Muslim Theologies of Solidarity and Disavowal and the Challenge of Religious Pluralism

ABSTRACT

Rawls' conception of political liberalism does not reckon exclusivist salvation religions to be, for that reason alone, unreasonable. He posits, however, that exclusivist doctrines of salvation are likely to become more generous in their views of the religious other with the experience of toleration. While the religious welcome toleration by the majority, relaxation of doctrines of salvation dilutes the urgency of religious truth, and so reduces a religion's ability to justify its existence. Paradoxically, political toleration creates a countervailing demand within a religious community to articulate more precisely what is intolerable in the religious other. This paper explores the dialectic between toleration and nontoleration in the history of Muslim sects and suggests that this history offers lessons on the kinds of strategies that can be successful in promoting religious tolerance in a Muslim society, as well as the limits that might reasonably be expected in those societies.     

魁北克分离主义的挑战与近年来加拿大联邦政府在法律和政策上的应对

魁北克分离主义对加拿大联邦统一的挑战在1995年达到了危机状态.尽管当年就魁北克分离问题而举行的全民公决最终以非常微弱的多数使加拿大政府渡过了危机,但该问题的存在仍对加拿大联邦统一的前景构成威胁.为此,加拿大联邦政府一方面向加拿大最高法院请求有关魁北克分离问题的法律解释,同时又邀请了国内外著名的法学家对分离问题做出国内法、国际法上的权威分析和建议,并通过了特别立法来规定可能发生的魁北克分离要求的法律和政治程序,试图在法律、政治程序层面从根本上限制魁北克民族分离主义者的任意行为.     

Islam: Issues of Political Authority and Pluralism

Abstract

Islam and the Muslim world are very much part of the current discussions on religion and global politics. This article looks at some of the more general debates about the gradual rise of Islam in the public and political consciousness. It is not a systematic analysis of Islamic political systems or political thought nor a discussion about key thinkers of the last century. It does, however, provide a glimpse into diverse views about leadership and governance in early and more recent Islamic history. The article concentrates more on Sunni Islam though the author is well aware that this is not the normative tradition in some parts of the Muslim world. Within the context of this diversity, it looks at issues of religious diversity and how they fit into current debates about inter-religious dialogue and pluralism.     

Reconceptualizing Resistance: Residuals of the State and Democratic Radical Pluralism

Abstract: Arguing that resistance to the state is too narrow a conceptualization of a political project that challenges neoliberalism, we posit that there are latent, residual apparatuses of the state which can be activated as part of a systematic progressive politics. We examine Massachusetts’“Dover amendment”, a legal framework which governs group home siting throughout the state. Dover offers a powerful tool with which to resist a neoliberal socio‐spatial agenda, though it has been underutilized toward enabling an alternative landscape. We analyze how and why Dover has often remained latent as a tool for socio‐spatial resistance, and consider a provocative case in Framingham, Massachusetts that suggests how residual state apparatuses may be leveraged in support of an explicitly resistive, progressive agenda.     

从一元到多元:中国文明起源研究的心路历程

0 0 1年 1 2月 8日 ,由哈佛燕京学社等单位主办的中国文化研讨会第十六届年会在哈佛大学举行。会议的主题是“考古学与中国文明的再发现———纪念张光直教授学术研讨会”。在“张光直教授的考古学贡献”专题演讲中 ,有六位学者发言 ,他们就中国考古学的发展、中国古代文明起源的研究和张光直教授对中国考古学做出的杰出贡献 ,作了深入浅出的阐发。此次以中文为工具的考古学讲座 ,吸引了大量听众 ,引起很大反响。为了能够让读者及时了解演讲的内容 ,征得作者同意 ,我们特编发这组文稿。同时也希望通过这组文稿 ,使学术界对张光直教授的考古学贡献有更深层次的了解 ,从而进一步推动中国考古学和中国文明的研究。     

Utopia and Pluralism: Demanding Too Much in the Name of Justice

ABSTRACT

In recent literature on utopianism, in particular non-ideal and realist work, the distinction between scepticism and non-scepticism has been to the fore. The main concern of this article, in contrast, is to show the importance of the distinction between pluralist and monist approaches. Firstly, pluralists can identify when utopian projects are guilty of demanding too much even when those projects are, all things considered, legitimate. Secondly, monists are unable to discern such prima facie wrongs, even when monism is combined with a sceptical critique of ideal theory. I advance this argument through a novel reading of Judith Shklar’s work, specifically her arguments concerning Rousseauian utopianism. In sharp contrast to the prevailing view in the literature, I maintain that the pluralism and scepticism of her early work is replaced by a monist scepticism in her mature work, a transformation that itself demonstrates the benefits of pluralism over (sceptical) monism.     

Minority nations and attitudes towards immigration: the case of Quebec

Growing international migration constitutes a tremendous challenge for contemporary democracies, no more so than for minority nations. An important challenge for the latter is one of acceptance of immigration from the native‐born population, in a context in which immigrant can be seen as both a cultural and a political threat. In this article we ask what explains attitudes towards immigration in minority nations. More specifically, we seek to provide answers to these questions: What is the impact of cultural insecurity on attitudes towards immigration in minority nations? Is strong attachment to a minority nation associated with less positive attitudes towards immigration? And finally, are proponents of independence for minority nations more likely to favour a reduction in the level of immigration than those who oppose it? The article seeks to answer these questions by exploring the case of Quebec.     

魁北克城 滋味永忆我心

<正>魁北克城向导Richard的美食寻味之旅从一家标榜正宗的拿波里披萨店开始,可惜我才吃了一半就仓惶而逃,据他说下段行程是带我去吃奶酪——想想那味道我要吓死了。美国纪录片《丑陋的美食》曾经嘲讽过玛格丽特披萨这种抱残守缺、因循守旧,以守护传统为名,