MSc/ MA Papers/ Essays by Kenny A J Macco
MA Thesis: Theologians Kendall Soulen, Michael Vlach, and John Gager argued that supersessionism ... more MA Thesis: Theologians Kendall Soulen, Michael Vlach, and John Gager argued that supersessionism was a structural influence throughout the Christian past. The plausibility of this is questioned in this thesis by asking if and what the structural influence of supersessionism was historically. Societal concerns in relation to Islam makes studying the influence of Islamic supersessionism pressing as well. It inspired the author of this thesis to study the plausibility of the influence of supersessionism on Early Modern Christian and Islamic travelers inductively with the following definition: ‘the belief that Christianity/ Islam is the fulfillment of/ replacement of/ more truthful interpretation in relation to the other religion, and therefore that the other falls short in their appraisal of God.’ Robert Entman’s Framing Method is applied to help understand what is selected and emphasized in the travel-related egodocuments studied. This way the habitus of Early Modern European Christian, Sunni Arab, Sunni Ottoman, and Shia-Catholic Safavid travelers can be understood. From these sources it is explored whether structural supersessionism plausibly explains the selected and emphasized themes. The Christian travelers selected came from the regions where the Reformation began. The Christian and Arab/ Ottoman Muslim authors all traveled through the Iberian Peninsula and/ or the Ottoman frontier. On the frontier Christians and Muslims were in close proximity so that it served as most likely cases to find frames that can plausibly be explained by structural supersessionism. European Early Modern Christians are known for their antagonist attitudes towards Muslims, even when they never met a Muslim themselves. To explore whether Islamic supersessionism can plausibly explain the frames applied, a least likely critical case is added. A Persian traveler from the Shia Safavid Empire traveling to Europe is analyzed. Because the Safavid Empire was not in direct politico-religious conflict with Christian powers but with the Sunni Ottomans and Mughals, it is expected that supersessionism will not plausibly explain much of the frames applied in his travel-related egodocument. The general conclusion of this thesis is that the influence of structural supersessionism on the themes selected and emphasized by the travelers is very plausible. The positive political context between Christian Europe and the Shia Safavid Empire did not obstruct the Persian traveler Don Juan to convert and exchange his Shia Safavid with Christian supersessionist schemes.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
RMA Thesis: The following question was explored in this thesis: ‘Can terrorism be traced in the E... more RMA Thesis: The following question was explored in this thesis: ‘Can terrorism be traced in the Early Modern Low Countries (1566-1584), and did exile experience play a role in this?’ This central question was divided into four subquestions. The first asked is whether violence – a fundamental precondition for terrorism – was legitimized. Four influential writers with a history of exile and a selection of propaganda material were studied. Violence was barely legitimized by the selected writers, except for Aldegonde, but it was in propaganda. The religious, political, and economic grievances were similar in these sources and align with the literature about the contextual background of the Dutch Revolt. The second question asked whether cases of terrorism can be found between 1566 and 1584. Following the conceptual definition of Alex Schmid, an open approach became possible (similar to Marc Juergensmeyer’s approach) and cases of terrorism were indeed found. The third question referred to Habsburg policies in order to counter and/ or prevent violence (terrorism). These policies were often repressive and harsh. Consequently, instead of countering terrorism, this approach only deepened grievances and legitimized the rebel cause. The final question referred to the role of exile in violent radicalization. The question whether exile experience played a role in the violent radicalization of terrorists has been nuanced by applying four arguments. The first argument questioned the proposed causality. Different Beggars are exemplary for the fact that violent radicalization happened before their flight. The second argument nuanced the assumption of violent radicalization. The majority of exiles did not radicalize violently. Thirdly, focusing on the elite increases the plausibility of an alternative explanation: many elitist rebels had to flee in order to prevent persecution. Furthermore, those fleeing were often the most active, enterprising, radical, and were part of a social network and material means enabling their flight. A final argument diversified the influence of exile temporally. In the 1570s, the Protestant organization in exile came under the