power. Historical Bonds with the Merchants Back from the 18th century the Kuwaiti Merchants had a significant influence on the decision making in the principality. An influence which lasted for long time even after the discovery of oil in Kuwait. Oil was first discovered in Kuwait in 1938, and its large scale exploitation began after 1945. The oil revenues mad the Kuwaiti monarch rich enough to be needless of the merchants’ money. However the sequence of events preceding Kuwait’s independence made the merchants alliance a commodity the ruling family could not possibly afford to lose. Three years before Kuwait’s independence in 1961 a group of Iraqi army officers led by Abdul Karim Qasem revolted against the British backed Iraqi king, and killed
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    him with his family. Qasem became the new Iraqi prime minister (1958 to 1963) and immediately after becoming Iraq’s leader he started threatening the sovereignty of Kuwait, claiming that Kuwait is the southern state of Iraq. Iraqi threat was taken very seriously by Kuwaiti decision makers and it was seen as a real danger for the existence of an independent Kuwait. The Iraqi propaganda was focused on accusing Kuwaiti government of serving the imperial Britain and ruling by autocracy. The way to answer these accusations was to show a picture of Kuwait different from what Iraq wanted the Kuwaiti people to see. Therefore the Amir had taken three crucial decisions: First, to end Great Britain’s preferential statues in Kuwait Second, to draft a constitution that included a national assembly Third, to renew the old alliance with the merchants However by mid 1960 with the increases in oil revenues this alliance entered a new phase, according to which, the merchants were to enjoy state gifts such as monopolies, construction contracts and land purchase program in return for their absence from political scene. This informal pact was more or less respected by the both sides until the invasion of Kuwait in 1990. During the invasion the merchants who where in exile because of the war, observed that the Amir was spending from Kuwait’s investments abroad as if, it was his personal money. Therefore they decided to join forces with other Kuwaiti political groups in exile and demand the Al- Sabah rulers for greater participation in the post-invasion Kuwait. In return they offered their full support and backing of the Amir and the ruling family. Nowadays the political status of the Merchants is not as strong as it used to be. Yet the remarkable fact is that the Al_Sabah and the merchants still have a special bond they listen to each other and come to each others help in the time of trouble and adversity. The Evolution from Family to Institution In her book oil and politics in the Gulf Jill crystal notes that, Oil was the catalyst for the evolution of Al-Sabah from a mere royal family to an institution. Until oil, the ruling family were not a unified political institution. Most of the family members were excluded from the Shaikh’s decision-making. After oil however the Al-Sabah rulers strengthened family networks to provide more reliable elite recruitment pools for the increasingly large bureaucracies. Gradually the rulers came to share power with their brothers, uncles, cousins, and sons. As the ruling families became more cohesive and more powerful the ruler himself
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    became less absolute and less powerful. Today Critical decisions are made by ruling family councils.1 The Al-Sabah rulers have became conscious of the fact that family solidarity is necessary for political continuity. Recently when Amir Jabir died this solidarity was put to the test. Saa’d and Jabir were both in the same age. When Sheikh Jabir Died Saa’d was the crown prince. Jabir was from the Jabir line and Saa’d was a Salim. During their time in office they both became old and ill until Saa’d and later Jabir no longer could carry on their official duties. The Emir sheikh Jabir had appointed his own brother sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad as a new prim minister Later he became countries de facto leader. After the Death of Emir Jabir in 15 of January 2006 the Royal family members became divided on the issue of succession. Princes from the Salim branch supported Saa’d while The Jabir Line of the family were behind Sabah Al-Ahmad the prim minister. They believed that Saa’d was too ill and he could not practice his duties as an Emir and therefore they backed Sabah Al-Ahmad. Every one knew that Sabah al-Ahmad’s becoming Amir after his brother was against the tradition of the emirate but Saa’d was very ill and no one beside sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad had the charisma necessary for an Amir. Dissimilar to what we might expected the rest of story to be, the dispute was dealt with in a civilised and democratic manner. Neither sides of the family have resorted to violence, instead They decided to ask the National Assembly to intervene. And by this move for the first time in the history of GCC countries an elected body i.e. National Assembly was asked to intervene and find a way out from the dispute over the succession of the ruler. Finally in 29.01.2006 the members of the national assembly voted unanimously in favour of Sabah Al-Ahmad and he became the new Emir. Members of Salim line including Saa’d himself had expressed their dissatisfaction but bowed to the decision of the National Assembly. This was a great achievement for Kuwaiti ruling family and the Kuwaiti system. The system showed its efficacy. It showed it is capable of resolving disputes of a serious nature via democratic methods.
    
