Islam and the cognitive study of colonialism: The case of religious and educational reform at Egypt’s al-Azhar

IF 1.7 1区 历史学 Q1 HISTORY Journal of Global History Pub Date : 2021-08-09 DOI:10.1017/S1740022821000267
Aria Nakissa
{"title":"Islam and the cognitive study of colonialism: The case of religious and educational reform at Egypt’s al-Azhar","authors":"Aria Nakissa","doi":"10.1017/S1740022821000267","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article argues that the emerging Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR) provides a valuable new perspective on colonialism. CSR argues that humans are innately inclined towards certain types of religious belief (e.g., belief in spirit beings, belief in immortal souls) and certain types of non-utilitarian morality (e.g., belief in an obligation to care for kin, belief in an obligation to avoid ‘disgusting’ substances or behaviours). These innate inclinations underlie many religious and cultural traditions transformed by colonialism, including Islam. The article suggests that colonial power operates not only by suppressing traditional non-Western institutions but also by suppressing the natural inclinations underlying non-Western traditions. This claim is developed through a study of colonial efforts to transform Egypt’s al-Azhar, the world’s most influential institution of Islamic learning and scholarship. These efforts made al-Azhar into the centre of a global Islamic reform movement, which sought to integrate Islam with a colonial scientific-utilitarian worldview.","PeriodicalId":46192,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Global History","volume":"17 1","pages":"394 - 417"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2021-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"6","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Global History","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1740022821000267","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HISTORY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 6

Abstract

Abstract This article argues that the emerging Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR) provides a valuable new perspective on colonialism. CSR argues that humans are innately inclined towards certain types of religious belief (e.g., belief in spirit beings, belief in immortal souls) and certain types of non-utilitarian morality (e.g., belief in an obligation to care for kin, belief in an obligation to avoid ‘disgusting’ substances or behaviours). These innate inclinations underlie many religious and cultural traditions transformed by colonialism, including Islam. The article suggests that colonial power operates not only by suppressing traditional non-Western institutions but also by suppressing the natural inclinations underlying non-Western traditions. This claim is developed through a study of colonial efforts to transform Egypt’s al-Azhar, the world’s most influential institution of Islamic learning and scholarship. These efforts made al-Azhar into the centre of a global Islamic reform movement, which sought to integrate Islam with a colonial scientific-utilitarian worldview.
查看原文
分享 分享
微信好友 朋友圈 QQ好友 复制链接
本刊更多论文
伊斯兰教与殖民主义的认知研究——以埃及爱资哈尔的宗教和教育改革为例
本文认为,新兴的宗教认知科学(CSR)为研究殖民主义提供了一个有价值的新视角。企业社会责任认为,人类天生就倾向于某些类型的宗教信仰(例如,对精神存在的信仰,对不朽灵魂的信仰)和某些类型的非功利主义道德(例如,对照顾亲属的义务的信仰,对避免“恶心”物质或行为的义务的信仰)。这些天生的倾向构成了许多被殖民主义改变的宗教和文化传统的基础,包括伊斯兰教。这篇文章表明,殖民权力不仅通过压制传统的非西方制度,而且还通过压制非西方传统背后的自然倾向来运作。这一说法是通过对殖民时期改造埃及爱资哈尔大学(al-Azhar)的研究得出的,爱资哈尔大学是世界上最有影响力的伊斯兰学习和学术机构。这些努力使爱资哈尔成为全球伊斯兰改革运动的中心,该运动试图将伊斯兰教与殖民主义的科学功利主义世界观结合起来。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 去求助
来源期刊
CiteScore
3.30
自引率
5.30%
发文量
28
期刊介绍: Journal of Global History addresses the main problems of global change over time, together with the diverse histories of globalization. It also examines counter-currents to globalization, including those that have structured other spatial units. The journal seeks to transcend the dichotomy between "the West and the rest", straddle traditional regional boundaries, relate material to cultural and political history, and overcome thematic fragmentation in historiography. The journal also acts as a forum for interdisciplinary conversations across a wide variety of social and natural sciences. Published for London School of Economics and Political Science
期刊最新文献
Do mountains kill states? Exploring the diversity of Southeast Asian highland communities A merger of equals: The political economy of the World Bank’s early contacts with China Freeing Chinese Men on the María Luz: Gender and the Latin American Coolie Trade Parsi capital and imperial infrastructure: Shipping and shopping in the port of Aden, 1840-1888 Islands in a sea of sand: The role of Tarim Basin polities in global trade during late antiquity
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
现在去查看 取消
×
提示
确定
0
微信
客服QQ
Book学术公众号 扫码关注我们
反馈
×
意见反馈
请填写您的意见或建议
请填写您的手机或邮箱
已复制链接
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
×
扫码分享
扫码分享
Book学术官方微信
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术
文献互助 智能选刊 最新文献 互助须知 联系我们:info@booksci.cn
Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。
Copyright © 2023 Book学术 All rights reserved.
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号 京ICP备2023020795号-1