influence of other radicalized exiles. From then on, new refugees arrived among aggrieved individuals, some of them readying themselves for violent revenge. It is plausible that the influence of exile increased from then on. Furthermore, a connection between exile experience and violent radicalization of Catholic refugees is more plausible due to the circumstances and the role of the Jesuits. The endeavor to drive evil and darkness out and establish a just social, political and economic order fell within a religious framework. How the circumstances were interpreted and coped with depended on the positionality of the actors involved. To conclude then, this thesis shows that Early Modern terrorism in the Low Countries was ultimately influenced by a religious framework (macro), while economic and political (meso and micro) factors played important proximate roles among terrorists. The terrorists and the Habsburg regime were similar in their approach in that both fought against their perception of evil, summarized by the emblem Philip II got in his cradle: Donec Auferatur Luna.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This paper contains a psychological analysis of the Turkish Letters from Ogier Ghiselin de Busbec... more This paper contains a psychological analysis of the Turkish Letters from Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq (1522-1592). De Busbecq was a constitutive and exemplary figure for Europe in the sixteenth century. Born a bastard from an aristocratic father, he studied in multiple European universities and worked at the Ottoman court during sultan Suleiman´s reign for the emperor of Austria. The Turkish Letters fabricated in this time contain valuable psychological insights in religious pluralism and contact with the Turkish other.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This analysis of the Thargelia scapegoat sacrifice from a Durkheimian, evolution theoretical, and... more This analysis of the Thargelia scapegoat sacrifice from a Durkheimian, evolution theoretical, and behavioral ecologist perspective showed the applicability but also the limits of different theories, meaning that applying multiple theories will lead to richer analyses. The applied theories have one conclusion in common. The sacrifice of the Pharmakoi cannot be reduced to Pierre Bourdieu’s social constructivist idea ‘every established order tends to produce the naturalization of its own arbitrariness’. The construction of tradition seems limited because the sacrifice of the Pharmakoi was a way to deal with objective historical and ecological circumstances. Lubomir Dolezel’s perspective of a religious worldview shows that the Thargelia scapegoat sacrifice crosses the boundaries of what is possible because a godly intervention is anticipated (alethic), holds a clear message of what has to be done because scapegoats are offered as a solution (deontic), is normative in that it describes that the scapegoats personify what is bad and that their sacrifice is good (axiological), and contains the epistemological conviction that the needs of gods can be known since they resemble the needs of mortals in many ways. The combination of the theories in this essay is merely one interpretive framework, but one that is able to contextually understand the Pharmakoi and a ritual that might never be recovered completely.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This paper seeks out how the word terrorism developed before it was used for the first time in th... more This paper seeks out how the word terrorism developed before it was used for the first time in the aftermath of the French Revolution. Most etymological inquiries point at the Latin origins of terrorism and that the Jacobins used it for the first time as a political term to label their government policies La Terreur. This paper pushes this intellectual frontier, leading to the following conclusions. Terreur was used to signify psychological fear in French before it was adopted by the Jacobins. In both French and Dutch medical and judicial works terreur was often used in combination with panique, a word with physical connotations. Terreur panique combined physical and psychological fear in Early Modern France. This more complex view on fear can be traced back to the humanist Michel de Montaigne in the sixteenth century, while terreur alone was an older concept. Montaigne was influenced by the reintroduction of classical texts in Europe during the Renaissance. Terreur panique was the French version of the Latin terror panicus and influenced Dutch scholars who used French as their lingua franca. In Dutch the need arose for a word encompassing more than fear or being shocked. When the Jacobins used La Terreur in the aftermath of the French Revolution, terreur also came to signify a set of government policies aimed at consolidating the revolutionary order by striking fear on its subjects. Terreur now contained a top-down politicized meaning as well and became synonymous with an endeavor to push the French subjects into freedom. In the last decade of the eighteenth and in the course of the nineteenth century this politicized term terreur was used by different revolutionary intelligentsia as a form of bottom-up political violence. The general verb terrorism thus came to encompass terror by the state and non-state actors alike in the nineteenth century. The paper finalizes with some general characteristics of terrorism the way it was perceived in the nineteenth century. These characteristics open the way for pre-modern studies to terrorism, because terrorism is implausibly limited to the post-revolutionary modern era.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
