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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Aspects of religions (non-Christian) > Religious life & practice
New studies examining the religious endowments that have
historically played a variety of important roles in Muslim
communities
Waqfs (pious endowments) long held a crucial place in the
political, economic, and social life of the Islamic world. Waqfs
were major sources of education, health care, and employment; they
shaped the city and contributed to the upkeep of religious
edifices. They constituted a major resource, and their status was
at stake in repeated struggles to impose competing definitions of
legitimacy and community. Closer examination of the diverse legal,
institutional, and practical aspects of waqfs in different regions
and communities is necessary to a deeper understanding of their
dynamism and resilience. This volume, which evolved from papers
delivered at the 2005 American University in Cairo Annual History
Seminar, offers a meticulous set of studies that fills a gap in our
knowledge of waqf and its uses.
Feelings of worthlessness. Low self-esteem. Illegitimate guilt. The
inability to forgive. Bitterness and resentment. Dependency.
Unhealthy relationship patterns. These battles rage within the
minds of millions of people, including Christians. Although these
may be mistaken as private battles, they are part of a much larger
battle--the battle between Christ and Satan, the battle for our
hearts and minds. Fortunately the battle is not lost. In Could It
Be This Simple? A Biblical Model for Healing the Mind you'll learn
about God's original ideal for the mind and His beautiful plan to
restore His children back into His image. Psychiatrist Timothy R.
Jennings also exposes many of Satan's subtle tactics that interfere
with God's plan to heal the mind. Armed with the tools provided in
this book, you can cooperate better with God to achieve emotional
and mental well-being and gain real spiritual victory.
You "Can "Win Her Back
Few challenges in life are as difficult as regaining a wife's
trust--and few are as ultimately worthwhile. Trust can be rebuilt
in your marriage With patient, loving, self-sacrificing effort,
it's possible that one day your wife will risk her heart with you
again. And she may even have more respect and love for you than
before.
In "Worthy of Her Trust, "Jason Martinkus relates how he repaired
his own marriage after revelations of sexual addiction. Along with
Stephen Arterburn, Jason offers exercises and tools rooted in
counseling principles to help your marriage begin again. This
comprehensive guide discusses:
- How to be truly and effectively transparent
- Combating the "he must not love me" myth and other untruths
- What to do about the Internet, office temptations, and
travel
- Encouragement for wives who wonder if trust can ever be restored
- The "five-minute phone call" and other daily trust-building
strategies
- What meaningful forgiveness and restitution look like
- The Amends Matrix--a concrete exercise to admit past wrongs and
cast a vision for a faithful future
Including insights from Jason's wife, Shelley, "Worthy of Her Trust
"guides you through the process of rebuilding your relationship so
it is stronger than ever.
Tell Me a Story: 30 Children's Sermons Based on Best-Loved Books,
the fourth book of children's sermons created by Vos Wezeman and
Liechty, is designed for clergy and lay leaders to use in preaching
to children from kindergarten through upper-elementary school. This
creative resource links the ordinary Sundays and special days of
the church year to best-loved children's books such as I'll Always
Love You; The Selfish Giant; Miss Fannie's Hat; and The Very Hungry
Caterpillar, to name a few.
PAPERBACK FOR SALE IN AFRICA ONLY Analyses Muslim-Muslim divisions
within northern Nigeria, which are as important for understanding
the violence in the region as those between Muslim and Christian
(for which, see the companion volume, Creed and Grievance), with
consequences for long-term peacemaking. Nigerian society has long
been perceived as divided along religious lines, between Muslims
and Christians, but alongside this there is an equally important
polarization within the Muslim population in beliefs, rituals and
sectarian allegiance. This book highlights the crucial issue of
intra-Muslim pluralism and conflict in Nigeria. Conflicting
interpretations of texts and contexts have led to fragmentation
within northern Nigerian Islam, and differentIslamic sects have
often resorted to violence against each other in pursuit of 'the
right path'. The doctrinal justification of violence was first
perfected against other Muslim groups, before being extended to
non-Muslims: conflict between Muslim groups therefore preceded the
violence between Muslims and Christians. It will be impossible to
manage the relationship between the latter, without addressing the
schisms within the Muslim community itself. Nigeria: Premium Times
Books Abdul Raufu Mustapha is Associate Professor in African
Politics, University of Oxford. His publications include (co-edited
with Lindsey Whitfield) Turning Points in African Democracy (James
Currey, 2009).
The Habad school of hasidism is distinguished today from other
hasidic groups by its famous emphasis on outreach, on messianism,
and on empowering women. Hasidism Beyond Modernity provides a
critical, thematic study of the movement from its beginnings,
showing how its unusual qualities evolved. Topics investigated
include the theoretical underpinning of the outreach ethos; the
turn towards women in the twentieth century; new attitudes to
non-Jews; the role of the individual in the hasidic collective;
spiritual contemplation in the context of modernity; the quest for
inclusivism in the face of prevailing schismatic processes;
messianism in both spiritual and political forms; and the direction
of the movement after the passing of its seventh rebbe, Rabbi
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in 1994. Attention is given to many
contrasts: pre-modern, modern, and postmodern conceptions of
Judaism; the clash between maintaining an enclave and outreach
models of Jewish society; particularist and universalist trends;
and the subtle interplay of mystical faith and rationality. Some of
the chapters are new; others, published in an earlier form, have
been updated to take account of recent scholarship. This book
presents an in-depth study of an intriguing movement which takes
traditional hasidism beyond modernity.
