Islamic law has traditionally prohibited women from being prayer leaders and heads of state. A small number of Muslims today are beginning to challenge this stance, but they face considerable opposition from the broader Muslim community. 'Women and Leadership in Islamic Law' examines the assumption within much existing feminist scholarship that the patriarchal nature of pre-Islamic and early Muslim Near Eastern Society is the primary reason for the development of Islamic legal rulings prohibiting women from leadership positions. It claims that the evolution of Islamic law was a complex process, shaped by numerous cultural, historical, political and social factors, as well as scriptural sources whose importance cannot be dismissed. Therefore, the book critically examines a broad survey of legal works from the four canonical Sunni schools of law to determine the factors that influenced the development of the legal rulings prohibiting women from assuming various leadership roles. The passages that elaborate rulings about women's leadership are presented in translation as an appendix to the research, and are then subjected to a variety of critical analyses to identify the reasons, influences, and assumptions underlying those rulings. This is the first time works of all four schools of law have been subjected to this kind of analysis for the express purpose of determining the extent to which gender attitudes have influenced and determined the rulings. This book will therefore be a vital resource for students and scholars of Islamic Studies, Religious Studies and Gender Studies.

This unique and comprehensive book is an authoritative guide to dermatological conditions for black populations in Africa. As well as being an essential reference for all doctors, healthcare and voluntary workers in Africa, it is of interest throughout the world, given the increase in presentation of such conditions everywhere as a result of intercontinental travel. Conditions are described in a consistent format for ease of use. The book contains over six hundred clear colour pictures of dermatological cases to greatly assist the recognition, diagnosis and treatment of both common and rare skin conditions.

This volume brings together scholarship from two different, and until now, largely separate literatures-the study of the children of immigrants and the study of Muslim minority communities-in order to explore the changing nature of ethnic identity, religious practice, and citizenship in the contemporary western world. With attention to the similarities and differences between the European and American experiences of growing up Muslim, the contributing authors ask what it means for young people to be both Muslim and American or European, how they reconcile these, at times, conflicting identities, how they reconcile the religious and gendered cultural norms of their immigrant families with the more liberal ideals of the western societies that they live in, and how they deal with these issues through mobilization and political incorporation. A transatlantic research effort that brings together work from the tradition in diaspora studies with research on the second generation, to examine social, cultural, and political dimensions of the second-generation Muslim experience in Europe and the United States, this book will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in migration, diaspora, race and ethnicity, religion and integration.

The most comprehensive glossary to date of Hui Muslim terms and the first to fully match the Chinese term (stated in Chinese script and pinyin) to its Arabic or Persian counterpart (stated in Arabic script with Latin transcription).

This book analyses Islam as a form of 'travelling theory' in the context of contemporary global transformations such as diasporic communities, transnational social movements, global cities and information technologies. Peter Mandaville examines how 'globalization' is manifested as lived experience through a discussion of debates over the meaning of Muslim identity, political community and the emergence of a 'critical Islam'.
This radical book argues that translocal forces are leading the emergence of a wider Muslim public sphere. Now available in paperback, it contains a new preface setting the debates in the context of September 11th.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203453158

This ethnography of Muslim life among the Kazaks of Central Asia describes the sacralisation of land and ethnic identity, local understanding of Islamic purity, the Kazak ancestor cult and domestic spirituality, and pilgrimage to the tombs of Sufi saints.

While the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc has contributed to the decline of communism as a revolutionary political force, religious and ethnic issues have now assumed renewed and increased significance in South East Asia. Since the Islamic resurgence of the early 1980s and 1990s, elements of a more radical political Islam have migrated from the Middle East to Asia. If left unchecked these radical elements could aggravate a number of security and political crises in countries weakened by the consequences of the devastating Asian financial crisis. In an increasingly globalized world, it is not only the exchange of tangible goods across borders that is transmitted with multiplying efficiency and speed, but the exchange of ideas across seamless borders, assisted by the ever-improving communications technology of the Internet and electronic mail. Paradoxically, globalization both creates social change that can spark a backlash in the form of Islamic radicalism, and provides improved means for the spread of Islamic ideals.

