‘We are Christians and we are equal citizens’: perspectives on particularity and pluralism in contemporary Syria
Relations between Muslims and Christians in Syria are as heterogeneous and complex as the country itself. They differ from region to region, from city to city and from village to village. They are also linked to class and urban-rural divisions. It can be argued that it is meaningless to try to categ...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2012]
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| In: |
Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
Year: 2012, Volume: 23, Issue: 1, Pages: 79-93 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CG Christianity and Politics KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBL Near East and North Africa |
| Further subjects: | B
Muslim-Christian relations
B personal status law B Legal pluralism B Gender B Syria |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | Relations between Muslims and Christians in Syria are as heterogeneous and complex as the country itself. They differ from region to region, from city to city and from village to village. They are also linked to class and urban-rural divisions. It can be argued that it is meaningless to try to categorize relationships between Christians and Muslims in Syria in terms of ‘Christian’ and ‘Muslim’. It is a country where all citizens are constitutionally equal before the law and where the co-existence of Christians and Muslims is lauded officially and - generally speaking - among citizens at large in everyday life. But in personal status law Muslims and Christians are firmly categorized, and there is no escape from the way law divides and categorizes individuals. In these categorizations and in the practice of law, gender is crucial. In this article the complexity and fluidity of relations between Christians and Muslims in Syria is explored, as well as the plurilegal Syrian personal status law, which is based on a mandatory religious affiliation. The article shows how gender and religion interact to create an ambiguous situation of ‘same but different’ for Syria's Christian citizens. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-9311 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/09596410.2011.634598 |