Annika Rabo

‘We are Christians and we are equal citizens’: perspectives on particularity and pluralism in contemporary Syria

Relations between Muslims and Christians in Syria are as heterogeneous and complex as the country itself. They differ from region to region, from city to city and from village to village. They are also linked to class and urban–rural divisions. It can be argued that it is meaningless to try to categorize relationships between Christians and Muslims in Syria in terms of ‘Christian’ and ‘Muslim’. It is a country where all citizens are constitutionally equal before the law and where the co-existence of Christians and Muslims is lauded officially and – generally speaking – among citizens at large in everyday life. But in personal status law Muslims and Christians are firmly categorized, and there is no escape from the way law divides and categorizes individuals. In these categorizations and in the practice of law, gender is crucial. In this article the complexity and fluidity of relations between Christians and Muslims in Syria is explored, as well as the plurilegal Syrian personal status law, which is based on a mandatory religious affiliation. The article shows how gender and religion interact to create an ambiguous situation of ‘same but different’ for Syrias Christian citizens.

Multiculturalism Swedish Style: Shifts and Sediments in Educational Policies and Textbooks

In the almost two decades that have passed since the Swedish parliament declared that Sweden is a multicultural society, debates about immigrants, about multiculturalism and about different ways of being a citizen have raged. So far there has been no stepping away from the declaration. In the rhetorical arena multiculturalism is still a word with positive connotations, but in the arena of political praxis the situation is different. Inequalities in access to social services, not least education, have increased dramatically, and these inequalities are typically correlated to immigrant background and place of residence. This article focuses on policy documents concerned with multiculturalism in Swedish education and textbooks. First of all, the analysis shows that although multiculturalism is inscribed in steering documents, the concept is never clearly defined but instead remains vague and malleable. Second, while the experiences of pupils with an immigrant background are typically said to bring variety to the classrooms and thus are useful for pedagogical purposes, textbooks seldom acknowledge that Sweden today is, indeed, a multicultural society.

Review of Belonging an an adopted world : race, identity, and transnational adoption by Barbara Yngvesson

Review of Belonging an an adopted world : race, identity, and transnational adoption by Barbara Yngvesson

Belonging in an Adopted World. Race, Identity, and Transnational Adoption

Review of Belonging an an adopted world : race, identity, and transnational adoption by Barbara Yngvesson

Belonging in an Adopted World. Race, Idenity, and Transnational Adoption

Review of Belonging an an adopted world : race, identity, and transnational adoption by Barbara Yngvesson

O NN W INCKLER , Demographic Developments and Population Policies in Ba [subset or is implied by] thist Syria (Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 1999). Pp. 223.

The globe is estimated to have 6 billion people today. The rapid increase of the human population has for decades been a common Western bogeyman. Now, at the turn of the millennium, the threat is brought out again. Today “the human time bomb” connotes uncontrolled fecundity in the Other, the non-Western or non-European. Demographic research shows that many countries in the Middle East and North Africa have among the highest rates of population growth in the contemporary world. Unlike Europe, where the nightmare of demographers and politicians is the aging and decreasing population, the Middle East still has a rapidly increasing and young population. Quite clearly, many politicians in the European Union are worried about the “uncontrollable overflow” of populations over its borders from the southern and eastern Mediterranean shores.

100.00 cloth.

Introduction 1. Egypts place in the Ottoman Empire Part I. The Household and its Place in Ottoman Egypts History: 2. The household 3. Transformations in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Egyptian society 4. The emergence and partnership of the Qazdagli and Jalfi households 5. The ascendancy of Ibrahim Kahya al-Qazdagli and the emergence of the Qazdagli Beylicate Part II. Qazdagli Household-Building Strategies: 6. Marriage alliances and the role of women in the household 7. Property and commercial partnerships 8. The Qazdaglis and the Chief Black eunuch 9. Conclusions.