This critical volume examines the advance and contours of Islamicism and analyzes the potential consequences that such activity poses in South East Asian region. The study tracks the activities of external countries such as Iran, Libya, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia and highlights the key roles these countries play in East Asian economies, politics, religion, and weapons procurement. It focuses on four locations in South East Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, and southern Thailand. The introduction treats the Islamic resurgence in Asia, its links to Middle Eastern Islam, and its external influences. Chapters 1 and 2 examine "Islam and Politics in the New Indonesia" and "Islam, Society, Politics, and Change in Malaysia"; chapters 3 and 4 discuss in detail "Militant Islamic Extremism in the Southern Philippines" and "Militant Islamic Separatism in Southern Thailand." A conclusion follows with an assessment of religious extremism with its concomitant volatility and unpredictability in the regions discussed and an overview of the extra-regional sources of radicalization and the forums convened to combat such.

Islam in Asia highlights the range of variables-social, religious, economic, and cultural-that stimulate or impede the development of militant Islam in Southeast Asia. It offers through four central case studies an insight into the workings of these factors in producing particular developments with regard to Islam and suggests likely short- and medium-term prognoses for the future.

While the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc has contributed to the decline of communism as a revolutionary political force, religious and ethnic issues have now assumed renewed and increased significance in South East Asia. Since the Islamic resurgence of the early 1980s and 1990s, elements of a more radical political Islam have migrated from the Middle East to Asia. If left unchecked these radical elements could aggravate a number of security and political crises in countries weakened by the consequences of the devastating Asian financial crisis. In an increasingly globalized world, it is not only the exchange of tangible goods across borders that is transmitted with multiplying efficiency and speed, but the exchange of ideas across seamless borders, assisted by the ever-improving communications technology of the Internet and electronic mail. Paradoxically, globalization both creates social change that can spark a backlash in the form of Islamic radicalism, and provides improved means for the spread of Islamic ideals.

This critical volume examines the advance and contours of Islamicism and analyzes the potential consequences that such activity poses in South East Asian region. The study tracks the activities of external countries such as Iran, Libya, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia and highlights the key roles these countries play in East Asian economies, politics, religion, and weapons procurement. It focuses on four locations in South East Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, and southern Thailand. The introduction treats the Islamic resurgence in Asia, its links to Middle Eastern Islam, and its external influences. Chapters 1 and 2 examine "Islam and Politics in the New Indonesia" and "Islam, Society, Politics, and Change in Malaysia"; chapters 3 and 4 discuss in detail "Militant Islamic Extremism in the Southern Philippines" and "Militant Islamic Separatism in Southern Thailand." A conclusion follows with an assessment of religious extremism with its concomitant volatility and unpredictability in the regions discussed and an overview of the extra-regional sources of radicalization and the forums convened to combat such.

Islam in Asia highlights the range of variables-social, religious, economic, and cultural-that stimulate or impede the development of militant Islam in Southeast Asia. It offers through four central case studies an insight into the workings of these factors in producing particular developments with regard to Islam and suggests likely short- and medium-term prognoses for the future.

For fifty years Bärbel Inhelder (1913-1997) was the research companion of Jean Piaget. In this unique volume, published in her honour, leading international researchers examine the various aspects of her work and ideas and her contribution to developmental psychology.
Following an initial chapter establishing Inhelder's stature as an independent researcher in her own right, the various research topics that she explored are reviewed and discussed with specific reference to her own perspective and in the chronological order in which she approached them. While the book explores Inhelder's work with her more famous colleague, it also highlights areas of research in which her ideas were at variance with those of Piaget, such as mental imagery, and areas in which her innovations have not been fully recognised, such as her discovery of the formal operations stage - an event usually attributed to Piaget - and her introduction of longitudinal studies in the field of cognitive development. Her research, viewpoint and contribution in other fields such as mental retardation, learning, and cross-cultural issues in development are also discussed. The final chapter, written by Inhelder herself, deals with experimental reasoning in children and adolescents and provides a glimpse of her creativity.

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Self and Sovereignty surveys the role of individual Muslim men and women within India and Pakistan from 1850 through to decolonisation and the partition period.
Commencing in colonial times, this book explores and interprets the historical processes through which the perception of the Muslim individual and the community of Islam has been reconfigured over time. Self and Sovereignty examines the relationship between Islam and nationalism and the individual, regional, class and cultural differences that have shaped the discourse and politics of Muslim identity. As well as fascinating discussion of political and religious movements, culture and art, this book includes analysis of:
* press, poetry and politics in late nineteenth century India
* the politics of language and identity - Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi
* Muslim identity, cultural differnce and nationalism
* the Punjab and the politics of Union and Disunion
* the creation of Pakistan
Covering a period of immense upheaval and sometimes devastating violence, this work is an important and enlightening insight into the history of Muslims in South Asia.

