Author: Nassef Manabilang Adiong

Nassef is the founder of Co-IRIS (International Relations and Islamic Studies Research Cohort), PHISO (Philippine International Studies Organization), DSRN (Decolonial Studies Research Network), and BRLN (Bangsamoro Research and Legal Network). He works on interdisciplinary research between Islam and International Relations and explores the Bangsamoro society as he heads the Policy Research and Legal Services (PRLS) of the Bangsamoro Parliament. Visit https://nassef.info/ for more details.

MA in Faith and Globalisation, Durham University

                     

The Faith and Globalisation Programme is a joint network of the School of Government and International Affairs and the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University. It is aimed at providing teaching at Masters level and research at world class levels, in an atmosphere of vigorous intellectual exchange and collaborative work.
The Programme launched a taught MA in Faith and Globalisation in October 2010, runs a series of regular Research Seminars and other events and is involved in international research collaboration.Through these activities the interconnections of faith, spirituality and organised religion and global issues, contexts and dynamics are explored both in terms of scholarship and practical orientations. 
The Programme is fully interdisciplinary and involves staff from various departments across faculties, around areas such as science and technology, economics and finance, identity and culture, governance and politics, through the study of various faith traditions and forms of organised religion around the world.
Durham University is also the leading UK hub of the Faith and Globalisation Initiative, led by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, and formed by top universities across the world.
Programme Director:  Dr. Joanildo Burity
For more information email: faith.globalisation@durham.ac.uk

Ways to Increase Your Academic Visibility

                    

Ways to Increase Your AcademicVisibility

by Adrian Andreescu , Associate Circulation Editor  IJTS
The Enigma
The aim of scholarly research is to make a contribution to the existing human knowledge. Still, many scholars are aware of valuable articles that are rarely cited in the academic literature. The innovative advances  delayed by the cumulative research impact lost cannot be accurately calculated at this moment. Probably eighty years from now, future studies willpresent detailed  insights into the causes and consequences of early  21 th  centur y’s  increased scholarship fragmentation.
One Motive (Among Others)
A large number of your peers (most of them outside your specific area of research) have a million and one reasons to do something other than spend long hours searching for articles from different fields and trying to find out which of them might offer (against the odds) some novel perspective or unexpected justification for their own research.
A Five–Step Solution to Increase Your Academic Visibility
1. Craft your articles for a larger audience.
There is no secret that papers grounded in and speaking to multiple fields often have the broadest impact and appeal. If most of your articles do not fall in this category, spend some time trying to identify a different academic audience that currently debates issues to which you could providean unexpected perspective (concentrate on publishing in international journals across disciplines). Remember that “We are not students of some subject matter but students of problems. And problems may cut right across the borders of any subject or discipline”. (Karl Popper)
As dissemination of scientific publications via the web is becoming more common nowadays, serendipity isintricately woven within the fabric of a casual Google search. Make sure you write “search-engine friendly” papers (read  here and here some useful tips).
Present your finding in ways that are credible and persuasive to the readers. Without engaging your expected audience into the text, a flawless logic of complex arguments might have in some cases alienating effects as many potential readers do not attempt to decipher those academic articles looking like an impenetrable thicket of words. In case you have been  socialized into the norms of writing through a process of implicit learning, you might appreciate some articulated suggestions on academic discourse from peers like Sternberg (here), Boellstorff (here and here), Ellis (here), Bem (here and here ), Caulley (here), Weick (here), Frank (here), Fernández–Ríos & Buela–Casal (here) or Knox

