SPRING MEETING NGG
6 June 2009
Location: Campus of the Radboud University Nijmegen, Huize Heyendaal, Marijnenkamer (ca. 15 minutes bus ride from Nijmegen central station, a short walk from station Heyendaal; for details see: www.ru.nl/contact/)
Registration Fee (incl. lunch): 15.00 EUR
Registration: It is necessary to register for the conference before 2 June 2009 by sending an email to the Secretary of the NGG, Kocku von Stuckrad (c.k.m.vonstuckrad@uva.nl); please transfer the registration fee to the NGG account nr. 1562177 (with reference “NGG spring meeting”)
PROGRAMME
10:15 Arrival and Welcome by Prof. Dr. Gerard Wiegers, President NGG
10:30 Shelley Stigter, MA, University of Lethbridge:
Speaking into the Spirit of the Wîhtikow: The Poetry of Neal McLeod
11:10 Discussion
11:30 Coffee Break
11:45 Prof. Dr. Jan N. Bremmer, University of Groningen:
From Holy Books to Holy Bible: An Itinerary from Ancient Greece to Modern Islam Via Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity
12:25 Discussion
12:45 Lunch Break
13:45 Mahmoud al-Saify, MA, Radboud University Nijmegen:
Muslims’ Residence and Citizenship in the Contemporary West: The War of Fatwas
14:25 Discussion
14:45 Prof. Dr. Frans Wijsen, Radboud University Nijmegen:
Discourse Analysis in the Study of Religion: The Case of Interreligious Worship in Friesland
15:25 Discussion
15:45 End of Conference and Departure
ABSTRACTS
Shelley Stigter, MA, University of Lethbridge:
Speaking into the Spirit of the Wîhtikow: The Poetry of Neal McLeod
In his collection of poetry, Songs to Kill a Wîhtikow, Neal McLeod transcends the metaphorical symbol of the Wîhtikow or Windigo figure. By speaking directly to this spirit, McLeod evokes past traditional practices reminiscent of sacred ritual, albeit in literary form. Wîhtikow is a cannibal figure and its depiction in First Nations literature, film and plays is employed as a metaphorical explanation for the effects of colonization and the residential school experience. First Nations people believe that this spirit of the Wîhtikow continues on in the ills of First Nations society in such areas as culture and language loss, substance and domestic abuses, and the breakdown of family and community unity. As Shamen have done so in the past through the use of songs and ceremonies to combat this figure for the well being of the community, so McLeod counters this spirit in his poetry. Therefore acting as the modern day shaman within a literary setting.
Prof. Dr. Jan N. Bremmer, University of Groningen:
From Holy Books to Holy Bible: An Itinerary from Ancient Greece to Modern Islam Via Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity
It is not my aim to discuss the status and meaning of holy books in different cultures, but I will trace the origin of the term ‘Holy Bible’ from that of ‘Holy Book’ and investigate when Jews and Christians began to call their authoritative texts ‘holy’. The question may seem banal but, strangely enough, none of the many studies on ‘Holy Books’ or ‘Holy Writings’ that have appeared in the last century focuses on the problem of the origin and development of the term. In fact, it is common practice to confuse its emic and etic usage in the sense that almost all modern scholars use the expression ‘holy/sacred book’ also in cases where the original culture does not, and, as a rule, do not differentiate between the two usages. I will focus on the development of the terminology but at the same keep a keen eye on the technological developments and their influence on the development of the Christian ‘Holy book’. I will conclude with some observations on the rise of the terminology of ‘Holy Quran’ and ‘Holy Torah’.
Mahmoud al-Saify, MA, Radboud University Nijmegen:
Muslims’ Residence and Citizenship in the Contemporary West: The War of Fatwas
The residence of a Muslim in a non-Muslim country is an old point of discussion in Islamic law. In the light of the influx of Muslim immigrants into the West, over the last few decades, a number of relevant fatwas (religious opinions) were issued by different religious authorities in response to questions posed by Muslims in the West about this issue. Mainly due to their different ideological or political backgrounds, the fatwas given by these authorities are contradicting each other in many cases. Such contractions put the Muslim recipients of the fatwas in confusion, which in return has its impact on their daily life and on their position in principle.
As part of my thesis, I will discuss the different streams among Muslim religious authorities who qualify the position of Muslim minorities in non-Muslim Western countries. This will be done through an analysis of their fatwas, in comparison to a selection of relevant fatwas issued by the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), focusing on determining the nature of contribution of the ECFR in this debate.
Prof. Dr. Frans Wijsen, Radboud University Nijmegen:
Discourse Analysis in the Study of Religion: The Case of Interreligious Worship in Friesland
The aim of this paper is to explore the use and usefulness of critical discourse analysis in religious and interreligious studies. In order to achieve this aim the author makes a critical discourse analysis of data generated in a study on Interreligious Worship services in Friesland by combining three analytic perspectives and three analytic tools. The analysis is complemented by theoretical and methodical considerations. The author’s contention is that by using critical discourse analysis the gap between explanation and interpretation in religious and interreligious studies can be bridged.
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