ETHNO-RELIGIOUS EXPRESSIONS OF OTHERNESS (CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES)MODULE 5. Islam, The Balkans, Identity.
13 вторник дек. 2022
Posted in Свободна наука
Архиви за етикет: identity
ISLAM UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF MODERNITY
28 четвъртък апр. 2022
Posted in Свободна наука
Етикети
Abstract: The article proposes a possible methodological perspective for conceptualizing Islam and modernity in the context of the dichotomy “traditional vs. modern”. The author outlines the different images of Islam in their specific sociological profiles as related to (and stemming from) the canon of norms that constitute the Islamic community and construct community ties, the basic resource of which are religious values. A scrutiny of the modes of difference and otherness through the lense of neighbourhood reveals otherness to be a latent conflict factor susceptible to political mobilization and populist manipulation. The author identifies the problem fields that generate the clash between secularism and Islam.
Keywords: modernity, Islam, identity, community, neighbourhood
DESTABILIZING FACTORS IN PRESENT TIMES
17 четвъртък мар. 2022
Posted in Свободна наука
Етикети
elite, globalization, hate speech, identity, immigration, integration, modernity, multiculturalism, nationalism, populism
Abstract: The analysis is focused on nationalism, populism, hate speech, multiculturalism. The processes designated as globalization are mobilizing a resistance that increasingly manifests itself as an effort to preserve the identity of various ethnic cultural and religious traditions. Populist extremism is nourished by what it describes as the antagonism between the organic, “pure”, nation and the nation’s enemies, whether these be the Jews, the Muslims, the ethnic minorities and/or the “corrupt elite”. Populism is a distorted form of democracy that promises to fulfill the loftiest ideals of democracy (“Let the people decide!”). In other words, the threat comes from within, because the politicians that represent that threat speak the language of democratic values.
Hate speech is an utterance that denigrates or stigmatizes a person or a number of people on the basis of their affiliation to a group that usually, but not always, has certain unchanging characteristics, for instance, an ethnic or religious group. The fundamental problem here is the lack of understanding that the responsibility for the actions of one person may not be shifted to all people having some trait in common with the perpetrator. To distinguish between the individual and his group is a fundamental principle of democracy.
The discussion on multiculturalism cautions against the attempts to idealize multiculturalism: the philosophy and reality of multiculturalism do not always overlap. Most European states are inclined to think of multiculturalism mostly as a framework for the coexistence of different cultures rather than as a transnational mechanism for the integration of new settlers within a dominant culture. According to the critics of multiculturalism, Europe has allowed excessive immigration without requiring sufficient integration, an inappropriate course that has resulted in the erosion of social cohesion, the undermining of national identities and the decrease of social trust. The defendants of multiculturalism, for their part, respond that the problem lies not in excessive diversity but in excessive racism. A core set of shared basic values and rules (the Constitution, the laws, the shared language) guarantees the cohesion of the whole and at the same time sets boundaries to the right to be different and to the principle of equal standing of cultures. The general framework holds clear primacy over the particular cultures. The immigrants may preserve and maintain only that part of their cultures that is not in contradiction with the mandatory shared whole (“selective preservation of culture”).
Keywords: nationalism, populism, hate speech, multiculturalism, globalization, modernity, identity, elite, integration, immigration
Assoc. Prof. Dr Veselin Bosakov
ETHNICITY, RELIGION, NATIONAL IDENTITY / ЕТНОС, РЕЛИГИЯ, НАЦИОНАЛНА ИДЕНТИЧНОСТ
18 петък февр. 2022
Posted in Свободна наука
Етикети
culture, етнос, идентичност, ислям, култура, национализъм, ethnicity, identity, Islam, nationalism, религия, ценности, religion, values
Abstract: The processes we designate as globalization tend to provoke resistance, which arises ever more often as an effort on the part of various ethno-cultural and religious traditions to preserve their own identity. In this context, ethnic and religious affiliations become centers of meaning in the striving towards a separate identity in the global debate regarding the quality of human development.
Achieving a national community and building new norms of coexistence under the conditions of ethno-religious variety are becoming a strategic goal of contemporary development. Contemporary civilization faces the need to respond to the critique and resistance of various forms of religious fundamentalism, and especially the critique formulated in the tradition of Islamic fundamentalism.
The problems related to national identity have been far more often described and discussed in the context of nationalist fears of difference than in terms of the effort to overcome the crisis of identity amidst the imposed similarities. Under Bulgarian conditions, ethnic and religious diversity continues to be perceived as an established fact that we must take into account, and not as a resource for nation building. Achieving a national identity should be the result of joint effort. The first and most difficult part of this effort is to recognize that this common meaning exists in a diversity of forms. The coming years will be marked by a search for new grounds of one’s own identity, a search for the spaces that define parts of ourselves. The great challenge facing Bulgaria is to rediscover the values and meaning of the national community. Only thus will our genuine, full presence in Europe become a fact.