Answers the questions: what is the background to issues in external and internal politics? What is the Turks' opinion on European and Turkish identity? On Cyprus? On the role of the generals? Why do human rights problems linger on? What is behind the Kurdish question? Is Turkey religiously split? What are the pros and cons of Turkish association with the EU?

Surface decoration has always played a fundamental role in Islamic architecture. As human representation is forbidden in Islamic religious monuments, designers employed mosaics, stucco, brickwork and ceramics, and the vigorous use of brilliant colour to reach unparalleled heights of expression. It is this ornamental dimension of Islamic architecture that is explored in this magnificent volume. Rather than limiting itself to an exclusively historical or chronological perspective, Ornament and Decoration in Islamic Architecture presents four successive approaches to its subject. The first part offers an overview of Islamic architecture, discussing the great diversity it contains. Dealing exclusively with techniques, the second part considers the materials most often used as well as the expertise of the builders and Muslim decorative artists, and the third part explores themes in Islamic ornamentation. Section four discusses aesthetics, and studies the relationship between the buildings - the structures or their architectonic components - and their ornamental coverings. Each of these topics is presented through a number of outstanding examples and then through comparable monuments from all over the Islamic world. For anyone in thrall to such great wonders as the Taj Mahal and the Alhambra, and for everyone interested in the world of Islam, this lavish publication will be indispensable.

This book explores the relationship between transnational and local Islam as expressed in public discourse and policy-making, as represented in the local press. It does so against the background of local governments in majority Muslim regions across Indonesia promoting and passing regulations that mandate forms of social or economic behaviour seen to be compatible with Islam. The book situates the political construction of Islamic behaviour in West Sumatra, and in Indonesia more generally, within an historical context in which rulers have in some way engaged with aspects of Islamic practice since the Islamic kingdom era. The book shows that while formal local Islamic regulations of this kind constitute a new development, their introduction has been a product of the same kinds of interactions between international, national and local elements that have characterised the relationship between Islam and politics through the course of Indonesian history. The book challenges the scholarly tendency to over-emphasise local political concerns when explaining this phenomenon, arguing that it is necessary to forefront the complex relationship between local politics and developments in the wider Islamic world. To illustrate the relationship between transnational and local Islam, the book uses detailed case studies of four domains of regulation: Islamic finance, zakat, education and behaviour and dress, in a number of local government areas within the province.

An anthropological study of Berber society and particularly the Rifian tribes of Morocoo, a Muslim society. This book deals with the background of these tribes, their settlement in various areas and contemporary issues.

This book critically engages with the contemporary breakdown of trust between Muslim and non-Muslim communities in the West. It argues that a crisis of trust currently hampers intercultural relations and obstructs full participation in citizenship and civil society for those who fall prey to the suspicions of the state and their fellow citizens. This crisis of trust presents a challenge to the plurality of modern societies where religious identities have come to demand an equal recognition and political accommodation which is not consistently awarded across Europe, especially in nations which view themselves as secular, or where Islamic culture is seen as alien. This volume of interdisciplinary essays by leading scholars explores the theme of trust and multiculturalism across a range of perspectives, employing insights from political science, sociology, literature, ethnography and cultural studies. It provides an urgent critical response to the challenging contexts of multiculturalism for Muslims in both Europe and the USA. Taken together, the contributions suggest that the institutionalisation of multiculturalism as a state-led vehicle for tolerance and integration requires a certain type of trustworthy 'performance' from minority groups, particularly Muslims. Even when this performance is forthcoming, existing discourses of integration and underlying patterns of mistrust can contribute to Muslim alienation on the one hand, and rising Islamophobia on the other.

This powerful book exposes how gendered Orientalism is wielded to justify Western imperialism.Over the last ten years, Western governments and mainstream media have utilized concepts of white masculine supremacy and feminine helplessness, juxtaposed with Orientalist images depicting women of color as mysterious, sinister and dangerous to support war. Oscillating between "Mrs. Anthrax," female suicide bombers and tragic, helpless victims, representations of "brown women" have spawned both rescue narratives and terrorist alerts.Examining media and pop culture from Sex and the City 2 to Vanity Fair and Time Magazine, Robin Riley uses transnational feminist analysis to reveal how this kind of transnational sexism towards Muslim women in general and Afghan and Iraqi women in particular has led to a new form of gender imperialism.

