Round TablePub Date : 2023-09-03DOI: 10.1080/00358533.2023.2268929
Imranali Panjwani
{"title":"Where law, politics, scripture and theology intersect: an exegetical examination of 49:13 in the Qur’an in light of India’s right-wing legislation and policies against Muslims","authors":"Imranali Panjwani","doi":"10.1080/00358533.2023.2268929","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2023.2268929","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTIt is now well-documented that there is a global trend of right-wing nationalism that perceives minorities, particularly Muslims, as a threat to state identity. India is a pertinent example of this trend wherein its legislation and policies over the last ten years have led to Muslims in India being marginalised – either through their rights as citizens or in terms of the discrimination and violent attacks they experience at the hands of extremist mobs that believe in the Hindutva ideology. This article will critically explore the scriptural and theological presumptions behind India’s laws and assess whether or not these presumptions are true in light of 49:13 of the Qur’an. These presumptions involve a particular conception of religious identity, theological belief and nationalism. 49:13 is a useful verse in the Qur’an that deals with all of these conceptions and by investigating them, one may be able to cut through right-wing nationalist rhetoric and engage in fruitful and truthful dialogue about what exactly the Qur’an states about constructing a harmonious society that involves a majority and minority population.KEYWORDS: HindutvaIndiaLawMuslimsNationalismQur’an Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. See: Ashby, H (2021, January 15th). Far-right extremism is a global problem, Foreign Policy Magazine. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/15/far-right-extremism-global-problem-worldwide-solutions/ and BBC News (2019, November 13th) Europe and right-wing nationalism: A country-by-country guide. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-361300062. For example, ‘Hafeznia believes that the rise of the far-right parties in European countries is based in the anti-immigration attitude towards the non- European (Asians, Africans, Muslims, etc.) migrants, the right-wing parties blame the refugees, especially those from the Islamic countries as a threat to their security, jobs, Christian identity and their European values, (Ahmadi,2017:372) Many scholars have indicated this as the principal figure of far right parties, which is sometimes followed by violent activities against migrants and minorities (Smith,2003:32)’: Nourbakhsh, S N, Ahmadi, S A, Yazdanpanah D, Qiuomars, F R, Abdolreza. (2023). Rise of the Far Right parties in Europe: from Nationalism to Euroscepticism, Geopolitics Quarterly, Volume: 18, No 4, Winter 2023, 47–70 at 56–5. http://journal.iag.ir/article_129481_6e23e152c58ba9f4e04dbf7072dbdcf0.pdf3. See: Ashby, H (2021, January 15th). Far-right extremism is a global problem, Foreign Policy Magazine. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/15/far-right-extremism-global-problem-worldwide-solutions/4. See the numerous reports on Islamophobia produced by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) which document interviews and statements from Muslims residing in the UK, US and Europe about their experiences of hate, discrimination and abuse either by government policies or treatment by fellow citize","PeriodicalId":35685,"journal":{"name":"Round Table","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134948728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Round TablePub Date : 2023-09-03DOI: 10.1080/00358533.2023.2268933
Sir Ronald Sanders
{"title":"Hugh Segal (1950-2023): departure of a Commonwealth champion","authors":"Sir Ronald Sanders","doi":"10.1080/00358533.2023.2268933","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2023.2268933","url":null,"abstract":"\"Hugh Segal (1950-2023): departure of a Commonwealth champion.\" The Round Table, 112(5), pp. 553–554 Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).","PeriodicalId":35685,"journal":{"name":"Round Table","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134948716","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Round TablePub Date : 2023-09-03DOI: 10.1080/00358533.2023.2268934
Rupakjyoti Borah
{"title":"India and France: what’s bringing them closer?","authors":"Rupakjyoti Borah","doi":"10.1080/00358533.2023.2268934","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2023.2268934","url":null,"abstract":"\"India and France: what’s bringing them closer?.\" The Round Table, 112(5), pp. 557–558 Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).","PeriodicalId":35685,"journal":{"name":"Round Table","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134948720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Round TablePub Date : 2023-09-03DOI: 10.1080/00358533.2023.2268936
Graham Kings
{"title":"Coronation and Commonwealth: heft and weft","authors":"Graham Kings","doi":"10.1080/00358533.2023.2268936","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2023.2268936","url":null,"abstract":"\"Coronation and Commonwealth: heft and weft.\" The Round Table, 112(5), pp. 543–544 Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).","PeriodicalId":35685,"journal":{"name":"Round Table","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134948734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Round TablePub Date : 2023-09-03DOI: 10.1080/00358533.2023.2268926
Farhana Nazir