Keywords: religion, ethnicity, culture, identity, Islam, nationalism, values
RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND VALUE ORIENTATIONS
22 петък окт. 2021
Posted in Свободна наука
Abstract: The results of the analyses of European Values Study data (European Values Study 2008) indicate significant differences between the social and value profile of Eastern Orthodox Christians and the Muslim community in Bulgaria. In this survey, for an important share of the respondents who define themselves as Muslims, religion is no longer a value in itself but a complete environment, which determines the attitude towards other values and relations. Religious morality structures the new models of participation and forms of solidarity. While the Orthodox Christians mostly have a traditional respect for the norms of faith, among an important part of the Muslims religion is becoming a value scale and a core of social activity in general. While we do have reason to consider that, overall, Bulgarian society is in a process of rethinking its attitude to religion, this applies to a much greater degree to Muslims. The mediating complex of factors that most probably accelerate certain processes of consolidation of the religious community is connected with its partial social isolation, its specific profile of professional, civic, and political activity.
Key words: values, Islam, identity, religion, tolerance, tradition, faith
МУЛТИКУЛТУРАЛИЗЪМ – ЩО Е ТО?
05 четвъртък авг. 2021
Posted in Свободна наука
Етикети
dialog, diversity, диалог, идентичност, интеграция, нация, globalizationмултикултурализъм, identity, integration, multiculturalism, nation, разнообразие
Abstract: The presentation focuses on the problem fields defined by the questions:
- Has multiculturalism failed?
- Is multiculturalism harmful?
- Is multiculturalism dangerous?
- How can we respond to the complexity and challenges of pluralism, and strike a proper balance with regard to coexisting in the living present?
An in-depth scrutiny (and proper scientific explanation!) of a given phenomenon would not be possible without problematizing the said phenomenon. This can be done by asking how the object of our study – in this case, multiculturalism – is possible? The answer to this question would illuminate the direction of analysis and provide a framework for the arguments on the basis of which diversity may be recognized as a fundamental value and basic principle requiring the mutual recognition, equal standing, and equal value of the knowledge, skills and attitudes involved in social co-participation with that which is different.
The various European countries have taken very different paths. These differences, however, do not reduce, or revoke, the need for an on-going discussion on multiculturalism – foremost, and particularly, in its political dimension, which includes distribution of power and access to resources.
Keywords: multiculturalism, nation, identity, integration, diversity, dialog, globalization
Assoc. Prof. Veselin Bosakov, PhD
КОНТЕКСТУАЛИЗИРАНЕ НА ОТНОШЕНИЕТО КЪМ ИСЛЯМА В БЪЛГАРИЯ – ПОГЛЕД НАЗАД
11 неделя юли 2021
Posted in Свободна наука
Етикети
conflict, identity, otherness, prejudices, tolerance, toleration, transformation
Резюме: Историята и практиката на Балканите и у нас показват, че конфликтният потенциал на наложените сходства е много по-голям, отколкото на взаимно приетите и следвани различия. В балканското културно пространство като периферия на поне три световни империи през вековете, съжителството на различни етнически, религиозни и езикови общности постепенно е придобило измеренията на естествено състояние. Мюсюлманинът тук не е чужденец, но това не пречи отношенията между мнозинство и малцинства да са подчинени на представата за господството и властта, както и на съпротивите срещу нея, които на свой ред са определяли и продължават да доминират конфликтния потенциал на съвременното съжителство. В самата представа за „българско” равнище доминира по-скоро специфичен синтез на етнически, религиозни, културни и езикови различия, изграждащи специфичната амалгама, върху която се проектира образа на съвременния ислям. Това е принципно различно възприятие за ислям, което съществено се различава от европейското и в още по-голяма степен от проектиращото се в глобален мащаб разбиране на съвременния ислям. Отношението към исляма в България би могло да бъде определено като интегрален показател не само за промяната в отношението към религията като цяло, но и като важна съставна част от симптоматиката на посттоталитарната криза и полетата, в които се търси нейното решение.
