Sansibar:: eine ostafrikanische Hafenstadt und ihre Zeiten im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert

Sansibar: An East African Port City and its Times during the 19th and 20th Century In the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, Zanzibar has gone through multiple changes, not only regarding its position as a hub of East African coastal and transoceanic trade and economy, but also in terms of political and religious change. These processes of change have found expression in the emergence of a distinct „timescape“ (Zeitlandschaft) of several co-existing and/or competing orders of time, such as „religious times“ or „clock time“, which were again of central importance for the management of the harbour of Zanzibar. This contribution looks at the way in which these different times have been negotiated in Zanzibar´s recent history, from the 1830s to the present

Negotiating the Religious in Contemporary Everyday Life in the “Islamic World”

The contributions to the present volume show that the countries that are often presented in the literature as forming part of a stereotypical and seemingly monolithic “Islamic world” in fact represent considerable diversity. From Iran to Senegal, we encounter a vast array of social and religious structures, historical trajectories, political regimes and relative positions of societies and individuals. We encounter also, in many different and often unexpected ways, the individual in multiple contexts. The present volume presents perspectives on everyday life in Muslim societies beyond the spectacular. From a broad academic background in Islamic and Iranian studies, social anthropology, sociology, philosophy and history, its contributors show that everyday life as well as religious practice in countries as diverse as Senegal, Niger, Egypt, Tunisia and Iran is not informed by one single “Islamic” tradition, but rather by multiple and often surprisingly different modes of religiosity and non-religiosity

Translocal networks of saints and the negotiation of religious disputes in local contexts

Les exemples de Shaykh Nasiru Kabar et Shaykh Uways montrent que des liens trans-locaux avec le centre spirituel de la tarîqa, tels que Bagdad dans le cas de la Qâdiriyya, peuvent être cultivés pour différentes raisons. Cependant, les exemples de Nasiru Kabara et Shaykh Uways montrent également que les conditions et les contextes locaux sont très importants dans le développement de mouvements religieux, en particulier lorsque l'on considère la façon dont des éléments spécifiques d'une tradition trans-locale ou même universelle sont traduits dans les réalités locales. Il semble que les traditions trans-locales ou universelles ne peuvent être acceptées que si elles sont « citées » et, ensuite « traduites » dans un contexte local spécifique. Cela est certainement vrai pour Nasiru Kabara et Shaykh Uways et leurs efforts respectifs visant à faire accepter des initiatives de réformes rituelles en établissant des liens légitimateurs avec Bagdad. C'est seulement à travers leurs efforts qu'une tradition trans-locale, représentée par Bagdad, a pu être citée dans les contextes locaux respectifs.The examples of Shaykh Nasiru Kabara and Shaykh ‘Uways show that translocal links with the spiritual centre of the tarîqa, such as Baghdad in the case of the Qâdiriyya, may be cultivated for many reasons. The examples of Nasiru Kabara and Shaykh ‘Uways, however, also show that local frame conditions and contexts are of major importance for the development of religious movements, in particular, when we look at the ways in which specific elements of a translocal or even universal tradition are translated into local contexts. It seems as if translocal or universal traditions may win acceptance in the local context only, when they are explicitely “quoted” and, subsequently, translated into a specific local context. This is certainly true for Nasiru Kabara and Shaykh ‘Uways and their respective efforts to legitimize initiatives of ritual reform by establishing legitimatory links with Baghdad. Only through their efforts, a translocal tradition, as represented by Baghdad, came to be quoted in the respective local setting.Los ejemplos de Shaykh Nasiru Kabar y Shaykh Uways muestran que los lazos trans-locales con el centro espiritual de la tarîqa, como Bagdad en el caso de la Qâdiriyya, pueden ser cultivados por diferentes razones. Los ejemplos de Nasiru Kabara y Shaykh Uways muestran que las condiciones y los contextos locales son muy importantes en el desarrollo de movimientos religiosos, en particular cuando se considera la manera en que elementos específicos de una tradición trans-local o aún universal son traducidos en las realidades locales. Pareciera que las tradiciones trans-locales o universales sólo pueden ser aceptadas si son « citadas » y luego « traducidas » en un contexto local específico. Esto es ciertamente verdadero para Nasiru Kabara y Shaykh Uways y sus esfuerzos respectivos por hacer aceptar las iniciativas de reformas rituales estableciendo lazos legitimadores con Bagdad. Es sólo a través de sus esfuerzos que una tradición trans-local, representada por Bagdad, ha podido ser citada en los contextos locales respectivos

'Memories of revolution': zur Deutungsgeschichte einer Revolution (Sansibar 1964)

'Die Revolution in Sansibar 1964 stellt für die Geschichte des Landes einen tiefen Einschnitt dar, weil sie nicht nur den vollkommenen Umsturz der politischen Verhältnisse, sondern auch den Tod und die Vertreibung tausender Einwohner Sansibars mit sich brachte und, damit einhergehend, tief greifende religiöse, ökonomische, soziale und kulturelle Verwerfungen. Diese Umwälzungen beeinflussen die Entwicklung Sansibars bis heute und werden in zahlreichen akademischen, journalistischen und literarischen Publikationen diskutiert und interpretiert. Trotz dieser Thematisierung ist die 'Klärung' der Erinnerungen der Revolution in Sansibar bisher nicht gelungen: Widerstreitende 'memories of revolution' blockieren bis heute die Herausbildung eines historischen Konsenses im kollektiven Gedächtnis Sansibars.' (Autorenreferat)'The revolution in Zanzibar in 1964 was a major rupture in the country's history, not only because the event resulted in a complete reversal of Zanzibar's political set-up, but also due to the fact that it led to the death and emigration of thousands of Zanzibar's inhabitants thereby generating religious, economic, cultural and social disturbances. These dramatic changes had enormous repercussions, which are felt to this day and continue to form the subject matter of numerous academic, journalistic and literary publications. But notwithstanding its widespread discussion, clarification of the past has not yet been achieved: Various contradictory 'memories of revolution' remain, which, to this day, block the emergence of a historic consensus in the collective memory of Zanzibar.' (author's abstract)

Religiöser Wandel in muslimischen Gesellschaften

Processes of individualization in Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Senegal and Tunisia are central to current social dynamics and form the key theme of the present volume. The central question is how social transformations inform the field of the religious and how processes of religious change likewise have an impact on social change. The contributions in this volume focus in particular on the realities of life for women from urban middle-class milieus. They show how women’s efforts to shape one's individual life may run counter to established social and religious norms. While analyzing milieu-specific dynamics, particular attention is devoted to the question how processes of social and religious change become manifest in both gender and generational relations. Western ideals of modernity, globalized discourses and respective leisure/fashion-practices as well as expressions of individualized lifestyles have an impact on dynamics of social and religious change and are discussed in this volume in specific religious as well as non-religious social contexts