Suez is a seaport city which is one of the two gates of the Suez Canal. Most media talked about Tahrir Square in Cairo as the epicenter of the Arab Spring in Egypt. However the truth is that Suez...Show moreSuez is a seaport city which is one of the two gates of the Suez Canal. Most media talked about Tahrir Square in Cairo as the epicenter of the Arab Spring in Egypt. However the truth is that Suez was genuinely the center of the unprecendented uprising, as it was the first city to rise up against Hosni Mubarak. Likewise, Suez was also sadly known for being the city where the first protester was killed in Egypt during the January 2011 uprisings. Therein, Suez was renowned across Egypt for carrying ‘The Flame of Revolution‘. As such, some activists referred to Suez as the ‘Egyptian Sidi Bouzid’.Show less
Sâmiha Ayverdi represents a curious case of where the usual crude dichotomic categorisations that mark modern Turkey appear to loose validity. Having the outward appearance of a westernised ...Show moreSâmiha Ayverdi represents a curious case of where the usual crude dichotomic categorisations that mark modern Turkey appear to loose validity. Having the outward appearance of a westernised ‘republican woman’ as envisaged by the reformist Kemalist elite, Ayverdi managed to merge multiple, seemingly conflicting, personas in her person as a novelist, a public intellectual and the head of a Sufi brotherhood. This thesis seeks to evaluate Ayverdi’s memoirs in terms of their value of providing us with a counter-narrative on the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the rise of the republic and the numerous political crises that it faced throughout its existence. It is not a study of Ayverdi’s Sufi inspired religious views which have been discussed elsewhere. It is hoped this study will constitute a humble contribution to the academic discourse regarding the hybridity of Turkish intellectuals.Show less
This thesis analyzes the ideological and political dynamics behind the intention of reversing the Family Planning Law in Iran (implemented in 1993)during the Ahmadinejad's administration(2005-2013)...Show moreThis thesis analyzes the ideological and political dynamics behind the intention of reversing the Family Planning Law in Iran (implemented in 1993)during the Ahmadinejad's administration(2005-2013). I argue that the pronatalist line of thinking of the last decade was due to the worsening of the Iran's economic conditions and to the worsening of the international relations with the United States and Europe.Show less
In this study is been examined the stance of the Kemalist elite towards liberalism as a competing political program of modernization and as one opposed to that of the RPP (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi –...Show moreIn this study is been examined the stance of the Kemalist elite towards liberalism as a competing political program of modernization and as one opposed to that of the RPP (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi – Republican People’s Party) in the period of 1922-1945. According to the prevalent viewpoint in most of historical analyses of the early republican history of Turkey, the path to the formation of the new state and the viewpoint of the ruling elite clashed with the liberal ideal. The hybrid ideological nature of Kemalism, as the dominant trend of Turkish nationalism, and its distance from other existing paradigms is clearly captured by Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk)’s phrase uttered during the debate on the abolition of the sultanate, ‘Biz bize benzeriz’ (We resemble ourselves). Through the study of the government’s acts and the intellectual debates of the period, I show that certain aspects of liberalism, such as constitution, rule of law, popular sovereignty and representative government, are an organic part of any modern political system, including Turkey's, and that any state has to adopt at least some of them if it is to be regarded as modern.Show less
The Alevi community is the biggest religious minority in Turkey today. Although the Turkish state is by definition secular and laicist, it considers Sunni Islam the state’s religion and the mosque...Show moreThe Alevi community is the biggest religious minority in Turkey today. Although the Turkish state is by definition secular and laicist, it considers Sunni Islam the state’s religion and the mosque as offical worship place for all groups who describe themselves "Islamic". The Alevi religious practices which are not performed in the mosque have been weakened as a result of social differentiation and migration during the 1950’s and 1960’s which firstly occurred in the cities and later on in the villages. The demands of Democratic Party (the beginning of Multiparty system - 1946) for a more central role of religion (Sunni Islam), especially after the coup in 1980 has resulted in the construction of more and more mosques in Alevi villages, clearly designed to assimilate the Alevis in Sunni Islam. As time passed by, the Alevis got more organized after 1990s, opposition to this project increased, and most Alevis did not attend the newly built mosques which resulted in a deterioration of the relationship with the state- appointed (Sunni) imam. Contrary to many other villagers, the state-appointed Imam in Koyunpinari has a very good relationship with the villagers, of whom some even attend his Friday prayers. He has spent 23 years in Koyunpinari and does not show any intention of leaving. In 2014 the first cem-house (House of Gathering where religious ceremonies take place that has not been performed in the past 60 years in Koyunpinari) was constructed in that village after the village association in Ankara and Istanbul managed to collect enough means. This paper investigates where this sudden urge in willing to have a cem-house came from while the mosque seems to be embraced. Also it traces the development of the relationship between the Alevi community and their adhering to certain religious dogma’s, and the mosque as the most visible manifestation of Sunni Islam.Show less
This thesis is about the role of women organizations in the Gezi protests in Istanbul in 2013. The theory "civil resistance" is used. The research question is: "What has motivated several non...Show moreThis thesis is about the role of women organizations in the Gezi protests in Istanbul in 2013. The theory "civil resistance" is used. The research question is: "What has motivated several non-environmentalist women’s organizations in Istanbul to actively participate in the Gezi protests? Have these organizations mobilized women?"Show less
In this thesis the Solidere project to rebuild post-war Beirut is analysed. The focus is on the identity Solidere intended to create and the strategy they choose to build and brand this identity.
