Appel à articles : Dossier ‘Radicalization”, Hizmet Studies Review — LIMITE : 01/10/2015

The term radicalization these days is used nearly synonymously with concepts of violence and terrorism. While radicalization and terrorism have been concepts that have been used extensively by the media and politics to denote conducts arising in distant lands, home-grown terrorism has now become a familiar phenomenon for Europe. Especially with the London bombings in 2005, the murder of the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004, the Madrid bombings in 2004, the attacks on French journalists in Paris in 2015 have brought to attention that radicalism is now a domestic problem. The radicalization and violent extremism has been used by different fringe elements in different ideological political-religious and national groups, and nowadays Muslim communities are particularly affected by this problem of radicalization.

This issue of Hizmet Studies Review is focused on the Hizmet Movement’s practices and theory to counter radicalization that leads to individuals resorting to violent extremism and terrorism. The central question of this issue is concerned what Hizmet movement thinks about violent extremism, how the movement tackle with this question.

The reasons for radicalization as a source of violence can be found in many layers. As the term of radicalization is a contested term with various meanings, there are many dynamic external and internal ingredients such as identity crisis; perceived grievances; a sense of helplessness; a violent past, a sense of marginalization. Some of which are domestic factors where certain groups can feel marginalized; in other cases the external elements plays a role during the process of radicalization. There are also many other dynamics that foster the proliferation of radicalism, like the phenomenon of globalization and mass communication portals easing the connection of radicals, and radical groups across the globe.

This transformation in the scope of radicalization has been studied in many different disciplinary fields from different perspectives ranging from in group loyalties, transnational dimensions of terrorist groups to personal motivations for radicalism.

This issue welcomes studies from different disciplines, on radicalism and violent extremism claiming a religious motivation in Europe and the world. The series will examine some of the questions suggested below:

– What are the causes of homegrown violent extremism claiming an Islamic justification? What is the answer of Fethullah Gülen?

– How operative is “ideology” within the radicalization process? Where does it stand the Hizmet movement?

– As an Islamically inspired movement, how Hizmet interprets Qur’an and Sunna to encounter radicalization?

– What is the role of “idealism” and questions of theodicy in the radicalization process? How people in the Movement interpret and implement this theodicy and idealism?

– Whatever the triggers, what is the role of Islam and Islamic scholarship?

– What is Fethullah Gülen’s thelogical response to violent extremist ideology?

– What role if any doe faith-based Muslim movements and groups have in countering violent extremist narratives? What is the role of the Hizmet movement?

– How the movement preventing youth from radicalization?

The envisioned time frame for submissions is as following:
01.10.2015 – deadline for call for abstracts (about 750 words)
15.10.2015 – decision on abstracts
15.01.2016 – full paper submission
07.02 2016 – review process, feedback to authors
25.02.2016 – resubmission

Papers that cover one or more of the suggested topics above are invited. Please submit a title and abstract of no more than 300 words, plus a name and short biography (150 words maximum) of the presenter/s, institutional affiliation/s (if relevant), and contact details to Merve Reyhan Kayikci (mervereyhan.kayikci@soc.kuleuven.be) by 5pm 1st October, 2015.

Further Reading:

Capan, Ergun (edt), Terror and Suicide Attacks: An Islamic Perspective, Tughra Books.

Gülen, Fethullah. Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance. Somerset, NJ: Light, Inc.

Gülen, Fethullah. The Messenger of God: Muhammad, Tughra Books.

Keles, Özcan and İ. Mesut Sezgin, A Hizmet Approach to Rooting out Violent Extremism, Centre for Hizmet Studies, London. http://www.hizmetstudies.org/HizmetApproachtoRootingoutViolentExtremism.pdf

Kurucan, A and M Erol. Dialogue in Islam: Qur’an, Sunnah, History. London: Dialogue Society.

Sleap, Frances and Sener, Omer. Weller, Paul, ed. Gülen on Dialogue. London: Centre for Hizmet Studies,

Weller, Paul, and Ihsan Yılmaz. European Muslims, Civility and Public Life: Perspectives on and from the Gülen Movement. London: Continuum.

Yavuz, Hakan. Toward an Islamic Enlightenment: The Gülen Movement. New York: Oxford University Press.

Deradicalisation by Default: The ‘Dialogue’ Approach to Rooting out Violent Extremism, Dialogue Society.

Saritoprak, Z and Unal, A. ‘An Interview with Fethullah Gülen’. The Muslim World vol. 95, no. 3. (Special Issue): 447–467

Unal, A and Williams, A (Eds). The Advocate of Dialogue: Fethullah Gülen. Fairfax, Via: The Fountain.

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