bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Benchmark Issue in the Islamic Financial System
Authors: Iqbal Zamir
Published: December 2020

This paper identifies a major lacuna in the conceptual development ofIslamic financial market operations. It argues that in the absence of awell developed benchmark that would facilitate macro- and micro-leveldecision making with regards to cost of capital and opportunity cost ofinvestments in comparative projects of similar risk, Islamic financialinstitutions are relying on interest rate-based indices such as the LondonInter-Bank Offer Rate (LIBOR) to make lending decisions. The authorcontends that this is clearly unacceptable since Islam disallows a predeterminedor fixed rate of capital. The paper then proposes a benchmarkbased on Tobin’s q theory of investment. The author further maintainsthat unlike existing alternatives which are limited to macro-levelapplications only, the q-based benchmark would be useful for firms andbanks (micro-decisions) as well as governments and institutions(macro-planning).
Identity as Epistemology
Authors: Khan M.A. Muqtedar
Published: December 2020

Purposeful PhilosophyThe first order of things requires an explication of the purpose of thisinquiry into Islamic epistemology. In order to do so, I shall have to distinguishbetween academic philosophy, pure philosophy, and purposeful philosophy.Academic philosophy is a product of the modem academic institutionalstructure of recognition and discipline. This academic structurecompels scholars to produce scholarship for the sake of scholarship. Iheprinciple of “publish or perish” is a guarantor of mediocrity. Such pmfessionalphilosophical projects are often intellectually parasitic and may offerlittle or no new insights. For example, a visit to any library will reveal hundredsof books that deal with academic projects such as The Idea ofJusticein Rawls Theory of Justice or the The Nature of Judgment in Kant‘s Criticof Judgment. Such projects contribute little to advance the understanding ofjustice or judgment and have no bearing on the nonnative nature of thesociety.Pure philosophy is a lifestyle. The pure philosopher is a habitual speculatorwho relishes the sheer indulgence of the mind. It is not the product ofreflection but the pleasures of reflection in themselves which sustain thepure philosopher. As one philosopher commented, “We could go to themosque, pray, and come back to continue with our discussion of the questionwhether there is a God.” The fact that the philosopher has just prayeddoes not settle the issue that as far as that philosopher is concemed there isa God and to question that is meaningless. Either the prayer was speciousor the debate was meaningless. I suggest this because there is a disconnectbetween thought and action. The lifestyle of the pure philosopher, whileimmensely satisfactory to the philosopher concemed, trivializes both action ...
The World Congress on Mulla Sadra
Authors: Kalin Ibrahim
Published: December 2020

The World Congress on Mulla S a b was held May 22-27, 1999, inTehran, Iran. Sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Congress drewmore than three hundred local and intemational speakers who presentedpapers on various aspects of the philosophy of Sadr al-Din Shirazi (d.l o ) , commonly known as Mulla Sadra. The scope of the Congress, however,was not confiied to the philosophy of Mulla Sadra, papers with otherpoints of interest and focus were also presented. The Congress can bedescribd as consisting of three concentric circles: the first, focusing exclusivelyon Sadrean studies; the second, ranging from Islamic philosophy toSdism and kafam; and the third, extending to subjects as diverse asMuslims in China and Western philosophy. In addition to Islamic thought,there was also a sepamte section on Western philosophy, primarily focusingon analytic philosophy, in which many Westem scholars and philosophersMcipated.The Congress began with a reading of a brief welcome speech by thedirector of the Congress, Ayatollah Muhammad Khamanei. The keynoteaddress, and the concluding speech of the day, was delivered by Iranianpresident Muhammad Khatami, who talked about the importance ofIslamic philosophy in general and Sadra's thought in particular for thefuture of Islamic world.For the remainder of the Congress, each day, four simultaneous sessionswere conducted in the Conference Hall of the Organization of IslamicConference (OIC). The Islamic philosophy section, which was the mainbody of the Congress, was divided into four major subdivisions:Transcendent Philosophy of Mulla Sadra, Comparative Philosophy,Islamic Philosophy, and Gnosis and Sufism. Here the speakers focused onvarious aspects of the philosophy of Mulla Sadra, ranging from his ontologyand epistemology to his eschatology and commentaries on Qur'anicverses. Mulla Sadm, who is considered to be one of the most impom figuresof the post-Avicennan Islamic philosophy, was both an originalthinker and a first-rate historian of philosophy. With his notion of the primacyof being (asah af-wujud) and his celebrated idea of substantial ...
Islamic Dimensions of the East Asian Economic Miracle
Authors: Khan M. A. Muqtedar
Published: December 2020

