bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Islamic Banking Regulations in Light of Basel II
Authors: Hassan M. Kabir , Chowdhury Muhammad Abdul Mannan
Published: April 2020

This paper seeks to determine whether the existing regulatory standards and supervisory framework are adequate to ensure the viability, strength, and continued expansion of Islamic financial institutions. The reemergence of Islamic banking and the attention given to it by regulators around the globe as to the implications of a recently issued Basel II banking regulation makes this article timely. The Basel II framework, which is based on minimum capital requirements, a supervisory review process, and the effective use of market discipline, aligns capital adequacy with banking risks and provides an incentive for financial institutions to enhance risk management and their system of internal controls. Like conventional banks, Islamic banks operate under different regulatory regimes. The still diverse views held by the regulatory agencies of different countries on Islamic banking and finance operations make it harder to assess the overall performance of international Islamic banks. In light of the increased financial innovation and diversity of instruments offered in Islamic finance, the need to improve the transparency of bank operations is particularly relevant for Islamic banks. While product diversity is important in maintaining their competitiveness, it also requires increased transparency and disclosure to improve the understanding of markets and regulatory agencies. The governance of Islamic banks is made even more complex by the need for these banks to meet a set of ethical and financial standards defined by the Shari`ah and the nature of the financial contracts banks use to mobilize deposits. Effective transparency in this area will greatly enhance their credibility and reinforce their depositors and investors’ level of confidence.
The Economic Ideas of Shah Wali-Allah al-Dihlawi
Authors: Islahi Abdul Azim
Published: April 2020

Shah Wali-Allah al-Dihlawi (d. 1174 AH/1762 CE) stands in the Indian subcontinent’s history as a link between medieval and modern Islamic thought. Through his writings on various Shari` ah sciences, he brought about a revolution in the Muslim mind, one that continues to inspire his readers even today. Focusing on the economic problems of his time, he reflected upon the economy’s applied aspects and such theoretical issues as a person’s basic occupation, the need for a division of labor, the nature and function of money, and undesirable economic practices. He also analyzed riba al-fadl (interest in terms of quantity) and riba alnasi’ah (interest in terms of time of delivery) in economic terms and emphasized the need and importance of having a full treasury (to ensure that the government sufficient funds to meet its obligations to its inhabitants during times of war and peace). In addition, he formulated a theory known as al-irtifaqat (the stages of socioeconomic development). Starting from primitive village life and ending with an international community, he divided society’s socioeconomic development into four stages, the first of which is dominated by simple economic struggle and the last of which is developed to maintain a just political order on the international level in order to safeguard the various states’ socioeconomic interest and establish mutual peace and justice. All of his economic ideas revolve around and are related to his concept of irtifaqat.
Strategies for Enhancing the Understanding of Islam in the Media
Authors: Yousif Ahmad F.
Published: April 2020

During the last two decades, the world witnessed a meteoric rise in the role played by the media in influencing human perceptions of other people, places, and things. This tremendous influence has had both beneficial and detrimental consequences for individuals and communities across the globe. Muslims have experienced firsthand the harmful impact of the media and its ability to negatively influence public opinion. How has such a state of affairs come about? Why is Islam so misunderstood in the global media, and more importantly, how can this situation be remedied? This paper will examine some of the reasons for the media’s misunderstanding of Islam, first in the Western world and second in the Muslim world. Subsequently, it will propose various strategies for enhancing the Western and Muslim media’s understanding of Islam.
On Being a Muslim Teacher in England
Authors: Mogra Dr. Imran
Published: April 2020

This article charts a new area in Muslim educational thought by providing insights into perspectives held by Muslim primary state-school teachers in England regarding teachers and teaching. It attempts to explore themes, in the context of education, related to the evolving relationship between faith and professionalism. Drawing on data from research conducted using a life-history approach to discover the experiences of these teachers, it examines the dynamics of teacher identity and the role of faith in schooling. The findings indicate that faith is important to these teachers in relation to their work, although fundamental distinctions exist about its role. “Ideal teachers” are conceptualized in terms of the religion and teaching. From a teacher’s perspective, their narratives give the perception that from various standpoints, Muhammad (ṢAAS) is considered as an ideal teacher and a model. Their interpretation of the meaning of being a Muslim teacher reflects a heterogeneous understanding, and it affects some of their thinking in the classroom. The article concludes, cautiously, that for these Muslim teachers, while the centrality of faith is significant in their lives, there does not appear to be a necessary transference of being a Muslim and having a faith position into being a teacher. Apparently, their foremost concern is teaching, and successful teaching is achieved by maintaining their integrity and that of the children they teach. Some teachers among them are able to meet their faith requirements through the guidelines provided by their faith. Guidelines from faith perspectives need to be understood by school leaders in order to assist teachers from all communities to be comfortable with their faith in a school environment.
Undermined Syncretism
Authors: Prakash Om
Published: April 2020

