Matthew Derrick on the Geography of the Umma

tonygill — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 09:00:36 +0000

Is the Islamic notion of “the umma” — i.e., the general community of Muslims — consistent with the modern concept of the nation-state and territorial sovereignty? We discuss this issue with Prof. Matthew Derrick, an assistant professor of geography at Humboldt State University, and author of “Containing the Umma?: Islam and the Territorial Question” that recently appeared in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion (see link below). Reacting to scholars such as Berenard Lewis, Samuel Huntington, and other scholars associated with the “cultural turn in geography,” Prof. Derrick argues that territory remains an important defining concept in how people organize their life even among religious believers who belong to a transnational faith. Our discussion starts out with a short detour to Tatarstan where Matthew has conducted extensive fieldwork and he lays out what is unusual about that area within Russia. He also corrects Tony on his misunderstanding of tartar sauce. We then move on to a definition of “the umma,” an essential theological concept within Islam that represents the community of all believers. This raises the question of whether a transnational faith can be squared with the territorial state that dominates our world system. Matthew takes us on a tour of the issue of territorialism and how it evolved, with the Peace of Westphalia marking an important milestone in how we conceive of nation states in the modern world. Tony presses Matthew on his more ideational notion of statehood that revolves around issues of sovereignty (e.g., cuius regio eius religio) as composed to a more political economic approach to defining territory based upon the ability to tax a population. This discussion takes us askance of the religious question for awhile, but it is very important in understanding how modern scholars view the compatability or incompatability of Islam with modern territorial states. Matthew reviews the thinking of Samuel Huntington and Bernard Lewis who do not see Islam as being compatible with our modern state system and then shares his critiques of these two scholars bringing us to a discussion of how European imperialism carved borders into the Islamic world. We investigate the rise of pan-Arabism and pan-Islamism, including the attempts by thinkers such as Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani and Sayyid Qutb to craft a general Islamic identity. Examples of how these attempts have fared are examined including work by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Pashtun movement within Pakistan, the nationalism that seems apparent in the Arab Spring and how Iran has supported Armenia in its conflict with Azerbaijan. We close by revisiting the area of Tatarstan that has appeared to be able to manage well its regional territory within Russia despite its ethnic and religious pluralism. Recorded: January 25, 2013.

William Inboden on Religious Liberty, Foreign Policy, & the Arab Spring

tonygill — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 09:00:23 +0000

With political events rapidly unfolding in Egypt, Syria, and other parts of the Middle East, we visit with Prof. William Inboden, distinguished scholar at the Strauss Center for International Security at the University of Texas and an associate scholar with Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Prof. Inboden not only brings his extensive scholarship to bear on the issue of religious freedom and the Arab Spring, but his many years serving as a policy advisor in the US State Department and National Security Council provides him with another unique perspective on how the issue of religious liberty can and should shape US foreign policy. We begin with a discussion of what the Arab Spring is, how it started, and where it might be headed. Prof. Inboden notes that scholars are starting to rename the Arab “Spring,” the Arab “Awakening” as there is some growing concern that what appeared to initially be popular uprisings in support of liberal democratic forms of government may now be moving in a more autocratic direction. We discuss why this might be. Our attention then turns to the topic of religious liberty, which Will considers to be an important bellwether for liberal democracy in general. Prof. Inboden explains how religious freedom can help neutralize extremism and notes that religious liberty is not just important for religious minorities such as the Christian Copts, but is a vital civil liberty for Muslims as well. Far from being a monolithic religious bloc, Islam actually has many different “flavors” and Muslims who hold more moderate views on a number of topics would also benefit immensely from greater religious freedom and toleration in their societies. We also discuss the state of non-Muslim religious minorities now in such countries as Egypt, Tunisia, and Syria. Much of this discussion is informed by Will’s participation in a Berkley Center symposium “Religious Freedom and Religious Extremism: Lessons from the Arab Spring” (see link below), involving past and current policymakers such as Elliott Abrams, Stephen Hadley, and Dennis Ross. Our conversation shifts towards foreign policy and Will makes an argument that the promotion of religious freedom needs to be a key component of US relations with the Middle East. Using examples from Afghanistan, he points out how religious freedom is necessarily an issue of national security and not just some lofty goal that is desired unto itself. Tony pushes back with counter-arguments that promoting religious liberty can be seen as cultural imperialism, to which Will notes that while national leaders in autocratic regimes often make this argument, average citizens around the world have been shown to embrace the rights of conscience and worship when it is offered to them. Recorded: November 28, 2012.

Research On Religion » Syria

Matthew Derrick on the Geography of the Umma

William Inboden on Religious Liberty, Foreign Policy, & the Arab Spring