bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Chinese Sultanate
Authors: Ma Haiyun
Published: October 2020

David G. Atwill’s recent historical work joins in the anthropological streamof studying the ethnic groups of China’s Yunnan province. This book presentsa history of the violence in nineteenth-century Yunnan, to which ethnicity,economics, culture, environment, and politics all contributed. It consistsof ten chapters, the first of which discusses the bloody history of the Hui(Muslim) genocide by the Han (Chinese). In this chapter, Atwill identifieswhy the Han resent the Hui and refutes conventional assumptions about thePanthay rebellion (1856-72). The second chapter situates nineteenth-centuryYunnan in mosaic landscapes of region, commerce, ethnicity, and geographyand provides the context for understanding the ensuing violence. The thirdchapter presents the history, communities, and networks of Muslims inmultiethnic Yunnan, and the fourth chapter discusses Han trouble-makers(Hanjianism) in Yunnan’s borderlands and presents a history of non-Hanresistance to Han expansion.The fifth and sixth chapters concentrate on Han hostility toward the Huiand documents in detail the massacre of Muslims by Han officials and militiaas well as major Hui resistance campaigns: rebellions in Yunnan’s eastern,southern, and western regions. The seventh chapter discusses divisionsamong Yunnan’s Hui, which were largely due to differences in region, religion,and personal ambitions, along with the Qing policy of using some Huito control other Hui. The eighth chapter focuses on the Dali regime (1856-72), which Atwill surprisingly labels as “Sultanate,” and discusses its multiethniccharacter. The ninth chapter presents the back-and-forth battlesbetween the Dali Sultanate and the Qing, and the fall of the Dali regime. Thetenth chapter, as an epilogue, critiques the existing scholarship, which failsto note the facts of the Han massacre of the Hui and the multiethnic backingof the Dali regime. It also restates that the Panthay rebellion was primarilya Hui-led indigenous multiethnic resistance to the Han immigrants’ hunger ...
The Cham Bani of Vietnam
Authors: Phu Ba Trung
Published: October 2020

Based on 1989 statistics, approximately 131,282 Cham live in Vietnam.They are the descendents of Champa, an Indian-Hindu kingdom that, centurieslater, was heavily influenced by Arabic-Islamic culture. Buddhismalso made its way into Champa, but was confined to the royal circle duringthe reign of King Indravarman II (c. 896-905). Historically, the Cham weredivided along religious lines: Hindu and Muslim. The Muslim population issubdivided further between the Cham Banis and the mainstream (Sunni)Cham Islam. The Cham population is concentrated mainly in the lowermiddleand southern parts of Vietnam. In the middle part, they live scatteredin the Phan Rang and Phan Ri regions. In the southern and southwesternparts, they live in Tay Ninh, Chau Doc, An Giang, Ho Chi Minh City, LongKhanh, and Binh Phuoc cities. The Cham Banis and Cham Hindus onlyreside in Phan Rang and Phan Ri. There, the Cham Banis make up about onehalfof the Cham population, while the remaining half is Cham Hindu. However,in the south and southwest, all of them follow mainstream Islam ...
Editorial
Authors: Bullock Katherine
Published: October 2020

As if to give the lie to my last editorial, in which I argued that the “war onterror” was a smokescreen covering the imperial ambitions of the UnitedStates’ neo-conservative political elite, on the day that the issue went to press,Toronto’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced the arrest ofseventeen young Muslim men on terrorism-related charges. Five are under18, several are over 30, and the rest are in their late teens and early 20s.The shock permeated Toronto. Non-Muslims were shocked that “itcould happen here,” and Muslims were shocked that some of their own werewilling to kill fellow Canadians. As can be imagined, the following mediafrenzy displayed the usual racism (disguised as attacks on multiculturalism)from commentaries, editorials, letters to the editor, and experts concerningthe “threat” of Muslim extremism in Canada. Muslim organizations andthose with links to the media were back on the media circuit (or is it circus?)doing interviews, hot on the heels of the cartoon controversy, trying toexplain this and to distance themselves and Islam as a religion from attack.There was the usual spike in Islamophobic backlash, although this waslargely contained by Toronto’s Mayor David Miller and other leaders.There was also the usual skepticism and claims of anti-Muslim discriminationfrom some Muslims. While we do not know the veracity of the evidence,and while it may be admirable that the belief is so strong that Islamprohibits terror that we cannot conceive of fellow Muslims doing such athing, it ultimately harms the community that this kind of response is sowidespread. For one thing, the media use this sentiment to mock us and portrayus as cold and indifferent to the threat of terror. For another, although itseems to be painful for some to admit, our community has to take ownershipof the extremism existing in its midst.These men may be innocent and may have been framed or discriminatedagainst, but we have to face up to the results of such extremist interpretations.It is all very well to say that “this is not Islam” and to worry aboutthe media’s portrayal of Islam as a religion of violence, but we must also talkto ourselves and our youths and show them that such actions are beyond thepale of Islam. Moreover, we need to debunk the arguments of those Muslimswho challenge this view ...
Reflections from the Social Sciences on the Possible Causes of Abusing Muslim Prisoners of War
Authors: Schumm Walter R.
Published: October 2020