The syncretic cultural tradition of India for the last five thousand years is a noble legacy and a contribution of India to the world. Some major religions of the world took their birth in India. The incoming of foreigners added new elements to India’s cultural tradition, and enriched it—and subsequently, this tradition evolved into a composite culture. This paper primarily looks into the aspect of what happened during the colonial period in India, which undermined this rich syncretic tradition and subsequently fragmented the Indian subcontinent along the religious lines. The paper is based upon the hypothesis that separatism is a gradual process, which is nurtured during a period of time and which leads to the eruption of division, partition, or the breaking up of the state. The result of this process becomes a strong movement if actions to combat it are not launched. This paper also explores how Muslim separatism was fed by various reactionary elements, which included colonial and imperial forces comprised of members of different castes, creeds, and religions.
Ismail al Faruqi’s Interfaith Dialogue and Asian Religions with Special Reference to Buddhism
Authors: Fletcher Charles
Published: April 2020

This study looks at the suitability and relevance of al Faruqi’s dialogical ideas in relation to Asian religions, with special reference to Buddhism. The primary weakness in Faruqi’s dialogical and meta-religious principles in relation to Asian religions lies in his methodological exclusion of mystical and esoteric contributions, insights, and perspectives. Thus, a rational approach to dialogue needs to be combined with other approaches. There is a leeway for al Faruqi’s principles to be shaped and deepened further, and this continues to remain one aspect of his legacy.
Islamic Awakening and Its Role in Islamic Solidarity in Malaysia
Authors: Abd. Rahman Saodah , Nurallah Abu Sadat
Published: April 2020

The Islamic Awakening in Malaysia has brought about the consciousness of adopting and practicing the Islamic way of life. The process of implementing the principles of Islam is based on a gradual evolutionary process, rather than a drastic approach. Therefore, the selective implementation of Islamic law has been carried out relatively smoothly. For that reason, various institutions have been established ‒ such as, Islamic universities, Islamic banking and insurance companies, and other Islamic organizations and institutions. The case studies in this article related to Malaysia are: The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia – ABIM (Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement), and some Islamic institutions, which play important roles in the Islamic Awakening and solidarity in Malaysia. The PAS and ABIM are the prominent Islamic parties and movements, respectively, which can be regarded as the driving force behind the Islamic Awakening in Malaysia. Based on a tridimensional perspective ‒ that is, socioeconomic well-being and the strength of the expansion of Islamic education, and political stability ‒ this study highlights the accomplishment of Islamic Awakening in Malaysia.
Action-Oriented Research in Education
Authors: Noaparast Khosrow Bagheri , Noaparast Mohammad Zoheir Bagheri
Published: April 2020

Comparative studies among cultures, particularly Western and Eastern ones, are vital and necessary. In this essay, we are presenting a comparison between Western and Islamic views. The focus of this study is on action-oriented educational research based on Charles Clark’s view as a more recent action-oriented view on educational research. The comparison between Clark’s view and the one we suggest that is inspired by the Islamic view of human action and shows that there are considerable commonalities between the two views as both of them avoid the mechanistic orientation and take human action into account. There are also differences between the two views regarding the distinction between fact and value, as well as the relation between means and ends in research.
The Paradox between Women’s Educational Attainment and Social Mobility in the Middle East and North Africa
Authors: Haghighat Elhum
Published: April 2020

Modernization theory predicts a strong correlation between increased access to education and positive changes in women’s social status and eventual social mobility. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, women’s increased access to education deviates from the expectations of the modernization perspective. While the MENA region is going through a modernization process, improvements in women’s social status still lags due to limited opportunities in the job market and their exclusion in the political arena.
On the Visual Apartheid in Western Europe
Authors: Dorroll Courtney M.
Published: April 2020

This paper focuses on the visual lack of the Muslim minority in the contemporary German urban landscape. Through the reinterpreting of Gérard Genette’s literary method of paratexts, I have analyzed architecture as the main text, while the media’s response is the epitext from which this study analyzes the visibility of the minority in the physical space and the mediated space of Germany. This approach uses a critical cultural lens of analysis.
Critiquing the Modern Western Theory of Knowledge and Insights into a Qur’anic Epistemology
Authors: Chak Farhan Mujahid
Published: April 2020

