bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Islam and Other Faiths
Authors: Maqsood Ruqaiyyah Waris
Published: December 2020

My first reaction to this eminent book of collected articles and lectures givenby Professor Ismail Raji al-Faruqi is one of frustration that I was not able tomeet the man. He died in 1986. I would have loved to have known him, for Ifound in reading this book that so many of his thoughts and ideas coincidedwith my own hopes concerning the future of Islam and its relationship with theother peoples of the Book, especially the Christians. I was a Christian theolegian and teacher until my conversion to Islam in 1986.Professor Ismail's book provides a good cross-section of his contribution tothe study of comparative religion and covers a wide spectrum of interreligiousissues, spanning more than two decades of his work. Essays which deal directlywith other faiths, Christianity and Judaism in particular, were specificallyselected but they should be seen against the background of his huge contributionto the study of religions through his many other eminent publications.Here, the volume concentrates on those aspects of Islam which the Ahl al-Kitab(the People of the Book) have in common rather than their differences.I have long felt that this was the correct way forward. As a former Christianwho initially came to Islam by studying the teachings of Jesus rather than theQur'an, I was always aware of the commonality of the faith and its development through the prophets of Judaism to Christianity, to its deviation throughTrinitarianism, and through the Prophet of Islam who was sent to bring newunderstanding of Tawhid and the way to find the Straight Path to God.Therefore, I was horrified and disturbed when I ran into the walls of hostilityand misunderstanding from all sides-particularly the hostility of Muslimstoward Christians and Jews, theological hostilities and racist ones, too. Muchof this was and is caused by the complete ignorance of the practicing membersof one faith for the others, a situation that will still take years to remedy.However, scholars such as Professor Ismail are trailblazers in this field, and Irepeat my disappointment that I missed knowing him personally.He was a Palestinian, born in 1921, and graduated from the AmericanUniversity of Beirut in 1941; he served as District Governor of Galilee inPalestine. He left Galilee as a refugee in 1948 when Palestine was partitioned; ...
Reason and Individual Reasoning
Authors: Khan M. A. Muqtedar
Published: December 2020

The term “ljtihad” itself means to strive hard. But it has been widely usedto imply independent reasoning in the development of Islamic jurisprudence.The contemporary understanding, shared widely by formally trainedIslamic jurists, defines Ijtihad as an intellectual tool that seeks to articulateIslamic laws about issues on which the Qur’an and the Sunnah are decidedlysilent. This standard and orthodox conceptualization of Ijtihad, theoreticallylimits the role of reason to analogical thinking on mundane matters.Even though most Islamic thinkers do use reason quite judiciously inthe interpretation of revalation. The point that is often ignored in discussionsof Ijtihad, its meaning, role, scope and functions, is that the conceptualization of Ijtihad itself is the product of Ijtihad. The development of the‘usd uZ-fiqh, the principles of jurisprudence, and the systematic articulationand rank ordering of the sources of Islamic Law - Qur’an, Sunnah, ijma,Ijtihad, ‘urfand musZu& - are all products of an Ijtihad much wider inscope than its standard understanding. In a remarkably curious development,a conceptually wider process of Ijtihad has spawned a rather meektheory of Ijtihad.Taking a second look at the discussion between Imam Shafi‘i and hisinterlocutor on the Qur’anic sources of Ijtihad,’ one is amazed at how ImamShafi’i is able to build a whole theory out of a single verse. We are turningto Imam Shafi‘i because he has arguably left the most enduring andunshakeable impact on the structure of Islamic legal thinking and in particularon the theory of Ijtihad. In his response to the question, “Is Ijtihad permiadin the Qur’an?” Imam Shafi‘i derives the instrument from only oneverse of the Qur‘an and then supports it with just one other.Turn then thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque: whereveryou are turn your faces in that direction. (2:144) ...
Portrait of the Islamic Scholar
Authors: Kobeisy Ahmed Nezar
Published: December 2020