The entire civilized world has been shocked by the many abusesperpetrated against Muslim prisoners of war by members of theAllied Forces, chiefly the United Kingdom and the United States.Here, the author, a former commander of Enemy Prisoner of War(EPW) units in the U.S. Army Reserve and author of several militaryarticles on the importance of treating prisoners properly,reflects upon the sociological and psychological causes of suchunjust, unlawful, and tragic abuse. One possible cause is the adoptionof a pragmatic social exchange theory approach, rather than amoral approach, to the humane treatment of enemy prisoners: Ifthe enemy does not hold many prisoners, there is less reason,under a pragmatic approach, to reject abuse (“They cannot getback at us by abusing our people they have captured because theyhave almost none.”) ...
Islam and Global Dialogue
Authors: Bullock Katherine
Published: October 2020

If there were ever a time that a book on religious pluralism and peace oughtto be required reading for politicians, public intellectuals, policymakers, andthe media, as well as a general audience, that time is now. Conceived as aresponse to the excoriation of Islam after 9/11, Roger Boase has put togethera remarkable book on the need for interreligous dialogue as the only way to“lay the foundations for a more peaceful world (p. xviii).” This need reverberatesthrough each chapter, be it written by a Jewish, Christian, or Muslimscholar. This means that, as in a symphony, even though each scholar writesgrounded in his/her own faith tradition (instrument), their collective voiceschorus the same song. It makes for very powerful reading.The book is divided into three parts, with a foreword on the importanceof bridge building between cultures by HRH Prince Hassan bin Talal, theformer crown prince of Jordan, a preface and an introduction by Boase, anda postscript by author Wendell Berry on the failure of war as a way to securepeace. After initially considering inviting scholars from all faith traditions tocontribute, Boase decided there was not space in a single volume to do thisin an adequate way. Therefore, the book focuses on contributions fromscholars from the three Abrahamic faith traditions: Judaism, Christianity,and Islam. He rightly says that this gives the book a tighter focus. Given theimportance of the West/Islamic civilizational divide these days, it is importantto have a book that focuses on these faith traditions. From a wider,global perspective, though, this may limit its potentially positive impactabout the need for interreligous dialogue only to those readers who identifywith one of the three Abrahamic faiths. Muslims in China, for instance,would need to appeal to whole different discourses in order to establish theneed for constructive Sino-Muslim dialogue for peace.Part One, “Defining the Issue,” has articles from three scholars who tryto set the terms of the discourse: John Bowden talks about the ...
Islam and Global Dialogue
Authors: Rosser-Owen Daoud
Published: October 2020

Edited by Dr Roger Boase with Foreword by HRH Prince Hassan binTalal. Essays by John Bowden, Diana Eck, Muhammad Legenhausen,Francis Robinson, William Dalrymple, Akbar Ahmed, Fred Halliday,Jonathan Sacks, Antony Sullivan, Robert Crane, Khaled Abou El Fadl,Tony Bayfield, Norman Solomon, Marcus Braybrooke, Frank Gelli,Murad Hofmann, Roger Boase, Jeremy Henzell-Thomas, MahmudAyoub, Wendell Berry.SPEAKERSRoger Boase: The question that we are discussing this evening is “What rolecan religion play in promoting peace instead of war and other forms of violence?”This is the one of the main questions that my book Islam and GlobalDialogue seeks to answer.I began the book in October 2001 after participating in a conferenceorganised by the Association of Muslim Social Scientists, entitled “Unityand Diversity: Islam, Muslims, and the Challenge of Pluralism.” Alreadybefore 11 September 2001 Islam was widely portrayed in the media as a belligerentand intolerant religion, incompatible with democracy and civilisedvalues. Half of those who responded to an opinion poll in the United Statesin the year 2000 thought that Islam supported terrorism.There was, and still is, much discussion about holy war, as if war canever be holy! I do not now intend to define jihad. That would take too long ...
Islamic Social and Political Movements in Turkey
Authors: Tatari Eren
Published: October 2020

In recent decades, political Islam has increasingly become a focus of politicalscience. Numerous branches of scholarship that analyze its dynamicswithin seemingly divergent theoretical frameworks have emerged. Somescholars have concentrated on international security threats stemming frompolitical Islam (what can be called the outcomes of this phenomenon),whereas others have focused on the causes of religious resurgence in anattempt to identify what has led to political Islam’s revival. This reviewessay will evaluate the second branch of scholarship, which, I believe,explores the core of the overarching issue and helps identify the causes, the“how” and “why” of the matter, rather then providing a descriptive analysisof “what” is happening.How and why Islamic social/political movements (ISPMs) haveemerged, as well as what sociopolitical circumstances determine where theyare headed, is essential to studying political Islam effectively. To this end, Iwill narrowly focus on the literature of ISPMs in Turkey,1 whose “secular”identity makes it an intriguing and unique case in comparison to other predominantlyMuslim countries, presumably with the exception of Tunisia.Thus, the emergence of strong Islamic movements in Turkey, how the interplaybetween the state and these groups have unfolded, and the futureprospects have broader implications for social movements, civil society, anddemocratization in numerous countries. Moreover, the academic work onIslamic movements is highly dynamic, since current social and politicalevents continuously shape these movements, which affect the country’s sociopolitical context ...
Sufism in the West
Authors: Dressler Markus
Published: October 2020