in PerspectiveThis editorial seeks to identify the missing dimensions of Islamic economicsand the Islamic dimensions of East Asian economies. In doing so,it advances a critical review of the present discourse on Islamic economicsand highlights some of its oversights. At the outset, it must be clearlyunderstood that I am not critical of the very idea of an Islamic economics.I think that at a time when global intellectual leadership has been usurpedby those who consciously subvert the idea of the divine and the role ofdivine mandates in the organization and governance of human affairs,Islamic economics, like Islamic philosophy and Islamic social sciences, hassucceeded in at least presenting a paradigmatic alternative that still maintainesthe centrality of transcendence in human existence.While I am all for sustaining the resistance to secularization of all knowledges,I am critical of the current discourse on Islamic economics becauseof its disconnection between theory and practice and because, for reasonsthat have not been explored systematically but are intuitively discernable,it has made Islamic economics synonymous with' interest-free banking.Many important elements of Islamic economics are completely ignored oreven suppressed. Perhaps this may be a reason why Islamic economieshave not really materialized. The importance of these less studied principlescan be discerned by studying how they have played a cardinal role inthe world's fastest growing region, East Asia. I intend to show how EastAsian economies have institutionalized Islamic principles in their contemporaryeconomic practices and are harvesting great benefits. It is ironic that ...
Is Rationalism Possible in the Muslim World?
Authors: Chapra M. Umer
Published: December 2020

This article looks at the rationalist movement in the Muslim world inthe earlier centuries of Islam and discusses the reasons for its imtial successand later setback. The article then discusses the implications of thissetback for the revival of Islam and the ability of Muslim societies tomeet successfully the challenges that they face in modern times.
Capitalism's Impending Dangers for Global Humane Development
Authors: Dhaouadi Mahmoud
Published: December 2020

The author suggests that development models influenced by the capitalistmodel of development overlooks nonmaterial dimensions ofdevelopment and underdevelopment. As a consequence of this, socialsciences, which are shaped by capitalist concerns also, do not examinethe negative consequences of colonization on underdeveloped societies.The problem is not just ideological it is also epistemological. Positivesocial science, according to the author an offshoot of capitalism, is alsounable to comprehend the most important consequence of colonization- other underdevelopment - the underdevelopment of the culturalsymbols, psychology, and language of the colonized societies. Theauthor advances a model that will help include an analysis of culturalsymbolicunderdevelopment in the study of development and underdevelopmentof societies.
The Great Themes of the Qur'an
Authors: Nadwi Riad
Published: December 2020

Jacques Jomier states that this book was written at the request of some nonMuslimsliving and working in the Muslim world, who were daunted by theseemingly "impenetrable" and "closed" nature of the Qur'an - a statementthat is rather surprising when one considers that, for several decades now, contactwith the Qur'an has made Islam the fastest growing religion in the Westernworld. Note especially the author's statement that "Islam is the Qur'an" andthat, according to Christian estimates, Islam will be more practiced in Britainthan Christianity by the year 2006.A superficial glance at the text gives the reader the impression that this is anobjective piece of work, but on closer examination the author's preconceptionsand personal bias become obvious. In the introduction, for example, Jomierdescribes his colleagues - the non-Muslims living with Muslims, for whomthe book is intended - as having "persevered with their project" (p. ix), andthat ''before the present work was written, it was explored and discussed in twoor three closed groups and many of the observations it contains were suggestedby this experience" (p. x). He also defines their strategy in both a patronizingand an evangelical tone, saying, "We will succeed only if we are preparedto listen to them [Muslims] tactfully, without taking their positions as hard andfast, knowing that there are different tendencies among them that are capableof development" (p. xi) ...
From Wealth to Power
Authors: Sabet Amr
Published: December 2020

From Wealth to Power is a study in the social and historical dynamics contributingto the rise and fall of essential actors in the international system. Itattempts to join history with social sciences theory in order to shed light onbroad theoretical topics in world politics, such as the rise of new great powers.In so doing it seeks to add to the body of scholarship that combined the studyof state structure with traditional international relations theory. The particularfocus is on the expansive rise of the United States, not only to world prominence,but also as a modem state. American foreign policy during the period1865-1908 is examined in light of changes in the state structure along the fourmajor variables- scope, autonomy, coherence, and capacity (p. 40)- touchingupon that country's domestic and administrative development.The first of the six chapters of the book poses the main questions that Zakariaattempts to address: ''What turns rich nations into 'great powers'?'' "Why, as states grow increasingly wealthy, do they build large annies, entangle themselvesin politics beyond their borders, and seek international influence?""What factors speed or retard the translation of material resources into politicalinterests?" (p. 3) and finally, "Under what conditions do states expand theirpolitical interests abroad?" (p. 18). Such questions visualize, on the one hand,a strong and direct correlation between great powers' economic rise and falland their growth or decline. Anomalies, on the other hand, are explained as a"Dutch disease," or the malady that does not allow "a nation of unequalledindividual prosperity and commercial prowess from remaining a state of greatinfluence and power" (pp. 4-5). The latter, Zakaria claims, was an Americanaffliction during the second half of the nineteenth century. This was particularlytrue during the relatively long period of nonexpansion and isolation followingthe Civil War (1860--64). Despite a tremendous increase in wealth, productivity,and power, it was not until the 1890s that the US began expandingagain. Zakaria considers this to be an aberration, reflecting a "highly unusualgap between power and interests" that lasted for some thirty years (p. 5). Anexplanation, according to him, would not only require a full historical account,but also "first-cut theories" which clarify national behavior (p. 8) ...
Islam as "The Middle Path"
Authors: Poston Larry
Published: December 2020