This article compares and contrasts a western post-Enlightenment theory of knowledge with a Qur’anic epistemology. It first analyzes the development of post-Enlightenment epistemology, which resulted in the disappearance of established meaning and the implanting of doubt. Thereafter, western epistemology began to deal with such questions as “What can I know?” and “How can I distinguish between those things that I am justified in believing over those things that I am not justified in believing?” Eventually, this developed into the two dominant and diverging paths that persist until today: “We might be able to know the truth” (plausibility) or “We are unable to know anything” (denial). What makes this so important is its eventual influence upon the Muslim world with the advent of colonialism, European preeminence, and globalization. That influence, it is argued, has been disastrous because of its ability to uproot the indigenous Islamic epistemic tradition. Therefore this article, by focusing on various Qur’anic verses, shares insights for an alternative epistemology that would begin to rectify this dissonance. It does so by discussing the features of a Qur’anic epistemology, one that begins with the affirmation or certainty of “God knowing” with the potential for “human knowing.” In other words, it establishes an optimistic attitude toward “true” knowledge being possible (viz., “I” may be wrong, although God knows) and the potentiality of certainty being ever-present.
Combating Terrorism through an Education for Democratic Iteration
Authors: Waghid Yusef , Davids Nuraan
Published: April 2020

In this article, we argue analytically that democratic iteration is a plausible discourse to mitigate terrorism in the contemporary world. By far the most pertinent position we advance is the need for democratic iteration among people who perpetrate acts of violence and those subjected to the perpetration of such acts. An education for freedom from terror is justifiable in the sense that such a view of education would cultivate intercultural understanding and uncompromising attitudes toward people’s beliefs and values – that is, the possibility for critical attitudes and social change would be enhanced. The afore-mentioned form of education (in Islam) is emancipatory and would hopefully instill in people thewillingness and openness to engage in interculturalism, to appreciate the possibility of changing the world by seeing and thinking about things differently (including terrorism). We contend that terrorism is a form of political violence that has not necessarily been caused by education; rather, it is caused by the uncertainty, hopelessness, and instability that lead to human deprivation, exclusion, dystopia in the world and, ultimately, outrage. Yet we posit that an education in Islam about experiencing the other (as opposed to knowingness) through deliberative iteration would serve as a meaningful mitigation of terror.
The Genesis and Development of the Maqāṣid al-Qur’ān
Authors: Islam Tazu
Published: April 2020

Maqāṣid al-Qur’ān is an emerging science that promotes an understanding of the Qur’anic discourse’s purposive (maqasidic) angle. Beginning with preliminary ideas in the fifth Islamic century, it has now achieved the status, in the eyes of many prominent contemporary Muslims, of being a specific science. Having been the subject of scholarly discussion in articles, books, television programs, seminars and conferences, this subject has created a new academic debate in the very contemporary field of Qur’anic studies. This study explores its genesis and conceptual developments over time by analyzing the root of this science as well as how it has fared at the hands of early and modern scholarship of the Qur’an. Its findings are expected to contribute to presenting this field to the public in a compact form.
Post-Revolutionary Islamism and the Future of Democracy and Human Rights in Egypt
Authors: Ibrahim Abadir M.
Published: April 2020

From the backwaters of stagnation in democratization, the Arab Spring countries carried the day and became trailblazers to be replicated by activists all over the world. A couple of seasons after the initial revolution/revolt, Egyptians had transformed their political system, written themselves a constitution, and apparently destroyed the same constitution. While all sectors of society played a role in shaping the revolution, the latter has also affected society. Egypt’s 2012 constitution, one of the outcomes of the revolution, captures a moment in the process and also reflects an attempt to install an Islamist ideology in a constitutional democratic form. The constitution’s attempt to negotiate between Shari‘ah and democracy and its outline of a human rights regime make the future of democracy and human rights ambiguous, as the Islamist stance promulgated has yet to be tested in the real world of politics. As it stands today, the constitution is too ambiguous to allow one to draw a clear picture of the future of constitutional practice. What is clear, however, is that the revolution and subsequent constitution have affected the Islamist discourse about democracy and human rights.
Between Identity and Difference
Authors: Aslan Ali
Published: April 2020

Amidst continuing debates whether it is a democratic or an authoritarian political actor, this study suggests a postfoundational view of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party). According to postfoundationalism, society is a contingent but necessary ground for the social, which is open-ended and overrides all social formations with its non-fixable differences. Democracy marks this stubborn character of the social and is antithetical to the idea of society, which entails the fixation of differences and a degree of social closure. On this basis, I argue that the AK Party is, in fact, a hegemonic popular political movement, as opposed to merely a political party, that subscribes to democracy and yet seeks to construct a society. Accordingly, I analyze how it strives to resolve this paradoxical situation by attempting to rearticulate and integrate democracy (and other signifiers) into its conservative/civilizational discourse.
Islam’s Encounter with English and Ismail al-Faruqi’s Concept of Islamic English: A Postcolonial Reading
Authors: Hasan Md. Mahmudul
Published: April 2020