This thesis seeks to add to our conception of the role of commentaries and the workings within the networks of medieval Muslim intellectuals, by analysing the way in which the Persian mystic Sayyid...Show moreThis thesis seeks to add to our conception of the role of commentaries and the workings within the networks of medieval Muslim intellectuals, by analysing the way in which the Persian mystic Sayyid ʿAli Hamadani treats and defines the mystical symbolism of the Egyptian mystic Ibn al-Farid's Khamriyya. The translation and analysis of Hamadani's commentary (Masharib al-Adhwaq) supports the view that mystical authors often composed commentaries on poetry mainly to present and support their own theosophical system. Hence, the analysis of Masharib al-Adhwaq reveals many of the basic concepts of Islamic mysticism that can be traced back to such eminent scholars as Ibn ʿArabi or al-Ghazali. This thesis also seeks to contribute to our understandings of the way Persian authors employed prosimetry (i.e. the mixing of prose and verse). The analysis of the interactions between Ibn al-Farid's verses and Hamadani's prose and verse explanations suggests a dialectic between the prose and poetry passages that reflects both the explicit and the implicit intention behind writing a mystical commentary.Show less
The thesis provides a look into the intricate relationship between the Sunni tribes of Iraq, primarily in the al-Anbar province, and the U.S.-led Coalition as well as with Al-Qaeda in Iraq, during...Show moreThe thesis provides a look into the intricate relationship between the Sunni tribes of Iraq, primarily in the al-Anbar province, and the U.S.-led Coalition as well as with Al-Qaeda in Iraq, during the U.S. invasion between 2003 and 2009. It paints a picture of the tribal consolidation that occurred during this time, between the various tribes and tribal affiliations, as a direct result of the uncertainty and lack of security in Iraq during this period, and in particular the uncertain future of Sunnis in the predominantly Shi'a country. The thesis provides information about the incentive-based relationship between the Sunni tribes and the various actors in the conflict, and presents an argument that this short-term cooperation hampered any future attempts for cooperation between the Iraqi government and the Sunnis. It also argues that this type of cooperation resulted in the division of the country within its sectarian and religious lines.Show less
This thesis argues that within the medium of photography during Protectorate Morocco, four agents of power (French protectorate policy, French social science, commercial tourism, and the...Show moreThis thesis argues that within the medium of photography during Protectorate Morocco, four agents of power (French protectorate policy, French social science, commercial tourism, and the photographer himself) are connected and collaborate in constructing and using photography for their own interests. By analysing part of the photo collection of the French photographer Jacques Belin, who worked in Morocco between 1939 and 1961, I argue in what way these four domains were of influence in the production, construction, and use of Belin’s work. I state that these four collaborated and reinforced each other and resulted in the construction of Belin’s work. At times, France’s mission civilisatrice was the bigger picture holding the whole project together; at other times the aesthetic value or ethnographic interests were more dominant than those of the colonial mission. It is thus a much-needed contextualization of an individual photographer and the specific conditions to his work, to understand the workings of power within a larger context of photography and that of twentieth-century French colonialism.Show less
The present thesis aims at a better understanding of Islamophobia in Western Europe. For this purpose, it investigates how the issue is perceived from the Arabic and from the Western European...Show moreThe present thesis aims at a better understanding of Islamophobia in Western Europe. For this purpose, it investigates how the issue is perceived from the Arabic and from the Western European perspective, what both of these views have in common and where the differences between them. In the opening section, the results of a literature research are presented, which focuses on academic Arabic sources, articles on the Aljazeera website, and academic publications by West European authors. In this context, various aspects of the phenomenon such as the definition of the term, roots and causes, the role of media and of the political right, and its relation to the anti-Semitism are considered. As example of manifestation of Islamophobia the French head scarf ban is discussed. Comparing the Arabic and the Western European view on Islamophobia, one cannot detect specific differences concerning the definition of the term, albeit the latter appears contested and vague. In contrast, the identified reasons for Islamophobia and the role attributed to media and the political right are controversial and depend very much on the particular perspective involved. While the majority of the Western sources identifies the reason of Islamophobia as the perceived incompatibility of Islam with Western and European values, Arab authors mostly hold Western misunderstanding and lack of knowledge responsible for the phenomenon. They also attribute an essential role to media and the political right in its dissemination. While at least the majority of the Arab sources attribute a positive character to the headscarf, in Western Europe it is frequently understood as symbol of a radical Islam and gender discrimination, therefore justifying its ban. The comparison with anti-Semitism appears to be restricted to the Western European perspective, which is possibly due to the role this phenomenon has played in Europe's history.Show less