I argue in this paper that Black September (1970) had strategic consequences for the United State... more I argue in this paper that Black September (1970) had strategic consequences for the United States in the Middle East. I analyzed sources from Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) and secondary literature. I compared the Six Days War (1967) with Black September to find out what the strategic consequences were. The strategic consequences were contrary to the purpose of Black September. They wanted to unite the Arab world against Israel. Nasser’s Egypt was anti-Israel and barely cooperative with the U.S., but during Black September he became more willing to settle a peace treaty with Israel. President Sadat continued this trend. Hussein’s Jordan consolidated and intensified relations with the U.S., while Syrian diplomatic relations with the U.S. antagonized further. The PLO was perceived to be responsible for Black September and thus a danger for U.S. interests in the region. U.S. foreign policy makers saw a schism developing between Egypt and Jordan on the one hand, and the PLO and Syria on the other. Meanwhile, U.S. support for Israel intensified during the Black September events. I also argue that Cold War reasoning was part of the strategic rationality of U.S. foreign policymakers and that Black September was beneficial for the strategic positioning of the U.S. in the Middle East in the end. The so-called special bond between the U.S. and Israel cannot be induced from the FRUS-documents about the Six Days War. During Black September the Nixon Administration increased their support for Israel because it disturbed the Cold War balance in the region. This support became self-evident since Black September, making the Kissinger discourse more dominant. The question for U.S. policymakers was no longer if, but how do we support Israel without endangering U.S. interests in the Middle East? The central conclusion in this paper is that the goals of the Black September movement boomeranged. This essay shows that Black September caused Arab fragmentation instead of unification.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The conflict in Kosovo seems far from resolved. Contemporary interreligious relations in Kosovo b... more The conflict in Kosovo seems far from resolved. Contemporary interreligious relations in Kosovo between the Orthodox Serbs and Muslim Albanians are prejudiced and antagonistic, making it a dormant conflict. In this essay a critical reflection is made on Gordon W. Allport's Contact Hypothesis. Allport´s hypothesis came with certain preconditions in order for contact to be constructive and diminishing prejudices as a result. However, the socio-political status quo in Kosovo does not fulfil the preconditions of Contact Hypothesis laid out by Allport. Therefore, the current intense contact and interdependence between the two groups only leads to more intergroup tension. A brief description of the current conflict in Kosovo between Orthodox Serbs and Muslim Albanians is given in this essay. The conflict is then placed within descriptive models of conflict resolution to make it measurable and easier for the reader to (dis)agree with the presuppositions of this essay. Setting off Kosovo in relation to Allport´s theory, fulfilling the preconditions of the Contact Hypothesis on the short term is unrealistic. Kosovo currently asks for an alternative and less idealistic approach. The alternative approach offered in this essay is a tentative one. It recognizes historical grievances, cultural differences, and differences in (superordinate) goals between the two groups. The approach facilitates specific kinds of contact, while deliberately leaving out other daily and interdependent types of contact. An alternative is necessary because the Contact Hypothesis is of not much help in the current situation in Kosovo. The alternative approach offered in this essay recognizes that culture, religion, and history are also not malleable so that it might be better to separate the groups in defending basic human rights like safety, equality, and (political and religious) freedoms. Holding onto the Contact Hypothesis in Kosovo now would only increase existing antagonisms and intergroup hostilities. While the alternative approach is tentative, the Contact Hypothesis is seen in this essay as one that must be stepped away from in order to prevent this dormant conflict to become violent again.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
