CALL FOR PAPERS Panel Proposal Thinking Past Terror: Islam(ism), Critique and Alternative Futures International Association for the History of Religion (IHAR) World Congress 23-29 August 2015, Erfurt, Germany Organizer: Zubair Ahmad, Free University of Berlin [email protected] Panel Description: Since the cataclysmic moment summoned up by the various 1492s – that is, the conquest of the New World, the expulsion of the Moors, and the Inquisition – Islam has been situated as a constitutive outsider to European modernity. While Europe was (as it still is) defined as the subject and “silent referent” (Chakrabarty 2000) of all histories, Islam remained part of the ontologically and epistemologically distinguishable space called Orient. It was precisely in that way, that Islam as a religious formation as well as a phenomenon located outside the West became Europe’s “silent Other” (Said 1985). Regarded as a moral and political affront to European modernity, Islam itself became an “occupied territory” (Dabashi 2011) exposed to epistemic violence. Within the last years, however, Islam(ism) has been re-framed as a radical form of “immanent critique” (Buck-Morss 2003) as well as a “counter-hegemonic force” (Evans 2010) interested in “De-Centering the West” (Sayyid 1997) and hereby trying to alter the cultural-politicaleconomical underpinnings of colonial modernity. In doing so, Islam(ism) has been understood not only as an anti-colonial/anti-imperial force critiquing existing forms of hegemonic power, rule and knowledge, but as an ethical, socio-political and economical alternative located within a pluriversum of ideas and concepts. If defined as such Islam(ism) can be regarded as a form of critique which – at its best – aims at being epistemically disobedient as well as constantly interested in de-centering hegemonies – currently embodied through the West. Against this backdrop, the panel seeks to provide a forum for exploring the issues related to the theme of the panel. Topics might include, but are not limited to: Islam and questions of (counter-) hegemony, power and rule; Islam and postcolonial / decolonial / feminist / queer critique; issues related to Islamic Liberation Theology, to Islam and socio-economic justice, resistance and coalition building between communities in resistance. Submission: Please email your paper abstract of maximum 150 words to [email protected] by August 31 2014. I will notify you with a decision on the inclusion of your paper in the panel proposal by September 10 and will be in touch for further organizational issues. IAHR membership is required to be included in the program booklet. The academic program committee of the IAHR congress will decide on the acceptance of the entire panel. For more information on the conference, see uni-erfurt.de/iahr
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 09:52:38 +0000
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