Yoruba Mythology: Stories of the Oriṣa from West Africa and the Diaspora – Oludamini Ogunnaike, Ayodeji Ogunnaike
Yorùbá [YOH-roo-BAH] mythology is sacred to a growing religious community of more than one hundred million practitioners, who can be found on every continent, and an inspiration to millions more, both on the African continent and in the diaspora. This community is composed of devotees of the òrìṣà [oh-ree-shah] (divinities) of the Yoruba people of West Africa found primarily in Nigeria, Bénin Republic, and Togo, but there are now even more practitioners across the Americas than in West Africa—a legacy of the transatlantic slave trade—with a growing number in Europe and Asia as well. In addition to the large portion of the global population with religious ties to the oriṣa, no African society can claim to have had a greater influence on art and culture around the world than the Yoruba. Yoruba art is some of the most prized and studied on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Many famous salsa singers and musicians, such as Celia Cruz and Tito Puente, were initiates of oriṣa traditions and sang about the oriṣa in their songs. The oriṣa also appear prominently in Brazilian popular music and culture, such as the works of former minister of culture and singer-songwriter Gilberto Gil, author Jorge Amado, and more recently the country’s biggest megastar Anitta. Beyoncé’s 2017 Grammy performance overtly invoked the oriṣa Ọ `ṣun [aw-SHOOHN] (riverine divinity of beauty, fertility, and femininity), and the various allusions to the oriṣa in her album Lemonade marked the growing interest in and engagement with Yoruba religion in popular culture in the United States.
While some of the greatest scholars of African and Afro-diasporic art have studied the material culture of the Yoruba, the Yoruba also boast impressive verbal arts, with mythology and storytelling being perhaps the most widespread and globally influential. Yoruba mythology commanded the attention and respect of the earliest scholars of Afro- diasporic cultures, such as Nina Rodrigues and Arthur Ramos in Brazil and Fernando Ortiz and Lydia Cabrera in Cuba. Some hypothesize that the oriṣa Èṣù [ay-shoo] (divinity of communication, intersections, and transitions)—or another related divinity from West Africa—is behind the American trope of musicians meeting the “devil” at a crossroads at midnight to exchange their souls for musical talent. Tomi Adeyemi’s successful young adult book Children of Blood and Bone drew inspiration directly from the global Yoruba mythological tradition, and its more than 150-week run on The New York Times bestsellers list clearly indicated the wide popular appeal of the oriṣa and Yoruba stories.
The Importance of Sports in Islam and Ethics – Metin Bayram
İslâm dini, insanın hem ruh hem de beden sağlığını önemseyen, dolayısıyla ruh ve beden eğitimine değer veren, bu konuda birçok hüküm belirleyen bir dindir. Buna göre insanın ruh eğitimi ve sağlığı önemli olduğu gibi, beden sağlığı ve beden eğitimi de oldukça önemlidir. bu çalışmada özel olarak beden eğitimi konusunda İslâmî kaynaklarda geçen bilgileri bir araya getirerek İslâm dini açısından sporun önemini ve spor ahlakını incelenmiştir. Bu açıdan bakıldığında İslâm’ın temel iki kaynağı olan Kur’an e Sünnet, Müslümanları spora çeşitli sebeplerle teşvik etmiştir. Bu sebepler arasında Müslümanların ibadetlerine ve diğer görevlerine kuvvetli bir istekle sarılmalarını sağlamak, onlara daha güçlü olma yollarını göstermek, beden sağlığını temin etmek, öte yandan Müslümanların İslam topraklarının savunmasına topyekûn hazırlıklı bulunmalarını teşvik etmek vb. sebepler sayılabilir. Bundan dolayı Müslümanlar, Asr-ı saadetten itibaren Hz. Peygamber (s.a.s)’in tavsiye ettiği sporlardan atıc…
The Naqshbandiyya Mujaddidiyya in China – Rian Thum
The Naqshbandiyya Mujaddidiyya order is among the world’s largest and most geographically widespread Sufi orders, but it has long been assumed to be absent among Chinese-speaking Muslims. Despite a handful of isolated references to local Chinese Mujaddidī groups in studies of particular communities, comprehensive histories of Chinese Islams make no mention of the Mujaddidiyya, and histories of the Naqshbandiyya Mujaddidiyya make no reference to Chinese-speaking Muslims. This article demonstrates that the Mujaddidiyya order has not only been present at various times and places among Chinese Muslims, but has also played a role in the development of nearly all major strains of Islam in China proper, including those commonly known as the Gedimu, Jahriyya, Khāfiyya, Qādiriyya, and Ikhwān. The article also uses new primary sources to provide an account of how a Mujaddidī order expanded into Eastern Turkistan and was transmitted from there to Muslims in China proper. It shows that adaptation to local environments created distinctive forms of Mujaddidī Sufism, highlights Hui-Uyghur connections, and argues that South Asia deserves a central place in any account of Islam in China.
