“Publicly Offered Research” refers to studies conducted in conjunction with “Planned Research” in order to reinforce, develop, and/or expand the scope of research in the research area “Connectivity and Trust Building in Islamic Civilization (Islamic Trust Studies).” In this fiscal year, we have established the following three categories and in total 7 subjects have been adopted (The duration of these Publicly Offered Research studies is two years, i.e., until March of FY2022):

1) Research studies that reinforce Planned Research (A01–B03)

• Expanding research studies on the time periods and regions covered by the subjects of Planned Research; and/or research studies drawing comparisons of different time periods and/or regions, including the comparison with those in the non-Muslim world.
• Research studies that employ different viewpoints and/or analytical frameworks on the subjects covered by each Planned Research
• Studies based on the approaches covering varied Planned Research

2) Studies employing digital humanities methods related to Research Group C

• Research employing digital humanities methods in the subjects not covered by Planned Research C01 to analyze the connectivity and trust building

3) Studies not covered by any Planned Research of this research project

• D01: Research on Islamic trust building in law, governance, development, media, education, literature, art, and gender etc.
• D02: Research on Islamic trust building and connectivity in global politics, economics and society
• D03: Research on Islamic trust building and connectivity through experimental approaches in the humanities and social sciences

Outline & Principal Investigator

• A01Trust Studies of Mutual Support under the Islamic Welfare System: New Developments in Endowment through Financial Digitalization

  Principal Investigator：Khashan AMMARRitsumeikan University

  This research focuses on Islamic welfare systems, which have attracted particular attention for having been governing the development of the Islamic Economy since the mid-20th century. It demonstrates that “trustworthiness of mutual support” enables waqf (endowment) and zakat (almsgiving), referring to historical Arabic documents on classical jurisprudence as well as cases reflecting contemporary practice. In addition, it applies the Islamic institutional theory and the perspectives provided by it to elaborate on the phenomenon that “traditional systems are revitalized.” An analysis of the current situation reveals that this revitalization is associated with the leveraging of the latest FinTech applications to facilitate the digitization of Islamic finances. Based on these analyses, this research verifies that “Trust Studies on Mutual Support” under the Islamic welfare systems has the potential to become a post-capitalist policy.

• A02Formation of an Intellectual Stratum for Inheriting Knowledge of Islamic Law in Russia in the 18th and 19th Centuries

  Principal Investigator：Masumi ISOGAITohoku University, Center for Northeast Asian Studies

  This research analyzes the dynamics of the intellectual and personal connections established by ulamas (Islamic legal scholars), who had inherited knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and other fields of Islamic scholarship in the Volga–Ural region of the Russian Empire from the 18th to the late 19th century. This research also aims to clarify their social stratum similar to an estate (soslovie); how it was formed and maintained; and the changes in this social stratum. In particular, this research reveals (1) how ulamas moved and formed or maintained human networks for scholarship as well as important academic hubs and (2) the process of emergence of ulama families through an analysis of marriages and establishing of affinal ties.

• A02Basic Research on “PlainUrdu” and the Multilingual Society

  Principal Investigator：Emiko SUNAGAThe University of Tokyo, U-PARL

  This topic entails basic research on the “language access” specific to Urdu. Urdu is a language widely spoken among Muslims in South Asia, Pakistan, and North India. One of the characteristic features of Urdu is there are significantly more second- and third-language Urdu speakers compared to native Urdu speakers. In this study, I reframe the process of language services in Pakistan, a multilingual state, and explore the potential for the establishment of “plain Urdu.”

• B01Research on the Human Nexus of the Civilian Elite Through a Digital Analysis of Pre-Modern Arabic Texts

  Principal Investigator：Erina OTA-TSUKADATokyo University of Foreign Studies, ILCAA

  This research analyzes the ways in which the Arab civilian elite, who had served as administrators in pre-modern Arab societies, established relationships with Turkic soldiers and maintained their status and authority based on their prosopography. The study adopts digital analysis by employing text encoding as a technique to visualize such a multilayered relationship. The objective is to visualize the human nexus, which had both positive and negative influences on the careers of the ruling elite, as well as to explore their survival strategies as a social group through quantitative analyses.

• C01Research on Political Mobilization of Islamist Groups Through the Techniques of Quantitative Text Analysis and Network Analysis

  Principal Investigator：Dai YAMAOKyushu University

  This Publicly Offered Research adopts the techniques of quantitative text analysis and network analysis to elaborate on how Islamist groups mobilize people and reflect on the ways in which such activities give rise to divisive politics and divided societies in the Middle Eastern Islamic world. In particular, this research gathers data not only from published materials such as newspapers and written statements by several Shiite Islamist groups but also by means of platforms such as social media that incorporate big data algorithms. The analysis is carried out by means of the organic unification of conventional analyses through area studies and quantitative analysis.

• D02Research in Sociology of Knowledge on Intellectual Dynamism about Islam and the Understanding of Muslims in Modern Japan

  Principal Investigator：Kenji KURODANational Museum of Ethnology

  This research discusses the approaches to Islam in the last days of the Tokugawa Regime, focusing on travel records written by members of the Japanese missions to Europe and referring to their descriptions about direct encounters with Muslims in the countries such as Egypt during the outward and inward journey. This research will also delve into the “understanding of others,” investigating how the Japanese perceived Islam and Muslims including the feeling of confusion in the period that there were few connections between them.

• D03Changes in Islamic Connectivity by the Qur’an through SNSs

  Principal Investigator：Tatsuro FUTATSUYAMAKagawa University

  The objective of this research is to discuss changes in Islamic connectivities by the changes in communication media for the Qur’an. Specifically, this research formulates case analyses pertaining to changes in the integrations of and divides in Islamic connectivities. It conducts such analysis based on the following hypothesis: Although conventional media tools such as Mushaf and CD have established vertical power relationships, the Qur’an posted and shared on digital platforms such as SNS has been instrumental in establishing horizontal social relationships.