With the. growth in the number of departments, institutions, publicationsand scholarships dating to Islam and Muslims, concerns areincreasing over bias and misrepresentation of the Islamic faith and itssubscribers. Muslims tend to attribute this to two factors: Americaninstitutions rely mostly on non-Muslims to provide crucial informationpertaining to Islam; and most institutions are secular, so it is againsttheir policies and regulations to advocate that any religion holds theabsolute truth.Although these factors pose a real threat to the spread of correctIslamic knowledge, they by no means stand alone. While it is naturalfor Muslims to object to the idea of non-Muslims teaching Islambecause they lack familiarity with it, one is emmusly led to believethat the resolution of the. problem is in Muslims taking the task of teachingtheii religion into theii own bands. Two myths must be dispelled:first, that all Muslims a~ qualified to teach their religion; and second,proficiency in Islamic knowledge sufficiently qualifies a Muslim forthe challenging role of accurately transferring this knowledge to thosewhose perception is so different from hidher own.This article shows the diversity of the fields of study in which Islamand Muslims may be involved. either directly or indirectly. It thenexamines the. criteria set forth by many educational institutions fordetermining the qualifications for teaching in these fields. Becausehigher degrees awarded in pehent departments in American institutionsare not sufficiently educating theii recipients in Islamic knowledge,the majority of non-Muslim candidates are unqualified to tacklethe issues that involve Islam and Muslims. In an ever-changing world,the qualifications required to teach about Islam and Muslims must notbe merely based on Islamic knowledge. but must also encompass a proficiencyin global affairs. This immediately disqualifies the typicalMuslim scholar. A presenter of Islam must be capable of responding to the challenges of the time, place, and people, without violating the policiesand secular nature of the institution and without distorting or alteringthe religion.Since a real lasting solution is not presently in sight, some Islamiccommunities, in an attempt to put an end to bias and misrepresentation,have come up with quick fixes. This article describes how Muslimcommunities in Youngstown, Ohio, and Syracuse, New York, havebecome involved in educating their non-Muslim neighbors by responsiblycooperating with various local academic institutions. The authorhopes that this study will prove helpful to other communities ofMuslims and non-Muslims in their attempt to reach out to each other.
Islam and Epistemology
Authors: Khan M.A. Muqtedar
Published: December 2020

On February 27, 1999, the International Institute of Islamic Thought0 hosted a symposium titled “Islam and Epistemology.” The seminarinvited many scholars and philosophers to discuss Mehdi Ha’iri Yazdi’sbook, The Principles of Epistemology in Islamic Philosophy.‘ The mpe ofthe presentation and discussion was not limited to the contents of the book.Indeed, the book was used as 8 launching pad for discussions on issuesrelated to epistemology, Islamic sciences, Islamic philosophy, the tensionsbetween reason and nxelation, and the differences between the legalisticapproach and the philosophical approach. It also raised interesting debatesabout the similarities and differences between Westem-secular and humanist-social sciences and the theocentric discourses of Muslims.The seminar also doubled as the Second Conference of the ContemporaryIslamic Philosophers. Two doctoml students, myself from GeorgetownUniversity and Ejaz Akram from Catholic University, organized the firstconference in May 1998, at which time we called for a new discourse? Weargued that contemporary Islamic philosophy had become too engagedwith writing and rewriting the history of medieval Islamic philosophy withoutactually doing philosophy. So we invited Muslim intellectuals andphilosophers to reflect on the present and advance discourses that willenlighten and improve the present human condition. We argued thatIslamic philosophers should play the role of social critics and public intellectualsand assist in thinking of old ideas in new terms and new ideas inold terms. This seminar, in a similar vein, was designed to point the attentionof Islamic thinkers toward the need for an empowering and transformativeepistemology for contemporary Muslims?At the seminar, five speakem, each from a different backgmund, madeformal presentations. Over 35 students of Islamic philosophy came to theseminar from Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, New York &and California. Each presentation sought to explore the relationship ...
Knowledge as Light
Authors: Kalin Ibrahim
Published: December 2020

The question of knowledge presents itself as one of the most importantissues for human thought and society because it is through knowledge thatwe establish a bond with God, ourselves, other human beings, the world, itsmeaning and purpose. We establish sociopolitical systems and civilizationson the basis of it. Defined as such, no society can dispense with knowledge.Knowledge, however, transcends the limits of social function and revealssomething of the deepest nature of the human being. Our state of being-inthe-world and being-created-by-God is revealed to us in our knowledge ofourselves. More importantly, we do not simply exist but also know that weexist. It is this knowledge that enables us to make sense of the world, conceiveit as an intelligible state of being, and realize our place and role in it.Knowledge, however, is always the knowledge of something. Everymeaningful statement is the affiition or negation of something. In knowinga physical entity, a concept, or a feeling, we affirm or negate the existenceof that “thing” which has become the subject of our knowledge. This“thing” and the “of” of our judgments ultimately hark back to the allencompassingreality of being, because what can be affirmed or negatedcannot be other than being. In this regard, there is no knowledge that precedesbeing. Every cognitive act directed toward ourselves or other thingsthat can be the subject of human knowledge is grounded in the all-inclusiveand penetrating reality of being. This aspect of being has been called inIslamic philosophy the in&@ al-wujud, “expansion of being,” and sometimesal-sarayun al-wujiid, “penetration of being.” In sharp contrast to theepistemologies of subjectivism, one is before one knows. Our existencealways precedes our knowledge of it, even though the latter may effect andmode the former in a myriad of ways. Said differently, the reality of beingis not exhausted in the deliverances of conceptual thought.’ ...
Origins of the Muslim Revival
Authors: Berkouk M'hand
Published: December 2020

