item: #1 of 2012 id: ajiss-1000 author: None title: ajiss-1000 date: 2020-06-02 words: 3026 flesch: 43 summary: Eventually liberal education does produce ex- Ahmad El-Muhammady lectures on political science and Islamic studies at the Centre for Foun- dation Studies, International Islamic University Malaysia. The resulting tolerance and reasonable accommodation is a give-and-take situation and is obviously the basis of Malaysia’s stability.8 One can conclude that modern Malaysia was built upon the principle of mod- El-Muhammady: keywords: approach; extremism; international; islam; islamic; malaysia; moderation; muslim; wasaṭīyah cache: ajiss-1000.pdf plain text: ajiss-1000.txt item: #2 of 2012 id: ajiss-1001 author: None title: ajiss-1001 date: 2020-06-02 words: 3405 flesch: 48 summary: Abstract Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam (Malay World Islam World) may be considered one of the State of Melaka’s flagship NGOs. With these broad objectives in mind, DMDI envisioned generating a pas- sion and eagerness among the Malay/Muslim communities globally to work for a united front to make progress in such critical areas as education, econom- ics, culture, and science and technology innovation, a united front that would bring together and unite the Malay Muslim communities and the Malay dias- pora. keywords: africa; communities; dmdi; dunia; islam; islamic; malay; malaysia; melayu; muslim; university cache: ajiss-1001.pdf plain text: ajiss-1001.txt item: #3 of 2012 id: ajiss-1002 author: None title: ajiss-1002 date: 2020-06-02 words: 1033 flesch: 42 summary: Ermin Sinanović (director, Research and Academic Programs) opened panel 1, “Imam & Community Education,” by explaining that IIIT is commit- ted to continuous professional development for imams and community leaders so that they can be effective in the United States. He recommended periodic recertification of imams and community leaders so that they can improve their ability to handle contemporary challenges, and expressed enthusiasm for the ICNA-IIIT partnership. keywords: community; iiit; imams; sunnah cache: ajiss-1002.pdf plain text: ajiss-1002.txt item: #4 of 2012 id: ajiss-1003 author: None title: ajiss-1003 date: 2020-06-02 words: 2283 flesch: 49 summary: If the West is serious about defeating violent extremism, it should think about the resources and manpower deployed against the Nazis’ actual threat and perceived potential vis-à-vis its current mobilization of resources against the real threat and potential posed by violent Muslim extremists. I employ violent Muslim extremists here because it accurately describes the people I have in mind: Those Muslims who are violent and extremist, and nobody else. keywords: american; extremism; islamic; middle; muslim cache: ajiss-1003.pdf plain text: ajiss-1003.txt item: #5 of 2012 id: ajiss-1004 author: None title: ajiss-1004 date: 2020-06-02 words: 1391 flesch: 53 summary: Obituary Dr. Jamal Barzinji: 1939-2015 It is with deep sadness that the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) announces the passing of Dr. Jamal Barzinji, its pres- ident and founding member, on Saturday, September 26, 2015, after a long-standing illness. May Allah be pleased with Dr. Jamal Barzinji and shower His blessings and mercy upon him, thereby making it easier for those he has left behind to bear the sorrow of his absence. keywords: barzinji; iiit; islamic; jamal cache: ajiss-1004.pdf plain text: ajiss-1004.txt item: #6 of 2012 id: ajiss-1005 author: None title: ajiss-1005 date: 2020-06-02 words: 1238 flesch: 55 summary: The process is significant and promises further change that will connect American Muslims with global Islam. As rightly pointed out in the “Introduction” (p. 4), American Islam is the most heterogeneous in the world and no doubt constitutes the main issue when deal- ing with Islam in North, Central, and South America. keywords: american; islam; muslims cache: ajiss-1005.pdf plain text: ajiss-1005.txt item: #7 of 2012 id: ajiss-1006 author: None title: ajiss-1006 date: 2020-06-02 words: 2094 flesch: 52 summary: The first section, “Women in creation,” is dedi- cated to Eve and the overarching question of whether woman was created from man or whether women and men are partners in creation and the rami- fications of these beliefs on our perspectives of gender. This section in- cludes a detailed exploration of Q 4:1, a verse about the creation of woman and man that can be taken to mean that either woman was created from man or that women and men were created similarly. keywords: hadith; section; shi‘i; women cache: ajiss-1006.pdf plain text: ajiss-1006.txt item: #8 of 2012 id: ajiss-1007 author: None title: ajiss-1007 date: 2020-06-02 words: 1968 flesch: 30 summary: With a concern for the material affects of such representations on the lives of young Muslim women and girls, Zine discusses possibilities for “decolonizing” such texts. The second section, “The Politics of Production and Reception,” focuses on the politics of reception in literature and artwork by or about Muslim and Arab women. keywords: arab; discourses; imperialist; muslim; pedagogy; women cache: ajiss-1007.pdf plain text: ajiss-1007.txt item: #9 of 2012 id: ajiss-1008 author: None title: ajiss-1008 date: 2020-06-02 words: 2120 flesch: 36 summary: Khorrami’s identification of non-discursivity as a central component of modernist literature and his ex- plications of non-discursive texts in this chapter most notably set Literary Subterfuge and Contemporary Persian Fiction apart from other studies in the field. In other words, non-discursive texts allow us to participate in new and not-yet-defined realities; our knowledge of outside theories or previously deployed literary de- vices will not suffice for making meaning from what we experience on the page. keywords: fiction; khorrami; non; persian cache: ajiss-1008.pdf plain text: ajiss-1008.txt item: #10 of 2012 id: ajiss-1009 author: None title: ajiss-1009 date: 2020-06-02 words: 1616 flesch: 54 summary: Of course, such early manuscripts also provide evi- dence of textual variation, the precise dimensions of which have not always been preserved by Muslim tradition. In fact, early manuscripts are the only tangible source about the oral tradition itself. keywords: déroche; manuscripts; qur’an; text cache: ajiss-1009.pdf plain text: ajiss-1009.txt item: #11 of 2012 id: ajiss-1010 author: None title: ajiss-1010 date: 2020-06-02 words: 1386 flesch: 51 summary: Among other matters, the work traces al- Ghazali’s account of his own descent into skepticism and his emergence there- from, thanks to God, Who cast a light of certainty into al-Ghazali’s heart and delivered him from error. Al-Ghazali (Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Tusi al-Ghazali, 1058-1111) is one of the most important thinkers in the history of Islamic and Arabic thought. keywords: ghazali; translation; yaqub cache: ajiss-1010.pdf plain text: ajiss-1010.txt item: #12 of 2012 id: ajiss-1011 author: None title: ajiss-1011 date: 2020-06-02 words: 1145 flesch: 55 summary: The fact that it was published by Karnac Books, one of the premiere publishers of psychoanalytic theory and practice, leads one to think that the psychoanalytic community is a particularly important audience. Following this general foregrounding of the Crusades and psychoanalytic theory, the author turns to how the Crusaders, namely, the “Franks,” created a larger fantasy that drove their violent engage- ment with Muslims, one that was tied to a political effort to build a collective European identity. keywords: crusades; fantasy cache: ajiss-1011.pdf plain text: ajiss-1011.txt item: #13 of 2012 id: ajiss-1012 author: None title: ajiss-1012 date: 2020-06-02 words: 1519 flesch: 44 summary: Nasr’s own teachings are grounded in the perennialist philosophy, which claims to be Traditionalist with the capital “T.” Since it is based in no actual religion, perennialists dig into religious traditions for their essence, which they insist consists of three principles: the Unity of the Supreme Principle, the Hi- erarchic structure of Reality, and the Ultimate meaningfulness or purposeful- ness of all things in the universe. Nasr’s view that most pre-modern traditions shared a deep sense of reverence for nature, or divine handiwork, is quite defensible; however, this does not necessarily justify his more specific contentions. keywords: islamic; nasr; religion; traditions cache: ajiss-1012.pdf plain text: ajiss-1012.txt item: #14 of 2012 id: ajiss-1013 author: None title: ajiss-1013 date: 2020-06-02 words: 4880 flesch: 36 summary: One more category is that of Islam and politics, political Islam, and/or the various facets, complexities, and intricacies of Islamic movements. Written by prominent scholars and specialists in the field, The Oxford Handbook of Islam and Politics (OHIP)5 is a single- volume sourcebook that provides a comprehensive analysis of “what we know and where we are in the study of political Islam,” thereby enabling scholars, students, and policymakers “to appreciate the interaction of Islam and politics and the multiple and diverse roles of Islamic movements” both regionally and globally (p. 2; italics mine). keywords: entries; islam; islamic; movements; muslim; politics; thought; world cache: ajiss-1013.pdf plain text: ajiss-1013.txt item: #15 of 2012 id: ajiss-1014 author: None title: ajiss-1014 date: 2020-06-02 words: 1990 flesch: 54 summary: She holds a BES in environmental studies and a BArch in architecture, respectively (University of Waterloo), an MSc in architectural engineering (Cairo University), and a Doctorate of Philosophy (Cairo Uni- versity). Educated in the European beaux-arts tradition of design at King Fuad University (now Cairo University) in 1926, the architect eventually and de- cisively shed these lessons and embraced the history and traditions of con- struction of his native Egypt. keywords: architecture; design; fathy; islam; mosque; university cache: ajiss-1014.pdf plain text: ajiss-1014.txt item: #16 of 2012 id: ajiss-1015 author: None title: ajiss-1015 date: 2020-06-02 words: 5457 flesch: 51 summary: For some Muslims, Islamic art expresses this natural beauty as well as the miracles of God’s creation related in the Qur’an and the prophetic traditions (aḥādīth). Islamic art, whether architecture, painting, or sculpture, expresses both this natural beauty and the miracles of God’s creation: That which is on Earth We have made but as a glittering show for it, in order that We may test them – as to which of them are best in conduct. keywords: arts; beauty; god; hassan; ibid; islamic; life; muslim; qur’an; turabi cache: ajiss-1015.pdf plain text: ajiss-1015.txt item: #17 of 2012 id: ajiss-1016 author: None title: ajiss-1016 date: 2020-06-02 words: 3690 flesch: 54 summary: school children is equally alarming. Teachers acquaint students with different subjects in order to expose them to different branches of learning and assess their understanding by asking them to regurgitate the information. keywords: children; education; learning; schools; skills; students; teaching; thinking cache: ajiss-1016.pdf plain text: ajiss-1016.txt item: #18 of 2012 id: ajiss-1017 author: None title: ajiss-1017 date: 2020-06-02 words: 2632 flesch: 48 summary: ”Asma Afsarud- din (Indiana University, “Ummah in the Qur’an and Early Islam: Implications for Modern Pluralist Societies and Citizenship”) focused on the Muslim belief, based upon Q. 2:143, that they are a “middle” or “moderate nation/community.” Muq- tedar Khan (University of Delaware, “Revisiting the Constitution of Madinah: Religious Pluralism and Political Equality in Islam”) mentioned that his per- spective has changed since the Arab Spring, especially as regards the Consti- tution of Madinah. keywords: constitutions; islamic; law; pluralism; state; university cache: ajiss-1017.pdf plain text: ajiss-1017.txt item: #19 of 2012 id: ajiss-1018 author: None title: ajiss-1018 date: 2020-06-02 words: 1434 flesch: 34 summary: On this four-member panel, Muhammad Aydan (Qatar University) reflected on “The Genius of Kâtip Chalabi in Classification: The Introduction of Kashf al- Zunūn” and Walid Ahmad Saleh (University of Toronto) discoursed about “The Hāshīyah (Gloss) and the Matn (Text): Kâtip Chalabi and the Classifi- cation of Science in the Post-Classical Period.” Kâtip Chalabi, as he is known as in Turkish circles, was a re- formist scholar known for his intellectual contributions to the social sciences (viz., keywords: classification; kashf; university; zunūn cache: ajiss-1018.pdf plain text: ajiss-1018.txt item: #20 of 2012 id: ajiss-1020 author: None title: ajiss-1020 date: 2020-06-04 words: 2617 flesch: 50 summary: Although al-Faruqi never referred to himself in this way, portraying him as Islam’s Martin Luther does have some significance to contemporary Islam and Islamic thought. Although al-Faruqi’s early works on Arabism (‘urūbah) recognized the Mus- lim world’s diverse cultures and may represent his ideas on Islamic thought, it is fair to state that among his many works, those on tawḥīd (God’s unity) were his signature keywords: faruqi; islamic; muslim; thought; īmān cache: ajiss-1020.pdf plain text: ajiss-1020.txt item: #21 of 2012 id: ajiss-1021 author: None title: ajiss-1021 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1539 flesch: 38 summary: According to Yavuz, the ajiss31-1_ajiss 12/4/2013 2:16 PM Page 97 Gülen movement is distinctive because it has succeeded in “vernacularizing” the Enlightenment’s ideals, which he identifies as reason, tolerance, science, and public discussion. M. Hakan Yavuz was one of the early contributors to the literature on the Gülen movement, co-editing a major volume on the subject with John Espo- sito in 2003 (Hakan Yavuz and John Esposito, Turkish Islam and the Secular State: The Gülen Movement [Syracuse University Press: 2003]). keywords: gülen; islamic; movement; yavuz cache: ajiss-1021.pdf plain text: ajiss-1021.txt item: #22 of 2012 id: ajiss-1022 author: None title: ajiss-1022 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1602 flesch: 40 summary: In Chapter 7, “Media, Representation(s), Politics,” Hammer investigates how American Muslim women have responded to the media’s negative por- trayal of Muslim women. Other topics raised here include the impact of racial dynamics in American Muslim communities (an especially noticeable absence within the analysis), the presence of American Muslim women in academia, the role of men in dis- cussions of gender and religion, and the transnational conversations and net- works growing around similar matters. keywords: american; chapter; muslim; women cache: ajiss-1022.pdf plain text: ajiss-1022.txt item: #23 of 2012 id: ajiss-1023 author: None title: ajiss-1023 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1570 flesch: 49 summary: Educating Muslim Women is a unique study of Muslim women told through the story of Nana Asma’u, a nineteenth-century Fulani woman from Northern Nigeria who became a renowned scholar and greatly impacted Muslim women in Nigeria and beyond. Boyd and Mack present the Shehu as a feminist who en- couraged his contemporaries to educate women and urged Muslim women to demand their rights. keywords: asma’u; muslim; women cache: ajiss-1023.pdf plain text: ajiss-1023.txt item: #24 of 2012 id: ajiss-1024 author: None title: ajiss-1024 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1555 flesch: 37 summary: In chapter 3, “Editing culture,” Manoukian contemplates the “production of knowledge” in contemporary Shiraz by focusing on “editing.” Setrag Manoukian’s City of Knowledge in Twentieth Century Iran: Shiraz, History, and Poetry combines the application of Michel Foucault’s conceptu- alization of the relationship between “knowledge” and “power” with a “his- torical and ethnographic investigation” into the sociocultural and political life of twentieth-century Shiraz in order to portray a history of Iran and Iranians that differs from the usual accounts focusing on Tehran. keywords: city; history; knowledge; shiraz cache: ajiss-1024.pdf plain text: ajiss-1024.txt item: #25 of 2012 id: ajiss-1025 author: None title: ajiss-1025 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1617 flesch: 48 summary: As Gleave explains in his first chapter, literalism sees literal meaning as having an “advantage” over allusion, metaphor (majāz), and other kinds of meaning because it holds a “higher level of epistemological security” (p. 1). The fourth chapter deals with literal meaning in early Islamic legal theory. keywords: author; islamic; meaning cache: ajiss-1025.pdf plain text: ajiss-1025.txt item: #26 of 2012 id: ajiss-1026 author: None title: ajiss-1026 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1065 flesch: 51 summary: Addressing the dearth of English-language resources on Ibadi beliefs, Va- lerie J. Hoffman has written The Essentials of Ibāḍī Islam in “an attempt to introduce Ibadi Islamic theology to students and scholars of Islam” (p. 4) – a task in which she succeeds admirably. Her book is primarily a translation of a theological primer and supplementary text, preceded by a short introduction on the origins and history of Ibadi Islam to orient the readers and prepare them 114 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 31:1 ajiss31-1_ajiss 12/4/2013 2:16 PM Page 114 for perspectives that are largely unfamiliar even to those in the world of Is- lamic studies. keywords: ibadi; islam cache: ajiss-1026.pdf plain text: ajiss-1026.txt item: #27 of 2012 id: ajiss-1027 author: None title: ajiss-1027 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1840 flesch: 48 summary: After the first two epistles, epistle 3 deals with astronomy, epistle 4 with cosmography, epistle 5 with music, and epistle 6 with proportions (that ties the quadrivium together) – and that is before they move onto the next set of propaeduetics, namely the logical organon beginning with epistles 7 and 8 (the theoretical and practical arts) that provide a classification of the sciences on which the approach to holism is based. Epistle 1 begins with a statement that the Ikhwan seek to study all of the sciences that pertain to existent things (mawjūdāt) and 118 keywords: epistle; geometry; ikhwan; islamic; sciences cache: ajiss-1027.pdf plain text: ajiss-1027.txt item: #28 of 2012 id: ajiss-1028 author: None title: ajiss-1028 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1383 flesch: 36 summary: Since that time, interest in Islamic art and architecture has surged from specialists to many scholars, students, and general interest worldwide. The volume’s final sections return to broader topics of research on art in the Islamic world with the provocative sections of “Circulation of Ideas and Objects in General between East and West and China and Islamic World,” “‘Orientalist’ Art and Influence/appropriation of Islamic art in Art in non- Islamic lands,” and “Attitudes of Non-Muslims to Islamic art.” keywords: architecture; art; islamic; world cache: ajiss-1028.pdf plain text: ajiss-1028.txt item: #29 of 2012 id: ajiss-1029 author: None title: ajiss-1029 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1546 flesch: 64 summary: I have since read all of his books and have taught several of them in my courses on contemporary Islam and Islam in North America. The line that grabbed me most powerfully was the image of Bruce Lawrence, the eminent scholar of Islam and Sufism, referring to Michael Knight as a malāmatīyah. keywords: allah; islam; islamic; knight cache: ajiss-1029.pdf plain text: ajiss-1029.txt item: #30 of 2012 id: ajiss-103 author: None title: ajiss-103 date: 2021-02-09 words: 10764 flesch: 60 summary: An important aspect of the respect that male scholars like Maulana Thanawi and Maulana Ilyas commanded in the community was their disinterest in money-making ventures, which aligned very well with their disparagement of those ulema who did take up worldly (dunyāwī) professions. The success in Mewat encouraged Maulana Ilyas to expand the mission to other towns in north India, based on the principle of ‘good company’ elucidated by Maulana Thanawi. keywords: ahmad; century; class; community; company; delhi; education; family; good; government; household; ilyas; india; islamic; jamā‘at; khan; maulana; movement; muslim; nazir; new; piety; social; thanawi; women cache: ajiss-103.pdf plain text: ajiss-103.txt item: #31 of 2012 id: ajiss-1030 author: None title: ajiss-1030 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1447 flesch: 55 summary: Several other American Muslims have written about the community. Few are as qualified as Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf to articulate a vision for American Muslims. keywords: american; islam; muslims; rauf cache: ajiss-1030.pdf plain text: ajiss-1030.txt item: #32 of 2012 id: ajiss-1031 author: None title: ajiss-1031 date: 2020-06-04 words: 3793 flesch: 50 summary: A compromise – Toronto – was accepted and has worked out well: MCC students study Farsi and Islam at IKERI and Iranian students study the philosophy of religion at the Toronto School of Theology. MCC program staff took him up on this offer and introduced our organization to Ambassador Kamal Kharrazzi and some of his staff, which led to a second key relationship: Seyed Kazem Sajjadpour, a sen- ior official of the Iranian Mission and a representative of the Institute of Po- litical and International Studies (IPIS), the research and policy-making department of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. keywords: christian; dialogue; iran; iranian; mcc; mennonite; muslim; program; students cache: ajiss-1031.pdf plain text: ajiss-1031.txt item: #33 of 2012 id: ajiss-1032 author: None title: ajiss-1032 date: 2020-06-04 words: 6674 flesch: 49 summary: Asef Bayat, Making Islam Democratic: Social Movements and the Post-Islamist Turn (Stanford, CA: One might be justified for holding the impression that Erdoğan’s domes- tic Islamization policies, as well as his pro-Islamist policies in the Arab world, especially his staunch support for Palestine’s Hamas, Egypt’s Muslim Broth- erhood, and the Free Syrian Army, are clear evidence of his Islamism. keywords: ajiss31; erdoğan; gezi; government; islamist; jdp; june; muslim; november; page; park; police; post; protests; turkey; turkish cache: ajiss-1032.pdf plain text: ajiss-1032.txt item: #34 of 2012 id: ajiss-1033 author: None title: ajiss-1033 date: 2020-06-04 words: 2977 flesch: 60 summary: Emad ad- Dean Ahmad made several points: Islamic movements can be at odds with each other (a fact that is often overlooked); secularism, which is a wedge used to divide people, also is not monolithic (Islamists can accept American-style secularism, in his opinion); and a distinction needs to be made between ne- oliberal and free market economics. If this role belongs to the majority (Ahmad opines that al-Raysuni does not seem to appreciate the fact that the minority is often right), what size should the majority be? keywords: ahmad; author; iiit; islam; islamic; muslims; panel cache: ajiss-1033.pdf plain text: ajiss-1033.txt item: #35 of 2012 id: ajiss-1034 author: None title: ajiss-1034 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1045 flesch: 58 summary: Further refining this concept, he opined that cosmopolitanism is also “a style of thought, how we think and look at people” – one that calls for Muslims to be morally responsible for others (even non-Muslims), as this attitude is a core part of the Islamic tradition of open-mindedness and the maqāṣid al- Sharī‘ah (e.g., compassion, justice, cooperation, doing good, and consensus to safeguard the public interest). He elaborated upon this by comparing several great Islamic cities of the past – Baghdad, Bukhara, Cor- doba, Damascus, Cairo, Fez, Mogadishu, Malacca, Timbuktu, Sarajevo, and Delhi – with their contemporary counterparts, to remind Muslims that such grand undertakings were not beyond their ability. keywords: arab; muslims; person cache: ajiss-1034.pdf plain text: ajiss-1034.txt item: #36 of 2012 id: ajiss-1036 author: None title: ajiss-1036 date: 2020-11-06 words: 1202 flesch: 45 summary: The growing field of the intellectual and social history of the interwar peri- od is richer for this biography of Yozgatlı Ihsan Efendi, written by his son, Professor Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, and titled Yozgatlı Ihsan Efendi: Kaybolan Dünyadan Nurlu Bir Sima (Yozgatlı Ihsan Efendi: An Illuminated Face from a Lost World). The title of the book lends itself to layered interpretation: the word sîmâ (face, but also sign) indicates that it is about a historical persona, Yozgatlı Ihsan Efendi: Islamic scholar, dedicated teacher and a member of the late Ottoman ulama, as well as a witness to the dramatic changes of the early 20th century. keywords: book; efendi; ihsan; yozgatlı cache: ajiss-1036.pdf plain text: ajiss-1036.txt item: #37 of 2012 id: ajiss-1037 author: None title: ajiss-1037 date: 2020-06-04 words: 2612 flesch: 59 summary: At this time, the hadith continues, non-Muslims will have not one iota of fear and apprehension (mahāba) of Muslims, but the latter will have already resigned themselves to their own feebleness (wahn) and thus be gripped with fear of non-Muslims.1 A Few Clarifications On the other hand, whenever I use non-Muslims, I only mean some of them. keywords: change; islamic; muslims; non; world cache: ajiss-1037.pdf plain text: ajiss-1037.txt item: #38 of 2012 id: ajiss-1038 author: None title: ajiss-1038 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1602 flesch: 49 summary: Britain also pressured west- 102 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 31:2 ajiss31-2_ajiss 3/26/2014 8:07 AM Page 102 ern European countries not to send workers to Iran, froze Iranian assets in London (£25 million), warned oil companies against doing business with Iran, and threatened to “impound any tanker leaving Iranian ports with stolen petroleum” (p. 111). It ended on April 25, on the same day that Mohammad Mossadeq (1882-1967) submitted a detailed oil nationalization bill to Parliament and AIOC promised to provide its workers with better housing, raise the minimum wage, and pay them for the strike period (pp. 69-71). keywords: coup; iranian; oil cache: ajiss-1038.pdf plain text: ajiss-1038.txt item: #39 of 2012 id: ajiss-1039 author: None title: ajiss-1039 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1491 flesch: 43 summary: This is not to suggest that the research needs to yield comparative insights about elite politics, but rather that describing the trajectory of elites and political parties does not yield the most substantive an- alytical insights about elite recruitment and circulation that it could. As such, the inquiry has to ask how the period of Syrian control – Pax Syriana – cre- ated new possibilities and limitations for elite politics in Lebanon. keywords: elite; lebanon; politics cache: ajiss-1039.pdf plain text: ajiss-1039.txt item: #40 of 2012 id: ajiss-1040 author: None title: ajiss-1040 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1544 flesch: 38 summary: She argues Book Reviews 109 ajiss31-2_ajiss 3/26/2014 8:07 AM Page 109 that most Muslim women in political positions “belong to, or are supported by, the traditional elite that seems to attach more value to the perpetuation of its own dynasties than to an Islamic debate about women in leading positions” (p. 217). Shifting to the Philippines, the next three chapters examine the space for Muslim women in that Muslim-minority nation. keywords: islam; islamic; muslim; women cache: ajiss-1040.pdf plain text: ajiss-1040.txt item: #41 of 2012 id: ajiss-1042 author: None title: ajiss-1042 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1463 flesch: 52 summary: So far, Canadian Muslims have depended heavily on imported imams whose views are shaped in (and by) the East and who are not engaged with Islamic reform. The book clearly needs a more nuanced discussion of the experiences of different types of Canadian Muslims. keywords: chapter; islamic; muslim; women cache: ajiss-1042.pdf plain text: ajiss-1042.txt item: #42 of 2012 id: ajiss-1043 author: None title: ajiss-1043 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1459 flesch: 42 summary: This book is a valuable contribution to the growing body of research on the experiences and identities of British Muslim women. Chapter 5 includes three case studies of British Asian Muslim women working in the arts. keywords: british; muslim; research; women cache: ajiss-1043.pdf plain text: ajiss-1043.txt item: #43 of 2012 id: ajiss-1044 author: None title: ajiss-1044 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1614 flesch: 39 summary: In the section’s fourth chapter, Catharina Raudvere discusses Bosnian women’s diverse engagements with religious interpretations by looking at ajiss31-2_ajiss 3/26/2014 8:07 AM Page 119 women who take an explicit gender-focused approach in creating alternative spaces for Muslim women, as well as women working and teaching within more conservative madrasah structures. She also profiles one organization that takes a more explicit stance in favor of women’s equality and individual ijtihād, thereby reflecting different claims to authority among Muslim women. keywords: authority; chapter; islamic; muslim; women cache: ajiss-1044.pdf plain text: ajiss-1044.txt item: #44 of 2012 id: ajiss-1045 author: None title: ajiss-1045 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1464 flesch: 45 summary: There is one question regarding the Persian text that does need additional clarification: Ismail K. Poonawala pointed out in his review of Faquir M. Hun- zai’s edition and translation of Nasir’s Gushāyish va Rahāyish (translated as Knowledge and Liberation: A Treatise on Philosophical Theology) that the 122 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 31:2 ajiss31-2_ajiss 3/26/2014 8:07 AM Page 122 transmitted manuscript was “edited and censored by a Sunni hand” (See Iran- ian Studies 32, no. 3, summer 1999). At a moment when biographical studies of Nasir have reached a peak, the future study and translation of his philosophy, cosmology, and poetry should continue to receive primary focus and prominence within the secondary literature. keywords: nasir; philosophy; translation cache: ajiss-1045.pdf plain text: ajiss-1045.txt item: #45 of 2012 id: ajiss-1046 author: None title: ajiss-1046 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1612 flesch: 47 summary: Epistle 15, on matter and form (al-hayūla wa al-ṣūra), comprises fourteen chapters on issues of hylomorphism and the constituents of natural bodies. The volume immediately after on epistle 22 on animals has been published many times and is arguably one of the most famous of the Epistles: The Case of the Animals versus Man before the King of the Jinns (published in this series in the translation of Lenn Goodman and Richard MacGregor). keywords: brethren; chapters; epistles; sciences cache: ajiss-1046.pdf plain text: ajiss-1046.txt item: #46 of 2012 id: ajiss-1047 author: None title: ajiss-1047 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1664 flesch: 54 summary: His excellent summary of the philosophical and cosmological concepts of par- adise in relation to the garden is followed by a clear account of the chahar bagh (quad-partite garden) and the Mughal legacy of gardens as microcosms of paradise. The third essay, Azim Nanji’s “Imagining Paradise: The Legacy of Mughal Garden,” outlines the context, concept, form, and de- sign followed by three key groups of Mughal gardens: the garden tomb of Humayun, the gardens of Kashmir under Jahangir, and the gardens under Shah Jahan. keywords: art; essay; garden; islamic; paradise cache: ajiss-1047.pdf plain text: ajiss-1047.txt item: #47 of 2012 id: ajiss-1048 author: None title: ajiss-1048 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1718 flesch: 41 summary: For those who have visited Islamic art collections in museums, it is inter- esting and important to understand that there is an ongoing global dialogue, at least among historians and curators, regarding the methodologies of dis- playing Islamic art and the potential for greater cultural understanding and cooperation with other institutions. The forum offers a certain diversity of voices regarding issues in general (the display of Islamic art around the world) and specific to the MIA at the Pergamon Museum. keywords: art; islamic; museum; papers; section cache: ajiss-1048.pdf plain text: ajiss-1048.txt item: #48 of 2012 id: ajiss-1049 author: None title: ajiss-1049 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1188 flesch: 44 summary: Compared to similar collections in translation, this book provides unmediated access to the world of Iran, Iranians, Islamic Iran, and Iranian-Americans. In a number of stories, (e.g., Taha Ebrahimi’s “Family Trouble” or J. Kevin Shushtari’s “The Sweet Dry Fruit of the Lotus Tree”), in fact, the nar- rator’s family is well established and feels at home, sometimes with an Amer- ican parent, until ghosts or guests from Iran upset the peace. keywords: american; iran; iranian; stories cache: ajiss-1049.pdf plain text: ajiss-1049.txt item: #49 of 2012 id: ajiss-1050 author: None title: ajiss-1050 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1545 flesch: 47 summary: The following statement sums up the author’s thesis: “In short, if Islam is to be cured of its current affliction, it must get to that post-Islamic, post-religious place where Christianity and Ju- daism have managed to arrive” (p. x). He seeks to awaken Muslims “to the fact that times have changed” (p. x) and that “the world is a different place” (p. x), which is why “when it comes to religious identity” (p. x), Islam cannot continue to “perceive Christianity as if it were still its medieval antagonist, despite modern notions of nations and peoples that have circumscribed the religion” (p. x). keywords: author; chapter; islamic; nature cache: ajiss-1050.pdf plain text: ajiss-1050.txt item: #50 of 2012 id: ajiss-1051 author: None title: ajiss-1051 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1193 flesch: 51 summary: Esposito examines the reinsertion of Islam into Muslim politics and society in an attempt to analyze its impact and global implications and also to answer such questions as “What is political Islam?” and “Are all Islamic movements a threat?” Chapter 2, “God in Politics,” provides the background and context for understanding political Islam, the role of religion in politics and society, and Islam’s impact upon Muslim societies and the West. keywords: islam; muslim cache: ajiss-1051.pdf plain text: ajiss-1051.txt item: #51 of 2012 id: ajiss-1052 author: None title: ajiss-1052 date: 2020-06-04 words: 3410 flesch: 58 summary: When the session ended, Muhammad Qutb lightheart- edly said to Faruqi, “When I look up at you on the platform I see Faruqi, but when I look at the monitor I see Winston Churchill!” Campus life was equally challenging to young Muslim students coming from traditional societies. keywords: arab; arabism; faruqi; islamic; muslim; students; university cache: ajiss-1052.pdf plain text: ajiss-1052.txt item: #52 of 2012 id: ajiss-1053 author: None title: ajiss-1053 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1719 flesch: 44 summary: She analyzed the conditions faced by Shia communities in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain within the wider perspective of the soicopolitical and historical process of modern state formation. Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports The Role of Education in Implementing Social Justice: The Case of Shia Muslims In honor of World Day of Social Justice, on February 24, 2014, Shia Rights Watch and American University held the first-ever conference devoted to pre- senting new paradigms for exploring how the rights of the minority Shia Mus- lim community can be protected against such entrenched realities as subordination, injustice, violence, discrimination, and marginalization. keywords: education; peace; rights; shia; violence cache: ajiss-1053.pdf plain text: ajiss-1053.txt item: #53 of 2012 id: ajiss-1054 author: None title: ajiss-1054 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1338 flesch: 50 summary: Those who support the Islamization of English literary studies propose a similar approach to English literature in order to counterbalance the un-Islamic cultural influences as well as to present the Islamic worldviews in relation to the life-worlds that these literary texts are reputed to promote. In other words, the colonialists focused on English literature and could thus ignore all moral questions. keywords: english; islamic; literature; studies cache: ajiss-1054.pdf plain text: ajiss-1054.txt item: #54 of 2012 id: ajiss-1055 author: None title: ajiss-1055 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1315 flesch: 54 summary: The second part of his presentation consisted of several historical obser- vations related to Christian views of Islam, Muslim views of other religions (especially Christianity), and how best to approach/view these two religions’ relationship. Shortly after Constantinople fell (1453), he wrote On the Peace of Faith, an imaginary di- alogue held among seventeen representatives of religions (including Islam) and various dominations. keywords: islam; muslims; religion cache: ajiss-1055.pdf plain text: ajiss-1055.txt item: #55 of 2012 id: ajiss-1056 author: None title: ajiss-1056 date: 2020-06-04 words: 2663 flesch: 44 summary: Editorial The Study of Islam in African Universities: Reflections on Ghana Although not as comprehensive as the articles featured in this special issue, this editorial presents my comments and the results of my survey conducted among professors and lecturers who teach Islamic studies in Ghanaian uni- versities. Additionally, even though the acts of non-Ghanaian Muslims may be an undue source of antag- onism toward Islam, I contend that they are not responsible for the lukewarm attitude toward Islamic studies at Ghanaian universities. keywords: africa; ghana; islamic; studies; universities; university cache: ajiss-1056.pdf plain text: ajiss-1056.txt item: #56 of 2012 id: ajiss-1057 author: None title: ajiss-1057 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1648 flesch: 51 summary: Otherwise, marrying out would “commonise” ‘Alid women and “com- promise the family’s special status, on which claims to privileges and social exceptionalism were based” (p. 50); (2) keeping these women within the family communicated a sense of elitism, because “one only gives one’s daughters in marriage to one’s equals or superiors” (p. 35)’ Chapter 3, on ‘Alid marriage patterns, opens with a contemporary account of a scandal that ensued after a Hadrami sayyidah in Southeast Asia married a non-‘Alid man and how that, in turn, led some people to “question openly the centuries-long domination of the sayyids keywords: alid; islamic; social cache: ajiss-1057.pdf plain text: ajiss-1057.txt item: #57 of 2012 id: ajiss-1058 author: None title: ajiss-1058 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1517 flesch: 57 summary: It concludes with a brief overview of modern scholarship, in which some of the well-known names in Islamic and Twelver Shi‘i (e.g., Ignaz Goldziher [d. 1921], Etan Kohlberg, Henry Corbin [d. 1978]) and Ismaili Shi‘i studies (e.g., Wilferd Madelung and Abbas Hamdani) are listed. Despite the progress made in the study of Shi‘i Islam, few publications provide a comprehensive account of its history. keywords: islam; shi‘i cache: ajiss-1058.pdf plain text: ajiss-1058.txt item: #58 of 2012 id: ajiss-1059 author: None title: ajiss-1059 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1622 flesch: 42 summary: Roel Meijer’s edited Global Salafism: Islam’s New Religious Movement, one of the first collected works to broadly analyze contemporary Salafism as a global religious movement for English-speaking audiences, presents this movement as a string of methods for approaching Islam’s canonical sources. The first part discusses the doctrinal tension between Salafi groups and offers a convincing effort to define the term. keywords: groups; islam; movement; salafism; tensions cache: ajiss-1059.pdf plain text: ajiss-1059.txt item: #59 of 2012 id: ajiss-106 author: None title: ajiss-106 date: 2018-10-29 words: 9816 flesch: 49 summary: For example, Imam al-Ḥaramayn clarified, one cannot say “Injustice is truth,” because the term “truth” here is attached to a pejorative term.53 In turn, the attempt to search for the truth (with the meaning of “certainty” or “fixed- ness”) is not only limited to dialectic (jadal) in the study of Islamic legal tradition (al-sharīʿah) but also in the study of theology (al-tawḥīd).54 Ibn Ḥazm (d. 456/1063) published his jadal work entitled al-Taqrīb li ḥadd al-manṭiq wa al-madkhal ilayhi bi al-alfāẓ al-ʿāmmīyah wa al-amthilah al-fiqhīyah. keywords: argument; aristotelian; aristotle; deduction; dialectic; disputation; greek; islamic; jadal; medieval; muslim; opponent; premises; refutation; thesis; truth cache: ajiss-106.pdf plain text: ajiss-106.txt item: #60 of 2012 id: ajiss-1060 author: None title: ajiss-1060 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1668 flesch: 44 summary: Such divine commands gave Islamic rulers a moral im- perative to treat Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and other non-Muslims as different but worthy. The tolerance evident Book Reviews 131 ajiss31-3_ajiss 5/28/2014 1:24 PM Page 131 there not only allowed a certain degree of freedom for non-Muslims, but also encouraged the flowering of a culture in which all of its inhabitants, be they Jews, Christians, or Muslims, participated: “Muslim tolerance allowed Jews and Christians, as well as Muslims, to express in their own unique ways their deepest spiritual aspirations” (p. 52). keywords: islamic; muslims; tolerance cache: ajiss-1060.pdf plain text: ajiss-1060.txt item: #61 of 2012 id: ajiss-1061 author: None title: ajiss-1061 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1411 flesch: 48 summary: In chapter 5, “The Illusion of Reform,” Hammond argues that the proclaimed reforms since Abdullah’s ascendency to the throne in 2005 are nothing but an illusion de- signed to keep the Saudi family and Wahhabi clerics in power so they can continue to play the same role they always have (p. 118). In fact, as Hammond points out, many of these reforms have been nothing but “window dressing … driven entirely by the desire to protect the extraordinary powers of the Saudi royal family,” as well as by a felt necessity to appease the Americans (p. 150). keywords: chapter; hammond; saudi cache: ajiss-1061.pdf plain text: ajiss-1061.txt item: #62 of 2012 id: ajiss-1062 author: None title: ajiss-1062 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1327 flesch: 45 summary: Written in an accessible style, but not without some awkward grammar and phrasing by the translator, The Construction of Muslim Identities in Con- temporary Brazil will fit into university courses in Brazilian or Latin American studies as well as religious studies or the social sciences. “It is not uncommon,” she writes, “to think that Brazilian women go to that mosque ‘searching for a husband,’” especially given the non-Arab, non- Muslim Brazilian female members of the center who married Arab Muslim male immigrants (pp. 12, 26). keywords: brazil; islam; islamic; politics cache: ajiss-1062.pdf plain text: ajiss-1062.txt item: #63 of 2012 id: ajiss-1063 author: None title: ajiss-1063 date: 2020-06-08 words: 1654 flesch: 42 summary: Although the chapters on Islamic and Jewish schools also examine these themes, they tend to focus on more practical concerns, such as the challenges of establishing religious schools, designing curriculum, and addressing in- ternal dissent. Mintz proposes that religious schools show their commitment and approaches to citizenship education to ease these concerns (pp. 245, 246). keywords: education; islamic; schools cache: ajiss-1063.pdf plain text: ajiss-1063.txt item: #64 of 2012 id: ajiss-1064 author: None title: ajiss-1064 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1559 flesch: 39 summary: The ensuing chapter, “The Reception of Ibn Khaldun,” situates him in the evolution of Islamic thought and contemporary social sciences, whereas the two final chapters, “The Significance of Ibn Khaldun for the Modern Social Sciences” and “Further Reading and Works Cited,” encapsulate Alatas’ sug- gestions for developing a Khaldunian sociology and include a list of further readings, alongside discussions on works ranging from Ibn Khaldun’s biog- raphy to critiques of his methodology. Ibn Khaldun Syed Farid Alatas New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2013. keywords: ibn; khaldun; science; social cache: ajiss-1064.pdf plain text: ajiss-1064.txt item: #65 of 2012 id: ajiss-1065 author: None title: ajiss-1065 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1200 flesch: 44 summary: Sa’diyya Shaikh’s groundbreaking Sufi Narratives of Intimacy: Ibn Arabi, Gender, and Sexuality not only makes a significant contribution to the growing body of scholarship on issues of gender and Islam, but also serves as an elo- quent and accessible introduction to the life and work of Muhyi al-Din ibn Arabi, unquestionably one of the most important voices in the Islamic tradi- tion. Sufi Narratives of Intimacy: Ibn Arabi, Gender, and Sexuality Sa’diyya Shaikh Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012. keywords: arabi; gender; ibn cache: ajiss-1065.pdf plain text: ajiss-1065.txt item: #66 of 2012 id: ajiss-1066 author: None title: ajiss-1066 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1670 flesch: 56 summary: With respect to his name not appearing in Sufi biographical works (p. 11), all this appears to suggest is that he had either not developed a reputation as a master of the science or that he may not have been publically affiliated with its recognized au- thorities. Most of the material in the treatise is therefore drawn from other important Sufi texts in circulation in his time. keywords: tabari; work cache: ajiss-1066.pdf plain text: ajiss-1066.txt item: #67 of 2012 id: ajiss-1067 author: None title: ajiss-1067 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1720 flesch: 40 summary: In the morning session, Farid Panjwani (University of London’s Institute of Education), who teaches Muslim education and has written on “Muslim education,” asked “How do we study ‘Islam’ in the university curriculum?” He opened by metaphorically stating that the study of “Islam” and “higher education” are respectively Heidergarian hammers. One of its main objectives was to discuss, in the light of neg- ative publicity and the increasing number of Muslim students pursuing certain professions, whether “Islam” as a module or a course has been adequately woven and integrated into the university teaching and learning contexts. keywords: education; islam; muslim; study; university cache: ajiss-1067.pdf plain text: ajiss-1067.txt item: #68 of 2012 id: ajiss-1068 author: None title: ajiss-1068 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1518 flesch: 45 summary: The “Comparative Religion” sub-theme consisted of such papers as “Is- mail Raji al-Faruqi in the Context of Muslim Scholarship in Comparative Re- ligion,” “Ismail Raji al-Faruqi and His Methods in the Study of Religions,” “Meta-Religion and the Discipline of Comparative Religion,” “Wilfred C. Smith and Ismail R. al-Faruqi on Religion and Religious Experience,” “The Role of Inter-Religious Dialogue in Resolving Religious Conflicts,” and “The Role of Islam in Global Inter-Religious Dependence.” The following day, a special panel composed of Ibrahim M. Zein (Usul al-Din and Comparative Religion, IIUM), Imtiyaz Yousuf (program director, Department of Religion, Assumption University, Bangkok), and Zakyi Ibrahim (associate professor, Department of Comparative Religion, California State University, Fullerton), reflected upon the “Contributions of Ismail Raji al- Faruqi.” keywords: faruqi; islamic; religion; thought cache: ajiss-1068.pdf plain text: ajiss-1068.txt item: #69 of 2012 id: ajiss-1069 author: None title: ajiss-1069 date: 2020-06-04 words: 2544 flesch: 57 summary: Ibn al-Jawzi, Nuzhat al-Aʻyun al-Nawāzịr fī ʻIlm al-Wujūh wa al-Nazạ̄ʼir (Beirut: Muʼassasat al-Risalah, 1984). However, what should be deemed empirically true during his time was that Muslim women were largely ignorant of religious knowledge. keywords: god; ibn; jawzi; knowledge; women cache: ajiss-1069.pdf plain text: ajiss-1069.txt item: #70 of 2012 id: ajiss-1070 author: None title: ajiss-1070 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1437 flesch: 35 summary: In- tended mainly for a non-Muslim audience, it seeks to represent the voice of Islamic moderation (al-wasaṭīyah) from the multi-ethnic, multi-religious Malaysian context. With a heavy focus on the writings of Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the concept of Islamic moderation is further analyzed in the hope that it will build a bridge of peaceful co-existence be- tween Muslims and non-Muslims. keywords: education; islamic; moderation; muslim cache: ajiss-1070.pdf plain text: ajiss-1070.txt item: #71 of 2012 id: ajiss-1071 author: None title: ajiss-1071 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1379 flesch: 49 summary: They also make the important points that activism in the Middle East often takes place outside formal institutions and that autocratic regimes cannot hin- der the continuous evolution of political activism. Wael Sawah and Salam Kawakibi argue that one of the most noteworthy aspects of the Syrian uprising was the change from nonpolitical to political activism and from small groups to coordinated, large-scale efforts. keywords: activism; case; politics; studies cache: ajiss-1071.pdf plain text: ajiss-1071.txt item: #72 of 2012 id: ajiss-1072 author: None title: ajiss-1072 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1563 flesch: 42 summary: Consequently, as Al-Rashid envisages, the battle in the twenty-first century will not be between marginalized women and authoritarian misogy- nist policies, but between two groups of women with different visions of their own society (p. 279). Saudi women in this context became “hostages” to the project of a “masculine authoritarian state” that continues to stake its legitimacy and sur- vival on the presumed faithfulness to such religious nationalism and to its al- liance with the Wahhabi ulama cohort. keywords: saudi; state; women cache: ajiss-1072.pdf plain text: ajiss-1072.txt item: #73 of 2012 id: ajiss-1073 author: None title: ajiss-1073 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1300 flesch: 44 summary: Another issue that may have merited greater attention instead of just a brief mention in Al Sharmani’s essay is that of courtroom practice, as some Muslim judges have advanced in innovative ways a holistic approach to gender rights that blends human rights and Islam, thereby contributing to wider debates and doctrinal developments. Mohsen Kadivar reviews the rational and textual arguments for a “deserts-based justice,” which has led to unequal gender rights, and for egal- itarian justice, which he considers more in accord with “contemporary ration- ality” (p. 231) and with the spirit of the Qur’an. keywords: gender; islamic; new; rights cache: ajiss-1073.pdf plain text: ajiss-1073.txt item: #74 of 2012 id: ajiss-1074 author: None title: ajiss-1074 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1562 flesch: 45 summary: The author of “A Trade Like Any Other”: Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995), van Nieuwkerk draws on experience and contacts from over two decades of research. Noting other authors’ commentaries and ter- minology, van Nieuwkerk follows Asef Bayat in calling this market “post-Islamist” – explicitly pious but unconnected to an Islamist dream of re- making the state (p. 203). keywords: nieuwkerk; piety; van; women cache: ajiss-1074.pdf plain text: ajiss-1074.txt item: #75 of 2012 id: ajiss-1075 author: None title: ajiss-1075 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1456 flesch: 44 summary: In fact, she argues that the “grassroots trans- formations occurring in Arab Spring countries strongly suggest that the re- Book Reviews 125 ajiss31-4_ajiss 9/26/2014 2:45 PM Page 125 gion” is passing through a continued revolution and “a complete political, social, and economic overhaul is on the horizon” (p. 26). She also argues with those who believe that the Arab Spring is non-ideological, asserting that religion played no role in the upris- ing. keywords: arab; civic; spring cache: ajiss-1075.pdf plain text: ajiss-1075.txt item: #76 of 2012 id: ajiss-1076 author: None title: ajiss-1076 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1646 flesch: 51 summary: But according to the author, many contemporary Alevis in Turkey com- pletely embrace the political construction of their historiography and regard the activities in this mosque as irrelevant and/or threatening. This opening, initiated by the ruling AKP, attempted to create an official conversation about the Alevis and the Kurds. keywords: alevis; book; state; tambar cache: ajiss-1076.pdf plain text: ajiss-1076.txt item: #77 of 2012 id: ajiss-1077 author: None title: ajiss-1077 date: 2020-06-04 words: 2138 flesch: 40 summary: Craig Calhoun’s “For the Social History of the Present: Bourdieu as Historical Sociologist” calls for viewing Bourdieu as a historical sociologist whose works identified four processes of social change: (1) the state and the market’s uprooting of traditional ways of life, (2) the creation of modern society and the formation of its fields, (3) the welfare state project of the post-WWII era, and (4) the reversal of this project due to the advent of neoliberalism. Bourdieu’s analysis of the May 1968 French University’s nearly successful attempt at social transformation and his study of Heidegger and Flaubert’s successful revolutionizing of their respective fields, in addition to his own activism, readily showcase his belief in the power and duty of so- cial science research to help implement social change and progress. keywords: analysis; bourdieu; fields; islamic; study; theory cache: ajiss-1077.pdf plain text: ajiss-1077.txt item: #78 of 2012 id: ajiss-1078 author: None title: ajiss-1078 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1700 flesch: 55 summary: The author presents the essence of Sadra’s thought in the context of Tafsīr Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, his commentary on the Qur’an’s opening chapter, and discusses his methodology, influences, and spiritual outlook. In the first chapter, Rustom outlines one key element of Sadra’s esoteric hermeneutical vision: The impulse to write a Qur’anic commentary is based in spiritual experience, the purpose of which is to make the soul ascend, as opposed to approaching the Qur’an through exoteric lenses and devoting one’s attention to matters of grammar, language, law, and so on. keywords: chapter; qur’an; sadra cache: ajiss-1078.pdf plain text: ajiss-1078.txt item: #79 of 2012 id: ajiss-1079 author: None title: ajiss-1079 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1908 flesch: 43 summary: Ibn ‘Arabi’s eclectic, unitive metaphysics has a long-standing and popular correlation with the so-called doctrine of waḥdat al-wujūd (the Unity of Ex- istence [or Being]), although he never used such particular phraseology.1 Nev- ertheless, the book’s conceptual lynchpin and that of the Beshara School itself is formed around this idea, which the author blithely reifies as central to Ibn ‘Arabi’s “complex Neo-Platonic Gnostic system” (p. 6, n. 13). Although Jeffery- Street is cautiously aware that the school’s use of Ibn ‘Arabi’s works in trans- lation “could themselves be liable to misinterpretation,” she nevertheless confidently concludes that “his key metaphysical themes taught in the Beshara School have not shifted since his lifetime” (p. 90). keywords: arabi; beshara; ibn cache: ajiss-1079.pdf plain text: ajiss-1079.txt item: #80 of 2012 id: ajiss-1080 author: None title: ajiss-1080 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1087 flesch: 44 summary: Other projects included plans for tunnels, metro infrastructure, monumental bridges spanning the Golden Horn, and various canal projects. Specific projects reviewed include revitalization plans for the Hippo- drome, Beyazit Square, and Valide Sultan – each of which included widen- ing the plazas (including landscaping) and demolishing such major landmarks as the Sultan Ahmed mosque. keywords: book; ottoman; projects cache: ajiss-1080.pdf plain text: ajiss-1080.txt item: #81 of 2012 id: ajiss-1081 author: None title: ajiss-1081 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1040 flesch: 49 summary: David Vishanoff’s The Formation of Islamic Hermeneutics is a significant contribution to the study of Islamic legal theory and legal hermeneutics. Regardless of its minor weaknesses, some of which the author has already anticipated, this work is an valuable contribution to the field of Islamic legal hermeneutics. keywords: hermeneutics; law cache: ajiss-1081.pdf plain text: ajiss-1081.txt item: #82 of 2012 id: ajiss-1082 author: None title: ajiss-1082 date: 2020-06-04 words: 3394 flesch: 45 summary: For example, in part 1 there is a chapter on art and interreligious dialogue and another on interreli- gious worship; and in part 2, of the various possible religion combinations, there are chapters on Shinto-Buddhist dialogue and Confucian-Jewish dialogue. Turning to some of the chapters of the volume we can begin by noting Leonard Swidler’s history of interreligious dialogue in chapter 1. keywords: brown; chapter; communication; dialogue; firestone; interfaith; islam; muslim cache: ajiss-1082.pdf plain text: ajiss-1082.txt item: #83 of 2012 id: ajiss-1083 author: None title: ajiss-1083 date: 2020-06-04 words: 2445 flesch: 51 summary: Carl W. Ernst (University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, “Pluralism in Islamic Ethics”) opened by stating that there is no single ap- proach to Islamic ethics, which, in itself, is an “outsider” term absent from Is- lamic texts. Scholars need to look at such issues in the same way as do judges and muftis (i.e., articulators of Islamic ethics). keywords: ethics; fiqh; islamic; law; muslim; university cache: ajiss-1083.pdf plain text: ajiss-1083.txt item: #84 of 2012 id: ajiss-1084 author: None title: ajiss-1084 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1973 flesch: 41 summary: Ermin Sinanovic IIIT) ended the session by articulating IIIT’s mission and focus on reforming Islamic education by bringing together diverse schol- ars to address the issue of contemporary Islamic education. Session 1: Reform of Education Ebrahim Moosa (University of Notre Dame) contended that Islamic thought and education have stagnated due to Islamic institutions’ fear that secular ed- ucation will have a negative influence on Muslim education. keywords: education; iiit; islamic; muslim; session; university cache: ajiss-1084.pdf plain text: ajiss-1084.txt item: #85 of 2012 id: ajiss-1085 author: None title: ajiss-1085 date: 2020-06-04 words: 1657 flesch: 40 summary: Fatimah Abdullah (International Islamic University of Malaysia [IIUM]) evaluated “The Path of Islamic Moderation: Future of Islamic Or- ganizations and Movements.” The second keynote speaker, Serif Ali Tekalan (vice-chancellor, Fatih Uni- versity, Turkey) spoke on “The Role of Waqf in Islamic Civilization: Turkey’s Experience in Waqf for Education.” keywords: civilization; conference; islamic; muslim; university; world cache: ajiss-1085.pdf plain text: ajiss-1085.txt item: #86 of 2012 id: ajiss-1086 author: Sari Hanafi title: ajiss-1086 date: 2021-05-06 words: 10395 flesch: 35 summary: To take a case study showing how students are exposed to such integration of knowledge, the Department of Economics posits itself as providing a Bachelors in Islamic Economics, where, in addition to integrating Islamic perspectives students receive 18 hours on fiqh and usul al-fiqh and 12 hours in other Islamic courses. The university also has three institutes—the Institute of Halal Research and Training (INHART), the Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance (IIiBF), and the International Institute of Islamic Civilisation and Malay World (ISTAC)—and the Centre for Islamic Economics, all of which work independently and together to ensure an interdisciplinary education. keywords: courses; economics; faculty; human; iium; instance; integration; international; iok; islamic; knowledge; malaysia; perspective; psychology; research; sciences; social; students; studies; university cache: ajiss-1086.pdf plain text: ajiss-1086.txt item: #87 of 2012 id: ajiss-1088 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 8374 flesch: 49 summary: The outcome was a decisive victory for Islamist groups. Moderate Islamist groups like Tunisia’s En- nahda Party look well suited to play this role and have done so. keywords: affendi; ajiss304; arab; brotherhood; democracy; egypt; groups; islamic; islamist; issue_ajiss; liberal; morsi; muslim; page; power; spring cache: ajiss-1088.pdf plain text: ajiss-1088.txt item: #88 of 2012 id: ajiss-1089 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1666 flesch: 51 summary: As it stands, such hadiths were part of a power discourse constructed over time and linked to historical intra-Muslim political rivalries, much of which is being rehashed today. This lucid and concise book is an important and timely contribution in light of current intra-Muslim political rivalries that find their fueling justifications in