28 research outputs found
The Baraza A Grassroots Institution
Public or semi-public places where people meet to chat, communicate, quarrel, sit, and watch may be found in many societies: the Piazza in Italy, the beer-garden in Bavaria, or the majlis in Arabia, represent a few such examples. Zanzibarâs baraza is a place for the negotiation and observation of the ordinary as well as the extraordinary. Sitting in a baraza provides an opportunity to experience every day life at its most local
Sit local, think global: The Baraza in Zanzibar
Although being a major feature of Zanzibar 's everyday life, the
baraza has so far largely escaped attention of academic
discussion. Public or semi-public places where people of a house,
of a neighbourhood or even a larger social configuration meet
to sit and chat, to spend time, drink coffee and discuss politics,
religion, football or other quotidian issues are certainly found
in many societies. Yet, Zanzibar's baraza are so omnipresent
that it is hard to imagine the island without them. At the same
time, baraza life is not easy to grasp. Although there are set
rules of baraza etiquette, they are not a permanent âinstitutionâ
but may disappear as quickly as they have come into existence.
This contribution discusses some of the major features of baraza
life and the spatial organization of the baraza, in particular,
and to establish thereby something like a baraza âsociologyâ. Journal for Islamic Studies Vol. 27 2007: pp. 16-3
What is âreformâ? Approaches to a problematic term in African Muslim contexts
The term âreformâ has come to describe a large array of different and rather variegated processes of change in historical as well as contemporary academic debates. This contribution looks at the emergence of new concepts of âreformâ in Muslim countries in the early 20th century and will address the question of how we can develop a sound terminology of reform that considers the inherent dynamics of movements of reform and the constant change in the meaning of âreformâ. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary, however, to tackle some methodological problems and to defi ne the term âreformâ in conclusive ways. By studying movements of reform in their respective historical context, by identifying the specifi c dynamics of those movements as well as their social and religious relevance, we will eventually be able to determine the very nature of religious movements of reform. This contribution argues that while reform movements have to be understood in terms of how they are situated in a matrix of international networks and media-based representations, these movements must also be interpreted in terms of how they are situated in their local contexts