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06 May 2005,
Issue 9
As-salaamo alaikam - Peace be upon you!
Well, it's been a very long time since we sent out our last issue of
TIN. All we can say is that it's been an extremely busy year all round.
However, we would like to take the opportunity of announcing to
TIN subscribers that a special volume entitled "Islam and
English in the Post 9/11 Era" has just been published in the
Journal of Language, Identity and Education, Volume 4, Issue 2 (JLIE
4/2). Full details on how to obtain both print and online
editions of the volume are available on the
publishers' website.
Apparently,
EBSCO subscribers can also access the journal
through the appropriate online database.
NB:
For those of you who are interested in viewing previous issues of TIN, please
click here >>>
In Today's TIN (an
overview of the Special Issue):
-
Islam and English in the Post-9/11 Era
(Special Issue)
- Petro-Linguistics: The Emerging
Nexus Between Oil, English, and Islam
- English and Islam: A Clash of
Civilizations?
- The Muslim Response to English
in South Asia
- The Modern Mission: The
Language Effects of Christianity
- Islam, English, and 9/11 (A
Discussion)
- Book Review of "War of Words:
Language, Politics, and 9/11"
Islam and English in the Post 9/11 Era
Editor: Sohail Karmani, University of Sharjah, United
Arab Emirates
Editor:
Sinfree Makoni,
Pennsylvania State University, USA
Summary: Since the events of 9/11 the role
of English has been increasingly entwined with a US-led campaign to
"reform" educational curricula in the Arab and wider Muslim world.
This special issue attempts to unpack some of the socio-political
and socio-religious complexities around the role and teaching of
English in these troubled times. Contributions from three regional
perspectives are provided (namely the Arabian Gulf, South Asia, and
South East Asia) alongside a timely analysis on some of the language
effects of Christianity with particular focus on Africa. A
discussion on the main theme of issue and a review of Sandra
Silberstein's 'War of Words: Language, Politics and 9/11' are also
included.
To access a printable PDF version of the
introduction, please
click here
>>>
(subscription required)
Petro-Linguistics: The Emerging Nexus
between Oil, English, and Islam
Author:
Sohail Karmani, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Abstract: This article seeks
to link the dynamics of oil with the spread of English in the
Arabian Gulf region. It argues that "oil" sustains certain
social, economic, and political conditions that (a) provide a
fertile environment for the expansion of English and that (b)
disproportionately serve the economic interests of the
English-speaking nations of the West. It also contends that the
successful expansion of English in this region is to a large
degree contingent upon pacifying the political force of "Islam."
To access a printable PDF version of this article, please
click here
>>>
(subscription required)
English and Islam: A Clash of Civilizations?
Author:
Ratnawati Mohd-Asraf, International Islamic University Malaysia,
Malaysia
Abstract: There is a substantial amount of literature
documenting the attitudinal resistance of Muslims towards English
and the supposed conflict between English and Islam. This article
provides a critical review of the writings and research on the issue
and discusses some of the reasons behind this resistance, focusing
on Muslims in Malaysia. It argues that although English is rooted in
the Judeo-Christian culture, and often viewed as a primary vehicle
for the transmission of "Western" values, the learning of English is
not in conflict with Islamic values. This article also presents an
Islamic perspective on the role of language and the attitude that
Muslims should adopt towards learning languages. It concludes by
emphasizing the need for English teachers to take into account the
socio-cultural aspects of learning English when teaching Muslim
students, and for Muslims to value the importance of learning
English for the purpose of acquiring contemporary knowledge.
To access a printable PDF version of this article, please
click here
>>>
(subscription required)
The Muslim Response to English in South
Asia: With Special Reference to Inequality, Intolerance and
Militancy in Pakistan
Author:
Tariq Rahman,
University of California, Berkeley, USA
Abstract: This article argues that since
the British colonial era, Muslims in South Asia have responded to
English in three ways: (a) rejection and resistance, (b) acceptance
and assimilation, and (c) pragmatic utilization. These responses
continue in Pakistan and are respectively associated with the
traditionalist ulema; the Westernized middle and upper classes; and
Islamists, including Islamic militants. In turn these social
cleavages are closely linked to the role of English as a marker of
socio-economic class and the function of the state in creating and
maintaining policies which have distributed the language unevenly
(i.e., the elite has privileged access to it while the poorest
people do not). More specifically, the article examines the
relationship between the polarization of Pakistani society in terms
of militancy, religious tolerance, and women's rights and the degree
of exposure to English, socio-economic class, and identity.
To access a printable PDF version of this article, please
click here
>>>
(subscription required)
The Modern Mission: The
Language Effects of Christianity
Abstract: Christian missionaries have played a crucial role
not only in assisting past and current forms of colonialism and
neocolonialism, not only in attacking and destroying other ways
of being, but also in terms of the language effects their
projects have engendered. The choices missionaries have made to
use local or European languages have been far more than a mere
choice of medium. On the one hand, missionary language projects
continue to use and promote European languages, and particularly
English, for Christian purposes. The use of English language
teaching as a means to convert the unsuspecting English language
learner raise profound moral and political questions about what
is going on in English classrooms around the world. On the other
hand, missionary linguists have played a particular role in the
construction and invention of languages around the world. Of
particular concern here are the ways in which language use, and
understandings of language use, have been-and still
are-profoundly affected by missionary projects. Bilingualism
between indigenous languages and a metropolitan language, for
example, was part of a conservative missionary agenda in which
converting to Christianity was the inevitable process of being
bilingual. The ongoing legacy of the language effects of
Christianity is something that needs urgent attention.
To access a printable PDF version of this article, please
click here
>>>
(subscription required)
Islam, English and 9/11 (A Discussion)
Author:
Sohail Karmani, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Summary: This contribution is an expanded
discussion based on an email
interview that
took place in November 2003. The discussion explores the main
theme of the special issue.
Book Review (War of Words: Language, Politics and 9/11)
To access a printable PDF version of this article, please
click here
>>>
(subscription required)
Well, we hope you enjoy the special issue.
Wassalaam - And peace!
Sohail Karmani
TESOL Islamia
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