Word: islam
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Bringing marginalized or forgotten traditions to light is something of an IAMM speciality. "Faith and Power," an exhibit on women in Islam earlier this year, unearthed the history of Muslim women as fighters, rulers and scholars. On the wall at the exhibit's close, a quote from Megawati Sukarnoputri, who in 2001 became Indonesia's first female President, read: "It appears that I am considered to be a housewife? What's wrong with that? It does not mean a housewife does not understand politics...
...principle of state secularism was introduced in the 1920s by modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, to purge the country of what he considered backward influences. But for leading members of the military, judiciary and civil service, Ataturk's dictates became a license to wage war on political Islam. They did so through coups in 1960 and 1971, the "soft coup" of 1997, and several bans on political parties. In the last decade, such interventions seemed unlikely as Turkey integrated with global markets and grew more prosperous. Now, many fear, the instability is back...
...vision of Turkey's modern destiny by keeping religion separate from government. But the AKP, the most successful party in recent Turkish history, is rooted in faith and has risen to power as more conservative and religious Turks find a political voice. On the question of how democracy, Islam and modernity can coexist under the rule of law, the two sides have radically - perhaps irreconcilably - different views...
Banning the AKP won't neutralize the attraction its positions hold for millions of Turkish voters. And the mere threat of a ban has already drawn international condemnation, and has contributed to a slowdown in foreign investment as well as a weakening of Turkey's currency. That said, political Islam would indeed pose a future threat to the modern lifestyles of many Turks - and, despite the AKP's protestations, it's not unreasonable to suspect that the party might want to strengthen Islam's role in political life. Still, it's worth keeping such worries from spiraling out of control...
...French Muslim women are increasingly defying the restrictions and repression men try to enforce, and leading full, modern lives - including sexually," says Dounia Bouzar, whose recent book Allah, My Boss, and Me explores Islam in the French workplace. "The one time they feel obliged to make a concession to outdated attitudes is with the marital requirement of virginity - a purely macho tradition that has no basis in Islam, and is certainly nothing courts should be respecting. This surgery is unfortunate, though it is a way for women who have insisted on living their own lives to avoid punishment under...