Soraya Beheshti | Columbia University (original) (raw)

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Papers by Soraya Beheshti

Blue-and-white porcelains are undoubtedly emblematic of Chinese craftsmanship, and have been so f... more Blue-and-white porcelains are undoubtedly emblematic of Chinese craftsmanship, and have been so for several centuries. However, in this paper, I analyze a quintessential piece of blue-and-white porcelain for the purpose of explicating a wider story about East-West Asian relations -- one of exchange, mercantilism, travel, transformation and craftsmanship. I explore how the ubiquity of cobalt blue on Chinese porcelains is evidence of flourishing trade and cultural exchange between East and the Middle East/West Asia (specifically, the areas today known as China, Iran and Iraq). On the level of the specific, I employ an artistic analysis of the artefact to demonstrate how the Yuan dynasty ushered in a widespread cultural transformation through the incorporation of vast regions of the globe into its umbrella of influence, and through the centralization this dynasty undertook thereafter. However, this paper ultimately questions the teleology of ownership as it relates to cultural claims in the context of contesting and changing powers.

The issue of democracy in Iraq, when critically engaged, conjures up more questions than it can h... more The issue of democracy in Iraq, when critically engaged, conjures up more questions than it can hope to answer. What kind of ‘democracy’ is implicated in this discourse? It’s important to discern the distinction between democracy as an object (‘​Capital ‘D’ Democracy’)​ and democracy as a process, for democratic processes certainly existed in Iraqi communities, and were notably absent in many (but not all) of the projects undertaken by the occupying forces. Other questions arise that not only seek answers, but in return, implore us to inquire further. ​For whom does Democracy serve?​ With many un-democratic and oppressive establishments around the world, at what point does the ‘​Democracy-Industrial-Complex’​ mobilize? ​Why Iraq? Why now?​ These questions lead us away from the surface-level policy discourse (about WMDs, biological weapons, Al Qaeda, etc.) and into the subversive forces that underlie and govern military mobilization. They are illuminating, not for their own sake, but when collocated with the existence of the features which Democracy promised to bring to Iraq, but which the 2003 war made unattainable.

This paper aims to understand how the Qur’an prescribes relations between humans and animals. I d... more This paper aims to understand how the Qur’an prescribes relations between humans and animals. I discuss the Qur’anic epistemologies of morality and bring them into conversation with esoteric claims of hypernomian versus baseline morality. Various Sufi scholars consider morality to be tiered, with taqlīd serving as a baseline. This paper will argue why treatment of animals beyond what is required might be considered hypernomian and not antinomian. I seek to negate the association of hypernomian moral decisions such as vegetarianism with sacrilege by arguing why they are an extension of, and not in defiance to, shari’a morality. I reference similar delineations of that which is permitted versus that which is preferred, such as in the case of qisas and remittance. This paper will also necessarily deliberate on the meaning (or meanings) of taqwā, and how it relates to human ethical formation.
On the level of the problematic, this paper will engage with interpretations of Genesis and the role of man as khilafa of the world, as well as the epistemological and circumstantial significances of sacrifice, personhood, dominion, property and custodianship.

Drafts by Soraya Beheshti

The Transformation of Muslim Subjectivity after Modernity : Exploring the Possibilities of Orthodoxy and Tradition in Dynamic Pre-Modern Social Worlds, 2017

This paper seeks to understand how the Muslim subject was transformed in the Modern and post-Mode... more This paper seeks to understand how the Muslim subject was transformed in the Modern and post-Modern eras. Specifically, it attempts to complexify notions of 'Tradition' or 'Orthodoxy' by rightly situating historic 'Muslim' movements in the context of a dynamic Muslim world, in which freedom of practice was necessitated by the inability to homogenize belief prior to the advent of modern technological forms. Moreover, it emplaces these movements in the context of social and political worlds where debates on issues pertinent to the community of believers occurred frequently.

With Muslims dispersed over vast regions--across continents, languages and ethnic groups--the ability to control information and regulate practice by dominant political epistemes was largely ineffective compared with the forms of coercion and control that are made possible in the present day. Without access to the written word or mass media, Muslims around the world adapted 'Islam' to the local contexts at which it arrived. It is only recently, in great part due to the tools enabled by Modern transformation, that the idea of a static, un-moving 'Orthodox' 'Tradition' could be fabricated -- usually at the aim and service of power.

