درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The present study aims to examine the ethical and jurisprudential aspects of animal rights in the context of war according to Islamic and Christian doctrines. This topic holds a significant ethical and legal position within traditions, reflecting different historical and cultural backgrounds as well as varied approaches to the issue. The primary research question is to analyze and critically compare Islamic and Christian perspectives on respecting animal rights during armed conflict, while also examining the related intellectual developments. The study aims to delineate the theoretical and practical frameworks of both religions in this field and to extract their points of convergence and divergence. The research methodology is based on a content analysis of sacred texts, jurisprudential and theological literature, and a descriptive-analytical review of the viewpoints of prominent thinkers from both religious schools. The findings indicate that within Islam, the killing and abuse of animals during war are strictly limited and only permitted in cases of necessity, with adherence to ethical principles. These teachings have demonstrated remarkable stability and continuity from the inception of Islam to the present. In contrast, Christian teachings have historically legitimized and, at times, mandated the killing of animals during wartime. Until the late twentieth century, the dominant Christian stance was not strongly protective of animal rights. However, contemporary philosophical and cultural transformations within Christianity have led to a fundamental reassessment and orientation towards the preservation and protection of animal rights in armed conflict. This study demonstrates that while Islam maintains a consistent theoretical and practical position, Christianity has undergone a significant historical evolution in its attitude towards animal rights during wartime.

The desire to be present in religious places is not confined to any one group; all members of society wish to visit and benefit from the spiritual atmosphere of such sites. This desire is steadily increasing among diverse social groups. Persons with disabilities are among these groups; due to the limitations they face, they have fewer opportunities to be present in crowded places. This article seeks to identify the important needs of disabled pilgrims when visiting the Shrine of Imam al-Rida (PBUH). It employs a mixed qualitative–quantitative approach, drawing upon documents and theoretical studies, expert interviews, and content analysis. Six principal dimensions and thirty-one components of need were identified, followed by analysis of their causal relations using fuzzy cognitive mapping. According to the findings, accessibility facilitation, environmental adaptation, and rehabilitation constitute the three main dimensions of need, each with associated components that point to practical strategies.

In this article I draw attention to a little-studied phenomenon in the study of pilgrimage and sacred sites: how famed pilgrimage locations and routes may be replicated on a smaller scale in other locations. The article focuses mainly on Japanese pilgrimages, using primarily the example of the 1300-kilometre-long Shikoku pilgrimage, and shows how local small-scale versions of this pilgrimage developed historically throughout Japan from the seventeenth century onwards and were also taken abroad by Japanese migrants. A key factor in the development of these localised versions of the pilgrimage was that, for most people in earlier times, long distance pilgrimages were difficult if not impossible. Yet there was a widespread sense that such pilgrimages and the sacred figures associated with them were universal in nature and should be available to all. As such, localised replications on a smaller scale were developed so that those unable to go to sacred sites and make long journeys to distant famed pilgrimage sites, could have access in their own localities. While outlining key factors behind such developments in Japanese contexts the article shows that this is not something only evident in Japan; it is a phenomenon found globally and across numerous religious traditions and geographic settings. Examples are provided of similar developments in Catholic, Hindu and Buddhist contexts globally. In outlining some of the underlying implications of this phenomenon, of pilgrimages and sacred sites being replicated in localised versions, the article particularly highlights the issue of movement and mobility, a topic that has rightly been highlighted as an analytical theme in studies of pilgrimage. However, thus far, discussions of mobility and movement in pilgrimage contexts have focused on movement to and around sacred sites, and on the people—pilgrims—who do this. As the article argues, movement can also go the other way: of pilgrimages and sacred sites moving to where potential pilgrims are, and it flags up this issue along with the need for more research into replicated pilgrimages, as key areas of pilgrimage studies research.