This is a timely publication, as a book written from an “Islamist” standpoint is ararity in the French language. Tariq Ramadan has delved into the dynamics ofreformism as a contextual and creative reassertion of the Islamic quest to civibtionalempowerment - an empowerment that is based on spiritual uplifting,Islamic commitment and activism, rajdid, political reformism, and societal transformationin line with the foundational precepts of Islamic organization. This publicationhas already generated ample debate on the value of Islamic reformistthought, as well as the doctrinal inclinations and political strategies of the MuslimBrotherhood (Al Ikhwan al-Muslimin). Although the book is more descriptive thananalytical, it has the merit of being well-researched and documented, and the varietyof writing styles used by the author makes it all the more enjoyable to readThe book is divided into three parts and is written following a logic that is meantto demonstrate that al-Banna’s thought and practical contributions were anchoredin reformist thought and that most of al-Banna’s intellectual and political positionswere not necessarily his or the movement’s.The first part, “Aux Sources de la Pensee Reformiste Contemporaine’’ (Originsof Contemporary Reformist Thought), deals with the Islamic intellectuals whoopposed the status quo and the state of intellectual lethargy that reigned in theMuslim world. The author relates the intellectual content of reformist thinkers(Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab, al-Afghani, Tahtawi, Abduh, Rida, Ben Badis.Nursi, and Iqbal) to the complex sociopolitical, cultural, and intellectual contextwithin which their thought emerged. He considers the various tendencies ofreformist thought (spiritual, educational, political, and economic) as complementingeach other. Reformist thought has three foundational tenets: the necessity of areturn to the authoritative sources of Islam and their contextual interpretation byusing a tajdidi prism (a creative and productive intellectual approach) rather thantaqlid (a re-intepetative and reproductive approach to thought) in dealing with theQur‘an and Sunnah; the necessity of resisting Western economic, political, and culturaldomination through the reassertion of a dynamic and authentic Islamic personality;and the necessity of preserving and consolidating the unity of the Ummah.Their intellectual contributions focus on two main points: the theoretical reformationof the basic themes of Islamic jurisprudence, especially those relating tothe law of transactions (fiqh al-mu'amallat); and analytical responses to the local ...
Islam Today
Authors: Khan Shiraz
Published: December 2020

As we approach the end of this alarming century there is a quiet sense of urgencythat the West come to understand the Muslim world. Although these ancient rivalshave clashed for over a thousand years - politically, intellectually, culturally, andsocially - it is not so much in the field of battle wherein has lain the danger butin the world of ideas. A vitriolic polemic, begun with the advent of the ProphetMuhammad, plays itself out today in images of book burning fanatics, darklyveiled women and unstable nations willing to go to war on the mere whisper of theword jihad. This has been a history of disinformation and stereotypes that hasserved a single purpose: war - ooly this time the stakes are far higher. Propagandathat was once concerned with moral licentiousness and sexual fantasy has largelybeen replaced with one of violence and modem weapons, and the capitalist natureof wealth accumulation. The world is overshadowed by a battle for its resourcesthat threatens to develop into an all-out war. In light of this and the sizeable numberof Muslims living in the West, it is imperative that the climate of fear be diffusedand a forum for dialogue and understanding initiated. While the media tirelessly labors to define East-West relations in its own terms, professor AkbarAhmed has written a book that endeavors to promote a deep understanding, bowledgeand respect for Islam - its history, peoples, and achievements. In so doing,he opens new, more interactive, and peaceful parameters for a debate that arguesthat the differences between the two civilizations are far outweighed by their deeperand more permanent value systems.The book is a logically structured analysis, concisely written and easy to read.The author examines the basic features of Islam, the Qur’an and the Prophet towhom it was revealed; the history of the golden age of Islam when its empires werethe superpowers of their day providing stability and order and generating greatarchitecture, art and science; issues of modernity, democracy, and identity, includingthe core unit of Muslim society, the family; the reality of Muslims living innon-Muslim countries and the problems and issues they face; and finally, thepower and strength of Western media as well as the technological developmentsthat challenge traditional Islamic values and beliefs. Being a thorough and completeshrdy of the Islamic faith and its people, the book does not attempt to hidesome of the harsher realities, such as corrupt leaders and dishonest individualswho, by violating Islamic laws and customs, can no longer be considered as behavingaccording to the principles of Islam, and should therefore not be confused inthe West as representatives or followers of the faith ...
The Importance of Murabaha in Long-Term Finance Programs in the Islamic Banking Industry
Authors: Ashour Yousif
Published: December 2020

Since the start of the Islamic banking industry many questions have been raised about Islamic finance policies used by Islamic banks and lheir long-term finance programs. The most interesting questions on Islamic finance policies are lhose related to murabaha finance. The argumenl concerning murabaha has two sides, one for and the other against. The questions normally are concentrated on whether Islamic banks should use murabaha in their finance, and whether Islamic banks heavily depend on it in their finance. The aim of this article is to exam­ine the importance of murabaha compared to other Islamic finance policies in long-term finance programs in the Islamic banking industry. The article suggests that musharaka and mudaraba are as important as murabaha in financing long-term programs in the Islamic banking industry.
Women and Islamisation
Authors: Jawad Haifaa
Published: December 2020