    1
    
    Jill Crystal, Oil and the Politics in the Gulf: Rulers and Merchants in Kuwait and Qatar (New York:
    
    Cambridge University Press, 1990), p. 12
    
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    Conclusion By reviewing different chapters of Kuwait’s history we can see that the ruling family had utilised its long stability, bonds with the merchants and ability of acting as an institution both for and against democracy. However it seems that the ruling family elites have finally learned from their mistakes on the past and reached a consensus on democracy. Kuwait’s recent events regarding women franchise and the dispute over number of election districts support this assumption. The way the Al-Sabah family handled these serious matters was noteworthy. • In the case of women franchise, the Islamists deputies of Majlis who once in 1991 opposed the Emiri decree to grant women the franchise were not happy when finally in 16.05.2005 the current Emir, back then country’s prim minister, strongly supported a bill to give vote to women. 29 Islamist deputies refrained from voting yet the government won by 29 votes. If the matter was left to liberal MPs alone they could not gather 29 votes. No one can deny the constructive rule of the Kuwaiti liberal minded Emir Sabah al-Ahmad in this matter. • With regard to election districts from the very first days of writing the Kuwaiti constitution till our day, the number of constituencies Kuwait should have, was in centre of discussions between the government and member of the Majles. From 1961 when Abdullah Salim was the Amir Kuwait was consisted of 10 election districts. However 20 years after that, the succeeding Emir, Sheikh Jabir reordered the constituencies carving 25 districts each electing two members. The 1981 redistricting project aimed primarily to reduce the presence and power of the political opposition, which, at that time, was mostly urban and liberal. On 17 April 2006 a group of deputies signed a statement supporting a reduction in the number of electoral districts to 5. This was aimed to change the nature of elections from tribal-based to an election in which votes would be cast according to manifestos and programs. The government rejected this proposal saying that this matter should be referred to the constitutional court. The dispute between the pro-reduction deputies and the government created a big tension in the Kuwaiti society. Since neither sides were ready to compromise the Amir acted by dissolving the Majlis and announcing new elections same year. The
    
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    result was a big victory for the pro-reduction deputies and their numbers in the national assembly rose from 29 to35 from total 50. Finally the new Majlis voted on 30th of July 2006 with absolute majority for the reduction. It is hoped that this would make vote buying more difficult and decrease the importance of tribe, family and sect in elections. Reflections Samuel Huntington was not the only thinker to emphasise the importance of the role of political elites in successful transition to democracy, scholars like (e.g., O'Donnell and Schmitter 1986; Lopez-Pintor 1987;Malloy 1987) have suggested that democratic transitions and breakdowns are ultimately the products of historically contingent elite choices.1 The lively democracy in Kuwait considered a model for the Arab world nonetheless, because of the sound choices that the Kuwaiti political elite (the Al-Sabah rulers) have made in the last five decades. But why on earth despite all the similarities between the ruling families of the GCC countries, the Kuwaiti example was so unique. The answer in my view is to be found in the combination of the three characteristics that the rulers of Kuwait possess, 1. long-lasting stability 2. Historical bonds with Merchants 3. The evolution from family to institution Every Gulf ruling family may possess one or two of these elements, but it is when all three come together that we start seeing significant results and this for sure happened only in Kuwaiti. Commenting on some common questions, 1. To those who are sceptic about the future of democracy in Kuwait I say: It is not realistic to compare the level of democracy in Kuwait with that of France or Germany, Kuwaiti progress should be measure up to its neighbouring states and in this manner the Kuwaiti model is very promising.
    1
    
    John Higley; Michael G. Burton, The Elite Variable in Democratic Transitions and Breakdowns, American
    
    Sociological Review, Vol. 54, No. 1. (Feb., 1989), p. 18
    
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    2. I acknowledge the fact that the Kuwaiti government has many difficult internal issues to resolve in order to strengthen its democracy, the issue of Bidun (or bidoon Jinsiya) is on of them. However, I’m also aware of the important steps taken by the Kuwaiti government such as granting the Kuwaiti women the vote in 2005. All in all, we know that democratisation is a time consuming processes, I believe that we should allow some time if want to see a consolidated democracy in Kuwait.
    
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    Mohd Zarif, Muhammad Mustaqim Traditionists and Sufis: A Clash in Hadîth Methodologies?
    