This article describes an observable pattern in Western converts' journeyto Islam. It shows how at an early stage in their life, manyWesterners are disenchanted with their religion, Christianity orJudaism, and proceed to explore radical alternatives including new agereligion, eastern religions and even various cults. Their search for spiritualand religious identity is usually not satiated by these alternativesand so they gradually gravitate toward Islam. The author argues that inIslam these converts find reason, order, meaning, and a contemporaryrelevance that is missing in western as well as eastern religions. It is theopportunity to traverse the "Middle Path," familiar yet new, similar yetdifferent, which the author suggests may well be the reason why these"seekers" eventually find whatever they are looking for in Islam.
The Critical Path
Authors: Safi Louay M.
Published: December 2020

Contemporary Islamic scholarship emerged in the mid-nineteenth centuryin response to the overall stagnation of Muslim society and culture.Muslim reformers advanced a simple but powerful thesis: overcoming theweaknesses and deficiencies of contemporary Muslim society requires profoundsocial and cultural reforms, and hence a critical examination of traditionalthought and institutions.The pioneers of contemporary Islamic reform were versed in both modemWestern and traditional Islamic thought. Early reformers, such as Al-Afghani, Abduh, al-Kawakibi, and Iqbal critically engaged both the systemof ideas inherited from the Muslim past and those received from the modernWest. Their free spirit, inquisitive minds, and unyielding courageallowed them to place intellectual reform on a critical yet balanced path.While the tradition of critical thinking they espoused continues to growand flourish among many contemporary Muslim thinkers, the balance theymaintained in criticizing the self and the other has been lost by a large segmentof Muslim intellectuals. Most Muslim intellectuals are critical ofeither traditional Muslim scholarship or Western thought, but seldom both.This one-sidedness has turned knowledge and scholarship into a partisantool to be used against the perceived ideological adversary.Factors contributing to the one-sidedness of many contemporary Muslimscholars are numerous, and are often rooted in pure political or economicmotives. Two factors, however, stand out as expressively theoretical andintellectual: the ahistorical view of ideas and concepts among Muslims,whereby what has been devised by early scholars is given universal andabsolute validity; and the absence of an Archimedean point from which theintellectual can judge both.For over a century now, Muslim intellectuals have been divided into twomajor blocs, the advocates of modernity and the defenders of Islamic tradition.The former continue to see Islam as a premodern legacy, incapable ofleading Muslim society into a challenging future. Trapped in an end-of-historymindset, they have not been able to develop a critical approach to ...
In the Land of Free People
Authors: Barkcin Savas s.
Published: December 2020

Presented here is an analysis of the political thought of Ahmet Agaoglu,one of the sounding boards of Mwtafa Kemal Atatiirk. In his utopianwork “In the Land of Free People,’’ he is preoccupied with the idea ofmaking Turkey a “progressive” state so that it can attain the standardachieved by Western civilization. How it is done does not matter, aslong as the country is put on the path of “liberalism,” which to him isthe shortcut to development. The liberalism suggested by Agaogu isnot via privileging individual rights through popular will (as in theWest), but through manipulation by the state; even if it must beachieved through despotic practices.
Passport Photos
Authors: Mir Raza
Published: December 2020

What does it mean to be a migrant, to be itinerant, to forever engage in a“dialogue of civilization”? How do migrants make sense of their identity in aworld where every aspect of it is constantly under negotiation by border-keepersand original settlers and earlier immigrants? In his bold new book PassportPhotos, Amitava Kumar, a professor of English at the University of Florida,examines some of the problems faced by diasporic communities through thestudy of an important document, the passport. To the immigrant, the passportis an important intersection between “identity” and “document.” This deep,sensitive and, at times, funny reading of the passport makes for a very thoughtprovokingbook, and I unreserved19 recommend it to anyone who is interestedin a sensitive portrayal of the immigrant experience. The book is like immigrantsthemselves. It speaks in multiple languages, and is obsessed with documents.Among its many tongues, it speaks in academic and political cadences,mixes prose and poetry, sprinkles Urdu and Spanish, quotes Namdeo Dhasal,a poet from India and Louis Arrago, the Mexican poet-activist. It layers Urduupon Spanish, words upon pictures, and best of all, garnishes it with Kumar’spoetry, which is quite magical. There are several poems, each of which is worththe price of admission on a stand-alone basis.In the second paragraph of its preface, the author makes his point clear: “thisbook is a forged passport.” There is, of course, a delightful wordplay here. Wecan read the act of forging as illegal duplication, but we can also read it in termsfamiliar to a blacksmith, the book is forging or creating a new way to understandpassports, borders, being an immigrant and being foreign. As someonewho personally knows several “illegal immigrants,” I used their reality as atouchstone to judge the book. If the book speaks to their condition, withoutromanticizing them or being condescending to them, displaying both theirbravery and their baggage, then it is a good book. If the book cannot reachthem, it is little more than words and I will dismiss it as yet another piece ofdesultory identity politicking.The book certainly fulfiils the above criteria, and much more. It representsthe multilayered experience of immigrants without reducing it to wordplay. At ...
A Muslim Theory of Human Society
Authors: Dangor Suleman
Published: December 2020