The book is an edited collection of papers, the majority of which were presentedat a conference organized in 1994 by the Chr Michelsen Institute inBergen, Norway, under the title Construction of Gender Relations in Processesof Modernisation: Women and Islamisation. It is divided into seven chaptersand an introduction. Generally, the book attempts to comprehend so-called“religious fundamentalism”; specifically, it examines Islamic fundamentalism.It endeavors to “analyze the ways in which Muslim women develop distinctvoices and participate in Islamization processes,” thus setting new agendas andredefining their role in society. Since the majority of the researchers are “outsiders”(outside Islam), the editors emphasize two points that are of crucialimportance for the credibility of the work. First, unlike most Western studieson gender and Islam, this one claims to be conducted with sincere and goodintentions, with an effort to distance itself from Western prejudices that sooften portray Muslim “women’s relation to Islam as being universally its victims.”Second, this study considers cultural backgrounds, education, class, andage to consideration and assess Muslim women in their various national settings- once again in contrast to the usual Western studies that tend to lumpMuslim women together into one category. Hence the ethnographic cases presentedin the book represent a broad spectnun of Muslim women’s religiousactivities, ranging from Senegal in the West to Iran in the East. The differentcase studies center on Muslim women’s engagement in public religious activities,because it is this involvement which is expected to forge their new roleaway from the fixed traditional patriarchal one. However, their role in the discourseof Islamization does not necessarily address the overall issue of genderrelations; rather, it offers a new alternative and questions the supremacy ofWestern feminism as the ultimate answer to gender equality.In chapter one, titled “Feminist Reinterpretation of Islamic Sources: MuslimFeminist Theology in the Light of the Christian Tradition of FeministThought,” Roald discusses the development of the so-called “Muslim feministtradition,” particularly the attempts by some Muslim women to re-interpret theIslamic sources from a female perspective. She focuses on the intellectual ...
Muslims, Islamic Law, and the Sociopolitical Reality in the United States
Authors: Jackson Sherman A.
Published: December 2020

Native born African-American Muslims and the Immigrant Muslimcommunity foxms two important groups within the American Muslimcommunity. Whereas the sociopolitical reality is objectively the samefor both groups, their subjective responses are quite different. Both arevulnerable to a “double Consciousness,” i.e., an independently subjectiveconsciousness, as well as seeing oneself through the eyes of theother, thus reducing one’s self-image to an object of other’s contempt.Between the confines of culture, politics, and law on the one hand andthe “Islam as a way of life” on the other, Muslims must express theircultural genius and consciously discover linkages within the diverseMuslim community to avoid the threat of double consciousness.
Islam and Society in the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Kelli Deonna
Published: December 2020

The Twenty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Association of Muslim SocialScientists took place October 13-15 at Georgetown University inWashington, DC. The event was titled Islam and Society in the Twenty-First Century and was cosponsored by John Esposito’s Center for MuslimChristian Understanding.Most members of this organization, old and new, considered this AMSSconference among the most successful for several reasons. It scored the bestattendance record in years and the presence of a new generation of bothmale and female Muslim academics. Participants commented positively onthe high quality of papers. The quality and quantity of the presenters andaudience members confirmed that the presence of Muslims in western academicinstitutions is growing.The conference was an international collection of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars with eighty academic papers and over ninety participantspresenting throughout the three-day event in panel sessions and roundtables.Running parellel to the academic session were community issues panels thatdrew in those who were interested in policy-related matters pertinent to theMuslim community. The academic participants of the conference reflectedupon topics that ranged from conceptual and theoretical issues to area andstrategic studies. Some of the themes explored were gender, global warming,globalization, Islamic law, Muslims in the West, cross-cultural communication,family and society, political theory, economics, Islamic philosophyand strategic studies panels on Pakistan and Afghanistan.The conference featured two plenary sessions that provided seminalscholars an opportunity to reflect upon issues facing Muslims in the newmillennium. Islam, Pluralism, and Democracy, moderated by KamalHassan (Rector of the International Islamic University of Malaysia), featuredMurad Hofmann, Abdel-Karim Soroush (Director of Institute ofEpistemological Research, Tehran), John Voll (Georgetown Univeristy),and Mumtaz Ahmad (President of AMSS). The session encouraged academicscholars to have a reflective rather than apologetic approach regardingIslam and to deflect questions from haw Islam is compatible withdemocracy to what type of democracy is compatible with Islam ...
Social Responsibility
Authors: Mian Sameera
Published: December 2020

