Sociologies of Palestine with Suhad Daher-Nashif
Sociologies of Palestine Session 3: A BSA Members-Only Event
6 March 2025 (12.00–13.00 GMT)
Online
About the Event
Most of the Arab countries are characterised by the inextricable ties between the nation-state and the religious institution, when the later has always constituted as the state’s apparatus to govern populations in different aspects of life. This use comes as crucial during instability and crises times such as pandemics, nature disasters, wars, conflict and dysfunctional institutes like in the Palestinian context. For Muslim Palestinians, Fatwas are among the important sources of knowledge, especially on contemporary issues that have no reference or answer in the holy texts; the Quran and the Sunnah Nabawiyyah. These issues are mostly related to health and death, and necessities that requires permission for the forbidden. Historically, the Palestinian Supreme Council for Fatwa was established by presidential decree directly after the Oslo Accords, making it one of the nation-state institutes and indicating its expected role in building the Palestinian autonomous governance. Drawing on thematic analysis of archival data, mainly official fatwas and decisions, this presentation will shed light on fatwas of health and death in the Palestinian context, and how these could frame and explain some health and death behaviours witnessed during the current war on Gaza.
The study adopts Foucault’s Governmentality as the main framework to understand how Fatwas issued by the official religious-state institutes play major role in shaping knowledge, perceptions, attitudes and behaviours. In this case, Fatwas represent the fine “art of governance”, and the invisible but also accepted apparatuses of control, without direct or distinct activation of repressive tools.
Our Speaker
Suhad Daher-Nashif is Lecturer in Sociology and Anthropology of Health, and Programme Director for MSc in Global Healthcare Leadership at Keele University, UK.
Registration
This members-only event is free to attend but registration is required.