the domain of “excommunication” and mutual accusations of disbelief and apostasy (takfīr). keywords: apostasy; muslim cache: ajiss-1089.pdf plain text: ajiss-1089.txt item: #89 of 2012 id: ajiss-1090 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1105 flesch: 48 summary: However, his use of chapter divisions titled with the names of different countries seems a bit artificial, since these chapters focus more on the particular individuals and movements associated with the rise of al-Qaida than with a comprehensive discussion of Islamist movements within the specific countries in question. Modern Islamist Movements provides a useful and well documented ac- count of the rise of radical Islamist movements, particularly al-Qaida and the Taliban. keywords: islamist; qaida cache: ajiss-1090.pdf plain text: ajiss-1090.txt item: #90 of 2012 id: ajiss-1091 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1492 flesch: 47 summary: Persian Gulf security has therefore been internationalized. The Persian Gulf region is home to the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (viz., Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia), Iran, and Iraq. keywords: gulf; politics; region; security cache: ajiss-1091.pdf plain text: ajiss-1091.txt item: #91 of 2012 id: ajiss-1092 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1082 flesch: 42 summary: ajiss Young British Muslims: Identity, Culture, Politics, and the Media Nahid Afrose Kabir Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010. Overall, it makes a contribution to the nascent field of Muslim youth studies by offering windows into the hopes and aspirations of young British Muslims as well as presenting some interesting typologies of self-definition. keywords: british; chapter; identity; muslim cache: ajiss-1092.pdf plain text: ajiss-1092.txt item: #92 of 2012 id: ajiss-1093 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1659 flesch: 37 summary: Its four sections are designed to reflect the prin- 120 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 30:4 ajiss304-special-issue_ajiss 8/16/2013 9:23 AM Page 120 cipal areas of Near Eastern and Islamic studies to which Cook has contributed: “Early Islamic History,” “Early Modern and Modern Islamic History,” “Ju- ridical and Intellectual History,” and “Reinterpretations and Transformations.” His study exemplifies the use of an alternative approach to early Islamic history, one that focuses on what compilations of historical reports tell us about contemporaneous political situations and reli- gious doctrine, as well as about the historiographic methods of pre-modern historians. keywords: century; history; islamic; ottoman cache: ajiss-1093.pdf plain text: ajiss-1093.txt item: #93 of 2012 id: ajiss-1094 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 5667 flesch: 53 summary: It is a period of uncertainty, ambiguity, chaotic behavior, and rapid change that I have elsewhere described as “postnormal times.”1 ”2 I contend that we need to grasp the context of postnormal times, which served as a catalyst for the Arab revolts and within which the long-term process of political transformation is taking place, to comprehend the dynamics of the Arab Spring and anticipate its trajectory. keywords: article; complexity; constitution; egypt; islamic; postnormal; postnormal times; society; spring; times cache: ajiss-1094.pdf plain text: ajiss-1094.txt item: #94 of 2012 id: ajiss-1095 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 3768 flesch: 46 summary: An autocratic modernizing state, often with critical external support, suffo- cated civil society and thus forced oppositional activity into the mosque, which inadvertently contributed to the rise of political Islam. A comparative treatment of political secularism in Europe and the Islamic world helps to clarify this point. keywords: democracy; islamic; muslim; post; religion; tunisia; world cache: ajiss-1095.pdf plain text: ajiss-1095.txt item: #95 of 2012 id: ajiss-1096 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 6002 flesch: 44 summary: These have had an influential impact on the sociopolitical changes in Morocco, which notably included battles to reform family laws; however, female religious authorities seem to be having a more influential role in pro- moting the rights of Muslim women. Therefore, within this space the prac- tice of religion becomes institutionalized and engages the attendees in a col- lective moral conduct encouraged by Islamic teachings, which articulates the impact of female religious authorities on the wider community and paves the way for comprehensive social reform. keywords: authority; ibid; islamic; moroccan; morocco; murshidāt; new; power; social; state; women cache: ajiss-1096.pdf plain text: ajiss-1096.txt item: #96 of 2012 id: ajiss-1097 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 3883 flesch: 48 summary: The effect is not only limited to a single party, but encom- passes the whole political spectrum as other political parties grapple in the “Islamization” race not only to appear more Islamic, but also to link their gov- ernance with religious legitimacy. In both cases, the opposition Islamist groups made considerable gains; those in Egypt filled the vacuum left by the previous government, while in Malaysia PAS won the majority of oppo- sition votes in addition to the state of Terengganu and their stronghold state of Kelantan. keywords: egypt; egyptian; islamists; malaysia; opposition; party; pas; revolution cache: ajiss-1097.pdf plain text: ajiss-1097.txt item: #97 of 2012 id: ajiss-1098 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1506 flesch: 48 summary: He then related how ABIM had set up active networks with post-Mubarak Egypt, provided humanitarian aid to Syria, publicly supported the Brotherhood, and held con- sciousness-raising events to explain what was going on. Peter Mandaville (George Mason University), addressing a panel discus- sion on “Islam and Politics after the Uprisings: Case Studies,” asked “How can we talk about post-Islamism if the Islamists won?” keywords: brotherhood; muslim; spring; university cache: ajiss-1098.pdf plain text: ajiss-1098.txt item: #98 of 2012 id: ajiss-1099 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 2647 flesch: 60 summary: Ibn Hazm vehemently objects to this practice: The Zahiris reject analogy ... and say one cannot rule – in anything at all – except on the basis of a text from the Qur’an or the Hadith, through an au- thenticated deeds or affirmation (iqrŒr), or through a consensus of all Muslim scholars, with the certainty that there was absolutely no dissent.15 According to him, other schools use three types of analogy: (1) “the most similar and suitable” (al-ashbah wa al-awlŒ), in which a decision of a known ruling is applied to another unknown, due to a high degree of similarity be- tween them, such as applying a couple’s separation due to the lack of sexual intercourse to a husband who does not support his wife; (2) “the similar” (al- mithl), such as al-Shafi‘i’s claim that a vessel used by a dog must be washed seven times can be applied to a vessel used by a pig; and (3) “the least similar” (al-adnŒ), as in case between urine and blood.16 Ibn Hazm views this typology as nothing but a collection of controversies (shaghab) falsified by the adher- ents of the other schools. Sharaf al-Din Abd al-Hamid Amin, Ibn Hazm al-Andalus¥ wa Naqd al- ‘Aql al-U§´l¥ (Kuwait: Dar Su‘ad al-Sabah, 1995), 54; ‘Uways, Ibn Hazm, 90. 5. C. Brockelmann, G.A.L., S1 (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1937), 695. 6. keywords: analogy; consensus; hazm; ibn; ibn hazm; islamic; law cache: ajiss-1099.pdf plain text: ajiss-1099.txt item: #99 of 2012 id: ajiss-1100 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1616 flesch: 47 summary: This excellent study brings together a number of widely regarded Western scholars of Islam as contributors on the nature and history of Islamic studies in the American academy. The editors state that they seek to inform the lay reader as well as scholars in the field, but also feel that the “data and analyses […] will be immensely valuable for educational planners and administrators who are in- terested in strengthening programs of Islamic studies in institutions of higher learning” (p. xxvii). keywords: essay; islam; islamic; studies cache: ajiss-1100.pdf plain text: ajiss-1100.txt item: #100 of 2012 id: ajiss-1101 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1574 flesch: 51 summary: Given the capacious title, the work naturally offers essays – ten to be precise – from a wide range of disciplines, including Qur’anic and hadith studies as well Is- lamic law, theology, history, and comparative religion. Being the first iteration of this series, it is perhaps somewhat unsurprising that the work’s overall qual- Book Reviews 97 ajiss303-for hasan_ajiss 6/14/2013 3:38 AM Page 97 ity is somewhat under par, with individual essays varying considerably in quality. keywords: essay; islamic; qur’an; work cache: ajiss-1101.pdf plain text: ajiss-1101.txt item: #101 of 2012 id: ajiss-1102 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1654 flesch: 54 summary: This book, by contrast, is written by an insider telling other insiders (Mus- lims) that Islamic law needs serious revamping, a weighty charge indeed. Perhaps his indignation over its long-term abuse has led him to leave it aside and focus on “Islamic law.” keywords: book; farooq; islamic; law cache: ajiss-1102.pdf plain text: ajiss-1102.txt item: #102 of 2012 id: ajiss-1103 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1550 flesch: 39 summary: His argument consists of three points: (1) an emphasis on the need to “identify the methodological and ideational relationship between contemporary Islamic social sciences and both the Islamic heritage and modern western social sciences on the level of sources, ideational content, and study and research methods” (p. 130); (2) the link between modern western social sciences and the Islamization of knowl- edge lies “at the heart of the Islamic social sciences and having to do with both content and method” (p. 132); and (3) a definition of the social sciences by claiming that “the function of jurisprudence and the law is, first and fore- most, formal in nature, while the function of the social sciences is primarily intellectual or ideational” (p. 133). This is related to his description of the principle of humanity’s divinely given stewardship, which he sees as entailing “both the right to exercise free- dom in the making of life decisions, and duties, responsibilities, and account- ability for our actions and the ways in which we have put our abilities and energies to use on earth” (p. 77). keywords: islamic; social cache: ajiss-1103.pdf plain text: ajiss-1103.txt item: #103 of 2012 id: ajiss-1104 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1576 flesch: 36 summary: Narrating the history of a nation from approximately 1,000,000 BCE to 2009 CE in 389 pages is a daunting and noteworthy task undertaken by the scholars who have contributed to The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. This col- lection of sixteen short essays by distinguished anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, and philologists of the Iranian world divides Iranian history into three general periods: ancient, medieval, and modern. keywords: chapter; empire; history; iran; islamic cache: ajiss-1104.pdf plain text: ajiss-1104.txt item: #104 of 2012 id: ajiss-1105 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1139 flesch: 38 summary: The focus on gender, home, and belonging em- phasizes the particular challenge faced by Muslim women: Their bodies are the battleground for the ideological wars fought by western governments on the one hand, and by political Islamists on the other (pp. 30-31). Many chapters, for example Farkhani’s, Balchin’s, Farkhondeh’s, Buitelaar and Stock’s, and Moghissi’s, demonstrate clearly that Muslim women who participated in their research effectively defy the stereotype of silent, passive women who are prevented from exerting their agency by patriarchal religious men; however, these essays are careful and nuanced in that they identify creative and original strategies developed by these women to negotiate their multi-layered identities. keywords: kingdom; muslim; united; women cache: ajiss-1105.pdf plain text: ajiss-1105.txt item: #105 of 2012 id: ajiss-1106 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1480 flesch: 46 summary: For those of us in the latter group of scholars, fiqh, tafs¥r, isnŒd, ma- dhŒhib, ijtihŒd, and kalŒm are familiar terms, while sacramental theology, Mariology, systematic theology, and practical theology may cause a wrinkling of the brow and an inquiry to a colleague who teaches such matters. While his single paragraph on Shi‘i theology, placed before the standard closing comparative piece, is a bit brief, at least it is there (more than one can say of many Islamic scholars who focus on one sub-tradition or another, as if it were the only community in history). keywords: chapter; islamic; renard; theology cache: ajiss-1106.pdf plain text: ajiss-1106.txt item: #106 of 2012 id: ajiss-1107 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1082 flesch: 47 summary: Thus the “develop- ment of class and state throughout the Middle East is deeply wrapped up in the formation of Khaliji capital” and should be understood from a regional perspective (p. 164). The author’s estimation of the 2008 financial crisis and his constant emphasis on the “in- terdependent” nature of global capital (with special reference to the GCC) compels the reader to understand capitalism as an enterprise that cannot sus- tain itself within the boundaries of the nation-state. keywords: capital; class; states cache: ajiss-1107.pdf plain text: ajiss-1107.txt item: #107 of 2012 id: ajiss-1108 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1824 flesch: 55 summary: When speaking of the shift from coffee to tea in Yemen, Rodionov associates the former with tradition and the latter with modernity and enterprise (p. 151), despite Wild’s insightful statement: “Once Islam had gone into a general de- cline, Muslim countries … adopted what some see as the more introspective, less excitable tea to accompany the contemplation of their former glories” (p. 227). As Wild has shown in Coffee, It is common for the coffee industry to assert that, whilst Ethiopia was the cradle of coffee, Yemen, having imported plants from Ethiopia, was the first country actively to cultivate and trade in the new beverage. keywords: chapter; coffee; medicine; yemen cache: ajiss-1108.pdf plain text: ajiss-1108.txt item: #108 of 2012 id: ajiss-1109 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 5026 flesch: 37 summary: Modern Islamic banking and finance aim at avoiding usury and interest (ribŒ) and risk-ridden business ventures (gharar), which, Hallaq argues, are goals that are neither sufficient nor actualized. ajiss Forum Hallaq’s Challenge: Can the Shari‘ah Save Us from Modernity? Ovamir Anjum Abstract Wael Hallaq, a leading western scholar of Islamic law, throws down the gauntlet in this daring book, challenging not only Orien- talist distortions of Islam but also turning the tables on modernity, the ubiquitous and ineluctable paradigm that informs nearly all thinking, Muslim and non-Muslim, about the Shari‘ah. keywords: hallaq; islamic; law; modernity; moral; muslim; shari‘ah; state cache: ajiss-1109.pdf plain text: ajiss-1109.txt item: #109 of 2012 id: ajiss-1110 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 6228 flesch: 60 summary: In comparison to this landslide, the wildly pop- ular Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI; Pakistan Justice Movement), led by the in- ternationally loved and renowned sports hero-turned-philanthropist and Oxford-educated political leader Imran Khan, secured only twenty-eight na- tional assembly seats. “Imran Khan backers protest Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan election win,” Affan Chowdhry, Lahore, Globe and Mail, 13 May 2013, http://m.theglobeandmail. keywords: 6/14/2013; ajiss303; country; election; hasan_ajiss; imran; karachi; khan; lahore; national; nawaz; pakistan; party; power; pti; sharif cache: ajiss-1110.pdf plain text: ajiss-1110.txt item: #110 of 2012 id: ajiss-1111 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1605 flesch: 43 summary: He promoted the integration of Jewish studies in seminaries and uni- ajiss303-for hasan_ajiss 6/14/2013 3:38 AM Page 150 versities, insisting that the study of rabbinic Judaism was essential to under- standing the place of Jesus and the origins of Christianity. They therefore played a major role in this scholarship, for, quoting from Bernard Lewis [“The State of Middle Eastern Studies,” American Scholar 48, no. 3 (summer 1979: 369-70)]: Jewish scholars brought up in the Jewish religion and trained in the Hebrew language found Islam and Arabic far easier to understand than did their Christian colleagues, and were, moreover, even less affected by the nostalgia for the Crusades, preoccupation with imperial [Christian] policy, or the de- sire to convert the “heathen” Jewish scholars … played a key role in the de- velopment of an objective, non-polemical, and positive evaluation of Islamic civilization. keywords: christian; islam; judaism; religions; scholars cache: ajiss-1111.pdf plain text: ajiss-1111.txt item: #111 of 2012 id: ajiss-1112 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-12 words: 1427 flesch: 59 summary: He is concerned with this third type, which poses particular challenges as regards how such texts are to be made relevant to the changed circumstances of the contemporary world. Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 153 ajiss303-for hasan_ajiss 6/14/2013 3:38 AM Page 153 Saeed began his presentation by defining context, which he said goes hand in hand with text, in two ways: (1) the linguistic context of the text in which the verse actually functions and (2) the macro-context of the text, which en- compasses the social, politicial, economic, intellectual, and cultural milieux in which a particular text functions. keywords: approach; text; women cache: ajiss-1112.pdf plain text: ajiss-1112.txt item: #112 of 2012 id: ajiss-1114 author: None title: ajiss-1114 date: 2020-11-06 words: 1516 flesch: 42 summary: While the global environmental crisis has escalated rapidly in recent years, work at the intersection of Islamic Studies and Environmental Studies is a newly developing area, to which Anna Gade’s Muslim Environmentalisms: Religious and Social Foundations presents a significant contribution. As a scholar of Islam who is only newly becoming acquainted with the field of Environmental Humanities, I consider the text here most specifically in terms of its contribution to Islamic Studies, but it is important to note that the book has a broad read- ership beyond this area. keywords: book; gade; islamic cache: ajiss-1114.pdf plain text: ajiss-1114.txt item: #113 of 2012 id: ajiss-1118 author: None title: ajiss-1118 date: 2020-11-06 words: 1550 flesch: 43 summary: Freamon never falls into the trap of ar- guing that Islamic slavery is therefore benign; rather, he ends the book by suggesting that “to be ‘possessed by the right hand’ is no longer a good thing” (516). In an insightful section from Chapter 3, Freamon highlights Ahmad ibn Tulun’s legacy in establishing military slavery in Egypt and “elaborat[ing] the variety of functions that slaves could play in Egyptian society” (211). keywords: chapter; islamic; slavery; world cache: ajiss-1118.pdf plain text: ajiss-1118.txt item: #114 of 2012 id: ajiss-1129 author: None title: ajiss-1129 date: 2020-06-09 words: 2594 flesch: 65 summary: According to one authority, Ibn Hazm’s ancestor Yazid was a Persian con- vert and freedman (mawlŒ) of Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan.5 Ibn Hazm, in fact, men- tions his Persian origin with pride. ibn Yazid.2 Ibn Hazm was born at Cordoba (Andalusia/Islamic Spain) in 994 to an influential family and died in 1064 in Manta Lisham,3 which came to be known as Casa Montija4 and is believed to be near present-day Seville. keywords: father; hazm; ibn; ibn hazm; origin; scholars; women cache: ajiss-1129.pdf plain text: ajiss-1129.txt item: #115 of 2012 id: ajiss-1130 author: None title: ajiss-1130 date: 2020-06-09 words: 1028 flesch: 36 summary: In Finding Mecca in America: How Islam is Becoming an American Religion, Muchit Bilici explores the rapid increase of American Muslim educational, cultural, religious, and civic institutions, as well as how September 11, the so-called war on terror, and most recently media coverage of the Arab Spring have given American Muslims a unique visibility in the American public sphere. Yet, given the rate of growth and development of American Muslim institutions and social networks, it may be more apt to speak of Islam as part of an American multireligious heritage. keywords: american; bilici; islam; muslim cache: ajiss-1130.pdf plain text: ajiss-1130.txt item: #116 of 2012 id: ajiss-1131 author: None title: ajiss-1131 date: 2020-06-09 words: 1644 flesch: 50 summary: “Beyond the ‘Wild Tribes’: Working Toward an Understanding of Contemporary Afghanistan” imparts a brief his- tory of the study of Afghanistan and identifies various problems in the field, including outdated sources and a good degree of romanticism. In Beyond the “Wild Tribes”: Understanding Modern Afghanistan and Its Diaspora, the country and its people are presented in a far more compli- cated fashion than the usual this-place-is-doomed mantra. keywords: afghanistan; book; diaspora; studies cache: ajiss-1131.pdf plain text: ajiss-1131.txt item: #117 of 2012 id: ajiss-1134 author: None title: ajiss-1134 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1221 flesch: 39 summary: Focusing on Egypt, the author carefully details the political, economic, and historical experiences of Egyptian women. The work that Egyptian women have done in the civil society sphere to target the multifaceted oppressive structures has yielded significant and sustainable political outcomes (p. 151). keywords: krause; women cache: ajiss-1134.pdf plain text: ajiss-1134.txt item: #118 of 2012 id: ajiss-1135 author: None title: ajiss-1135 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1308 flesch: 37 summary: Localising Islam would have been well served by providing a more bal- anced account of Turkish Islamic organizations. The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 30:2 (Geneva: International Labour Office, 1991) might remain the field’s reference books, but Localising Islam is certainly of great interest to students of Turkish migrations eager to learn about Turkish Islamic organizations inside out. keywords: europe; islamic; organizations; turkish cache: ajiss-1135.pdf plain text: ajiss-1135.txt item: #119 of 2012 id: ajiss-1137 author: None title: ajiss-1137 date: 2020-06-12 words: 812 flesch: 48 summary: Much has been written about religion and secularism in Turkey over the past decades, but detailed histories of the late Ottoman and modern Turkish ulema have been few and far between. Bein shows us that most ulema charted a more centrist course and remained in Turkey. keywords: bein; ulema cache: ajiss-1137.pdf plain text: ajiss-1137.txt item: #120 of 2012 id: ajiss-1138 author: None title: ajiss-1138 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1149 flesch: 40 summary: By describing shari‘ah as “codified in a restricted body of legal rules,” for example, the author not only skirts a large contingent of specialized studies on Islamic law that disagrees, but falls into the very assumptions about Islamic law held by previous approaches otherwise critiqued (p. 135). The book presents a far richer yet concise alter- native, making it a valuable addition to the scholarly understanding of the Delhi Sultanate in particular and of Islamic modes of political legitimation more generally. keywords: delhi; islamic cache: ajiss-1138.pdf plain text: ajiss-1138.txt item: #121 of 2012 id: ajiss-1140 author: None title: ajiss-1140 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1631 flesch: 61 summary: Islam, in his reading, portrays humanity as a wholly positive creature, one that is neither fallen nor damned, for those who sin and thereafter sincerely seek forgiveness will find themselves pardoned by God. Islam denies the core Christian belief that God had to ransom humanity by sacrificing Jesus. keywords: faruqi; islam; muslim cache: ajiss-1140.pdf plain text: ajiss-1140.txt item: #122 of 2012 id: ajiss-1141 author: None title: ajiss-1141 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1225 flesch: 45 summary: Through the lens of her life and legacy, he argues that true modernity can never fully emerge without space for the discussion of sexuality – especially that of women. Finding other explanations for the country’s lagging modernity inadequate, he posits that true modernity is connected to a healthy acknowledgment of human (and especially female) sexuality, which is lacking in Iran. keywords: iran; life; modernity cache: ajiss-1141.pdf plain text: ajiss-1141.txt item: #123 of 2012 id: ajiss-1143 author: None title: ajiss-1143 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1160 flesch: 44 summary: The third part is where the author ap- plies his study and analysis to bring forth a fresh version of the rise of Zaydi Islam, a fresh appreciation of the role of ritual in early Islam among various groups, and a fresh appreciation for the importance of urban geography for the understanding of islamicate communalism. This book will be of interest to scholars in a variety of fields and disciplines: Islamic studies (history, thought, institutions, and modern developments), his- tory, religion, anthropology, and sociology, to name a few that immediately come to mind. keywords: book; islamic cache: ajiss-1143.pdf plain text: ajiss-1143.txt item: #124 of 2012 id: ajiss-1144 author: None title: ajiss-1144 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1316 flesch: 50 summary: The narrative is the story of Reverend Father Ernesto Cardenal, a Nicaraguan revolutionary Christian priest who had progressively acquired some spiritual and revolutionary interests in Islam after visiting certain Middle Eastern countries, especially Iran. Whether Cardenal is seen as merely a medium for Morrow to express his own findings on Sufism and Iran or as an end in itself is up to the reader. keywords: cardenal; chapter; iran cache: ajiss-1144.pdf plain text: ajiss-1144.txt item: #125 of 2012 id: ajiss-1146 author: None title: ajiss-1146 date: 2020-06-12 words: 6812 flesch: 61 summary: M. A. Kareem, “Advent and Spread of Islam in Ekiti-State, 1840-2000 C.E” (Ph.D. thesis, Department of Religious, University of Ado Ekiti, 2009), 14-20. K. M. Raji, “Da’wah Activities of Shaykh Jamiu Ademuakun Ogunrinde A. K. A. Larubawa and Dandawi in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State” (M. A dissertation, Depart- ment of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan, 2001), 52. 