The 2nd Annual AMSS-UK Conference, “Social Responsibility:Challenges for the Future,” took place October 21-22 at the University ofWestminster, London. Scholars from the United Kingdom, Ireland,Malaysia, the United States, Western Europe, and Turkey presented fortytwopapers. Over one hundred participants attended the two-day event. TheConference featured scholars such Malik Badri, Kamal Hassan, MuradHofmann, Abdelwahab El-Affendi, in addition to emerging intellectualssuch as Mashood A. Baderin and Fauzi Ahmad. The vital participation ofgraduate students and junior faculty at the AMSS-UK and the AMSS-USconference in Washington, DC, the prior weekend indicates the growingpresence of Muslims in western academia.Asad Ahmad was master of ceremonies and Yusuf El-Khoie from theKhoie Foundation gave the opening remarks. The keynote address inauguratedthe conference and was followed by a plenary session. Paper sessionscomprised the rest of the event with a “book Iaunch” and final plenary sessionconcluding the program Sunday afternoon.Paper sessions were organized around various subthemes directly relatedto social responsibility and the future. Presenters reflected upon social welfare,the state, social policy and community development, law, health andsocial care, grassroots action, globalization and the media, education, andmethodologies and gender. The direct link between the Conference themeand paper sessions encouraged a lucid and fertile ground for intense discussion,paving the way for an emerging discourse on social responsibilityin Islam.The keynote address was delivered by Kamal Hassan, rector,International Islamic University, Malaysia, and established the importanceof scholars and academics in promoting social responsibility. He reflectedupon the role of universities in promoting social responsibility under globalization.At present, universities are reacting to globalization by adoptinga “corporatization of curriculum” and a “market driving” approach to ...
International Conference on Dialogue of Civilizations
Authors: Akram Ejaz
Published: December 2020

The International Conference on Dialogue of Civilizations was held in theheart of London, at the Islamic Centre of England in Maide Vale, October27-28. A group of eminent scholars from several countries convened toparticipate and present their points of view on this quite important and popularsubject: Dialogue of Civilizations!The conference was hosted by the Institute of Islamic Studies of London(11s) and sponsored by Shahid Beheshti University (Iran), AllameTabataba’ee University (Iran), the Institute for Political and InternationalStudies (Iran) and the Islamic College for Advanced Studies (UnitedKingdom). Several participants attended from local colleges and universitiesin and around London. Journalists from different organizations coveredthe event for newspaper and television. The two-day program, whichincluded panel sessions, a play and a music section, was video-recordedand documented. Overall, the conference can certainly be regarded as asuccessful one, although, as in many other fora, there was room forimprovement in few of its parts.Implicit in the title of the project is a rather grand albeit a noble ambition:the reconciliation of civilizations that are on a colision course. In pursuingthis lofty goal, participants came face-to-face with the difficulty of definingthe concept of ‘civilization’ across civilizations. Perhaps it was this difficultythat contributed to the meeting’s success, and helped participants discoverhow definitional problems can be overcome and how, indeed, understandingbetween conflicting entities can be achieved.Most papers in the first panel, titled “Globalization,” started with a ratherrosy picture for possibilities of a dialogue. The second panel reversed thetone, while presenting several definitions of civilization, it questionedwhether ‘modem civilization’ can be called a civilization at all. Some presentationstied the definition of civilization to its primordial religious tradition,thus disqualifying modem civilization as a civilization and characterizingit as anti-civilization. The third panel used Cultural Studies and ...
The Full Circle
Authors: Akram Ejaz
Published: December 2020

Science Without Philosophy?Many of our readers and contributors have raised questions regarding thevarious definitions of social science and their relation to the scope of MISS.Definitions of social science have changed with time and place, and one of thereasons for that is not what is “social,” but what is “science”? “Science” inFrench, or “wissenschaft” in German, do not translate exactly the same as“science” in English. In English speaking world, “science” has an associationwith hard sciences while social sciences have been tacitly considered to be softsciences, or not sciences at all. Such a distinction does not exist in otherlanguages.It is not our intent here to provide a mere taxonomy of the meanings ofscience, but to develop an understanding as well as a consensus that socialsciences and their sub-disciplines are, without exception, based on certainparadigms that are philosophical in nature. Being a social scientist without theknowledge of these philosophical assumptions, upon which the paradigms ofthe socia1 sciences rest, is to willingly escape the full picture. Properphilosophical training, therefore, has a deep nexus with the methods of socialscience, and constitutes a necessary pre-requisite of understanding theparadigms. Paradigms establish the agenda and the agenda dictates the policy.social sciences therefore become a vehicle of understanding the society inconsonance with the accepted philosophical truths.Philosophical exposition of concepts and ideas in turn necessitates adefinition of philosophy itself. All definitions of philosophy will point tocertain “givens” or a priori assumptions that precede all scientific inquiry. Ifsocial sciences stay within the realm of the positivist paradigm, the problemmay seemingly be solved, but reducing inquiry to empiricism has its own pitfallsand the atomistic division in today’s academia is a direct result of that.Further, it restricts the scope of those social scientists who also happen to bebelievers in transcendental Truth. Conversely, to the degree that philosophy is ...
Islam and the Challenge of Communism
Authors: Jones Allen K.
Published: December 2020