(here).
2. Submit your articles to suitable journals.
Don’t aim only at those journals that are rejecting over 80% of the manuscripts submitted for consideration as  this narrowapproach might imply in the end a lot of frustration for you, a delay in publication andan inefficient use of reviewers’ time and energy.
3. Self–archive your papers.
Why it is very important to  self archive your academic articles in a  repository? Because thegoal of your dissemination activity should be  to maximise research usage and impact. Try to avoid uploading your papers exclusively in institutional repositories that are not open to public access. Better  solutions are currently available (e.g.,  Social Science Research Network, The Social Science Open Access Repository, HAL, CogPrints, Hprints, OpenDepot, ResearchGate). Self–archiving is  easy ! As many articles can be self-archived in  compliance with publisher policy, put them on the paths that most scholars use when they explore the information jungle. Open repositories are especially useful when your are not publishing in journals that have sufficient mass to make your work rapidly visible to a wider international audience.
A brief synthesis relevant to theOA/non–OA debate, can be found in an  article published not long ago in Journal of Clinical Psychology:
“Harnad and Brody (2004) compared the citation counts of individual OA and non–OA physics articles appearing in thesame (non-OA) journals (The OA articles in non–OA journals were made OA by their authors through self–archived eprints).They found citation advantages for OA articles of 200 to 300%, depending on the publication year. Similar studies have compared OA andnon–OA articles in astronomy, computer science, electrical engineering, mathematics, philosophy, and political science, findingOA impact advantage rates of  25 to 250% (Antelman, 2004; Eysenbach, 2006; Hajjem, Harnad, & Gingras, 2005b; Kurtz et al., 2005a; Lawrence, 2001), with an average OA advantage of 93.2%in psychology (Hajjem et al., 2005a).[…] Scholars wishing to maximize the diffusion of their research among the professional community should deposit eprints of their work in OA archives. There are no copyright or other legal barriers to this OA strategy, with 91% of research journals (including all APA and Wiley journals) already giving theirexplicit green light to authors self–archiving of pre– or postprints (Eprints, 2008). One hundred percent OA is a reachable goal.” 

4. Be committed to disseminate the findings of your work.
A  “C ERN  for social  s cie nti sts ”  is unlikely to be created in the next decades. In this context, you should become more involved in the dissemination of your papers. As stated by Shelley E. Taylor in  her article, “marketing papers, a concept alien to some scientists, is increasingly important if we are to  reachthe multiple fields to which our work may contribute. […]We can send our papers out to a target audience that might otherwise not read the journal. Authors might be well advised to create a list of people in other fields unlikely to otherwise encounter the paper and e–mail it to them.”
5. Network curiously and habitually with other scholars.
You might consider creating an account on asite like Academia.edu. Your profile should not be limited to your name and the email address. Upload a photo, your papers, select at least some relevant research interests, “follow” the profiles of your peers, etc. Give others a chance to find out more about your work! Uncuriosity can be dangerously comfortable especially within the sophisticated, intellectual world of Academe. In the effort to raise your long–term visibility and impact, you must become aware of novel research opportunities. Also, remain curious about big, intractable problems and invest at least one hour/week for online interaction with scholars from outside your niche research area.  Keep in mind that theoretical innovation and new findings come often through cross–fertilization and  interdisciplinary research.
Note: You can help scholarly research circulate and interact more freely by forwarding the above educational  hypertext to your peers or by posting it on any academic blog or listserv, under the  Creative Commons – Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike 3.0  . The author does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any party for any loss or damage resulting from the inappropriate useof information mentioned in Ways to Increase Your Academic Visibility (the webpages and their contents areprovided on an “as is“ basis, withoutwarranty of any kind, either express or implied from the author). Sept. 2010

CFP: Religion and Globalization

Special Issue “Religion & Globalization”

A special issue of Religions (http://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/)

http://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/religion_globalization/

Call for Papers

Whether globalization is considered as a worldwide structured system of interstate relationships (Friedmann, 1998) or as a world “in motion” (Tomlinson, 1999) crossed by human and cultural flows (Appadurai, 1998), it refers indisputably to a new set of environmental conditions for religions. Globalization is creating new dynamics of change including transnational expansions of traditions (Csordas, 2007), deterritorialized sites, cultic areas (even parishes), virtualized and networked “communities” of believers, electronic and mediatized gods (Stolow, 2010), the universalization of cosmopolitan values and the localization of universalized beliefs (Robertson, 1992). 

Also shifting religious geographies (for example, Christianity turning “southern” and “black”, Islam turning “Asian”, Buddhism turning “white” and “western”) have contributed to a reshaping of global geopolitics (Huntington, 1993), an “ecological” turn in religious beliefs (Taylor, 2005), a worldwide standardization of religious systems (Beyer, 1994, 1998, 1999) and re-enchantment on a global scale (Csordas, 2007). 
Migrations have been – and still are – major forces for the geographic redistribution of beliefs and cults, while the world is also becoming ‘proselytized’. This does not clarify the very specific modes by which each process of mobility affects the various ways different religions are acted upon by global forces in their specific contexts. Neither does it take into account the fact that global religious changes may have nothing to do with mobility (Friedmann, 1998) but rather with global systems (Beyer, 1994). 
A global perspective on religious changes and adaptations in the contemporary world requires a prudent examination of different case-studies as not all religions are subjected to the same forces and engaged with similar processes of changes. Indeed, the “great” historical religions do not face global changes like new expanding religious cults or sects do. Analysis must cautiously distinguish between globalizing religions in global conditions, the impact of globalization on religions, and the role of religions in the rise and the shaping of global (economic, political or ideological) forces.