This edited volume, along with David Westerlund’s edited Sufism in Europeand North America (RoutledgeCurzon: 2004), are pioneering works, sincethe systematic study of this topic is still in its infancy. Its introduction andnine chapters bring together anthropological, historical, Islamicist, and sociologicalperspectives on questions of identity as regards Sufism’s doublemarginalization within a non-Muslim majority environment and within thebroader Islamic discourse. The Sufis’ need to position themselves againstand reconcile themselves with a variety of others causes western Sufis toemploy a fascinating kaleidoscope of strategies ranging from assimilation toconfrontation and appropriation.Jamal Malik’s introduction surveys Islamic mysticism and the “majorthemes of diasporic Sufism” (pp. 20-25). He presents the complex interrelatednessof ethnic, cultural, religious, and generational identities andaddresses important issues concerning representation, knowledge production,and adaptation. His conclusion that “Sufism – intellectually as well associologically – may eventually become mainstream Islam itself due toits versatile potential, especially in the wake of what has been called thefailure of political Islam worldwide” (p. 25), however, is rather bold.Nevertheless, as Ron Geaves shows, one has to acknowledge that, at leastin Great Britain and the United States, Sufis have begun to confront anti-Sufi rhetoric more openly. He describes Sufi-Muslim attempts to monopolizethe term ahl al-sunnah wa al-jam`ah (people of the tradition and the ...
The Cham Rebellion
Authors: Willoughby Jay
Published: October 2020

This book is a study of what happened to Cambodia’s Cham Muslims livingin the Khmer Rouge-controlled Kroch Chhmar district (Kampong Champrovince) during the 1970s. Based on reconstructed events and survivors’memories, it is an account of ordinary Muslims caught up in a utopian maelstromof deceit, brutality, fear, unexpected compassion, torture, and deliberatemurder on an almost unbelievable scale while the Muslim world, and theworld at large, was “occupied” with other concerns.Chapters 1 and 2 explain how the Khmer Rouge entered the district andfound young Cham and Khmer men eager to join up. How could they resist,when Norodom Sihanouk, who enjoyed near-divine status among the peasantryand presented himself as the sole architect of Cambodia’s independence,called upon them to join with the Khmer Rouge (which he had alreadydone) to reverse General Lon Nol’s overthrow of his government? In the “liberated”zones, the Khmer Rouge renamed villages with numbers; selectednew Cham village heads based on their lack of education, total servility, andunquestioning obedience; and gradually communalized life because, theypromised, that would make the people’s lives better and easier ...
Islamic Law, Gender, and Politics
Authors: Ahmad Junaid S.
Published: October 2020

Throughout February 2007, American University’s Washington College ofLaw (WCL) sponsored several important forums and conferences as part ofthe college’s “Founders’ Celebration.” The National Muslim Law StudentsAssociation (NMLSA), in conjunction with the WCL’s Islamic Legal Forum,proposed a conference that would look at the intersection of classical andmodern conceptions of Islamic law, discourses around gender and Islam, andthe larger political questions that often frame these issues. Many Muslim lawstudents were interested in engaging with these themes, which emerge fromany discussion on “Islam and/in the West,” or “Islam and Modernity.” Muslimlaw students and the region’s Muslim community in general, as well asinterested non-Muslims, were pleased to hear about WCL’s sponsorship andsupport for the conference, which was held on February 2-3, 2007.Mohammad Fadel (faculty member, School of Law, Toronto University)opened the first panel, “Islamic Law: An Introduction and Critical Issues,” bypresenting the basics of Islamic law. He clarified several misunderstandingsheld by Muslims by distinguishing between the Islamic juristic and legal traditionand the Islamic theological cum philosophical tradition. One of NorthAmerica’s leading scholars on Islamic law and with a J.D. from the ...
Landscapes of the Jihad
Authors: Hartmann Noga
Published: October 2020

In recent years, more has been written about jihad than any other single topicrelated to Islam. Faisal Devji tries to shed light on the people behind the slogans, documents concerning terrorism, and their inner logic by analyzing thewritings, interviews, and communiqués of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, as well as the will of Muhammad Atta (pp. 113-15). These andother illustrations clearly reflect the ideological viewpoint of the “jihadists.”This book, an interesting historical and cultural analysis of the so-called“jihadi” movement and its representatives today, focuses on the globalizationof jihad’s moral and aesthetic dimensions. The author deals with its conceptuallandscapes, namely, al-Qaeda’s models of belief and action. In his preface,Devji suggests that both the 1998 terror attacks against the Americanembassies in Dar al-Salaam and Nairobi and 9/11, all undertaken by al-Qaeda, turned jihad into a global weapon of spiritual conflict. Thus, its focushas extended far beyond its original struggle against the Soviet occupation ofAfghanistan. Devji explains: “Two factors make the Jihad into a globalmovement: the failure of local struggle and the inability to control a globallandscape of operations by the politics of intentionality” (p. 31) ...
Islam
Authors: Holtzman Livnat
Published: October 2020

In the epilogue of Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians, Francis EdwardPeters, an expert on medieval Arab thinkers and the author of several comparativeworks on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, describes what mighthave led him to write the present book: while sitting at his breakfast table,he watched the 9/11 events from his window. “My chief reaction on that terribleday was one of profound sadness […] at the sure knowledge of the hateand misunderstanding that prompted the act … I have spent half of my professionallife trying to explain the hate and unravel the misunderstandingthat pervades religious history” (p. 276). 

