Sari Hanafi – författare

The sociology of the Middle East has been an expanding field of inquiry since the aftermath of World War II when the Middle East became central in key sociological debates on modernization theory and their critical responses.The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of the Middle East connects this historical trajectory with the emergence of the sociology of Islam, inspired by Max Weber. It explores how within the global community, the Middle East has become a terrain of heightened concern within the post-Cold War context, where the promising rise of civic (and often religiously motivated) sociopolitical movements in the 1980s and 1990s has been slowly overwhelmed by the affirmation of jihadist networks, authoritarian states, and complex supranational security apparatuses. This foundational volume engages in a critical examination of the field, starting with a historical sociology of the making of the idea itself of the Middle East and linking it with the legacy of colonialism and the evolving dynamics of global power. In repurposing the sociology of the Middle East within a growing interdisciplinary multifield, the Handbook develops the critical argument that the exploration of social dynamics in the Middle East cannot be disjoined from the analysis of culture and politics.With a diverse and international list of contributors, the Handbook provides a critical resource for academics and students in the field by offering a comprehensive, if diversified, perspective to investigate longstanding regional and new transregional dynamics impacting on the life of people in the Middle East.

Exploring the evolution of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), this book fills a lacuna in literature on the agency.UNRWA and Palestinian Refugees employs recent fieldwork in order to analyse challenges in programmes and service delivery, protection, camp governance, community participation, and camp improvement and reconstruction. The chapters examine the way UNRWA is adapting to a changing social, political and economic context, mostly within urban settings – a paradigmatic shift from understanding the Agency’s role as simply a provider of relief and services to one comprehensively supporting the human development of Palestinian refugees. Examining the refugee debate using new disciplines and research frameworks, this collection aims to emphasise the centrality of the Palestinian refugee issue for Middle East peace-making and to contribute a better understanding of a unique agency. This book will be a useful aid for students and researchers with an interest in Middle East Studies, Politics, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Over recent decades we have witnessed the globalization of research. However, this has yet to translate into a worldwide scientific network, across which competencies and resources can flow freely. Arab countries have strived to join this globalized world and become a ‘knowledge economy,’ yet little time has been invested in the region’s fragmented scientific institutions; institutions that should provide opportunities for individuals to step out on the global stage. Knowledge Production in the Arab World investigates research practices in the Arab world, using multiple case studies from the region with particular focus on Lebanon and Jordan. It depicts the Janus-like face of Arab research, poised between the negative and the positive and faced with two potentially opposing strands; local relevance alongside its internationalization. The book critically assesses the role and dynamics of research and poses questions that are crucial to further our understanding of the very particular case of knowledge production in the Arab region. The book explores research’s relevance and whom it serves, as well as the methodological flaws behind academic rankings and the meaning and application of key concepts such as knowledge society/economy. Providing a detailed and comprehensive examination of knowledge production in the Arab world, this book is of interest to students, scholars and policy makers working on the issues of research practices and status of science in contemporary developing countries.

More than four million Palestinian refugees live in protracted exile across the Middle East. Taking a regional approach to Palestinian refugee exile and alienation across the Levant, this book proposes a new understanding of the spatial and political dimensions of refugee camps across the Middle East.Combining critical scholarship with ethnographic insight, the essays uncover host states’ marginalisation of stateless refugees and shed light on new terminology on refugees, migration and diaspora studies. The impact on the refugee community is detailed in novel studies of refugee identity, memory and practice and new legal approaches to compensation and "right of return". The book opens a critical debate on key concepts and proposes a new understanding of the spatial and political dimensions of refugee camps, better understood as laboratories of Palestinian society and "state-in-making".This strong collection of original essays is an essential resource for scholars and students in refugee studies, forced migration, disaster studies, legal anthropology, urban studies, international law and Middle East history.

