Tuesday, March 31, 2015

قول Qawl 1.0

Qawl is a free computer program for searchers, teachers and students in the fields of Arabic studies.
The program offers:
  • a large library of Arabic texts (around 2000)
  • a research algorithm enabling one to find any word or sequence of words matching a given query
  • the automatic identification of parallel passages (sources, quotations, etc.) of any given selection of text by comparing it to the entire library
  • a handy help for the translation and analysis of Arabic words and sentences via various webtools (Aratools, Google Translate, Bing Translator)
Sébastien Moureau
Chargé de recherches au F.R.S.-FNRS
Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium)
(sebastien[dot]moureau[at]uclouvain[dot]be)

Qawl Copyright (C) 2014-2015 Sébastien Moureau

Friday, March 27, 2015

Partially Open Access Journal: Journal of Levantine Studies

Journal of Levantine Studies
http://www.levantine-journal.org/css/images/logo.png
Journal of Levantine Studies (JLS) is an interdisciplinary academic journal dedicated to the critical study of the geographical, social, and cultural settings which, in various periods of history, have been known as the "Levant." The journal is published biannually in English in print and online by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. 

JLS aims to reclaim the Levant as a historical and political concept and as a category of identity and classification. The notion of the Levant has undergone a dynamic process of historical evolution in usage, meaning, and understanding. While the term "Levantine" originally referred to the European residents of the eastern Mediterranean region, it later came to refer to regional "native" and "minority" groups. As it developed alongside colonial practices and Eurocentric attitudes, the notion gradually acquired derogatory connotations in its everyday and academic usage. Intellectuals and social thinkers from the region renounced the term while simultaneously embracing and rejecting Western prejudices and attempting to avoid identification with larger regional units, which directly contradicted twentieth-century attempts to build nation-states. Meanwhile, in academia, the term has been largely relegated and confined to the fields of archaeology and literature. 

Current trends in scholarship investigating various social and political "peripheries" have favored the development of internal discourses that originate within so-called margins and define themselves in their own cultural terms. (In this reorientation, terms with pejorative connotations, much like the Levant, have often been reclaimed). At the same time, scholars of postcolonial and subaltern theory have also suggested overturning the dominant discourse and even provincializing Europe itself. Similarly, rethinking regions such as the Levant as central to academic inquiry and re-conceptualizing Europe and other historically dominant regions as provinces may prove worthwhile. This reformulation may prove relevant to the Levant, whose geographical and conceptual maps, boundaries, and groupings have long been drawn with a Eurocentric pencil. Framing the Levant as a category of analysis creates a unique platform with novel possibilities for academic discussion and can trigger productive debate and theoretical and empirical scholarship on the Levant and Levantines in various geographical and historical contexts. 

Re-conceptualization of the Levant as a useful category of analysis and classification could problematize and possibly reshape conceptual maps of the region by taking various subaltern perspectives into consideration, and posit the Levant as an active agent rather than as a passive object.
The Editorial Board welcomes scholarly debate on the symbolic and theoretical significance of the Levant as well as on the political, social, and cultural manifestations of reality for the people of the region. The journal looks to publish articles that engage contemporary academic discussions on relevant socio-political topics including (but not limited to) processes of religion and secularization, the construction of memory, literary and linguistic streams, the migration of knowledge and people, consumerism and commercial networks, globalization, and the study of nationality and trans-nationalism. 

