“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 5 subjects have been adopted (The duration of these Publicly Offered Research studies is two years, i.e., until March of FY2024):

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

• A01The Concept and Application of Wafā (faithful execution of contracts) in Islamic law: Analyses of Socio-economic Trust Relationships

  Principal Investigator：Khashan AMMARRitsumeikan University

  This research discusses classical and contemporary Islamic economic activities while considering wafā (faithful execution of contracts), a key concept in Islamic economics, as the origin of “reliable mutual support” in Muslim socio-economics. This research targets “Islamic Trust Studies on Mutual Support”, analyzing traditional concepts using Islamic legal documents, examining traditions revitalized in modern times, doing case studies on mu’āwaḍāt exchanges (business based on buying and selling) and tabarru’āt exchanges (transactions based on donation), and analyses of Islamic trustworthiness through digitization using the latest financial technologies.

• A03Studies of Connectivity Narratives among Tatar Migrants Born in Japan, Manchuria, and the Korean Peninsula

  Principal Investigator：Sayoko NUMATATokyo University of Foreign Studies, ILCAA

  Immigrants are regarded as people “under state control” in nation states. Given this condition, what is the significance of their building relationships in host societies in independent ways? I believe we can identify the “independent” attitudes of immigrants by analyzing the significance they attach to building relationships with their host societies, based on the concept of positionality and considering the power relationships that underlie them. This research will focus on ethnic Tatars who emigrated from the Volga-Ural region to East Asia due to the Russian Revolution and later re-emigrated to Turkey or the United States. Based on their narratives, this research aims to elucidate the relationships of Tatar migrants involved in prewar Japanese politics and buffeted by waves of decolonization and (re-)construction of nationalities in the postwar period.

• B01Visual Analyses of Nominal Connectivity among 14th to 16th Century Arab Urban Elites

  Principal Investigator：Erina OTA-TSUKADA Asian Research Library, The University of Tokyo

  This research focuses on teacher-student relationships based on the certificates of association (ijāzas) that were commonly granted and received among Arab urban elites (scholars, administrative officials) from the 14th to the 16th century. The research mainly aims to elucidate how these unsubstantiated and indirect relationships, established through the ijāzas , helped improve the social status of individuals and families. I will also discuss the societal contexts under which this custom of creating nominal relationships came to be, using digital tools to visualize the connectivity among elites.

• B02Trust and Consensus Building in Muslim Majority Countries: A Struggle between Political Realities and a Human Spirit of Brotherhood and Mutual Respect

  Principal Investigator：Fukiko IKEHATARitsumeikan University

  The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is an intergovernmental organization which has principles based on Islam. This research will focus on the activities and networks of Muslim religious scholars (ulama) in the OIC, their related organizations, and international jurisprudence organizations. The research seeks to clarify what the formation of international standards based on Islam contributes to trust building, both among Muslim majority countries, and between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds. In particular, it will focus on Islamic reinterpretations of human rights standards and attempts at international consensus-building, to investigate how these processes relate to the dynamics of trust and mistrust in international politics.

• D02Emergencies and Food: Connectivity and Trust-Building Put to the Test in the Middle East and North Africa

  Principal Investigator：Yuko IDONiigata University of International and Information Studies

  Understanding food security to be “a form of connectivity based on multifaceted and organic relationships of trust regarding food”, this research explores the potential for stable food supply and regional cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa. Specifically, this study will identify vulnerabilities and shared challenges in the MENA region as they relate to food supply in time of emergency. The study will investigate examples including contemporary issues of food insecurities affected by the Ukraine crisis and the Black Sea blockade, historical lessons from interwar famines, and regional cooperation in Asia.