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

The 21st century will continue to see many regional conflicts 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.

The purpose of our research over the past four years has been 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 have analyzed habitation patterns as well as the peopleﾕs stratified identities. Through such studies, we have aimed to develop our theories on the vulnerability 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. This being the projectﾕs fifth and last year, we will be compiling the results of our research for presentation.

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 also take a look at these three concepts and their status in Islamic ideology and nation-states. We will publish our research results in the Japanese IAS Series.

Group 3-B will inquire into various cultural disputes in the Islamic world (conflicts between Islamists and other Muslims; conflicts among Islamic Revivalism, nationalism, and secularism; and conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims) Group 3-B will continue work on the database of visual sources documenting the portrayal of Islamic society in non-Islamic regions.

Group 3-C will collect and examine non-textual sources, such as videotapes, movies, photographs, digital sources such as CD-ROMs, and geographical information based on GIS, that are relevant to Unit 3ﾕs research. In addition, Group 3-C will establish a database of the sources, which will enable a wider public access to the information. Group 3-C continue to hold seminars discussing media, women, education, and cultural conflicts.

Unit 3 International Exchange

Scholars to be sent abroad

- OBIYA Chika will collect resources on contemporary Islam in Central Asia. August 25 - September 22, 2001. Tashkent.

- USUKI Akira will collect resources on contemporary Islam in Palestine. November 4-24, 2001. Jerusalem.

- NAITO Masanori will conduct research on the Islamic Revival Movement among Muslim immigrants in Europe. December 10-20, 2001. Amsterdam and Rome.

- TAKANO Akihiro (Translator) will conduct research on current trends in Egyptian culture and collect visual sources on cultural conflicts. December 20-30, 2001. Cairo.

Scholars invited from abroad

- S. A. GOUSHEGIR (Ahwaz University) will conduct research on Iranian laborers in France and Japan. September 3-21, 2001.

Unit 3 From the Group Leaders

(Group 3-A) Group 3-A will compile its four years of research on issues associated with identity formation of people in the Islamic world, focusing on ﾒwomen,ﾓ ﾒeducation,ﾓ and ﾒmass media,ﾓ and is organizing workshops, seminars and international exchange to this purpose. We will explore the topic of ﾒwomen as human resourcesﾓ in the fifth volume of the Japanese IAS Series, Gender and Culture. (KATO Hiroshi)

(Group 3-B) This year we will recapitulate our studies on the social and cultural conflicts concerning Muslims. We will make available to the public our collection of visual documents concerned with cultural conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims. We will also hold research seminars on social and cultural conflicts in specific regions (possibly the Swahili Area). In addition, we will hold research seminars to situate Islamic area studies in the broader academic perspective. (OHTSUKA Kazuo)

(Group 3-C) The central activity of Group 3-C has been to collect documents related to contemporary Islam. This year the non-textual sources, which include videotapes and maps, will be organized in databases. The microfilms, microfiches and other materials will also be made available to the public.

(USUKI Akira)