In this essay the habitus theory is applied on the Orthodox Serbian case at the onset of the Yugo... more In this essay the habitus theory is applied on the Orthodox Serbian case at the onset of the Yugoslav Wars (1991-2001). The Serbian case exemplifies how analyzing religion as an unconscious element can lead to deeper understanding and new insights in relation to (violent) conflicts. The antagonistic habitus of the Serbs towards the Turks, an ancient and negative frame for Muslim Albanians and Bosnians in the region, was a fundamental precondition for the conflict.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Sukarno’s prime concern was to give Indonesia to the Indonesians by becoming independent from the... more Sukarno’s prime concern was to give Indonesia to the Indonesians by becoming independent from the Dutch Empire. Sukarno was educated in the Dutch education system, and internalized the ideology of the separation of state and religion. Sukarno tried to materialize this by suppressing political movements placing Islam at the center of their political ideology. Islam had been a major factor for decades already before the Indonesian Independence a justification for rebellion and violence against the Dutch colonizer and the Indo-Europeans. This inspired Dr. Kevin Fogg to label the Indonesian revolution an Islamic revolution, but an Islamic evolution seems more plausible. The Indo-Europeans were undoubtedly influenced by negative experiences with Islam. But the thesis of Lizzy Van Leeuwen is only part of a more dialectical history. Indo-European stance towards Islam was influenced by the colonial Dutch-European discourse as well. Dutch experiences in Indonesia reconfirmed their European-Christian preconceptions. Indonesian Islam often went hand in hand with decolonization. The loss of Indo-European hegemony, wealth, and future was seen as taken from them by Muslim revolutionaries after official independence in December 1949. The negative Dutch and Indo-European perceptions of Islam made Islam more attractive for Islamic groups who wanted an independent (Islamic) Indonesia. This is what Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, an influential intellectual advising the Dutch colonial government, tried to prevent by dogmatically supporting a long-standing Dutch political dogma, namely freedom of religion. Snouck warned the Dutch colonial government for the political danger of Islamic groups, mainly those who were influenced by pan-Islamic Arab interpretations that consolidated violent, expansive, and dominant medieval remnants of Islam. Snouck advised to educate the Indonesians to protect the colonial subjects from Islamic aspects that could prevent Indonesia from modernizing. He never professed large-scale Christianization, being sympathetic to Islam himself. These Dutch-Indonesian debates concerning Islam came to the Netherlands in the postcolonial era. The Indo-European experiences of decolonization in relation to Islam are indeed noticeable among contemporary Indo-Europeans in the Netherlands. However, to argue that these memories were solely constitutive for Geert Wilders’ Islam critique downgrades his own experiences with Islam, the complexity of memorizing, and the complex Dutch and Indo-European dialectical discourse construction in relation with experiences.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
De Bosnische Oorlog bleek voort te komen uit een complex amalgaam van Bosnisch-Servische gemilita... more De Bosnische Oorlog bleek voort te komen uit een complex amalgaam van Bosnisch-Servische gemilitariseerde burgers en paramilitaire groepen die zich schaarden onder het commando van het Bosnisch-Servisch leger (deel van de JNA). Die verdergaande militarisering was er reeds onder Tito en werd door Tito ingezet om een eventuele inval van de NAVO of de Soviet Unie te kunnen bevechten. Dat leger stond officieel onder commando van het Bosnisch-Servische leger (voormalige JNA), maar handelde veelvuldig op eigen initiatief en op termijn ten faveure van de Servische minderheid door de oplopende etnisch-religieuze spanningen in de tijd na Tito.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
BSc/ BA Papers/ Essays by Kenny A J Macco