    Introductory Remarks The main objective of this paper is to present a perspective on the root cause of some of the differences of opinions among the Sunni Muslims in the present day Middle East and elsewhere on their understanding and methodologies in approaching hadith as the penultimate source of the religion. In particular, this paper focuses on comparing the methods of the Traditionists and the Sufis whose influence and imminence in characterizing the religious thought and practice of the Muslims are almost perennial since the early days of Islam. Nonetheless, it should be noted that not all Sufis are in conflict with or opposed to the method of the Traditionists, as may be implied here. In fact, many of them were also reputed Traditionists and respected figures in hadith transmission. At the same time, it should also be realized that the antagonism between them is not entirely caused by their differences on the methodologies in approaching hadith, but rather it stemmed from their conflicting views on some of the key concepts of Sufism itself. In asserting their views, many of the Sufis often employed the use of hadith deemed by the Traditionists as spurious or methodologically unsubstantiated, and it is in this sense that aggravated the tension between the two parties. The Traditionists, who believed in their rightful position as the guardians of the Prophetic traditions, often criticized the Sufis and discredited many of their narrations and personalities. In this regard, although one could cite many examples of this antagonism between the two parties throughout history, none could perhaps be as passionate and profound as Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 596/1200) in his Talbis Iblis, where he openly criticised and censured some of the Sufi figures including al-Sarraj (d. 378/988), al-Makki (d. 386/996), al-Sullami (d.412/1021), al-Qushayri (d. 464/1072), al-Ghazali (d. 505/1111), and others, as well as their works and ideas as what he perceived as deviations from the true and scriptural teachings of Islam. And interestingly enough, amongst his relentless criticism of the Sufis, it is found that Ibn al-Jawzi has attributed the issue of hadith methodologies as one of the main factors of the Sufis’ divergences from the majority of the Sunnis1.
    
    1
    
    ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Jawzi, Talbis Iblis (Cairo, 1948), pp. 152 ff.
    
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    Traditionists’ Approach towards Hadith For the Traditionists, whose method in approaching hadith and its criticism is based on the subject known as the “sciences of hadith”, the authenticity of a hadith relies primarily on the continuity of the chain of transmission (sanad) and the credibility of its narrators. Generally, for a hadith to be accepted, its sanad must be continuous with narrators of righteous conduct and integrity, while the textual content free from inconsistencies and defect. Thus, a hadith that satisfies these requirements is termed as “authentic”, and if its narrator is not known to possess a high level of integrity despite his piety, it is labelled only as “agreeable”. If a hadith does not meet any one of these requirements, it is considered as “rejected”, though of various status and degrees. In implementing this, the Traditionists have placed great importance on the study of hadith narrators and their integrity, which function as the backbone of the accepted norm of hadith criticism among them1. Sufis’ Approach towards Hadith Although the Sufis theoretically do not have a systematic method of hadith criticism like the one adopted by the Traditionists, yet, in practice, it is observed that some of them have their own opinions on this matter; which sometimes lead them to repudiate certain principles that constitute the very core of its methods as understood by the Traditionists. Thus, a hadith considered as spurious among the Traditionists may turn out to be an authentic one according to the Sufis. For them, there are other considerations that characterized their attitude towards hadith, as exemplified by some of their influential masters throughout history: a. al-Makki Al-Makki; an influential early Sufi, has discussed some of the basic foundations that constituted the Sufi method on hadith in his Qut al-Qulub. Interestingly, despite conforming to the general method of the Traditionists, he also argued against some of its basic principles of acceptance, such as tolerating hadith rejected by the Traditionists as being weak due to its broken sanad. In fact, his good contention towards the earlier generations of narrators led him
    
    1
    
    For details, see: Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, Tadrib al-Rawi fi Sharh Taqrib al-Nawawi, I (Mecca, 1997), pp. 55 ff.
    
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    to believe that mere gaps in sanad do not necessarily entail its rejection, as long as it does not contradict with other sources1. Similarly, he also believed that a narrator might be discredited unjustly by the Traditionists thus affecting the reliability of his narration; while in reality this may not be the case as some of them, are, in his opinion, the Gnostics or scholars of God, and the accusations by the Traditionists might not be justified according to the Sufis. Due to this, he believed that it is neither justified for the Sufis to follow the style of the Traditionists nor it is right to subject them to the strict scrutiny of the latter due to their differences in school of thought2. As such, al-Makki has generally laid down the foundations for hadith appraisal among the Sufis, which were more accommodating than the approach of the Traditionists. However, in analyzing its influence towards later generations of Sufis, a survey of al-Ghazali’s Ihya’
    c
    
    Ulum al-Din as an extensive elaboration of Qut al-Qulub is, therefore, essential.
    
