Eastern European Studies Commons^™

Husein Djozo And His Fatwa On Collection And Distribution Of Zakat Funds, Hazim Fazlić

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

With the end of the Second World War, Yugoslavia became a de facto communist country. One of the policies of the new communist regime was to relegate religion entirely to the private sphere and to reduce the influence of religious communities in the public sphere. As a number of its legacies were expropriated, the Islamic Community of Yugoslavia was in need of new sources of funding. In order to reform a centuries-long practice of collection and distribution of religious contributions, zakat, and sadaqat al-fitr, a theoretical framework was needed to allow for that reform. This paper examines the …

The Making Of Secular Islam In Yugoslavia And Reis Ul-Ulema Džemaludin Čaušević, Muhammed Al-Ahari

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"The 1920s and 1930s was labeled the Golden Age of Bosnian Islam. Arabic, Persian, and Turkish were widely used by Bosnian Muslim scholars and there were several attempts to modernize and Europeanize Bosnian Islam. Among them were attempts to develop a separate Bosnian Muslim identity linked to the history of Muslims in the Balkans and changes in the education system for Muslims in the area that would become Yugoslavia."

Frontmatter (Volume 38, Issue 5), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Some Characteristics Of Interethnic Contacts Of Women In A Post-War Divided City – Kosovo Case, Ivana Milovanović

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This paper is a result of perennial theoretical and methodological studies and empirical research of the impact of social changes on the daily life of women in a post-conflict social environment. Keeping in mind that this paper is part of a more extensive field research, it focuses on some characteristics of interethnic contacts, which at the same time, are interreligious contacts between Orthodox and Muslim women (Serbian, Albanian and Bosnian). Characteristics of interethnic contacts of women in a daily life contextual framework are described and explained within the Kosovar post-war divided city Mitrovica/Kosovska Mitrovica, with special emphasis on the grassroots …

Present Condition And Role Of The Catholic Church In Poland, Alfred Marek Wierzbicki

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

My remarks about the present condition and role of the Catholic Church in Poland are not based on formal sociological research, for I am not a sociologist. I would like just to share some observations and concerns about the situation in which I live as Christian and priest. My report is mostly based on the personal experience, but in spite of the subjective perspective I seek to objectivize my views as much as possible by taking into account a broader context.

The Anti-Fracking Movement And The Politics Of Rural Marginalization In Lithuania: Intersectionality In Environmental Justice, Diana Mincyte, Aiste Bartkiene

Publications and Research

While the environmental justice perspective focuses on the unequal distribution of environmental risks and benefits across different groups based on race, class, or gender, intersectionality approaches avoid the use of a priori categories to examine marginalization. We argue that intersectionality can broaden the scope of environmental justice studies by examining interactive, historically grounded processes through which categories of difference are produced. To support this argument, we present an illustrative case of the movement in Lithuania that challenged Chevron’s plans to prospect shale resources for potential fracking. We conduct a narrative analysis of public discourses surrounding the formation of the movement …

Comparison Of Data Protection Laws In The United States Vs. The European Union, Trey Decker

University Honors Program

Data protection legislation is an area that has become more talked about in the current times in the United States. With the advent of the secret documents leaked by former intelligence analyst Edward Snowden, and the quick-to-follow data breaches of two major corporations, potentially affecting around 160 million Americans, the time to discuss and understand this topic is now. The in-depth understanding of US data protection laws present significant issues therein. There lie holes and fissures, as a matter of speaking, the framework that results in the lack of user protection. How then can these holes be mended, and what …

Three Land Use Proposals For Geldinganes Framed By The City Of Reykjavik’S Municipal Plan And Climate Neutrality Goals, Emma Hokoda

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

With global CO2 levels rising every year, climate change is becoming a larger, looming threat. Cities around the world have an important role in reducing the negative impacts of climate change through strategic and sustainable urban planning. The purpose of this study is to conduct an introductory analysis of Geldinganes island and its potential and capacity for land development that will support and expand upon the city of Reykjavik’s 2010-2030 municipal plan and 2040 climate neutrality goals. Within this study three proposals for Geldinganes are considered, the current proposal and two new proposals. The lowest development impact proposal for Geldinganes …

Stagnant Corruption In Bosnia-Herzegovina: Then, Now, And What Is To Come, Megan Uren

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Bosnia-Herzegovina, a country recently torn apart by ethnic violence in the 1990s, remains standing yet has struggled for the past two decades to materialize dynamic reform from political corruption and has failed to progress to a more stabilized society. Matters of ethnic divisions, political corruption, and economic underdevelopment all contribute to a deadlocked society vulnerable to further destabilization. The Dayton Peace Agreement produced an environment fit to maintain political corruption with elite entrenchment and governmental deadlock that continues to freeze the county in 1995 and inhibits true ethnic reconciliation. Economic insecurity and high unemployment rates add to grievances in a …

Azerbaijan - Sufis And Protestants Raided, Http://Www.Forum18.Org/Archive.Php?Article_Id=2350 Forum 18

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

In December 2017, Sufi Muslim Rashad Abidov, whose home in the northern town of Sheki was raided by police during a religious meeting, managed to overturn the large fine he was handed down for holding a meeting without state permission. Police had brought the case against him rather than the officials of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations.

