• The relations between Islam/Muslims and the West are bad and seem to be worsening over the year... more • The relations between Islam/Muslims and the West are bad and seem to be worsening over the years. Islamophobia has increased in Europe and America, while anti‐Westernism, particularly anti–Americanism, continues to spread in the Muslim worlds. • The Clash of Civilization, the cultural war, theory has increasingly been the lens through which the relation between the two worlds has been viewed for quite a while now. • A large number of polls and studies show that various large majorities of people in Western societies believe that Islam = terrorism, Muslims = terrorists (or support terrorism), that Islam is incompatible with Western values (democracy, freedom of expression, gender equality, individual freedom, etc.); that Muslims do not want democracy, freedom of expression, etc.; that Islam and Muslims are inherently authoritarian, intolerant or worse towards women, etc. etc. The Muslim world is to a large extent seen through the lens of so‐called Orientalism. • Analogously many studies show that people in Muslim societies in terms of categories such as imperialism, egoism, materialism, egoism, atheism, greed and ethic moral degeneration – in short as representing Jahiliyya. The Western world is to a large extent seen through the lens of so‐called Occidentalism. • These stereotypes are, it seems, reflected in increasingly xenophobic and Islamophobic media and well established in the mind of many Westerners. * This text was prepared as an oral presentation, mainly based on over‐head slides, and has only been tolerably adapted to the format of a written paper. • Many studies show that the media in their coverage of Islam and Muslims to a high extent focus on religious extremism and global terrorism and that they reflect and play to the increasingly xenophobic and Islamophobic societal attitudes, thereby fueling and reinforcing negative perceptions of Muslims and Islam. • These facts have in many places in the West had a tendency to lead to the conclusion: diplomacy and dialogue does not work. The only language “they” understand is force. “We” have to defend ourselves (the Securitization paradigm), and pacify “tem” (the “send in the Marines–paradigm”). • In sum: the relations between Islam and the West are bad and seem to be getting worse. • Can something be done? Is there a road forward to better relations? What role can dialogue play in this respect?
An informative introduction on the tension between the notion of a "revealed/ sacred text" and Ar... more An informative introduction on the tension between the notion of a "revealed/ sacred text" and Arabic fiction is found in Shawkat M. Toorawa: "Modern Arabic literature and the Qur'an: inimitability creativity, … incompatibility," in Glenda Abramson, Hilary Kilpatrick (eds.
This book looks at how religious studies is framed and taught in India. It addresses the contradi... more This book looks at how religious studies is framed and taught in India. It addresses the contradiction between the country's vibrant religious life and the dearth of comparative and social scientific religious studies programs across Indian universities.
The Department of Religious Studies offers undergraduates from across Northwestern the opportunit... more The Department of Religious Studies offers undergraduates from across Northwestern the opportunity to study religions as historical and cultural phenomena. This includes the scholarly exploration of religious traditions, histories, cultures, beliefs, practices, sacred texts, sacred stories, and material productions from around the world in their institutional as well as noninstitutional ("on the ground") forms. The department's approach is fundamentally multidisciplinary, drawing from a variety of fields and critical perspectives: anthropology, history, philosophy, ethics, sociology, and literary and cultural studies, among others. The wide variety of undergraduate courses range from large introductory classes to advanced seminars, and there are also independent studies and a senior thesis program for qualified students. The courses cover aspects of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, African American and Native American religions, new religious movements, and religion and culture in America. Several courses are structured comparatively or thematically and address religious ideas and phenomena across cultures and contexts. RELIGION 312-0 Buddhism and Gender (1 Unit) Women, men, and gendered symbolism in Buddhism from the time of the Buddha to the present. Draws on canonical texts, narrative literature, autobiography and biography, and ethnography. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 313-0 Tibetan Religion and Culture (1 Unit) Propagation of religions in Tibet in their larger historical, cultural, and political contexts. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 314-0 Buddhism in the Contemporary World (1 Unit) An exploration of where, why, and how Buddhist practices, ideas, and iconography are spreading and being reinterpreted in the modern world. