03TheEssenceofArab-IslamicCoreValues:AContemporaryReview

AbstractArab-Islamic values can be explored at two levels: faith and life. At the level of faith, the most important teaching of Islam is that only Allah is to be served and worshipped, while the concepts of “succession (khilafa)” and “the pursuit of happiness in this life and the hereafter” have profound and positive connotations. At the level of life, Islam advocates the values of moderation, seeking knowledge, benevolence, equity, justice, tolerance, integrity and harmony. In order to examine the Arab-Islamic values objectively and comprehensively, we should also realize that these values constitute a complex and pluralistic system that incorporates not only fine traditions and valuable qualities but constraints that obstruct social progress as well. Therefore, it is necessary to reassess, subulate and preserve the Arab-Islamic values selectively to achieve the reconstruction and sublimation in contemporary Arab societies.

Arab; Islam; Core Values; Reconstruction of Values

AuthorXUE Qingguo, Ph.D., Professor, School of Arabic Studies; Director, Center for Zayed Arabic and Islamic Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University.

17TheCoverageonIslamicWorldinAmericanMainstreamMedia:ANeo-OrientalistPerspective

AbstractOrientalism contains a classical branch of theories on the relationship between Western and Eastern world. Driven by great events such as the Iranian Islamic revolution, the Gulf War and the “September 11 terrorist attacks”, orientalism evolved to have some new characteristics and become a new framework dominating the ways through which the Modern West considers the East. This evolution contains a series of processes, namely complementing the traditional orientalism, diversifying its othering methods and emphasizing the role of native voice from the Islamic world in communication. This paper aims to analyze the mainstream medias’ coverage in the U.S., and finally find out that the neo-orientalism has been generating considerable influence on the perspectives and ways that American media report the Islamic world after the “September 11 attacks”. The narrative mode has become a dominant perspective through which the U.S. deals with the relationship with the Islamic world.

KeyWordsNeo-Orientalism; American Media; Islamic World; Narrative Mode; “Othering”

AuthorXIE Xutan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Institute of International Economics, Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences; Associate Professor, School of Marxism, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University.

33PoliticalOpportunityStructureofPoliticalParticipationofBritishandFrenchMuslims

AbstractMuslim groups have developed into the largest ethnic minority groups in both Britain and France. However, under different models and policies of immigration, the opportunities and effects of political participation of British and French Muslim groups are quite different. In Britain’s tolerant “Multiculturalism” model, British Muslims enjoy much freedom including political rights. British Muslims have actively participated in the Kingdom’s political life through political party politics, electoral politics, community politics, media politics and their political participation have made great headway. The French Muslims are subject to the harsh “Republican Assimilation” model. Their political participation is achieved mainly through political party politics and electoral politics, and their influence in the community politics and media politics is limited compared with British Muslims. When it comes to the Middle East issues, British Muslims are actively involved in the issue of Palestine, the Iraq War and the public diplomacy in the Middle East, while French Muslims’ concern and influence on the Middle East issues are more limited than that of British Muslims.

KeyWordsPolitical Opportunity Structure; Britain; France; Muslim; Political Participation

AuthorLI Li, Ph.D., Lecturer, School of Foreign Languages, Nanchang Normal University.

48CausesofHysteresisinDemocratizationProcessofIslamicCountries

AbstractAfter gradually getting rid of the colonial domination, countries in the Islamic world have established nation-states and tried to promote democratization through different ways. However, the process of democratization in Islamic countries has remained slow and impractical so far, which is closely related to the political evolution that the Islamic world has experienced and its various negative consequences. The attributed reasons of the hysteresis mainly include factors as follows: dissolution of theShurasystem and the decline ofUlema, the influence of colonialism and neo-colonialism, the disadvantages of extreme secularization mode, the collapse of constitutional system and the failure of parliamentary system, as well as the variation of authoritarian regimes. This paper analyzes the deep-rooted causes of the delay and hysteresis of the democratization process in Islamic countries from the perspective of historical evolution of these countries, aiming to provide a theoretical reference for academic circles in studying and predicting development trends of politics in Islamic countries.

KeyWordsIslamic Countries; Democratization; Colonialism; Secularization

AuthorWANG Yongbao, Ph.D., Professor, Institute of Ethnology and Religion, Northwest University of Political Science and Law.

62China-ArabStatesBeidouSystemCooperationForum:OpportunitiesandChallenges

AbstractSatellite navigation is an important domain of cooperation between China and Arab countries. At present, the First China-Arab States Beidou System Cooperation Forum has been successfully held, which indicates that China and Arab States have established a multilateral platform and a long-term mechanism in satellite navigation cooperation. With the development of China-Arab relations and the implementation of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, The China-Arab States Beidou System Cooperation Forum will comprehensively bring the Beidou satellite navigation system to the Arab countries and promote the system to serve the economic and social development of the Arab countries, thus forming a new impetus to the development of the bilateral relations. However, the lack of competent institutions, financial and human resources and multilateral coordination capacity within the Arab League, and other factors such as the low level of technology and market maturity of the Arab countries, restrict the development of the China-Arab States Beidou System Cooperation Forum.