l11e book is composed of an introduction, five chapters, a bibliography, andan index. In the first chapter, the author presents Malik Bennabi's understandingof religion and its pace in human life. The second chapter outlines his viewsas to why human beings associate with each other and form societies. The thirdchapter deals with the constitution and dynamics of society as conceived byBennabi. The fourth chapter is devoted to culture which features prominentlyin his writings. The final chapter discusses his cyclical theory of human socioculturaland historical development.The author informs us that he was introduced to Bennabi's thoughts by readinghis Le Phenomene Coranique (The Qur'anic Phenomenon). He was soimpressed with Bennabi's writing that when he contributed an article on theprospects of an Islamic theory of human society, he referred not only to theworks of Ali Shariati, Muhammad Baqir as-Sadr, Murtaza Mutahhari, but alsoto Bennabi. An international seminar on Malik Bennabi held at the Universityof Malaya in Kuala Lumpur in 1991 gave him the opportunity to read a paperdealing with Bennabi's contribution to social theory, in addition to inspiring ...
Reason, Authority and the Text
Authors: Safi Louay M.
Published: December 2020

Modem thought rose out of a fierce and protracted struggle in Europebetween the pre-modem religious tradition, which located ultimate truth indivine text, and a philosophical tradition which placed truth in human experienceand insisted that truth could be attained through the intellectualexamination of human reality. Enlightenment scholars succeeded indeednot only in defending the autonomy of rationality and reason, but also inusing human intellect to develop modem social sciences.Methodical and systematic approaches to understanding human experiencepropelled modem scholarship forward in its attempts to provide a betterunderstanding of human psyche and condition. This led to the developmentof elaborate theories and research methods in the areas of social studies,economics, politics, psychology, administration, and others. Whilemodem scholarship made impressive advances by using analytical reasoningto shed light on social phenomena, it hit a solid wall in its efforts to basevalue systems on an empirically defined rationality. Many modem scholarswere initially inclined to shrug off the importance of values to social knowledgeand social understanding. Some even tried to deny the transcendentalnature of values. Ultimately though, the dominant positivist school wasforced to give up its attempt to build human knowledge on a purely empiricalbasis.The failure of modem thought to develop a purely rational scholarly traditionhas emboldened postmodem writers, and encouraged them to denythe possibility of pursuing truth. Hence rationalism has been placed on anequal footing with irrationality, and morality has been equated withimmorality.Power of ReasonThe intellectual impasse we all face today may be traced back to theEnlightenment scholars' efforts to sever human values from their transcendentalbase, and to marginalize the irqportance of religious beliefs, or thelack thereof, in shaping the scholar's attitude, and in providing the transcendentalpresuppositions essential for social research. However, modem ...
Qaddafi and Islam in Libya
Authors: El-Khuwas Mohamed A.
Published: December 2020

Islam, the dominant religion, has had a special place in traditionalLibyan society, where the overwhelming majority of the people areSunni Muslims, accepting the Quran and the Sunna as the primarysources of the Islamic faith. “Religion has dominated all facets of life,“significantly affect(ing) the structures, values, and attitudes of Libyansociety. It is a primary unit of loyalty and identity.”’ Mu’ammar al-Qaddafi, a devout Muslim, acknowledges that the effect of Islam is “verysignificant on everyone of us. We cannot deny that religion is an essentialfactor in the lives of all peoples.”Prior to the Qaddafi-led coup in 1969, religious organizations andleaders played a major role in the educational, social and political life ofthe country, particularly in the institutions that regulated the society.Notable religious leaders not only dominated the judicial system but alsoimportant political committees and advisory councils. In this respect,Libya was a typical, traditional society where religion was entangled inthe web of national politics.This has been evident throughout Libyan history. The SanusiyyahBrotherhood, a militant Sufi religious order founded in the nineteenthcentury, played a crucial role in the national resistance against Italiancolonial rule and, subsequently, contributed to the shaping of thecountry’s destiny in the post-independence period. Between 1951-1969,religion was “a political symbol of crucial importance in controlling andmobilizing the masses.” King Mohammed Idris al-Sanusi, who wastrained in Islamic theology and law (Sharia), used his position as Grand ...
Islamization of Knowledge with Special Reference to Political Science
Authors: AbuSulayman AbdulHamid
Published: December 2020