    b. al-Ghazali It is found that apart from his extensive quotation of weak hadiths, which were the source of the Traditionists’ criticism against him, al-Ghazali has never clarified his methods on hadith selection. In fact, this task was undertaken by his commentator; Murtada al-Zabidi (d. 1205/1791) who attempted to summarize the method employed by al-Ghazali, while apologetically defending him against his critics. Interestingly enough, in doing so, he also reiterated in totality the method proposed by al-Makki earlier3. It can thus be deduced that al-Makki’s view served to represent as an exemplary model of hadith method, at least for some of the earlier generations of Sufis. Yet, for some others, the urgency for establishing its authenticity has often been fulfilled through their attainment of the highest spiritual station of “unveiling” (kashf) over the need for tangible aspects of hadith criticism. c. Ibn cArabi (d. 638/1240) In particular, this can be implied from the method and sayings of Ibn cArabi in his works. Not all the hadith mentioned by him causes controversies and disputations among the Traditionists. In fact, most are taken from the standard sources, and would be accepted as
    1
    
    Abu Talib al-Makki, Qut al-Qulub fi Mucamalat al-Mahbub wa Wasf Tariq al-Murid ila Maqam al-Tawhid, I
    
    (Cairo, 1961), pp. 359-364.
    2 3
    
    Ibid. Murtada al-Zabidi, Ittihaf al-Sadat al-Muttaqin bi-Sharh Asrar Ihya’ cUlum al-Din, I (Cairo, 1894), pp. 19-21,
    
    48-53.
    
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    authentic by the Traditionists1. However, his persistence on kashf as a method of verifying the authenticity of hadith has also led him to include traditions, decreed as forgeries by the Traditionists, as being authentic and sound. These include the famous traditions such as “He who knows himself knows his Lord”2, and “I was a Hidden Treasure and I wanted to be known, so I created that I might be known”3. In justifying his method, Ibn cArabi stated that the only reason a weak hadith is rejected is either that it is due to the weakness in its sanad, or that certain forgers narrated it, thus causing its unreliability. But, in the case of “shared narrators” who heard the hadith, he has the following stand, When the friend hears it from the Spirit who casts it, he is like the Companion who heard it from the mouth of God’s Messenger, since he gains a knowledge about which he does not doubt. He is different from the Follower –who accepts it only on the basis of the “predominance of surmise”– since there is no suspicion which might impair its truthfulness4 In a similar manner, an authentic hadith proven by its sanad may be deemed as unreliable by the possessor of kashf when he asked the Prophet directly about it. Thus, “God-given knowledge” is defined as possessing direct knowledge of the religion through the Prophet without the intermediaries of the jurists and exoteric scholars. This is usually manifested in the form of the Prophet envisioned by the friend, who taught him the Law5. Impact of their Methods on Later Religious Discourse As such, Ibn cArabi has explicitly laid a new foundation for hadith criticism by emphasizing on the roles of kashf and unobstructed divine intercession in place of physical evaluation of sanad as employed by the Traditionists. Although vision of the Prophet has been claimed by many of the Sufis, none has perhaps, surpassed the eloquence and creativity
    
    1
    
    Abu al-cAla’ al-cAfifi, Fusus al-Hikam li Muhy al-Din ibn cArabi wa al-Tacliqat calayh (Beirut, 1980), pp.
    
    47-48.
    2 3
    
    Ibid., p. 215. William C. Chittick, The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-cArabī’s Metaphysics of Imagination (Albany, 1989),
    
    p. 250.
    4 5
    
    Ibid., p. 251. Ibid., pp. 251-252.
    
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    of Ibn cArabi in formulating it as a superior substitute to the “sciences of hadith”, which has since been used by many of the Sufis in their dealings with hadith. In particular, the so-called tariqat muhammadiyya complex that emerged from the sixteenth century onwards is markedly characterized by its dependence on Ibn cArabi’s methods as discussed above. At the same time, there were also those who opted for a more compromising approach between the Sufis and Traditionists, as can be seen in the intellectual milieu of Arabia, especially in Mecca, from the seventeenth century onwards. In addition to kashf, some of them have also relied on sanad to detect forgeries and fabrication of hadith1. However, for the purists among the Traditionists, they have unreservedly rejected the method propagated by the Sufis, especially their reliance on kashf claiming that it is highly ethereal and subjective, as it is not susceptible to tangible analysis and appraisal. More importantly, with the revival of the Wahhabis, Salafiyya and various similar groups who championed the methods of the Traditionists in its literal and strictest sense in recent years, it has rekindled the heated debates and antagonism towards the Sufis, especially in their unyielding dependence on those hadiths fiercely contested by the Traditionists to be spurious such as in the case of hadiths related to the Sufi conception of the Lights of Muhammad (nur Muhammad), and many others2. However, for the purpose of this paper, it is suffice to note here that in many instances, the distinctive approaches developed by the Sufis towards hadith as opposed to the method of the Traditionists has contributed to the odious attitude between the two groups. By understanding this, it could perhaps enhance our knowledge and perception on the core issue that underlies many of the conflicting views and tension between these two influential and active social groups among the Muslims, which has also, in many ways, characterized the nature of the religious and theological discourse in many Muslim communities until the present day.
    1
    