This book seeks to describe milestones of Islamic history, as well as itscore beliefs and customs, to western readers who are supposedly familiarwith the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. It is not an academic workper se, since, like his two-volume The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, andMuslims in Conflict and Competition (Princeton University Press: 2003),whose paragraphs on Islam are in fact similar – if not identical – to considerableportions of the present work, it lacks footnotes and a bibliography.The book contains nothing new for those already involved in this field.However, as it is the outcome of his long acquaintance with the Arabicsources and considerable classroom experience, it is extremely valuable andaccessible both for students and interested readers. From this respect, anyoneteaching introductory courses on Islam might benefit tremendouslyfrom Peters’ historical and cultural insights as well as from the didacticmethod employed here ...
Forty Years after the War of June 1967
Authors: Srour Soha
Published: October 2020

On 5 June 2007, the fortieth anniversary of the Six Day War and the Israelioccupation of Palestine, the Kay Spiritual Life Center hosted “Forty Yearsafter the War of June 1967: Is Israeli-Palestinian Peace Possible?” on thecampus of American University in Washington, DC. This panel featuredYuval Rabin (son of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin; governing board,the Rabin Center), Amjad Atallah (president, Strategic Assessments Initiative),Aaron David Miller (public policy scholar, the Woodrow WilsonCenter), and Ziad Asali (president, American Task Force on Palestine; panelchair).Rabin opened by describing the Six Day War as “a war of our existence.”He discussed the importance of the Camp David, Oslo, and other negotiationsand then talked about Israel’s 1967 victory. After stating that both sidesin this continued conflict have faced hardship, he also mentioned the lack ofknowledge involving certain issues.Atallah explained how Americans are bogged down with this conflict’stechnicalities, such as the number of checkpoints, which causes them to neglectthe bigger picture. He pointed out that on 29 November 1947, the UnitedNations General Assembly passed a resolution (33 to 13) recommending thatPalestine be partitioned into two states, with over half of the land going to theJews and the rest going to the Palestinians. By May 1948, according to theUnited Nations and the State Department, 350,000 Palestinians had beenexpelled from their homes. The Arab states declared war on Israel and, outnumberedand under-equipped, 400,000 more Palestinians were expelled. Atthe time, the Israelis accepted partition and the Arabs rejected the plan. Heexplained that the Israelis rushed to the Sinai Peninsula and the Jordan riverand fully understood the rules of diplomacy. This resulted in Jordan takingover what is now the West Bank. In the course of the Six Day War, another600,000 Palestinians were displaced, some for the second time ...
Tehran Blues
Authors: Armani David
Published: October 2020

This informative and timely book, Tehran Blues: How Iranian YouthRebelled Against Iran’s Founding Fathers, is skillfully crafted into elevenchapters that showcase current Iranian politics while drawing insights fromits past. Its author, Kaveh Basmenji, was born in Iran in 1961 and is a journalist,translator, and writer. The book’s main aimis to explore Iran’s presentdayyouths and their growing disillusionment with the rigid mores of thepresent regime. Theirs is a generation whose parents rose up against theShah’s excesses and who now feel distanced from the strict religious ideologyheld by their forbearers of two decades ago. Demanding liberalism andseeking pleasure, the Iranian youths of today are a force to be reckoned with and a potential powder-keg of societal instability.Why has Basmenji chosento focus on them? He answers this question by referring to George Orwell:“Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one thatwent before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”Through numerous interviews as well as an assessment of contemporaryIran’s sociopolitical landscape, Basmenji argues that contemporary Iranianyouths are in near-revolt, often openly defying the mullahs and their hardlinereligiosity. His premise is that Iran’s young people are tuning out theirIslamic government and are instead embracing an alternative world of privateparties, personal weblogs, movies, study, and dreaming about movingto the West ...
Revitalizing Higher Education in the Muslim World
Authors: Nagah Hadeer A.
Published: October 2020

AdbulHamid A. AbuSulayman’s book is an important and much-neededpublication in the field of Islamic social and educational sciences. In a verydirect, easy-to-read, and simple language, the book introduces the currentproblematic situation of Islamic higher education and offers a practical solution.The presented solution is not based on theoretical insights and analysisonly, as it offers the example of the International Islamic University Malaysia(IIUM) as a live, practical model. Through the extended metaphor of asick person, the author, a prestigious Islamic educator and thinker, picturesthe Muslim ummah as an ailing body that needs immediate treatment.Through his professionalism and expertise, he prescribes the remedy.The book’s first half provides the reader with a general overview of thecurrent situation of theMuslim ummah’s retarded position and explains howeducation and developing cognitive modules are particularly needed for therescue mission.A “nation” that contains about one-fifth of the world’s population, coversan area extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and has an illustriouspast of scientific discoveries now has a combined GNP (Gross National Product)less than that of France or Germany. This humiliating fact, accordingto AbuSulayman, speaks of the ummah’s current ailment. The author pointsto underdevelopment, division, tyranny, oppression, and education assome of the maladies. Yet instead of treating the symptoms of such maladies,as many scholars tend to do, he calls attention to the need to search forthe causes in order to devise a permanent treatment. One of the main causesthat AbuSulayman discusses is the imitation and replication of western education,which is alien to the ummah’s consciousness and cultural goals ...
Perils of Empire
Authors: Willoughby Jay
Published: October 2020