How Dutch-Moroccan childhood memories are shared and experienced on Marokko.nl, a forum where Dut... more How Dutch-Moroccan childhood memories are shared and experienced on Marokko.nl, a forum where Dutch-Moroccans come together to discuss life as a Moroccan (and often muslim) in the Netherlands. The central question in this paper is 'to what extent childhood memories of Sinterklaas and Christmas from Dutch-Moroccans on Marokko.nl contrast with Dutch national culture?' I used both Sinterklaas and Christmas to show why Moroccan and Islamic values seem to contradict with later generations of Moroccans. After studying the replies of Dutch-Moroccans two groups came to the fore. Authors seemed to place themselves either within a moderate interpretation of Islamic doctrine and culture, or one of radical opposition. Their toleration depended on their personal interpretation of Islamic doctrine. It showed the growing importance of Islamic doctrine under Dutch-Moroccan youngsters. This seems contrary to what is often expected of later generation migrants in Western European countries in general.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Marx wrote in his Communist Manifesto that the 'bourgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all inst... more Marx wrote in his Communist Manifesto that the 'bourgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all instruments of production, by the immensely facilitated means of communication, draws all, even the most barbarian, nations into civilization.' (Marx 1848: 16) And indeed, the world became more interconnected than ever. This globalization, especially after the European decolonization in the postwar period, allowed for multiculturalist societies to come into existence in Western Europe. The internal diversity of populations in Western European countries begins to resemble its multicultural TransAtlantic counterpart. Labor and capital moving from one hemisphere to the other is still increasing. The internal diversity of nation-states is increasing as well. This is partly because there is an economic stimulus for migration of labor within capitalism. Cheap labor is economically rational for corporations, so that capitalist countries are constantly expanding. (Streeck 2012: 4-5, 20) Multiculturalism is a situation wherein multiple cultures are equal by law so that not one culture has an absolute cultural dominance over others. 1) This multiculturalist reality resulted in a situation where new problems occurred. 2) These problems will be the subject of this paper. Welfare State Capitalism (WSC) describes how many Western European countries organized their market economies. 3) In this paper I shall explain WSC and claim that WSC is an old system within a new multicultural reality. The problems that come with it show that adaptation of this economic system is necessary.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Vanuit een korte schets van de inhoud en de context waarin het traktaat van de Unie van Utrecht (... more Vanuit een korte schets van de inhoud en de context waarin het traktaat van de Unie van Utrecht (1579) tot stand kwam, wil dit werkstuk de tegenstellingen op politiek, religieus en economisch gebied schetsen voor de gewesten waarop de Unie betrekking had. Deze bepalingen worden vergeleken met de praktijk. De centrale vraag is: ‘In hoeverre weerspiegelden de bepalingen in het traktaat van de Unie van Utrecht (1579), de heersende tegenstellingen in de Republiek’. Tegenstellingen suggereren een ideologisch antagonisme, niet los te zien van de betrokken actoren. Vandaar dat diverse hoofdrolspelers in de aanloop naar de Unie regelmatig zullen terugkeren in het werkstuk. De actoren staan dus symbool voor hun achterban en de aan hun verbonden visie. Hoe representatief was dat traktaat nu eigenlijk?
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Een interpretatieve bronanalyse van het pamflet ‘de Morghen-Wecker der vrije Nederlantsche Provin... more Een interpretatieve bronanalyse van het pamflet ‘de Morghen-Wecker der vrije Nederlantsche Provincien’ (1610) van Willem Baudartius. In 1610 verschijnt van de hand van Willem Baudartius (1565-1640) het politieke pamflet de Morghen-wecker der vrye Nederlantsche Provintien. Een handzaam maar lijvig pamflet van honderd pagina’s. In deze bronanalyse onderzoek ik de Morghen-wecker inhoudelijk om te achterhalen of Baudartius dit pamflet heeft geframed.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
De centrale vraag in dit paper luidt als volgt; in hoeverre is de New Deal als milieuconservation... more De centrale vraag in dit paper luidt als volgt; in hoeverre is de New Deal als milieuconservationistisch te beschouwen? De deelvragen van dit paper volgen uit de conceptualisering van het milieuconservationisme. Milieuconservationisme omvat het idee van een duurzame relatie tussen economische groei, menselijk welzijn en het milieu. Ten eerste betekent dit dat natuurlijke hulpbronnen worden onttrokken, zonder dat dit schade aan het milieu toebrengt. Ten tweede moet een overheid schade aan het milieu willen voorkomen. Daar waar deze doelstelling te laat komt moet de overheid beschadigde gebieden willen herstellen. De industrialisatie eind negentiende eeuw had immers de negatieve gevolgen voor het welbevinden van mens en natuur aangetoond. Tenslotte moet een overheid de betrokkenheid en kennis onder de bevolking voeden zodat het milieubewustzijn toeneemt. Dit laatste element bevat dan ook een vorm van burgerschap waarbij participatie om het milieu te conserveren actief wordt gestimuleerd. In hoeverre werd er actief op deze kenmerken van het milieuconservationisme ingezet in de New Deal?
