International and Area Studies Commons^™

Bilal, Bilal, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Bilal was 23 years old when he drowned in Greece. He was cheerful, intelligent, and full of energy.

He was a journalist in Afghanistan who received a death threat from the Taliban. His family decided that he should flee the country alone for survival since they couldn’t afford for the whole family to go.

He escaped from the camp in Moria by finding a hole in the fence. He outran the police, found a ship in port, and jumped on it as it was leaving. He later had 10 unsuccessful attempts to leave Greece for Germany. He was caught by …

Zurvan, Zurvan, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Zurvan and his family had a good life in Afghanistan. He worked as a clerk in a spice shop. After doing business with a foreign company, the Taliban threatened him with death. To escape this threat, he and his family escaped to Iran and hired a smuggler to get them to Turkey. From there, they traveled to Greece in an overloaded boat. They have been living in a camp in Greece, stuck in limbo, ever since. Zurvan feels hopeless, like everyone in the camp is being treated in an inhumane manner. He also feels guilty for bringing his children into …

Aarash, Aarash, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

As an anti-corruption journalist in Afghanistan, Aarash’s family’s life was threatened by warlords. His car was shot at, their guesthouse was bombed, and later when they were threatened at gunpoint, they tried to make a new life in India. But in India, they discovered difficulties in obtaining permanent visas so they had return to Kabul where they hid at a friend’s house for 20 days while obtaining documentation to flee to Turkey. Once in Turkey, they learned that Afghan registries had been closed since 2010. They determined that they needed to either apply for asylum in Turkey or leave for …

Idiris, Idiris, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Idiris is an 18-year-old Somalian refugee now living inUtah. He describes his life, mentioning that he only lived in Somalia for six years then moved to Ethiopia, where he stayed for seven and a half years.His life inEthiopia was peaceful and happy in comparison to Somalia, where Idiris and his family witnessed continuous violence. Idiris’s father eventually learned of the opportunities and education available in America and decided to move his family there for a better life, leaving behind family and friends. Coming to America, Idiris and his family did not know what their new home would be like. They …

Arts: Fiction And Fiction Writers: The Americas, Rachel Norman

Faculty Publications

This essay by Rachel Norman, which originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures, discusses contemporary Muslim fiction published in the United States with a particular focus on three novels: Mojha Kahf's The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf, Laila Halaby's Once in a Promised Land, and Randa Jarrar's A Map of Home.

Building Hope: An Experiential, Interfaith And Peacebuilding Leadership Curriculum Design For American, Israeli And Palestinian Teenagers, Jack M. Karn

Capstone Collection

This research explores the design, implementation, and results of an interfaith and peacebuilding leadership curriculum prepared for the 2015 Jerusalem Peacebuilders Leadership Camp in Brattleboro, Vermont. Drawing upon different theories of moral and transformative leadership, experiential education, youth leadership, and peacebuilding and conflict transformation, this curriculum design offers a new and unique approach to leadership development for Israeli, Palestinian, and American teens. Spanning six 1.5-hour units, the curriculum includes: icebreaker and teambuilding activities, theory and practice connections, dialogue, and opportunities to practice leadership and peacebuilding skills on several small group projects. Supported by a literature review, eight interviews from youth …

The Giant In A Thousand Years: Tracing Narratives Of Gigantism In The Hebrew Bible And Beyond, Brian R. Doak

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

"This essay is an attempt to organize the Bible’s giants by category and to continue to elevate these figures as a rightful object of scholarly attention."

Salman, Salman, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Salman and his family are from Afghanistan, where he worked as a doctor. He worked for fifteen years for a mining institute, and before that he worked in various hospitals with Americans and Germans for another combined 15 years. The family ran into problems with the Taliban, who threatened violence if he didn’t close his drugstore. During that same time, his son witnessed a suicide bombing at his school. Their daughter was forced to abandon her education when the Taliban poisoned the water at her school. They fled in attempts to live a normal life again and escape the threats …

Emal, Emal, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Emal was a gate security guard in the Afghan army and a supplier for American forces at the airport. Before leaving Afghanistan, Emal was kidnapped by Daesh, beaten, thrown into a pile of bodies, and left for dead. He woke up weeks later in hospital with adent in his skull, brain damage, and mental/emotional problems. When he was able, Emal fled with his wife and six kids, but they travelled with smugglers in separate cars and got separated. Iran police deported his wife and children back to Afghanistan. Emal continued on and eventually made his way to Oinofyta refugee camp …