15. keywords: ado; century; ekiti; ibadan; islam; islamic; journal; king; muslim; nigeria; people; state; studies; university cache: ajiss-1146.pdf plain text: ajiss-1146.txt item: #126 of 2012 id: ajiss-1147 author: None title: ajiss-1147 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1115 flesch: 60 summary: After open- ing with several questions – How have the events in the Middle East and Arab world influenced and continued to shape Islamic political thought? – he began to make his case that the underlying political theory of the Arab Spring represents something new in Islamic political thought. keywords: islamic; political; thought cache: ajiss-1147.pdf plain text: ajiss-1147.txt item: #127 of 2012 id: ajiss-1148 author: None title: ajiss-1148 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1015 flesch: 49 summary: Prospects and Dimensions of Conflict Resolution Programs in the Islamic Context Amr Abdalla (professor and vice rector, University for Peace, San Jose, Costa Rica) visited the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) on February 1, 2013, to discuss the challenges of conflict resolution and peace that has caught the attention of so many Muslim and non-Muslim scholars and poli- cymakers for several decades. The outbreak of the Arab Spring, which has resulted in several Islamist groups taking power, has raised various questions: Why is it important to talk 150 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 30:2 about conflict resolution and peace building in an Islamic context? keywords: conflict; islamic; resolution cache: ajiss-1148.pdf plain text: ajiss-1148.txt item: #128 of 2012 id: ajiss-1150 author: None title: ajiss-1150 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1339 flesch: 30 summary: Metin Eker (general director, COMCEC Coordination Office) highlighted the necessity of cooperation among OIC member countries to eradicate trade barriers and dif- ficulties that hinder economic cooperation. The 160 delegates, who came from thirty-five coun- tries, represented the National Standardisation Bodies (NSB), important na- tional organizations of member countries, and such international organi- zations as the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), the In- ternational Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC), the Standardisation Organi- sation for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GSO), the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE), the Turkish Accreditation Agency (TURKAK), the Saudi Standards Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO), the Malaysian National Metrology Laboratory (SIRIM), the Inter- national Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), the OIC General Secretariat, the Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Co- operation (COMCEC), the Statistical Economic and Social Research and Training Centre (SESRIC), and the Islamic Centre for the Development of Trade (ICDT). keywords: countries; international; islamic; metrology; national; standards cache: ajiss-1150.pdf plain text: ajiss-1150.txt item: #129 of 2012 id: ajiss-1151 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 2713 flesch: 61 summary: Boldly claiming that some Muslims are calling “for an end to animal sacrifice,” she cites these “no- table animal advocates” and, full of passion and confidence, states that “many Muslims do not see the tradition of sacrifice to be serving ‘their understanding of Islam.’” The activists’ proposal assumes that poor Muslims do not need the meat. keywords: animals; god; muslims; qur’an; sacrifice cache: ajiss-1151.pdf plain text: ajiss-1151.txt item: #130 of 2012 id: ajiss-1152 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 966 flesch: 58 summary: The explanation he offers for this is framed within the context of the United States losing its Christian character, implying that non-Christians do not belong there; the breakdown of society’s moral, cultural, and social fabric, read as opposition to multiculturalism as well as to liberal values and policies; and the dying of the people who created this nation, which is now being over- whelmed by a rapidly increasing flow of immigrants and members of other races and ethnicities. As far as the United States is concerned, this means the whites who must be and have both. keywords: buchanan; states; united cache: ajiss-1152.pdf plain text: ajiss-1152.txt item: #131 of 2012 id: ajiss-1153 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 1331 flesch: 57 summary: In fact, many other polls reveal that millions of Muslims hold a positive image of the United States. Kull talks extensively about al-Qaeda and then reveals something quite surprising: Many Muslims consider it less threatening than the United States because it is defending Islam against the American threat and its expansion in the Muslim world. keywords: muslims; states; united cache: ajiss-1153.pdf plain text: ajiss-1153.txt item: #132 of 2012 id: ajiss-1155 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 1159 flesch: 39 summary: In a similar vein, Faisal Islam and Zahid Bukhari present their findings derived from a survey of Islam 101 courses. As such, the reader will perhaps be both encouraged and disappointed by the state of Islamic studies in equal measure. keywords: american; islam; islamic; studies cache: ajiss-1155.pdf plain text: ajiss-1155.txt item: #133 of 2012 id: ajiss-1156 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 1317 flesch: 39 summary: As they work to improve their role and status in society, Egyptian women move seamlessly through public and private spheres and thereby make public what the state intends to be private. It fur- ther allows her to reject feminist representations of Islamic women torn be- tween Islam and secularism, as well as the reified binary constructs of state and domestic spaces mediated through the struggle over women’s bodies. keywords: activists; women cache: ajiss-1156.pdf plain text: ajiss-1156.txt item: #134 of 2012 id: ajiss-1158 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 1096 flesch: 52 summary: The text in question is Tafs¥r S´rah Y´suf, also known as Qayy´m al-AsmŒ’ and Aúsan al-Qa§a§. Available only in manuscript form, the Tafs¥r is an early and critically impor- tant text for understanding the rise of Babism, a messianic new religious movement that emerged out of Shi‘ism. ajiss Gnostic Apocalypse and Islam: Qur’an, Exegesis, Messianism, and the Literary Origins of the Babi Religion Todd Lawson London and New York: keywords: lawson; tafs¥r; text cache: ajiss-1158.pdf plain text: ajiss-1158.txt item: #135 of 2012 id: ajiss-1159 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 1988 flesch: 22 summary: One wonders if he is not providing an updated, but no less misleading, contrast along the lines of the Sovietological constructions of “of- ficial Islam” vs. “unofficial” or “parallel” or “underground” Islam; indeed, the author goes too far, to this reviewer’s mind, in equating government-tol- erated Islam with “national” manifestations of Muslim religious practice, in- sofar as the state also supports, if less directly (and quite ironically), the official religious board that sponsors scripturalist madrasa training and contributes in 106 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 30:1 ajiss301-latest_ajiss 12/10/2012 6:55 PM Page 106 other ways as well to the production of critics of various aspects of the “na- tional” practice of Islam. This volume is a good contribution to the growing body of ethnographic lit- erature on religious life in Central Asia; it adds substantively to the diverse perspectives on the practice of Islam in Uzbekistan that have begun to emerge as, in effect, pieces of a puzzle that no single study has yet attempted to in- tegrate into a fuller picture, yet it suffers from some of the problems that plague nearly all recent ethnographic works on Central Asia, including an over-reliance on terminological discussion at the expense of the “voices” of the author’s informants, and a palpable reluctance to engage with any kind of historical perspective (beyond the Soviet era) that might illuminate reli- gious life today. keywords: author; islam; religion; soviet cache: ajiss-1159.pdf plain text: ajiss-1159.txt item: #136 of 2012 id: ajiss-1161 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 1446 flesch: 38 summary: ajiss The Makings of Indonesian Islam: Orientalism and the Narration of a Sufi Past Michael Laffan Princeton and Oxford, UK: Focusing on a period during which the Indonesian nation itself was being made – Dutch colonial times (c. 1800-1942) – Michael Laffan sets out to investigate what makes Indonesian Islam and who has participated in the processes by and through which it has been made (p. xi). keywords: dutch; indonesian; islam cache: ajiss-1161.pdf plain text: ajiss-1161.txt item: #137 of 2012 id: ajiss-1162 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 1123 flesch: 49 summary: In the third chapter (“Dialogue as Conquest and Conversion”), Bertaina argues that although Christians were not dramatically affected by the sweeping Muslim conquests and the campaigns of Islamization did not start till the end of the Umayyad period (without yielding many conversions until the next cen- tury), Christian dialogues of the period reveal a noticeable anxiety about con- versions. In so doing he offers a wonderful summary of the differences among the three main branches of Christians in this part of the world (pp. 34-36): the Melkites (the ex-Byzantine, Orthodox Christians who later lived under Islamic rule), the Jacobites (the Coptic and Syriac-speaking Christians of “West Syria”), and the “Church of the East” (the Nestorians who had lived in the Sasanian Empire). keywords: bertaina; christians; dialogue cache: ajiss-1162.pdf plain text: ajiss-1162.txt item: #138 of 2012 id: ajiss-1164 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 1103 flesch: 39 summary: Lastly, contributing to the welfare of others, including non-Muslims, is a central Islamic religious ethic, and March finds that the dominant strategy of justifying political participation (not nec- essarily required by political liberalism) is that there is no prohibition in col- laborating with unbelievers for non-religious aims. The second part, “Islam and Liberal Citizenship: Patterns of Moral Dis- agreement and Principled Reconciliation,” presents the first set of sources on the objections to citizenship, the “No” answer to whether Muslims may reside under non-Muslim rule. keywords: islamic; march; muslims cache: ajiss-1164.pdf plain text: ajiss-1164.txt item: #139 of 2012 id: ajiss-1165 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 1745 flesch: 57 summary: And although when discussing Ibn al-‘Arabi Khalil cites Chittick extensively, he does not mention Sands’ monograph on Sufi Qur’an commentaries, which treats not only the approaches of Ibn al-‘Arabi, but also of al-Ghazali and Ibn Taymiyya. Detailing the arguments of each thinker Khalil examines would be im- possible, given the space limitations of this review. keywords: fate; ibn; islam; khalil; muslims cache: ajiss-1165.pdf plain text: ajiss-1165.txt item: #140 of 2012 id: ajiss-1167 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 1546 flesch: 50 summary: El Shamsy has traced the RisŒlah through quotations in early works, showing it to date very closely to al-Shafi‘i’s lifetime. Kecia Ali has performed a great service for Islamic studies by harmonizing early sources with the most compelling recent scholarship to produce a biog- raphy of Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi‘i (d. 204/820), one of Islam’s most important figures. keywords: ali; imam; shafi‘i cache: ajiss-1167.pdf plain text: ajiss-1167.txt item: #141 of 2012 id: ajiss-1168 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 1172 flesch: 47 summary: These are followed by chapter 6, “Rethinking the Biography of Prophet Muhammad,” and chapter 7, “The Historical Context of the Qur’an,” wherein Reynolds asks what the Qur’an itself might teach us about the “story” of Islam’s origins. The Emergence of Islam’s overall accessible and well-researched methodology shows an objective assessment of scholarly arguments and historical accounts that makes it a highly recommended must-read work for all of those who are interested in a new and/or (re-)reading of Islamic history in general, and in understanding the classical Islamic traditions in contemporary perspective in particular. keywords: emergence; islam; qur’an cache: ajiss-1168.pdf plain text: ajiss-1168.txt item: #142 of 2012 id: ajiss-1170 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 5058 flesch: 70 summary: Although the poem appears to be a plain and down-to-earth account of how traditional Muslims perceive the Prophet’s life, yet it is undeniably a repository of Sufi doctrines. Sa‘id ibn al-Ahras, Burdat al-B´§¥r¥ bi al-Maghrib wa al-Andalus khilŒl al-Qar- nayn al-ThŒmin wa al-TŒsi‘ al-Hijr¥yayn (Morocco: Wizarat al-Awqaf wa al- Shu’un al-Islamiyah, 1998), 539. keywords: ajiss301; burdah; busiri; healing; ibid; ibn; latest_ajiss; poem; prophet; sufi; verses cache: ajiss-1170.pdf plain text: ajiss-1170.txt item: #143 of 2012 id: ajiss-1171 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 1738 flesch: 29 summary: The first panel, “The Arab Spring: A Revolution towards Democracy,” was chaired by Narges Erami (Yale University). Discussant Jonathan Wyrtzen (Yale University) probed the geographical, synchronic, episodic, and contingent dimensions of democracy and fleshed out how the trajectory of colonialism, decolonialism, post-colonialism, and imperialism has affected the ways westerners frame and understand the uprisings in the African and Arab regions. keywords: arab; democracy; panel; spring; university; yale cache: ajiss-1171.pdf plain text: ajiss-1171.txt item: #144 of 2012 id: ajiss-1172 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 3799 flesch: 60 summary: Siddiqi concluded that “Muslims have committed a lot of sins, but they have never made an image of God.” Joseph Montville (George Mason University) commented that Islam has stimulated a deeply engaged analysis of God in history. Discussant Ali Mazrui (SUNY Binghamton) recounted instances of being told by various university administrators to teach mainly classical- and me- dieval-era classes on Islam to avoid such “sensitive” issues as Israel, which any class on contemporary Islam would have to address. keywords: approach; god; iiit; islamic; muslims; page; parents; qur’an cache: ajiss-1172.pdf plain text: ajiss-1172.txt item: #145 of 2012 id: ajiss-1174 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 1249 flesch: 30 summary: Held during 15-20 July 2012 at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Dur- ban, South Africa, this international conference featured five sessions organ- ized by the working group’s Chair Basyouni Hamada (Cairo University) and his team. In her “An Analysis of Egyptian Journal- ism Attitudes towards the Islamist Political Power during and after the Par- liament Elections 2012,” Elamira Saleh (Cairo University) examined journalistic accounts of Islamic political power and how their authors both stressed and downplayed certain information. keywords: communication; islam; journalism; media; university cache: ajiss-1174.pdf plain text: ajiss-1174.txt item: #146 of 2012 id: ajiss-1175 author: None title: ajiss date: 2020-06-09 words: 11097 flesch: 67 summary: Ibn al-Furs, AúkŒm, 3:423; Ibn Kathir, Tafs¥r, 3:2234; Jassas, Ahmad ibn ‘Ali, AúkŒm al-Qur’Œn (Istanbul: 1920) 3:355; Mawardi, Al-Nukat, 3:314-15; Tabari, Jami‘ al-BayŒn 8:6632-35; Qurtubi, Muhammad ibn Ahmad, Al-JŒmi‘ li AúkŒm al-Qur’Œn (Cairo: 1977), 14:155-56; Zamakhshari, Al-KashshŒf, 3:256-57. Al-Shatibi, Ibrahim M. M. Al-Muwāfaqāt (Dammam: 2003), 325; Al-Juyni, ‘Abd al Malik ibn ‘Abd Allah, Matin al WaraqŒt (Riyadh: 2002),11-12. keywords: adil; bayœn; god; ibn; ibn al; ibn kathir; islamic; jawœhir al; jœmi; muhammad; mukhtœr; qurtubi; qur’an; sunnah; tabari; tafs¥r al cache: ajiss-1175.pdf plain text: ajiss-1175.txt item: #147 of 2012 id: ajiss-1177 author: None title: ajiss-1177 date: 2020-06-19 words: 2501 flesch: 59 summary: ‘A’isha `Abd al-Rahman Bint al-Shati’, Al-Tafs¥r al-BayŒn¥ li al-Qur’Œn al- Kar¥m When he concluded that “it contains everything except tafs¥r” (f¥hi kullu shay’ illŒ al-tafs¥r). keywords: qur’an; qur’œn; qutb; ta§w¥r; ~ilœl cache: ajiss-1177.pdf plain text: ajiss-1177.txt item: #148 of 2012 id: ajiss-1178 author: None title: ajiss-1178 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1435 flesch: 56 summary: Gender and Islam in Africa is a great contribution to the scholarship on African women. The contributors, all of whom come from different disci- plines, seek to elevate the status of women by promoting gender equality, human rights, and democracy in androcentric African societies. keywords: chapter; gender; islamic; women cache: ajiss-1178.pdf plain text: ajiss-1178.txt item: #149 of 2012 id: ajiss-1179 author: None title: ajiss-1179 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1205 flesch: 54 summary: Although Amanat, similar to many Iranian Jewish scholars such as Amnon Netzer, acknowledges that the “Miseries of a Jewish Life” (chapter 7) in Iran forced many Jews to step out of their traditional faith, unlike these scholars he views such conversions as a source of personal pride, not as a stain on his family history that has to be explained away. Missing from the extensive fourteen-page bibliography, however, is the field research conducted by Lau- rence Loeb in Shiraz, Outcast: Jewish Life in Southern Iran, and multiple vol- umes of The History of Contemporary Iranian Jews, edited by Homa and Human Sarshar. keywords: baha’i; faith; jews cache: ajiss-1179.pdf plain text: ajiss-1179.txt item: #150 of 2012 id: ajiss-1181 author: None title: ajiss-1181 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1077 flesch: 46 summary: Furthermore, he provides an invaluable resource not only for scholars seeking to delve deeply into more distinct contexts of food laws, but also how these laws create cate- gorical imaginings of one another as “other.” Mehnaz M. Afridi Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Director, Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education Center Manhattan College, Bronx, NY Book Reviews 95 ajiss294_ajiss 8/14/2012 12:42 PM Page 95 The new edition of Pierre Birnbaum’s Le Peuple et Les Gros, under the title Genèse du Populisme (Hachette Pluriel: 2012) ex- plores how eating pork in Paris and other cities can be read as a sign of identity crisis in French society, as a way of excluding from the public space those who are different, in this case Jews and/or Muslims who follow dietary laws forbidding its consumption. keywords: analysis; food; laws cache: ajiss-1181.pdf plain text: ajiss-1181.txt item: #151 of 2012 id: ajiss-1182 author: None title: ajiss-1182 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1488 flesch: 44 summary: Kersten intends this book to be both an addition to our knowledge of the history of Muslim intellectuals as well as a contribution to the “refash- ioning of Islamic studies as a field of academic investigation and its position vis-à-vis both the study of religions as a generic field and area studies” (p. 6). Kersten argues that these three Islamic thinkers form part of “the first gen- eration of Muslim thinkers reaching intellectual maturity in the postcolonial age” and are “representative of a new type of Muslim intellectual emerging in the 1960s” (p. xiv). keywords: book; islamic; kersten cache: ajiss-1182.pdf plain text: ajiss-1182.txt item: #152 of 2012 id: ajiss-1184 author: None title: ajiss-1184 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1705 flesch: 42 summary: “Perception of Architecture in Mamluk Sources” continues in the same vein but details and documents Mamluk architecture in Cairo, Aleppo, Jeru- salem, Damascus, and Tripoli, all of which were amply described by the chron- iclers of the time. Mamluk History through Architecture: Monuments, Culture, and Politics in Medieval Egypt and Syria Nasser Rabbat London: I.B. Tauris, 2010. keywords: architecture; author; islamic; mamluk cache: ajiss-1184.pdf plain text: ajiss-1184.txt item: #153 of 2012 id: ajiss-1186 author: None title: ajiss-1186 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1179 flesch: 55 summary: The Curious History of a Christian–Muslim En- counter, historian John Tolan has produced a fascinating volume on this rather strange episode, an encounter that has captivated writers and painters for cen- turies. In August or September 1219 at the height of the Fifth Crusade, Francis of Assisi audaciously set out to meet Sultan Malik al-Kâmil of Egypt. keywords: encounter; francis; tolan cache: ajiss-1186.pdf plain text: ajiss-1186.txt item: #154 of 2012 id: ajiss-1187 author: None title: ajiss-1187 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1673 flesch: 36 summary: Udovitch’s role in changing the writing of medieval Islamic history is lauded, as is his encouragement to explore new techniques and methodologies as well as his attention to the human experience within history. He concludes that Islamic narratives were driven by the- ology and that more research is needed to identify and analyze the social fac- tors behind them. keywords: contributions; history; islamic; mediterranean; social; udovitch cache: ajiss-1187.pdf plain text: ajiss-1187.txt item: #155 of 2012 id: ajiss-1189 author: None title: ajiss-1189 date: 2020-06-19 words: 15411 flesch: 50 summary: Later on, Assad established a more complex basis for political power. The tribal affiliations in Libya operated mainly on the social level, while in Yemen both the regime and the opposition had tribal affiliations that mitigated political power. keywords: 8/14/2012; ajiss294_ajiss; alawites; american; arab; assad; country; identity; islamic; military; muslim; national; page; party; people; power; regime; region; revolution; social; syria; system cache: ajiss-1189.pdf plain text: ajiss-1189.txt item: #156 of 2012 id: ajiss-1190 author: None title: ajiss-1190 date: 2020-06-19 words: 2210 flesch: 48 summary: During her tenure as dean of the Faculty of Law, she proposed to the attorney-general’s chambers several important projects, among them of- fering to certify their officers via an LL.M. program in the administration of Islamic law. Kamaruddin’s research has focused on Malaysian family issues, such as the participation of Muslim women in society. keywords: iium; islamic; law; malaysia; research; university cache: ajiss-1190.pdf plain text: ajiss-1190.txt item: #157 of 2012 id: ajiss-1192 author: None title: ajiss-1192 date: 2020-06-19 words: 4747 flesch: 54 summary: Thus, in his view, the main question is how to get Muslim states to share their sovereignty with in- ternational organizations to advance human rights in a meaningful way. He called upon Muslims to go beyond the Qur’an and Sunnah in their attempt to organize modern Islamic society, one run by Islamists and reason- able people. keywords: good; governance; human; ibn; islamic; muslim; people; session; society; state; university cache: ajiss-1192.pdf plain text: ajiss-1192.txt item: #158 of 2012 id: ajiss-1193 author: None title: ajiss-1193 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1835 flesch: 34 summary: Third, as Table 1shows, judging by the most recent election results, in most of the Middle Eastern states at least, political parties rooted in an Islamist background are likely to garner the lion’s share of electoral support for some time to come: Table 1. The challenges of balancing between majoritarian democracy and minority rights, and of upholding tolerance over bigotry, are now approached from the opposite perspective by Mus- lims – a somewhat frightening but also potentially enriching experience for the further development of Islamic political thought. keywords: arab; elections; islamic; muslim; world cache: ajiss-1193.pdf plain text: ajiss-1193.txt item: #159 of 2012 id: ajiss-1195 author: None title: ajiss-1195 date: 2020-06-19 words: 854 flesch: 40 summary: Other works with stronger scientific references include Bashar Saad and The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 29:3154 Omar Said’s Greco-Arab and Islamic Herbal Medicine2 and A. Shafaghat’s work on Qurānic plants.3 Overall, this is a very interesting book for anyone interested in further explorations into Prophetic medicine. The medical references, however, should be examined very carefully and researched fully before using the work as a reference for herbal medicines. keywords: herbal; islamic; medicine cache: ajiss-1195.pdf plain text: ajiss-1195.txt item: #160 of 2012 id: ajiss-1196 author: None title: ajiss-1196 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1476 flesch: 44 summary: Risk is the main difference of a typical commercial transaction from ribā, which does not include return risk in theory. “Risk” is one of the key concepts in understanding modern Islamic eco- nomics. keywords: islamic; risk; theory cache: ajiss-1196.pdf plain text: ajiss-1196.txt item: #161 of 2012 id: ajiss-1198 author: None title: ajiss-1198 date: 2020-06-19 words: 2393 flesch: 46 summary: This language was incorporated into the Egyptian constitution long before the current revolution and the reform efforts.4 The provisions that Islam is the state religion and that Islamic law is at the very least a source of legislation is in a number of constitutions across the Middle East. ”15 Notes 1 “Constitutional Declaration 2011,” Egyptian government webpage, www.egypt.gov.eg/english/laws/constitution/default.aspx. 163Hummel: Islam and the Constitutions 2 “Draft Constitutional Charter for the Transitional Stage,” Al-Bab Arab Culture website, www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/libya/Libya- Draft-Constitutional-Charter-for-the-Transitional-Stage.pdf. keywords: constitution; countries; egypt; islam; people cache: ajiss-1198.pdf plain text: ajiss-1198.txt item: #162 of 2012 id: ajiss-1199 author: None title: ajiss-1199 date: 2020-06-12 words: 3314 flesch: 48 summary: Representing the Muʻtazilah, the Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mūn ʻAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn (r. 813–833) vigorously argued in favor of the createdness of the Qur’ān, citing Qur’ān (43:3): “We have made it a Qur’ān in Arabic. Other verses they used for their theological belief in the createdness of the Qur’ān, which may be construed as an imposition include: Qur’ān (16:40); Qur’ān (20:99); The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 29:2vi Qur’ān (21:50); Qur’ān (38:1); and Qur’ān (85:21‒22).10 These examples are meant to highlight the Muʻtazilah’s sporadic ‒ albeit, sometimes logi- cal use of the Qur’ān ‒ and not to attack them. keywords: ibn; islamic; muslims; peace; qur’ān; verses; war cache: ajiss-1199.pdf plain text: ajiss-1199.txt item: #163 of 2012 id: ajiss-1200 author: None title: ajiss-1200 date: 2020-06-12 words: 3249 flesch: 47 summary: Book Reviews Babylon of Egypt: The Archaeology of Old Cairo and the Origins of the City Peter Sheehan Cairo, Egypt: The American University in Cairo Press, 2010. In Peter Sheehan’s Babylon of Egypt: The Archaeology of Old Cairo and the Origins of the City, the earliest settlements of the city are traced layer by layer through archeological and architectural study. keywords: architecture; cairo; city; fathy; history; minarets cache: ajiss-1200.pdf plain text: ajiss-1200.txt item: #164 of 2012 id: ajiss-1201 author: None title: ajiss-1201 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1240 flesch: 49 summary: Most importantly, published before the so-called Arab Spring, it provides a solid background that helps explain what is taking place cur- rently in the Arab world as such collusion persists and may be expected to intensify, and as so-called Islamist groups as well as Gulf countries con- ventionally carry on being nothing more than Western foreign policy tools. Amr G. E. Sabet Department of Political Science, Dalarna University, Lugnet, Falun, Sweden Curtis specu- lates that the British government continues to tolerate such Islamist groups in the country in order to benefit from them as sources of “information,”` to use them as divisive forces that would help keep the Middle East politi- cally divided, and as a lever to influence policies of governments in the region (xv, 307‒309). keywords: britain; british; brotherhood; curtis cache: ajiss-1201.pdf plain text: ajiss-1201.txt item: #165 of 2012 id: ajiss-1203 author: None title: ajiss-1203 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1138 flesch: 52 summary: Another theme running through the book is that intra-Muslim dialogue is a necessary prerequisite to interfaith dialogue. Despite the watershed initiative by Saudi Arabia King Addullah in calling together the 2008 Madrid Interfaith Conference, “many Muslims who attend the mosque for daily worship are opposed or have negative opinions of interfaith dialogue” (xi). keywords: book; dialogue; interfaith cache: ajiss-1203.pdf plain text: ajiss-1203.txt item: #166 of 2012 id: ajiss-1204 author: None title: ajiss-1204 date: 2020-06-12 words: 901 flesch: 64 summary: Talebi’s lack of sympathy and compassion for Fozi has the opposite effect on the Western reader. 103Reviews Ghosts of Revolution: Rekindled Memories of Imprisonment in Iran Shahla Talebi Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2011. keywords: fozi; shahla; talebi cache: ajiss-1204.pdf plain text: ajiss-1204.txt item: #167 of 2012 id: ajiss-1206 author: None title: ajiss-1206 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1381 flesch: 34 summary: This book offers relevant reading to scholars of Islamic studies, commu- nication, journalism, cinema, political science, and readers interested in Indian media and Muslim representations. The uniqueness of the collection lies in the grounded approach taken to study the topic of media images of Indian Muslims. keywords: indian; media; muslim; press; urdu cache: ajiss-1206.pdf plain text: ajiss-1206.txt item: #168 of 2012 id: ajiss-1207 author: None title: ajiss-1207 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1168 flesch: 26 summary: Chapter 1 begins with a theoretical discussion of Holliday’s discursive approach, which “allows for an analysis of multiple ideologies embedded in the multiple constructions of Iranian national identity” (11) and, there- by, the dynamics between hegemonic and counter-hegemonic discourses pertaining to this identity. In chapter 3, the author explains the various ways Islāmīyat is used in the construction of Iranian national identity by deconstructing the texts produced by Jalal Al-i Ahmad, Ali Shari’ati, and Ayatollah Ruhollah Kho- meini. keywords: holliday; identity; iran cache: ajiss-1207.pdf plain text: ajiss-1207.txt item: #169 of 2012 id: ajiss-1209 author: None title: ajiss-1209 date: 2020-06-12 words: 7280 flesch: 58 summary: Citing from the speech as reported in al-Ṭabarī’s al-Tārīkh, he focuses on the part “God has elected Muḥammad above all other human beings, and has protected him from moral weaknesses (‘aṣamahu min-al-āfāt).”7 He then traces the concept to pre-Islamic provenance, citing from Jahiliyyah poetry to show the idea of freedom from moral weaknesses and stumblings was present among the Arabs. On mistakes unrelated to the reception of revelation or its interpretation and delivery, as might occur for example, in the sensory perception (al ḥawās wa idrākātihā), he states that such a matter is outside of the area of discussion.41 It would seem that since, for ‘Allāmah, the hu- manness of the prophets is an essential quality, the theoretical possibility of fallibility outside of their prophetic office could not be denied ‒ but that 121Mohammed: Between Creed and Qur’ān to engage in a discussion of the issue would be to engage in conjecture that could have no final answer. keywords: god; ibid; islamic; iṣmah; muḥammad; prophet; qur’ān; shī’ite; sin; sins; verses; vol; ṭabaṭabā’ī cache: ajiss-1209.pdf plain text: ajiss-1209.txt item: #170 of 2012 id: ajiss-1210 author: None title: ajiss-1210 date: 2020-06-12 words: 14555 flesch: 49 summary: The land of new Syria was further truncated; Lebanon to the southwest was carved out, as well as Iskenderun to the northeast (now part of Turkey). The Levant Reconciling a Century of Contradictions Mazen Hashem Although the revolution in Syria is unfolding within the modern politi- cal boundaries of this country, its proper understanding is not attainable without putting it in a larger historical context, which includes the adjacent geographical areas of the Levant, Bilad al-Sham. keywords: alawite; american; arab; assad; ba’ath; century; contradictions; countries; country; identity; islamic; military; muslim; party; people; power; regime; revolution; social; syria; system; turkey cache: ajiss-1210.pdf plain text: ajiss-1210.txt item: #171 of 2012 id: ajiss-1212 author: None title: ajiss-1212 date: 2020-06-12 words: 2926 flesch: 41 summary: In fact, many Muslims have felt the same way about this and other incidents ‒ such as the attack on the February 26, 1993 bombing of the North Tower of the World Trade Cen- ter, the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City resulting in 168 deaths, the attack on September 11, 2001, the Fort Hood shootings ‒ and the injuries to and death of many people in Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, London, Madrid, and Tanzania. Although, the imam’s prayer came true for that particular tragic incident – the suspect was not a Muslim – that has not been the case for many Muslims who made the same prayers during other terrorist attacks throughout the past decade. keywords: activities; extremism; intolerance; islamic; majority; muslims; world cache: ajiss-1212.pdf plain text: ajiss-1212.txt item: #172 of 2012 id: ajiss-1213 author: None title: ajiss-1213 date: 2020-06-12 words: 3690 flesch: 54 summary: Book Reviews Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism John Calvert New York: Columbia University Press, 2010. 