This special issue aims at gathering papers in which scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds (religious studies, anthropology, sociology, political sciences, history, political economy or others) can explore, on an empirical basis and in clearly identified geographic, historical and cultural contexts, the effects of religion on globalization or of globalization on religions. Please contact Prof. Lionel Obadia, anthropologist, University Lyon 2 at: Lionel.obadia@univ-lyon2.fr

Keywords: Globalization, Global and globalizing religions, spiritual transnationalism, migration and missionary activism, mediatization of religions, religion and the Internet,  deterritorialization and new geographies of religions.

Expected deadline: September 30, 2012.

CFP: Classical and Contemporary Approaches to Qur’an and Sunna (Good Governance in Islam)

Summer Institute for Scholars – 2012

CALL FOR PAPERS 
Contemporary Approaches to Qur’an and Sunna
Good Governance in Islam: 
Classical and Contemporary Approaches

July 9 – 18, 2012

The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) is pleased to announce its fifth Summer Institute for Scholars to be convened at IIIT headquarters in Herndon, Virginia, USA between July 9 and July 18, 2012. The purpose of the Summer Institute is to bring together and engage senior and young scholars with a particular interest or expertise in Qur’anic studies or Sunna in focused, organized discussions of topics related to a contemporary understanding and articulation of issues involving Qur’an and Sunna. The specific objectives of the seminar are:
-To develop methods or approaches of understanding Qur’an and Sunna that are both authentic and relevant to contemporary realities and sensibilities in the West and the Muslim world.
-To suggest means and instruments of engaging the scholarly community, the religious community, political leaders, the media and the public at large in learning processes, debates or experiences that make intelligible the wisdom of the Qur’an and the Sunna and their relevance to contemporary human affairs.
-To broaden the scope of conversations on issues pertaining to Qur’an and Sunna through the inclusion of social and physical scientists beside the scholars of the traditional Islamic disciplines.
The focus of this year’s program is on Good Governance in Islam: Classical and Contemporary Approaches. Deliberations will center around topics such as the issue of governance in Qur’an and Sunna; the evolution of governance as a category of thought in classical literature, the Muslim experience with governance and its implications on contemporary Islamic thought, comparative approaches to good governance, and the application of approaches such as Maqasid – or higher objectives of Islamic law – to governance, both theoretically and institutionally. A particular focus will be on Islamic approaches to governance within the context of the modern nation state and the current debates on constitution building in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Libya, among others.
Interested scholars should send a one page abstract to abubaker@iiit.org together with an updated C.V by March 26, 2012. IIIT will notify scholars whose abstracts are accepted by April 8, 2012. Final papers should be submitted to IIIT by email no later than June 4, 2012. IIIT will notify scholars whose papers have been accepted for presentation during the program by June 15, 2011. Papers presented during the program will be considered for publication in an edited volume to be published by IIIT.
IIIT will cover the cost of travel within continental USA and Canada and hotel accommodation in Herndon, VA for participants with accepted papers. In addition, each participating scholar will get $100 per day to cover living expenses during attendance of the program and another $1000 honorarium upon submission of a publishable paper for the volume.
For further information or questions, please contact Abubaker al Shingieti at abubaker@iiit.org or call 703 471 1133 Ext 101.

CFP: Islamic Perspectives of Intra-Muslim Discourse

Conference on Islamic Thought III

Theme:
Islamic Perspectives of Intra-Muslim Discourse

Organised by:
Department of ‘Aqidah and Islamic Thought
Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya

Date:
26-27 September 2012 / 10-11 Zu’l-Qa‘idah 1433 (Wednesday– Thursday)

Venue:
Balai Ilmu, 1st Floor, Block A, Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya

Generally, it has been accepted that Muslims are united in their creed and worldview, even in their fundamentals of life. However, it cannot be denied that there are divergent schools and tendencies of thoughts amongst Muslims. More often than not, this internal diversity becomes continuous challenges for Muslim scholars and leaders in manifesting the Islamic concept of Tawhid within the human realm. This calls for an up-to-dated reassessment by contemporary Muslim theologians and thinkers so that the harmony of ummah could be preserved. 
Department of Islamic Theology and Thought, Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya realises the significance of this need for continuous reassessment. Therefore, the Department takes upon itself a responsibility to organise a Conference on Islamic Thought with a specific theme of “Islamic Perspectives of Intra-Muslim Discourse”, especially in the context of managing the contemporary internal challenges of the diversity of schools and tendencies of Muslim thoughts.
Mostly, intra-Muslim discourses since the earliest period were seen as a harmonious enterprise. On one hand, this explains the diversity of thoughts amongst Muslims, whilst on the other hand, it results in the richness of Islamic intellectual traditions. Some of these traditions remain relevant to this day. It is hoped that this Conference may serve as a platform for researchers to unearth authoritative and original responses from these traditions, mould together with fresh thinking in order to face contemporary challenges. 

In the light of comprehensive Islamic view of existence and life, this Conference shall embrace the wide spectrum of themes in Islamic thought. This includes discussion in ‘Aqidah, Sufism, Islamic philosophy, Islamic education, Islamic science, studies on religions etc. From a comparative context, the Conference shall uphold the perspective of mainstream Muslims which is Ahli ’l-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama‘ah.
 Objectives

1. To discuss current challenges faced by Muslims in various issues of Islamic thought.
2. To scrutinise these challenges in the sense of its main thoughts, roots, effects, approaches, movements, institutions, individuals etc.
3. To analyse internal problems with Muslims of Ahli ’l-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama‘ah that enable the expansion of peripheral Muslim thoughts.
4. To rediscover and offer authoritative and original thoughts from traditional experiences and fresh contemplations on these challenges.
5. To publish books for the purpose of knowledge dissemination.

 Themes

1. The Challenges of Shi‘ah from the perspective of Ahli ’l-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama‘ah
Please send your abstract to Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Fauzi Hamat (mfhamat@um.edu.my)
2. The Challenges of Wahhabi from the perspective of Ahli ’l-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama‘ah
Please send your abstract to Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Fauzi Hamat (mfhamat@um.edu.my)
3. Sufism and the Spiritual Development of Ummah
Please send your abstract to Assoc Prof Dr Che Zarrina Sa‘ari (zarrina@um.edu.my)

4. Philosophy in Islam: Contemporary Understandings and Contributions
Please send your abstract to Assoc Prof Dr Wan Suhaimi Wan Abdullah (wansuhaimi@um.du.my)

5. History and Philosophy of Islamic Science: Its Challenges and Direction in the Developing the Ummah
Please send your abstract to Assoc Prof Dr Wan Suhaimi Wan Abdullah (wansuhaimi@um.du.my)

6. Contemporary Muslim Thoughts in the Face of Modern Challenges
Please send your abstract to Dr Mohamad Kamil Hj Ab Majid (wanadli@um.edu.my)
7. Thoughts and Texts of Islamic Education: Its Originality and Relevance
Please send your abstract to Dr Mohd Anuar Mamat (anuarmamat@um.edu.my)
8. Islam and Inter-Religious Relations
Please send your abstract to Assoc Prof Dr Khadijah Mohd Khambali @ Hambali (ijamh@um.edu.my)

Call for Paper

Those wishing to contribute paper should submit its abstract first.

  • Abstract in Malay, English or Arabic only.
  • About 150 words.
  • Please provide name, email address, and institutional affiliation.
  • Abstract submission dateline is on 31 April 2012.
  • Please send the abstract electronically to the respective panel leader.



Panel leaders:
1. The Challenges of Shi‘ah from the perspective of Ahli ’l-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama‘ah – Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Fauzi Hamat (mfhamat@um.edu.my)
2. The Challenges of Wahhabi from the perspective of Ahli ’l-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama‘ah – Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Fauzi Hamat (mfhamat@um.edu.my)
3. Sufism and the Spiritual Development of Ummah – Assoc Prof Dr Che Zarrina Sa‘ari (zarrina@um.edu.my)
4. Philosophy in Islam: Contemporary Understandings and Contributions – Assoc Prof Dr Wan Suhaimi Wan Abdullah (wansuhaimi@um.du.my)
5. History and Philosophy of Islamic Science: Its Challenges and Direction in the Developing the Ummah – Assoc Prof Dr Wan Suhaimi Wan Abdullah (wansuhaimi@um.du.my)
6. Contemporary Muslim Thoughts in the Face of Modern Challenges – Dr Mohamad Kamil Hj Ab Majid (wanadli@um.edu.my)
7. Thoughts and Texts of Islamic Education: Its Originality and Relevance – Dr Mohd Anuar Mamat (anuarmamat@um.edu.my)
8. Islam and Inter-Religious Relations – Assoc Prof Dr Khadijah Mohd Khambali @ Hambali (ijamh@um.edu.my)

