The chapters in Emerging Horizons: 21st Century Approaches to the Study of Midrash pertain to an intriguing midrash that appears in a Masoretic context, the Qur'anic narrative of the red cow, midrashic narratives that rabbinise enemies of Israel, the death of Moses, emotions in rabbinic literature, and yelammedenu units in midrashic works.

Nazar, literally 'vision', is a unique Arabic-Islamic term/concept that offers an analytical framework for exploring the ways in which Islamic visual culture and aesthetic sensibility have been shaped by common conceptual tools and moral parameters. It intertwines the act of 'seeing' with the act of 'reflecting', thereby bringing the visual and cognitive functions into a complex relationship. Within the folds of this multifaceted relationship lies an entangled web of religious ideas, moral values, aesthetic preferences, scientific precepts, and socio-cultural understandings that underlie the intricacy of one's personal belief. Peering through the lens of nazar, the studies presented in this volume unravel aspects of these entanglements to provide new understandings of how vision, belief, and perception shape the rich Islamic visual culture. Contributors: Samer Akkach, James Bennett, Sushma Griffin, Stephen Hirtenstein, Virginia Hooker, Sakina Nomanbhoy, Shaha Parpia, Ellen Philpott-Teo, Wendy M.K. Shaw.

This is the fourth and fi nal volume of Lester L. Grabbe's four-volume history of the Second Temple period, collecting all that is known about the Jews during the period in which they were ruled by the Roman Empire. Based directly on primary sources such as archaeology, inscriptions, Jewish literary sources and Greek, Roman and Christian sources, this study includes analysis of the Jewish diaspora, mystical and Gnosticism trends, and the developments in the Temple, the law, and contemporary attitudes towards Judaism. Spanning from the reign of Herod Archelaus to the war with Rome and Roman control up to 150 CE, this volume concludes with Grabbe's holistic perspective on the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period.

Islamic economics and finance has recently enjoyed a spike in interest and a rise in status from theology-tinged discussion fodder for Muslim intellectuals to a fully fledged academic discipline knocking on the doors of university social science departments. The Handbook of Empirical Research on Islam and Economic Life provides a solid background and overview of current empirical research, evaluating how well Islamic institutions have performed in pursuing their objectives. With contributions from leading scholars, this unique Handbook provides chapters examining a range of phenomena in Islamic finance, focusing on five main research areas: religion and growth, Islamic social finance, Islamic banking and finance, Islamic capital market and Sukuk (Islamic bonds). This selection of research literature provides: - a socio-economic profile of Muslim countries - an outline of Islamic systems of accounting and governance - an analysis of the religion-development link - a consideration of the role of the state under Islam. Scholars of finance and Islam in Muslim and in Western universities, students in graduate and post-graduate courses in Islamic studies, and Islamic research institutes and libraries in Western, Middle Eastern and Asian universities will all find great value in this vital resource and its exploration of a compelling approach to finance. Contributors include: A.U.F. Ahmad, M.S. Akhtar, E. Aksak, M.A.M. Al JanabiIhsan Isik, N. Alam, F. Alqahtani, S.O. Alhabshi, C. Aloui, S.B. Anceaur, D. Ashraf, M. Asutay, A.F. Aysan, O. Bacha, A. Barajas, M. Bekri, C. De Anca, G. Dewandaru, M. Disli, A.O. El Aloui, M. Farooq, K. Gazdar, R. Grassa, H.B. Hamida, M.K. Hassan, R. Hayat, C.M. Henry, J. Howe, M.H. Ibrahim, M. Jahrom, K. Jouaber-Snoussi, F. Kamarudin, M. Khawaja, H. Khan, K. Khan, O. Krasicka, M.T. Majeed, N.A.K. Malim, M. Masih, A. Massara, D.G. Mayes, A.K.M. Meera, M. Mehri, C. Mertzanis, H.S. Min, M.A. Mobin, Y.A. Nainggolan, M. Naseri, A.M. Nassir, A. Ng, S. Nowak, M.S. Nurzaman, M. Omran, H. Ozturk, M. Rashid, M.E.S.M. Rashid, R.M. Shafi, A. Shah, N.S. Shirazi, F. Sufian, G.M.W. Ullah, P. Verhoeven, L. Weill, S. Zaheer, S.R.S.M. Zain, A. Zarka