127Sinanović: Reform, Radicalism, and the Role of Islam Sayyid Qutb is often called the ideologue of modern Islamic radical- ism ‒ and for a good reason, according to John Calvert. keywords: book; calvert; esposito; hafez; islam; muslim; qutb; reform cache: ajiss-1213.pdf plain text: ajiss-1213.txt item: #173 of 2012 id: ajiss-1214 author: None title: ajiss-1214 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1085 flesch: 60 summary: This work will allow readers to recognize that West African Muslims are not just earning incomeh in the United States; they are actually contrib- uting to the development of Harlem in New York. Abdullah adds that the presence of African Muslims in Harlem has changed the American worldview about African Muslims forever. keywords: abdullah; harlem; muslims cache: ajiss-1214.pdf plain text: ajiss-1214.txt item: #174 of 2012 id: ajiss-1216 author: None title: ajiss-1216 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1198 flesch: 70 summary: The editors indicate that they wanted the authors to write essays that reflected their comfortable relationship to country and faith, but otherwise they left the theme open. Although the editors seem to have hoped for a diverse outpouring of essays, and there is a great deal of diversity, there are certain common themes. keywords: american; essays; muslim cache: ajiss-1216.pdf plain text: ajiss-1216.txt item: #175 of 2012 id: ajiss-1217 author: None title: ajiss-1217 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1331 flesch: 51 summary: However, regardless of political considerations, most Western scholars seem to have paid less at- tention to Islamic education as a concept worthy of attention. The introduction of the book is an exposition of some basic ideas in Islamic education. keywords: education; ibn; islamic cache: ajiss-1217.pdf plain text: ajiss-1217.txt item: #176 of 2012 id: ajiss-1219 author: None title: ajiss-1219 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1144 flesch: 62 summary: His remarks about Said and Chomsky, as about nationalism, ignore the reality that the issue is politics and political goals, not Islam or radical Islam. Forum Questions about Roger Scruton1 Charles E. Butterworth Roger Scruton, known for his good-natured conservatism and general at- tempts to defend traditional Western life, seems blind to the novelty of our globalized world as he conflates Islam with radical Islam and at- tacks Muslims as though all were Islamists. keywords: islam; muslims; scruton cache: ajiss-1219.pdf plain text: ajiss-1219.txt item: #177 of 2012 id: ajiss-1221 author: None title: ajiss-1221 date: 2020-06-12 words: 5577 flesch: 45 summary: In a keynote address on “Economics, Islam, and Democracy” for the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy in Washington, D.C. (April, 2000, and reproduced in its journal Muslim Democrat) ‒ Ahmad, while discussing the many problematic assumptions at work in Western discussions of democracy, he pointed out the troubling aspects to the West’s “shift from God to Man.” He mentioned that whereas Islam is a spiritual experience, a dynamic tradition, and an historical movement that has existed for over fourteen hundred years, modern democracy is a politi- cal idea and movement that has existed only four hundred years. In his article, “Is Islam Compatible with Democracy and Modernity?”, while answering the question, “Whether Islam and democracy are compat- ible?,” Engineer says that it is true that Shūrā and a modern representative democracy may not be exactly similar ‒ however, the spirit of modern democracy and the Qur’ānic injunction to consult people is the same in spirit. keywords: ahmad; democracy; engineer; form; government; islam; islamic; muslim; scholars; state; world cache: ajiss-1221.pdf plain text: ajiss-1221.txt item: #178 of 2012 id: ajiss-1223 author: None title: ajiss-1223 date: 2020-06-12 words: 1028 flesch: 35 summary: Saeed A. Khan PhD Candidate Wayne State University, MI Looking Beyond September 11: Islam in the West ‒ and Democratic Trends in the Middle East and North Africa Saeed A. Khan The Fortieth Annual AMSS (Association of Muslim Social Scientists of North America) Conference, held at John Jay College at the City University of New York in New York City, marked a decade since September 11 by re- viewing the past ten years of the Muslim narrative, with particular focus on the past year and the considerable social and political changes in the Middle East and North Africa. keywords: amss; conference; muslim; professor; university cache: ajiss-1223.pdf plain text: ajiss-1223.txt item: #179 of 2012 id: ajiss-1225 author: None title: ajiss-1225 date: 2020-06-19 words: 2944 flesch: 42 summary: Suggested Topics and Approaches First of all, Muslim researchers must challenge the deeply rooted theo- ries on, and approaches to, several topics. Muslim researchers must go beyond these binaries to innovative ways of posing questions ‒ questions that do not necessarily assume these di- chotomous analyses even if they may be controversial. keywords: citizenship; islamic; journal; muslim; social; uprisings; world cache: ajiss-1225.pdf plain text: ajiss-1225.txt item: #180 of 2012 id: ajiss-1226 author: None title: ajiss-1226 date: 2020-06-19 words: 3047 flesch: 45 summary: Maqaṣid theory builds a system where worldly success and felicity are the interests of Shariʻah. He begins with the Companions before citing early theo- ries and then introduces the reader to the imāms of Maqaṣid: al-Ju- wayni, his student al-Ghāzalī; al ʻIzz, his student al-Qarāfī; ibn al-Qa- yyim; and ending with al-Shatibi. keywords: auda; islamic; kamali; maqaṣid; objectives; shariʻah cache: ajiss-1226.pdf plain text: ajiss-1226.txt item: #181 of 2012 id: ajiss-1227 author: None title: ajiss-1227 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1317 flesch: 58 summary: Reilly defends Pope Benedict XVI’s critical remarks on Muslim theology (56–58) and ends his book with the recommendation that Sunni Islam might do well and adopt Catholic Thomist theology (199). It is a key reason, says Reilly, for Sunni Islam’s assumed distance from reality and its intellectual suicide. keywords: book; islamic; muslim; reilly cache: ajiss-1227.pdf plain text: ajiss-1227.txt item: #182 of 2012 id: ajiss-1229 author: None title: ajiss-1229 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1477 flesch: 50 summary: Part 1 of the book (chapters 1‒5) provides what Johnston calls “back- ground theories” that inform our lives in the modern world, in conscious or subconscious reference to which Muslims and Christians must inevitably theologize. Al- though Johnston’s integrated writing style makes it difficult to isolate one specific thread, he appears to offer little more than a summary of the re- quests made by other writers such as Mohammed Arkoun for Muslims to, “wrestle with the Qur’an in light of postmodern hermeneutics” (486). keywords: book; johnston; muslims; world cache: ajiss-1229.pdf plain text: ajiss-1229.txt item: #183 of 2012 id: ajiss-123 author: None title: ajiss-123 date: 2020-05-14 words: 1820 flesch: 45 summary: From the observations of this milieu, Blecher suggests that hadith commentary developed on transregional and transcendent terms, with the Arabic language and Arab ancestry yielding the standard for social and academic credibility (151). By analyzing the social and political stakes of hadith commentary, the standards of commentarial excellence, spiritual aims, and the media of commentarial production, Blecher provides a retelling of hadith commen- tary in light of social practice. keywords: blecher; commentary; hadith; ibn cache: ajiss-123.pdf plain text: ajiss-123.txt item: #184 of 2012 id: ajiss-1230 author: None title: ajiss-1230 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1413 flesch: 56 summary: Yet, if Islam and Muslims are the closest “cultural agents” to the West, as she claims, then this may not al- low much room for detached observation of those in the West. Abul-Fadl’s point is if Muslims embark on what it is they wish to do, and the West refuses to concede grounds for understandable reasons (46), the entire context simply becomes one of polarized power politics, with culture being one of its components. keywords: fadl; muslims; west cache: ajiss-1230.pdf plain text: ajiss-1230.txt item: #185 of 2012 id: ajiss-1232 author: None title: ajiss-1232 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1408 flesch: 44 summary: Jane Bristol-Ryhs’ Emirati Women: Generations of Change provides a rare glimpse into how the lives of Abu Dhabi women have changed as a result of the discovery of oil in the late 1960s. Over the course of the chapters near the end of the book, Bris- tol-Rhys details the experiences of three generations of Abu Dhabi women and how they view their pre-oil past and face the challenges of the present. keywords: bristol; rhys; women cache: ajiss-1232.pdf plain text: ajiss-1232.txt item: #186 of 2012 id: ajiss-1234 author: None title: ajiss-1234 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1051 flesch: 54 summary: In her book, Ingvild Flaskerud once and for all dispels the idea that Islam lacks and opposes all forms of visual art. Though the implied opposition of Sunni prohibition and Shi‘i permissibility of images is problematic, she nonetheless successfully shows how Shi‘is navigate religious prohibitions regarding visual arts. keywords: flaskerud; shi‘i; visual cache: ajiss-1234.pdf plain text: ajiss-1234.txt item: #187 of 2012 id: ajiss-1235 author: None title: ajiss-1235 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1100 flesch: 46 summary: The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28:4140 Jihad in Saudi Arabia: Violence and Pan-Islamism since 1979 Thomas Hegghammer New York: Cambridge University Press. 2010. However, Jihad in Saudi Arabia represents the more impartial, rigorous end of the spectrum. keywords: arabia; saudi; scholars cache: ajiss-1235.pdf plain text: ajiss-1235.txt item: #188 of 2012 id: ajiss-1237 author: None title: ajiss-1237 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1153 flesch: 46 summary: While Ali points out that the legal tool by which conceptions of ownership derived from the institution of slavery were imported into jurists’ conception of marriage were analogical, that does not mean that concubinage and marriage were the same thing; indeed, jurists made great efforts to distinguish, from a legal perspective, lawful concubinage from lawful marriage to a free woman. Ali concludes that the primary claim the wife had for her husband’s time was that he spend as much time with her as he did with other wives ‒ and while all the ju- rists agreed to this as a matter of principle, they often disagreed in the details regarding what a fair division of time among a man’s wives meant. keywords: ali; marriage cache: ajiss-1237.pdf plain text: ajiss-1237.txt item: #189 of 2012 id: ajiss-1238 author: None title: ajiss-1238 date: 2020-06-19 words: 7353 flesch: 52 summary: Of course, notable differences in the historical, political and institution- al context in which they wrote underwrite obvious differences between the outlook, concerns, and approach of al-Ghāzalī and Locke. I cited: “fsr … and tafsîr is to uncover the meaning of a difficult expression (wa al-tafsîr kashf al-murâd ‘an al-ḷafz al-mushkil).”24 Again, my point was not that tafsīr never en- tailed eisegesis. keywords: fayṣal; ghâzalî; islam; jackson; khalil; point; professor; reason; tolerance; truth cache: ajiss-1238.pdf plain text: ajiss-1238.txt item: #190 of 2012 id: ajiss-1239 author: None title: ajiss-1239 date: 2020-06-19 words: 4819 flesch: 61 summary: Professor Ismail al Faruqi has played a very special role in the lives of his students, including us ‒ John Esposito, his first student to complete a Ph.D. degree in religion, and Imtiyaz Yusuf, who obtained his Ph.D. de- gree also in religion after Professor al Faruqi passed away. Memoirs At a recent international seminar on Professor Ismail al Faruqi, Professor John Esposito reminisced about how he came to study Islamic studies and the legacy of Professor al Faruqi1: keywords: faruqi; islamic; ismail; knowledge; muslim; professor; thought; time cache: ajiss-1239.pdf plain text: ajiss-1239.txt item: #191 of 2012 id: ajiss-1240 author: None title: ajiss-1240 date: 2020-06-19 words: 892 flesch: 55 summary: Book Reviews The Mantle Odes: Arabic Praise Poems to the Prophet Muhammad Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2010. The author’s aim is “to bring these Islamic devotional masterpieces into the purview of contemporary literary interpretation in a way that makes them culturally relevant and poetically effective for the modern reader, whether Muslim or non-Muslim” (xi). keywords: islamic; poem; prophet cache: ajiss-1240.pdf plain text: ajiss-1240.txt item: #192 of 2012 id: ajiss-1241 author: None title: ajiss-1241 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1066 flesch: 64 summary: Willow Wilson Book Reviews 141 people. A Young Woman’s Journey to Love and Islam G. Willow Wilson Toronto, Canada: McClelland & Stewart. keywords: islam; wilson; women cache: ajiss-1241.pdf plain text: ajiss-1241.txt item: #193 of 2012 id: ajiss-1243 author: None title: ajiss-1243 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1086 flesch: 58 summary: Soft Natural Law theorists, the voluntarists, critique the opinions of Hard Natural Law theorists by arguing that nature by itself cannot provide a basis for establishing obligation since nature cannot determine God’s will. Emon divides his work into five chapters: Introduction, Hard Natural Law, The Critique of Hard Natural Law, Soft Natural Law, and Conclusion. keywords: god; law; reason cache: ajiss-1243.pdf plain text: ajiss-1243.txt item: #194 of 2012 id: ajiss-1244 author: None title: ajiss-1244 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1066 flesch: 45 summary: Donner presents Muhammad and the Believers as a popular book and, more importantly, as a potential undergraduate textbook suitable for in- troductory courses on Islamic history and Islam. 1 as an introduction to the early period of Islamic history is rooted in the fact that it does precisely what Donner claims to set out to do ‒ take the religious dimensions of the early history of Islam seriously. keywords: donner; islam cache: ajiss-1244.pdf plain text: ajiss-1244.txt item: #195 of 2012 id: ajiss-1246 author: None title: ajiss-1246 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1055 flesch: 40 summary: 241 pages Political Islam, Iran, and the Enlightenment is Mirsepassi’s latest trea- tise that focuses on the Iranian intellectual and political climate. Mirsepassi is concerned to show the German and French intellectual influences of Is- lamist intellectuals as they search for an appropriate response to modernity. keywords: iran; mirsepassi; modernity cache: ajiss-1246.pdf plain text: ajiss-1246.txt item: #196 of 2012 id: ajiss-1247 author: None title: ajiss-1247 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1101 flesch: 42 summary: Among the most notable contributions is the first chapter by Ibrahim Kalin, who gives a substantial overview of the historical, philosophical, and theological perspectives on peace building and how they relate to con- temporary debates around Islam, violence, war, evil, sin, and peace. His approach stresses the values of the following words as overarching principles in an Islamic ap- proach to peace building: adl (justice), ihsan, (benevolence) rahmah (com- passion) hikmah (wisdom) amal (service) keywords: conflict; islamic; muslim; peace cache: ajiss-1247.pdf plain text: ajiss-1247.txt item: #197 of 2012 id: ajiss-1249 author: None title: ajiss-1249 date: 2020-06-19 words: 953 flesch: 44 summary: The book’s revelations about Iranian politics are illuminating, especially for those unfamiliar with the Islamic Republic’s constitution and governmental organization, but it is Majd’s revelations about Persian society that are most illuminating. 272 pages Hooman Majd, a former writer for the Rolling Stone and movie producer, is uniquely qualified to write a book about Iran for an American audience. keywords: iranian; majd; persian cache: ajiss-1249.pdf plain text: ajiss-1249.txt item: #198 of 2012 id: ajiss-1251 author: None title: ajiss-1251 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1279 flesch: 48 summary: Besides these two weaknesses, the book is the first to bring together the leading voices and key players in Iran’s Green Movement—providing a vital resource for the study of Iran, social movements, and the future of the Middle East. In his essay, “Strategies of Hope,” Nader Hashemi states: The Green Movement’s nonviolent orientation can best be, affirmed by continuing to articulate a new future for Iran, one that marks a clear his- torical break from the violent past and which is rooted in lessons from other political struggles that have universal appeal, such as ... the Afri- can-American struggle for civil rights and the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. keywords: green; iran; movement; people cache: ajiss-1251.pdf plain text: ajiss-1251.txt item: #199 of 2012 id: ajiss-1252 author: None title: ajiss-1252 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1973 flesch: 51 summary: On practical terms, insisting on peace among Muslim groups or na- tions nowadays seems to be political naiveté. Sadly, leaders of Muslim nations seem to care more about political expediency (even if unpopular with average Muslims) than socioreligious imperatives. keywords: groups; islamic; muslim; nations; peace cache: ajiss-1252.pdf plain text: ajiss-1252.txt item: #200 of 2012 id: ajiss-1253 author: None title: ajiss-1253 date: 2020-06-19 words: 5503 flesch: 37 summary: In his introduction, al-Jabri describes the Shari‘ah debate as “a belligerent discourse . . 111Reconfiguring Politics, Law, and Human Rights To this end, al-Jabri distinguishes the historical Arab-Islamic experi- ence encapsulated in the conduct of the Prophet and his Companions as the basic authoritative cultural referent (marja‘iyah) used by the jurisprudents to device the rules and foundations (usul) regulating the interpretative pro- cess (ijtihad) of their discipline (al-fiqh). keywords: democracy; islamic; jabri; law; lee; politics; religion; rights; social; state cache: ajiss-1253.pdf plain text: ajiss-1253.txt item: #201 of 2012 id: ajiss-1254 author: None title: ajiss-1254 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1081 flesch: 40 summary: Daniels dedicates other chapters to other cultural forms. For example, in Chapter 1, “City of Culture, Tourist Objects and Difference as Fetish,” he analyzes government and palace-organized ceremonies, showing that “these events and their organizers” project a desirable future in which 121Reviews Indonesia, as a liberal democracy, more fully integrates “into the global capitalist system” and “accommodat[es] . . keywords: chapter; daniels; javanese cache: ajiss-1254.pdf plain text: ajiss-1254.txt item: #202 of 2012 id: ajiss-1256 author: None title: ajiss-1256 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1306 flesch: 47 summary: 426 pages Being Young and Muslim is a compilation of narratives that address the cultural politics of Muslim youth from multiple perspectives—youthful lifestyles, rebellion, and accommodations signify the “intricate relation- ship between the young, youth identities and Islam” (19). In the first chapter “Introduc- tion: Being Young and Muslim in Neoliberal Times,” Linda Herrera and Asef Bayat present the focal points to be addressed throughout the volume: the approaches and directions Muslim youth will undertake in an era with “multiple constraints and opportunities of being young, Muslim, marginal- ized, and subjects of social control” (11). keywords: chapter; islam; muslim; social; youth cache: ajiss-1256.pdf plain text: ajiss-1256.txt item: #203 of 2012 id: ajiss-1257 author: None title: ajiss-1257 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1317 flesch: 39 summary: As such, the work represents one of the first post-9/11 sociological commen- taries that attempt to define the nature of American Muslim identity and the possibilities for its reevaluation. The author examines American identity and its forma- tion through an exploration of the historical episodes, which have shaped the distinctive ideological strains that form it; the ethnography of Islam in America and the issues facing native and immigrant Muslim populations in America—as well as the sociocultural factors leading to the conversion 127Reviews of white and Latino Americans to Islam—and finally, Ahmed offers a com- parison of Muslims to other minority groups in the United States, including Jews and Mormons and the ways each group has adjusted to the presence of the other. keywords: ahmed; american; identity; muslim cache: ajiss-1257.pdf plain text: ajiss-1257.txt item: #204 of 2012 id: ajiss-1259 author: None title: ajiss-1259 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1020 flesch: 38 summary: This book ex- plores how over the past thirty years the politics of Malaysia, which was only approximately 60 percent Muslim, moved strongly in an Islamist di- rection, indeed, “how Islam—in particular its ideological and institutional expressions—informs the configuration of power, the nature of legitimacy, and the sources of authority in Malaysian politics and society today” (xii). He examines the measures undertaken by the government to deal with these issues, while reminding us that the future of Islamist politics lies not with the militants but with the vast majority of moderate Islamist groups. keywords: islamism; liow; malaysia cache: ajiss-1259.pdf plain text: ajiss-1259.txt item: #205 of 2012 id: ajiss-1260 author: None title: ajiss-1260 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1169 flesch: 46 summary: A focus on interviews and the use of techniques of participant observation might have helped the reader examine the everyday lives of Muslims in the discussed countries and situated them in the broader discus- sion of Muslims and Islam in Europe in regard to the specific differences of Muslim communities. The development of Islam in Denmark reveals a general move away from Muslim ethnic affiliations toward ques- tions of how and if Muslims should engage in broader society. keywords: chapter; islam; muslim cache: ajiss-1260.pdf plain text: ajiss-1260.txt item: #206 of 2012 id: ajiss-1262 author: None title: ajiss-1262 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1379 flesch: 58 summary: 222 pages Holy places have frequently been the focus of religious and political con- flict. He also describes his own ap- proach and other approaches to the study of holy places. keywords: chapter; conflicts; jerusalem; places cache: ajiss-1262.pdf plain text: ajiss-1262.txt item: #207 of 2012 id: ajiss-1263 author: None title: ajiss-1263 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1005 flesch: 46 summary: The Thousand and One Nights does not demonstrate the ideal of Islam: rather, it exposes the reality of Islamic society, featuring both the virtues and the vices of the Muslim masses. Despite all the morally deviant behavior displayed in the work, many of its tales are cautionary; they communi- cate ethical messages and promote the good and forbid the wrong through warnings grounded in Islamic law. keywords: islamic; nights; work cache: ajiss-1263.pdf plain text: ajiss-1263.txt item: #208 of 2012 id: ajiss-1265 author: None title: ajiss-1265 date: 2020-06-19 words: 869 flesch: 52 summary: Moreover, Indian Ocean policy was a complex of economic, military, and religious interests. Selim I, dubbed here “the Navigator,” whose conquest of Egypt opened up enormous trade opportunities in the East; Ibrahim Pasha, whose efforts in Egypt and Yemen during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent advanced Ottoman interests considerably; Hadim Suleiman, the official who carried the war against the Portuguese to the Horn of Africa, the Persian Gulf, India, and Malacca; Rustem Pasha, bitter rival of Hadim Suleiman, who worked against the Indian Ocean faction and sought to reorient Ottoman policy toward the West; Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, whose “soft empire” in the Indian Ocean was the apogee of Ottoman expansion there; and Mir Ali Beg, who, without help or encouragement from Constantinople, advanced The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28:2142 along the Swahili coast, hoping eventually to seize the main Portuguese base in Mozambique. keywords: indian; ocean; ottoman cache: ajiss-1265.pdf plain text: ajiss-1265.txt item: #209 of 2012 id: ajiss-1266 author: None title: ajiss-1266 date: 2020-06-19 words: 8846 flesch: 52 summary: Muslim scholars might learn from Simon Dubnow’s analysis of at- tacks on Jewish tradition and scripture from both within and without. In America, many Muslim scholars within the univer- sity environment have published material focused on new approaches to and interpretations of Islam. keywords: dubnow; geiger; history; islam; islamic; jewish; jews; judaism; judentums; muhammad; muslims; new; qur’an; scholars; studies; time; tradition; university; wissenschaft cache: ajiss-1266.pdf plain text: ajiss-1266.txt item: #210 of 2012 id: ajiss-1267 author: None title: 71221- Cover, page 2 @ Preflight date: 2020-06-19 words: 2998 flesch: 56 summary: Even though the Mufti subsequently, yet reluctantly and cursorily ac- knowledged the right of the Egyptian people to demonstrate, it was clear that he had aligned himself with the regime and was speaking for it— advising people not to use Tahrir Square or Cairo Stadium for their demon- strations.4 Hence, with all due respect and absolute difference, even though this editorial is informed less by the political loyalties of the Mufti and more by his meth- odology and line of arguments (the latter being a common problem among some traditional Muslims), both will be addressed. keywords: egyptian; islamic; mubarak; mufti; people; regime cache: ajiss-1267.pdf plain text: ajiss-1267.txt item: #211 of 2012 id: ajiss-1268 author: None title: 71221- Cover, page 2 @ Preflight date: 2020-06-19 words: 1398 flesch: 58 summary: But this may have led Rizvi to downplay Shirazi’s essen- tial contribution to philosophy: synthesizing different ways of knowing. Rizvi’s deep knowledge of Islamic philosophy in general, and Shirazi in particular, puts him in the ideal position to offer plausible historical explanations for this synthesis. keywords: philosophy; rizvi; shirazi cache: ajiss-1268.pdf plain text: ajiss-1268.txt item: #212 of 2012 id: ajiss-1269 author: None title: 71221- Cover, page 2 @ Preflight date: 2020-06-19 words: 1089 flesch: 41 summary: Daniels dedicates other chapters to other cultural forms. For example, in Chapter 1, “City of Culture, Tourist Objects and Difference as Fetish,” he analyzes government and palace-organized ceremonies, showing that “these events and their organizers” project a desirable future in which Indonesia, as a liberal democracy, more fully integrates “into the global capitalist system” and “accommodates . . . keywords: chapter; daniels; javanese cache: ajiss-1269.pdf plain text: ajiss-1269.txt item: #213 of 2012 id: ajiss-127 author: None title: ajiss-127 date: 2018-11-05 words: 320 flesch: 43 summary: We hypothesize that religious devo- tion among Muslim women in Turkey circa the year 2000 will be associated with greater support for gender inequality across several institutional domains, namely, family, education, the workplace, and politics. In addition, we anticipate that as women move across Dr. John P. Bartkowski (Ph.D., Sociology, University of Texas-Austin, 1997) is Pro- fessor of Sociology at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). keywords: sociology cache: ajiss-127.pdf plain text: ajiss-127.txt item: #214 of 2012 id: ajiss-1271 author: None title: 71221- Cover, page 2 @ Preflight date: 2020-06-19 words: 1146 flesch: 53 summary: Notes and index In Search of the Sacred, as the subtitle indicates, lets readers in on a wide- ranging conversation between Seyyed Hossein Nasr, one of the world’s most prolific Muslim intellectuals, and his cousin, Ramin Jahanbegloo, about Nasr’s life and thought. Terry Moore provides a fine, admirably con- cise introduction, which, like many introductions to Nasr’s thought, occa- sionally borders on the hagiographic. keywords: book; nasr; thought cache: ajiss-1271.pdf plain text: ajiss-1271.txt item: #215 of 2012 id: ajiss-1272 author: None title: 71221- Cover, page 2 @ Preflight date: 2020-06-19 words: 1312 flesch: 50 summary: Since there are many non-Muslim Sufi groups in Western societies, and since living tradition, authority and authenticity are major emphases of the book, the absence of a chapter explicitly treating non-Muslim Sufis is conspicuous. Moreover, although Sedgwick, Dressler and others do make references to non-Muslim Sufism, there is virtually no attention given to non-Muslim Sufi groups in the volume. keywords: chapter; muslim; sufi; sufism cache: ajiss-1272.pdf plain text: ajiss-1272.txt item: #216 of 2012 id: ajiss-1274 author: None title: 71221- Cover, page 2 @ Preflight date: 2020-06-19 words: 1143 flesch: 56 summary: The aim of Submitting to God is thus to treat pious women as agents and to understand the meaning of what they do as defined by the women themselves (5). While the book focuses on Muslim women, it is written for a broader audience not necessarily fa- miliar with Islam—namely, anthropologists and feminists. keywords: frisk; islamic; women cache: ajiss-1274.pdf plain text: ajiss-1274.txt item: #217 of 2012 id: ajiss-1275 author: None title: 71221- Cover, page 2 @ Preflight date: 2020-06-19 words: 1058 flesch: 31 summary: Chapter 1, “Islam on Trial: A Case Study” begins with a heated court case concerning a homosexual Moroccan Muslim seeking asylum in the United States, a case in which Kugle acted as an expert witness. After critically examining these scattered verses in their entirety, Kugle concludes that rather than forbidding same-sex intercourse these verses actually denounce rape—for the men of the tribe sought to sexually assault Lot’s guests, who were un- der the prophet’s protection. keywords: chapter; islamic; kugle cache: ajiss-1275.pdf plain text: ajiss-1275.txt item: #218 of 2012 id: ajiss-1277 author: None title: 71221- Cover, page 2 @ Preflight date: 2020-06-19 words: 1208 flesch: 54 summary: We can also learn about the role Palestinian women play in the national struggle. The book contributes to the advancement of research on Palestinian women, and in this, Naguib achieves what she aspires to in her introduction: “That women’s daily struggles in war zones should receive more academic coverage” (33). keywords: chapter; women cache: ajiss-1277.pdf plain text: ajiss-1277.txt item: #219 of 2012 id: ajiss-1278 author: None title: 71221- Cover, page 2 @ Preflight date: 2020-06-19 words: 1319 flesch: 42 summary: 312 pages Despite this being the age when information is readily available, the analy- sis, the dissemination, and the effect of pioneering Islamic knowledge in all fields is a relatively recent endeavor with only a handful of books that cover these areas from an academic point of view. Here, as