Annals of Japan Association for Middle East Studies
Online ISSN : 2433-1872
Print ISSN : 0913-7858
Volume 4, Issue 1
Displaying 1-7 of 7 articles from this issue
  • Masaki HORIUCHI
    Article type: Article
    1989 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 1-43
    Published: March 31, 1989
    Released on J-STAGE: March 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    This article contains the description and interpretation of a saintly festival held in central Morocco. Saintly festivals, called "Moussem-s". are common to all areas in western Maghreb countries and about one thousand of Moussems are being held each year in Morocco. They have a great variety of characteristics according to their own localities and are embedded in each specific socio-symbolic context. It seems almost impossible to draw common features from all these Moussems, both in sociological and symbolic forms. The only abstract which we can obtain is, in my view, that the Moussem is a rare occasion of great gathering of rural people, and can be esteemed as "embodiment of society". Though this proposition, spoken out in a rather self-evident way, seems to be a matter of course, it still holds significant importance in the context of interpreting festivals and rituals. Religious festivals and rituals are often posited as extraordinary events which are separated from everyday life and constitute special domain that is opposed to mundane, profane and structured social world. But the Moussem of Sidi Sharqi demands a careful interpretation regarding this bifurcational opposition scheme. Its connotation in symbolic scene requests us to understand this tribal gathering as an extension and crystallization of daily social life. This feature finds its validity also in social context. The Moussem and weekly markets make the current personal networks observable in clearly embodied form and even produce the network itself. It is by no means cut from daily activities. The general theme that festivals have the features of "Communitus" is not applicable to this Moussem. This proposition underlies the whole description and interpretation of this article. After examining the meaning of the term "Moussem" and its distribution in Morocco (Chapter I), I shall report the outline of past three Moussems of Sidi Sharqi, which were held during 1985-1987 when I carried out my fieldwork there in Boujad. holy town of Sidi Sharqi (Chapter II). And in Chapter III, I describe the above-mentioned proposition from two view-points. First of which is the socio-economic aspect of participants to this Moussem. namely two major tribes Beni Zemmur and Smaala. Here, fluidity and amorphism in their segmentary structure comes to the main point. I shall mention that the gathering at the Moussem is a reflection of this daily fluidity in their tribal social conditions. And I shall also point out that the Moussem is a rare opportunity for tribesmen to act as a member of "tribe", because the tribal system has been undermined by national policy and its succeeding socio-economic change in general Moroccan scene. Moussem is not independent of social reality. The second aspect of the proposition shall be discussed in symbolic sphere. Time and space of the Moussem is examined by symbolic context and will be concluded that the gathering is continuation of everyday life, not separated from the mundane domain as has often been formulated in Turner or Leachian manner. Sacred symbol, Sidi Sharqi, stands by the Moussem and accordingly by the society. In other words, binary opposition comes into existence between Sidi Sharqi and the society produced by the Moussem. The gathering itself belongs to the mundane, not to the sacred. Finally. I shall discuss the relation between Sidi Sharqi and his Moussem (or Boujad society) from the view-point of "Stranger as the holiness" theme. Sidi Sharqi can be better understood when we see him as a stranger. He has many attributes which are peculiar to strangers possessing symbolic power. Conclusion is as follows; (1) Tribesmen are the main participants in the Moussem. (2) Tribal social structure is dominated by fluidity and amorphisra, which will decide the form of the Moussem. Importance is laid on detailed parts, not on the whole.

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  • Toru MIURA
    Article type: Article
    1989 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 44-84
    Published: March 31, 1989
    Released on J-STAGE: March 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    In Arabic Islamic cities the quarters (hara, mahalla) have always playing an important role as a unit of social life. But we have only a few speculative hypotheses-based on insufficient information-as to the external composition and the internal structure of these quarters. al-Salihiya Quarter in the suburbs of Damascus began as a settlement of the Qudama family, members of the Hanbali Law School who migrated to Damascus from Palestine after its capture during the Crusades. I have already clarified the history of its development in the Ayyubid period (570/1174-658/1260) in my previous article "The Urbanization of the Suburbs of Damascus" (The Toyo Gakuho, vol. 68, nos. 1・2, 1987). In this article I attempt to examine the composition of al-Salihiya Quarter and the role of the 'ulama' (religious and legal scholars) in the Mamluk period (648/1250-922/1517). In this period al-Salihiya Quarter comprised some thirty to forty smaller quarters called hara, which developed around such religious institutions as madrasa (college) and jami' (Friday congregational mosque). These were separated from one another and each contained an average of 20 houses and 140 persons, that is, one-sixth as many as a typical quarter of the old city intra muros. Some major quarters of them had large suqs (markets) and khans (caravansaraies), and al-Salihiya Quarter formed its own market independent of the old city. Religious institutions, e.g. madrasas, managed themselves by means of the waqf endowment and they engaged various offficials like nazir (administrator) and mudarris (professor). They paid such high officials as professor salaries ranging between 60 and 100 dirhams per month and provided all such officials and students with food, clothes and lodging through the waqf endowments, and periodically doled out special provisions to the poor as well. Professors were appointed by the Governor of Damascus. A scrutiny of all the professors appointed at the madrasas in al-Salihiya Quarter reveals the following salient features; 18% held plural offices of professor concurrently, and 23% held the offices of qadi (judge). The former office was regarded as a stepping stone to the latter. From the second half of 8th/14th century, prominent families began to inherit and then monopolize the offices of professor. There thus occurred many intense struggles for these offices among the 'ulama' during the 9th/15th century. The office of professor became both nominal and lucrative among them, particularly among the 'ulama' of the Shafi'i Law School, the most influential school in the Mamluk period. In opposition, the Hanbalis maintained their posture as religious leaders, defending the inhabitants of al-Salihiya Quarter in the Mongol invasion of 699/1300, then representing them in peace negotiation with Timur in 803/1401. Furthermore, some Hanbalis criticized the other 'ulama' for living on the salaries from waqf endowments. But in the first half of 9th/15th century, the 'Umariya madrasa, -the oldest and largest in al-Salihiya Quarter as well as the base for the Hanbalis-was opened to the four Sunni law schools in accordance with the demand of the Shafi'is. Thereafter, the Hanbalis were also involved in the trends of the age. At the end of the Mamluk period, most of the religious institutions in al-Salihiya Quarter were devastated owing to embezzlement of waqf endowments by nazirs and other officials, and also began deterioration of its smaller quarters. Ironically, it was the very lucrativeness of these offices which had pervaded since the 8th/14th century that caused the embezzlement and destruction as an inevitable consequence. Most 'ulama' were assimilated into the hierarchy of each law school and lost their influences as religious leaders of the inhabitants. Instead, outlaw groups called zu'r set up political movements of