Chaim Waxman, a prominent sociologist of contemporary Orthodoxy, is
one of the keenest observers of American Jewish society. In
illustration of how Orthodoxy is adapting to modernity, he presents
a detailed discussion of halakhic developments, particularly
regarding women's greater participation in ritual practices and
other areas of communal life. He shows that the direction of change
is not uniform: there is both greater stringency and greater
leniency, and he discusses the many reasons for this, both in the
Jewish community and in the wider society. Relations between the
various sectors of American Orthodoxy over the past several decades
are also considered.
Abby Chava Stein was raised in a Hasidic Jewish community in
Brooklyn, profoundly isolated in a culture that lives according to
the laws and practices of an eighteenth-century Eastern European
enclave, speaking only Yiddish and Hebrew and shunning modern life.
Stein was born as the first son in a rabbinical dynastic family,
poised to become a leader of the next generation of Hasidic Jews.
But Stein felt certain at a young age that she was a girl. Without
access to TV or the internet and never taught English, she
suppressed her desire for a new body while looking for answers
wherever she could find them, from forbidden religious texts to
smuggled secular examinations of faith. Finally, she orchestrated a
personal exodus from ultra-Orthodox manhood into mainstream
femininity-a radical choice that forced her to leave her home, her
family and her way of life.
Christians who long to experience God in a fresh, deep way will
treasure this powerful, personal praise guide, rereleased with an
updated cover. Every day for just one month, a Scripture-based
devotion cultivates the "heart habit" of praise and worship.
Readers will be gently inspired to appreciate and adore the Lord in
all things -- yes, even in the midst of pain, disappointment, and
heartache. A deeper intimacy with God -- and a greater love for Him
-- is the sure result.Come into His Presence with Praise
Praise. It leads you into God's awesome presence, into the delight
of His Word, into the sure knowledge of His great love for you. If
you long to experience God in a fresh, deep way, you'll treasure
this personal praise guide.
Every day a different Scripture-based devotion helps you cultivate
the "heart habit" of praise and worship. You'll be gently inspired
to appreciate and adore the Lord in all things, even in the midst
of pain, heartache, or disappointment.
A deeper intimacy with God--and a greater love for Him--is the sure
result.
During the early medieval Islamicate period (800-1400 CE),
discourses concerned with music and musicians were wide-ranging and
contentious, and expressed in works on music theory and philosophy
as well as literature and poetry. But in spite of attempts by
influential scholars and political leaders to limit or control
musical expression, music and sound permeated all layers of the
social structure. Lisa Nielson here presents a rich social history
of music, musicianship and the role of musicians in the early
Islamicate era. Focusing primarily on Damascus, Baghdad and
Jerusalem, Lisa Nielson draws on a wide variety of textual sources
written for and about musicians and their professional/private
environments - including chronicles, literary sources, memoirs and
musical treatises - as well as the disciplinary approaches of
musicology to offer insights into musical performances and the
lives of musicians. In the process, the book sheds light onto the
dynamics of medieval Islamicate courts, as well as how slavery,
gender, status and religion intersected with music in courtly life.
It will appeal to scholars of the Islamicate world and historical
musicologists.
Responsible Management in Theory and Practice in Muslim Societies
delineates principles of responsible management from an Islamic
perspective, exploring the concept of responsibility in Islamic
religious texts, and how the understanding of responsibility
evolved in Islamic jurisprudence. He explains aspects of individual
and group responsibility in Islam and the dissonance between
theoretical discourse and practical application. Yusuf M. Sidani
focuses on the factors that have both facilitated and hampered the
application of responsible management principles in practice in
this unique context. Themes explored across the book include
Islamic texts and responsible leadership, responsibility in Islamic
jurisprudence, individual and group responsibilities, and bridging
the gap divide between theory and practice in Muslim societies.
Sidani also poses proactive questions, including 'Who is a
responsible manager?' and 'what does it take to reaffirm both
individual and collective responsibilities', and 'whether things
can be put back on track again in Muslim societies, and how?'
Every month, a ragtag group of Londoners gather in the site known
as Crossbones Graveyard to commemorate the souls of medieval
prostitutes believed to be buried there—the "Winchester Geese,"
women who were under the protection of the Church but denied
Christian burial. In the Borough of Southwark, not far from
Shakespeare's Globe, is a pilgrimage site for self-identified
misfits, nonconformists, and contemporary sex workers who leave
memorials to the outcast dead. Ceremonies combining raucous humor
and eclectic spirituality are led by a local playwright, John
Constable, also known as John Crow. His interpretation of the
history of the site has struck a chord with many who feel alienated
in present-day London. Sondra L. Hausner offers a nuanced
ethnography of Crossbones that tacks between past and present to
look at the historical practices of sex work, the relation of the
Church to these professions, and their representation in the
present. She draws on anthropological approaches to ritual and time
to understand the forms of spiritual healing conveyed by the
Crossbones rites. She shows that ritual is a way of creating the
present by mobilizing the stories of the past for contemporary
purposes.
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