in most parts of the book, Western references are used to substantiate the phenomenon of Islamic influence. keywords: chapter; europe; islamic; muslim cache: ajiss-1278.pdf plain text: ajiss-1278.txt item: #220 of 2012 id: ajiss-1280 author: None title: 71221- Cover, page 2 @ Preflight date: 2020-06-19 words: 1158 flesch: 47 summary: Part 2, “The Expansion of Islam” (three chapters); Part 3, “Islamic Institutions” (three chapters); and Part 4, “Crisis and Renewal in Islamic History” (five chapters). Part 4, “Crisis and Renewal in Islamic History.” keywords: chapter; history; islamic cache: ajiss-1280.pdf plain text: ajiss-1280.txt item: #221 of 2012 id: ajiss-1282 author: None title: ajiss-1282 date: 2020-06-19 words: 2396 flesch: 54 summary: Many caliphs and sultans allowed non-Muslims to live and practice their religions freely, even making space for them to partake in the social, intellectual, and political arenas; others restricted their movement and ordered them to wear special attire. But the overwhelming evidence supports the fact that non-Muslims who lived under Islamic rule fared relatively bet- ter treatment than those who lived under non-Islamic rule. keywords: islam; islamic; muslims; non; people; pluralism cache: ajiss-1282.pdf plain text: ajiss-1282.txt item: #222 of 2012 id: ajiss-1284 author: None title: ajiss-1284 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1222 flesch: 39 summary: More specifi- cally, human rights proponents should adopt the view that modern notions of human rights can coexist with Islamic understandings of religious obliga- tions and collectivism. In Islam and the Challenge of Human Rights, Abdulaziz Sachedina calls for a new conversation between religious and secular forces to achieve an “over- lapping consensus” on human rights and its underlying principles. keywords: islam; islamic; rights cache: ajiss-1284.pdf plain text: ajiss-1284.txt item: #223 of 2012 id: ajiss-1285 author: None title: ajiss-1285 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1188 flesch: 32 summary: My main contention is that certain interpretations of what Muslims consider to be normative Islamic teaching plays an important (if not decisive) role in shaping the views, behavior, and, at times, actions, of western Muslims, including the processes associated with radicalization/fundamentalism. The author thus sets out to “engage with an incredibly expanding academic literature [on Islamic fundamentalism] that tends to treat religious fundamentalism on the basis of culturalist or social theory discourse” (p. 153). keywords: fundamentalism; identity; muslims cache: ajiss-1285.pdf plain text: ajiss-1285.txt item: #224 of 2012 id: ajiss-1287 author: None title: ajiss-1287 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1482 flesch: 45 summary: Many of the chapters also contextualize issues of mosque design in that country within the larger scope of mosque design in the West. A research coordinator at the Paris-based Columbia University Institute for Scholars, she investigates the return of colonialist approaches to mosque design in Europe that, through regional/historical references, alienate local Muslims. keywords: chapter; design; mosque; muslims; netherlands cache: ajiss-1287.pdf plain text: ajiss-1287.txt item: #225 of 2012 id: ajiss-1289 author: None title: ajiss-1289 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1007 flesch: 52 summary: Lutz Rzehak’s fascinating essay draws on fieldwork in the southwestern province of Nimroz, where he examined oral tradition to demonstrate how the Baluch have remembered Taliban rule. Atiq Sarwari and Robert Crews round matters off, demonstrating that the Karzai government, in part bol- stered but in large part handicapped by its western supporters, has not only failed to provide a convincing political alternative for the country’s peoples, but also, by 2007, was confronted by growing Taliban insurgencies. keywords: afghan; afghanistan; state; taliban cache: ajiss-1289.pdf plain text: ajiss-1289.txt item: #226 of 2012 id: ajiss-1291 author: None title: ajiss-1291 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1134 flesch: 37 summary: Given the Left’s wide-ranging linkages with surrounding regions, including the Causacus (early twentieth century) and the Arab Middle East (particularly during the 1970s), experts dealing with those regions’ politics would benefit from this work. The emigration of Iranian peasants and artisans to Azerbaijan during the economic downturn of the late nineteenth century is a relatively unexploited stage in Iranian history. keywords: century; left; movement; social cache: ajiss-1291.pdf plain text: ajiss-1291.txt item: #227 of 2012 id: ajiss-1292 author: None title: ajiss-1292 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1345 flesch: 49 summary: After these case analyses, the author uses chapter 6 to present his “four- teen steps to success” in negotiating with Iran: avoid too much legalism while establishing objective criteria; be aware of Iran’s historical perceptions and grievances; be careful to choose credible intermediaries; talk to the peo- ple who can make and enforce decisions; be aware of the Islamic regime’s priority of survival; let Iranians define their own national interest; expect actions that may appear (to American counterparts) as self-destructive; give Iranians credit for intelligence; expect vague and uncertain claims as well as grandstanding and flamboyant gestures; remember that power is respected and weakness despised; understand that justice, even in the abstract, is very important to Iranians; remember that conspiracy theories thrive and in many cases are, in fact, true; and expect hands to be overplayed. In his preface to this book, Mark Bowden states that John Limbert is “the best American friend Iran had” (p. ix) and that the United States is “not a nineteenth-century-style imperial power bent on colonizing smaller nations.” keywords: american; crisis; iran cache: ajiss-1292.pdf plain text: ajiss-1292.txt item: #228 of 2012 id: ajiss-1294 author: None title: ajiss-1294 date: 2020-06-19 words: 787 flesch: 53 summary: We are told of the fear generated by sui- cide bombers – the head of one landed in the playground of the school attended by Emma’s children as the school day began; the regular deaths of Palestinian civilians at the hands of the Israel Defence Force, “the purest army in the world”; the “silent war,” the relentless theft by one means or another of Palestinian land; the sickening problem, from Emma’s point of view, of Israeli self-deception; the open talk of “trans- fer,” a.k.a. ethnic cleansing as a solution to Israel’s Palestinian problem; how western journalists find their reports censored by editors intimidated by Israel’s attack machine; the oppression and misery heaped upon the Palestinians at the checkpoints throughout their territories, where teenaged Israeli soldiers wield absolute power; the wall, or “barrier” as it is supposed to be called, illegal under international law, which wends its ways through the West Bank, annexing further Palestinian territory to Israel and thereby dividing community from community and farmers from their fields; the settlements on the West Bank, also illegal under international law, which not only rob the Palestinians of further land but also often prevent them from working what remains; the breathtaking injustices piled upon the Palestinians; the Palestinian quality of sumud, of remaining steadfast in the face of all difficulty; and the double standards of the United States and, indeed, of most western countries in dealing with the two sides. This book, which was first published in Britain in 2006, records her experiences and assessments of what she saw when she Book Reviews 109 accompanied her husband, a senior UN official, to Israel during 2000-03. keywords: book; emma; israel cache: ajiss-1294.pdf plain text: ajiss-1294.txt item: #229 of 2012 id: ajiss-1295 author: None title: ajiss-1295 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1122 flesch: 51 summary: In contrast, Griffel sets out to demonstrate that al-Ghazali “is the first Muslim theologian who actively promotes the naturalization of the philo- sophical tradition into Islamic theology” (p. 7) and that his writings are ‘a particular kind of Avicennism’ (p. 14). Chapter 1, an absorbing bio- graphical study making excellent use of al-Ghazali’s Persian correspon- dence and entitled “A Life Between Public and Private Instruction,” encap- sulates Griffel’s thesis that, contrary to popular belief, al-Ghazali did not enter a period of isolation from teaching and other affairs after he left Baghdad in 1095. keywords: ghazali; griffel cache: ajiss-1295.pdf plain text: ajiss-1295.txt item: #230 of 2012 id: ajiss-1296 author: None title: ajiss-1296 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1302 flesch: 34 summary: Ali Mesbah’s “From Knowing God to Loving God: Spirituality and Submission” is slightly better, for it notes some scholars’ opinions on the difference between religion and spirituality, but it has no concluding point. 114 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 27:4 On Spirituality: Essays from the Third Shi`i Muslim Mennonite Christian Dialogue M. Darrol Bryant, Susan Kennel Harrison, and A. James Reimer, eds. keywords: book; islamic; shi`i; spirituality cache: ajiss-1296.pdf plain text: ajiss-1296.txt item: #231 of 2012 id: ajiss-1297 author: None title: ajiss-1297 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1244 flesch: 39 summary: Devoting a chapter to each important topic (e.g., the Qur’an, Islamic law, Islamic the- ology and philosophy, and Sufism) and to studies of Islam in individual countries (e.g., Turkey, Iran, Egypt, and Indonesia), it explores Islamic civilization through discussions of Islamic art and culture as well as com- munity rituals. Book Reviews 119 120 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 27:4 Despite such shortcomings, however, the author deserves special appre- ciation for bringing to the forefront such an informative and comprehensive work on Islamic history and civilization. keywords: chapter; islamic; muslim cache: ajiss-1297.pdf plain text: ajiss-1297.txt item: #232 of 2012 id: ajiss-1298 author: None title: ajiss-1298 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1118 flesch: 47 summary: By focusing on presenting the facts without advancing an overt argument in defense of either the secular French or the French Muslim community, Bowen essentially says: “Come to your own conclusions.” Although subtle in argument, Bowen suggests that Islamic values and French secularism could be compatible on the condition that both sides make concessions. keywords: french; islamic; muslim cache: ajiss-1298.pdf plain text: ajiss-1298.txt item: #233 of 2012 id: ajiss-1299 author: None title: ajiss-1299 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1232 flesch: 54 summary: Khan gives several useful examples of the potential motives and causes for this practice, such as the political; the desire of certain newly converted communities to introduce them in order to maintain elements of their old faith or for the sake of weakening Islam (if they were internally hostile toward it); the rivalry among activists in the various theological and legal schools of thought to elevate their school’s status; merchants attempting to increase their profits by attaching greater values to their goods by alleging the Prophet’s supposed preference for them; the act of narrating hadiths as a paid profession for storytellers who did not mind inventing hadiths as needed; and, finally, the overenthusiasm of some Muslims toward their religion and their desire to attract non- Muslims to the faith. This book attempts to construct criteria whereby one can validate (reject or accept) Prophetic traditions (hadiths) that are considered questionable. keywords: chapter; hadith; khan cache: ajiss-1299.pdf plain text: ajiss-1299.txt item: #234 of 2012 id: ajiss-1300 author: None title: ajiss-1300 date: 2020-06-19 words: 3142 flesch: 64 summary: Forum Understanding Muslim Social Arrangement: The Pangals of Manipur, India Mohd Shakil Ahmed Abstract This article analyzes the Muslim Pangal community of Manipur in northeastern India. Mohd Shakil Ahmed is the author of Essays in Sociology: Muslims in Manipur (New Delhi: The Institute of Objective Studies, forthcoming). keywords: arrangement; community; india; khan; manipur; meitei; muslims; pangals; singh; social; songs cache: ajiss-1300.pdf plain text: ajiss-1300.txt item: #235 of 2012 id: ajiss-1301 author: None title: ajiss-1301 date: 2020-06-19 words: 5400 flesch: 32 summary: As the centerpiece of many of its activities is intercultural dialogue, ASEF focuses on interfaith dialogue, cultural diversity, and solutions for multicultural societies. The crux of the agreements signed during its four meetings seems to be multifaith dialogue and cooperation; peace as a sacred priority; increased participation by women and youth in interfaith dialogue; sharing with our communities successful examples of multifaith dialogue and cooperation and urging others to participate; and interfaith cooperation that addresses issues of the region’s critical community concerns (e.g., poverty, HIV, human rights, environmental issues, and natural disasters). keywords: cooperation; dialogue; interfaith; international; issues; level; media; peace; religions; society; understanding; world cache: ajiss-1301.pdf plain text: ajiss-1301.txt item: #236 of 2012 id: ajiss-1302 author: None title: ajiss-1302 date: 2020-06-19 words: 909 flesch: 32 summary: AMSS presi- dent Ali Mazrui (State University of New York at Binghamton) ended the day’s events with a succinct summary of the papers and ideas presented. On the panel “Challenges of Globalization in Muslim Diasporas,” Saeed A. Khan (Wayne State University) offered a new theoret- ical approach to studying Muslims in the West by applying world systems theory in a transatlantic context. keywords: identity; muslim; panel; university cache: ajiss-1302.pdf plain text: ajiss-1302.txt item: #237 of 2012 id: ajiss-1303 author: None title: ajiss-1303 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1208 flesch: 37 summary: Farid Al-Attas’s (professor of sociology, National University of Singapore; head, Department of Malay Studies) keynote address: “The Social Theology of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi and the Critique of Modern Civilization,” proposed that one has to consider Nursi’s engagement with society through his understanding and application of theology. This par- ticular session was chaired by Ibrahim Abu Rabi’ (University of Alberta, Canada), editor of Islam at the Crossroads: On the Life and Thought of Bed- iuzzaman Said Nursi (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003), Islam in Modern Turkey: keywords: bediuzzaman; faith; nursi; papers; university cache: ajiss-1303.pdf plain text: ajiss-1303.txt item: #238 of 2012 id: ajiss-1304 author: None title: ajiss-1304 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1176 flesch: 48 summary: As more Muslims came in after the Second World War, and as Israel was established and American missionary activities in the region increased, Islamic studies went through inclusion in political science and reli- gious studies, as well as other fields, before becoming a field in its own right. Noting the lack of appreciation for Islam’s depth among Muslims and non-Muslims, Musa said that Muslims need to make sources more accessible through translation, develop a clear method- ology, and publish appropriate literature. keywords: islamic; muslims; qur’an; university cache: ajiss-1304.pdf plain text: ajiss-1304.txt item: #239 of 2012 id: ajiss-1305 author: None title: ajiss-1305 date: 2020-06-19 words: 6258 flesch: 48 summary: This special issue of the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences focuses on Islamic ethics, especially ethics as applied to such contemporary issues as bioethics, the environment, human rights, and evolution. Another challenge to Islamic ethics is that of human rights, a topic dis- cussed by Marie-Luisa Frick in her “Ummah Rights or Human Rights? Universalism, Individualism, and Islamic Ethics in the Twenty-first Century,” which examines the potential of Islamic ethics to revitalize human rights. keywords: ethics; god; human; islamic; justice; muslim; rights; social; society; version cache: ajiss-1305.pdf plain text: ajiss-1305.txt item: #240 of 2012 id: ajiss-1306 author: None title: ajiss-1306 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1063 flesch: 33 summary: He does so not only in terms of referring to the internal relations between gen- eral and particular aspects of al-Isfahani’s thought, but also by disclosing the external references of al-Isfahani’s thought, among them Plato, Aristotle, basic Islamic texts like the Qur’an and the hadith literature, Miskawayh, and others. When we read the fundamental critical conception of Islamization in Mohamed’s work from this viewpoint, we can better realize that the hermeneutical circle established between the classical medieval moral ideals of al-Isfahani and others and our own horizon of morality can be a space of mediation of moral truth as the final stage of every form of morality. keywords: text cache: ajiss-1306.pdf plain text: ajiss-1306.txt item: #241 of 2012 id: ajiss-1307 author: None title: ajiss-1307 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1157 flesch: 17 summary: Islam, Secularism, and Liberal Democracy analyzes the theoretical rela- tionship between religion and democracy, specifically Islam’s relationship with liberal democracy. Chapter 2, “Dueling Scriptures:The Political Theology of John Locke and the Democratization of Muslim Societies,” examines the relationship between religious reformation and liberal democracy via John Locke’s political theology. keywords: democracy; relationship; secularism cache: ajiss-1307.pdf plain text: ajiss-1307.txt item: #242 of 2012 id: ajiss-1308 author: None title: ajiss-1308 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1123 flesch: 46 summary: Book Reviews 99 ajiss 27-3-=stripped-obay.qxp 8/24/2010 10:48 AM Page 99 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com 100 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 27:3 Section 3 begins with Benslama detailing the difference between the psychoanalytic categories of denial and disavowal (Verleugnung) and explaining how Hagar’s presence as the founding maternal figure in Islam has been disavowed by the religion to which she was so instrumental in bringing to fruition. In Psychoanalysis and the Challenge of Islam, Fethi Benslama, a psychoanalyst and professor, elaborates upon the precise undergirding apparatus that sustains the logic of Islamism as a recently conceived phenomenon. keywords: benslama; islam cache: ajiss-1308.pdf plain text: ajiss-1308.txt item: #243 of 2012 id: ajiss-1309 author: None title: ajiss-1309 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1373 flesch: 35 summary: Perhaps one of the most striking features of Dabashi’s book is his attempt to reclaim Malcolm X for Muslim political theology and thought in an era when Islam has turned into a free-floating signifier. By this provocative work – to say the least – Dabashi makes a quite timely intervention in the direction that the new discourse on Islam has recently taken, especially among progressive-liberal Muslim scholars. keywords: dabashi; islamic; liberation cache: ajiss-1309.pdf plain text: ajiss-1309.txt item: #244 of 2012 id: ajiss-1310 author: None title: ajiss-1310 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1116 flesch: 42 summary: Although many Muslim American leaders indeed toed this problematic line, discourse at the grassroots level was far more contested and complex, as many Muslim Americans had long been deeply frustrated with American for- eign policy. In making the case for a religious revival among Muslim Americans, Curtis documents the mass establishment of Muslim schools, mosques, and Islamic associations as well as an emerging discourse and culture of religious piety. keywords: americans; curtis; muslim cache: ajiss-1310.pdf plain text: ajiss-1310.txt item: #245 of 2012 id: ajiss-1311 author: None title: ajiss-1311 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1210 flesch: 46 summary: The chapter’s optimistic tone, along with the substantiated research and description, highlight some of the great potentials that Muslim schools have in America. Chapter 10, “Authentic Interactions Eliminating the Anonymity of Otherness” by Barbara Sahili, Christina Safiya Tobias-Nahi, and Mona Abo- Zena, vividly portrays the opportunities of primary Muslim schools that reg- ularly engage and invite groups from local public schools. keywords: chapter; education; islamic; muslim cache: ajiss-1311.pdf plain text: ajiss-1311.txt item: #246 of 2012 id: ajiss-1312 author: None title: ajiss-1312 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1380 flesch: 34 summary: He informs us that its two venues – Kuala Lumpur’s jumbled, multi-com- munity spaces and Putrajaya’s purely Malay pan-Islamic spaces – indicates an ambivalent identity: Kuala Lumpur, “historically a Chinese town … is today the capital of a nation that privileges the Malays” (p. xxiii). In Chapter 1, “The Phenomenal City: Diversity of Space,” the author draws upon theorists of “the postmodern city” to describe the greater Kuala Lumpur metropolitan region in the form of three transits: the arrival from global hyperspace (Kuala Lumpur International Airport through older transforming plantations and neighborhoods to the KL Sentral transport interchange and the Petronas Towers, Putrajaya, and Cyberjaya mega-proj- ects), moving through the fractured colonized landscape of Chinese, Malay, and Indian urban spaces; and the Klang Valley (the gentrifying predomi- nantly Indian Hindu Brickfields, Malay Shah Alam, and Klang and Port Klang with the Sultan of Selangor’s palace and history of Chinese and Book Reviews 109 ajiss 27-3-=stripped-obay.qxp 8/24/2010 10:48 AM Page 109 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com 110 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 27:3 Indian working class struggles). keywords: king; kuala; lumpur; malay; putrajaya cache: ajiss-1312.pdf plain text: ajiss-1312.txt item: #247 of 2012 id: ajiss-1313 author: None title: ajiss-1313 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1151 flesch: 24 summary: According to the author, the greatest misconception about post-revolutionary Iran is the notion that the revolution ended with the establishment of a “Brinton- ian” Thermidor through the rise to power of the pragmatist president Hashemi-Rafsanjani (1989-97) and/or the reformist president Khatami (1997-2005). Drawing on the sociology of revolution, Arjomand’s book is set on explaining the political developments of Iran and its rollercoaster-like domestic and foreign policy realities during the past two decades. keywords: iran; islamic; revolution cache: ajiss-1313.pdf plain text: ajiss-1313.txt item: #248 of 2012 id: ajiss-1314 author: None title: ajiss-1314 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1167 flesch: 26 summary: Hence, despite the “revolution’s anti-imperialist tone and the rejection by Khomeini and his supporters of Western liberal state policies and the language of rights … in the aftermath of the revolution, the language of ‘human rights’ has reemerged as an important way to give expression to the language of Islamic justice …” (p. 172). This is done by plac- ing the discourse of women’s rights within the cultural context of global- ization and post-colonialism and yet still identifying its local, embodied practice within the shifting political dynamics of post-revolutionary Iran. keywords: iran; rights; women cache: ajiss-1314.pdf plain text: ajiss-1314.txt item: #249 of 2012 id: ajiss-1315 author: None title: ajiss-1315 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1101 flesch: 40 summary: Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad’s book, The Politics of Iranian Cinema: Film and Society in the Islamic Republic, fills this glaring gap by providing a unique insight into how Iranian films are received in Iran; what political and social debates they spark; and how they form part of a larger nexus of power negotiations between the state, artists, and film viewers. The Reformists supported social films, as they saw them as beneficial to their vision of society, but as support for the Reformists dwindled in 2003-04, so did the interest in such films. keywords: book; films; iranian cache: ajiss-1315.pdf plain text: ajiss-1315.txt item: #250 of 2012 id: ajiss-1316 author: None title: ajiss-1316 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1067 flesch: 41 summary: What is crucial, he insists, is that all remain equally valid expressions of doctrinal Islam, provided that no value judgment is made about what is orthodox Islam. For example: the name of the distinguished American histo- rian of South Asian Islam, Barbara Metcalf, is misspelled throughout the book; there was no al-Sindhi family teaching Abd al-Wahhab and Wali Allah in Arabia, but rather a Muhammad Haya al Sindhi (p. 151); there were no such people as the Jawahar Brothers, but rather the `Ali Brothers (p. 319); and it is unlikely that “innumerable peasants” peddled Urdu- Book Reviews 121 ajiss 27-3-=stripped-obay.qxp 8/24/2010 10:48 AM Page 121 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com 122 keywords: islam; muslim; path cache: ajiss-1316.pdf plain text: ajiss-1316.txt item: #251 of 2012 id: ajiss-1317 author: None title: ajiss-1317 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1397 flesch: 40 summary: What do we know about rival claims to religiosity made upon the soldiery from the Nizamiyya and other “high” institutions of scripturalist Islam? Third, it facilitates a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between Islam and military violence and suggests that religiously moti- vated, reasoned, and practiced violence could be deployed in different contexts for different ends, in favor of resistance against empire but also significantly in favor of empire. keywords: colonial; faqirs; green; islam cache: ajiss-1317.pdf plain text: ajiss-1317.txt item: #252 of 2012 id: ajiss-1318 author: None title: ajiss-1318 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1051 flesch: 45 summary: As it stands, chapters 1 and 3 with vio- lence against women in Iraq, while chapters 2 and 4 deal with Palestine. For undergraduate or non-specialist readers, chapter 4 could have provided a helpful background understanding for the specific historical events assumed in chapter two. keywords: book; chapter; women cache: ajiss-1318.pdf plain text: ajiss-1318.txt item: #253 of 2012 id: ajiss-1319 author: None title: ajiss-1319 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1242 flesch: 44 summary: Overall, if there had been guidelines and specifications for chapters 4 and 5, truly ground-breaking material on guidelines for applying and deriving geometry in mosque design and embellishment and for the types and design of women’s spaces in mosque would have been provided. Chapter 4, “The Concept of Spaces and Geometry,” delves into the rela- tion to Islam in general and to mosque design specifically. keywords: chapter; design cache: ajiss-1319.pdf plain text: ajiss-1319.txt item: #254 of 2012 id: ajiss-1320 author: None title: ajiss-1320 date: 2020-06-19 words: 4286 flesch: 49 summary: Up-and-coming young Muslim American artists have pointed to this attitude and criticized prevalent double standards in Muslim American communities; we are not willing to deal with the messy business of creating Muslim American culture because of a perceived threat to Mus- lim values, but we do not mind consuming mainstream cultural productions that regularly run counter to them. Forum Miss USA 2010, Muslim American Cyber-Discourse, and the Question of Exhaustion Janan Delgado On 16 May 2010 keywords: 2010; american; fakih; islamic; miss; muslim; rima; usa cache: ajiss-1320.pdf plain text: ajiss-1320.txt item: #255 of 2012 id: ajiss-1321 author: None title: ajiss-1321 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1145 flesch: 38 summary: Instead, Kamar O. Kamaruzaman (International Islamic University Malaysia) led with her “From Theological Discourses to Interfaith Dialogues: Al-Faruqi’s Inter-religious Engage- ments.” Gisela Webb (Seton Hall University, USA) led with her “Isma`il al- Faruqi on Art: Interpretation, Integration, and Inspiration.” keywords: faruqi; islamic; university cache: ajiss-1321.pdf plain text: ajiss-1321.txt item: #256 of 2012 id: ajiss-1322 author: None title: ajiss-1322 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1489 flesch: 35 summary: The event’s advertising and signage played with the tropes of overwrit- ten and overlooked, suggesting that veiled women can be both silenced and subjected to “therapeutic, punitive attention” (Edward Said, Covering Islam, xxxv-vi). She discussed her fieldwork and theory related to veiled women working in fashion retail in London and how dress codes, reli- gious practices, and fashion trends are negotiated in that space. keywords: islamic; panel; university; veil; women cache: ajiss-1322.pdf plain text: ajiss-1322.txt item: #257 of 2012 id: ajiss-1323 author: None title: ajiss-1323 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1036 flesch: 26 summary: Those participants who objected to including a paper from an illegally built institution of higher learning clearly stated their points, while ISIS president and council members defended their decision. Dozens of academics affili- ated with academic institutions in North America, Europe, and Israel, including well-known names such as Noam Chomsky, signed petitions urg- ing ISIS to disinvite the scholar or at least have him present as independent scholar and not as affiliated with Ariel University. keywords: isis; society; university; women cache: ajiss-1323.pdf plain text: ajiss-1323.txt item: #258 of 2012 id: ajiss-1324 author: None title: ajiss-1324 date: 2020-06-19 words: 986 flesch: 31 summary: After the initial remarks made by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (secretary gen- eral, OIC) and Jorge Sampaio (UN High Representative for the AoC), the roundtable was addressed by a host of speakers and representatives of inter- nationally reputed institutions, among them Marc de Brinchambaut (secre- tary general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), Irina Bokova (director general, UNESCO), Mevlüt Çavusoglu (president, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe), André Azoulay (presi- dent, the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation), and Mike Hardy (program leader, Intercultural Leader, the