IntroductionThis paper discusses the crisis of thought prevailing in the Muslim worldtoday, and considers it a fundamental cause of the current degeneration,decadence and backwardness of the “Ummah.” Hopefully, it also highlightsthe role the International Institute of Islamic Thought will play in counteractingand ultimately overcoming the crisis.Such a theme inevitably brings the Islamic concept of knowledge to theforefront. First of all it must be decided whether such an investigation is merelyan intellectual extravanganza or whether there is actually a real issue thatdeserves investigating. No one possessing insight into the condition of theUmmah can fail to realize that there exists a crisis involving a number of issuesand complex dimensions. These issues are:1. The backwardness of the Ummah.2. The weakness of the Ummah.3. The intellectual stagnation of the Ummah.4. The absence of Ijtihad in the Ummah.5. The absence of cultural progress in the Ummah.6. The Ummah’s losing touch with the basic norms of Islamic civilization.All these issues indicate, in one way or the other, the intellectual crisisprevailing in the Muslim World. There is no doubt that this crisis is the causeand, at the same time, evidence of the decadence and impotence of the Ummah,and prevents it from anything significant to the culture and civilizationof the modern world. This incapability is futher exacerbated by the frequencyof political, economic and military crises ...
A New Co-Editor Joins the American Journal of Islam and Society
Authors: Naguib Shuruq
Published: December 2020

It is a great honor to introduce myself as the new Co-Editor of the American Journal of Islam and Society. Developing the future of this journal is a considerable intellectual trust that I can only envisage as a collective effort to be undertaken with the journal’s excellent editorial team. Under Dr. Ovamir Anjum’s editorial leadership in the last few years, the journal established a very successful trajectory, combining high academic quality and timely treatment of topics of interest to diverse communities of readers.In this introductory note, I would like to begin by expressing my commitment to the vision behind the recent name change from the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences to the American Journal of Islam and Society. The new name captures the multidisciplinarity of the journal’s current content. This multidisciplinarity is reflected too in the editorial team’s varied areas of expertise, to which I bring my primary academic interest in Qur’anic and tafsīr studies; my work and experiences in developing Islamic Studies as a subject in its own right in Britain, which led to my involvement in founding and launching the British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS); and my more recent work on Islam and Muslims in Britain. Some common threads run across these different academic interests and activities, but one mode in which they have significantly intersected for me is through questions of gender, both conceptually and institutionally. It is this last aspect of my work that I am keen to draw upon as Co-Editor of the journal.
Shuruq Naguib, Co-Editor, American Journal of Islam and SocietyLecturer, Department of Philosophy, Politics, and ReligionLancaster University, Lancaster, UK
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On the Social and Cultural History of the Moriscos
Authors: Abdallah Fadel
Published: December 2020

Following the reconquest of Granada in 1492, the Muslim minority in Spain,known demgatorily as Moriscos, were subjected to harsh measures in the formof edicts and restrictions. Forced to live in a hostile environment, which happenedto be their homeland, they developed their own attitude, accompaniedby passive resistance and sporadic revolt. This attitude was expressed in anextensive, clandestine and mostly anonymous literature known as the Aljamiadoliterature, which was for the most part written in the Romance in Arabic script.Although the Moriscos preserved a sentimental attachment to Arabic as theirown language, they were no longer able to use it. This literature was, for themost part, inspired by Arabic models that not only expressed defiance towardsthe oppressor, but also reiterated Islamic values. Written mostly during theXV and XVI centuries, the Aljamiado literature is significant for the studyof cultural change, offering valuable data for the historian, religious scholar,sociologist, anthropologist, philologist, belle - lettrist, and civil and humanrights advocate, who would gain insight into the fate of a deprived andpersecuted minority living in a hostile environment.The work under review is intended according to its author “to survey andanalyze the selfexpression of the Moriscos as contained in their own literature;it also assesses the status of a minority struggling for survival, with referenceto ideological conflict, the clash of religions and cultures, and differing mutualperceptions.” Although the work is intended to be a general “cultural and socialhistory,” as the sub-title indicates, it is in many ways a study of the mentulitaeof a group of people who were forced to live on the defensive in their bidfor survival ...
Towards an Interest-Free Islamic Economic System
Authors: Anwar Muhammad
Published: December 2020

The author, who is chief economist at the Banker's Equity Limited, aninterest-free institution in Pakistan, earned his Ph.D. in 1983 from BostonUniversity. This book, a revised version of his doctoral dissertation acceptedat that university, is the first publication sponsored by the International Associationfor Islamic Economics in collaboration with the Islamic Foundation.The study contains important lessons for both interest-bearing and theinterest-free Islamic societies. Theoreticians and practitioners in finance canequally benefit from this timely publication. It is therefore a very useful additionto the literature in Islamic economics and in the "signalling theory"in finance, which are both new and fast growing areas of study.Traditional banking is on the brink of crisis at present. The banks are failingat a post-depression record rate in the United States. Experts agree thata single event such as inability of the developing nations to service their debt,a steep fall in oil prices, withdrawal of petrodollars from the traditional institutions,or a significant rise in the interest rates, can lead to hture widespreadfailures of banking institutions. Traditional bankers in search of alternativessuch as Islamic banking can benefit from Dr. Khan's rigorous cost benefitanalysis.Muslim societies interested in Islamization can recognize some of the difficultiespointed out by the author, especially the information or disclosurecosts associated with interest-free financing. Material incentives, which frequentlyexceed the moral teachugs of Islam in contempomy Muslim societies,may lead to dishonesty in reporting the costs and benefits of business projectsamong the concerned parties.Chapter one outlines the objectives and organization of the study. Readersare informed that the origin of the principles of Islamic economics lies in ...
The Cultural Atlas of Islam
Authors: Al Faruqi Ismail , Al Faruqi Lamya’
Published: December 2020

