For many years Malise Ruthven has been at the forefront of discerning commentary on the Islamic world and its relations with the predominantly secularised and Christian societies of the West. Well known for his bold interventions on such issues as the Rushdie affair and publication of "The Satanic Verses"; the many unresolved questions relating to the Lockerbie bombing; and the globe-changing terrorist attack of 9/11, Ruthven's perceptive writings, particularly those that have appeared in the "New York Review of Books", reliably re-frame difficult issues and problems so that his readers are prompted to look at the challenges afresh. Ruthven is here at his most compelling: he offers astute and topical insights across the whole spectrum of Middle East and Islamic studies. Whether questioning the involvement of Libyan agents in the downing of Pan Am Flight 103; exploring the contested place of women in Islam; or discussing the disputed term 'Islamofascism' (his own), the author's probing, searchlight intelligence aims always to get at the truth of things, regardless of attendant controversy. Representing the 'best of Ruthven', these lucid essays will be widely appreciated by students, specialists and general readers. They transform our understandings of contemporary society.

This volume deals with social, emotional and educational issues of Muslim children growing up in a Western country. It aims at shedding light on factors that contribute to the successful adjustment of these immigrant children and ways of helping them to adjust to the new life in their new country. CONTENTS Preface. PART I: INTRODUCTION. Growing up Between Two Cultures: Issues and Problems of Muslim Children, Farideh Salili and Rumjahn Hoosain. PART II: DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS AND ACCULTURATION ISSUES. Raising Children and Teens of Middle Eastern Born Parents in United States: Transformative Perspective of Intercultural Competency, Kathleen P. King, Heba Abuzayyad-Huseibeh, and Hasan Nuseibeh. Extent of Acculturation Experiences Among High School Muslim Students in the United States, Shifa Podikunju-Hussain. Understanding the Cultural Capital of Learners of Muslim Descent, Myra Daniel. PART III: ISSUES RELATED TO THE IDENTITY FORMATION OF THE MUSLIM CHILDREN. American Muslim Identity: Negotiating the Ummah and the American Public School System, Lesliee Antonette and Lara Taboun. The Personal Aspirations and Cherished Ideals of Muslim Adolescents Living in Norway and Singapore, Deborah A. Stiles and Osman Ozturgut. Trying to Fit In: Ismaili Youth Identity in Post-9/11 Canada, Hafiz Printer. PART IV: THE ROLE OF GENDER IN ACCULTURATION AND IDENTITY FORMATION. Discourse on Equity and Social Justice in a Muslim High School in Israel: A Case Study, Khalid Arar. Gender, Islam, and Refugee Status: Possibilities for Negotiating Hybrid Identities and Contesting Boundaries in Digital Spaces, Delila Omerbasic. Stepping in and out of Worlds: Bosnian Muslim Girls' Narratives About Cultural, and Religious Identity Construction, Lisa Hoffman. PART V: EXPERIENCES OF MUSLIM YOUTHS GROWING UP IN A NON-MUSLIM COUNTRY. The Strengths and Skills of Children: Self-Discriptions of Somali and Local Australian Children, Agnes E. Dodds, Nadia Albert, and Jeanette A. Lawrence. Religiosity and Happiness of American-Muslim Youths: An Empirical Study of Faith Maturity and Subjective Well-Being, Chang-Ho Ji. "That's Not What I Want for My Children": Islamic Schools as a Parental Response to Childhood Experiences of Mainstream British Schooling, Farah Ahmed. Author Index. Subject Index. About the Authors.

Years of research into secret societies in the United States led Seraphim to present a daring and riveting expose on post-modern secret societies, or "occult orders." He offers more than five years of personal communications, commentary, and insight into the 21st-century activities of contemporary "occult" groups and uncovers an extremely alarming trend inside modern occultism.

Ismaili and Other Arabic Manuscripts is a supplement to Adam Gacek's two-volume Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts in the Library of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, published in London, 1984-1985. This new catalogue includes 189 Arabic manuscripts not listed earlier by Gacek or which have been acquired since then by the Institute of Ismaili Studies Library. The majority of the works belong to the theological, philosophical and historical traditions of Fatimid and post-Fatimid Yemeni Ismaili literature, including manuscripts by important and hitherto unknown authors from Syria. The catalogue is arranged alphabetically by author and chronologically by title and provides details of the content of each work and other relevant information of a literary, historical and doctrinal nature. There are references to other catalogues listing the same works to be found in other collections, followed by details of the main editions, translations and studies. Ismaili and Other Arabic Manuscripts is fully illustrated with colour photographs of selected manuscripts.