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Dit paper bevat een politiek-filosofische analyse van onder andere het werk van de filosofen Pete... more Dit paper bevat een politiek-filosofische analyse van onder andere het werk van de filosofen Peter Singer, Martha Nussbaum en John Rawls. Dit paper bevat de volgende strekking: De morele plicht is er wel voor Europese staten om de bootvluchtelingen te redden uit de Middellandse Zee, maar niet om hen ook een verblijfsvergunning te geven. De morele plicht ligt in eerste instantie bij het land van herkomst. Maar de landen waar mensen vandaan vluchten zijn in veel gevallen niet in staat gebleken de mensen van de fundamentele noden van bestaan te voorzien. Omdat een normatieve plicht ook betekent dat (in dit geval Europese staten) in staat zijn te helpen, is de morele plicht voor het land van herkomst vervallen. De tragiek is dus, dat niemand een morele plicht heeft om deze mensen te helpen. Deze mensen zijn overgeleverd aan de bereidwilligheid van de wereld om over te gaan tot humanitair altruïsme. Enerzijds willen de meeste Europese overheden wel helpen, maar anderzijds is er ook een grote en groeiende afkeer tegen het toelaten van grote hoeveelheden asielzoekers vanwege de sociale gevolgen in het land van aankomst.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Edward Said betoogde in zijn boek Orientalism (1979) dat de (voornamelijk islamitische) oriёnt in... more Edward Said betoogde in zijn boek Orientalism (1979) dat de (voornamelijk islamitische) oriёnt in de Europese cultuurgeschiedenis werd gestereotypeerd als radicaal anders dan christelijk Europa. Het oriёntalistische discours, waar dat oost-west antagonisme onderdeel van uitmaakte, bestaat volgens Said nog steeds. Een dergelijk wereldbeeld kwam volgens Said vooral van lieden die nooit in direct contact waren geweest met de Moor, Mohammedaan, Turk of Saraceen. De leefwereld van moslims werd niet als uitgangspunt genomen. Integendeel, de Europeaan construeerde de oriёnt op basis van vooroordelen die in het culturele bewustzijn waren ingebed. De Vroegmoderne Tijd (1500-1800) en de daaropvolgende Verlichting zouden al vol hebben gestaan met monolithische stereotypen ten aanzien van de moslim. Said beperkt zijn analyse vooral tot de periode vanaf Napoleon’s invasie van Egypte. In dit paper hoop ik een bescheiden bijdrage te kunnen leveren aan het onderzoek naar oriёntalisme in de Vroegmoderne Nederlanden.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
In deze paper vindt de lezer het verslag van een literatuuronderzoek naar tolerantie ten aanzien ... more In deze paper vindt de lezer het verslag van een literatuuronderzoek naar tolerantie ten aanzien van andersgelovigen (specifiek de 'gelovigen van het boek') in het Ottomaanse rijk tijdens de regeerperiode van sultan Sϋleyman de Wetgever (r. 1520-1566). De claim van Ottomaanse tolerantie baseren historici op formele en informele kenmerken van het Ottomaanse rijk, alsook op de persoonlijkheid van de sultans die in theorie de absolute macht hadden. In deze paper wordt niet alleen duidelijk welke kenmerken het waren waarop de tolerantie-theorie gestoeld is, maar ook over welke kenmerken die vaak als tolerant worden gezien getwijfeld wordt. Het Ottomaanse rijk bleek in Sϋleyman's tijd in formele zin beperkt tolerant. Dit kwam overeen met de religieuze opvattingen van de sultan, die zichzelf als uitbreider beschouwde van de Ottomaans-islamitische wereld, alsook als nieuwe keizer van het Romeinse rijk. De facto bleek die tolerantie zeer beperkt en volgde die tolerantie vooral nadat veel 'gelovigen van het boek' (met name christenen op de Balkan) eerst vreselijk waren vervolgd na de verovering van een gewest en verzet dus amper nog georganiseerd kon worden. Veel christenen werden bovendien tot slaaf gemaakt. Christenen bleven een minderheidspositie houden in het Ottomaanse rijk. Christenen werden na verovering niet voortdurend en systematisch vervolgd. Beperkte tolerantie was een pragmatisch en religieus geoorloofd middel om het doel van een machtig Ottomaans-islamitisch rijk te bewerkstelligen. Het adagium 'Liever Turks dan Paaps' bleek voor aanvang van de Nederlandse Opstand in retrospectief een krachtige metafoor om aan te geven hoe intolerant het Spaanse katholieke bewind was.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