The conflict that has been taking place in Afghanistan for the pastthree years has come to be interpreted in markedly different waysdepending on one’s viewpoint. Those in the West, including students andspecialists of the region and policy makers, tend to view the events inAfghanistan primarily in geo-political or geo-strategic terms. Forinstance, questions are asked such as what impact is being felt in termsof the military, strategic and economic interests of the superpowers? Ofthe other states in the region? What effect will there be on relationsbetween states in the region? Between the superpowers? And so on.Differing from this view and its apparent preoccupation with securityand strategic concerns, is a perspective that is more commonly voiced inthe Muslim world2 which casts the conflict in Afghanistan in terms ofIslam and the challenge of Communism, or perhaps it would be moreaccurate to say in terms of the converse: Communism and the challengeof Islam. This view suggests that what the real conflict in Afghanistan isabout is the struggle between these two great ideologies or belief systemsand the effort on the part of each to vanquish the other.Because this latter interpretation is less frequently presented orvoiced at meetings of Western scholars, I would like to develop to someextent this theme in this short paper. First of all, I would like to presentsome of the points made by this Islamic school of interpretation-I would ...
Rashid Rida’s Struggle to Establish A Modern Islamic State
Authors: Busool Assad N.
Published: December 2020

Reform movements are important religious phenomena which haveoccurred throughout Islamic history. Medieval times saw theappearance of religious reformers, such as al-Ghazali, Ibn Taimiyah,Ibn Qayim al-Jawziyah and others; however, these reform activitiesdiffered significantly from the modern reform movement. The medievalreformers worked within Muslim society; it was not necessary to dealwith the external challenge presented by Europe as it was for themodern Muslim reformers after the world of Islam lost its independenceand fell under European rule. The powers of Europe believed that Islamwas the only force that impeded them in their quest for world dominanceand, relying on the strength of their physical presence in Muslimcountries, tried to convince the Muslim peoples tgat Islam was ahindrance to their progress and development.Another problem, no less serious than the first, faced by the modernMuslim reformers was the shocking ignorance of the Muslim peoples oftheir religion and their history. For more than four centuries,scholarship in all areas had been in an unabated state of decline. Thosereligious studies which were produced veered far from the spirit ofIslam, and they were so blurred and burdened with myths and legends,that they served only to confuse the masses.The ‘Ulama were worst of all: strictly rejecting change, they still hadthe mentality of their medieval forebearers against whom al-Ghazali,Ibn Taimiyah and others had fought. Hundreds of years behind thetimes, their central concern was tuqlid (the imitation of that which hadpreceeded them through the ages). For centuries, no one had dared toquestion this heritage or point out the religious innovations it impaired.In conjunction with their questioning of the tuqlid, the modernreformers strove to revive the concept of ijtihad (indmendentjudgement) in religious matters, an idea which had been disallowedsince the tenth century. The first to raiseanew the banner of $tihad inthe Arab Muslim world was Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani; after himSheikh Muhammad ‘Abduh in Egypt, and after him, his friend and ...
Islam
Authors: Nyang Sulayman S.
Published: December 2020

This volume, which is the print component of an introduction to Islamiccivilization course produced by the Foreign Policy Association in cooperationwith National Public Radio and the University of Texas at Austin, wasmade possible by funds from the Exxon Education Foundation and the Corporationfor Public Broadcasting. Written specifically for adult readers withlittle or no background in Islamic studies, the book lacks the scholarlyparaphernalia of footnotes and diacritical marks.Divided into 14 chapters, the work features the writings of luminaries suchas Fazlur Rahman, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Francis Peters and John O. Voll,to name but a few of the list of contributors. Opening the work is the 28-pagechapter of Peter J. Awn, who gives a comprehensive and introspectiveaccount of Muslim faith and practice. He reminds his predominently Westernaudience that, contrary to the writings of educators, writers and journalistsin the West, Islam is historically a Western religion, deriving from the sameSemitic spritual sources as Judaism and Christianity. After pointing out thehistorical links between Islam and the other Semitic traditions, he goes onto discuss a number of issues in the Islamic religion. Awn’s discussion of thefive pillars of Islam is certainly refreshing, for it shows a sense of sympathyand understanding which has not yet been evident among many of the oldergenerations of Islamicists called orientalists. In his discussion of the diversityin the Muslim Ummah, Awn takes the position that the Sunni/Shite divideshould not be seen in terms of an orthodoxy/heterodoxy dichotomy. He goeson to explain the historical evolution of the tvcro communities in terms of politicsin the early Islamic state, and his account follows the familiar interpretationsin the Western works.The second chapter, written by University of Chicago Professor, Dr. FazlurRahman, treats us to a 25-page study of the Prophet Mohammad. Drawingfrom his earlier work, Professor Rahman gives a very illuminating historicalaccount of the Prophet’s struggle with the Meccan Polytheists. Indeed, whatmakes this chapter quite interesting is the manner in which the author ...
Editorial Note
Authors: Nyang Sulayman S.
Published: December 2020