This book examines the intersectionality of gendered, religious identity among Muslim women in Catalonia, and illustrates how this identity is brokered through language use in a multilingual and diasporic context. Drawing on a mixed methods study of 1st and 2nd generation immigrant women, this book also examines how acculturation is a transgenerational process reflected in linguistic behavior. Through the use of questionnaire and interview data, the author constructs a story about informants' experiences navigating life vis-a-vis language use; specifically through the use of Spanish, Catalan and native/heritage languages. This book offers a unique lens through which we can further our understanding of the role of language in the acculturation process in Catalonia. It adds to the ongoing discussion about language and migration in Catalonia and provides a valuable contribution to debates about immigrant women's language learning and use.

Between the eighth and eleventh centuries, many defining features of classical Sunni Islam began to take shape. Among these was the formation of medieval Sunnism around the belief in the unimpeachable orthodoxy of four eponymous founders and their schools of law. In this original study, Ahmad Khan explores the history and cultural memory of one of these eponymous founders, Abu Hanifa. Showing how Abu Hanifa evolved from being the object of intense religious exclusion to a pillar of Sunni orthodoxy, Khan examines the concepts of orthodoxy and heresy, and outlines their changing meanings over the course of four centuries. He demonstrates that orthodoxy and heresy were neither fixed theological categories, nor pious fictions, but instead were impacted by everything from law and politics, to society and culture. This book illuminates the significant yet often neglected transformations in Islamic social, political and religious thought during this vibrant period.

Turkey could be considered the most important and leading Islamic country that has implemented the Western economic model successfully mostly because of the modernization efforts since late Ottoman period. As a result of the secularization efforts in the field of economy in early republican era, Muslim people in the country had to deal with non-Islamic practices that contradict with their religious beliefs. Islamic Finance Alternatives for Emerging Economies analyzes the emergence of the Islamic financial institutions in Turkey, by taking into account their history, their operational model, and their legal regulations in the financial field, to discuss the future of Islamic finance. The contributors also consider the ability of Islamic financial institutions and tools to respond to the financial needs of Muslims.

What does it mean to be a writer of Muslim heritage in the UK today? Is there such a thing as "Muslim fiction"? In a collection of revealing new interviews, Claire Chambers talks to writers including Tariq Ali, Ahdaf Soueif, Hanif Kureishi, and Abdulrazak Gurnah to discuss the impact that their Muslim heritage has had on their writing, and to argue that this body of writing is some of the most important and politically engaged fiction of recent years. From literary techniques and influences to the political and cultural debates that matter to Muslims in Britain and beyond -- such as the hijab, the war on terror and the Rushdie affair -- these thirteen interviews challenge the idea of a monolithic voice for Islam in Britain. Instead, together they paint a picture of the diversity of voices creating "British Muslim fictions" which ultimately enriches the cultural, social and political landscape of contemporary Britain.

Mankind is faced with a number of serious problems that demand an effective solution. The prevalence of injustice and the frequency of financial crises are two of the most serious of these problems. Consisting of an in-depth introduction along with a selection of eight of Muhammad Umer Chapra's essays - four on Islamic economics and four on Islamic finance - this timely book raises the question of what can be done to not only minimize the frequency and severity of the financial crises, but also make the financial system more equitable.The author considers the origins of Islamic economics and outlines its development and underlying principles. He compares the approach taken to ethics and economics in Islam with that taken in the West, considering whether lessons can be applied to the global financial architecture in order to mitigate against financial crises. The book also examines the case against interest and looks at both innovation in Islamic finance, as well as challenges facing the industry. Written by a leading authority in the field, this book will be a stimulating resource for students and researchers in Islamic economics and finance, as well as providing valuable insight to all of those with an interest in financial systems and their interaction with society. Contents: Preface Introduction Part I Islamic Economics 1. Is it Necessary to Have Islamic Economics? 2. Islamic Economics: What it is and How it Developed 3. Ethics and Economics: The Islamic Imperative 4. Ibn Khaldun's Theory of Development: Does it Help Explain the Low Performance of the Present Day Muslim World? Part II Islamic Finance 5. The Case Against Interest: Is it Compelling? 6. Innovation and Authenticity in Islamic Finance 7. Challenges Facing the Islamic Financial Industry 8. The Global Financial Crisis: Some Suggestions for Reform of the Global Financial System in the Light of Islamic Finance Index

For centuries, wars have occurred and impacted human civilization deeply. As a result, many fight due to cultural differences, vested interests and even over religious beliefs. In the modern world, the rift between the West and the Middle East continues to widen due to endless acts of terrorism. How can the two regions settle their differences and cooperate fully? Take an in-depth look into the history of Islam, Jewish, and Christianity as author Ahmad Nosrati, Iranian scholar, presents this critical review of the roots of religious and political problems in the Middle East in Man and God.