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 315-0 Buddhist Auto/biography (1 Unit) An exploration of Buddhist narratives of the self, including Sanskrit and Tibetan-language biographies and autobiographies in English translation, in conversation with literary theory. Literature Fine Arts Distro Area RELIGION 316-0 Religion and the Body in China (1 Unit) Explores the place of the body in Chinese religion, from the ancient period to the present day. Touches on dying and the afterlife, food and drink, health and medicine, gender and family, and other themes. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 318-0 Topics in East Asian Religions (1 Unit) Content varies. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 319-0 Topics in Buddhism (1 Unit) Content varies. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 329-0 Topics in the Bible (1 Unit) Content varies. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 330-0 Varieties of Ancient Judaism (1 Unit) Introduction to the Judaisms that flourished from the fifth century BCE to the third century CE. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 332-0 Modern Jewish Thought (1 Unit) How Judaism dealt with modernity and the problems it posed: Spinoza, Mendelssohn, Cohen, Buber, Rosenzweig, and Levinas. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 333-0 Judaism in the Modern World (1 Unit) Radical changes that emancipation and modernity have brought to the religious expression of Judaism. May be repeated for credit. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 339-0 Topics in Judaism (1 Unit) Content varies. May be repeated for credit with change of topic.
The book analyzes state policies towards Islam and Muslims in Sweden. It investigates mechanisms ... more The book analyzes state policies towards Islam and Muslims in Sweden. It investigates mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion and compare these with goals formulated by the Muslims themselves. It describes the history of Islam in Sweden, policies of multiculturalism, how these policies have been experienced by Muslims and how integration can be promoted. It concludes with a discussion of future scenarios for the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims.
South Asia, and especially India, was a lifelong interest of Joseph Thomas O'Connell (1940-2012).... more South Asia, and especially India, was a lifelong interest of Joseph Thomas O'Connell (1940-2012). In his writings, this interest can be documented beginning with his first paper on Gandhi in 1959 until his last essays in the Bangladesh e-journal of Sociology in 2011. Even though most of his works in the interim, in line with his doctoral dissertation Social implications of the Gaudīya Vaiṣṇava Movement (1970), focused on various aspects of the Gaudīya Vaiṣṇava tradition in Bengal, his interests ran much wider, both in terms of religious traditions and geography. In addition to discussions of Chaitanya, the process of the institutionalization of the Gaudīya Vaiṣṇava movement and its relations to and interactions with other movements, as well as on key terms such as karman and 'Hindu', he published works on the life and work of Rabindranath Tagore, on the Jain and Sikh traditions, on Hindu-Muslim relationships, on South Asian diasporas, as well as on the study of religion in South Asia. Joe was, however, not only interested in 'traditional' academic textual studies of these issues. He was also keenly interested in questions of the social implications and relevance of the teachings of these traditions and to what extent they had succeeded in translating into changes in the social sphere. He had realized early on that if you should study the 'value orientation' of the Gaudīya Vaiṣṇava, prema-bhakti (loving devotion), you could not turn a blind eye to its social impact. True to his conviction that if one were to make claims about the transformative power of Vaiṣṇava spirituality, then one had to go outside the textual sources and engage in 'lived religion', he also several times spent time 'in the field' exploring it as participant observer. In line with the general Indian philosophical stance that serious scholarsespecially if they, as Joe, are in the field of religiously inspired ethical living-should 'live as they learn', he was also engaged in voluntary communal work
Journal for The Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2018
The lack of academic religious studies in India has several causes: the choice of the secular Uni... more The lack of academic religious studies in India has several causes: the choice of the secular University of London as model for the first universities in India in 1857, the secular constitution, the secularist approach of the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the explosive relation between major faith traditions. However, with the waning of the Indian secularist framework and the continued power and influence of Hindutva ideology, there is a need to discuss different models for religious studies in India. In this article, the point of departure is Banaras Hindu University (BHU), one of the few universities in India that has religious studies, but also a faculty of Hindu theology. The focus is on the history of BHU and the recommendations of several educational commission from the 1930s to the 60s, with a note on recent attempts at BHU of renewing value education. The aim is to highlight one alternative for developing religious studies in India, whose primary goal ...