    See: John O. Voll, ‘Hadith Scholars and Tariqahs: An Ulama Group in the 18th Century Haramayn and their
    
    Impact in the Islamic World’, Journal of Asian and African Studies, 15(3-4) (1980), pp. 264-273; Mark J.R. Sedgwick, The Heirs of Ahmad ibn Idris: The Spread and Normalization of a Sufi Order 1799-1996 (PhD thesis University of Bergen, 1998), pp. 33-51; and Azyumardi Azra, The Origins of Islamic Reformism in Southeast Asia: Networks of Malay-Indonesian and Middle Eastern cUlama’ in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (Honolulu, 2004), pp. 8-51.
    2
    
    See for instance: Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Dacifa wa al-Mawduca wa
    
    Atharuha al-Sayyi’ fi al-Umma, I (Riyadh, 1992), pp. 450-451, 473-474. See also: Muhammad cAbd al-Ra’uf al-Qasim, al-Kashf can Haqiqat al-Sufiyya li Awwal al-Marra fi al-Tarikh (Beirut: 1987), and many others.
    
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    Reflections In its present state, this paper should be perceived as being exploratory and preliminary in nature; and one that attempts to address an important aspect of the differences of methodological approach towards hadith as a religious source among the Muslims and its role in characterizing and shaping their religious and social attitude in the present day. Notwithstanding its concise nature, this paper has nonetheless demonstrated, through a retrospective historical survey of their intellectual and religious traditions, that the distinctive methods employed by both the Traditionists and Sufis in hadith have had an important role in diffusing and reinforcing the ideological and religious gaps between them and left a lasting impression on the attitude and mindset of present day Muslims. Due to this, it is also believed that the perspective proposed here could also serve as a potential and viable hypothetical variable in getting a better understanding of the cause of conflict and/or tension among various social and religious groups in present day Middle Eastern and Muslim societies alongside other key social factors. At the same time, the multidisciplinary nature of the Workshop and its participants has also benefited this paper through the various comments and questions received. These included the importance of distinguishing the contextual and textual usage of hadith between the Traditionists and Sufis, as well as the need to discuss in detail the problematic disposition of rigid literalist and partial interpretation of hadith by present day Salafiyya and its likes as compared with the majority of the Sunnis who emphasized on understanding any hadith and/or religious source in its larger religious context. Due to their significance in complementing the discussion of this topic, it is, therefore, believed that future studies on this subject should take these issues into consideration.
    
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    Prescott, Katherine Degrees of ‘Otherness’: Contested Approaches for the Representations of Arab Women Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) is a transnational feminist solidarity network which connects feminists across more than seventy countries. The network not only links Muslim women living in Muslim states but rather works with all women whose lives, “are shaped, conditioned or governed by laws, both written and unwritten, drawn from interpretations of the Qur’an tied up with local traditions.”1 WLUML aims to enable women to challenge unjust situations and argue for their human rights. The network was formed in the mid-1980s in reaction to the increasing influence that right-wing forces, under the banner of Islam, were exerting in Muslim countries and the resulting injustices that were inflicted on women. WLUML does not advocate a religious or secular path. Rather it attempts to put women into a position where they can make their own choices. It is not merely the attitude of oppressive governments and conservative fundamentalist groups that WLUML is trying to challenge, but also the left wing voices that facilitate their actions by tolerating certain practices, named as Islamic, for the sake of maintaining a multicultural global environment. The aims of the network can be found on its website, which states: “The network aims to strengthen women’s individual and collective struggles for equality and their rights, especially in Muslim contexts. It achieves this by: • Breaking the isolation in which women wage their struggles by creating and reinforcing linkages between women within Muslim countries and communities, and with global feminist and progressive groups;
    •
    
    Sharing information and analysis that helps demystify the diverse sources of control over women’s lives, and the strategies and experiences of challenging all means of control.”2
    
    WLUML’s principles are laid out in its 2006 Senegal Plan of Action. They are listed as:
    • • • •
    1 2
    
    Autonomy in diversity Complementarity and reciprocity Respect for each other Space for discussion and debate1
    
     [accessed 27/07/07]. Plan of Action – Senegal 2006 (N.p.: Women Living Under Muslim Laws, 2006), p. 4.
    