In this issue we have a collection of very interesting articles. There is thelead article written by the late Professor Ismail al Faruqi, founding Presidentof the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Reston, Virginia, and thefirst President of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists in 1972. Thesetwo organizations, which are separate but work together as partners in Muslimscholarship in North America, are the sponsors of this journal.Dr. al Faruqi's contribution on the important question of world theologyintroduces a four-part presentation on aspects of the Islamization of Knowledge.Well-grounded in this field of knowledge and coming from a background whichclearly made him one of the few Muslim scholars capable of engaging in ameaningful dialogue with Western thinkers on their own ground, Professoral-Faruqi identifies the main areas of discourse and then offers a critical Islamicperspective on the problem.Following his article are two position papers on pressing current issues.The first is the piece written by S. Abdullah Schleifer, an American Muslimcurrently working and living in Cairo, Egypt. A prominent journalist withmany years of experience in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world,Schleifer looks at the needs, feasibility and limitations of an independent IslamicNews Agency. This piece is provocative and provides food for thought to thoseMuslims who are interested in the current debate on the New InternationalInformation Order (NIIO). The second paper deals with the operations ofmodern financial markets for stocks and bonds and its relevance to an Islamiceconomy. Written by Professor Raquib uz-Wan, it focuses on a very importantissue in the current discussion on Islamic economics.We regret to announce that Dr. Musa O.A. Abdul, a member of our AdvisoryEditorial Board has passed away due to natural causes. Students andfaculty of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and all others who came to knowhis work in Islamic studies will always benefit, inshallah, from his inspiringdevotion to the cause of Islam.We hope that this issue will continue the steady improvement in the qualityof this journal. We are determined, insha' Allah, to raise the quality of productionand the quality of scholarship in this journal. For this and other relatedreasons we call on all scholars who are interested in the Muslim World tosend in their comments and suggestions. Contributions are welcome fromall over the world ...
Islam and Art
Authors: Zakariya Mohamed
Published: December 2020

I met Dr. Lois Lamya al Faruqi last March, while I was giving a lectureon Arabic calligraphy at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. I hadcorresponded with her previously and had been impressed by her graciousnessand her insight into the complex field of Islamic art. Now, here she and herhusband were, and I was pleased to have these bright lights of the Muslimcommunity in my audience. At the end of my remarks, someone asked theinevitable question, "What is the significance, the symbolism of the designsused to highlight a calligraphic piece?" I replied that, while some Islamicdesigns have their origins in the material world, they become abstracted andstylized but do not take on additional symbolic meaning. In other words, Islamicart, at its best, does not depend on visual symbols as clues to its meaning.A flower Wing remains a flower drawing, no matter how abstract it becomes.Dr. Faruqi's was interested in my interpretation and, I think somewhat amused.As she left that evening, I saw a definite twinkle in her eye, and I feltI had found a congenial colleague. Two weeks later, I received an autographedcopy of Islam and Art from her. I never saw her again.I am pleased to have this opportunity to review this volume, Dr. Faruqi'slast published work. Let me make my own position clear: I am neither anacademician nor a genuine scholar of Islamic art. Rather, I approach the subjectas a practitioner; therefore, my interest in Islamic art-and in this book- isat once personal, practical, and professional.Why do the arts of the Muslim peoples-and by arts, I include graphicarts, architecture, crafts, and music -develop with such obvious consistencyfrom people to people, and in such a straight line from their inception to thepresent? This question has baffled scholars for at least a century. Dr. Faruqi'sinsight guides the reader in the direction of a true answer, yet it is an answereach of us must experience for ourselves, through study and contemplation.In short, Dr. Faruqi's answer to this central question is that the arts ofthe Muslim peoples did not develop by chance, but rather, as an attempt toexpress by various media the Quranic doctrine of tawhid, the immense ...
Guiding Light
Authors: AbuSulayman 'AbdulHamid A.
Published: December 2020

TranslationIn the name of Allah, Most Gracious,Most Merciful.102. O ye who believe!Fear God as He should be. . . .Surah 3208. O ye who believe!Enter into Peace [Islam]Whole-heartedly: . . .Surah 2135. O ye who believe!Stand out firmlyFor justice, as witnessesTo God, even as againstYourselves, or your parents,Or your kin, . . .Surah 4267. O ye who believe!Give of the good thingsWhich ye have (honourably) earned,And of the fruits of the earthWhich We have producedSurah 2 ...
Regional Seminar And Workshop On The International Islamic Calendar
Authors: Ilyas Mohammad
Published: December 2020