An informative introduction on the tension between the notion of a "revealed/ sacred text" and Ar... more An informative introduction on the tension between the notion of a "revealed/ sacred text" and Arabic fiction is found in Shawkat M. Toorawa: "Modern Arabic literature and the Qur'an: inimitability creativity, … incompatibility," in Glenda Abramson, Hilary Kilpatrick (eds.
In: J. Hjärnø,(Red.) Migration and Ethnic Relations. Multiculturalism in the Nordic Societies., P... more In: J. Hjärnø,(Red.) Migration and Ethnic Relations. Multiculturalism in the Nordic Societies., Proceedings of the 9th. Nordic Seminar for Research on Migration and Ethnic Relations.-0908-6692.-9291206237; Tema Nord: 1995: 516, s. 78
• The relations between Islam/Muslims and the West are bad and seem to be worsening over the year... more • The relations between Islam/Muslims and the West are bad and seem to be worsening over the years. Islamophobia has increased in Europe and America, while anti‐Westernism, particularly anti–Americanism, continues to spread in the Muslim worlds. • The Clash of Civilization, the cultural war, theory has increasingly been the lens through which the relation between the two worlds has been viewed for quite a while now. • A large number of polls and studies show that various large majorities of people in Western societies believe that Islam = terrorism, Muslims = terrorists (or support terrorism), that Islam is incompatible with Western values (democracy, freedom of expression, gender equality, individual freedom, etc.); that Muslims do not want democracy, freedom of expression, etc.; that Islam and Muslims are inherently authoritarian, intolerant or worse towards women, etc. etc. The Muslim world is to a large extent seen through the lens of so‐called Orientalism. • Analogously many studies show that people in Muslim societies in terms of categories such as imperialism, egoism, materialism, egoism, atheism, greed and ethic moral degeneration – in short as representing Jahiliyya. The Western world is to a large extent seen through the lens of so‐called Occidentalism. • These stereotypes are, it seems, reflected in increasingly xenophobic and Islamophobic media and well established in the mind of many Westerners. * This text was prepared as an oral presentation, mainly based on over‐head slides, and has only been tolerably adapted to the format of a written paper. • Many studies show that the media in their coverage of Islam and Muslims to a high extent focus on religious extremism and global terrorism and that they reflect and play to the increasingly xenophobic and Islamophobic societal attitudes, thereby fueling and reinforcing negative perceptions of Muslims and Islam. • These facts have in many places in the West had a tendency to lead to the conclusion: diplomacy and dialogue does not work. The only language “they” understand is force. “We” have to defend ourselves (the Securitization paradigm), and pacify “tem” (the “send in the Marines–paradigm”). • In sum: the relations between Islam and the West are bad and seem to be getting worse. • Can something be done? Is there a road forward to better relations? What role can dialogue play in this respect?
An informative introduction on the tension between the notion of a "revealed/ sacred text" and Ar... more An informative introduction on the tension between the notion of a "revealed/ sacred text" and Arabic fiction is found in Shawkat M. Toorawa: "Modern Arabic literature and the Qur'an: inimitability creativity, … incompatibility," in Glenda Abramson, Hilary Kilpatrick (eds.
This book looks at how religious studies is framed and taught in India. It addresses the contradi... more This book looks at how religious studies is framed and taught in India. It addresses the contradiction between the country's vibrant religious life and the dearth of comparative and social scientific religious studies programs across Indian universities.
