Research Plans/ Unit 3

Unit 3 Nations, Regions, and Islam

The Japan Center for Area Studies, National Museum of Ethnology

Unit Leader: KATO Hiroshi

Islamic Area Studies Unit 3 Research Office

The Japan Center for Area Studies, National Museum of Ethnology

10-1 Senri Expo Park, Suita-shi 565-8511, Japan

Tel: +81-6-6878-8342 Fax: +81-6-6878-8353

E-mail: san@idc.minpaku.ac.jp

Unit 3: Research Themes and Activities

Since the end of the Cold War there have been many regional conflicts, most of which are closely related to ethnicity and religion. This is especially apparent in the Islamic world. One reason for this is that while the Islamic world is vast and diverse, it is, on the political level, mostly made up of developing nations. The political and economic conditions of these countries are broadly affected by international politics and economics, as can be seen in the Middle East. Another reason is that the traditions of Islamic civilization and culture rest uneasily with the ideas of nationhood that were developed in modern Europe and on which the Cold War was based. For such reasons the political leaders of Islamic countries (developing nation-states and economies) navigate a difficult course between the idea of the nation as a political unit, on one hand, and, on the other, as larger cultural units that include ethnicity and religion. At the same time, in order to stabilize their own regimes, the leaders of these nations direct various forms of political propaganda, both internally and externally, that emphasize their adherence to Islamic cultural traditions. In addition, the trend of ﾒglobalizationﾓ and the resulting interchange of materials, capital, people, and information have recently led to political and cultural complications and conflicts even in the West.

The purpose of the present research is to analyze ﾒcoexistence and conflictﾓ at three different levels, namely, the broad level of the Islamic civilization and culture, the more specific level of race and region, and the political level (nationhood). We will analyze the peopleﾕs habitation patterns as well as their stratified identities. Through such studies, we expect to develop our theories on the weakness of the notion of ﾒnation-stateﾓ as well as the mutability of the notion of ﾒregionﾓ in the Islamic world. This will greatly enhance our insight into the Islamic world in the post-nation-state era of the 21st century. The underlying structures of Islamic identity of the Muslim majority (in the Islamic world) will be the focal point of our research. This is because, whether in a positive or in a negative way, the issues of conflict and coexistence are closely related to the identity, world outlook, logic, and behavior patterns of the Muslim population. Keywords of the present research are ﾒeducation,ﾓ ﾒmedia,ﾓ ﾒwomen,ﾓ and ﾒcultural disputes.ﾓ The three groups comprising Unit 3 have the following research plans.

Group 3-A will analyze, at different levels, the genesis of ideologies and images that lead to false understanding of ﾒeducation,ﾓ ﾒmedia,ﾓ and ﾒwomenﾓ in Islamic societies. We will focus on the study of women and their potential as human resources, a key concept when addressing the Islamic world in the 21st century.

Group 3-B will inquire into various cultural disputes in the Islamic world (conflicts between Islamists and other Muslims; conflicts among Islamism, nationalism, and secularism; and conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims) and focus on the issues of fundamentalism, secularism, and Islamic Revival Movements. Group 3-B will create a database of visual sources documenting cultural conflicts in non-Islamic societies.

Group 3-C will collect and examine non-written sources, such as videotapes, movies, photographs, digital sources such as CD-ROMs, and geographical information based on GIS, that are relevant to the new 3-B project. In addition, Group 3-C will establish a database of the sources, which will enable a wider public access to the information. In order to complement the activities of the other Unit 3 groups, Group 3-C will have seminars to discuss various statements concerning mass media, women, education, and cultural conflicts.

By the end of the IAS Project, each group will make the research results available to the public through the creation of a database, presentations at international symposia, and publications.

Unit 3: International Exchange

Scholars to be sent abroad

- YAMAGISHI Tomoko and MORITA Toyoko (Kobe University) will assemble visual documents on the traditions of Muslims and cultural conflicts. August 2000. Tehran.

- John PHILIPS (Hirosaki University) will conduct comparative research of Islamic education and collect documents on contemporary Islam. August 2000. West Africa.

- SUGASE Akiko (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies) will collect documents about minorities in the Islamic world. October 2000. Jerusalem and Amman.

- OBIYA Chika will collect documents about contemporary Islam in Central Asia. September 2000. Tashkent.

- IZUMISAWA Kumiko (Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization) will collect documents about women in the Islamic world. October 2000. Cairo and Damascus.

Scholars invited from abroad

- Rinus PENNINX (Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, University of Amsterdam) will join the cooperative project ﾒMuslim Immigrant Laborers in Europe.ﾓ

- Bahattin AKSIT (Middle Eastern Technical University) and John WATERBURY (Princeton University) will attend the international symposium ﾒIslamic Movements and the Womanﾕs Workplace: Political and Economic Perspectives.ﾓ

Unit 3: From the Group Leaders

(Group 3-A) Group 3-A will continue to study the issues associated with the identity formation of people in the Islamic world, focusing on ﾒwomen,ﾓ ﾒeducation,ﾓ and ﾒmass media.ﾓ This year, however, Group 3-A will especially emphasize ﾒwomen as human resourcesﾓ preparatory to the publication of Gender and Culture as part of the IAS Series. (KATO Hiroshi)

(Group 3-B) Group 3-B will organize and analyze visual documents about ﾒMuslims and Cultural Conflictsﾓ and make them available to the public. At the same time, the theme of ﾒEthnic and Religious Revivalismﾓ will be pursued in an attempt to address the movements of Islam over the years historically and sociologically. Symposia and seminars will be organized to discuss these issues. (OHTSUKA Kazuo)

(Group 3-C) Group 3-C will continue to collect sources, mainly non-written materials, on contemporary Islam. This yearﾕs compilation of sources will emphasize sources from the media such as videotapes. We will also collect newspaper articles and pamphlets on Islamic current events to support the activities of Groups 3-A and 3-B. (USUKI Akira)