Man and God is a comprehensive review of the troubled relationship between the Middle East and the West. It provides unbiased information that's useful and enlightening especially for those who want freedom, human rights, and results in today's current dilemma. It raises striking questions among them, foremost, have the deceptive foreign policies of the West led to a humiliation of people of the Middle East? Or has the conviction of certain radical Islamist like Al Qaeda that they must kill their adversaries, driven this struggle? Aside from these, the book also explores the character of God and its role in motivating religious extremism or fundamentalism that led to many wars. The text also takes into account the West's everlasting dependence on Middle Eastern oil as one factor that explains why the region is essential to them. The striking analysis of Man and God has the potential to spark a new wave of debates over foreign policy, politics and religion.

This book deals with the causes, nature, and impact of the divisions within the jihadi movement, and the splits between jihadis and other Islamic groups. Fault Lines in Global Jihad offers a systematic and comprehensive examination of the broad range of divisions that contribute to the weakening of the jihadi movement. It separates these divisions into two broad categories, namely fissures dividing jihadis themselves, and divisions separating jihadis from other Muslim and Islamist groups. The first part of the book covers intra-jihadi divisions, highlighting tensions and divisions over strategic, tactical, and organizational issues. The second part of the book addresses several important case studies of jihadi altercations with other Muslim and Islamist groups of non-jihadi persuasion, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and the Shii community. More than simply an enumeration of problems and cracks within al-Qa'ida and its cohorts, this book addresses critical policy issues of relevance to the broader struggle against the global jihadi movement. The editors conclude that these divisions have and continue to weaken al-Qa'ida, but neither in an automatic nor in an exclusive fashion-for these divisions render the global jihadi movement simultaneously vulnerable and more resilient. This book will be of much interest to students of jihadism, terrorism and political violence, Islamism, security studies and IR in general.

This book provides insights into some of the social topics related to the homogenization and stereotyping of Muslims. It explores the experiences of Muslims in Western societies, with a particular focus not only on gender, home and belonging, multiculturalism, and ethnicity.

This book carries out a comparative study of the US response to popular uprisings in the Middle East as an evaluation of President Barack Obama's foreign policy commitments. In 2009, Obama publicly pledged "a new beginning in US-Muslim relations," causing eager expectation of a clear shift in US foreign policy after the election of the 44th president of the United States. However, the achievement of such a shift was made particularly difficult by the existence of multiple, and sometimes conflicting, US interests in the region which influenced the Obama administration's response to the popular uprisings in five Muslim-majority countries: Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, and Syria. After providing a detailed analysis of the traditional features of both US foreign policy rhetoric and practice, this book turns its focus to the Obama administration's response to the 2011 Arab Awakening to determine whether Obama's foreign policy has indeed brought about a new beginning in US-Muslim relations.

This comprehensive introduction explores the landscape of contemporary Islam. Written by a distinguished team of scholars, it: provides broad overviews of the developments, events, people and movements that have defined Islam in the three majority-Muslim regions traces the connections between traditional Islamic institutions and concerns, and their modern manifestations and transformations. How are medieval ideas, policies and practices refashioned to address modern circumstances investigates new themes and trends that are shaping the modern Muslim experience such as gender, fundamentalism, the media and secularisation offers case studies of Muslims and Islam in dynamic interaction with different societies. Islam in the Modern World includes illustrations, summaries, discussion points and suggestions for further reading that will aid understanding and revision. Additional resources are provided via a companion website.

Islam is not only a religion, but also a culture, tradition, and civilization. There are currently 1.5 billion people in the world who identify themselves as Muslim. Two thirds of the worldwide Muslim population, i.e. approximately a billion people, live in forty-eight Muslim majority countries (MMC) in the world- all of which except one are in Africa and Asia. Of these MMCs in Africa and Asia, only twelve (inhabited by about 165 million people) have ever achieved a high score on the Human Development Index (HDI), the index that measures life expectancy at birth, education and standard of living and ranks how "developed" a country is. This means that the majority of the world's Muslim population lives in poverty with low or medium level of human development.

