Special Lecture Over recent years Ibadi siyar have attracted increasing interest among Islamic scholars in the West for three reasons: 1) Up to the 2nd/8th century they continued to be written in the ‘original’ Arabic literary style. 2) Their interpretation of early Islamic history is markedly different from that of the Sunni/Shiite tradition. 3) They […]

Public Seminar Series UTCMES is pleased to present the public seminar “History, Culture, and Society in the Arabian Peninsula” in the FY of 2019. The seminar will be a series of 14 lectures by leading scholars on the Arabian Peninsula, which is undergoing a period of great transformation. The seminars are open to the public, […]

2019 Public Seminar “History, Culture, and Society in the Arabian Peninsula” 6th session) 　In recent years, scholars of Middle Eastern politics have sought how to delicately depict political structures and processes from intricate data, while based on area studies methods that clarify local concepts and political history through the collection and scrutiny of materials and fieldwork. In wading […]

Public Lecture The constitutional order in Middle Eastern countries, with a few exceptions, maintains an “intermediate group” that modern Western constitutions are supposed to have dismantled. In the context of the Middle East constitutional order, the intermediate group is the religious community, which is not only subject to personal law (the personal status law), but […]

2019 Public Seminar “History, Culture, and Society in the Arabian Peninsula” (5th session) 　Yemenis’ favorite indulgence is khat. In Yemen, where recreational facilities are scarce, a few hours spent chewing fresh kart leaves harvested early in the morning with close friends and acquaintances in the afternoon provides an opportunity for socializing for men and women of all ages. This […]

2019 Public Seminar “History, Culture, and Society in the Arabian Peninsula” (4th session) 　In Kuwait, about two-thirds of the population are foreign workers, and they have been important players in the country’s economy. However, especially since the oil price slump in 2014, there have been further criticisms, especially from the National Assembly, that the employment of foreign workers should […]

2019 Public Seminar “History, Culture, and Society in the Arabian Peninsula” (3rd session) 　While the Gulf states are well known for their high percentage of foreign population, the ethnicity of Oman’s population is diverse, including “old immigrants” who came from Indo-Persia centuries ago and “new immigrants” who repatriated from East Africa after 1970. This seminar examines national integration in […]

2019 Public Seminar “History, Culture, and Society in the Arabian Peninsula” (2nd session) 　Historically, several small tribal political coalitions existed from Oman to the UAE, but in the process of modern state-building, each state was formed based on the identity of each tribe, which led to the drawing of intricate border lines with a succession of enclaves. However, politics […]

2019 Public Seminar “History, Culture, and Society in the Arabian Peninsula” (1st session) 　Saudi Arabia has seen a rush to build shopping malls since the 2000s. Malls have served not only for shopping, but also to open public spaces primarily for women. Changes are also taking place in the religious community, which had previously defined the code of conduct […]