JLS publishes articles focused on the modern era, which begins, symbolically, with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. This date symbolizes the realization of Western fears of a clash with the Muslim and Eastern (Oriental) world on the one hand, and on the other the diverse and symbiotic social processes between religions and people—including the migration of ideas, art, people and goods—which continue to define the development and character of the Levant. As such, we adopted a chronological focal point that pays tribute to the history of the region and avoids the traditionally Western notion of 1492 as the watershed moment for global diffusion.
Volume 1
Summer 2011
Winter 2011  
Volume 2
Summer 2012
Winter 2012

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Open Access Journal: Kurdish Studies: International peer-reviewed journal of Kurdish Studies

Kurdish Studies: International peer-reviewed journal of Kurdish Studies
ISSN: 2051-4883
e-ISSN: 2051-4891
http://www.tplondon.com/journal/public/site/images/sirkeci/KS_10_01_cvrtit.png
Kurdish Studies  journal is an interdisciplinary and peer-reviewed journal dedicated to publishing high quality research and scholarship. Kurdish Studies journal is initiated by the members of the Kurdish Studies Network (KSN) and supported by a large group of academics from different disciplines. The journal aligns itself with KSN's mission to revitalize and reorient research, scholarship and debates in the field of Kurdish Studies in a multidisciplinary fashion covering a wide range of topics including, but not limited to, economics, history, society, gender, minorities, politics, health, law, environment, language, media, culture, arts, and education.

2013

Vol 1, No 1 (2013)

Kurdish Studies, Volume 1, Issue # 1, October 2013


2014

Vol 2, No 1 (2014)

Kurdish Studies, Volume 2, Issue 1, May 2014
Open access to the articles in this issue are sponsored by Ahmed Foundation for Kurdish Studies (USA).

Vol 2, No 2 (2014): Kurdish Linguistics: Focus on Variation and Change Guest edited by Geoffrey Haig & Ergin Öpengin

Kurdish Studies, Volume 2, Issue 2, October 2014
Special issue:
Kurdish Linguistics: Focus on Variation and Change
Guest edited by Geoffrey Haig & Ergin Öpengin

The Clarion Project: Challenging Extremism, Promoting Dialogue

The Clarion Project: Challenging Extremism, Promoting Dialogue
 The Clarion Project
Founded in 2006, Clarion Project (formerly Clarion Fund Inc) is an independently funded, non-profit organization dedicated to exposing the dangers of Islamic extremism while providing a platform for the voices of moderation and promoting grassroots activism. 

Clarion’s award-winning movies have been seen by over 50 million people. They grapple with issues such as religious persecution, human rights, women’s rights, the dangers of a nuclear Iran and what the concept of jihad means for the West. Our dynamic website, viewed by 1.1 million unique visitors in 2014, covers breaking news, provides expert analysis on relevant issues and acts as a platform for Muslim human rights activists. 

Clarion Project draws together Middle East experts, scholars, human rights activists and Muslims to promote tolerance and moderation and challenge extremism.

The Clarion Project archives scans of Dabiq: The Islamic State's (ISIS) Magazine

Monday, March 23, 2015

Open Access Journal Archive: Abou Naddara Journal Collection

http://kjc-fs1.kjc.uni-heidelberg.de:8080/exist/apps/naddara/index.html
Abou Naddara Journal Collection
"This website offers the complete newspapers published by the Egyptian nationalist James Sanua (يعقوب صنوع, 1839-1912) from 1878 to 1910. In addition, formerly unpublished manuscripts by the same author, articles from newspapers of the period about the journalist and his oeuvre, as well as the decorations he received are also available. Most of the material was directly scanned from the originals published at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, and therefore contains an ample variety of magnificent and colorful lithographs."
Published: Cairo: 1878. Paris: 1878-1910.
Language : Arabic; French

Alternative titles:
Abu Nazzara Zarqa = أبو نظارة زرقاء
Rihlat Abi Nazzara Zarqa
Abou-Naddara = أبو نظارة
Abu Zammara = La Clarinette
Abu Saffara = Flutiste = أَبو صفَّارَة.
al-Nazzarat al-Misriyah = an-Nazzarat al-Misriya =  النظَّاراتْ المصرية.
al-Hawi = Le Charmeur =  الحاوي
al-Watani al-Misri = The Egyptian Patriot = الوطني المصري
Attawadod = al-Tawaddud = التودد
L'Almonsef = al-Munsif = المنصِف
L'Univers Musulman = al-Alam al-Islami= العالم الاسلامي
...