TheAssociation ofMuslim Social Scientists of NorthAmerica (AMSS) heldits 36th annual conference at the University ofMaryland from26-28 October2007. Co-sponsored by the university’s Department of Government and Politicsand featuring Dr. Charles E. Butterworth as its program chair, the presentersdiscussed the “Perils of Empire: Islamophobia, Religious Extremism,and the New Imperialism.” In his opening remarks, Butterworth mentionedthat he had been “somewhat taken aback” buy the theme, but that after fivemonths he found that the “topic is most just.” ...
The Qur’an
Authors: Ali Syed Asim
Published: October 2020

Given that each teaching of the Qur’an is essential, it is neither possible nordesirable to divide its teachings into “essential,” “less-essential,” or “nonessential.”Since this book seeks to serve “the needs of those new to the studyof the Qur’an,” The Qur’an: Some Essential Teachings would have been amore accurate title and would have forewarned the reader that the authorpresents only select teachings. That aside, A. R. Kidwai, a rising Islamicscholar, felt compelled to write this book to meet the needs of the commonreader, because he believes that the available material mainly addresses thespecialized reader. This brilliant work is designed to equip readers with thenecessary tools to “grasp better advanced works on the Qur’an” (p. vi). Thebook mainly deals with the concepts of God, messengership, and theHereafter and throws some light on modes of worship, as well as on socialand family relations, in a very lucid, fluent, and persuasive manner. This book opens by analyzing the Qur’anic concept of God. The thirdchapter, which deals with the Prophet, is full of remarkable observationsabout his life and his role as a perfect role model for humanity. Some importantaspects of his personality, however, have been left out, such as his leadership,emphasis on acquiring `ilm (knowledge), and the use of reason ...
The Qur’an as Matrix of Islamic Civilization and Society
Authors: Lawson Todd
Published: October 2020

Societies are generally seen as producers of texts. Islam suggests that texts areproducers of society, especially texts that record divine revelation from prophets andmessengers. In the genre of literature that deals with the miraculous nature (i`jaz) ofthe Qur’an, various authors have sought to demonstrate the miracle of the Qur’an onvarious grounds: the compelling and matchless esthetic beauty of the Arabic; thequality of information and knowledge contained in the Book, either “scientific” or“religious”; and its miraculous transformative power, by which a new civilizationwas created through thework of devout believerswhose souls had been changed. Theunprecedented advance in civilization associated with Islam’s spread is offered assufficient proof. Thus Islamic civilization is seen to have an umbilical relationshipwith theQur’an as revelation and text. Just as theQur’an itself speaks of the umm alkitab,bringing motherhood fully into the divine economy, Muslims and their societiesmay be seen as children and progeny of the Qur’an, their mother. Such a senseis heightened when one remembers that themost frequently invoked attribute of Godis Rahmah (mercy), whether as al-Rahman or as al-Rahim, and that these attributesshare their etymology with the word rahim (womb), a symbol of unconditional andnaturally given protection, nourishment, solicitude, and love.This veneration of and dependency on the written word is one of the hallmarksof what Hodgson termed “islamicate societies.” Islamic culture’s textual output is ofcourse impossible to tabulate properly, covering as it it does a vast and heretoforeunimaginable range of subjects, genres, and functions. This issue of the journal offersjust a glimmer of the kind of truly dazzling variety of intellectual and artistic pursuitsthat found themselves simultaneously influencing and influenced by their respectivesocial contexts.With Sebastian Günther’s article we are treated to a scholarly explorationof the highest caliber demonstrating, among other things, that impassionedlearned debate about Islam’s true nature on the part of pious and devoted believers isnot a recent development; rather, it is perhaps in the nature of Islam itself. NevinReda’s essay brings the Qur’an’s literary nature to center stage with her examinationof the Qur’an’s intertextuality. The diversity with which Islamic texts and societiesgenerate themselves is highlighted in Muhammed Rustom’s study of the work ofWilliam Chittick, one of the major scholars of Islamic thought today. Liyakat Takimtakes us into the world of Shi`i fiqh, in a substantial analysis of the remarkablydurable relationship between text and normative behavior so characteristic of Islamas such and Shi`ism in particular. We are especially fortunate to have the outstandingarticle by Ingrid Hehmeyer, in which the categories of “water,” “magic,” ...
Identity and Religion in Palestine
Authors: Gandolfo K. Luisa
Published: October 2020