Information about Islamic finance in European countries is usually provided by professional-style reports, offering practical data on implementation of standardized products. However, precise developments about material legal provisions applicable to contracts and their actual legal regime are not often detailed. In order to fill this gap, 15 researchers from across Europe contributed to this project. They describe the state of actual Islamic finance in 10 European countries, as well as applicable EU law. By combining legal analysis with statistical description of existing practices and social demand, this book provides an exhaustive account of the current potential of Islamic finance in Europe.

An annotated index and general orientation of Islamic art collections in museums, libraries, other institutions and on private hands. Includes a short description of each collection, its main characteristics, documentation, publications and exhibitions.

One of the primary aims of the book is to explore and formulate several Muslim legal theorists' pragmatic theories, communicative principles and linguistic views, construct them in the form of models and set them within a general uniform framework.

This is a reconstruction of the history of the Hui Muslim community in China (known as the Chinese Muslims as distinct from the Turkic Muslims such as the Uyghurs). Traces their history from the earliest period of Islam in China up to the present day. See also Jianping Wang's 'Glossary'.

This book is regarded as a personal manifesto, a statement through the history of partition and its aftermath, of the values which India's Muslims should cherish and of the national priorities they should promote. It provides the reference-point for understanding India's Partition and its legacy.

"Max Weber and Islam" is a major effort by Islamic-studies specialists to reexamine and appraise Max Weber's perspectives on Islam and its historical development. Eight specialists on Islam and two sociologists explore many dimensions of Weber's comments on Islam, along with Weber's conceptual framework. The volume's introduction links the discussions to contemporary issues and debates. Wolfgang Schluchter reconstructs Weber's conceptual apparatus as it applies to Islam and its historical development. In subsequent chapters, Islamic specialists consider such major topics as the developmental history of Islam, Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic reform, Islamic law and capitalism, secularization in Islam, as well as the value of attempting to apply Weber's concept of sects to Islam. While some authors find flaws in Weber's factual knowledge of Islam, they also find considerable merit in the kinds of questions Weber raised. Contributors to the volume include highly respected contemporary international scholars of Islam: Ira Lapidus, Nehemia Levtzion, Richard M. Eaton, Peter Hardy, Rudolph Peters, Barbara Metcalf, Francis Robinson, Patricia Crone, Michael Cook, and S.N. Eisenstadt. Toby Huff's introduction not only knits the thematics of the separate essays together but adds its own stresses while engaging the contributors in dialogue and debate about fundamental issues. This acute collective analysis establishes a new benchmark for understanding Weber and Islam. This book also provides an up-to-date overview of the developmental history of many aspects of Islam. A major reappraisal of the entire span of Max Weber's sociological thought on Islam, this book will appeal to a wide range of scholars and laymen interested in the Islamic world. It will be of particular interest to sociologists specializing in religion and Middle East area specialists.

This second volume of studies by the late Nehemia Levtzion pursues the themes covered in his previous collection, Islam in West Africa; it also maintains a particular interest in the history of Africa while including broader chronological and geographic perspectives. It includes four new papers, delivered by the author in the years before his death, specially prepared for publication in this volume. In the first part, there is an emphasis on processes of conversion and Islamization, but the studies also cover Islamic perceptions of and presence in Africa; the second focuses on Islamic movements of revival and renewal, Sufism and fundamentalism.

Comparative discussions of Islam as lived religion in areas close to its heartland as well in distant parts where Islam meets and interacts with other religious and cultural traditions, moving beyond Orientalist notions of an unchanging world of Islam to a focus on the diversity of Muslim experiences.

The ideology of Islamic fundamentalists is of central importance in the modern world, but it is often distorted or misunderstood by the international media. This study provides an analysis of the Palestinian Hamas movement's world-view, and shows how the theoretical framework developed by thinkers like Hassan al-Banna, Sayyud Qutb and al-Mawdudi is applied to a specific political, social and economic context. Dr Nusse explains the fundamentalist position on recent events, such as the Gulf War, the Madrid peace negotiations, and the Hebron masscre, and helps to dissipate myths surrounding modern fundamentalist movements and their overwhelming success as opposition forces in the Islamic world. Using source material in Arabic - particularly the magazine "Filastin al-Muslima" - a case study of fundamentalist thought is compiled. By exploring the means by which the Hamas presents such "alien" ideas as democracy and nationalism as authentically Islamic concepts, this book provides insights into the flexibility and pragmatism of fundamentalist thought, and how well it fits with the actual problems and desires of the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.