In the past, many Muslims maintained strong reservations about using English as a means of communication, interaction, and intellectual practices mainly due to its association with British colonialism. In the postcolonial world Muslims and other religious communities, as well as various ethnic and indigenous groups, have moved away from the ideological and political assumptions of a binary relationship between English and their cultural and religious identities. As a result, several hundred million Muslims now use English as their first or second language, and more books on Islam are published in it than in any other language. However, Ismail al-Faruqi (1921-86) sees a serious anomaly in how Muslim names and Islamic theological terms are transliterated and translated, as the dominant practice shows not a loyalty to meaning, but to the norms of the target language. Such an approach causes these names and terms to lose semantic associations and religious connotations. To rectify this, al-Faruqi proposes the introduction of “Islamic English.” Based on his linguistic diagnosis and remedy, I will discuss this approach from a postcolonial perspective.
Challenges to the Study of Islamic Education in African Universities
Authors: Kaba Amadu Jacky
Published: April 2020

This article examines the challenges to the study of Islamic education in African colleges and universities. I claim that such a study, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is not a priority even though Muslims accounted for 44 percent of the continent’s population in 2009 and 22 of its nations have a Muslim population of 50 percent or more. I present four main factors responsible for this phenomenon: European colonization; the relatively small number of Arabic speakers in most African nations; the negative implications of connecting Islamic fundamentalism/al-Qaeda to Arabs and Islam; and the humiliation, abuse, and severe punishment experienced by Black Africans in Arab-majority societies.
Energy Management, Sustainability, and Ethics: An Islamic Perspective
Authors: Elahee Mohammad Khalil
Published: April 2020

The challenge of global climate change requires a radical change in our understanding of environmental issues, for its causes are linked to our dominant development model and its impact is significant at the grassroots level. Addressing energy production and consumption remains at the heart of any feasible solution. In this article, I define energy management (EM) as a systemic and systematic endeavor to optimize energy use through engineering and management tools in order to achieve political, economic, and environmental objectives. I also discuss what underpins EM’s ethical dimension, focusing on sustainability, and critically analyze the Islamic perspective to elaborate a value-based, universally acceptable, realistically applicable, and objective environmental ethic. By using EM as a vehicle toward sustainability, hence addressing climate change, I evaluate the outcomes of such a radical change in our understanding of environmental issues. I conclude by investigating whether a difference in vision with regard to faith and the hereafter can hinder a common engagement. Evidence is also sought from relevant specialist studies by non-Muslims, in which such Islamic principles as ordering the good and prohibiting the evil, ijmā‘, istiḥsān, istiṣḥāb, or istiṣlāḥhave been implemented to a given extent in all but name.
Striving for Islamic governance
Authors: Moten Abdul Rashid
Published: April 2020

Muslim-majority countries are striving with some success to reshape their governance models along Islamic lines. Some countries have opted for implementing the Shari‘ah, whereas others have focused on applying personal status laws. This study analyzes the attempts made by specific leaders in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the secular Republic of Turkey, and multi-ethnic Malaysia to improve their governance models in the areas of human, economic, and social development. As these countries adopted different strategies, the resultant models of Islamic governance are due largely to the contexts and features of their respective societies. Unlike Pakistan’s authoritarian top-down approach, Turkey and Malaysia largely embraced democratic principles, operated a new hybrid economic model that combined the characteristics of Islamic and capitalist market systems, and worked closely with the West. Many consider these two models, although “partial” in their approach, to be examples of open and democratic Islamic governance that are relatively appreciated by the West. Keywords
Moderation and the Performing Arts in Contemporary Muslim Societies
Authors: Alagha Joseph
Published: April 2020

Art plays an important role for politically engaged Muslims and promotes moderation (wasaṭīyah). Moderation has a civilizational mission: to buttress an open society that recognizes its inhabitants’ diversity so that they can freely and skillfully express their own cultural identity and thus contribute to enhancing the overall Islamic cultural sphere by endorsing the performing arts. The wasaṭīyah authors discussed below reject the notion of “art for art’s sake” and employ a specific genre of Islamic art commonly referred to as “purposeful art” or “art with a noble mission.” Purposeful art is “clean art” that portrays good deeds, as distinguished from bad deeds that characterize indecent or “lowbrow art.” It deals with socio-political issues as well as the themes of justice, jihad, sacrifice, and patriotism. Moderation is the norm, since “Islam is the religion of the golden mean” between excess and deficiency. From the stance of graduality, moderation affords a novel reading of the maxims of Islamic jurisprudence (qawā‘id al-fiqh), whereby the performing arts promote benefits (maṣāliḥ) and avoids harm (mafāsid).
The Master Synthesizer
Authors: Adem Seifudein
Published: April 2020