Exploring the evolution of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), this book fills a lacuna in literature on the agency.UNRWA and Palestinian Refugees employs recent fieldwork in order to analyse challenges in programmes and service delivery, protection, camp governance, community participation, and camp improvement and reconstruction. The chapters examine the way UNRWA is adapting to a changing social, political and economic context, mostly within urban settings – a paradigmatic shift from understanding the Agency’s role as simply a provider of relief and services to one comprehensively supporting the human development of Palestinian refugees. Examining the refugee debate using new disciplines and research frameworks, this collection aims to emphasise the centrality of the Palestinian refugee issue for Middle East peace-making and to contribute a better understanding of a unique agency. This book will be a useful aid for students and researchers with an interest in Middle East Studies, Politics, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Addressing the rupture between religious and social sciences in Arab universities, this book provides a critical assessment of the curricula of Shariah and Islamic Studies departments across the Arab World, arguing for increased interdisciplinary dialogue.Based on over 250 interviews with university students and teachers, this study is the sum of five years of field research observing the curricula and teaching styles of colleges in the Shariah sciences. The author provides critical insight into these curricula by focusing on case studies in Lebanon and Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait and Qatar, and in Malaysia. In doing so, the book aims to answer the following questions:What is the aim of religious education?Does it aim to create people who specialize solely in religious affairs, or does it aim to form the student according to a comprehensive human framework?What is the nature of the relationship between the social sciences and the Shariah sciences?The book concludes by examining three pioneering institutions which have introduced alternative curricula in teaching Shariah studies.The book has wide geographic and ideological coverage, and will appeal to university students, academics, and policy analysts working across a range of disciplines, including the philosophy of knowledge, Islamic law and education, and sociology.

Addressing the rupture between religious and social sciences in Arab universities, this book provides a critical assessment of the curricula of Shariah and Islamic Studies departments across the Arab World, arguing for increased interdisciplinary dialogue.Based on over 250 interviews with university students and teachers, this study is the sum of five years of field research observing the curricula and teaching styles of colleges in the Shariah sciences. The author provides critical insight into these curricula by focusing on case studies in Lebanon and Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait and Qatar, and in Malaysia. In doing so, the book aims to answer the following questions:What is the aim of religious education?Does it aim to create people who specialize solely in religious affairs, or does it aim to form the student according to a comprehensive human framework?What is the nature of the relationship between the social sciences and the Shariah sciences?The book concludes by examining three pioneering institutions which have introduced alternative curricula in teaching Shariah studies.The book has wide geographic and ideological coverage, and will appeal to university students, academics, and policy analysts working across a range of disciplines, including the philosophy of knowledge, Islamic law and education, and sociology.

More than four million Palestinian refugees live in protracted exile across the Middle East. Taking a regional approach to Palestinian refugee exile and alienation across the Levant, this book proposes a new understanding of the spatial and political dimensions of refugee camps across the Middle East.Combining critical scholarship with ethnographic insight, the essays uncover host states’ marginalisation of stateless refugees and shed light on new terminology on refugees, migration and diaspora studies. The impact on the refugee community is detailed in novel studies of refugee identity, memory and practice and new legal approaches to compensation and "right of return". The book opens a critical debate on key concepts and proposes a new understanding of the spatial and political dimensions of refugee camps, better understood as laboratories of Palestinian society and "state-in-making".This strong collection of original essays is an essential resource for scholars and students in refugee studies, forced migration, disaster studies, legal anthropology, urban studies, international law and Middle East history.

Over recent decades we have witnessed the globalization of research. However, this has yet to translate into a worldwide scientific network, across which competencies and resources can flow freely. Arab countries have strived to join this globalized world and become a ‘knowledge economy,’ yet little time has been invested in the region’s fragmented scientific institutions; institutions that should provide opportunities for individuals to step out on the global stage. Knowledge Production in the Arab World investigates research practices in the Arab world, using multiple case studies from the region with particular focus on Lebanon and Jordan. It depicts the Janus-like face of Arab research, poised between the negative and the positive and faced with two potentially opposing strands; local relevance alongside its internationalization. The book critically assesses the role and dynamics of research and poses questions that are crucial to further our understanding of the very particular case of knowledge production in the Arab region. The book explores research’s relevance and whom it serves, as well as the methodological flaws behind academic rankings and the meaning and application of key concepts such as knowledge society/economy. Providing a detailed and comprehensive examination of knowledge production in the Arab world, this book is of interest to students, scholars and policy makers working on the issues of research practices and status of science in contemporary developing countries.

Sociologies in Dialogue brings together expert contributions from international scholars, who reflect on the importance of collaboration between diverse sociological perspectives to enhance our understanding of the role of sociology as an academic discipline, and as a vehicle for social change.

By exploring the distinctive practices and research of a range of sociologists, the book shows how an open dialogue between sociologists is critical to addressing major sociological issues across the globe such as inequality and ethnocentrism, and challenging the hierarchies of knowledge production and circulation. Contributors also discuss novel strands in theory and methodology such as multicultural sociology, cosmopolitanism, and multiple modernities.

An important contribution for researchers and students interested in global sociology, sociological theories and methodologies.

Sociologies in Dialogue brings together expert contributions from international scholars, who reflect on the importance of collaboration between diverse sociological perspectives to enhance our understanding of the role of sociology as an academic discipline, and as a vehicle for social change.