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    WLUML’s website also outlines its principles. These include its commitment to international solidarity and building bridges across identities, its recognition and appreciation of the diversity of opinions in the network, its concern for marginalised women and also the important role of the personal in the network.2 So how do these principles and values relate to the challenges facing the network? These include finding answers to the following questions: What position is needed to overcome the dichotomies of universal/specific and local/international and create a space for dialogue? How is it possible to create a space for secular and religious women’s groups to work together? How can the network make sure that projects are effective? How to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard when there are language barriers, technology barriers and financial barriers? WLUML’s activities include disseminating solidarity alerts, providing networking and information services, capacity building exercises, producing publications, running a website and facilitating collective projects. WLUML’s Alert for Action, “which is essentially an invitation to join a letter-writing campaign,”3 is used to deal with crisis situations, in which the lives of individuals are in danger. These alerts end the isolation of the endangered person, provide information and raise awareness of certain issues. One of the challenges for networks and NGOs generally is how to make sure that their actions do not harm the cause of the person(s) they are supporting. WLUML waits for individuals and groups to seek their assistance before acting. The one exception is if the individual is unable to seek this assistance for some reason.4 WLUML also consults informed individuals and groups to check that the action will not further endanger the individual.5 The network ensures maximum coverage by producing the Alert in several languages whenever possible. In line with WLUML’s operational principle of ‘meaningful participation,’ the network makes sure before issuing the alert that there are enough resources
    
    1 2 3
    
    Plan of Action – Senegal 2006 (N.p.: Women Living Under Muslim Laws, 2006), p. 4.  [accessed 01/08/07] Hoodfar, Homa and Pazira, Nelofer. Building Civil Societies: A Guide for Social and Political Activism (N.p.:
    
    Women Living Under Muslim Laws, 2000), p. 45.
    4 5
    
    Ibid, p. 47. Ibid.
    
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    and time available, and that those who are supporting the cause are prepared for any backlash.1 ‘Capacity building’ is another important activity and this is done through internships, exchanges, training and workshops. These activities ensure that the network is constantly subject to and receptive to new ideas. The ‘Feminism in the Muslim World Leadership Institutes’, which took place in 1998 and 1999, with another due to take place this year, are prime examples of capacity building exercises which provide education and a space for sharing experiences and information. The institutes were conducted in English and French, in recognition of the need to address the imbalances in power among feminists caused by language barriers. The institutes worked to empower third world feminists by asking participants to bring historical examples of feminists in their countries. This exercise not only provided inspiration for the participants but also tackled the myth that feminism is a Western concept, therefore increasing the confidence of feminists whose legitimacy had been challenged. This also countered previous tendencies of Western feminists to feel that they were helping their Eastern sisters rather than working with them. WLUML’s commitment to overcome language barriers extends to every aspect of its work, most notably its publications, many of which are available in English, French and Arabic. Likewise, WLUML’s website is available in English, French, Arabic, Russian and Chinese. The use of the website allows WLUML’s work to be accessed by a wide range of people and it also means that individuals can find out about WLUML without needing to belong to an organization. The collective projects that WLUML has undertaken include an exchange programme in 1988, Qur’anic interpretations meetings in 1990, 2002 and 2004, the Women and Law in the Muslim World Programme which took place from 1991 until 2001, the aforementioned 1998 and 1999 Feminism in the Muslim World Leadership Institutes, the Gender and displacement in Muslim contexts project which took place between 1999 and 2002 and, most recently, the Initiative for Strengthening Afghan Family Laws which took place between 2002 and 2007. WLUML’s publications include theme based dossiers, newssheets, occasional papers, Plans of Action, and publications on specific issues of interest. These publications relate to WLUML’s activities, feminist meetings, law codes and Qur’anic interpretation. WLUML is careful to stress that perspectives do not necessarily represent the opinion of the network. The
    1
    
    Hoodfar, Homa and Pazira, Nelofer.
    
    Building Civil Societies: A Guide for Social and Political Activism
    
    (Women Living Under Muslim Laws, 2000), p. 47.
    
