Vol 4 No 2: Third Finnish Colloquium of Middle East and North African Studies
https://www.doria.fi:443/handle/10024/134781
2024-03-28T15:49:22ZReflections. Remaking the City: Archaeological Projects of Political Import in Jerusalem's Old City and in the Village of Silwan
https://www.doria.fi:443/handle/10024/134879
Reflections. Remaking the City: Archaeological Projects of Political Import in Jerusalem's Old City and in the Village of Silwan
Mizrachi, Yonathan; Shaveh, Emek; Veeder, Anna
Since the mid-90s, archaeology has been a powerful tool for changing landscape and narrative in the Old City of Jerusalem and the village of Silwan – the "Historic Basin of Jerusalem". As archaeological excavations relate directly to the appropriation of land and the interpretation of the past, they are intimately tied to the Israeli-Palestinian political conflict in Jerusalem.
Archaeological excavations are tied to the political conflict in Jerusalem from two distinct aspects: one is the appropriation of land to be excavated, which can be interpreted as a means of control over a certain place or area. The second is the focus on the past, which can be seen as an instrument for appropriating the past to one particular group and its narrative.
Located at the northern entrance to the Palestinian village of Silwan and just a few dozen meters from the Old City Walls and the Noble Sanctuary/Temple Mount, the Givati Parking Lot archaeological site is the future location of a tourist center known as the "Kedem Center”. The complex is expected to be joined with the "City of David" archaeological park and the Western Wall plaza via existing underground spaces and tunnels that will be dug out between them. If the current plans are carried out, the building will have a significant impact on the landscape between the Old City and Silwan, and on the way in which this area is perceived.
In the area of the Old City and the village of Silwan are a number of ancient underground complexes that have been studied during the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. In recent years, new excavations have exposed these complexes and opened them for the public. The underground trails allow visitors to avoid the need to confront the present (mainly Palestinian Muslim) reality of Jerusalem. Instead, they create a visiting experience in a parallel, imagined, Jerusalem: the city of the Kingdom of Judah and the Second Temple period. In the Israeli narrative these are the most meaningful periods for the formation of Israeli identity and the connection of the Jewish people to the land.
The following article is written by Yonathan Mizrachi and Anna Veeder from the organization "Emek Shaveh", an organization of archaeologists and community activists focusing on the role of archaeology in Israeli society and in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We view archaeology as a resource for building bridges and strengthening bonds between different peoples and cultures, and we see it as an important factor impacting the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Our fundamental position is that an archaeological find should not and cannot be used to prove ownership by any one nation, ethnic group, or religion over a given place. We believe archaeology tells a complex story that is independent of tradition, religious or otherwise, and that by listening to this story and bringing it to the wider public we can promote values of tolerance and pluralism.
The article is based on Emek Shaveh's publications "Archaeology in the Shadow of the Conflict" (2010) , "From Shiloah to Silwan" (2011), "Jerusalem – Old City FAQ" (2012), "From Silwan to the Temple Mount" (2012) ("Another Future for Antiquities" (2013) and "Remaking the City" (2013). All are accessible as PDF-files on www.alt-arch.org. For further information about our activities, please contact us at info@alt-arch.org.
2017-05-10T09:10:36ZSecular and Religious Environmentalism in Contemporary Turkey
https://www.doria.fi:443/handle/10024/134878
Secular and Religious Environmentalism in Contemporary Turkey
Wickström, Laura
Turkish environmentalism is gaining ground but has not yet become a serious source of influence in society. The environmental movements have long been held as left wing politics and less religious, but today environmental awreness is also reaching the religious establishment. This article presents some of the secular and religious environmental currents in contemporary Turkey based on fieldwork mainly conducted in 2011. The main research questions are: who are the central environmental actors in Turkey, are there differences ragarding ideology and way of working between the secular and reigious field, and why there is no strong environmental scene in Turkey?
Turkish environmentalism is gaining ground but has not yet become significantly influential in society. The environmental movements have long been held to belong to left wing politics and to be less identified with religious ideas, but today environmental awareness is also reaching the religious establishment. This article presents some of the current secular and religious environmental trends in contemporary Turkey, based on fieldwork mainly conducted in 2012.
2017-05-10T09:04:18ZPolitical Parties and the Production of Islam-Secularism Cleavage in Turkey
https://www.doria.fi:443/handle/10024/134876
Political Parties and the Production of Islam-Secularism Cleavage in Turkey
Alaranta, Toni Aleksi
This study demonstrates how profoundly Turkey's main social clevage –Islam versus Secularism – is produced and reproduced by political parties in their attempts to form coherent sociopolitical bloc as a basis of mass support. The main purpose is to challenge the paradigm which understands social cleavages to be part of a ‘social structure’ that exists prior to political articulations. According to this standard perspective, social cleavages create the demand for political parties.
Toni Aleksi Alaranta, Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Senior Research Fellow, European Union Research Programme.
2017-05-10T09:00:53ZHezbollah's Military Intervention in Syria: political choice or religious obligation?
https://www.doria.fi:443/handle/10024/134874
Hezbollah's Military Intervention in Syria: political choice or religious obligation?
Tokmajyan, Armenak
Hezbollah has been an important political and military actor in Lebanon and the Middle East since the mid-1980s. Its popularity grew especially after successfully deterring the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006. With the emergence of the so-called Arab Spring, however, the party’s popularity declined for many reasons. One of these was its military intervention in Syria on the side of the Syrian government. This event has been interpreted in various ways, sometimes explaining it as religiously-motivated decision, due to Hezbollah’s strong affiliation to Shia Islam. This empirical research finds that, on the contrary, Hezbollah’s intervention is politically rather than religiously motivated. The data presented here shows that Hezbollah politicizes certain aspects of the religious sensitivities in the region in order to mobilize troops, yet, a study of its military activities inside Syria indicates that Hezbollah actually follows its political and geostrategic interests.
Armenak Tokmajyan is a visiting researcher at the Tampere Peace Research Institute (Tapri). He is specialized in studying the dynamics of peace and conflict in Syria. He is the author of many papers such as ‘Militarization of the Syrian revolution: was this the wrong choice’ (2015), Journal- of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research and Conflict Transformation in Syria (Tampere Unversity Press 2014).
2017-05-10T08:21:14Z