The Prophet’s Day in China: A Study of the Inculturation of Islam in China, Based on Fieldwork in Xi’an, Najiaying, and Hezhou
Islam is widely spread throughout every corner of China, with the Hui people, the largest Muslim ethnic group in China, numbering over 10 million people, serving as its main carrier. Their culture types and local features exhibit great diversity across different provinces. The ceremony of Prophet’s Day or Mawlid al-Nabi in China, as one of the three fundamental festivals of the Hui people alongside Eid al-Fitur and Eid al-Qurban, appears to be more comprehensive, open, and localized. Drawing from fieldwork in three Hui communities—Xi’an in Shaanxi province, Najiaying in Yunnan province, and Hezhou in Gansu province—this paper approaches the topic from the perspective of inculturation and cultural innovation. It aims to describe the ritual processes observed in these three different Hui communities and discuss how the Hui people integrate Islam with traditional Chinese culture in their local contexts, with the intention of forming and preserving their own cultural characteristics.
World Literature Decentered: Beyond the ‘West’ Through Turkey, Mexico and Bengal By Ian Almond
Cosmologists say that if space-time is infinite, then somehow, somewhere, all possible things exist. As someone who has taught that nebulous entity “world literature” for over ten years, I’d like to begin by sketching out one such alternate world. Think of this alternative world as a kind of World Literature Fantasy. In this parallel world, there is no dominant Western canon: only lots of good Western writers, struggling like everyone else to make their voices heard above the growing crescendo of the planet’s collective murmur. Moreover, the people who live in Western countries actually realize they only form 10% of the planet. They understand that the non-Western is not some misrepresented ethnic minority, but Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East – the overwhelming majority of the world.
There are centers of influence, certainly, but they are multiple and constantly shifting. A decade of readers in Argentina might become obsessed with Middle Eastern fiction; a new generation in China might start to fixate on West African writers. The swirling network of influences – Swedes reading Turks reading Mexicans, Brazilians translating Urdu ghazals and Chinese tanka – forever shimmers, brightens and collapses, reconfiguring itself not in response to power and economy, but through a much more curious, seem- ingly chaotic algorithm. There are certainly books which are read more than others, but they do not subscribe to a common ideology – in the anthologies of this world, Buddhists, Islamists, Anarchists and the occasional Capitalist argue with one another endlessly on contentious editorial boards. Writers in this alternative world feel no compulsion to communicate some anthro- pological information about their community, although many choose to do so
Representations of Islam in Western Thought By Ian Almond
By Ian Almond
What do we understand by the term ‘representation of Islam’? What does it mean to investigate the depiction of the Muslim world – be it the faith, the cultures, the believers, the literature – in non- Muslim discourse? How would studies of the representation of Muslims by non-Muslims differ from their logical inverse – Muslim representations of Christians and Christianity in texts from Turkish or Arabic literature?
The term has, by now, practically established a genre of its own. Academic books and articles abound in the study of the Muslim world’s portrayal in areas as different as sixteenth century French literature, contemporary cinema, British children’s education syllabi, German drama, medieval thought, many of them preceding Edward Said’s landmark investigation of French and British Orientalist portrayals of their subjects. As a consequence, I’d like to consider some of the things I understand such studies to entail.
First of all, to examine the depiction of the Muslim in Western discourse is to examine the West. To consider the scimitar-bearing Turks and veiled women of Western Oriental landscapes is to consider the anxieties and desires of the gazer, not the gazed upon. This is not to say the Muslim is merely a blank screen upon which the West simply projects whatever facet of itself it happens to be
Signs and Causes: Astro-Meteorology in Early Islamic Centuries By Razieh S. Mousavi
Before the existence of weather stations, people relied on a variety of visible and invisible signs to predict the weather. Among Arabs, observing the regular motions of the stars was a common method for weather forecasting, both before and after the rise of Islam. How did they perceive the connection between cosmic and atmospheric phenomena?
In many past societies, including pre-Islamic Arabia, astronomy and weather forecasting were closely connected, and this knowledge played a crucial role in the region’s economic considerations. After the advent of Islam, this understanding was further enriched by the rapid exchange of ideas with neighboring cultures, blending climatic and environmental concepts with astronomical principles, a synthesis that is evident in the literature from that era. While there is some continuity in Arabian knowledge of astronomy and weather between the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods, notable differences also stand out.