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    most recent innovation regarding WLUML’s publications is the introduction of the WLUML newsletter which documents WLUML’s current feminist activities, and other feminist events and campaigns. Before the newsletter, WLUML’s current activities were not very visible. Activity-specific publications provided a glimpse into WLUML’s activities but, read on an individual basis, could not demonstrate the diversity of activities or the current work of WLUML activists. Although the newsletter has gone some way to remedy the problem of lack of visibility, it has not totally solved the problem. The flexible, non-hierarchical structure of the network provides benefits but it also presents challenges: Questions of identity, leadership, representation and accountability are just some of the issues that the network has to confront if it is to be, using the terms of Catherine Eschle, a site as well as a source of democracy.1 There is a tension between the desire for participatory and egalitarian work and the practical needs of leadership and consensus. A non-hierarchical structure may promote equality and a space for discussion but it can also result in a lack of direction, stagnation and confusion. The network has started to confront this tension with its recent structural changes, which were first discussed during the 2006 Plan of Action. The most notable change is the eradication of the Programme Implementation Council with the responsibility for planning programmes being held by the new WLUML Council. A list of WLUML’s operational values was also created during the 2006 Plan of Action.2 These include: accountability, transparency, clarity on roles, responsibility and decision-making, access to information, space for discussion and debate, meaningful participation, trust, consultation and the right to speak and be heard.3 Although the structural changes have dealt with the confusion over roles, responsibility and decision-making, some other values, such as accountability and transparency, are not automatically encouraged. Although there are plans for the WLUML Council to be elected, it comprises active, long-term networkers, with much skill and experience, who have either nominated themselves to be on the Council or have been nominated by others. Unlike the other boards in the network, the Council is not obliged to report to anyone, although it will undertake a private annual review. Presumably, the meetings
    1
    
    Following Eschle’s idea that the feminist movement can encourage democracy both in terms of its own
    
    internal structures and in terms of its activities. Eschle, Catherine. Global Democracy, Social Movements, and Feminism (Boulder, Colo. and Oxford: Westview, 2001), p. 119.
    2 3
    
    Plan of Action – Senegal 2006 (N.p.: Women Living Under Muslim Laws, 2006), p. 14. Plan of Action – Senegal 2006 (N.p.: Women Living Under Muslim Laws, 2006), p. 14.
    
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    around the creation of the Plans of Action will provide opportunities for the Council to justify its planning decisions. However, the formulation of Plans of Action has happened infrequently (only four times in twenty three years) so there is little opportunity for external critical analysis of the Council’s decisions. Therefore, the operational values of consultation, transparency and accountability are absent. Another challenge is making the Council reflect the diversity of the network. Personal friendships are encouraged during all of WLUML’s meetings, exchanges and collective projects. They are a source of emotional support, but they are also potential barriers to inclusion and diversity. People tend to form friendships with like-minded individuals. The current system means that the Council has the potential to be dominated by one friendship group, with a single point of view. The issue of representation also has the potential to undermine the network’s principle of “autonomy in diversity.”1 Who has the right to represent the network is a key question. How can they reflect the diversity of the network? One way round these problems is for networkers to declare that they are speaking only on behalf of themselves and not on behalf of the network.2 With greater clarity of roles, there is a better idea of who is qualified to speak on behalf of the network but representation is always likely to remain a controversial issue. Another concern is funding. Networks risk being driven by donors who are looking to pursue their own agendas. One way to overcome this risk is for networks to limit their need for external funds. Many of WLUML’s networkers work on a voluntary basis.3 Academics and researchers connected with WLUML often choose to pursue their research in areas which are of interest to WLUML.4 WLUML has also managed to keep costs down by exploiting innovations in communication technologies. Networkers can contact each other through email, publications can be downloaded from the internet and then photocopied and meetings can be conducted using skype. Issues must be confronted so that optimal strategies for dealing with them may be developed. The current absence of mechanisms in the structure for reviewing activities can
    1 2
    
    Plan of Action – Senegal 2006 (N.p.: Women Living Under Muslim Laws, 2006), p. 4. One example of this approach is when four WLUML networkers, Marieme Hélie-Lucas, Ayesha Imam, Farida The transcripts of these interviews are published in
    
    Shaheed and Lynn Freedman, were interviewed on radio. WLUML Occasional Paper No. 13.
    3 4
    
    Information gained during a telephone interview with Homa Hoodfar on the 15th August 2007. Ibid.
    
