CROSSROADS IN CULTURAL STUDIES
Fourth International Conference
June 29 - July 2, 2002, Tampere, Finland
Religion and Culture
Organiser: Frances Ota
Geyushev, Altay (Baku State University,
Azerbaijan) POLITICAL ISLAM IN AZERBAIJAN AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF MONARCHIC RUSSIA
The party known as Ittikhady-Islam, which arose in 1917, was the most powerful
organization of the Islamic trend in the Caucasus, until the April 1920
occupation of Azerbaijan by the Soviets. Having the second largest number in the
Parliament, Islamists became the main oppositional force in the period of the
Azerbaijani Democratic Republic (1918-1920). Propagandizing the idea of
solidarity and development on the basis of Islam, the Ittikhad Party was the
first well-organized structure of political Islam in Azerbaijan. This party was
part of the fifth and last governmental coalition formed in the autumn of 1919.
After the April occupation in 1920, the legal activities of the Ittikhad Party
were prohibited by the new Soviet government of Azerbaijan. Some of the leaders
were arrested and exiled, many others emigrated. Nevertheless, 'Ittikhadists'
continued their illegal activities, taking part and being the organizers of many
anti-Soviet uprisings covering the whole of Azerbaijan, until the Second World
War.
Simonova, Inna (Harvard University, USA)
"FALL BALL OF THE NEW YORK SAINT NICHOLAS PATRIARCH CATHEDRAL" - A WAY
TO OVERCOME BARRIERS
Dividing Russian People in Diaspora Not for the first time, the Russian Orthodox
Church abroad conducts so-called "Theological Balls". Money raised at
them goes for the stipends at Jordanville Saint-Trinity Theological College
(State of New York). A few years ago in Washington, a Charity Ball took place,
the proceeds of which went for the restoration of the St. Nicholas Cathedral,
which belongs to the American Autocephalous Russian Orthodox Church. Recently
this initiative, which is not entirely within the conservative "canon"
of Orthodox ecclesiastical policy, is continued by the Russian Orthodox Moscow
Patriarch Church, which continues friendly relationships with the American
Autocephalous Russian Orthodox Church, but still doesn't recognize the Russian
Orthodox Church abroad, founded after the Revolution in 1917 and led, till the
autumn 2001, by Metropolitan Vitaly. With the blessing of Holy Moscow and All
Russian Patriarch Alexis II, a Fall Ball was held in the most imposing hall of
New York, the "Waldorf Astoria". The objective was to raise funds for
the reconstruction of the most sacred place of the Russian Orthodox Church in
the United States of America - the Saint Nicholas Patriarch Cathedral. This
cathedral is the symbol of the unity of the Russian people on the North-American
Continent. The importance of this church was stressed by the President of
Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. Together with his spouse, he attended a
service dedicated to the memory of the victims of September 11, when he was in
New York last November.
Bloomfield Ramagem, Sonia (Montgomery
College, USA) UNDERSTANDING JEWISH FUNDAMENTALISM: POLITICS AND RELIGION ON THE
DELIMITATION OF ISRAEL'S TERRITORY
The general objective of the paper is the study of the relations between
religion and culture, focusing on the "fundamentalism" and space
issue. The specific objective is the examination of the cultural construction of
Israel's territory and the related sense of territoriality in Jewish
fundamentalist circles. This is accomplished through the study of spatial
practices from Biblical times to the present context of the (re) definition of
the borders of the Israeli State by the praxis and discourse of present Jewish
Fundamentalism.
Ota, Frances (Toronto School of Theology
University of Toronto) SOCIAL AND THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR MINISTRY
POST-SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
In the days following the September 11 tragedy at the World Trade Centre in New
York City, clergy from all faith groups grappled with what message to bring, and
what the implications were for their congregations. Although Canada was somewhat
removed from the events, congregations in Canada were also touched. Churches
reported a brief rise in attendance, and then a drop back to normal numbers. Do
churches have a role to play in shaping post-September 11 attitudes? What is our
role as clergy in a world which is increasingly globalised? How do we help our
congregants understand some of the deeper issues behind such attacks? This paper
reflects on the implications for ministry, from the perspective of Doctor of
Ministry students at Toronto School of Theology at Victoria University,
University of Toronto.
de Lourdes Beldi de Alcantara, Maria (University
of Sao Paulo)
THE ¥ANDERUS MEETINGS - A GUARANI-KAIOW CULTURAL RESPONSE
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ¥anderus meetings of the
Guarani-Kaiowa "paj‚s" (healers), which took place in Mato Grosso do
Sul, a town 10 km. from Dourados, Brasil, on July 18 and 19, 2001.The
Guarani-Kaiowa believe that the only way to curtail the suicide
"epidemic" which has been sweeping the Dourados reserve since 1986, is
to commune using prayer and traditional chants. According to the Kaiowa, these
rituals are the means to recover those traditions which contain the essential
elements to reinforce their culture.Going to the heart of this problem, we will
analyse the key symbols which identify the rituals. More specifically, we will
look at the way these symbols communicate with and oppose each other, and the
way they are reconstructed in the face of different cultural acts which
originate in the town of Dourados. We are asserting that this town is
paradigmatic of Western encroachment on indigenous cultures like the
Guarani-Kaiowa.The Guarani-Kaiowa cultural response will be introduced through
several different discourses and acts. The purpose of these acts is to renew and
update rituals, and at the same time point to socio-economic and cultual
alternatives to the ever-present threats to cultural integrity which they are
presently experiencing.The dynamics of retrieving and reassembling a cultural
identity will ground the analysis of these rituals. There is no intent to
attempt to recover the "real" Kaiow identity, for the target is the
observation of the continuous process of reconstruction of traditions.
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