The Department of Religious Studies offers undergraduates from across Northwestern the opportunit... more The Department of Religious Studies offers undergraduates from across Northwestern the opportunity to study religions as historical and cultural phenomena. This includes the scholarly exploration of religious traditions, histories, cultures, beliefs, practices, sacred texts, sacred stories, and material productions from around the world in their institutional as well as noninstitutional ("on the ground") forms. The department's approach is fundamentally multidisciplinary, drawing from a variety of fields and critical perspectives: anthropology, history, philosophy, ethics, sociology, and literary and cultural studies, among others. The wide variety of undergraduate courses range from large introductory classes to advanced seminars, and there are also independent studies and a senior thesis program for qualified students. The courses cover aspects of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, African American and Native American religions, new religious movements, and religion and culture in America. Several courses are structured comparatively or thematically and address religious ideas and phenomena across cultures and contexts. RELIGION 312-0 Buddhism and Gender (1 Unit) Women, men, and gendered symbolism in Buddhism from the time of the Buddha to the present. Draws on canonical texts, narrative literature, autobiography and biography, and ethnography. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 313-0 Tibetan Religion and Culture (1 Unit) Propagation of religions in Tibet in their larger historical, cultural, and political contexts. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 314-0 Buddhism in the Contemporary World (1 Unit) An exploration of where, why, and how Buddhist practices, ideas, and iconography are spreading and being reinterpreted in the modern world. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 315-0 Buddhist Auto/biography (1 Unit) An exploration of Buddhist narratives of the self, including Sanskrit and Tibetan-language biographies and autobiographies in English translation, in conversation with literary theory. Literature Fine Arts Distro Area RELIGION 316-0 Religion and the Body in China (1 Unit) Explores the place of the body in Chinese religion, from the ancient period to the present day. Touches on dying and the afterlife, food and drink, health and medicine, gender and family, and other themes. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 318-0 Topics in East Asian Religions (1 Unit) Content varies. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 319-0 Topics in Buddhism (1 Unit) Content varies. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 329-0 Topics in the Bible (1 Unit) Content varies. May be repeated for credit with change of topic. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 330-0 Varieties of Ancient Judaism (1 Unit) Introduction to the Judaisms that flourished from the fifth century BCE to the third century CE. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 332-0 Modern Jewish Thought (1 Unit) How Judaism dealt with modernity and the problems it posed: Spinoza, Mendelssohn, Cohen, Buber, Rosenzweig, and Levinas. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 333-0 Judaism in the Modern World (1 Unit) Radical changes that emancipation and modernity have brought to the religious expression of Judaism. May be repeated for credit. Ethics Values Distro Area RELIGION 339-0 Topics in Judaism (1 Unit) Content varies. May be repeated for credit with change of topic.
The book analyzes state policies towards Islam and Muslims in Sweden. It investigates mechanisms ... more The book analyzes state policies towards Islam and Muslims in Sweden. It investigates mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion and compare these with goals formulated by the Muslims themselves. It describes the history of Islam in Sweden, policies of multiculturalism, how these policies have been experienced by Muslims and how integration can be promoted. It concludes with a discussion of future scenarios for the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims.
South Asia, and especially India, was a lifelong interest of Joseph Thomas O'Connell (1940-2012).... more South Asia, and especially India, was a lifelong interest of Joseph Thomas O'Connell (1940-2012). In his writings, this interest can be documented beginning with his first paper on Gandhi in 1959 until his last essays in the Bangladesh e-journal of Sociology in 2011. Even though most of his works in the interim, in line with his doctoral dissertation Social implications of the Gaudīya Vaiṣṇava Movement (1970), focused on various aspects of the Gaudīya Vaiṣṇava tradition in Bengal, his interests ran much wider, both in terms of religious traditions and geography. In addition to discussions of Chaitanya, the process of the institutionalization of the Gaudīya Vaiṣṇava movement and its relations to and interactions with other movements, as well as on key terms such as karman and 'Hindu', he published works on the life and work of Rabindranath Tagore, on the Jain and Sikh traditions, on Hindu-Muslim relationships, on South Asian diasporas, as well as on the study of religion in South Asia. Joe was, however, not