Pre-Islamic records are primarily archaeological, such as stone inscriptions, 2 and fragmented poetry, much of which was preserved through Islamic manuscripts. 3 In contrast, sources from the Islamic period, particularly from the late eighth
century onward, are far more diverse and extensive. 4 Another significant difference lies in how this knowledge was created and used. In the Islamic period, knowledge production was primarily state-supported, leading to a more formal and elite-driven approach tied to political and administrative needs. On the other hand, pre-Islamic knowledge of the environment was less structured, based largely on individual observations and regional traditions. Modern scholarship
commonly refers to this body of astro-meteorological knowledge in Arabia, as “folk astronomy” to emphasise its informal, observational character compared to the more advanced and systematic studies that emerged in Islamic societies. However, this lable should not obscure the dynamic encounters between different approaches and practices across changing religious and intellectual contexts
“Decolonizing the Muslim Mind: A Philosophical Critique,” Philosophical Forum 55 (2024): 353–375
The crises of the Islamic world revolve around “epistemic colonialism.” So, in order to decolonize the Muslim mind, we must be able to deconstruct the Western episteme, and this involves dissociating ourselves from the Eurocentric knowledge system that gradually became ascendent since the Renaissance through such ideas as progress and modernity. However, this does not mean we need to discontinue dialog with Western thought. Rather it means retrieving and reviving our own intel- lectual heritage and being able to think with the categories and concepts derived from that heritage. But in light of the postcolonial situation where the intellectual and linguistic connection with one’s own tradition is severed, this is a tremendous challenge. What is more, many Muslim intellectuals simply think that Islamic heritage has little relevance to address contemporary challenges. Yet unless Muslims are able to ground their self-identity in their own intellectual tradition, they will be held captive to the web of epistemic colonialism. They might be comfortable offering their prayers as Muslims, but their mental ambience will be permeated by devastating, Eurocentric ideas. They will hardly be able to overcome their fragmented self-image.
Imagine living in an old Riad in Fez, a Haveli in Lahore, or another traditional house, and then being forced into ugly high-rise apartments. These modern buildings might offer amenities like swimming pools, fitness centers, and private outdoor spaces, but their all-glass structures lack the traditional windows that connect people to the natural world of heat, light, and sound. Moreover, the sealed and glazed facades increase heating and cooling loads and create issues with glare and thermal comfort. Although people may still possess beautiful artifacts from their old homes, such as window panes, oil lamps, and plant pots, they no longer understand their language and meaning in a new context. In a word, the new setting radically alters the rhythms of life, work, and thought. And this is analogous to what has happened to the Muslim mind; its very architecture has been fundamentally transformed. Sadly, the current generation, with its fragmented self-image, often does not care to explore their historical identity and the importance of this knowledge in constructing a present self-identity
Platonism In Safavid Persia: Mīrdāmād (d. 1631) and Āqājānī (ca. 1661) on the Platonic Forms
In this paper, I analyze the treatment of Platonic Ideas in the fifth Qabas (lit. “blazing brand,” in this context a “chapter”) of Mīr Dāmād’s Qabasāt, 2 along with Āqājāni’s 3 commentary thereof. In this section, Mīr Dāmād first
For a survey of his life and the major tenets of his philosophy, see: H. Dabāshī, “MīrDāmād and the Founding of the ‘School of Iṣfahān’,” in: S. H. Nasr et al, History of Islamic Philosophy, London: Routledge, 1996, pp. 597–635; H. Corbin, “Confessions extatiques de Mīr Dāmād.” In: Mélanges Louis Massignon. Damascus: L’Institut Français de Damas, 1956; idem, En islam iranien. 4 vols. Paris: Gallimard, vol. IV: L’Ecole d’Ispahan, pp. 9–123. S. A. Mūsavī Bihbahānī, Ḥakīm-i Astarābād Mīr Dāmād. Tehran: Tehran University Press, 1377 [A.H. solar]; I. Netton, “Suhrawardī’s Heir? The Ishrāqī Philosophy of Mīr Dāmād.
Ibn ʿArabī in Contemporary Iran: Some Currents and Debates / Çağdaş İran’da İbn Arabî: Bazı Akım ve Tartışmalar – By Journal of the Institute for Sufi Studies
By Journal of the Institute for Sufi Studies
Iran’s historical and complicated social situation has led to diverse attitudes toward Sufism and interpretations of Ibn ʿArabī’s legacy. Many of Ibn ʿArabī’s prominent followers and commentators were originally from Iran; however, many of his notable opponents were also from Iran. These two historical currents of followers and opponents of Ibn ʿArabī are still quite alive. Other currents with unique attitudes toward Ibn ʿArabī also have been established recently in Iran. In this article, different attitudes towards Ibn ʿArabī in contemporary Iran are presented and contextualized. Attitudes represent not only the scholarly tendencies of Iranian academics and Islamic scholars but also their role in forming diverse collective identities.
Sufism in the United Arab Emirates – Ida Zilio-Grandi
This essay aims to provide a brief overview of Sufism in the United Arab Emirates, both in its historical and contemporary contexts. Consideration has been given firstly to the increasing support of local leaderships for the Sufi orientation of Islam as an antidote to the spread of Salafism and political Islam; and secondly to the unfortunately scarce written documentation of the presence and revival of the schools to date. In many cases, the contribution of daily press and social media has proved crucial.