The contributions to this innovative volume attempt to determine why this is. They explore the influence of environment, space, and power on human development. The result is a complex, interdisciplinary study of all MMCs in Africa and Asia. It offers new insights into the current state of the Muslim World, and provides a theoretical framework for studying human development from an interdisciplinary social, cultural, economic, environmental, political, and religious perspective, which will be applicable to regional and cultural studies of space and power in other regions of the world.

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This cutting edge book considers the question of Islam and commercialisation in Indonesia, a majority Muslim, non-Arab country. Revealing the cultural heterogeneity behind rising Islamism in a democratizing society, it highlights the case of television production and the identity of its viewers. Drawing from detailed case studies from across islands in the diverse archipelagic country, it contends that commercial television has democratised the relationship between Islamic authority and the Muslim congregation, and investigates the responses of the heterogeneous middle class towards commercial da'wah. By taking the case of commercial television, the book argues that what is occurring in Indonesia is less related to Islamic ideologisation than it is a symbiosis between Muslim middle class anxieties and the workings of market forces. It examines the web of relationships that links Islamic expression, commercial television, and national imagination, arguing that the commercialisation of Islam through national television discloses unrequited expectations of equality between ethnic and religious groups as well as between regions.

Gai Eaton's "Islam and the Destiny of Man" is a wide-ranging study of the religion of Islam from a traditional point of view. Covering all aspects that a reader would wish to know about Islam-including the Qur'an, the life of the Prophet, Islamic history, Islamic law, art and mysticism-"Islam and the Destiny of Man" explains what it means to be a Muslim and describes how Islam has shaped the hearts and minds of Muslims down the centuries. However, in "Islam and the Destiny of Man", Gai Eaton is concerned not simply with Islam in isolation, but with the very nature of religious faith, its spiritual and intellectual foundations and the light it casts upon the mysteries and paradoxes of the human condition.

Muslim Ethiopia: The Christian Legacy, Identity Politics and Islamic Reformism is a pioneering collection of studies on Islam in contemporary Ethiopia. This volume challenges the popular notion of a 'Christian Ethiopia' imagined as the centuries-old, never-colonized Abyssinia, isolated in the highlands and dominated by Orthodox Christianity. In addition to marginalizing Muslim cultures and societies within Ethiopia, this notion has also excluded Muslims from public discourse and led to the neglect of Islam in Ethiopian studies. This is strikingly at odds with the country's cultural and historical reality, as Muslims constitute a significant part of the population and have contributed significantly to its development. Muslim Ethiopia develops this overlooked nexus of Ethiopian and Islamic Studies, while broadening our understandings of Muslims in Africa as a whole.

Muslims for hundreds of years have been involved in philanthropic activities targeting poor and needy people through varied types of 'third sector' organizations (TSOs). Nonetheless, many people in Muslim majority countries (MMCs), not having freedom from hunger, face human security crises. Not much is known about the TSOs or their human security provisions in MMCs. To fill this knowledge gap, this Volume documents and analyses philanthropy and all types of third sector organizations including the awqaf (Muslim endowments) vis-a-vis human security in MMCs. The study is comprehensive in treating the subject matter (analyzing the legal environment, characteristics, extent and functioning of all forms of the third sector and their human security performances) and in geographic coverage (incorporating all forty-seven Muslim majority countries in Africa and Asia). It is also innovative expounding TSO density analysis, state support score (SSS) and a third-sector capability measure (TCM) to study their interrelationships. It is an essential unique reference book for students and scholars of the third sector and human security, international organizations, development agencies, donor governments, security experts and in particular anybody with interests in Islam and MMCs.

Sectarian divisions within the Islamic world have long been misunderstood and misconstrued by the media and the general public. In this book, Adam R. Gaiser offers an accessible introduction to the main Muslim sects and schools, returning to the roots of the sectarian divide in the Medieval period. Beginning with the death of Muhammed and the ensuing debate over who would succeed him, Gaiser outlines how the umma (Muslim community) came to be divided. He traces the history of the main Muslim sects and schools - the Sunnis, Shi'ites, Kharijites, Mu'tazila and Murji'a - and shows how they emerged, developed, and diverged from one another. Exploring how medieval Muslims understood the idea of 'sect', Gaiser challenges readers to consider the usefulness and scope of the concept of 'sectarianism' in this historical context. Providing an overview of the main Muslim sects while problematising the assumptions of previous scholarship, this is a valuable resource for both new and experienced readers of Islamic history.