Book Review: Gorana Ognjenović And Jasna Jozelić'S Education In Post-Conflict Transition: The Politicization Of Religion In School Textbooks, Aleksandra Djurić Milovanović

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

An edited volume entitled, Education in Post-conflict Transition: The Politicization of Religion in School Textbooks, was published by Palgrave Macmillan series in Religion, Politics and Policy and edited by two scholars, Gorana Ognjenović (University of Oslo) and Jasna Jozelić (Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo). This volume focuses on the politicization of religion and the development of religious education in public schools, and the degree of religious liberty and human rights in several, mainly former Yugoslav countries. Apart from an introduction, the volume has thirteen chapters and a conclusion. Chapter authors include scholars from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, …

Frontmatter (Volume 38, Issue 4), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Is Collective Memory Making The Next Balkan War Imminent?, Nikola Knežević

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Sometimes cultures, religions, and ethnicities that shared the same space for centuries become fierce rivals, forcing their irreconcilable differences to develop to such an extent that they see war as the only option. The Balkans has had its share of conflicts, destruction, and atrocities leaving scars too deep to heal. The question is: have they seen the end of it, or will the frozen conflict lurking beneath the fragile peace unleash its deadly force again?

Tajikistan: Almost Two Thousand Mosques Closed In 2017, Http://Www.Forum18.Org/Archive.Php?Article_Id=2356 Forum 18

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Tajikistan has claimed to have closed almost 2,000 mosques in 2017. Officials claimed they were closed at the request of local residents, but have not been able to explain why they only allow mosques with a capacity far below the possible numbers of worshippers.

The Theology Of Reconciliation As A Contemporary Political Theology: The Present State Of The Balkan Region And Its Possible Outcomes, Sergej Beuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article aims not only to give an insight into the theological premises of the problem of reconciliation, but it also suggests the practical implementation of this theology within the body of the public policies of the countries of the West Balkans. I have tried to clarify elementary terms inherent in both post-conflict and contemporary theology, especially prominent within the theology of reconciliation which revolves around searching for possible solutions for a lasting and a viable peace. The theology of reconciliation should not remain within the scope of academic speculation, but it should be implemented by religious organizations as a …

Managing Migration: The Balkans United Against Refugees, Hedvig Morvai, Dragan Djokovic

New England Journal of Public Policy

In 2015, alone, almost a million refugees sought to reach Northwestern Europe by traveling from Turkey, through Greece and Macedonia, and then across Serbia, Hungary, or Croatia, following what became known as the Balkan route. Despite the numerous problems associated with this route, it remained functional until March 8, 2016, when the EU member states reached a deal with Turkey that has put a stop to this particular migrants’ itinerary.

Like the member states of the European Union, the Balkan countries have been dealing with migration problems in an obsolete manner. Wars and their attendant difficulties in Serbia, Croatia, and …

"Yarovoy Law" Struck The Protestants: An Interview With The Historian Of Religions, Elena Glavatskaya, Elena Glavatskaya

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Elena Glavtaskaya is a professor of history at Ural Federal University in Yekaterinburg, Russia. She has defended her Kandidatskaya dissertation in 1992 and her Doktorskaia dissertation in 2005 at the university. She has also led several research projects focused on the religious landscape of the Urals and Siberia and is currently leading the research project, “Ethno-religious and demographic dynamics in mountainous Eurasia around 1900,” supported by the Russian Science Foundation. Her latest articles are “Nobody Pressed Hard, and People Listened to the Message of the Kingdom,” “Jehovah's Witnesses» of the Sverdlovsk Oblast: a historical and anthropological research,” published in Quaestio …

Motherless Despite Three Mothers: The Plight Of The Macedonian Orthodox Church For The Recognition Of Autocephaly, Ines Murzaku

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

In the past, Greece had vigorously objected to Macedonia’s rayed solar flag choice, claiming the star was a Greek emblem. Indeed, the Macedonian flag, together with the name “Macedonia,” became the focus of a long-standing dispute between Greece and Macedonia. In July 1995, Greece went so far as to lodge a request with the World Intellectual Property Organization for exclusive trademark protection of the Star of Vergina. In 1995, due to pressure, the then Republic of Macedonia replaced its “Greek” starburst flag with the current central golden disk. Upon seeing Macedonia’s flag proudly flying atop the Macedonian Embassy near the …

Three Updates On Protestantism In Russia, William Yoder

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

The Methodist Church In Yugoslavia From 1945 To 1965: A Case Study Of An Ecumenical Protestant "Free Church" In A Hostile Environment, Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Though in size resembling a sect, the Methodists of the former Yugoslavia functioned as a Protestant “Free Church” due to its international structural connection with a large worldwide Methodist Church. After disparate beginnings in the two locations, the Methodist of Vojvodina began to function in 1898 while in Macedonia, the former Congregationalist (called Evangelical) began their work in 1870 but were transferred to the Yugoslavia Methodist Mission Conference after World War I. In Vojvodina, most of the members were of German and Hungarian ethnicity who had already been Protestants before they joined the Methodists while in Macedonia, the members were …