Transcript Conflicting Maps, cont, and Religious Narratives

IAFS/JWST 3650
Religious Narratives
Jewish History Job Candidates
• Amos Bitzan, “Reading the Talmud like Rousseau's
'Julie': How Female Pleasure Readers and their
Critics Transformed Modern Judaism, 1770-1870”
(Tues, 22 Jan, 5pm, HLMS 211)
• Liora Halperin, “Babel in Zion: Hebrew and the
Politics of Language Diversity in Mandate Palestine”
(Mon, 28 Jan, 5pm, HLMS 141)
• Jessica Marglin, title TBA (Tues, 5 Feb, 5pm, HLMS
201)
• Saskia Coenen Snyder, title TBA (Tues, 12 Feb, 5pm,
HLMS 201)
Outline
• Reading maps: vulnerability
• Intro to religions
• Quiz
Part I:
Reading Maps of Israel and
Palestine (cont.)
Reading Maps of Israel and
Palestine
• Themes:
– Sacred claims to territory
– Erasure
– Palestinian homeland(s)
– Weapons
– Vulnerability
Vulnerability
(Israeli)
• “Growth under
Siege”
• Depicts Israel under
attack from all sides
• Perceived threats
from land, sea, & air
Mapai Poster
(early 1950s)
Christine Leuenberger and Izhak Schnell,“The politics of maps: Constructing national territories in
Israel” Social Studies of Science 40:6 (Dec 2010) 813-814.
Vulnerability
(Israeli)
• “Likud will prevent
this! 2.5 million
Israelis are within
firing range if an
‘Arafat state’ is
founded.”
• Depicts serious threat
due to Israel’s lack of
strategic depth
Likud Election Poster (1981)
Christine Leuenberger and Izhak Schnell,“The politics of maps: Constructing national territories
in Israel” Social Studies of Science 40:6 (Dec 2010) 823-825.
Vulnerability (Palestinian)
• “Loss of
Land”
over time
Original source unknown (2000s, revised 2010)
Vulnerability (Palestinian)
• “Map of
occupation”
coupled with
iconic
images
• Roughly
same dates as
previous
poster
Original source unknown (2007)
Vulnerability (Palestinian)
• “Stealing of
Pal. Land by
the Zionist
State”
• Emphatic
coloring
Original source unknown (2009)
Vulnerability
(Israeli)
• Size comparisons to
European and South
American countries,
and the US and US
states (plus Turkey
and India)
Israel Ministry of
Foreign Affairs
Website (2013)
Vulnerability
(Israeli)
• Size comparisons
emphasize Israel’s
smallness
Israel Ministry of
Foreign Affairs
Website (2013)
Vulnerability
(Israeli)
• “Israel is tiny! . . . .
Imagine living in
New Jersey while
most people living
in the other 49
states want to see
you destroyed.”
Zionist PR Firm
Poster (~2004)
Conclusions
• Maps used by range of Israeli and
Palestinian groups to convey their
arguments
• Images of the same (or roughly the same)
territory or iconography can be used to
support opposing arguments
• Groups on both sides address both
internal and external audiences
Conclusions
• Hobsbawm:
– many national symbols are “invented
traditions”
– Invented traditions use history as legitmator
Conclusions
• Nations claim to be natural and ancient,
but are constructed and new
• Maps help construct the nation
Part II:
Introduction to Religions
Religious Narratives
• Narratives can be constructed to serve
specific goals
– via invention of tradition (Hobsbawm)
– via remembering and forgetting
(Renan)
• Role of religion in narratives re conflict
Arguments
• Can’t generalize re Jewish, Muslim, or
Christian views
• Religion plays a role in how (some)
people think about this conflict
Religion in the Middle East
• Terminology
– Middle East vs West Asia
– BC/AD vs BCE/CE
Religion in the Middle East
West Asia
• Terminology
– Middle East vs West Asia
– BC/AD vs BCE/CE
Intro: Judaism
• 3500 years old
• Est. by Abraham and Moses
• Jews as God’s chosen people
Intro: Judaism
• Monotheistic
• Focus on Jerusalem
Intro: Judaism
• Rabbis interpret
God’s instructions
• Torah = “teachings”
– “Promised land”
given to Jews
Intro: Judaism
• 1st c CE: Roman dispersion of Jews
• Jewish diaspora: W Asia, N Africa,
Europe
• Oral tradition (Mishnah) and commentary
(Gemara) form Talmud (intstruction)
Intro: Christianity
• 2000 years old
• Monotheistic, based on scripture
Intro: Christianity
• Based on teachings of Jesus Christ
• Christ both divine and human
• Christ’s death and resurrection provided
salvation and eternal life
Intro: Christianity
• 1st three centuries: spread into W Asia, N
Africa, and Europe
• Bible = Old and New Testament
Intro: Christianity
•
•
•
•
Holy Land and esp. Jerusalem sacred
Birth in Bethlehem
Miracles at Galilee
Death and resurrection at site of Church
of Holy Sepulchre
Countries with
Largest Muslim Populations?
2009 Muslim Percentage of
Country
Population
Muslims
Indonesia
202,867,092
88.2%
Pakistan
174,082,000
96.3%
India
160,945,000
13.4%
Bangladesh
145,312,000
89.6%
Egypt
78,513,000
94.6%
Nigeria
78,056,000
50.4%
Iran
73,777,000
99.4%
Turkey
73,619,000
~98%
Algeria
34,199,000
98.0%
Morocco
31,993,000
~99%
Intro: Islam
• God’s multiple revelations
• Moses, Abraham, Jesus revered as
prophets
Intro: Islam
• ~1300 years old
• Monotheistic
• Koran revealed to Prophet Muhammad in
7th c. CE
Intro: Islam
• Spread from 7th c. on through W Asia, N
Africa, parts of Europe
• Five central requirements:
– Faith
– Prayer
– Zakat [alms]
– Fasting
– Hajj [pilgrimage]
Islam
• Jihad = ‫“ = جهاد‬struggle, striving”
British Perceptions of Islam
• British concerns about Muslim violence
• Fears of fanaticism and jihad
• But Islam not monolithic
Islam
• Allah ‫= هللا‬
= “the God”
http://www.al-islam.org/gallery/photos/d8.gif