Fawad And Zakeela, Fawad, Zakeela, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Fawad and his wife, Zakeela, have three children. Zakeela was a beautician, and Fawad was a singer in the Baghlan district in Afghanistan. The music he produced was not in accordance with the strict restrictions of the Taliban. They threatened his life and assaulted him many times, so he decided to leave with his family to Kabul. Fawad’s day job was as an FM radio producer; at night, he moonlighted as a singer and musician. He produced music for ceremonies and weddings, often performing for the women’s part, which the Taliban did not accept. Eventually, his life was again threatened, …

Faroosh And Elina, Faroosh, Elina, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Faroosh was a cameraman for a private television program in Afghanistan working on a documentary about the Taliban. When he and his crew were discovered, the Taliban attacked them and he and his wife fled to Turkey, walking 12 hours to get there. Upon arrival the police arrested and harassed them. Turkey was not a safe place. After several suicide bombings in the area, they decided to move on to Greece, where they are in a refugee camp without any progress in their situation. They have no money to move forward and no ability to work and the economic situation …

Review Of Bremer's "Cross And Kremlin: A Brief History Of The Orthodox Church In Russia", Paul Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Review Of Sremac And Ganzervoort's "Religious And Sexual Nationalisms In Central And Eastern Europe: Gods, Gays And Governments", Nena Močnik

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Economic Empowerment: An Avenue To Gender Equality In Afghanistan, Heather C. Odell

Global Tides

This paper examines the state of women’s rights in Afghanistan, recommending economic empowerment as the most effective and culturally sensitive tool in achieving gender equality. Women’s rights in Afghanistan came to the forefront of the international community’s attention following the entry of the United States armed forces in 2001. Media outlets highlighted the Taliban’s egregious treatment of women and government agencies and international NGOs poured into the country with aims of liberating women from oppressive circumstances. While significant strides have been made since the Taliban's fall from power, in many ways, women today remain subordinate. Over a decade later, women …

Overhauling Interreligious Dialogue For Peacebuilding, Ina Merdjanova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

During, and especially since the end of the Yugoslav secessionist wars in the 1990s, interreligious dialogue became a central tool in the continuous efforts to promote peaceful coexistence in the multicultural and multireligious societies in the Balkans. Presenting the major points in a sociological theory of interreligious dialogue for peace building (IRDPB) which I developed together with Patrice Brodeur in Religion as a Conversation Starter: Interreligious Dialogue for Peacebuilding in the Balkans (published with Continuum in the UK in 2009 and subsequently translated into Bulgarian in 2010 and into Bosnian in 2014), in this paper I revisit some of the …

Indian Women’S Uplift Movements And The Dangers Of Cultural Imperialism, Hannah K. Griggs

Audre Lorde Prize

Because women encounter unique geographic, social, political, religious, economic, and temporal conditions, applying the particular agendas of traditional western feminism to countries like India can easily become a form of cultural imperialism or lead to Orientalism. Therefore, in this essay I argue that in order to support the agency of Indian women, western feminists must step back; Indian women and men who seek women's uplift must claim post-patriarchal expressions of traditional Indian culture. Tradition does and should inform modern culture. However, Indian women's uplift movements and western feminism alike must utilize both ancient and modern wisdom in our quest for …

Christian Churches Thriving In Revitalized Albania, James R. Payton Jr.

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

"All Things Denote There Is A God": Platonic Metaphysics, Thomistic Analogy, And The Creation Of A Christian Philosophy, Neil Longo

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

In Raphael's School of Athens, Plato famously points upward, while Aristotle brings his hand forward, parallel to the ground. Western thought has positioned itself between these two poles. Its dual purpose was to explain what was and explore what could be. This distinction worked its way into Christianity, which quickly divided itself between the spiritual and the physical, the church militant and the church triumphant, the city of God and the city of man. The audacious goal of St. Thomas Aquinas was to synthesize these urges in such a way as to logically describe the Kingdom of God using the …

Frontmatter, Paul Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

-Dialogue between Finnish Lutheran and Russian Orthodox Churches
-Overhauling Interreligious Dialogue for Peacebuilding
-Christian Churches Thriving in Albania
-Contacts between the Orthodox of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia after WWI
-Four Book Reviews

The Process Of Religious And Political Rapprochement Between Bulgaria And Yugoslavia In 1920s And 1930s - An International Ecumenical Perspective, Priit Rohtmets, Radmila Radić

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article addresses the role of the ecumenical organization, the World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through the Churches, in the complicated process of religious and political rapprochement between Bulgaria and Yugoslavia in the 1920s and 1930s. It argues that the Bulgarian and Yugoslav National Committees of the World Alliance formed a diplomatic channel for tackling the problems between the two countries, predominantly the question of Macedonia, but ultimately the rapprochement process between the two countries failed due to the outbreak of World War II.