This magnifrcent book, published by Macmillan a month after the Faruqis’deaths, presents the entire world view of Islam-its beliefs, traditions, institutions,and its place in the cultures in which it has taken mot. THE CULTURALATLAS OF ISLAM is not only a comprehensive introduction to the Islamicexperience in history and the modern world. It is an authoritative and deeplyfelt statement of the faith of Islam, written for those of all faiths. Isma‘il andLois Lamya’ al Faruqi’s book is, in fact, Islam explaining itself.Rich with more than 300 photographs, drawings, and other illustrations,and with some 75 original maps, this is a unique guide to the meaning ofIslam and its shaping force on cultures from the Mediterranean to the Pacific.This is, however, much more than a history of events; it is a clear presentationof the essence of Islamic civilization in all its spheres, from everydaypractices of Muslims around the world to the Islamic legacy in art, science,law, politics, and philosophy.The authors begin with the ancient setting of Islam, examining the differentstrands of influence-Arab, Mesopotamian, Canaanite, and Hebrew-that wereits frontrunners. Islam, the authors demonstrate, brought together diverse traditionsand from them forged the unique body of belief, thought, and practicethat continues to animate Muslim life today throughout the world.Part Two explains the concept of Tawhid-the essence of Islam that bindstogether the lives of its believers. Tawhid is the affirmation of God as One,Absolute, and Ultimate; it deeply affects all aspects of Islamic thought, expression,and behavior.Part Three shows how this core of belief takes shape in scripture, socialinstitutions, and the arts-the forms which God’s revelations to Muhammadassumed in the historical fabric of Islam. There is a concise introduction tothe fundamental nature of the Quran, and to the collection of Muhammad’ssayings and deeds that clarify its statements-the Sunnah. The ways in whichIslam affects social life and its institutions-from education and family lifeto the making of the Hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca-is also examined. So,too, is the central role of the Qur'an in defining artistic expression.part Four is a remarkable exploriltion of the manifestations of Islam in all ...
Orientalism on the Revelation of the Prophet
Authors: Benaboud Muhammad
Published: December 2020

W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Mecca (Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1953), 192pp., and Muhammad at Medina (Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1956), 417 pp.Maxime Rodinson, Mahomet (France: Club francais du livre, 1961), 378 pp., English translationby Anne Carter Muhammad, (London, The Penguin Press, 1971), with New Introductionand Foreward (New York, Pantheon Books, 1980), 363 pp.Duncan Black MacDonald, Aspects of lslam (New York, The Macmillan Company, 1911), 375 pp.The biography (Sira) of the Prophet Muhammad (SAAW) has attractedthe interest of scholars in both the Islamic world and the West for centuries.Vast literature exists on the subject in Arabic and in numerous European andAsian languages. The reasons for this interest are numerous and complex,ranging from religious to ideological and political motivations. The earliestArabic biographies of the Prophet date back to the second century of the Hijra/eighth century A.C. The Sira of Ibn-Ishaq and that of Ibn-Hisham (basedon the former) have had the greatest influence on the vast literature concerningthe Sira. Yet there are Siras dating back to the sixth and seventh centuriesA.H. which are still in the form of manuscripts waiting to be edited. TheQur‘an and the sayings and actions of the Prophet (Hadith) are the two mostimportant sources for studying the Prophet’s Sira.The Prophet’s biography has attracted great interest also in the West. Duringthe Middle Ages, the Prophet was the object of attack by Christian priestsand propagandists, whom we might call the original Orientalists. He wasdenigrated, his figure was deformed, and he was given insolent names like ...
The Sociology of Knowledge
Authors: Wright Theodore P.
Published: December 2020

The concept “sociology of knowledge” emerged from European sociologyand especially from Marxist thought which posited that the socialcharacteristics of a category of thinkers determine their intellectual productsas much or more than the intrinsic merit of their ideas themselves.’ whileMarxists, as materialists, naturally emphasized the effects of the social classof their bourgeois and feudal opponents on the latter‘s thinking in order to discounttheir arguments, the notion of social determinism can be equally wellapplied to other categories of thinkers such as national, ethnic, or religious inanalyzing their impact on an academic discipline, provided that one is carefulnot to assume a simplistic, one-to-one correlation between a thinker‘s socialbackground or religion and his ideas.It is my purpose in this paper to explore the causes, degree, and possibleconsequences of the disproportionate role of people of Jewish origin, if notfaith, in the development of the social sciences, particularly in the periodsince World War II in North America, compared to the as yet meager impactof Muslims in those fields. The powerful impact of Jewish scholars is not juston U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, which is well-known if controversial,but, anterior to policy-making , they have largely shaped the paradigms,the conceptual apparatus, with which most Westerners, approach, perceive,and analyze society in general and the Muslim world in particular.A cautionary note first is in order. Scholars who are by others or bythemselves designated as “Jewish” vary, like Muslims and Christians, fromthe most orthodox to the most secualr, so one must avoid stereotyping and ...
“Islamization of Attitude and Practice in Science and Technology”
Authors: Lodhi Airifin
Published: December 2020