Ключови думи: трансформация, толерантност, конфликт, идентичност, другост, търпимост, предразсъдъци, стереотипи
CONTEXTUALIZING THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS ISLAM IN BULGARIA: A LOOK BACK IN TIME
Abstract: History and customs in the Balkans and in our country have shown that the conflictive potential of imposed similarities is much greater than that of the mutually recognized and observed differences. In the cultural space of the Balkans, a peripheral region for at least three world empires over the centuries, the coexistence of different ethnic, religious and linguistic communities has gradually acquired the characteristics of a natural state of things. Here, the Muslim is not a stranger, yet the relationships between the majority and the minority are defined by the ideas of domination and power, respectively, resistance against power; these in turn create and perpetuate the conflictive potential of coexistence today. In Bulgaria, these notions refer to a specific amalgamation of ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic differences, upon which is projected the image of modern Islam. The perception of Islam here is essentially different from the respective European one, and even more from the perception of this religion at world level. The attitude to Islam in Bulgaria can be defined as an integral indicator of the changed attitude to religion in general, as an important element of the post-totalitarian crisis, and as a field in which solutions to the crisis may be sought.
Keywords: transformation, tolerance, conflict, identity, otherness, toleration, prejudices, stereotypes
ТРАДИЦИОННО И МОДЕРНО: ИСЛЯМЪТ В СЕКУЛАРЕН КОНТЕКСТ / TRADITIONAL AND MODERN: ISLAM IN A SECULAR CONTEXT
29 вторник юни 2021
Posted in Свободна наука
Етикети
democracy, демокрация, идентичност, ислям, модерност, identity, modernity, neighbourhood, съседство, традиция, ценности Islam, tradition, values
Резюме: Реалният проблем за демокрацията се намира в Европа и е неин вътрешен въпрос. Той е свързан с необходимостта да се интегрира все по-голям брой разярени млади мюсюлмани и то така, че да не се провокира още по-яростна реакция на крайнодесните европейски популисти. За това обаче са необходими две неща. На първо място, някои европейски страни трябва да преразгледат досегашната си мултикултуралистка политика, представляваща по същество убежище на радикализма. На второ място, те следва да преформулират и собствените си определения за национална идентичност, така че в тях да има повече място и за хора от неевропейски произход. Модернизацията в съвременния мюсюлмански свят едва ли е възможна без под една или друга форма ислямът да бъде интегриран в обществения живот. Не само религията, но и самата традиция, с която тя е свързана, се намират в много сложни и комплексни взаимоотношения с развитието и демокрацията, а поставянето на резки разделителни линии между тях често е подвеждащо и опростява анализа, като го прави твърде схематичен. За съжаление една пълноценна демокрация, при която мюсюлманският глас може да бъде само един сред много други и при която ще е налице морално равенство между исляма и други перспективи, все още се възприема като опасност не само за състоянието на мюсюлманската общност, но и за секуларния жизнен свят на модерния европеец.
Ключови думи: ислям, модерност, традиция, идентичност, съседство, демокрация, ценности
Abstract: The genuine problem concerning democracy is located in Europe, where it is an internal problem. The problem consists in the necessity of integrating an increasingly large number of angry young Muslims in a way that would not provoke an even more angry response on the part of extreme right-wing European populists. Two things must be done for this purpose. Firstly, some European countries should reconsider the multiculturalist policy they have been conducting until now, which essentially represents a haven for radicalism. Secondly, these countries must reformulate their own definitions of national identity in terms that will provide room for people of non-European origin as well. Modernization in the contemporary Muslim world would hardly be possible without integrating Islam, in one form or another, into social life. Not only the religion itself but also the traditions linked to Islam stand in very complex mutual relationships with development and democracy; drawing sharp dividing lines between them is often misleading: it simplifies analysis and leads to schematic conclusions. Regretfully, a full-bodied democracy, in which the Muslim voice will be just one of many voices, and where a moral equality exists between Islam and other perspectives, is till perceived as dangerous for the Muslim community but also for the secular lifeworld of the modern European .
Keywords: Islam, modernity, tradition, identity, neighbourhood, democracy, values
ИСЛЯМ – БАЛКАНИ – ИДЕНТИЧНОСТ / ISLAM – THE BALKANS – IDENTITY
06 четвъртък май 2021
Posted in Свободна наука
Етикети
Balkans, colonization, Балкани, етнос, идентичност, ислям, ислямизация, колонизация, миграция, ethnos, identity, Islam, Islamization, migration, религия, religion
Резюме: Още в хода на завоюването на Балканския полуостров, което приключва към края на XV век, пред империята възниква въпроса за нуждата от увеличаване на мюсюлманския елемент, чрез който да се утвърди османската власт в новите земи. Органите на централната власт, армията и духовенството започват системно да провеждат политика на ислямизация. Колонизацията и миграцията са едни от факторите, които водят до установяване на многобройно население с ислямска компонента. Ислямизацията е свързана и с определени предимства като опрощаване на провинения на нарушители на закона, раздаване на служби и длъжности, подпомагане на бедните нови мюсюлмани, включване в различни османски военни организации – спахийство, еничарство, яя (селяни пехотинци), мюслеми (свободни селяни конници), акънджии (ударна конница), юруци и др. Осъществява се сливане на етническа и религиозна идентичност, произтичащо от самата организация на империята и значимостта на религията за упражняването на властта. Религията се превръща в етноним на властта, а властта е мюсюлманска. Очевидно е, че причините и факторите за приемането на исляма от част от балканското население не са окончателно изяснени и ще останат дискусионни, ако обяснението им се търси само в „насилието“ или само в „доброволността“. Може би тези причини трябва да се свържат както с вътрешнополитическата стратегия на османската държава спрямо многобройното население на Балканите, така и със средновековната религиозност на селяните и невъзможността на намиращата се в подчинено положение православна църква да поддържа вярата им и да ги подкрепя материално.