Ali Mazrui was born in 1933 in Mombasa, Kenya. Sent to England in 1955 for his secondary school education, he remained there until he earned hisB.A. (1960, politics and philosophy) with distinction from the University of Manchester. He received his M.A. (1961, government and politics) and Ph.D. (1966, philosophy) from Columbia and Oxford universities, respectively. In Africa, he taught political science at Uganda’s Makerere University College (1963-73), and then returned to the United States to teach at the University of Michigan (1974-91) and New York’s Binghamton University (1991-2014). An avatar of controversy, Mazrui was also legendary for the fertility of his mind. Nelson Mandela viewed him as “an outstanding educationist” 1 and Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations, referred to him as “Africa’s gift to the world.”2 Salim Ahmed Salim, former secretary-general of the Organization of African Unity and prime minister of Tanzania wrote: Ali Mazrui provided [many of us] with the illuminating light to understand the reality we have been confronting. He armed us with the tools of engagement and inspired us with his eloquence, clarity of ideas while all the time maintaining the highest degree of humility, respect for fellow human beings, and an unflagging commitment to justice.
Localizing Islam in the West
Authors: Salem Ahmed Ali
Published: April 2020

Ali Mazrui attempted to correct many misunderstandings of Islam in the West and demonstrate its closeness to and impact upon western civilization in several ways. For example, Islam is a fellow monotheistic religion, has preserved and added to the Greco-Roman legacy, preceded mercantilism and capitalism in hailing free trade and hard work, and modeled the western view of a tripartite world in the second half of the twentieth century. Mazrui's interest in studying Islam was originally part of his general exploration of postcolonial Africa. Although trained in mainstream political science, which emphasizes materialism, he quickly realized that culture is a powerful key to understanding politics. From this cultural optic, Mazrui began to interpretatively revive Islam as a powerful factor in African politics and highlight its values as capable of improving African conditions. His most celebrated work, namely, the 1986 television series "Africa: The Triple Heritage," was in part a call to reconsider Islam as a major foundation of African societies. His cultural studies helped him gain new constituencies among the larger Muslim community and then go global. His global studies upheld Islam against both Marxism and racism, which helped him escape the narrowness of Afro-centrism and broaden his concept of pan-Africanism to include not only sub-Saharan Africans and their Arab neighbors to the north, but also the Arab neighbors to the east and diasporic Africans as well. In this paper, I use many of Mazrui's publications that discuss various Islamic issues in Africa, the West, and globally.
Aristotelian Dialectic, Medieval Jadal, and Medieval Scholastic Disputation
Authors: Widigdo Mohammad Syifa Amin
Published: April 2020

Although Greek dialectic has an influence on both Christian and Muslim scholarships in terms of structuring the argumentation, this article argues that each employs the dialectic to serve their own purposes. If the Greek dialectic aims to defeat an opponent by showing logical contradictions, Christian scholarship claims to use the dialectic to search for the truth, and Muslim literature employs it to arrive at a level of certainty in knowledge (either qaṭʿī or ghalabat al-ẓann). As a result, this article further argues, Greek dialectic  in both Christian and Muslim contexts undergoes some modifications. In the Christian context, dialectic serves a didactical purpose, which is to find the truth that resides in the mind of the teacher. In Islamic context, Greek dialectic is modified and employed to find  epistemological (qaṭʿī) or psychological (ghalabat al-ẓann) certainty in religious knowledge.
The Making of Islamic Heritage: Muslim Pasts and Heritage Presents
Authors: Doha Tanzeen Rashed
Published: April 2020

The Making of Islamic Heritage is the outcome of a research workshop and a conference at UCL Qatar and Texas A&M University at Qatar respectively—the former focusing on the “past” and the latter on the “present” of Islamic heritage. Professor Trinidad Rico, the editor of the collection, organized these academic events in 2014 and 2016. Her introductory chapter is an overall methodological assessment of the essays in the book, which examine various conceptual, disciplinary, and regional points of interaction between Islam and Heritage Studies. Rico elaborates on how the essays call for a suspension of the orthodoxies of both Islam and Heritage Studies in order to dwell on a history of the contemporary, displacing linear progressivist constructions of past and present.
New Directions in Islamic Education: Pedagogy and Identity Formation (by Abdullah Sahin)
Authors: DeCuir Amaarah
Published: April 2020