KeyWordsChina-Arab States Beidou System Cooperation Forum; Satellite Navigation; Sino-Arab Relations; The “Belt and Road” Initiative

AuthorsLIN Luzhou, Ph.D. Candidate, China Foreign Affairs University; LI Zuohu, Engineer, Beijing Tracking and Communication Technology Research Institute.

76The“BeltandRoad”InitiativeandPost-WarReconstructioninSyria:AssessmentsandOutlooks

AbstractWith the end of the anti-terrorism campaign in Syria, the efforts and attempts to resolve the Syrian crisis in a political way moved forward in rough conditions, and the curtain of Syria’s post-war reconstruction is gradually opened. The political reconstruction, security reconstruction and economic reconstruction are the three main difficulties and tasks for the overall reconstruction of Syria facing in the current and future periods. While advancing side by side, they support each other and will eventually settle in the full recovery of Syria’s economy and society. Both Syria’s own urgent need for reconstruction and the achievements and experiences that China has gained in various fields are all making it possible for the “Belt and Road” Initiative to get involved in Syria’s reconstruction. Thus, this paper tries to give objective assessments and positive outlooks on the possibilities, advantages, principles and modes of the “Belt and Road” Initiative’s involving in the reconstruction of Syria by means of the conclusion and the latest data from the UN, the World Bank, the IMF and other international organizations on the Syrian conflict, while expounding the new progress relating to the Syrian crisis. It can be foreseen that with the implementation of the “Belt and Road” Initiative, China will play a constructive role in the reconstruction of Syria.

KeyWordsThe “Belt and Road” Initiative; Syrian Conflicts; Post-War Reconstruction; Political Settlement; Comprehensive Peace

AuthorsLI Shijun, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Arabic Studies, Research Assistant, Center for Gulf Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University; MA Xiaolin, Professor, Beijing Foreign Studies University, President of Blshe.com.

90PoliticalDevelopmentofSyrianKurdsinSyrianCivilWar

AbstractBefore the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the Kurds used to be a minority suffering much oppression and exclusion in Syria. To strive for national rights, prior to the civil war, the Syrian Kurds had begun to organize political parties to struggle for their national rights. After the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, political organizations of the Syrian Kurds established their armed force. With the support from the international counter-terrorism union led by the US, the Syrian Kurds have controlled a great amount of areas in fighting with the IS, and strive for autonomy in northern Syria. In politics, the Syrian Kurds propose to establish a federal system in Syria after the civil war with the support from Russia. Now they have set up their own federal district as an example and expected to build up their autonomy after the civil war. However, the process of the Syrian Kurds’ political development encounters more and more hurdles from Turkish government and other Arab opposition groups.

KeyWordsSyrian Civil War; Kurds; Kurdish Armed Forces; Political Development

AuthorsWANG Bo, Ph.D., Professor, Middle East Studies Institute, Shanghai International Studies University; MU Chunhuan, Ph.D. Candidate, Middle East Studies Institute, Shanghai International Studies University.

103IslamicPilgrimage’sImpactsonMiddleEastSecurity

AbstractIn the context of the deepening influences of religion on contemporary international relations, the relationship between Islamic pilgrimage (hajj) activities and regional security is more connected. As one of the basic doctrines of Islam,hajjitself has a strong effect on the forward direction, and it also plays a positive role for pilgrims. However, from the perspective of the design and implementation ofhajj’s concrete institutions, sectarian, sovereign and domestic political factors involved inhajjhave exerted both positive and negative influences separately or jointly. There has been a huge alienation effect in thehajjitself. Since 1979,hajjhas experienced many events, such as the changes of Saudi-Iranian relations, the dispute over regime’s legitimacy between Hamas and Fatah, Hamas’s internal power games, and the Saudi-Qatari crisis. In these events, various political or sectarian forces in the Islamic world have made use ofhajjas a natural game stage for their own demands. In the context ofhajj, around the sovereignty over Mecca,hajjquota, political activities during thehajj, the entry routes ofhajj, and thehajjperformance of the heads of state, government or the party leaders, the religious and secular forces took bilateral and multilateral fights or came to a compromise. These games have unavoidably influenced the Middle Eastern regional security.

KeyWordsIslamic Pilgrimage (hajj); Middle East Security; Religion and International Relations

AuthorNIU Song, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Middle East Studies Institute, Shanghai International Studies University.