only interested in 'traditional' academic textual studies of these issues. He was also keenly interested in questions of the social implications and relevance of the teachings of these traditions and to what extent they had succeeded in translating into changes in the social sphere. He had realized early on that if you should study the 'value orientation' of the Gaudīya Vaiṣṇava, prema-bhakti (loving devotion), you could not turn a blind eye to its social impact. True to his conviction that if one were to make claims about the transformative power of Vaiṣṇava spirituality, then one had to go outside the textual sources and engage in 'lived religion', he also several times spent time 'in the field' exploring it as participant observer. In line with the general Indian philosophical stance that serious scholarsespecially if they, as Joe, are in the field of religiously inspired ethical living-should 'live as they learn', he was also engaged in voluntary communal work
Journal for The Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2018
The lack of academic religious studies in India has several causes: the choice of the secular Uni... more The lack of academic religious studies in India has several causes: the choice of the secular University of London as model for the first universities in India in 1857, the secular constitution, the secularist approach of the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the explosive relation between major faith traditions. However, with the waning of the Indian secularist framework and the continued power and influence of Hindutva ideology, there is a need to discuss different models for religious studies in India. In this article, the point of departure is Banaras Hindu University (BHU), one of the few universities in India that has religious studies, but also a faculty of Hindu theology. The focus is on the history of BHU and the recommendations of several educational commission from the 1930s to the 60s, with a note on recent attempts at BHU of renewing value education. The aim is to highlight one alternative for developing religious studies in India, whose primary goal ...
An informative introduction on the tension between the notion of a "revealed/ sacred text" and Ar... more An informative introduction on the tension between the notion of a "revealed/ sacred text" and Arabic fiction is found in Shawkat M. Toorawa: "Modern Arabic literature and the Qur'an: inimitability creativity, … incompatibility," in Glenda Abramson, Hilary Kilpatrick (eds.
In: J. Hjärnø,(Red.) Migration and Ethnic Relations. Multiculturalism in the Nordic Societies., P... more In: J. Hjärnø,(Red.) Migration and Ethnic Relations. Multiculturalism in the Nordic Societies., Proceedings of the 9th. Nordic Seminar for Research on Migration and Ethnic Relations.-0908-6692.-9291206237; Tema Nord: 1995: 516, s. 78
Contributors: Ferdinando Sardella (Stockholm University), Asha Mukherjee (Visva Bharati Universit... more Contributors: Ferdinando Sardella (Stockholm University), Asha Mukherjee (Visva Bharati University Santiniketan), Ruby Sain (Adamas University). Editors: Clemens Cavallin (University of Gothenburg), Åke Sander (University of Gothenburg), Sudha Sitharaman (Pondicherry University). This book looks at how religious studies is framed and taught in India. It addresses the contradiction between the country’s vibrant religious life and the dearth of comparative and social scientific religious studies programs across Indian universities. The volume: • Studies the efforts by Rabindranath Tagore in Santiniketan and Mohan Malaviya in Varanasi, to introduce and institutionalize religious studies in India; • Discusses the notions of religion and spirituality and situates the failure of the ‘secularization thesis’ in the context of modern India; • Provides concrete suggestions on how to develop religious studies in relation to global citizenship and Indian cultural heritage with the hope of initiating a larger discussion. A unique contribution to the study of religion in society and education, the book will be indispensable to students and researchers of theology, history, philosophy, sociology, secularization, globalization, religious studies, education studies, and South Asian studies.
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This book looks at how religious studies is framed and taught in India. It addresses the contradiction between the country’s vibrant religious life and the dearth of comparative and social scientific religious studies programs across Indian universities.
The volume:
• Studies the efforts by Rabindranath Tagore in Santiniketan and Mohan Malaviya in
Varanasi, to introduce and institutionalize religious studies in India;
• Discusses the notions of religion and spirituality and situates the failure of the ‘secularization thesis’ in the context of modern India;
• Provides concrete suggestions on how to develop religious studies in relation to global
citizenship and Indian cultural heritage with the hope of initiating a larger discussion. A unique contribution to the study of religion in society and education, the book will be indispensable to students and researchers of theology, history, philosophy, sociology, secularization, globalization, religious studies, education studies, and South Asian studies.