In recent years a subtle but steady transformation has been taking place inthe Arab-Israeli conflict. The prominence of Hamas and the process ofIslamization in the West Bank and Gaza are having repercussions on botha local and a regional level, while politics, faith, and nationalism have createda mélange of ideologies.As secularist squares up to Islamist, andHamasand Islamic Jihad vie with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the objectiveof the Palestinian struggle becomes trampled in the haste to drawsupport to either political group. In the midst of this turmoil, Palestiniansecular-nationalists are defying their ideological background and turning toreligion for support, hope, and survival. The Palestinian political identity isin a state of flux, and Islam’s dominant role in Palestinian society can nolonger be ignored or dismissed. The emergence of Loren D. Lybarger’sIdentity and Religion in Palestine is, then, a timely publication, as it providesa perceptive analysis of political identities in the Occupied Territories.Through his debut publication, Lybarger draws on interviews and experiencesgathered during volunteer work with the Mennonite CentralCommittee in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. Conducted over aperiod of six years – three in the 1980s in theWest Bank, two in Gaza in theearly 1990s, and one in the West Bank and Gaza from 1999 to 2000 – theauthor breathes life into accounts of the evolving Palestinian political identityby rendering his respondents’ dilemmas, vulnerabilities, hopes, and fearswith startling clarity. By incorporating a plethora of political factions, religiouscommunities, age groups, geographical locations, and socio-economicclasses, he cogently assesses the Palestinian political and religious identity.Equally, his book deepens one’s awareness of the relationship between eventsand the cultural and historical forces that transform the region’s socialmovements and political identities. Over the course of five chapters and anepilogue, Islamism and secular-nationalism are defined both in theory andpractice, thus affording a comprehensive insight into the contemporaryOccupied Territories ...
U.S. Foreign Policy, Not Islamic Teachings, Account for al-Qaeda’s Draw
Authors: Ahmad Imad-ad-Dean , Beutel Alejandro J.
Published: October 2020

Recently Michael Scheuer, a former twenty-two-year CIA analyst and headof the agency’s Bin Laden Unit, gave an interview with John Barry of Newsweek.Scheuer observes that a new generation of middle-class, well-educatedMuslims are taking up arms to fight for al-Qaeda. Furthermore, he points outthat the main reason why bin Laden remains at large is because Washingtonrefuses to acknowledge – and tell Americans – that its longstanding policiestoward the Muslim world are the root of the problem. The main quote is:Our leaders say he [bin Laden] and his followers hate us because of whowe are, because we have early primaries in Iowa every four years andallow women in the workplace. That’s nonsense. I don’t think he wouldhave those things in his country. But that’s not why he opposes us. I readbin Laden’s writings and I take him at his word. He and his followers hateus because of specific aspects of U.S. foreign policy. Bin Laden lays themout for anyone to read. Six elements: our unqualified support for Israel;our presence on the Arabian peninsula, which is land they deem holy; ourmilitary presence in other Islamic countries; our support of foreign statesthat oppress Muslims, especially Russia, China and India; our long-termpolicy of keeping oil prices artificially low to the benefit of Western consumersbut the detriment of the Arab people; and our support for Arabtyrannies who will do that.1 (emphasis added)Scheuer’s analysis is supported by opinion polls of the Muslim public.A survey by the Project on International Public Attitudes (PIPA) in April ...
The First International Conference on Arabs’ and Muslims’ History of Sciences
Authors: Khan Sameen Ahmed
Published: October 2020

The College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Sharjah, UnitedArabEmirates, organized a four-day landmark event, The First International Conferenceon Arabs’ and Muslims’ History of Sciences, during 24-27 March2008. Entitled “Arabs’ and Muslims’ Scientific Contributions to Humanity,”it was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan binMohammed al-Qasimi (member of the Supreme Council, ruler of Sharjah,and supreme president of the University of Sharjah) in collaborationwith theuniversity’s College of the Shari`ah and Islamic Studies and theArab UnionofAstronomy and Space Sciences (AUASS). The conference sought to highlightthe testimonies of non-Muslim scholars concerning Arab and Muslimscholars’ scientific accomplishments and to emphasize their contributions tomedicine, astronomy, architecture, and agriculture. Over 300 participantsfrom 200 scientific and research institutions in 35 countries attended, andabout 250 research papers, which will be available on the university’s website(https://www.sharjah.ac.ae/), were presented.The conference created an intellectual platform to enhance communicationamong scientists and researchers studying the history of the various ...
Editorial
Authors: Bullock Katherine
Published: October 2020

One of the paradoxes facing conservative Muslims in North America is that whiletheir apologetic literature stresses “Islam as justice” – that justice is the paradigmaticQur’anic virtue after piety – in the eyes of the general public the progressiveMuslims have claimed the mantle of justice. This is a shame, since conservative ortraditionalMuslims are held to be generally unjust, whereas, as followers of Islam’straditional teachings, they ought to be at the forefront of the struggle for social andeconomic justice. There are two dimensions to this perception: one is externallygenerated and constitutes a very real threat to NorthAmerica’sMuslims; the secondone is internally generated and constitutes a significant barrier to Islam’s positivereception by NorthAmerican society.It is not an original statement to note that Islam’s general public image is bad.Many scholars, among them Edward Said, Karim Karim, and Jack Shaheen, havedemonstrated time and again how the western legacy of Orientalism moved out ofthe academy and into the secular media with the rise of the film and print mediaindustries. Such post-9/11 experts as Mahmoud Hamdani have noted the refining ofthis image into a “good Muslim”/“bad Muslim” dichotomy. The secular or “moderate”Muslims receive the accolade of the “good Muslims,” while traditional andconservativeMuslims are the “badMuslims.” Efforts by Daniel Pipes and other neoconservativewriters to ensure that the general public and policy makers do not distinguishbetween moderate conservatives and those who endorse violence to achievetheir goals have, unfortunately, been very successful.The Clarion Fund’s mass mailing of the DVD “Radical Obsession” to 28 millionhouseholds in September 2008 clarifies the enormous power behind such neoconservativegoals. “Radical Obsession,” which purports to be only about jihadism,manages through its imagery to connect allMuslims to violence.An excellently executedpiece of propaganda, it will likely have the desired goal: creating fear in thegeneral public’s mind about conservative Muslims. (Secular and progressiveMuslims will also suffer in the long run, as the general public will not be able to distinguishbetween a secular and a non-secular Muslim, which is why the supportvoiced by some of these Muslims vis-à-vis the DVD is disappointing, to say the least.) ...
The Charismatic Community
Authors: Stewart Devin
Published: October 2020