"Muslim Voices and Lives in the Contemporary World "tells the stories of eleven remarkable people in the Islamic world, with each account written by an American scholar who came to know that person well. From a religious musician in Pakistan who sings the sufferings of the saints and hopes to bring reconciliation to his country, to a visual artist from a traditional family in Egypt who wants her work to speak to the whole world, to the son of one of the greatest Shi'ite scholars of Iraq who was murdered trying to restore peace in his city, to an Afghan aid agency manager who works to help her people in unstable times, these stories counter some of the misconceptions of Muslim women and men that exist in the Western world. These lively and memorable accounts are distinguished by their immediacy, depth, variety, and breadth and are sure to resonate.

This Reader offers a comprehensive overview of the variety of methodological and theoretical approaches involved in, and relevant to, the emerging field of Anthropology of Islam. It pays particular attention to the study of ethnographic cases, featuring various forms of Islam as practiced in different social and cultural contexts. The Anthropology of Islam Reader also explores topics of great current interest such as the body and cultural politics, the veil and the public sphere and key practices and festivals such as the Hajj and Eid. In his selections, Jens Kreinath highlights the diversity of practices and themes that were formative for this field of study, making this essential reading for students of Islam at undergraduate and graduate level.

This book studies the relationship between Islam, family processes, and gender inequality among Uyghur Muslims in r mchi, China. Empirically, it shows in quantitative terms the extent of gender inequalities among Uyghur Muslims in r mchi and tests whether the gender inequalities are a difference in kind or in degree. It examines five aspects of gender inequality: employment, income, household task accomplishment, home management, and spousal power. Theoretically, it investigates how Islamic affiliation and family life affect Uyghur women 's status.

Zang 's research involved rare and privileged access to a setting which is difficult for foreign scholars to study due to political restrictions. The data are drawn from fieldwork in r mchi between 2005 and 2008, which include a survey of 577 families, field observations, and 200 in-depth interviews with local Uyghurs. The book combines qualitative and quantitative data and methods to study gendered behavior and outcomes. The author 's study reinterprets family power and offers a more nuanced analysis of gender and domestic power in China and makes a pioneering effort to study spousal power, gender inequality in labor market outcomes, and gender inequality in household chores among members of ethnic minorities in China.

The book will be of interest to students and scholars of ethnic studies, Chinese studies, Asian anthropology and cultural sociology.

The first object created by God, according to early Muslim commentators, was the pen, which he used to chronicle events to come. The word, in its various manifestations, is central to the Islamic faith. Surely a reflection of this centrality, profuse inscriptions mark countless Islamic objects, from the humblest oil lamps and unglazed ceramics to the finest and most expensive rock crystals and jades. The inscriptions serve numerous functions: decorating, proclaiming ownership and patronage, proffering good wishes and proverbs, and spreading religious texts throughout the world. Aside from their aesthetic worth, these inscriptions provide a fascinating window onto a distant culture.

In Islamic Inscriptions, Sheila S. Blair a wealth of stunning images and incisive commentary, while also providing the newcomer to Islamic civilization with a key to unlocking the mysteries of Islamic epigraphy. In addition to chapters devoted to the main types of inscription, detailing the development of their content and style, inscriptive techniques, and the motivations behind them, the book provides practical knowledge on finding, identifying, interpreting, researching, and recording inscriptions. The variety and clarity of information presented makes Islamic Inscriptions an ideal reference for historians, curators, archaeologists, and collectors.

This book examines the Islamist radicalisation process in Europe, developing a new theoretical model based on an empirical study of the evolution of Islamist radicals in their social environment.

The approach of this book is to examine how, and under what conditions, people choose to radicalise. It focuses on the experience of radicalisation from the perspective of those who have undergone it. The study is based on trial and court material, along with an extensive number of interviews collected from many different European countries, and this biographical approach is used to address individuals and the details of their social environment.

Overall, the explanatory framework departs from the existing deterministic paradigm (with grievances as causes), also present in some psychological models, and argues that radicalisation is a process much like occupational choice a rational choice made with social and ideational significance. It addresses critically the assumption that, because the result of the radicalisation process could be seen as abnormal, the cause of it might be of a similar nature. Parallels are drawn with other forms of extremism and European counter-radicalisation policies are considered critically.

This book will be of great interest to students of terrorism studies and political violence, political Islam, social movements, European politics and IR/security studies in general.