See also:
http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011666449
http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000548113
http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008887733
http://ima.bibalex.org/IMA/presentation/periodic/list.jsf?pid=05C0204A80C79A91F11989B6E0AA9D48
https://www.zmo.de/jaraid/


Alphabetical List of Open Access Historical Newspapers and Other Periodicals in Middle East & Islamic Studies


Tuesday, March 17, 2015

A to Z Guide to Assistance in Afghanistan - 2015


http://www.areu.org.af/EditionDetails.aspx?EditionId=838&ContentId=7&ParentId=7
"The guide provide an extensive glossary of assistance terms, an overview of Afghanistan’s system of government, key primary documents, and an extensive contact directory that includes government agencies, NGOs, donors and international actors."
Language: English  
No. of Pages: 252
See also recent AREU publications.

Open Access Journal: Journal of the Faculty of Architecture

http://jfa.arch.metu.edu.tr/content/view/161/149/


 Journal of the Faculty of Architecture
Alternative title: METU JFA
Subjects: Architecture, Fine Arts
Publisher: Middle East Technical University, 1975-
Journal Language: English, Turkish
ISSN(s): 0258-5316
Frequency     2 times a year

 



Monday, March 16, 2015

Open Access Archive: Balochistan Archives

http://balochistanarchives.gob.pk/
  
Balochistan Archives

"Balochistan Archives is an executive agency of the Government of Balochistan which serves as the main repository for official records and documents of historical significance. Archives contain evidence of financial and legal commitments, provide information about significant historical events, and help protect the civil and legal property rights of the citizens. In short, archives are the pillars on which the foundation of history stands and, therefore, require preservation and special care.We are the guardians of the most significant national and provincial level documents in Balochistan Province. Currently, we hold more than 20,000 files, printed papers, books, and manuscripts pertaining to the colonial and post-independence period in Balochistan."

Monday, March 9, 2015

Free to read E-book: Hajj: Global Interactions through Pilgrimage




http://www.sidestone.com/library/hajj

Hajj : Global Interactions through Pilgrimage
Edited by Luitgard Mols & Marjo Buitelaar
Year: 2014
ISBN: 9789088902857
Number of pages: ca. 275
Print Price: €39,95 (incl VAT / excl Shipping)

Contents

The Hajj and the Anthropological Study of Pilgrimage
Marjo Buitelaar
Sacrifice, Purification and Gender in the Hajj: Personhood, Metonymy, and Ritual Transformation
Pnina Werbner

Pilgrimage, Performativity, and British Muslims: Scripted and Unscripted Accounts of the Hajj and Umra
Seán McLoughlin
The Hajj and Politics in Contemporary Turkey and Indonesia
Robert R. Bianchi
Islamic Reformism and Pilgrimage: The Hajj of Rashid Rida in 1916
Richard van Leeuwen
Gifts, Souvenirs and the Hajj
Venetia Porter
Hajj from China: Social Meanings and Material Culture
Oliver Moore
The Uppsala Mecca Painting: A New Source for the Cultural Topography and Historiography for Mecca
Mehmet Tütüncü
Hajj Murals in Dakhla Oasis (Egypt)
Remke Kruk and Frans Oort
Souvenir, Testimony, and Device for Instruction: Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Printed Hajj Certificates
Luitgard Mols
Appearances Belie. A Mecca-Centred World Map and a Snouck Hurgronje Photograph from the Leiden University Collections
Arnoud Vrolijk
Hajj Music from Egypt, Syria and Lebanon: Some Reflections on Songs for the Pilgrimage
Neil van der Linden

More information

www.sidestone.com/bookshop/hajj

Upon publication of the book, the book will be available for FREE online reading in the Sidestone E-library: www.sidestone.com/library/   

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Open Access Journal: Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi (HÜTAD)

Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi (HÜTAD)
ISSN: 1305-5992
Hacettepe Üniversitesi Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi 2004 Güz döneminden itibaren yayımlanan, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Türkiyat Araştırmaları Enstitüsünün yayın organıdır. Dergi hakemli, süreli ve yerel nitelikte olup, disiplinler arası bir yaklaşımla Türklük bilimi alanı ile bağlantılı sosyal, kültürel, ekonomik, politik vb. içerikli, tarihsel veya çağdaş konularda özgün nitelikte, kuramsal ve/veya uygulamalı araştırma ve incelemelere yer verir.  Kısaltılmış adı HÜTAD olan dergi, Bahar ve Güz sayıları olmak üzere yılda iki kez yayımlanır.

Open Access Journal: Makalid: Revues académique semestrielle dans la critique littéraire et sa terminologie édité par L'université Kasdi Merbah Ouargla Algérie

Makalid: Revues académique semestrielle dans la critique littéraire et sa terminologie édité par L'université Kasdi Merbah Ouargla Algérie 
ISSN: 2253-0029
http://revues.univ-ouargla.dz/images/banners/ASTimages/makalidimages/MAKALN06/mak.PNG

The Digital Orientalist: Full-Text Online Arabic Sources: A Preliminary List

The Digital Orientalist: Full-Text Online Arabic Sources: A Preliminary List
https://digitalorientalist.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/cropped-logodigitalorientalist6.jpg
A truly epic amount of Arabic books, both classical and modern, have been scanned already. But what is the status of digitized texts, that is, where one does not look at an image of a page, but where the text of that page has been faithfully typed out? I am not aware of a list of online resources available, let alone a comprehensive analysis of them. If you do know of such or if you are able to contribute other sources or if you can give detailed information on one of these sources, please do contact me!
I here present my first findings of my inquiry. The restrictions I applied are:
  • Arabic texts
  • Exceptions only for those texts clearly pertaining to the Islamic civilization or modern Muslim world.
  • Online
  • Large quantity
  • True text (not images)
  • Free access
So far I found 27 websites that agree to these restrictions. I suspect that many of them contain the same sources. This in itself is not bad, it will help with assuring the continued existence of these digital resources. I only have cursory first-hand knowledge of a couple of them. I would really like it if people with experience with these websites could share their insights!
Here is the list. I hope to continue my investigation in this important topic.
  1. http://islamport.com
    1. Works with Shamela.
  2. http://lib.eshia.ir
    1. Works nicely, except for print function. Some overlap with noorlib.
  3. http://library.tebyan.net
  4. http://www.noorlib.ir
    • Excellent resource. Account required (free).
  5. http://rafed.net/booklib/
    1. Search function is flaky but the interface for books is nice.
  6. http://shamela.ws/
  7. http://iucontent.iu.edu.sa/Shamela/
    • Copy of shamela.ws?
  8. http://sh.rewayat2.com
    • Copy of shamela.ws?
  9. http://www.aldhiaa.com/arabic/book.php?sort=all
  10. http://library.al-kawkab.com
  11. http://kl28.com
    1. Partly Shamela. Some magazines. Search function flaky.
  12. http://emamieh.com/ar/BookAlphabet.html
  13. http://shiaonlinelibrary.com
  14. http://gadir.free.fr
    • Different languages, including English and French!
  15. http://www.yasoob.org/ar/
  16. http://www.almeshkat.net/
  17. http://www.altafsir.com/
    • Restricted to tafāsir.
  18. http://islamic-books.org
    • Very slow.
  19. http://library.islamweb.net/newlibrary/index.php
  20. http://www.al-islam.com/
  21. http://www.al-eman.com/index.htm
  22. http://rashf.com
    1. Claims to be a crowd-sourced project currently containing about 12.000 titles.
  23. http://www.hindawi.org
    1. I find this to be a rather exciting website: it features Arabic books on European culture and translations of books in European languages.
  24. http://www.dahsha.com/
  25. http://4kitab.com
  26. http://mybook4u.com
  27. http://www.nashiri.net/ebooks.html