Abdullah Sahin’s New Directions in Islamic Education offers an original conceptualization of the role of Islamic education in enriching the identity formation of young British Muslims. Existing education literature centered on Muslims is often categorized in one of two ways: (1) texts that offer classical, prophetic depictions of pursuits towards religious knowledge (Al-Attas 1979; Ashraf & Hirst 1994; Abbas 2011); or (2) texts that offer modern representations of the lived experiences of Muslims in western contexts (Abdalla, Chown, & Abdullah 2018; Khan & Siddiqui 2017; Haddad, Senzai, & Smith 2009).
Repentance and the Return to God
Authors: Jafar Imad
Published: April 2020

A tradition found in the Ṣaḥīḥ of Muslim (d. 875) states that the Prophet Muḥammad told his companions, “O people, turn to God in tawba. Verily, I engage in tawba with Him one hundred times a day.” Many similar reports are scattered throughout the ḥadīth corpus, with one pertinent tradition even stating that the Prophet went so far as to christen himself the nabī al-tawba, that is, the “prophet of tawba.”
Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream
Authors: Patel Madiha
Published: April 2020

Ibtihaj Muhammad, the US Olympic medalist, shares her story of becoming an athlete in her book titled Proud. This is a memoir about coming of age in America as an African American Muslim Woman. Ibtihaj Muhammad tells her story of the long and rocky journey she has been on to become the first Muslim, person of color, female athlete. Her story is filled with achievements and excitements as well as distresses and disappointments.

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Guest Editorial
Authors: Zaman Meryem F.
Published: April 2020

The papers in this special issue and the one preceding it have their roots in a panel titled “Ethnography, Misrepresentations of Islam, and Advocacy,” which Timothy Daniels and I organized for the 116th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association. We were joined on this panel by Alisa Perkins, Katrina Thompson, Robert Hefner, and Yamil Avivi, where we all grappled with our struggles with the increasingly political nature of our work on Islam. Although we work in a variety of geographic regions, with diverse subjects, we all shared similar concerns regarding the complexity of accurately depicting the Muslim communities we study while challenging the anti-Muslim stereotypes that exist in popular culture and contemporary news media. At the same time, we did not wish to reify popular divisions between “good” and “bad” Muslims or inaccurately depict the lives of our research subjects in order to cater to that popular division.

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A Modified Algorithm to Enhance Vanet Performance
Authors: Zghair Noor AbdulKhaleq , Taresh Abdul Razzaq , Abdulsahib Ghaida Muttashar
Published: April 2020

Vehicular Ad Hoc network (VANET) becomes an important technology. Specially, it assists vehicle to vehicle communication. Enhancing and finding a modified protocol of routing for this type of networks is a clear difficulty because these are self-managed, distributed, and large networks. This paper specifies this difficulty by discussing VANET challenges to find the accurate VANET algorithms which work locally but effect the entire network performance generally. All the more particularly, we used various snapshots at previews from urban motorways and intercity highways of various sizes and densities, and studied different variables, for example, the grouping coefficient , the hub degree dissemination, and the normal most brief way length, keeping in mind the end goal to better comprehend the system structure and contrast it with structures regularly found in extensive genuine systems, for example, little world and sans scale systems. This paper utilized this information to enhance the existing VANET conventions. As an illustrative case, it exhibited that, by including new segments that make use of this information, the overhead of the traditional urban highway can be diminished liberally with no imperative execution degradation. The results of the proposed algorithm convention can essentially lessen the system overhead without corrupting the reach-ability execution particularly in medium and high system thickness situations. Moreover, it remains an intriguing subject for future examination to assess the effect of components.
Integrated Circuit Security Risk Management Framework in Government Agencies
Authors: Mehsen Raddam Sami , Hadi Teeb Hussein , Ahmed Shaymaa Taha
Published: April 2020

The security risk management framework is an essential part of strategic management for government agencies. It allows a government to systematically identify and address the risks associated with its activities to achieve sustainability for different activities of security risk management. The goal of security risk management is to add sustainable value to government activities and reduce the chance of security breaches. Applying security risk management techniques used to government projects can increase the chances of success, help achieve objectives, and assist in finding preventive solutions for future projects. The application of security risk management is profitable for government agencies because it sets specific risk management objectives that are based on the broader overall strategy. It contributes to the achievement of strategic objectives with mechanisms like Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and simple linear regression. These techniques can improve decision-making, planning and implementation of government activities, as well as reduce the negative consequences of present threats. It is recommended to apply the integrated security risk management framework proposed in this paper to increase the effectiveness of security risk management in government agencies. Also using quantitative and intelligent techniques in the analysis and estimation of security risks can help managers to make decisions regarding security issues in government agencies.
Q-NTRU Cryptosystem for IoT Applications
Authors: Guma'a Omar Sapti , Hussein Qasim Mohammed , Al-Ta'i Ziyad Tariq Mustafa
Published: April 2020