Ключови думи: ислям, Балкани, идентичност, етнос, религия, ислямизация, колонизация, миграция
доц. д-р Веселин Босаков, ИФС при БАН
Abstract: Even before the conquest of the Balkan Peninsula was completed by the end of the 15 century, the Ottoman Empire was faced with the need to increase the Muslim component of the local population so as to affirm Ottoman power in the new lands. The central authorities, the army and the clergy began to systematically implement a policy of Islamization. Colonization and migration were among the factors that led to the settlement of a numerous Muslim population. Conversion to Islam was linked to certain advantages, such as pardon for violations of law, the distribution of offices and positions, assistance for impoverished new Muslims, inclusion in Ottoman military organizations such as the spahi, the janissaries, the yaya (peasant infantry), the muslem (autonomous peasant cavalry), the akinji (advance cavalry), the yuruks, etc. There was a merging of ethnic and religious identity stemming from the way in which the Empire was organized and from the importance of religion for the exercise of power. Religious affiliation became an ethnonym of power, and power was in Muslim hands. Evidently, the causes and factors of the conversion to Islam of part of the Balkan population have not been definitively clarified and will remain debatable if the explanation is looked for in “coercion” alone or in “voluntary choice” alone. Perhaps the causes might be related to the internal political strategy of the Ottoman state with regard to the numerous population of the Balkans as well as to the medieval religiousness of the peasants and the incapacity of the Orthodox Church, in its subordinate position, to maintain their faith and provide them with material assistance.
Keywords: Islam, Balkans, identity, ethnos, religion, Islamization, colonization, migration
Assoc. Prof. Veselin Bosakov, PhD
ИСЛЯМЪТ В ГЛОБАЛЕН, ЕВРОПЕЙСКИ И БАЛКАНСКИ КОНТЕКСТ
19 понеделник апр. 2021
Posted in Свободна наука
Етикети
другост, идентичност, ислям, ислямофобия, identity, Islam, Islamophobia, neighbourhood, съседство
Abstract: The image that the Christian, and later on the West European rationalist, tradition had formed of Islam has been undergoing a many-sided transformation in the last decades. After the breakdown of the Soviet Union and the Socialist Bloc, the changes that took place at the geostrategic and political levels transformed in a dramatic way both the visibility of difference and the scale on which difference can be assessed and defined. The global scale of the changing visibility of, and attitude to, Islam, and the political dimensions of this change as yet remain insufficiently understood. Even now, the prevailing viewpoint on these facts is limited to declaring various standpoints regarding the strategic orientation of the globalization process. Perhaps that is why difference (which is increasingly becoming synonymous with Islam) is distinctly seeking to side with the opponents of globalism despite the endless variety of ideas, motives, and interests that go into, or are prepared to go into, this doctrine.
Keywords: Islam, neighbourhood, Islamophobia, identity, otherness
Резюме: Представата за исляма, формирана в традициите на християнството, а по-късно и на западноевропейския рационализъм, е подложена на бърза многопосочна трансформация в последните десетилетия. След разпадането на Съветския съюз и социалистическия блок от държави, настъпилите промени в геостратегически и политически план драматично трансформират както видимостта на различието, така и мащабите, в които то може да бъде оценявано и определяно. Изключителното значение на този глобален мащаб на промяна във видимостта и отношението към исляма и неговите политически измерения, остава все още недооценено. Все още доминиращата гледна точка към значението на тези факти се изчерпва чрез деклариране на позиции спрямо стратегическата ориентация на процеса на глобализация. Може би именно затова все по-отчетливо различието (в синоним на което все по-категорично се превръща исляма) търси своето място сред противниците на глобализма, независимо от безкрайното разнообразие от идеи, мотиви и интереси, които изпълват или са готови да изпълнят със съдържание тази доктрина.
Ключови думи: ислям, съседство, ислямофобия, идентичност, другост
доц. д-р Веселин Босаков
bozhidar ivkov 