{"title":"Women, blasphemy, and the religious law in Pakistan in the 1920s and 2020s","authors":"Farhana Nazir","doi":"10.1080/00358533.2023.2268926","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2023.2268926","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTFreedom of religion and the application of blasphemy laws remain critical issues in Pakistan. The issues have deep historical roots in British India, where British administrators attempted to preserve peace between and within religious communities but, faced with growing challenges, occasionally misused such laws. This article juxtaposes the Angare case from the 1920s with that of Asia Bibi in the 2020s. It attempts to illustrate that religious minorities in Pakistan remain vulnerable.KEYWORDS: Pakistan penal codeblasphemylawwomenBritish IndiaAsia Bibi Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. Sajjad Zaheer and Mahmuduzzafar, the writers of Angare, studied in London and gradually drifted towards socialism (Mahmud, Citation1996, p. 447).2. Muslim reformers such as Sayed Ahmad Khan from Aligarh (1817–1898), Molana Ashraf Ali Thanavi (1864–1943) of Deoband and Mumtaz Ali from Lahore (1860–1935) evolved a critique of a contemporary Muslim religious social life and British colonial rule. See Gail Minault, ‘Women, Legal Reform and Muslim Identity’ edited in Hasan (Citation1998), pp. 139–58. Islam, Communities and the Nation: M3. ‘Zanana’ women’s place, from the Persian word ‘zan’, a woman, and ‘ana’, place. It is the part of the house of native women, entirely separated from that occupied by men (Patel, Citation2002, p. 120; Weitbrecht, Citation1875, p. 94; 94).4. The statement was delivered by Winston Churchill and quoted in Fry (Citation2001), p. 437.5. ‘Pope Pleads for Life of Condemned Pakistani Woman’, BBC News, 17 November 2010, https://bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-117774826. United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, International Religious Freedom Report for 2011, available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/193145.pdf; M. A. Niazi, ‘Blasphemy Case Shakes the Nation’, published on 3 December 2010: www.pkarticleshub.com; Zahid Husain and Tom Write, ‘Pakistan’s Killers has Revealed Plans’, The Wall Street Journal, 5 January 2011.7. Mumtaz Qadri Charged with Salman Taseer Murder”, BBC News, 14 February 2011 available on http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia.8. The Express Tribune, 18 January 2013.9. For detail see Asia Bibi v. The State (available on www.supremecourt.gov.pk)10. In the book ‘Enfin libre!’ (Finally Free) published in French in January 2020. ‘Finally free’: Asia Bibi breaks silence after Pakistani death row hell’ Issued on: 29/01/2020–21:14 available online https://www.france24.com/11. Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi quoted in Sookhdeo, Freedom to Believe, 13.","PeriodicalId":35685,"journal":{"name":"Round Table","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134948725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Round TablePub Date : 2023-09-03DOI: 10.1080/00358533.2023.2268932
Geoffrey Troughton, Philip Fountain
{"title":"An insecure secularity? Religion, decolonisation and diversification in Aotearoa New Zealand","authors":"Geoffrey Troughton, Philip Fountain","doi":"10.1080/00358533.2023.2268932","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2023.2268932","url":null,"abstract":"The question of the location of religion in the public sphere is always a matter of the logics, practices, and politics of secularism.While mythologies of a linear secular teleology have been thoroughly critiqued, the ongoing trajectories for both religious and secular politics are contested and emergent. New Zealand provides an important context for examining these dynamics. While New Zealand is frequently referenced as among the most secular nations in the world, with census data tracking a precipitous disaffiliation from Christianity and a concomitant rapid increase in ‘non-religion’, the actual situation is in considerable flux. A crucial dynamic is the combination of an indigenous Māori cultural renaissance and state attempts to recognise the moral imperative of decolonisation which have resulted in new languages of spirituality shaping both law and politics. Diverse religious groups have also occupied prominent spaces in shaping public concern and setting new agendas for national life. This paper traces the emerging contours of this dynamic religious context and the contributions of religion and spirituality in shaping political leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand.","PeriodicalId":35685,"journal":{"name":"Round Table","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134948729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Round TablePub Date : 2023-09-03DOI: 10.1080/00358533.2023.2268950
Renae Barker
{"title":"Australia’s high temperature debate about religion","authors":"Renae Barker","doi":"10.1080/00358533.2023.2268950","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2023.2268950","url":null,"abstract":"\"Australia’s high temperature debate about religion.\" The Round Table, 112(5), pp. 545–546 Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).","PeriodicalId":35685,"journal":{"name":"Round Table","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134948732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Round TablePub Date : 2023-09-03DOI: 10.1080/00358533.2023.2268939
Richard Bourne
{"title":"Commonwealth and realpolitik","authors":"Richard Bourne","doi":"10.1080/00358533.2023.2268939","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2023.2268939","url":null,"abstract":"\"Commonwealth and realpolitik.\" The Round Table, 112(5), pp. 547–548 Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).","PeriodicalId":35685,"journal":{"name":"Round Table","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134948731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}