The Pulau Penang Resolution On The InternationalIslamic CalendarPraise be to Allah (SWT), Lord of the worlds. Peace and benedictionbe on His Prophet Muhammad, his family, Companions and followers.Heading the Commandments of Allah (SWT) in the Qur’an is: “Verilyin the creation of the heavens and the earth and in the alternation of thenight and the day are signs for those who use their intellect; those who reflectupon God while standing, sitting and reclining and ponder on the creationof the heavens and the earth saying: ‘0 my Lord You have not created allthese in vain. Glory be to You, save us from the fire”’.From Shawwal 21-24, 1408/June 7-10, 1988, the Universiti Sains Malaysiahosted a Regional Seminar and Workshop on the International Islamic Calendarattended by 100 Muslim scientists, religious scholars ( UZumii’), communityleaders and government officials concerned with Islamic Affairs from 25different countries and international Islamic organizations. The seminar andworkshop was held with the cooperation of the International Institute of IslamicThought, the Islamic Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Departmentof Malaysia, the Council of Islamic Affairs of Penang, the Malaysian AirlinesSystem, the Islamic Council of Europe, the International Centre for TheoreticalPhysics, the Third World Academy of Sciences and the Islamic EconomicDevelopment Foundation of Malaysia.The Seminar was declared opened by Y.B. Datuk Dr. Mohammad YusufNoor, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, whose speech wasunanimously adopted as a conference document. The Seminar received countryreports from Thailand, Philippines, Fiji, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Australia,Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Maldives and Singapore. The country reportsdiscussed the calendrical practices in various countries in the region andproblems faced in determining important Islamic dates. Subregional discussionswere held regarding future planning in respect of the Islamic Lunar Calendar.Special workshops were held for Muslim scholars (‘Ulama') and communityleaders regarding the implementation of a scientific lunar calendar for theMuslims in the region and the problems and difficulties in the implementation ...
Interfaith Directory
Authors: Ahmad Mumtaz
Published: December 2020

The cause of interfaith dialogue, understanding and what is sometimesdescribed as "the wider ecumenismn has gained considerable momentum inrecent years. While interfaith conflicts and sectarian tensions continue to hitthe headlines, efforts to build bridges and arrive at some degree of mutualunderstanding are also underway. Recent years have witnessed the emergenceof many groups, agencies and organizations around the globe that are workingin the field of interreligious dialogue and understanding. These groupingshave held numerous interfaith seminars, cqnferences and workshops and havecontributed significantly in opening up new channels of communication andwider avenues of concord among the hitherto contending religious communityleaders. One such organization is The Council for the World's Religions (CWR).a New York based organization which aims to bring believers of all faithsinto mutual friendship and collaboration in the service of God and humanity.The Interfaith Directory sponsored by the CWR is one important step towarddisseminating information about other organizations and agencies workingfor interreligious harmony and concord.The Directory lists names, addresses and activities of about seven hundredinterfaith organizations throughout the world. These organizations have beenlisted in five different categories: 1) organizations with multifaith membership;2) organizations relating to two or three religions; 3) organizations basedon one religion. but with outreach to other religions; 4) universalist movementsfor spiritual unity; and 5) academic institutions which are also centers ofinterfaith dialogue and encounter. Some organizations receive multiple entriesbecause of the varied nature of their activities and programs. The Directoryalso includes two very useful indeces, one alphabetical and the othergeographical. As has been noted by the editor, these organizations may varyconsiderably in size, resources and effectiveness but all of them share thecommon goal of interreligious harmony. Francis Clark has contributed a verythoughtful introduction to the volume in which he discusses present trendsin the world-wide interfaith movement. He rightly points out that the interfaithmovement "is a deeper religious expression of the new sense of oneness ofthe human family and the new awareness of our coounon responsibilities,dangers and destiny in our one shared habitat." However, he is not oblivious ...
The Islamization Of Methodology Of Behavioral Sciences
Authors: Al-'Alwani Taha Jabir
Published: December 2020

All praise and thanksgiving are for Allah (SWT) Lord of the universe,and peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets (es), his kinand all his companions, and upon all who follow him and are guided by hisMessage, until the Day of Judgment.Brothers and sisters: it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all inthe name of the International Institute of Islamic Thought at the beginningof this conference, the fourth in its series of international conferences. Weare happy and appreciate that this conference is being hosted by the Sudan,and is being held in cooperation with the University of Khartoum, to discussa matter of great importance to this Ummah: The Reform of the Methodologyof Islamic Thought, and Ways of Islamizing the Behavioml Sciences. Undoubtedly,these sciences form the general basis for the social sciences andhumanities.This is indeed the first time that the Institute has held one of its internationalconferences in an Arab country, under the auspices of a Muslim Arabpresident from an historical family whose deep concern for attempting to effectreform in this Ummah is well-known. For the benefit of the good peopleof this country, and for the audience here, we should briefly but accurately outlinethe aims and objectives of this Institute, its achievements so far, and itsmost important plans and projects, so that individuals are able to determinethe part each can play as well as the extent of their possible participation inand contribution to this good work.Many years ago, and after numerous conkrences and exhaustive studiesand consultations on the present situation of our Ummah, in addition to extensiveanalysis of our past as well as our futm aspirations, an idea crystallizedin the minds of a group of young committed Muslims. They were convincedthat the crisis of this Ummah in both essence and reality is an intellectual ...