Interesting in the Internet of things (IoT) has begun to grow rapidly since it deals with the everyday needs of humans and becomes dealing with a huge amount of personal information. This expansion is accompanied by a number of challenges; one of them is the need for solving the problem of security challenges by using algorithms with high security and the adversaries unable to attack them. But such algorithms need high computation power. On the other hand, the Internet of things has limited resources. Therefore, high security cryptosystem with low computation power is needed. NTRU (Nth-degree TRUncated polynomial ring) is one of lattice-based cryptosystems that meets these requirements. However, this system has weak points, including the ability to attack it under certain condition using Lenstra–Lenstra–Lovász lattice basis reduction algorithm (LLL algorithm) to discover either the original secret key, or an alternative secret key which is useful to decrypt the cipher texts. In this paper, modifications are made on the NTRU cryptosystem algorithm to ensure that the attack by using Lenstra–Lenstra–Lovász algorithm can be thwarted by adding a new parameter with a variable value. The implementation results showed that this modification gives NTRU resistance against this attack.
A Novel Approach to Comparative Analysis of Legacy and Nature Inspired Ant Colony Optimization based Routing Protocol in MANET
Authors: Alameri Ibrahim Ahmed
Published: April 2020

Performance, scalability, Quality of Service (QoS), users’ response, etc. of any network depends upon the efficient network design and communication technologies being exploited. Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) have become widespread due to their zero-configuration requirements, scalability, maintenance and adaptable nature to cater varying requirements. The core process of any network is routing which is performed by routing protocols. Routing protocols play a crucial role to enhance and improve the performance indicators of any network. Traditional MANET routing protocols have been failed to address growing demands of wireless mobile ad hoc network. In this paper we study and compare a nature inspired Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm with legacy of MANET protocols. Simulation results show that ACO algorithm has high potential to be used in large scale MANET or other wireless networks. We compared ACO with proactive and reactive routing protocols because despite of their weaknesses these types of protocols are still being used in different and same wireless arrangements.
Design and Simulation of Quasi-Fractal Microstrip Antennas for Wireless Networks
Authors: Al-Salihi Ali Rashid , Mezaal Yaqeen Sabah , Hussein Hussein Ali
Published: April 2020

This paper discusses the design and simulation of new dual-microstrip antennas using compact resonator topologies and substrates. These antennas were modeled using an applied wave research (AWR) simulator based on quasi-fractal microstrip resonators, a complete ground plane, dual via ports, and FR4 substrate material. The simulated antennas demonstrated multiband responses with tolerable electrical specifications that are suitable for numerous fixed and handheld wireless networks, including WLAN and C bands.
Differences between Ad Hoc Networks and Mobile Ad Hoc Networks: A Survey
Authors: Mohammed Ali Abdul Wahhab , Al-Ghrairi Assad H. Thary
Published: April 2020

The goal of this paper is to show the differences between ad hoc networks and mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). The paper will show the routing in ad hoc networks and compare it to that of MANETs, after providing a brief introduction to MANETs. In addition, the types of routing protocols will be described as proactive and reactive protocols, where proactive routing attempts to maintain optimal routes to all destinations at all times, whether it is needed or not. In contrast, reactive protocols determine routes to given destinations only when there is data to be sent to those destinations. The paper will also provide a summary comparing uni-path and multi-path routing, by considering different parameters. Multi-path routing often has advantages more than uni-path routing, and Multi-path routing can also result in packet reordering. However, with uni-path routing, traffic allocation is not an issue since only one route is used.
Text Language Identification Using Letters (Frequency, Self-information, and Entropy) Analysis for English, French, and German Languages
Authors: Abbas Rasha Hassan , Kareem Firas Abdul Elah Abdul
Published: April 2020

People illustrate the world, convey stories, share ideas, and interconnect in over 6900 languages. Information on the Internet may appear unlimited. All over history, electrical and computer experts have built tools such as telephone, telegraph and internet router, which have helped people communicate. Computer software that can translate between languages stands for one of such tools. The first step of translating a text is to categorize its language. In this research, self-identification program of text language was designed and tested depending on text letters (frequency, self-information, and entropy of certain chosen letters) for the English, French and German languages. The research, trying to detect the original language, is successful of detecting these languages, after applied to randomly selected text files. The detection program was written using C++ programming language.
Run Length Encoding Based Lossless MRI Image Compression Using LZW and Adaptive Variable Length Coding
Authors: Salman Nassir H. , Hassan Enas Kh.
Published: April 2020