In deze scriptie zijn vijf reisverslagen van Nederlandse pelgrims naar het Heilige Land in de per... more In deze scriptie zijn vijf reisverslagen van Nederlandse pelgrims naar het Heilige Land in de periode 1517-1568 geanalyseerd. Naast de bestaande verklaringen voor de houding van de pelgrims ten aanzien van moslims en de islam, die vooral de continuїteit met de middeleeuwen benadrukken, blijkt de vervangingstheologie een vruchtbare aanvulling. In de middeleeuwen werd Mohammed voorgesteld als valse profeet of vleesgeworden satan. Moslims werden geportretteerd als gewelddadig, ongelovig, seksbelust en materialistisch. Er was nostalgie en hoop onder christenen, dat het Heilige Land ooit weer christelijk zou worden. Onderwijl zag men echter het Ottomaanse rijk expanderen ten koste van christelijke gewesten. Vanaf Adrianus Relandus (1676-1718) kwamen Europeanen steeds meer tot het inzicht dat de islamitische wereld werd begrepen vanuit de eigen christelijke denkkaders. De Europese middeleeuwse preconcepties werden vooral sinds de Verlichting steeds vaker bekritiseerd. De vervangingstheologie als theologisch concept is ook een middeleeuwse erfenis. Volgens Michael Vlach en Kendall Soulen was de vervangingstheologie onderdeel van de habitus van vroegmoderne christenen. Door middel van de Framing methode onderzocht ik in deze scriptie of de hypothese van Vlach en Soulen ook standhield na analyse van de reisverslagen. Er kwamen vier thema’s naar voren. Ten eerste de manier waarop moslims werden omschreven, namelijk als minderwaardige ongelovigen. Ten tweede het continu benoemen van de gewesten die ‘zij’ (de moslims) hadden veroverd op ‘ons’ (de christenen). Het derde punt was het aldoor benoemen van de respectloze manier waarop moslims met christelijke heiligdommen omgingen. En tenslotte benoemden de pelgrims aldoor uitbuiten van christenen door moslims. Bij al deze thema’s bleek de vervangingstheologie een waardevolle aanvulling op hedendaagse geschiedwetenschappelijke verklaringen voor deze vier thema´s. De pelgrims spraken in meer of mindere mate hun angst uit (zowel expliciet als impliciet) dat moslims uit waren op het vervangen van het christendom. Ik vind het na onderzoek zeer waarschijnlijk dat een vervangingstheologisch wereldbeeld van deze vroegmoderne christenen een deel van de verklaring is hiervoor. Ik beschouw deze angst voor vervanging door de islam net als Vitkus ten dele als een christelijke, vervangingstheologische projectie op de islam. Dat wil zeggen dat christenen het wezen van de islam begrepen zoals zij zichzelf begreep: als vervanger van voorgaande heilsboodschappen en de hun profeten. Alleen zo kan begrepen worden waarom Mohammed als islamitische equivalent van Jezus werd beschouwd door de christenen.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Based on my theory, I expected that the number of fatalities was caused by strong Islamist factio... more Based on my theory, I expected that the number of fatalities was caused by strong Islamist factions in the period 2011-2015. This paper shows that Islamist factions did play a huge role in the number of fatalities and violence in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, but they are not necessarily the one and only cause. This conclusion seems plausible, even though the conclusion comes with some uncertainties as a result of incomplete and untrustworthy data. Tunisia was democratic and less violent during the period 2011-2015. Violence increased when the Islamist Ennahda party governed the country, trying to find a midway between democratic and Islamist ideals. This lack of clear direction caused some moderates and Islamists to turn their backs on the party, while Islamists became more militant. Egypt saw a massive increase of violence since 2013, correlating with the military coup by general Al-Sisi against the democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. Libya became a tribal civil war in 2011. Supported by the UN and other foreign powers Ghaddafi was deposed. The deposition of dictator Ghaddafi gave the necessary chaotic environment for Islamists to organize and grow in strength. They became increasingly violent since 2014, triggering a second civil war when a protest of moderate secularists and Islamists became violent on the famous Martyr’s Square. Libya started to resemble its Egyptian counterpart, because a moderate-Islamist divide came on top of existing tribal cleavages. Islamists gained strength as the amount of militants and territorial gains in Libya increased. The Arab Spring in these three countries started to develop into an Islamist fall, especially in Egypt and Libya. Violence and fatalities are not necessarily caused by Islamist strength alone. In Tunisia and Egypt it had more to do with their belief in transforming society on Islamic principles. In Libya a new Islamist-moderate divide is only more clearly visible since 2014, while tribal violence and fatalities were already tearing the country apart since 2011.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
MSc/ MA Papers/ Essays by Kenny A J Macco
BSc/ BA Papers/ Essays by Kenny A J Macco