A revised and expanded version of a dissertation completed at PrincetonUniversity in 2000, this book describes the emergence of a distinct Shi`itecommunal identity within the larger Islamic community in the periodbetween the First CivilWar (656-61) and the end of the second/eighth century.It draws on the Shi`ite hadith of the Imami (Twelver) tradition in orderto construct a rich picture of the developing Shi`ite community, stressingthe Shi`ites’ ideas about their relationship to the Imam, to each other, andto non-Shi`ites, particularly the Islamic ummah at large.The work is divided into an introduction and three sections of four chapterseach, presenting three major theses. The first four chapters concentrateon the concept of walOEyOE, usually translated as loyalty or allegiance but, asthe author suggests, containing a denotation akin to charisma. She argues thatfrom the beginning, Shi`ism’s crucial characteristic was allegiance to Ali ibnAbi Talib during the First CivilWar. Even after his assassination and the endof the war, allegiance to his cause remained fundamental and he remained theprimary focus for the Shi`ites’ location of charismatic authority ...
Islamic Philosophy A-Z
Authors: Hartmann Noga
Published: October 2020

Understanding Islamic philosophy, an indispensable formative link in thechain of medieval thought, is crucial to grasping the intertwined developmentof philosophical ideas both within and without the Islamic sphere duringthe period under discussion. Peter Groff and Oliver Leaman’s textbelongs to the discipline of the philosophical and theological analysis ofIslam. It is an attempt to shed some light on the essential, mainly Islamiccontribution to the philosophical thought of the Middle Ages. This workintends to offer “the vital insights and resources of the Islamic philosophicaltradition” (p. xi) as a main influence upon medieval philosophic thought indifferent religions (Judaism and Christianity) and cultures (India).Furthermore, he rightfully refers to Islamic philosophy as a transmitter of theclassical Greek legacy.This concise work contains brief entries (alphabetically ordered), keyterms, bold marked cross-references to related terms for easy access, andmajor figures in the rich heritage of Greek, Jewish, Christian, and Muslimphilosophy. Each brief entry is written in a very comprehensible style andcovers the main relevant ideas related to the theme being discussed. Sincereligion has always played a decisive role in the development of Islamicthought and was never separated from the state, it is also present in varyingdegrees in nearly all of the entries. Consequently, this work provides informationon the development of Islamic belief. The bibliographical referencesfor further reading at the end of each entry are very helpful, though mostlylaconic. Key concepts or terms are given in a simplifiedArabic transcriptionthat differs from the standard one ...
The Politics of Chaos in the Middle East
Authors: Sabet Amr G. E.
Published: October 2020

This relatively short and succinct book, written by a prominent French politicalanalyst, offers an insight not only into post-9/11 American military andstrategic dilemmas, but also a glimpse into the respective European conceptionsand ways of thinking. Its main thrust is that the American reaction tothe events of that day, far from producing an outcome in the image of a“hyperpower in a unipolar world,” has instead bogged it down as a “powertied up in knots, incapable of policing the world” (p. 3). This “hopeless” situation,according to Roy, was brought on the Americans by themselves,rather than as a result of their enemies, be they the Taliban, al-Qaeda, or Iran(p. 3). While the American invasion of Iraq produced deep geostrategictransformations in the Middle East, these did not always produce the resultsthat American decision makers had countenanced ...
Fetishizing Dialogue and Commodifying Peacemaking
Authors: Tourage Mahdi
Published: October 2020

This paper assesses the ongoing dialogue and student exchangebetween the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and one ofthe most violent institutions in Iran, the Imam Khomeini Educationand Research Institute (IKERI). I will use this relationshipbetween theMCC and IKERI to examine the broader question ofinterreligious transnational dialogue and peacemaking.After a brief background of this somewhat “secretive” dialogue/student exchange, I will evaluate its effects. Of particular interestwill be the following questions: How do we responsibly shapeMuslim–non-Muslim dialogue for peace and understanding in aglobal context that is inevitably shaped by an imbalance of powerand representation? How are the acts of resistance undertaken bythe disenfranchised local/diasporic Iranian communities and thesustained systematic violence against them impacted by a peacefulfaith community such as the Mennonites? How does the absolutizationof “dialogue” coupled with self-proclaimed theologicalmandates effectively strip away the archives of violence from livingmemories and histories?What can examining the decade-longdialogue between the MCC and IKERI reveal about the mechanismsof perpetuation and dissimulation of imperial dominationand control? How can transnational interreligious interventions bethe nexus for infusing sensitivity and expecting accountability?I argue that a fetishization of dialogue and a commodification ofpeacemaking took place between the MCC and IKERI, resultingin the patronage of the sign systems of existing normative ideologiesof violence ...
The Blackwell Companion to the Qur’an
Authors: Holtzman Livnat
Published: October 2020

