In this episode, Rustin and Ali interview Dr. Kelly Anne Hammond, Assistant Professor of East Asian History in the Department of History at the University of Arkansas, about her book, China’s Muslims and Japan’s Empire: Centering Islam in World War II (University of North Carolina Press, November 2020). During World War II, Sino-Muslims (Hui Muslims) were an important focal point for Imperial Japanese propaganda. Japanese imperial officials saw Sino-Muslims as crucial intermediaries that could help not only defeat nationalist and communist opposition in China, but also help bolster an image of the empire as anti-Western protectors of Islam. Building on an older academic tradition of Islamic Studies in Japan, knowledge of Islam was put into imperial service. Combined with the patronage of Muslim schools, mosques, and hajj pilgrimage, the empire aimed to create transnational Muslim networks that were centered in Japan and used Japanese as their new lingua franca. Dr. Hammond shows that these efforts were met with limited success due to the community’s religious and political diversity, as well as the military defeat of Imperial Japan. Even those who were receptive to Japanese efforts ultimately had to ally themselves with other powers following the end of the war, yet the legacy of their role as intermediaries remained even in the Cold War era. ...
In this episode, Rustin speaks with Mohammed Rustom, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Carleton University. He is the author of The Triumph of Mercy: Philosophy and Scripture in Mulla Sadra (State University of New York Press, 2012). Dr. Rustom sheds light on the figure of Iblis (or Satan) in the writings of 'Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani, the 12th century Sufi mystic and jurist. While many believe Iblis to be a force of evil in Islamic theology, 'Ayn al-Quzat argued that he is, in fact, the ultimate embodiment of selfless divine love. After outlining the role of Iblis in Islamic mysticism, Dr. Rustom compares 'Ayn al-Quzat's representation with other religious and literary traditions-- including Satan of the Christian Bible, Paradise Lost, and the Brothers Karamazov. The conversation concludes with how and why 'Ayn al-Quzat was killed by the Seljuk State, as well as what we can learn about human agency and determinism from his defense of Iblis. ...
*The Indian Ocean series explores topics related to the Islamo-Arabic and Persianate world from the perspective of the Indian Ocean littoral and the people who traversed its waters. These conversations aim to rethink narratives of history and culture, which have been traditionally boxed in by land-based territorial demarcations and regional studies frameworks. This series invites listeners to imagine the complex interconnectedness of life from East Africa to Southeast Asia and beyond. * In this introductory episode, Indian Ocean series host Lindsey Stephenson speaks with Fahad Bishara, who is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Virginia. Dr. Bishara discusses with Lindsey the contours of the Indian Ocean world and the study of it. He draws out some of the similarities between the Indian Ocean and other oceanic spaces such as the Mediterranean and Atlantic worlds. He explains that many of the places central to the Indian Ocean have been treated as peripheral to area studies regions such as the Middle East and South Asia. Dr. Bishara suggests that rather than considering researching the Indian Ocean as working on a fixed space, it is more an approach to sources that helps us follow connections across seemingly disparate spaces. Finally Dr. Bishara outlines common themes that we can anticipate seeing in future episodes of the podcast as we explore the littoral societies of the oceans rim: mobility, connectivity, and identity. ...