British Council). On 27 May 2010, a roundtable on “Addressing Islamophobia: Building on Unused Opportunities for Mutual Respect and Inclusion” took place on the sidelines of the Alliance of Civilizations’ Third Global Forum. keywords: alliance; civilizations; oic cache: ajiss-1324.pdf plain text: ajiss-1324.txt item: #259 of 2012 id: ajiss-1325 author: None title: ajiss-1325 date: 2020-06-19 words: 2524 flesch: 46 summary: But the irony remains that while many Muslims do not understand what and why it is said, most of those who do understand it seem not to hear it well or pay proper attention to its message. Rightly identified as embodying God’s specific admonition to Muslims, and as one that is worth constant pondering, this verse is cited regardless of the khutbah’s topic partly to imprint its message on the attendees’ minds. keywords: ibn; islamic; message; muslims; radicalism; verse cache: ajiss-1325.pdf plain text: ajiss-1325.txt item: #260 of 2012 id: ajiss-1326 author: None title: ajiss-1326 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1353 flesch: 44 summary: The problem is that in the process of suggesting the means and methods of how to do so, An- Naim contests Islamic values as relative, infusing them with ambiguity, as a prelude to essentializing western values and structures of state, constitution- alism, human rights, and citizenship as universal and deterministic. Thus, ajiss27-2-final-obay.qxp 6/9/2010 4:42 PM Page 96 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com implementing the Shari’ah is “impossible,” Islamic societies have “chosen” to be bound by a minimum level of national and international obligations, and in case of any doubts, these “facts” are “irreversible” (p. 19). keywords: islamic; state cache: ajiss-1326.pdf plain text: ajiss-1326.txt item: #261 of 2012 id: ajiss-1327 author: None title: ajiss-1327 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1270 flesch: 44 summary: Sage- man also explains the difference between internal terrorism, which tries to change the regime inside the country (a topic with which his book does not deal) and global terror (aimed at Europe and the United States). Any perceived injustice to a Muslim Arab can turn into a trigger for joining global terror. keywords: book; chapter; terror; terrorism cache: ajiss-1327.pdf plain text: ajiss-1327.txt item: #262 of 2012 id: ajiss-1328 author: None title: ajiss-1328 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1329 flesch: 31 summary: Hallaq has built a new contribution upon these foundations, however, the most important of which is the charting of a new trajectory for Islamic legal studies that is both deeply engaged with social science theoretical projects and sharply aware of the implications of the aca- demic study of Islamic law for contemporary politics. His synthetic account analyzes Islam’s early development, the growth of legal institutions and Islamic elites, the rise of empire, as well as capitalism 102 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 27:2 ajiss27-2-final-obay.qxp 6/9/2010 4:42 PM Page 102 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com and the state – all of which have impacted Islamic law and must therefore be part of the analytic framework for research and study. keywords: islamic; law; state cache: ajiss-1328.pdf plain text: ajiss-1328.txt item: #263 of 2012 id: ajiss-1329 author: None title: ajiss-1329 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1123 flesch: 40 summary: On the other hand, the authors are cognizant of the lim- itations of the concept of “public sphere” when applied to Islamic contexts. Islam Dot Com belongs to the line of thought that seeks to discover how the Internet has been associated with Islam and the extent to which it may be thought to contribute to its democratization by providing a truly public sphere in which interested peo- ple can participate. keywords: chapter; islam; new cache: ajiss-1329.pdf plain text: ajiss-1329.txt item: #264 of 2012 id: ajiss-1330 author: None title: ajiss-1330 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1106 flesch: 50 summary: This history should be considered an important secondary source for oral history of the earlier Babi period, since Afnan was himself from the Bab’s family, spent most of his life in the Bab’s house, and heard stories about the Bab from older family members as he was growing up. Afnan focuses on those events related to the Baha’i religion that took place in Shiraz: an account of the first Baha’is in the city to be executed for their beliefs, Shirazi Baha’i involvement in Iran’s Constitutional Revolution, efforts to repair and restore the Bab’s house, and the challenges posed to the city’s Baha’is by those groups and individuals who opposed the religion. keywords: afnan; bab; history cache: ajiss-1330.pdf plain text: ajiss-1330.txt item: #265 of 2012 id: ajiss-1331 author: None title: ajiss-1331 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1214 flesch: 20 summary: Latif argues that contrary to Marxist expectations, it was the secular and clerical intelligentsia hailing from various class backgrounds, rather than the dominant economic class, that became independent Indonesia’s dominant political elite. Latif concludes by summarizing his findings of synchronic and diachronic change and continuity within and across six gen- erations of Indonesia’s Muslim intelligentsia. keywords: intelligentsia; latif; muslim cache: ajiss-1331.pdf plain text: ajiss-1331.txt item: #266 of 2012 id: ajiss-1332 author: None title: ajiss-1332 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1239 flesch: 46 summary: He shows that Arab writings (e.g., those of Hisham Sharabi and Leonard Binder) are subjective and analyzes the underlying assumptions and princi- ples, among them that Israel is a passing episode; that its presence has the 112 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 27:2 ajiss27-2-final-obay.qxp 6/9/2010 4:42 PM In the “Introduction,” Barari explains what prompted him to write this book and provides background information on the Middle East problem; the opinions and approaches of Arab scholars toward Israel; how the outcome of the Six Day War affected scholarly writing about Israel in, for example, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon; and the obstacles that prevent objective writ- ing about Israel. keywords: arab; chapter; israel cache: ajiss-1332.pdf plain text: ajiss-1332.txt item: #267 of 2012 id: ajiss-1333 author: None title: ajiss-1333 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1202 flesch: 55 summary: It is also unfair to criticize him for the dearth of his references (e.g., he relies too heavily on al-Baydawi and al-Qastallani for his legal references) or on the shallowness of some of his discussions (e.g., the evidences for those who negated or affirmed qiyas are rather sparse for a work of this caliber), for numerous original works, some of them primary, were unavailable to him. A final supplement contains the Arabic text of portions of Ibn Hazm’s Ibtal al-Qiyas and other relevant works. keywords: chapter; goldziher cache: ajiss-1333.pdf plain text: ajiss-1333.txt item: #268 of 2012 id: ajiss-1334 author: None title: ajiss-1334 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1293 flesch: 42 summary: Clearly the former tradition dominated, for even a cur- sory examination of the manuscript traditions and texts in libraries attests to this imbalance. Since translation is a process of cultural exchange, it is important to pay attention to details and formulations. keywords: rhetoric; text; translation cache: ajiss-1334.pdf plain text: ajiss-1334.txt item: #269 of 2012 id: ajiss-1335 author: None title: ajiss-1335 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1081 flesch: 34 summary: Van Bladel’s study is divided into two parts: (1) the background and intellectual formation of the Arabic Hermes located in the tripartite history of Islamic learned culture located in Hellenic late antiquity, Sasanian Iran, and those elusive Sabeans of Harran and (2) an examination of the shift from the concept of Hermes Trismegistus, the thrice-Hermes of the doxographies, to the notion of Hermes-Idris as the prophetic sage and teacher and the proliferation of wisdom sayings associated with him, some of which are extracted and adapted (though not many) from the Greek Hermetica, which in itself survives due to its existence with Gnostic cor- pora in late antique Egypt, not least the Nag Hammadi codices. The publication of Kevin van Bladel’s revised Yale doctoral dissertation is a wonderfully solid historical masterpiece that greatly contributes to our understanding of certain strands of intellectual transmission in the late antique Near East, as well as disabuses us of many a myth about the pres- ence of Hermes and hermeticism in classical Islamic learned culture. keywords: arabic; hermes; islamic cache: ajiss-1335.pdf plain text: ajiss-1335.txt item: #270 of 2012 id: ajiss-1336 author: None title: ajiss-1336 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1297 flesch: 34 summary: Working in the realm of politicized dream accounts, Sholeh Quinn focuses on the numer- ous renarrations of Shaykh Safi al-Din’s dreams in late Safavid historio- graphical texts. Also in a sociopolitical vein, Yehoshua Frenkel employs a self-described “functionalist” approach to analyzing dream accounts in Mamluk-era historiographical texts and asserts that Mamluk chroniclers, as social elites, utilized the dreams’ otherworldly authority to create a sense of order in an otherwise chaotic sociopolitical environment. keywords: accounts; dreams; interpretation; islamic cache: ajiss-1336.pdf plain text: ajiss-1336.txt item: #271 of 2012 id: ajiss-1337 author: None title: ajiss-1337 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1008 flesch: 43 summary: John Renard provides an insight into Islamic mysticism, identifies a range of Sufi concepts, and shows that new Sufi concepts could coexist alongside older ones. Tales of God’s Friends: Islamic Hagiography in Translation, an anthology that honors Sufis from every corner of the Muslim world, provides an easily accessible overview of Sufism’s history and the particularities of individual Sufi experiences that helped spread Islam throughout the world. keywords: book; hagiography; islamic; sufi; tales cache: ajiss-1337.pdf plain text: ajiss-1337.txt item: #272 of 2012 id: ajiss-1338 author: None title: ajiss-1338 date: 2020-06-19 words: 902 flesch: 42 summary: Dr. Ghaly’s Islam and Disability is an important contribution to the study of disability in Islamic law and theology, especially since only in recent years (according to Ghaly, since 1997 Chapter 8 focuses on the means provided by Islamic law to financially support people with disabilities, such as nafaqah, waqf ahli and waqf khayri, mahr, and zakat. keywords: chapter; disability; islamic cache: ajiss-1338.pdf plain text: ajiss-1338.txt item: #273 of 2012 id: ajiss-1339 author: None title: ajiss-1339 date: 2020-06-19 words: 4282 flesch: 48 summary: Her work focused on introducing healthier alternatives to a community subjected to an illegal proliferation of liquor stores. All the spaces that could accommodate groceries are taken over by liquor stores.” keywords: african; american; arab; community; interview; liquor; liquor stores; muslim; oakland; stores; yemeni cache: ajiss-1339.pdf plain text: ajiss-1339.txt item: #274 of 2012 id: ajiss-1340 author: None title: ajiss-1340 date: 2020-06-19 words: 3774 flesch: 41 summary: Shura, regarded both as an alternative for and as synonymous with democracy, is located in the historical context by presenting examples from the prophetic and pious caliphate periods as well as with modern reinterpre- tations in order to lay the foundations of “Islamic democracy.” A strong advocate of free- dom, individuality, and equality, as well as fraternity and unity, all of which are necessary ingredients of liberal democracy, he stressed the last three and thus concluded that democracy was Islam’s most important political ideal.5 His recognition of democracy was Islamic, however, for he believed in the representation of God on Earth. keywords: democracy; government; islamic; muslim; principles; rule; shura; system cache: ajiss-1340.pdf plain text: ajiss-1340.txt item: #275 of 2012 id: ajiss-1342 author: None title: ajiss-1342 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1343 flesch: 43 summary: The second parallel session, chaired by Naim Hj Ahmad (USIM), fea- tured Zulkefli Hj Aini (Kolej University Islam), Mohd Roslan Mohd Nor (UM), Mohd Fauzi bin Mohd Amin (USIM), and Ahmad Fakhrurrazi b. Mohd Zabidi (UKM). The third parallel session consisted of Hajah Aynah bt Haji Yaakub (Department of Community Development, Brunei), Fariza bt Md Sham (UKM), Ratna Roshida Ab Razak (University Science Malaysia), Siti Rugayah Haji Tibek (UKM), and Syahiran Abd Latif (University Technol- ogy Malaysia keywords: abd; islam; malaysia; parallel; peace; session; university cache: ajiss-1342.pdf plain text: ajiss-1342.txt item: #276 of 2012 id: ajiss-1343 author: None title: ajiss-1343 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1308 flesch: 33 summary: In clos- Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 153 ajiss27-2-final-obay.qxp 6/9/2010 4:42 PM Page 153 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com ing, he said that while media coverage of Muslims seems to have improved in recent years, a great amount of progress still needs to be made. With respect to the former, Walid stressed that most media immediately broadcast government allega- tions of the imam’s suspected links to terrorism as unquestioned fact. keywords: media; msu; muslim; university cache: ajiss-1343.pdf plain text: ajiss-1343.txt item: #277 of 2012 id: ajiss-1344 author: None title: ajiss-1344 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1133 flesch: 37 summary: Clarissa Vierke’s (Bayreuth University) “Kala Shairi: Writing Swahili Poetry in Arabic Script,” examined, among others issues, how this poetry was shaped by and shapes manuscript writing in East Africa. Mohammed Chtatou (ISESCO), used his “Using Arabic Script in Writing African Languages (by) Revisiting ISESCO’s Experience 25 Years Later: Field Successes and Shortcoming” to overview ISESCO’s ambitious cultural and educational undertakings, which began in the 1980s, and how it adopted a particular scientific methodology to implement its program and devise a standardized system for many African languages. keywords: africa; arabic; script; university cache: ajiss-1344.pdf plain text: ajiss-1344.txt item: #278 of 2012 id: ajiss-1345 author: None title: ajiss-1345 date: 2020-06-19 words: 2003 flesch: 52 summary: Earthquakes happen due to geological fault lines located all over the world,6 regardless of whether people obey God or not. For instance, how does Robertson know that God is taking revenge on the Haitians, especially with the over- whelming evidence that the country is located close to one of the earthquake fault lines and thus is poised to experience earthquakes? keywords: earthquake; evil; god; islamic; robertson cache: ajiss-1345.pdf plain text: ajiss-1345.txt item: #279 of 2012 id: ajiss-1347 author: None title: ajiss-1347 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1316 flesch: 49 summary: From her stories about her grandparents’ marriage and relationship, we learn about life in Arabia at the beginning of the nine- teenth century; the slave trade; the status of women dominated by men; contemporaneous customs, some of which are still in effect (e.g., marry- ing underage girls and the conditions under which they live); children who grow up mentally immature; decisions that girls must take; divorce laws concerning minors (children remain with their father, so that many women are willing to endure suffering to remain with their children); bigamy; the behavior of Saudi men and women abroad; and more. In chapter 8, “A Television Star,” the reader gains further insight into the situation of divorced women in Saudi society. keywords: chapter; saudi; women cache: ajiss-1347.pdf plain text: ajiss-1347.txt item: #280 of 2012 id: ajiss-1348 author: None title: ajiss-1348 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1223 flesch: 48 summary: Iran’s Long Reach: Iran as a Pivotal State in the Muslim World Suzanne Maloney Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2008. The policy recommendation here appears to be that the United States should encourage and support internal dissension. keywords: iran; policy cache: ajiss-1348.pdf plain text: ajiss-1348.txt item: #281 of 2012 id: ajiss-1349 author: None title: ajiss-1349 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1331 flesch: 19 summary: And while Cornell historian Eric Tagliacozzo notes that several stud- ies deal with the history of the commercial, educational, and religious exchanges between the Hijaz and insular Southeast Asia, making good for the “paucity of historiography of this particular transregional dialogue,” he sees his edited volume as filling the lacuna on “what the parameters of this long-distance dialogue between civilizations have meant over the centuries” (p. 1). Southeast Asia and the Middle East: Islam, Movement, and the Longue Durée Eric Tagliacozzo, ed. keywords: asia; islam; muslim; southeast cache: ajiss-1349.pdf plain text: ajiss-1349.txt item: #282 of 2012 id: ajiss-1350 author: None title: ajiss-1350 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1116 flesch: 37 summary: My introductory anthropology students certainly grasped the book’s message of continuity and change, as they did its view of Muslim women divided by class in a modern city. In so doing, Women of Fes helps the fields of anthropology, sociology, gender studies, and Islamic studies to illuminate the often-neglected power of class to shape gender in the Muslim Middle East and North Africa, demonstrating, not pointedly, that class divides women within as much as across cultures. keywords: class; gender; women cache: ajiss-1350.pdf plain text: ajiss-1350.txt item: #283 of 2012 id: ajiss-1351 author: None title: ajiss-1351 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1004 flesch: 37 summary: I would, however, have liked to have seen the authors contest the Eurocentric term Middle East, which would have taken only a few pages, but is, in my opinion, of significant importance. Part 2 (six chapters) looks at what Cleveland and Bunton term the three main centers of “political authority”: the Ottoman Empire, the autonomous province of Egypt, and the Qajar dynasty of Iran in both the nineteenth and early twentieth (1920; post-WWI and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire) centuries. keywords: book; chapters; islamic cache: ajiss-1351.pdf plain text: ajiss-1351.txt item: #284 of 2012 id: ajiss-1352 author: None title: ajiss-1352 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1341 flesch: 40 summary: Most just war literature readily available to western analysts has produced by western thinkers, and international legal standards on war have been promulgated primarily through western inter- actions. Luban also offers an incisive justification of the laws of war and war crimes trials: “[S]taging war crimes trials is an expressive act plant- ing law’s flag in contested moral terrain” (p. 287). keywords: jus; torture; war cache: ajiss-1352.pdf plain text: ajiss-1352.txt item: #285 of 2012 id: ajiss-1353 author: None title: ajiss-1353 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1488 flesch: 48 summary: John Kelsay, in this wonderfully succinct and accessible work, wants to argue that the real issue in discussing jihad is to make sense of legit- imate violence and how it may be deployed, and hence to locate the discourse within an existing discussion about just war theory. I am not generally sym- pathetic to the use of the comparable frame of just war theory because, as a juridical and ethical concept it is rather limited, arising as it does out of a par- ticular politico-theological context of medieval Catholicism. keywords: chapter; reasoning; war cache: ajiss-1353.pdf plain text: ajiss-1353.txt item: #286 of 2012 id: ajiss-1354 author: None title: ajiss-1354 date: 2020-06-19 words: 984 flesch: 37 summary: Those looking for answers regarding the possibilities for mutual co-existence between Mus- lim and non-Muslim states on the basis of mutual equality will be severely disappointed. Instead, he could have traced the emergence of a truly international customary law that bound both Muslim and non-Muslim powers. keywords: islamic; muslim; non cache: ajiss-1354.pdf plain text: ajiss-1354.txt item: #287 of 2012 id: ajiss-1355 author: None title: ajiss-1355 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1473 flesch: 50 summary: Unfortunately, while relying on the Qur’an as source material was an important view in the sec- ond and third centuries, no works by its proponents have survived, and thus we are forced to rely on refutations and comments in other works to learn about them. The author’s main purpose is to show that modern Muslim thinkers who question 132 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 27:1 ajiss-27-1-final-obay.qxp 6/9/2010 4:06 PM Page 132 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com its status as a source of law are not the first ones to do so and thus cannot be dismissed as inauthentic aberrations or the results of a western, colonialist plot to undermine Islam. keywords: authority; hadith; scripture cache: ajiss-1355.pdf plain text: ajiss-1355.txt item: #288 of 2012 id: ajiss-1356 author: None title: ajiss-1356 date: 2020-06-19 words: 5628 flesch: 43 summary: Although Imam Khomeini had not rejected the proposed federation of the Islamic states during his exile in suburban Paris,9 his main theme was “one great Islamic state” as he lectured to the Kuwaiti mission on 26 Febru- ary 1979: I hope that all Islamic nations who have been disintegrated and take oppo- site side to each other due to the miss propaganda of the foreigners, wake up and be with each other and build one great Islamic state, one state under the flag of “No god but Allah,” and this state dominate the whole world.10 Khomeini’s idea of velayate faqih was essentially incorporated into the Islamic Republic of Iran’s new constitution, ratified in 1980, which itself represented “an honest aspiration of the Islamic Ummah.” This essentially Manichaean dichotomy between the mate- rial and spiritual is well known in the intellectual history of the Middle East; however, Imam Khomeini was the first intellectual in modern times to inter- ject it into the discourse of Iran’s foreign policy. keywords: foreign; government; imam; iran; iranian; islamic; islamic revolution; khomeini; policy; revolution; world cache: ajiss-1356.pdf plain text: ajiss-1356.txt item: #289 of 2012 id: ajiss-1357 author: None title: ajiss-1357 date: 2020-06-19 words: 3390 flesch: 55 summary: This is an index of his art: it compels us to think harder than we otherwise might about both whether, and if so how, religions can achieve Gulliver’s momentary insight and eloquence and then sustain them over time. Is there a place where religion, the public good, and the research uni- versity intersect? keywords: faith; gulliver; religion; research; swift; university cache: ajiss-1357.pdf plain text: ajiss-1357.txt item: #290 of 2012 id: ajiss-1358 author: None title: ajiss-1358 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1220 flesch: 27 summary: Participants also heard from Acikgenc, who concentrated on the “Turkish Experience in Islamic Education: Past, Present and Future” and provided a historical overview of Muslim education in Turkey. Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports Globalization: Its Impact on and Challenges to Education in the Muslim World More than thirty years ago, the first World Conference on Muslim Education embarked upon the “Islamization of Knowledge,” a process articulated and expounded upon by the late Ismail Raji al-Faruqi (Temple University) and Naguib al-Attas, retired (ISTAC, Malaysia). keywords: education; islamic; muslim cache: ajiss-1358.pdf plain text: ajiss-1358.txt item: #291 of 2012 id: ajiss-1359 author: None title: ajiss-1359 date: 2020-06-19 words: 1486 flesch: 35 summary: The talk by Sophia A. McClennen (associate professor of comparative literature, Spanish, and women’s studies and director of the graduate pro- gram in comparative literature, Pennsylvania State University), was titled “Neoliberalism as Terrorism; or State of Disaster Exceptionalism.” The morning started with Christian Moraru (professor of English, University of North Carolina, Greensboro), who spoke on “Higher Educa- tion: 9/11, Cosmopolitan Literacy, and the New Pedagogical Imperative.” keywords: education; professor; terror; university; war cache: ajiss-1359.pdf plain text: ajiss-1359.txt item: #292 of 2012 id: ajiss-1360 author: None title: ajiss-1360 date: 2020-06-19 words: 3725 flesch: 35 summary: In the midst of all these dramatic events, Muslim women in Britain began to take centre stage […] Much of this coverage portrayed Muslim women as the subjugated victims of oppressive patriarchal cultures, with a wide- spread assumption that they are one large homogenous group […] the experiences of women [in] these countries, is unique to them – just as it is for women in the UK or US. Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so – for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward. keywords: gender; islam; islamic; muslim; pdf; rights; social; trial; version; women cache: ajiss-1360.pdf plain text: ajiss-1360.txt item: #293 of 2012 id: ajiss-1363 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 3051 flesch: 57 summary: Therefore, the shift to the proper name must have occurred when the Arabs added al to ilah (al-ilah) and specifi- cally reserved that term for the supreme being, God, all the while referring to other gods as ilah/aliha and particularly relating them to tribes, clans, peo- ple (e.g., ilah bani fulan: god of such and such people).8 One would be justified in postulating that al-ilah is both the point of connection and of break for Allah with its etymological roots. Recently there was a discussion on the American Academy of Religion list- serve’s “Islam” section on whether “Allah” is simply a noun or a proper name of God and whether English-speaking Muslims should use “God” instead of “Allah.” keywords: ajiss; allah; god; ilah; muslims; qur’an; use cache: ajiss-1363.pdf plain text: ajiss-1363.txt item: #294 of 2012 id: ajiss-1364 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1156 flesch: 47 summary: Couched in moral language and endeavoring to preempt possible shifts in foreign policy attitudes, this six-part book attempts to subtly and indirectly weave Israeli interests into American policy and upcoming decision-making processes. In so doing, Etzioni seeks to limit references to Israel to give the reader the impression that he is dealing with issues over and beyond – a form of reorienting the reader’s attention through focal deception while “playing the same tune – on a different instrument” (p. xii). keywords: policy; security cache: ajiss-1364.pdf plain text: ajiss-1364.txt item: #295 of 2012 id: ajiss-1365 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1032 flesch: 47 summary: The question of why al-Biqa`i relied so heavily on the Hebrew Bible and Christian Gospels, and how he defended his decision to do so, is the sub- ject of both the Aqwal and Saleh’s introduction to his critical edition of this medieval text. Clearly, al-Biqa`i saw his role as that of a collector; the Bible, there- fore, did not serve as the sole basis for his commentary, as his enemies would have us believe, but rather as one of the many respected sources that he quotes. keywords: bible; saleh cache: ajiss-1365.pdf plain text: ajiss-1365.txt item: #296 of 2012 id: ajiss-1366 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1232 flesch: 40 summary: Consider- ing the complexity of problems currently facing Muslims, it is impossible for a text specialist to assimilate the whole range of those sciences – not even a council of religious scholars would suffice, since those fields of knowledge are largely outside of their own area of expertise. As he points out, religious scholars live in autarchy; well removed from research in the exact, experimental, and social sciences; and reliant upon scanty information to issue legal rulings about realities and con- texts that are inevitably beyond their understanding. keywords: islamic; ramadan; scholars cache: ajiss-1366.pdf plain text: ajiss-1366.txt item: #297 of 2012 id: ajiss-1367 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1204 flesch: 26 summary: Given his project to provide a foundation for Islamic biomedical ethics, chapter 2 is critical as a normative framework for Sachedina’s discussion of biomedical problems. Whether it is foundational for Islamic biomedical ethics depends in part on epistemological prejudices and expectations (e.g., a “modest” or “radical” foundation). keywords: ethics; islamic; sachedina cache: ajiss-1367.pdf plain text: ajiss-1367.txt item: #298 of 2012 id: ajiss-1368 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1154 flesch: 37 summary: She examines the fundamental disagreements over the interpretation of the authoritative corpus on how to realize Islamic practices and virtues that, in his context, occupied center stage. This work is an excellent contribution to discussions on Islamic reform efforts, for it challenges the assumptions underlying scholarly treatments of Islamic reform movements. keywords: abduh; islamic; tradition cache: ajiss-1368.pdf plain text: ajiss-1368.txt item: #299 of 2012 id: ajiss-1369 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1012 flesch: 52 summary: 6/9/2010 4:15 PM Page 116 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com the treatment in Nerina Rustomji, The Garden and the Fire: Heaven and Hell in Islamic Culture 6/9/2010 4:15 PM Page 117 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com Ibn Hibban (d. 965) and al-Bayhaqi (d. 1066), and the Sufis al-Sulami (d. 1021) and al-Qushayri (d. 1072). keywords: ibn cache: ajiss-1369.pdf plain text: ajiss-1369.txt item: #300 of 2012 id: ajiss-1370 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1102 flesch: 45 summary: In fact, the whole of chapter 3 deals with how mainstream Islamic sites serve as extensions of “real- world” Islam by providing basic information (e.g., prayer direction and times) or more complex services (e.g., online zakat payments). In his new book iMuslims: Rewiring the House of Islam, Gary Bunt builds upon the research represented in his two previous books: Virtually Islamic (Oxford University Press: 2000) and Islam in the Digital Age (Pluto Press: 