With The Blackwell Companion to the Qur’an,Andrew Rippin, an illustriousscholar in the field of Qur’anic studies, presents yet another impressivecontribution to previous collections of articles on the Qur’an that he hasedited: Approaches to the History of the Interpretation of the Qur’an (OxfordUniversity Press: 1988); The Qur’an: Formative Interpretations (Variorum: 1999); and, with Khaleel Mohammed, Coming to Terms with the Qur’an: AVolume in Honor of Issa Boullata (Islamic Publications International: 2008),just to name a few. Gathering the works of scholars from leading universitiesthroughout the world, Rippin has constructed a volume that is designednot only for the general reader “who may have little exposure to the Qur’anbeyond a curiosity evoked by the popular media” (p. x), but also to scholarsspecializing in the Qur’an. The overall aim of this large volume, which comprisesthirty-two articles, is to guide the reader to “a well-advanced state ofunderstanding the complexities of the text and its associated traditions”(ibid) ...
African Islam and Islam in Africa
Authors: Mazrui Ali A.
Published: October 2020

Sub-Saharan Africa is often regarded as part of the periphery, rather thanpart of the center, of the Muslim world. In the Abrahamic world, Africa isoften marginalized. But is there anything special about Islam’s relationshipwith Africa? Are there unique aspects of African Islam? Islam has exerted anenormous influence upon Africa and its peoples; but has Africa had anyimpact upon Islam? While the impressive range of articles presented in thisspecial issue do not directly address such questions, my short editorialattempts to put those articles within the context of Africa’s uniqueness in theannals of Islam. One note: Although these articles concentrate on sub-Saharan Africa (“Black Africa”), our definition of Africa encompasses thecontinent as a whole – from South Africa to Egypt, Angola to Algeria, andMozambique to Mauritania ...
Islam and Social Work
Authors: Bejja Rachida
Published: October 2020

In the introduction and the first section, the authors provide an overview oftheir book and approach. According to them, every social worker needs tobe familiar with the aforementioned concepts when dealing with Muslimclients. Throughout the book, the authors define the pillars and values ofIslam and shed light on the real meaning of some of the words that became highly mediatized after 9/11, such as jihad, niqab, honor, women’s rights,marital violence, and homosexuality ...
In Defense of the Bible
Authors: Kueny Kathryn
Published: October 2020

InDefense of the Bible containsWalid Saleh’s critical edition of Al-Aqwal al-Qawimah fi îukmal-Naql min al-Kutub al-Qadimah (The Just Verdict on the Permissibility of Quoting from Old Scriptures). This treatise, composed byIbrahim ibn `Umar al-Biqa`i during the last days of Mamluk rule, sought todefend his commentarial use of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Gospelsto interpret the Qur’an. While many Qur’anic commentators rely heavily onthe isra’iliyat genre to support their interpretations of the Qur’an, al-Biqa`i’stafsir radically departed from the Islamic religious and scholarly practice byquoting directly from the Jewish and Christian scriptures. This hermeneuticaldecision met with great resistance and criticism from al-Sakhawi, one ofCairo’s leading scholars, who wrote a scathing response in support of the traditionalIslamic legal prohibition against the religious use of the Bible, a textbelieved to have existed only in corrupt form.The question of why al-Biqa`i relied so heavily on the Hebrew Bibleand Christian Gospels, and how he defended his decision to do so, is the subjectof both the Aqwal and Saleh’s introduction to his critical edition of thismedieval text. Saleh’s work not only sheds light on the complexity ofMamluk-era Cairo’s vibrant intellectual milieu, but, more importantly, correctsthe contemporary academic bias that Muslims rarely engaged with theBible during these times ...
Iran’s Long Reach
Authors: Sabet Amr G. E.
Published: October 2020

This short analytical book attempts to serve American decision-maker policychoices with respect to the “pivotal” country of Iran. The pivotal state thesishas sought to organize the United States’ national security strategy after thecollapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war.1Maloney applies itto the Iranian case, given that country’s geostrategic value and significant rolein global issues and negotiations (pp. 4-5). She adopts the thesis’ mainassumption that by investing attention and resources in regional heavyweights,the United States can benefit from the “multiplier” effect of theirweight. Arguing that as the United States seeks to change its strategicapproach toward the region, the author posits that focusing on the Muslimworld’s pivotal states will help prioritize challenges and opportunities andthus better serve its vital interests (p. 5). She proceeds to do so by making thecase for Iran’s crucial importance while outlining what she perceives to be itspolitical, economic, security and theological dilemmas – presumably so thatWashington and its allies can take advantage of them.The study also attempts to examine the shifts from reformist (Khatami)toward more radical (Ahmadinejad) politics in Iran’s domestic scene. Shetraces the reasons why the Iranian “reform movement,” under Khatamifailed and attributes that outcome to self-imposed constraints (redlines), fearof bringing about instability, and the movement’s elitist structure (pp. 12-13). Maloney also points to Ahmadinejad’s “perverse” but “compelling”incentive to preserve the long-standing antagonism toward the UnitedStates. She expresses her concern that such shifts may serve to undermineany remaining international consensus necessary to address “problematicelements of Iran’s foreign policy” (p. 23) ...