Bombs, Beer, or Body Lotion? New Light on an Enigma in Islamic Archaeology

Religious practices, ideas and experiences

Living among the Dead? Cemeteries and Burial Practices in Post-War Sarajevo

In Bosnia’s capital Sarajevo the dead are omnipresent. Why do people bury their dead near the living, and what role do war and religion play? Nadia Sonneveld and Kerim Sušić strolled through various cemeteries and neighbourhoods in Sarajevo in search of answers.

State, politics and society

Democratic Backsliding and Anti-Gender Politics in Turkey: What to Expect After the 2023 Elections?

Didem Unal, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, writes about the anti-gender and anti-LGBTI+ rhetoric in the 2023 election campaign in Turkey and the possible implications for the country's immediate future.

Welke rol speelt islam in het Chinese beleid tegenover de Oeigoeren?

Het repressieve beleid van de Chinese overheid tegenover de Oeigoerse moslims wordt afgebeeld als een strijd tegen islamitisch extremisme. Maar welke rol speelt islam werkelijk in het conflict?

History · State, politics and society

The Golden Age and the Contemporary Crisis in the Muslim World

The main cause of the current crisis in many Muslim-majority countries is the ulama–state alliance rather than Islam or Western colonization, argues Ahmet T. Kuru in his recent book. A Dutch translation appeared in May 2023

Trust in Fieldwork: Lessons from Research in Armenia and Turkey

Ayşenur Korkmaz writes on conducting fieldwork as a practising Muslim in Armenia and Turkey on the afterlives of the Armenian genocide. Whom do we trust, and how can we be trusted?

History · Social movements

A 13th-Century Sufi Socialist Revolution?

The revolt of the Sufi Mahmud Tarabi in Bukhara in the 1230s was a religious and social movement, targeting both the non-Muslim Mongol overlords and wealthy landowners. Dr. Tobias Jones investigates