The subject Workshop, “Islamization of Attitude and Practice in Scienceand Technology”, was held in the new IIIT Building, 555 Grove Street, Hemdon,VA. The theme of the Workshop was discussed under four sub themes:Attitude and Practice in:a) Research, Education and Profession in a Hostile Environmentb) Research and Research Administration in the Muslim Worldc) Particular Fields in Science and Technologyd) Future Science and Technology: What Should Be Done?They were twelve papers presented in six workshops of 1 1/2 hour each.The titles and authors of the papers are as follows:Dr. Essam Ismail - Profiles of Muslim Students in USA: PopulationDr. M. Yameen Zubairi - The Principle of Intrinsic OpportunityDr. Syed M. Amir - Scientgc Research in Muslim Countriesand OrientationDr. Sajjad H. Durani - Incorporation of Islamic Values in the Administrationof a Science Research InstituteDr. S. Imtiaz Ahmad - Perspectives on Knowledge EngineeringDr. Muhammad Ishaq Zahid - Use of Islamic Beliefs in Mathematicsand Computer Science Education

Dr. Adel A. Bakr - A Blue Print for the Islamization of Attitudesand Practices in Earth Sciences with Special Emphasis on Groundwater Hydrology Dr. Mazhar Hussaini - Islamic Attitudes and Practices in Food andNutritional SciencesDr. M. A. K. Lodhi - The Making of a Scientist or The Islamizing of aMuslim Scientist ...
Ibn Khaldun’s Fourteenth Century Views on Bureaucracy
Authors: Mieczkowsici Bogdan
Published: December 2020

IntroductionAdam Smith observed in his Wealth of Nations in 1776 that kings-or inmy terminology the early bureaucratic leaders - existed already in “that rudestate of society which precedes the extension of commerce and the improvementof manufactures” (Smith 1976: 907). Max Weber considered bureaucracya necessary precondition for the development of society (Mieczkowski 1984:105-06; Zinam 1984: 77-78) providing the element of functional organizationand purpose. However, since power corrupts, it comes as no surprise thateven the early bureaucratic leaders developed some dysfunctional traits, thatcorruption all too frequently became the prevalent mode of operation, andthat the benign functional bureaucratic organizations, or ”borgs,” became inmany cases transformed into “dysborgs,” or the dysfunctional bureaucraticorganizations. An analysis of dysborgs and of some of their implications isoffered in Mieczkowski and Zinam, Bureaucracy, Ideology, Technology: Qualityof Life East and West (1984), and the terminology that is used in the presentessay to interpret historical views, with their original concepts, will befrom the Mieczkowski and Zinam book.Because the rudimentary bureaucratic organization developed early, someastute observers found already in remote times that bureaucracy is not alwaysbenign. It was, therefore, with great interest that I discovered one such observerwho had been neglected by Western historians of economic thought, exceptfor a footnote and a bare small-print mention in Joseph Schumpeter‘s Historyof Economic Analysis (1954: 136, 788), a footnote in Colin Clark’s Conditionsof Economic Progress (1957: 6), and a footnote in Barry Gordon’sEconomic Analysis Before Adam Smith (1957: 121). The writer in questionwas an Arab historian and philosopher, Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), who coveredmany topics of interest to economists, and who in some respects was headof the founder of the science of economics, Adam Smith. Such occasional ...
Re-Islamization of the West African Ummah A Model for Tajdid?
Authors: Doi Abdur Rahman I.
Published: December 2020

IntroductionHuman development, from the Islamic point of view, can be achieved onlyby following the footsteps of the Prophet (SAAS). The nearer one comes toimbibing the Message of the Quran, Sunnah, and Shari’ah in one’s life, themore humanly developed one becomes, because personal development in Islamis measured by one’s refinement in living this Message. The more refinedand developed are the persons in a community, the better will be their cultureand civilization.As long as Muslims continued moulding their life according to the Shari‘ah,their civilization in Medina, Baghdad, Andullis, Constantinople, and Delhiflourished. The decline and fall of Islamic civilization came when Muslimsstarted paying mere lip service to the formula of faith and departing fromthe spirit and purposes of the Shari‘ah. This was the unfortunate phenomenonthroughout the Muslim world. Fortunately, the rightly inspired people roseto bring back the erring Muslims to the path of the Shari’ah. This paper seeksto present an assessment of the dynamics used by a Mujaddid (a promoterof Tajdid or revival) of West Africa to re-Islamize a society that had sunkinto the abyss of confusion.Islam in West AfricaWest Africa, situated south of the Sahara desert, and which the Arabhistorians called Bilad al Sudan, has witnessed in the past, many Islamicempires, e.g., Ghana, Mali, Songhai, and Bornu, the last of which was theSokoto Caliphate. It emerged from the process of Tajdid (renewal or revival inaccordance with the Quran and Sunnah)’ which was started by Shehu(Shaikh) ‘Uthman Danfodio (1754-1817) in 1774, and which culminated in ...
Reorganization of Islamic Banking
Authors: Anwar Muhammad
Published: December 2020