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    prevent these strategies from coming to light. The planned changes of elections to the Council and fixed periods of tenure on the Council will definitely help WLUML to further honour its operation values. The Council will be elected by existing members of the WLUML Council and members of the WLUML Board.1 As the WLUML Board is itself elected by the WLUML Council, this could present a conflict of interests for some networkers and limit the potential for improved accountability. However, it is difficult to imagine an alternative method for electing the WLUML Council. In order to promote civil society, the network must show the characteristics of civil society within itself as well as acting to create a more democratic global atmosphere. Therefore, the network should be open to criticism and change. A visible annual review2 and accompanying report would highlight its most effective activities and publications. It could also provide a clear record of its achievements and development, useful for new networkers and potential funders. Despite structural difficulties, WLUML is a valuable network. WLUML has been instrumental in redressing imbalances in the global feminist scene by finding innovative ways to overcome the barriers created by language differences and the unequal global distribution of resources. WLUML has also taken important steps to dispel the myth that feminism is a purely western concept. WLUML has massive potential for changing the world for the better by improving women’s lives and promoting civil society. If the network shows an awareness of its structural tensions and continues to confront them it will undoubtedly endure as one of the pioneering bodies in the feminist movement. Reflections My paper was followed by some interesting questions. Firstly, I was asked about the origins of the network, ‘Women Living Under Muslim Laws.’ I was glad that I was asked about this as I had wanted to include this information in my paper but unfortunately there was not enough time. I realised that knowing about the foundation of the network is important for
    
    1
    
    Information gained during an informal interview with Ayesha Karriaper and Giulia Girardi on 4th Septermber
    
    2007.
    2
    
    Annual reviews have been conducted but, for security reasons, they are not available for the public.
    
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    understanding the need for the network and therefore if I was to deliver the paper again then I would try and include a little more detail about this. Another interesting question related to the impact of the internet on networks. Making reference to Bruno Latour, a member of the audience asked me the extent to which I thought that internet and email could be viewed as agents in the network. I agreed that the development in communications technologies has totally changed the scope of the network’s activities and the costs of disseminating information. If I was to revisit the paper then I would definitely have a close look at Latour’s work and see how his theory applies to the network. A few other points that were raised made me aware that certain parts of my paper were not clear to everyone. For example, I was asked whether the network engaged with Islamic legal principles. One of the unique features of the network is that it incorporates both secular and faith based approaches and I had thought this was clear from my paper, but I was able to confirm this. Also, I could have emphasised the distinction between the term Muslim laws and the term Islamic laws more strongly as I was asked about this.
    
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    Report*
    Aims: The main purposes of the workshop were: first, to explore Arab-related issues in various academic fields; second, to help graduate students to enhance the quality and scope of their research in Arabic and Arab studies; and third, to provide the opportunity to exchange ideas and to network with other young researchers across many fields in Arab world studies. Selection: The response to the call for the papers, which was circulated at the beginning of May 2007, was impressive and the workshop committee received many more proposals for papers than the schedule could accommodate. Papers from any discipline were welcomed and sixteen proposals were accepted by the 3-person workshop committee. Workshop: The workshop committee was looking for scholarly papers with a focused argument, coherent analysis, critical evaluation, clear methodology and a cogent conclusion to attempt to further our understanding of the Arab world. The selected sixteen speakers from universities all over Britain and one speaker from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, gathered to discuss their research on diverse topics: sociology, anthropology, religion, translation, literature and politics. This two-day workshop was chaired by Professor Robert Hillenbrand, Professor Carole Hillenbrand, and Dr Tony Gorman, lecturer in IMES, to facilitate active interaction and sometimes passionate discussion between the speakers and an audience of postgraduates, academics and new CASAW students. It was a delight to see the speakers and the audience of young and senior researchers exchanging their ideas very actively. The room was fully packed throughout the workshop and brought together an audience in representing many disciplines whose members have few opportunities to gather together. This interdisciplinary diversity characterised the workshop, which deliberately avoided parallel sessions in order to optimize audience exposure and to expand the variety of research methods showcased. Mediocre and even negligent research methods are sometimes followed if we become too satisfied and comfortable in our small research areas without trying to broaden our knowledge and challenge our own existing ___________________________________________________________________________
    *
    
    Based on a report written on 15th September, 2007.
    
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    research methods. This workshop was a great success not only because it enabled speakers from various fields to test their ideas in front of an interested and appreciative audience, but also because it enabled both the speakers and audience to create a sense of camaraderie and to exchange their opinions and experiences in an intellectual and friendly atmosphere. Feedback and outcomes: Very positive feedback was given to the speakers from the audience. A large majority of those present considered the most beneficial aspect of the workshop to be the opportunity to hear a range of papers and thus to encounter disciplines and approaches to research with which they would not otherwise have been acquainted. The prolonged discussion and debate as well as networking and socialising were highly valued by participants. It might be too early to quantify the ultimate outcomes of the workshop, but it is clear that lively interaction during sessions and breaks, and a comfortable sense of camaraderie created through the workshop, stimulated the young researchers present. This workshop proved the existence of a marked need and desire to learn more from others both inside and outside one’s own field. It is hoped that this graduate workshop will encourage the creation of further opportunities to challenge and exchange ideas about diverse topics.
    
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