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  • Hideko IWAI
    Article type: Article
    1989 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 85-117
    Published: March 31, 1989
    Released on J-STAGE: March 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    The term "wilayat-i faqih" began to attract an attention in the world after Ayatollah Khomeini expressed his view to Islamic government in the late 1960s as well as after the establishment of Islamic Republic of Iran. Usually, outside Iran, attempts have been made to examine this subject from the point of view of modern western political framework as it were a purely political matter. However, since "wilayat-i faqih", in concept and framework, essentially Islamic, it is necessary to look into it from the Islamic worldview and then to consider its significance to the people who are living in the Islamic socio-cultural environment. For this purpose, this paper tries to examine the concept of "wilayah" focusing on its politico-juridical development. It is no exaggeration to say that the dispute in the eighteenth century between the Akhbari school and the Usuli school formed a turning-point in the history of the Twelver-Shi'i jurisprudence. However, the opposition between the Akhbari and the Usuli currents was apparent in the Twelver Shi'ism from its begining. The main point of the difference is the method and the source which are applied in case questions arise in society. The Akhbaris, relying on the method of "taqlid", rely primarily on the tradition of the Prophet and the Imams as the source of the religious knowledge and just imitate and follow them. The "taqlid" of the Akhbaris had shown a tendency to negate all responsibility and to obey blindly. On the other hand, the Usulis are based on "ijtihad" which endeavours to deduce a judicial decree on the basis of authentic arguments of the "shari'ah". It demanded a knowledge of various branches of learning, and he who possessed a knowledge of them was called "mujtahid". The Usuli trend lost momentum in the seventeenth century because of the Akhbari resurgence through the work of Mullah Amin Astrabadi. Since then, the Akhbaris continued to flourish for some two hundred years andtraces of the idea of the Akhbaris are still to be found. However, the needs of the times in the nineteenth century chose the Usulis, because social circumstances changed more rapidly than before and in order to solve the newly rising problems, much more activities as well as knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence were required. Therefore, activism among "faqih"s arose along with the Usuli's popularity among people. Khomeini was not the first scholar to conceptualize the "wilayat-i faqih". Mullah Ahmad Naraqi in the nineteenth century was the first "mujtahid" to have proved that the "wilayat" in actuality of the Usuli sense was delegated to a "faqih" during the occultation of Imam. The "wilayat" in actuality is different from the "wilayat" in potentiality in the Akhbari's sense. Briefly speaking, the "wilayat" in potentiality is supposed to be delegated without any particular reason to all the jurisprudents regardless of their qualification, but on the other hand the "wilayat" in actuality is delegated to some able "faqih"s who are by virture of their knowledge and personality as mentioned before. Another important condition which enables a "faqih" to attain the "wilayat" in actuality is the generous support of people. In other words, even if a "faqih" is very much qualified in the knowledge, without the support of people, he cannot be a person to whom the "wilayat" is delegated. Therefore, at this point it should be rioted that the significance of the "wilayat-i faqih" as well as that of the "faqih" itself has been changed in the course of the Usuli interpretation. Repeatedly saying, the "wilayat-i faqih" is considered a social duty not as a source of power. When we look into the

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  • [in Japanese]
    Article type: Article
    1989 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 119-140
    Published: March 31, 1989
    Released on J-STAGE: March 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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  • عبد الله حنا
    Article type: Article
    1989 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 141-174
    Published: March 31, 1989
    Released on J-STAGE: March 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
  • Shiro MIYATAKE
    Article type: Article
    1989 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 175-199
    Published: March 31, 1989
    Released on J-STAGE: March 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This article presents some Hebrew sources from the Ottoman period, with a stress on the "Response" (in Hebrew, "Sh'elot u Tshuvot" meaning "queries and replies"), written by the Jewish rabbinates, including Rabbi David Ibn Abi Zimra of Cairo. These Hebrew sources do not necessarily cover all aspects of Ottoman society but rather deal mainly with issues and affairs of the Jewish Communities of the period. Though supplementary as Professor Jacob Landau mentioned, they will surely shed lights on our understanding of the Jewish private commercial activities and their Mediterranean trade networks. They offer valuable information which is not included in the archival and chronicle sources of the Ottomans. Considering the extensive commercial activities of the Jewry, the Resonsa sources will have greater significance not only to Jewish studies specialists but also to reseachers of the Ottoman social and economic history and of the Mediterranean history as well.
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  • Katsuhiko ISHIKAWA
    Article type: Article
    1989 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 289-292
    Published: March 31, 1989
    Released on J-STAGE: March 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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