Turkish Islamic leader Fethullah Gulen offers a distinctive view of responsibility, which is explored here for the first time. Simon Robinson shows how Gulen's writings, influenced by both orthodox Islam and the Sufi tradition, contribute a dynamic, holistic and interactive view of responsibility which locates personal identity, agency and freedom in plural relationships. The Spirituality of Responsibility also explores the practice of responsibility in Gulen's life and in the Hizmet movement which he founded. Gulen has been at the centre of many controversies, including in his Movement's relationship with the Turkish government. Charting Gulen's response, from the Israeli Gaza blockade through to more recent crises, the book critiques aspects of both this practice and underlying ideas, and argues that responsibility, focused in dialogue and peace-building, is continuing to evolve in the leadership and practice of the movement, providing a challenge to conventional views of governance and responsibility. This book is an important contribution both to the theological and philosophical debate about responsibility but also to the practice of responsibility focused in creative action, debates in business and contemporary society about responsible governance and enterprise.

This companion volume to the highly successful Islam in Malaysian Foreign Policy explores the extent to which foreign policy in the world's largest Muslim nation has been influenced by Islamic considerations.

This booklet was not conceived with a motive or intent to appease, antagonize, or charm. It was written for the specific purpose of alerting denominative Muslims to a variety of self-inflicted injuries that have emanated from the ineptness to effectively address those obtrusive impediments that have progressively eroded the spiritual affinity once shared by Muslims.

The Saudi "ulama" are known for their strong opposition to Shi'a theology, Shi'a communities in Saudi Arabia, and external Shi'a influences such as Iran and Hezbollah. Their potent hostility, combined with the influence of the 'ulama' within the Saudi state and the Muslim world, has led some commentators to blame the Saudi 'ulama' for what they see as growing sectarian conflict in the Middle East. However, there is very little understanding of what reasoning lies behind the positions of the 'ulama' and there is a significant gap in the literature dealing with the polemics directed at the Shi'a by the Saudi religious establishment. In Saudi Clerics and Shi'a Islam, Raihan Ismail looks at the discourse of the Saudi "ulama" regarding Shiism and Shi'a communities, analysing their sermons, lectures, publications and religious rulings. The book finds that the attitudes of the "ulama" are not only governed by their theological convictions regarding Shiism, but are motivated by political events involving the Shi'a within the Saudi state and abroad. It also discovers that political events affect the intensity and frequency of the rhetoric of the ulama at any given time.

The Iranian city experienced a major transformation when the Pahlavi Dynasty initiated a project of modernization in the 1920s. The Rite of Urban Passage investigates this process by focusing on the spatial dynamics of Muharram processions, a ritual that commemorates the tragic massacre of Hussein and his companions in 680 CE. In doing so, this volume offers not only an alternative approach to understanding the process of urban transformation, but also a spatial genealogy of Muharram rituals that provides a platform for developing a fresh spatial approach to ritual studies.

Exploring the relationship between fiction and nation formation in the Muslim world through 12 unique studies from Azerbaijan, Libya, Iran, Algeria, and Yemen, amongst others, this book shows how fiction reflects and relates the complex entanglements of nation, religion, and modernity in the process of political and cultural identity formation.

This book reveals how, for well over a millennium and across three continents - Asia, Africa, and Europe - non-Muslims who were vanquished by jihad wars became forced tributaries (called dhimmi in Arabic) in lieu of being slain. Under the dhimmi religious caste system, non-Muslims were subjected to legal and financial oppression, as well as social isolation. Extensive primary and secondary source materials, many translated here for the first time into English, are presented, making clear that jihad conquests were brutal, imperialist advances, which spurred waves of Muslims to expropriate a vast expanse of lands and subdue millions of indigenous peoples. Finally, the book examines how jihad war, as a permanent and uniquely Islamic institution, ultimately regulates the relations of Muslims with non-Muslims to this day. Scholars, educators, and interested lay readers will find this collection an invaluable resource.

'Queen Sheba Talking': Finally Queen Sheba is found It is a fascinating investigation leading to the where about Queen Sheba is hiding? 3000 years of colourful history is revealed by Hisham Amili. Who was Queen Sheba and did King Solomon really exist? Indeed was Jerusalem built when Queen Sheba visited Solomon or did she visit him in Mecca instead? 'Queen Sheba talking' is revealing many secrets of the Near East Civilisations, Camels, Jews and Ethiopians? The book entertains the possibility that Queen Sheba and king Solomon were neither neighbours nor prominent, merely virtual leaders. On the other hand 'Queen Sheba Talking' provides great evidence to support their true existence but 150 years after their traditional biblical dates. Unlike Amili's previous books, there are many charts and tables in his new 'Queen Sheba talking' simplifying the tale and serving the feeds that led to her throne. It is a fascinating read with great imagination based on actual records of history and antiquities . Contrary to Napoleon, Alexandra, Cleopatra or even Hitler, the story of Queen Sheba has greater impact and more secrets to explore. It is a powerful true story of love, religion, civilisation, trade, gender and ultimate control on people and their aspiration.

In light of the growing phenomenon of Islamic schools in the United States and Europe, this compelling study outlines whether these schools share similar traits with other religious schools, while posing new challenges to education policy. Merry elaborates an ideal type of Islamic philosophy of education in order to examine the specific challenges that Islamic schools face, comparing the different educational realities facing Muslim populations in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States.

The book describes the challenge of modernity faced by Muslims and Christians and the issue of religious pluralism. It describes Muslims' encounters with Christianity in the first half of this century and their participation in organised dialogues initiated by the Churches in the second half. It highlights their apprehensions and expectations in dialogue and issues of co-existence in the world today. The book focuses on six prominent Muslim personalities who represent a wide spectrum of Muslim opinion and three international organizations and their attitude towards dialogue.

In 1934 the New York Public Library (NYPL) purchased a sizable collection of 250 volumes of Arabic manuscripts through the fund for Semitic literature that had been provided by Jacob Heinrich Schiff. Ms New York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division, Arabic Manuscripts Collection, Volume 51985A, a facsimile of which is included in the present publication, belongs to the Shi'i material among the collection. It is a multitext volume of 269 leaves which in its present form comprises seven individual works. It is hoped that the present facsimile edition will enable and encourage scholars to delve into the materials it contains.

The history of Sunni theology is little known, but the impact of its demise has profoundly shaped modern Islam. This book explores the correlation between anti-theological thought and the rise of Islamism in the twentieth century by examining Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and the leadership of Umar al-Tilmisani (d. 1986). The sociopolitical implications of anti-theological creedalism and its postcolonial intermarriage with the modern nation-state are also analyzed. Ultimately, this study seeks to know whether a revival of Sunni theology, as a rational discourse on religion, can dilute the absolutism of increasingly pervasive Islamist thought in the contemporary Muslim world.