islam

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

Debates on Islam in Europe

De januskop van de bureaucratische incorporatie van de islam in Europese samenlevingen

De bureaucratische incorporatie van de islam in Europa kent twee gezichten, stelt Thijl Sunier in zijn afscheidsrede als hoogleraar antropologie. Wordt het niet tijd om het door samenleving en politiek aan moslims opgelegde beeld van "ideale moslim" los te laten, zo vraagt hij zich af.

The Mughal Experiment with Islamic Extremism: A Sixteenth-Century Lesson for Today

Religious extremism is not limited to Islam or to the present. Said Reza Huseini delves into the past to find a policy that actually worked: Mughal Emperor Akbar’s “Peace with All” ideology.

History · Religious practices, ideas and experiences · Interreligious relations

Dietary Laws and the Birth of Islam

Foodways are an integral part of identity, and the proto-Muslim community was no exception. Based on Quranic proclamations on dietary laws, Mehdy Shaddel shows that among the early opponents of Islam there probably were “gentile” adherents of “Jewish” food laws.

History · Art, literature and media

Playing the CyberSultan: Videogames and the Islamic Empire

Video games like the "Crusader Kings" and "Civilization" franchises are laboratories for experiencing complex and nuanced historical imaginaries. But even the most well-researched tend to perpetuate certain stereotypes about Islam and the Middle East...

Islam and health

COVID-19’s Narratives of (In)Vulnerability: Islam, Water, and Success in Small Indonesian Islands

While small Eastern Indonesian islands are often categorised for mediatic and administrative purposes as “vulnerable,” COVID-19 has hardly touched island spaces in North Sulawesi (Indonesia).

History

The Governor’s Orders: Part Two

Read the history behind the story published here last year on the arrival of a message from the governor of Egypt in an eighth-century Egyptian village.

History

Conquest through Negotiation: The Arab Takeover of Qom in Sasanian Iran

The term “early Muslim conquests” brings to mind Arabs taking a place with violence, without any cooperation from the local population. No doubt that was sometimes the case. But did the early Muslim “conquests” of Sasanian Iran follow this pattern? How did the locals’ reactions affect the conquests?

Religious practices, ideas and experiences

Kunnen moslims wijn drinken?

Moslims en wijn, is er een connectie? Pooyan Tamimi Arab gaat in dit blog en tijdens zijn lezing op 6 november dieper in op deze vraag.