Medical image compression is considered one of the most important research fields nowadays in biomedical applications. The majority of medical images must be compressed without loss because each pixel information is of great value. With the widespread use of applications concerning medical imaging in the health-care context and the increased significance in telemedicine technologies, it has become crucial to minimize both the storage and bandwidth requirements needed for archiving and transmission of medical imaging data, rather by employing means of lossless image compression algorithms. Furthermore, providing high resolution and image quality preservation of the processed image data has become of great benefit. The proposed system introduces a lossless image compression technique based on Run Length Encoding (RLE) that encodes the original magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image into actual values and their numbers of occurrence. The actual image data values are separated from their runs and they are stored in a vector array. Lempel–Ziv–Welch (LZW) is used to provide further compression that is applied to values array only. Finally the Variable Length Coding (VLC) will be applied to code the values and runs arrays for the precise amount of bits adaptively into a binary file. These bit streams are reconstructed using inverse LZW of the values array and inverse RLE to reconstruct the input image. The obtained compression gain is enhanced by 25% after applying LZW to the values array.
Assessment Risk in Construction Projects in Iraq Using COPRAS-SWARA Combined Method
Authors: Jaber Ahmed Zghair
Published: April 2020

Risk in the age of globalization has become part of everyday life. Risk exists everywhere, in every area of life. One of these is the construction industry, where risk is a constant element in a big puzzle. This is true for construction projects in Iraq too, where official statistics indicate that most construction projects in Iraq always suffer from delay during the completion period and a significant increase in cost. Therefore, it is necessary to find a way to deal with this certain mater, meaning risk management. Risk management does not mean that the project is without risk, but means that dealing with the risk in different measures to ensure the success of the construction project. Risk management consists of several stages, the most important of which is the identification and assessment of the risks of the project. The objective of this paper is to identify and assess the risks in construction projects in Iraq by combining SWARA and COPRAS methods. To achieve the objective of the study, ten criteria for risk assessment were identified. Later the weights of criteria was determined using the SWARA method. The next step was identification and ranking of risks by using the COPRAS method. The result showed that mismatched plans with documentation, inaccurate surveys and preliminary data of the project, unqualified contractors, unexpected nature of the earth, and delayed implementation due to the contractor's capital deficiency were most important risk in construction projects in Iraq. Therefore, in order to tackle risks in Iraqi projects, there must be consideration of these risks, so as to achieve the goals of the project.
Study the Effect of Sawdust Content and Temperature on Fundamental Properties of Plaster Mortars
Authors: Al Karawi Rasha Jasim , Borhan Tumadhir Merawi , Al Karawi Mohammed Qasim , Al-Hassnawi Noor
Published: April 2020

Sawdust waste material is a by-product of manufacturing furniture and other wood products. It poses a major problem for the environment if no action is considered to get rid of it. For this reason, this research presents a new modality for recycling sawdust west material as a partial replacement of a plaster of Paris (POP). Six composite mortars prepared from different sawdust ratios 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 % by wt. of POP were used to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of these mortars. The effect of different temperature levels (100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 Cₒ) on the properties of these composite mortars was also investigated. The results show that the optimal proportion of sawdust in the mortar was 10 %, where the compressive strength increased by about 51.47 % compared to the reference mix (without sawdust) at 50 Cₒ. Additionally, there was a development in the modulus of rupture (MOR) for composite mixtures. The 6% sawdust content exhibited a 28.33 % increase in MOR. It was also found that sawdust reduced the density of the samples. Raising the temperature to 200 Cₒ and beyond affects the mechanical properties negatively.
The Intention of Implementing a Strategic Pricing Model: evidence from Indonesian Fashion Sector
Authors: Zuhroh Diana , Sunardi  , Sukanti Diyah
Published: April 2020

The strategic pricing model is the latest selling price determination model that considers a product's position in the product lifecycle and information about prices of competing products. This model is considered suitable to be applied for fashion products that are facing very tight competition and have a short lifecycle. This study investigates factors influencing the implementation of the strategic pricing model for products of Indonesian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the fashion sector. Three variables under the Theory of Planned Behavior - attitudes toward behavior, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control -have been identified to explain the intention of SMEs in implementing the model. A survey questionnaire was distributed to 100 SME practitioners, and 85 practitioners responded to the questionnaire. The data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The findings of the study show that attitudes toward behavior and subjective norms have significantly and positively influenced intentions to implement the strategic pricing model. Meanwhile, perceived behavioral control did not affect the intention to implement the model. In general, the results indicate that the strategic pricing model is a useful model because it improves the quality of determined selling prices. However, SMEs still perceive accounting as a difficult skill to learn. In terms of practice, the results of this study are useful to determine the SMEs’ degree of interest in applying the strategic pricing model. This is particularly notable due to the novelty of this model which shows, based on previous research, that the majority of SMEs have not yet adequately implemented their accounting systems.