Blue-and-white porcelains are undoubtedly emblematic of Chinese craftsmanship, and have been so f... more Blue-and-white porcelains are undoubtedly emblematic of Chinese craftsmanship, and have been so for several centuries. However, in this paper, I analyze a quintessential piece of blue-and-white porcelain for the purpose of explicating a wider story about East-West Asian relations -- one of exchange, mercantilism, travel, transformation and craftsmanship. I explore how the ubiquity of cobalt blue on Chinese porcelains is evidence of flourishing trade and cultural exchange between East and the Middle East/West Asia (specifically, the areas today known as China, Iran and Iraq). On the level of the specific, I employ an artistic analysis of the artefact to demonstrate how the Yuan dynasty ushered in a widespread cultural transformation through the incorporation of vast regions of the globe into its umbrella of influence, and through the centralization this dynasty undertook thereafter. However, this paper ultimately questions the teleology of ownership as it relates to cultural claims in the context of contesting and changing powers.

The issue of democracy in Iraq, when critically engaged, conjures up more questions than it can h... more The issue of democracy in Iraq, when critically engaged, conjures up more questions than it can hope to answer. What kind of ‘democracy’ is implicated in this discourse? It’s important to discern the distinction between democracy as an object (‘​Capital ‘D’ Democracy’)​ and democracy as a process, for democratic processes certainly existed in Iraqi communities, and were notably absent in many (but not all) of the projects undertaken by the occupying forces. Other questions arise that not only seek answers, but in return, implore us to inquire further. ​For whom does Democracy serve?​ With many un-democratic and oppressive establishments around the world, at what point does the ‘​Democracy-Industrial-Complex’​ mobilize? ​Why Iraq? Why now?​ These questions lead us away from the surface-level policy discourse (about WMDs, biological weapons, Al Qaeda, etc.) and into the subversive forces that underlie and govern military mobilization. They are illuminating, not for their own sake, but when collocated with the existence of the features which Democracy promised to bring to Iraq, but which the 2003 war made unattainable.

This paper aims to understand how the Qur’an prescribes relations between humans and animals. I d... more This paper aims to understand how the Qur’an prescribes relations between humans and animals. I discuss the Qur’anic epistemologies of morality and bring them into conversation with esoteric claims of hypernomian versus baseline morality. Various Sufi scholars consider morality to be tiered, with taqlīd serving as a baseline. This paper will argue why treatment of animals beyond what is required might be considered hypernomian and not antinomian. I seek to negate the association of hypernomian moral decisions such as vegetarianism with sacrilege by arguing why they are an extension of, and not in defiance to, shari’a morality. I reference similar delineations of that which is permitted versus that which is preferred, such as in the case of qisas and remittance. This paper will also necessarily deliberate on the meaning (or meanings) of taqwā, and how it relates to human ethical formation.
On the level of the problematic, this paper will engage with interpretations of Genesis and the role of man as khilafa of the world, as well as the epistemological and circumstantial significances of sacrifice, personhood, dominion, property and custodianship.

The Transformation of Muslim Subjectivity after Modernity : Exploring the Possibilities of Orthodoxy and Tradition in Dynamic Pre-Modern Social Worlds, 2017

This paper seeks to understand how the Muslim subject was transformed in the Modern and post-Mode... more This paper seeks to understand how the Muslim subject was transformed in the Modern and post-Modern eras. Specifically, it attempts to complexify notions of 'Tradition' or 'Orthodoxy' by rightly situating historic 'Muslim' movements in the context of a dynamic Muslim world, in which freedom of practice was necessitated by the inability to homogenize belief prior to the advent of modern technological forms. Moreover, it emplaces these movements in the context of social and political worlds where debates on issues pertinent to the community of believers occurred frequently.

With Muslims dispersed over vast regions--across continents, languages and ethnic groups--the ability to control information and regulate practice by dominant political epistemes was largely ineffective compared with the forms of coercion and control that are made possible in the present day. Without access to the written word or mass media, Muslims around the world adapted 'Islam' to the local contexts at which it arrived. It is only recently, in great part due to the tools enabled by Modern transformation, that the idea of a static, un-moving 'Orthodox' 'Tradition' could be fabricated -- usually at the aim and service of power.