IntroductionTraditional banking is rejected by Islamic scholars mainly because of interest.Interest-bearing banking is supposedly being replaced by profit-sharingbanking organized on the basis of two-tier mudambu. Seigniorage (differencebetween face value and intrinsic value of money) resulting from expansionin demand deposits will continue accruing to the interest-free banking system.Islamic economists consider it unjust to leave the seigniorage in the handsof private banks.Money experts feel strongly that the seigniorage should be transfered tosociety by financing welfare projects. A dual banking scheme is proposedhere that will accomplish this task and contribute towards achievement of someother socio-economic goals of an Islamic society.The major role of banlung for an economy is presented in section I. Interestfreebanlung is outlined in section II. Dual banlung scheme, with its justificationand socio-economic implications, is proposed in the final section.I. General Role of BankingEconomists classify all economic agents into households, business firms,and government. An economic dgent must operate within its budget constraint.The budget of an economic unit could be balanced, in deficit, or insurplus for a given period depending on, respectively, whether its incomematches its expenditures, income exceeds its expenditures, or expendituresexceed its income. Savings from the surplus economic units (SEU) are transferredto the deficit economic units (DEU)in order to satisfy current investmentand consumption needs of DEUs and increase incomes of SEUs for the ensuing ...
The Intellectual Role of Islamizing Librarianship
Authors: Siddiqui Rashid
Published: December 2020

Mawlana Mawdudi (may Allah be pleased with him) has made a verythought-provoking remark in his introduction to “Al Jihad fd Islam7 He writes:“It is a natural weakness of human beings. If one is defeated in a battlefieldhe is also overwhelmed in the field of knowledge. He cannot contest inpenmanship with one by whose sword he has been defeated.”lThe inferiority of Muslims in the intellectual domain is well documentedand does not need any elaboration. Now it is the task of Muslim scholarsto take up the challenge of redressing the imbalance. One area of scholarshipoften neglected by scholars is library science.The task required to Islamize science calls for immense intellectualcapacity. One should be expert not only in the field of library science butshould also possess deep insight into the faith of Islam, its culture, andcivilization. It is only through the combination of these qualities that a newcreative discipline can be produced.Library science, as developed in the West, is bound to reflect the imageof Western civilization. Subject classification, the rules for cataloguing, listsof subject headings and other techniques employed to exploit literature allportray the Western way of life.Islam has its own world view of human affairs and Islamic literaturenaturally will reflect this world view. To restrict Islam under the heading“religion” following the Western conceptualization violates the very basicconcepts of Islamic principles. The response of librarians when faced withthis challenge is to adapt the existing classification. Though such adaptationsmay be useful they not only hopelessly fail to tackle the real problem, butdistort and disfigure the serene harmony of Islamic values. What is neededis totally new and radical approach by Muslim librarians to work out a new ...
Second Annual Conference of the “ASEAN Muslim Social Scientists’ Forum”
Authors: Mutalib Hussain
Published: December 2020

The Muslim Social Science Scholars’ Forum of ASEAN (Associationof Southeast Asian Nations) held its Second Meeting in Bangkok, Thailandfrom Mubrram 20-23, 1409lSeptember 1-4, 1988, under the auspices of theFoundation for Democracy and Development Studies. The theme for themeeting was “Muslim Scholars and Social Science Research,” aimed atdocumenting, discussing and analyzing the types of scholarship or researchthat have been done about Muslims in the Southeast Asian region, particularlywithin the ASEAN countries.A select group of Muslim social science scholars (together with someMuslim politicians) from the countries within ASEAN, except Brunei, wereinvited to the “Forum.” They included: Drs. Dawan Raharjo and NurcholisMajid, and Professor Moeslim (Indonesia), Drs. Surin Pitsuwan, SeneeMadmarn and Chaiwat (Thailand), Drs. Yusof Talib and Hussain Mutalib(Singapore), Professors Taib Osman and Wan Hashim and Umar Farouq(Malaysia), and Drs. Carmen Abubakar, Madale and Mastura (Philippines).All participants were either presenters of papers or discussants.Throughout the four-day deliberations, participants discussed the typesof studies and research that have been the focus of scholars studying Muslimcommunities in the ASEAN region. Some titles of papers included: “MuslimStudies in the Phillipines;” “Social Science Research in Thailand;” and “SocialScience Research in Malaysia: the Case of Islamic Resurgence.”Given the “closed-door” ‘nature of the meeting (participation was byinvitation only), there was adequate time for a more intensive, frank andthorough discussions of the papers. Problems and issues were aired and posed,and alternative options offered by participants. For every paper, there wasa discussant; hence, the issues that came out of the papers managed to beseen, discussed and appreciated from a more complete and balancedperspective.By and large, the Bangkok meeting was a successful one. Theapproximately twenty participants were generally pleased with the high qualityof papers presented and the sense of brotherhood that prevailed. The warmhospitality of the hosts from Thailand was also appreciated ...