Socioethical Challenge And Its Impact On The Bilateral Dialogue Between The Evangelical Lutheran Church Of Finland And The Russian Orthodox Church 1970-2014, Heta Hurskainen

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Review Of Elbasani And Roy's "The Revival Of Islam In The Balkans: From Identity To Religiosity", Hazim Fazlić

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Review Of Bremer And Haneke's "Zeugen Für Gott. Glauben In Kommunistischer Zeit.", Gerhard Simon

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Dislocation And Adjustment Of International Student-Athletes, Thiago Brito Lopes

Master's Theses

One reason that attracts international student-athletes to American universities could be the interest in earning high quality education with the possibility of playing high performance sports. However, when compared to other international students, differences are seen: Other foreign students who look for a degree in the US desire not only an international education, but also potentially staying in the country. The University of San Francisco, where a cosmopolitan city meets education, fits it best. At USF, 82 countries are represented, reaching a number of 1708 students. Approximately ¼ of the whole student population is international. The ratio with student-athletes is …

Postmodernism And Budhism: A Postmodern Woman In A Modernizing Land, Ruthanne Joy Wenger Hughes

Senior Theses

Religion and postmodernism are two paradigms that guide my experience of life. Although it is not necessarily intuitive, these two paradigms do intersect and inform each other, shaping the way I engage with the world. With this understanding, I spent the Spring 2015 semester in the Kingdom of Bhutan and examined my time through a postmodern lens, writing a travel blog at www.bhutanbricolage.weebly.com that mediates my experiences there and my thoughts about Buddhism and postmodernism.

Europe’S Refugee Crisis: Assessing The Factors Preventing A Coordinated Eu Response, Ali Albassam

Master's Theses

In order to escape increasing political violence in the Middle East and Africa, many refugees are fleeing by sea to seek asylum in Europe. As a result, Europe has witnessed the highest influx of refugees since World War Two. European Union member states have scrambled for a solution, seemingly unable to form a collective response. The reemergence of nationalism amid the arrival of thousands of refugees not only clouds Europe’s moral compass, but also weakens the EU and its founding principles. In an effort to contribute to the protection of refugees and the EU and its values, this thesis aims …

X-Men, Dragon Age, And Religion: Representations Of Religion And The Religious In Comic Books, Video Games, And Their Related Media, Lyndsey E. Shelton

Honors College Theses

It is a widely accepted notion that a child can only be called stupid for so long before they believe it, can only be treated in a particular way for so long before that is the only way that they know. Why is that notion never applied to how we treat, address, and present religion and the religious to children and young adults? In recent years, questions have been continuously brought up about how we portray violence, sexuality, gender, race, and many other issues in popular media directed towards young people, particularly video games. These issues rarely include religion, despite …

The Transformative And Healing Powers Of Compassion, Forgiveness, And Wonder, Anna C. Eriksson-Marty

Senior Theses

Since time immemorial, humankind has struggled to coexist peacefully together. As human beings, we strive on our relationships with each other and, yet, with actions of hatred and prejudice, we seem to consistently destroy those very relationships we value so deeply. Our current society is plagued by fear, which seems to run more rampant now – more than ever – with assistance of our rapidly evolving communication technology. The question must be asked, “How can we end this madness and heal ourselves into a kinder and more fulfilling future?” By providing up-to-date scientific research on the human emotions of compassion, …

Islam Enligt Den Islamiska Staten - En Islamologisk Kommentar, Leif Stenberg

Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Frontmatter, Paul Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

-Religious Diversity and the Macedonian Secularist Model
-The Study of Religiosity in Belarus
-St. Jovan Bigorski—a Cultic Place in Macedonia
-Bishop Prohászka’s ‘Hungarism’
-Documentation: Hungarian Church Law at Variance with OSCE Standards