Submission Guideline

Accepted abstract should be complemented with full paper.

  • Paper in Malay, English or Arabic only.
  • Typed in the Microsoft Office Word (*.doc, *.docx) only.
  • Not more than 5,000 words.
  • Using footnote system.
  • Please send the special font if used.
  • Full paper submission dateline is on 31 August 2012.
  • Please send the full paper electronically to the respective panel leader.

Important Date

Abstract submission: 31 April 2012
Acceptance notification: 15 May 2012
Full paper submission: 31 August 2012
Speaker registration: 31 August 2012 

Registration Fee

Malaysian speaker: RM300.00
Foreign speaker: USD300.00
Student speaker: RM150.00
Institutional participant: RM300.00
General participant: RM150.00
Student participant: RM30.00

Programme

26 September 2012 / 10 Zu’l-Qa‘idah 1433 (Wednesday)
08:30 – 09:00     Registration
09:00 – 10:00     Session 1
10:00 – 11:00     Session 2
11:00 – 11:30     Break
11:30 – 12:30     Opening Session
12:30 – 13:30     Keynote Address
13:30 – 14:30     Break
14:30 – 15:30     Session 3
15:30 – 16:00     Break
16:00 – 17:00     Session 4
   
27 September 2012 / 11 Zu’l-Qa‘idah 1433 (Thursday)
09:00 – 10:00     Session 5
10:00 – 11:00     Session 6
11:00 – 11:30     Break
11:30 – 12:30     Session 7
12:30 – 13:30     Session 8
13:30 – 14:30     Break
14:30 – 15:30     Session 9
15:30 – 16:00     Break
16:00 – 17:00     Session 10
17:00 – 17:30     Closing Session

Venue

Balai Ilmu, 1st Floor, Block D,
Academy of Islamic Studies,
Lingkungan Budi,
University of Malaya,
50603 Kuala Lumpur

Committee

Benefactor:
Assoc Prof Dato’ Dr Mohd Fakhrudin Abd Mukti, Malaysian Ambassador to Egypt
Advisor I:
Assoc Prof Dr Ruzman Md Noor, Director of Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya
Advisor II:
Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Fauzi Hamat, Head of Department of ‘Aqidah and Islamic Thought
Director: Assoc Prof Dr Wan Suhaimi Wan Abdullah
Secretary: Dr Wan Adli Wan Ramli
Treasurer: Dr Faizuri Abd Latif
Panel leaders:
Islamic thought – Dr Mohamad Kamil Hj Ab Majid
‘Aqidah – Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Fauzi Hamat
Sufism – Assoc Prof Dr Che Zarrina Sa‘ari
Philosophy – Assoc Prof Dr Wan Suhaimi Wan Abdullah
Comparative religions – Assoc Prof Dr Khadijah Mohd Khambali @ Hambali
Chair persons of working committees:
Publication – Dr Azmil Zainal Abidin
Sponsorship – Dr Mohamad Kamil Hj Ab Majid
Publicity – Mr Khairul Naim Che Nordin
Conference – Assoc Prof Dr Che Zarrina Sa‘ari
Refreshment and Preparation – Mrs Noor Haslinda Mohd Arif
Ceremony and Protocol – Assoc Prof Dr Khadijah Mohd Khambali @ Hambali
Special task – Dr Mahmud Ahmad
Secretariat – Head of Department’s Student Association

Contact Us

Secretariat of Pemikir III
4th Floor, Block B
Department of ‘Aqidah and Islamic Thought
Academy of Islamic Studies
University of Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur
(Contact person: Dr Wan Adli Wan Ramli – wanadli@um.edu.my)

Tel: +6-03-7967 6232/ 6231 /6014
Email: api_akidah@um.edu.my
Website: http://umconference.um.edu.my/pemikir3