On Tuesday 15 March, the 19th annual series of WIPSS starts its second semester meetings with a seminar by Dr Arsalan Alshinawi entitled ‘God has never been killed’ – The Prevalence of the Sacred: Comparative Historical Roots of the Arab Crisis. His is the first of several seminars in which speakers from different disciplines will explore from the standpoint of their own research The Contemporary Political Crisis in the Arab World. Dr Alshinawi’s discussant will be Dr Norbert Bugeja, Research Fellow in Postcolonial Studies, Mediterranean Institute, University of Malta.
Dr Alshinawi writes:
Dr Alshinawi writes:
'This seminar begins by considering the question why, in the Middle East and North Africa, there has been no 'God is dead,' in the manner of Friedrich Nietzsche (1882 'The Gay Science' - also translated as 'The science of joy'). What is the social difference between the challenge to the 'Christian God' and to the 'Muslim God,' as a credible source of absolute moral principles? Why has the sacred prevailed in Arab society? Based on these questions, I go on to ask if there is a political theory for today’s Muslim-Arab societies - and a modern system that is applicable to the countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Through this discussion, I explore the historical roots of the crisis in the contemporary Arab world.'
Baghdad-born Dr Arsalan Alshinawi is a full-time resident academic at the Department of International Relations of the University of Malta since 2009, after more than 13 years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malta including posting at the Maltese diplomatic missions in North Africa. He was a lecturer at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, and the School of International Relations, in St Petersburg State University in Russia, and is currently a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy of the University of Malta, and the American University of Iraq in Sulaimani. He is a research Associate with the Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies in Beirut, and supervisor and external examiner for graduate dissertations of the Master’s Programme in Diplomacy of the Diplo-Foundation. He is a member of the foreign editorial board of the Annual of the Asian and African Studies Journal of St Petersburg State University. His latest publication is 'Muslims in Malta,' in Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Vol. 8, 2016 (Brill). He studied Pharmacy and Diplomacy at the University of Malta, and International Relations and International Political Economy at the Universities of Amsterdam and Nijmegen in the Netherlands. He is fluent in the Maltese, Arabic, Kurdish and Persian languages. His research interests are in the field of political economy of development, notably in the Muslim-Arab world, and the impact of Western dominance in IR theory.
The seminar will be held on Tuesday 15 March, 18:00 to 19:00, followed by discussion, in Hall A, M.A. Vassalli Conference Centre – Gateway Building (GWHA). Students are encouraged to attend. The public is cordially invited.
The seminar will be held on Tuesday 15 March, 18:00 to 19:00, followed by discussion, in Hall A, M.A. Vassalli Conference Centre – Gateway Building (GWHA). Students are encouraged to attend. The public is cordially invited.
Convenors: Paul Clough, Peter Mayo, Michael Briguglio