By exploring the distinctive practices and research of a range of sociologists, the book shows how an open dialogue between sociologists is critical to addressing major sociological issues across the globe such as inequality and ethnocentrism, and challenging the hierarchies of knowledge production and circulation. Contributors also discuss novel strands in theory and methodology such as multicultural sociology, cosmopolitanism, and multiple modernities.

An important contribution for researchers and students interested in global sociology, sociological theories and methodologies.

In an era of deepening polarization, Sari Hanafi examines how social scientists often reproduce the very injustices they seek to challenge, taking entrenched positions while dismissing alternative perspectives.He introduces the concept of symbolic liberalism - a contradiction in which individuals espouse classical liberal principles, yet act in politically illiberal ways. This, he argues, has exacerbated the pathologies of late modernity: authoritarianism, economic precarity, and environmental destruction, now all unfolding in a climate where reasonable debate seems increasingly impossible.Examining key flashpoints of contemporary polarization, Hanafi critiques how symbolic liberalism inflates the universality of rights while simultaneously narrowing the space for dialogue. Rather than this rigid ideological stance, he calls for a dialogical turn, a renewed public sphere where diverse conceptions of the ‘common good’ engage in genuine conversation.Blending political and moral philosophy with sociological critique, Hanafi offers a path forward in an age when intellectual exchange is more necessary, yet also more imperilled, than ever. Against Symbolic Liberalism is not just a critique of polarization but a critical and impassioned call to reclaim meaningful intellectual discourse.

In an era of deepening polarization, Sari Hanafi examines how social scientists often reproduce the very injustices they seek to challenge, taking entrenched positions while dismissing alternative perspectives.He introduces the concept of symbolic liberalism - a contradiction in which individuals espouse classical liberal principles, yet act in politically illiberal ways. This, he argues, has exacerbated the pathologies of late modernity: authoritarianism, economic precarity, and environmental destruction, now all unfolding in a climate where reasonable debate seems increasingly impossible.Examining key flashpoints of contemporary polarization, Hanafi critiques how symbolic liberalism inflates the universality of rights while simultaneously narrowing the space for dialogue. Rather than this rigid ideological stance, he calls for a dialogical turn, a renewed public sphere where diverse conceptions of the ‘common good’ engage in genuine conversation.Blending political and moral philosophy with sociological critique, Hanafi offers a path forward in an age when intellectual exchange is more necessary, yet also more imperilled, than ever. Against Symbolic Liberalism is not just a critique of polarization but a critical and impassioned call to reclaim meaningful intellectual discourse.

This edited book offers diverse perspectives on the Palestinian refugee problem and the possible ways to facilitate its resolution. The book contains contributions of Israeli, Palestinian and other scholars, and its main goal is to initiate an informed dialogue that will bridge the “knowledge gap” between the different camps. The book is the cul- nation of a joint effort to assist people to realize how people on the other side envision the problem and the possible ways to resolve it, and to gain a comparative perspective on refugee problems and their reso- tion efforts in other parts of the world. The contributors come from - verse disciplines and backgrounds and their various contributions p- vide a comprehensive picture of the various aspects of the problem and of the possible means of its resolution. The Palestinian refugees problem is perhaps the most acute challenge to a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is a challenge that scholars must address in a calm and detached manner, but at the same time a deeply emotional matter that even the most sophisticated scholars find difficult to engage without compromising their academic integrity. Despite these difficulties, we undertook the task of convening a meeting where the papers were presented and of the publication of this book because we think the contributions in this book provide p- spectives that contribute to the initiation of a constructive dialogue among the relevant communities.

This edited book offers diverse perspectives on the Palestinian refugee problem and the possible ways to facilitate its resolution. The book contains contributions of Israeli, Palestinian and other scholars, and its main goal is to initiate an informed dialogue that will bridge the “knowledge gap” between the different camps. The book is the cul- nation of a joint effort to assist people to realize how people on the other side envision the problem and the possible ways to resolve it, and to gain a comparative perspective on refugee problems and their reso- tion efforts in other parts of the world. The contributors come from - verse disciplines and backgrounds and their various contributions p- vide a comprehensive picture of the various aspects of the problem and of the possible means of its resolution. The Palestinian refugees problem is perhaps the most acute challenge to a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is a challenge that scholars must address in a calm and detached manner, but at the same time a deeply emotional matter that even the most sophisticated scholars find difficult to engage without compromising their academic integrity. Despite these difficulties, we undertook the task of convening a meeting where the papers were presented and of the publication of this book because we think the contributions in this book provide p- spectives that contribute to the initiation of a constructive dialogue among the relevant communities.