2003). keywords: bunt; chapter; islamic cache: ajiss-1370.pdf plain text: ajiss-1370.txt item: #301 of 2012 id: ajiss-1371 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1141 flesch: 51 summary: In sum, non-specialists are better off reading selected articles in the Cambridge History of Iran or general histories that deal with more circum- scribed periods of time. Although the author points out the defects of nationalistic history, his methodology is based upon some of the same problematic assumptions. keywords: book; history cache: ajiss-1371.pdf plain text: ajiss-1371.txt item: #302 of 2012 id: ajiss-1372 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1293 flesch: 55 summary: 6/9/2010 4:15 PM Page 124 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/diglib/books/K-O/M/maceoin/ http://www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com moot by the work of Todd Lawson (Ph.D. thesis, Gnostic Apocalypse in Islam: The Literary Beginnings of the Babi Movement As such, this book does not consti- tute new research and must be regarded more as a retrospective on one schol- ar’s work. keywords: book; page; thesis; work cache: ajiss-1372.pdf plain text: ajiss-1372.txt item: #303 of 2012 id: ajiss-1373 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1000 flesch: 39 summary: Ewing’s nuanced analysis of German responses to an honor killing highlights how Islam, honor, and the oppres- sion of women are believed to be central to Turkish Muslim identity, when, in fact, socioeconomic marginalization is a more likely candidate for blame. German responses to the often sensationalistic media coverage of such events demonstrate that the presence of Turkish Muslims highlights anxieties about German identity and provokes discriminatory, nationalistic representations of Germanness, including ideals of belonging that Turkish Muslims can never hope to fulfill. keywords: honor; muslim; turkish cache: ajiss-1373.pdf plain text: ajiss-1373.txt item: #304 of 2012 id: ajiss-1374 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1092 flesch: 54 summary: A surprising and thought- provoking revelation made toward the end of the chapter is that feminist the- orists have not discussed disabled women. Disabled bodies are valued less in this system. keywords: chapter; disability; women cache: ajiss-1374.pdf plain text: ajiss-1374.txt item: #305 of 2012 id: ajiss-1375 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1318 flesch: 25 summary: In a concise but evocative historical précis, she shows how “anti-Arab racism represents a recurring process of the construction of the Other within U.S. liberal politics in which long-term trends of racial exclusion become intensified within moments of crisis in the body politic…” (p. 31). Foregrounding the complexities of Arab-American racial formation as a critical site of inquiry in the introduction, Nadine Naber calls for moving beyond the usual liberal multiculturalist “add on” approach in order to consider “the shifting and contradictory historical contexts through which Arab Americans have engaged with immigration, assimilation, and racialization” (p. 4). keywords: american; arab; race; racial cache: ajiss-1375.pdf plain text: ajiss-1375.txt item: #306 of 2012 id: ajiss-1376 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 4536 flesch: 47 summary: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp Forum “Earned Europeanness”: Turkey and Diaspora Turks in Europe Although the young and beautiful Europa was kidnapped by Zeus, the most important hero of Greek mythology, she has given a general identity to that continent which bears her name. Turkey’s role as the “other,” at least in regard to Europe, continues to be valid even today, despite the desire of the Turks. keywords: ajiss; countries; european; europeanness; identity; integration; migrants; turkey; turkish; turks cache: ajiss-1376.pdf plain text: ajiss-1376.txt item: #307 of 2012 id: ajiss-1377 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 2186 flesch: 39 summary: Panel 7, “Public Role of Muslim Women” and chaired by Katherine Bullock (University of Toronto), began with a joint presentation by Noor Mohammad Osmani (International Islamic University-Malaysia [IIU-M]), Abu Umar Faruq Ahmad (Sule College), and Md. Panel 6, “Cultural Identity and Islam” and chaired by Zakyi Ibrahim (California State University), began with Mumtaz Ahmad’s (Hampton Uni- versity) “Ulema and Their Attitudes toward U.S.: keywords: american; discussant; islam; islamic; muslim; panel; university; uva cache: ajiss-1377.pdf plain text: ajiss-1377.txt item: #308 of 2012 id: ajiss-1378 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 2315 flesch: 52 summary: Candidate Obama pledged to end the war in Iraq, support the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel, and combine military action in Afghanistan and Pakistan with considerable American resources for nation-building and economic development. The pre- sentations addressed Iran’s nuclear program, Arab-Israeli relations, Iraq and Afghanistan, Darfur, and studies comparing Obama with Malcolm X and Japan’s new prime minister Yukio Haroyama. keywords: africa; american; muslim; obama; president; relations; university; world cache: ajiss-1378.pdf plain text: ajiss-1378.txt item: #309 of 2012 id: ajiss-1379 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-4-final-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 982 flesch: 28 summary: 6/9/2010 4:15 PM Page 156 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com http://www.iranoworld.ir) http://www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com ments; Session 7: Energy and Economy Developments; Session 8: Cultural and Social Developments; Session 9: The Islamic Revolution and Iran’s Foreign Policy Development; Session 10: Military Strategy Developments; Session 11: The Islamic Revolution and Iran’s Foreign Policy Develop- ments; and Session 12: Global and Regional Developments. Bahram Navazeni Professor of Political Science and Conference Secretary Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran 158 keywords: developments; iran; session; world cache: ajiss-1379.pdf plain text: ajiss-1379.txt item: #310 of 2012 id: ajiss-1380 author: None title: ajiss-1380 date: 2020-06-23 words: 4702 flesch: 57 summary: Editorial African Islam and Islam in Africa: Between Exceptionalism and Marginality Sub-Saharan Africa is often regarded as part of the periphery, rather than part of the center, of the Muslim world. Are there unique aspects of African Islam? keywords: africa; arabic; bilal; black; egypt; history; islam; islamic; muslim; words cache: ajiss-1380.pdf plain text: ajiss-1380.txt item: #311 of 2012 id: ajiss-1381 author: None title: ajiss-1381 date: 2020-06-23 words: 1493 flesch: 38 summary: The second chapter, Ashraf Docrat’s “Sufism and Political Islam in Africa,” is somewhat disappointing in that it shifts from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the late twentieth century without ever satisfactorily analyzing Sufism as a form of political Islam. The editors of this text, which focuses on the nature of political Islam and the nation-state on the African continent, have brought together a crop of scholars with divergent views. keywords: islam; muslim; religion; state cache: ajiss-1381.pdf plain text: ajiss-1381.txt item: #312 of 2012 id: ajiss-1382 author: None title: ajiss-1382 date: 2020-06-23 words: 1548 flesch: 44 summary: Roderick J. McIntosh provides us with an insight into its archaeological and geographical setting in his “Before Timbuktu: Cities of the Elder World”; Jonathan M. Bloom argues that the history of “Paper in Soudanic Africa” dif- fers from that observed in the other parts of the Muslim heartland; Sheila Blair highlights the characteristics of the West African Arabic script, Qur’anic manuscripts, and the development of “Arabic calligraphy in West Africa”; and Timothy Cleaveland corrects some of the mistaken views about West Africa’s medieval education institutions in his “Timbuktu and Walata: Line- ages and Higher Education.” Jeppie, the lead editor, reflects upon “Re/discov- ering Timbuktu,” and Diagne shares his ideas on “Toward an Intellectual History of West Africa: keywords: africa; arabic; book; timbuktu; west cache: ajiss-1382.pdf plain text: ajiss-1382.txt item: #313 of 2012 id: ajiss-1383 author: None title: ajiss-1383 date: 2020-06-23 words: 1648 flesch: 42 summary: According Kamrava, Khomeini’s Islamic republic differs greatly from the one of Khamenei that, in turn, differs drastically from the version of Islamic government espoused by the likes of Mesbah Yazdi. After President Ahmadinejad’s victory in the 2005 presidential election, Mesbah Yazdi asserted that elections were no longer needed as Iran finally had its first Islamic government, words many Shi`ites interpreted as an insult directed at Khomeini. keywords: iran; islamic; khomeini; right cache: ajiss-1383.pdf plain text: ajiss-1383.txt item: #314 of 2012 id: ajiss-1384 author: None title: ajiss-1384 date: 2020-06-23 words: 1443 flesch: 48 summary: Reliving Karbala is a significant contribution to the existing scholarship on Karbala. Most studies on the epic events in Karbala and the martyrdom in 680 of Husayn, the Prophet’s grandson, have focused on the possible ramifications of his sacrifice and the paradigmatic models that can be constructed from this event. keywords: husayn; hyder; karbala; shi`i cache: ajiss-1384.pdf plain text: ajiss-1384.txt item: #315 of 2012 id: ajiss-1385 author: None title: ajiss-1385 date: 2020-06-23 words: 1402 flesch: 34 summary: Federspiel sketches a three-stage scenario replicated at various places in insular Southeast Asia. One of the earliest centers of an emerging Southeast Asian Muslim soci- ety was the port of Melaka (Malacca), located on the eponymous sea straits between the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra. keywords: asia; islamic; muslim; southeast cache: ajiss-1385.pdf plain text: ajiss-1385.txt item: #316 of 2012 id: ajiss-1386 author: None title: ajiss-1386 date: 2020-06-23 words: 1049 flesch: 51 summary: The remaining sections address, respectively, the key concepts found in the Muslim world, social work education in Islam, gender relations and the family’s centrality, common issues that social workers come across when working with Muslim families, health issues, and, lastly, crime, victim- ization, and criminal justice in Muslim communities. Social workers who are unfamiliar with Islam should not, however, assume that they will be able to understand Mus- lims simply by reading this book, for the concepts discussed are far more complex than this book indicates. keywords: authors; islam; islamic cache: ajiss-1386.pdf plain text: ajiss-1386.txt item: #317 of 2012 id: ajiss-1387 author: None title: ajiss-1387 date: 2020-06-23 words: 1244 flesch: 46 summary: Knight does not present answers to what “American Islam” must look like, but he knows that “Saudi Islam” is different from “Pakistani Islam” and different again from “African Islam,” and thus there is no reason why some- thing distinctive should not emerge. Novels are ideal vehicles for learning and teaching about the situation of modern Islam. keywords: american; book; islam cache: ajiss-1387.pdf plain text: ajiss-1387.txt item: #318 of 2012 id: ajiss-1388 author: None title: ajiss-1388 date: 2020-06-23 words: 1367 flesch: 36 summary: Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 151 ajiss 26-3-final-obay.qxp 6/9/2010 4:11 PM Page 151 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com 152 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 26:3 This was the last parallel session of the first day of the seminar’s second sit- ting, which consisted of Ahad Gholizadeh Manghutay (University of Isfa- han), Jendrius and Heri Candra, Mahadi Ahmad (International Islamic Uni- versity Malaysia [IIUM]), and Sherin Kunhibaya (Monash University). H. Ahmad Mukri Aji (State Islamic University, Jakarta) spoke on Indonesia’s attempt to ensure the law’s supremacy as regards all people, regardless of their social or any other position, to protect and serve the soci- ety’s stability, and how the Prophet insisted upon personal equality before the law. keywords: ahmad; islamic; law; parallel; session; shari`ah; university cache: ajiss-1388.pdf plain text: ajiss-1388.txt item: #319 of 2012 id: ajiss-1389 author: None title: ajiss-1389 date: 2020-06-23 words: 1138 flesch: 29 summary: The following panel, “Fethullah Gülen: Sources and Tradi- tions,” made important contributions to our knowledge of Gülen’s intellec- tual and religious background with presentations scrutinizing his approach to Qur’anic exegesis and Sufism, as well as his relationship to the tradition of the Naqshbandi brotherhood. Barton, on the contrary, set out to situate the Gülen movement in the context of modern Islamic social movements of various strands, which, due to its particularities and comparatively recent emergence, proved to be an impor- tant but difficult task. keywords: dialogue; gülen; movement cache: ajiss-1389.pdf plain text: ajiss-1389.txt item: #320 of 2012 id: ajiss-1390 author: None title: ajiss-1390 date: 2020-06-23 words: 1003 flesch: 30 summary: Tellingly, it became evident during the conference that a number of other scholars felt uneasy with using the term and opted for such expressions as anti-Muslim prejudice or anti-Islam discourse instead. Eventually, Irfan Ahmad rightfully stressed, anti-Islamic dis- course in the West as well as in places such as India is closely related to the desire of majority populations to protect an idealized status quo in an imag- ined home, which is constantly threatened by the tireless forces of (for example, demographic) change. keywords: conference; discourse; islamic cache: ajiss-1390.pdf plain text: ajiss-1390.txt item: #321 of 2012 id: ajiss-1393 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 2580 flesch: 47 summary: Owing to the contents of their deliberations and the aggressive push on the part of their disciples, classical jurists have enjoyed immense credibility among Muslims of all generations. The tacit belief that classical scholars, individually or collectively, had a monopoly on absolute truth and credibility is a myth that must be aban- doned. keywords: islamic; jurists; muslims; opinions; scholars; shari`ah cache: ajiss-1393.pdf plain text: ajiss-1393.txt item: #322 of 2012 id: ajiss-1394 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1166 flesch: 42 summary: This might seem unduly arrogant on Olivier Roy’s part, but his past landmark books do seem to commend the perspicac- ity of his views on the subject, and most of all, The Failure of Political Islam (Harvard University Press: 1994) and Globalized Islam: The Search for the New Umma (Hurst: 2004). The Chris- tian Right and the Extreme Right’s suspicion of Islam is now shared by a siz- able portion of the Left, which has reacted with fear to the French Muslim community’s new and outspoken rhetoric. keywords: islam; muslim; new; state cache: ajiss-1394.pdf plain text: ajiss-1394.txt item: #323 of 2012 id: ajiss-1395 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 2293 flesch: 46 summary: Thus, I had the chance to check the relevancy of its contents for my students in several undergraduate (“Introduction to the Religion of Islam,” “Readings in the Qur’an,” and “Qur’an Exegesis”) and graduate (“Modern Approaches to Qur’an Interpretation”) courses. McAuliffe’s “Exegetical Sciences” and Binyamin Abrahamov’s “Theology” provide thorough yet fundamental surveys on two issues often taken for granted: the discipline of Qur’an exegesis in its culmination and the Qur’an’s role in Islamic theology. keywords: article; islamic; qur’an; readings; text cache: ajiss-1395.pdf plain text: ajiss-1395.txt item: #324 of 2012 id: ajiss-1396 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1087 flesch: 53 summary: Jewish women choose to cover in an environment that is free of an overarching discourse that by so doing they are oppressed – a lux- ury not available to Muslim women. Carrel’s chapter on Hasidic women’s veiling contains explanations, rationales, and experiences that overlap with those of Muslim women, and yet any sense of defensiveness or embarrassment that often comes across in Muslim women’s accounts is missing. keywords: veil; veiling; women cache: ajiss-1396.pdf plain text: ajiss-1396.txt item: #325 of 2012 id: ajiss-1397 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 824 flesch: 41 summary: This is followed by Robert Mortimer’s examination of Algerian identity through literature. The Maghrib in the New Century: Identity, Religion, and Politics offers a timely addition to the literature on North Africa. keywords: africa; identity; north cache: ajiss-1397.pdf plain text: ajiss-1397.txt item: #326 of 2012 id: ajiss-1398 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1117 flesch: 40 summary: Equally important, Feener argues, Natsir’s under- standing of Islamic law was compromised by his insistence that it should be “simplified” rather than critically reelaborated (p. 87). These young researchers have made Islamic thought in Indonesia available to a global English-language readership for the first time. keywords: chapter; islamic; muslim cache: ajiss-1398.pdf plain text: ajiss-1398.txt item: #327 of 2012 id: ajiss-1399 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1108 flesch: 38 summary: The book’s detailed historical account of the emergence of the Bab and the critical lens through which the author analyzes the impact of Qurrat al-Ayn Tahirih’s fig- ure on the Iranian perceptions of the modern woman are bound to inspire any serious student of Iranian modernity. On page 130, Mottahedeh writes that “current scholarship dedicated to the study of Iranian modernity, of which Babism is a core component, must learn from its ‘object,’ so as not to re-erect the disciplinary and rhetorical ‘veils’ that have proven themselves ineffective over time.” keywords: iran; islamic; modernity cache: ajiss-1399.pdf plain text: ajiss-1399.txt item: #328 of 2012 id: ajiss-1401 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1754 flesch: 31 summary: It is the women and men of Islamic faith (in particular those who wear easily visible traditional religious symbols) who are feared, mistrusted, and considered dangerous or possibly as having an Islamic “fundamentalist” mentality. Zine’s contention that Islamic schools could potentially be sites of pro- duction of counter-hegemonic knowledges in the tradition of anti-colonial 128 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 26:2 ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp 6/9/2010 4:08 PM Page 128 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com http://www.pdffactory.com and integrative racism discourses is very exciting; however, as she admits, this possibility is still probably unrealistic. keywords: faith; islamic; muslim; schools cache: ajiss-1401.pdf plain text: ajiss-1401.txt item: #329 of 2012 id: ajiss-1402 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1231 flesch: 37 summary: In between, he has continued to hone his study of how Muslim traditions have developed in time and in various locales, and, in particular, how they have been affected by their confronta- tion with western traditions of modernity. The “Habermas effect” has three main weaknesses: (1) it ultimately rests on the shaky ground of pri- vate trust; (2) its theory is limited to a western view of the self and citizen- ship and, in the end, to the reach of a hegemonic western culture; and (3) this limitation leaves out the all-pervasive dynamic of religious traditions in most other parts of the world. keywords: islam; salvatore; sphere; tradition cache: ajiss-1402.pdf plain text: ajiss-1402.txt item: #330 of 2012 id: ajiss-1403 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 3838 flesch: 51 summary: However, Harrison has no cause to deduce that this is why “[i]ts oil wealth notwithstanding, Iraq is clearly an under- developed country with a tiny industrial and technological base, a rudimen- tary infrastructure and a largely uneducated, unskilled populace.”5 There was complete free- dom of migration (no serfdom) with collective ownership of land by clans, and massive avenues for non-agricultural wealth thanks to policed trade routes within the vast reaches of the Muslim ‘empire.’ keywords: ajiss; arab; economy; harrison; oil; page; pdf; state; trial; version cache: ajiss-1403.pdf plain text: ajiss-1403.txt item: #331 of 2012 id: ajiss-1404 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 3038 flesch: 49 summary: The Qur’anic Concept of Difference In the Qur’an, the concept of difference carries diverse implications. This difference between peoples seeks to achieve a human value, namely, acquaintance, which represents a supreme model for human cultural contact and is based on the frank acknowledgement of other cultures and the right of other people to develop and nurture their own culture. keywords: acquaintance; difference; god; people; qur’an cache: ajiss-1404.pdf plain text: ajiss-1404.txt item: #332 of 2012 id: ajiss-1405 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1396 flesch: 33 summary: The theme, “Nation, Citizenship, and Belonging: Muslim Cultural Politics in Canada,” brought together academics, emerging scholars, and community activists to explore critical questions about the space in the mid- dle where engaged Muslim Canadians stand. She remarked that this conference sought to ask the difficult questions about whether Muslim Canadians can engage the challenges and move beyond the internal contradictions that inherently shape Muslim cultural politics. keywords: canadians; muslim; panel; university; wlu cache: ajiss-1405.pdf plain text: ajiss-1405.txt item: #333 of 2012 id: ajiss-1406 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1048 flesch: 25 summary: by Ruzita Mohd Amin and Zarinah Hamid (International Islamic University Malaysia), investigated the existing trade potential among the OIC countries and the specific sectors in which tariff reductions can be undertaken in five out of the seventeen OIC countries that have agreed to participate in the Trade Preferential System. The first one, presented by Savas Alpay (director general, the Statistical, Economic, and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries), deliberated upon “The OIC Countries: Performance, Issues, and Challenges.” keywords: countries; economics; islamic; oic cache: ajiss-1406.pdf plain text: ajiss-1406.txt item: #334 of 2012 id: ajiss-1409 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 1227 flesch: 29 summary: This event explored translocation, an increas- ingly significant theme of postcolonial studies. Delegates from eight different fields partici- pated in the “Translocating Postcolonial Studies: Recent Interdisciplinary Developments” panel discussion program, where they presented a multi- layered discussion to analyze and strengthen interdisciplinary dialogue in postcolonial studies. keywords: conference; postcolonial; session; studies; university cache: ajiss-1409.pdf plain text: ajiss-1409.txt item: #335 of 2012 id: ajiss-1410 author: jwill title: ajiss 26-2-final-1-obay.qxp date: 2020-06-23 words: 3364 flesch: 44 summary: The author, who was born and raised in Egypt, is a professor of Islamic art and archaeology and has published numerous texts on Islamic architecture (especially in Egypt) dur- ing the past two decades. Beginning with eleven chapters on understanding the context of Mamluk architecture, the text continues with a further twelve chapters detailing the specific reign and production of the Mamluk sultans. keywords: architecture; art; chapter; era; islamic; production cache: ajiss-1410.pdf plain text: ajiss-1410.txt item: #336 of 2012 id: ajiss-1411 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 1951 flesch: 43 summary: Currently assistant professor of Islamic studies and world religions in the Department of Comparative Religion, California State University, Fullerton, he teaches “History and Development of Islamic Thought,” “World Religions (Western and Eastern),” “Afro-American Religions and Spirituality,” “Qur’an and Hadith,” and “Methods of Studying Religion.” This issue of AJISS features outstanding essays from several academic disci- plines: history, Islamic studies, management, and philosophy. keywords: ajiss; dialogue; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; islamic; muslims cache: ajiss-1411.pdf plain text: ajiss-1411.txt item: #337 of 2012 id: ajiss-1412 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 3720 flesch: 49 summary: The book contains an appendix on classical Arabic duel poetry texts by such poets as ‘Imru al-Qays and `Abid ibn al-Abras as well as Abu Nuwas Ben-Ami: Preservation of the Heritage 89 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk and `Abbas ibn al-Ahnaf (without an English translation), an index of the names and terms appearing in the book (with references), and a list of books on Arabic poetry and literature published in the Brill Studies in Middle Eastern Literatures. Chapter 1 deals with duel poetry in pre-classical times, of which only very scant remains survive (a fate to be expected of a largely oral literature), poetry competitions with umpires who decided on the winner, women who competed against men (e.g., Khansa, whose elegy for her four sons who died in battle is considered superb poetry), and celebrations honoring the victors. keywords: arabic; book; chapter; duel; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; israel; lebanon; palestinian; poems; poetry cache: ajiss-1412.pdf plain text: ajiss-1412.txt item: #338 of 2012 id: ajiss-1414 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 873 flesch: 41 summary: Under “Education: Premodern, Pre- PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk Nineteenth Century,” for example, there are only entries on Afghanistan, Central Asia, Morocco, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Within each volume, though, entries are organized alphabetically. keywords: encyclopedia; knowledge cache: ajiss-1414.pdf plain text: ajiss-1414.txt item: #339 of 2012 id: ajiss-1415 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 1228 flesch: 34 summary: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad: Devotional Piety in Sunni Islam Marion Holmes Katz London and New York: Routledge, 2007. Katz’s work, The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad, represents a tour-de- force of critical scholarship that advances the field significantly both through its engagement with textual sources from the formative period to the present and through its judicious use of theoretical tools to analyze this material. keywords: book; mawlid; prophet cache: ajiss-1415.pdf plain text: ajiss-1415.txt item: #340 of 2012 id: ajiss-1416 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 1417 flesch: 28 summary: Spanning Morocco to Oman, via Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, the authoritarian mode of governance is surveyed through an assessment of the durability of regimes, the role of Islamist political parties, intra-regime dynamics, and the economic aspects of political reform. Albrecht, who focuses on the Muslim Brotherhood and the Kifaya Movement in Egypt, presents a strong and cogent study that demonstrates both the reality and the mirage of political opposition parties as street politics and Islamist groups vie against each other and the Egyptian government. keywords: authoritarianism; egypt; middle; opposition; regimes cache: ajiss-1416.pdf plain text: ajiss-1416.txt item: #341 of 2012 id: ajiss-1418 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 1347 flesch: 47 summary: This “hopeless” sit- uation, according to Roy, was brought on the Americans by themselves, rather than as a result of their enemies, be they the Taliban, al-Qaeda, or Iran (p. 3). Roy contends that the Middle East’s conflicts must be relocated in their own contexts, away from the existence of some “geostrategy of Islam” that allegedly explains all regional conflicts from Palestine and Bin Laden to the riots in the Paris suburbs (p. 7). keywords: http://www.software-partners.co.uk; roy cache: ajiss-1418.pdf plain text: ajiss-1418.txt item: #342 of 2012 id: ajiss-1419 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 1167 flesch: 32 summary: In addi- tion, various NGOs and social institutions can be categorized “politically unaffiliated NGOs” because they represent “social Islam,” as opposed to Book Reviews 107 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk Salafism, which represents (religious) “puritanism” but lacks any welfare- related (social) activities. The fourth part, “Socio-Economic Aid,” consists of the practice and mechanism undertaken by Muslim NGOs to establish their social pro- grams. keywords: muslim; ngos; social cache: ajiss-1419.pdf plain text: ajiss-1419.txt item: #343 of 2012 id: ajiss-1420 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 1063 flesch: 41 summary: Chapter 6, by Siti Syamsiyatun, studies how Muslim women negotiated religious space in the case of the Nasyiatul Aisyiyah, the young women’s organization in the Muhammadiyah, whose leaders championed new ideas about women and Islam. The contributors have actually succeeded in voicing the views of Muslim women elsewhere, because the issues they discuss are common to other women in the Muslim world. keywords: islam; islamic; women cache: ajiss-1420.pdf plain text: ajiss-1420.txt item: #344 of 2012 id: ajiss-1421 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 1323 flesch: 43 summary: Part III (chapters 11-15) deals with the broader geopolitical calculations of regional great powers, including China, India, and Russia (chapters 11, 12, 14, and 15), as well as Iran and Turkey (chapter 13). Part I (chapters 2-7) deals with issues of peace and conflict in Central Asia, including Afghanistan, particularly as permeated by Islamic ideology, currents, and groups. keywords: central; chapter; china; http://www.software-partners.co.uk cache: ajiss-1421.pdf plain text: ajiss-1421.txt item: #345 of 2012 id: ajiss-1422 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 1142 flesch: 47 summary: This book endeavors to define a specific term for modern Arab art, which is most often considered a continuation of Islamic or ethnic art or a subordinate copy of western trends. The first chapter, an analytical approach to modern Arab art and an investigation of the background factors leading to the need for such a term, is promising. keywords: art; chapter; islamic cache: ajiss-1422.pdf plain text: ajiss-1422.txt item: #346 of 2012 id: ajiss-1423 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 981 flesch: 38 summary: The present volume, which is comprised of annotated and translated letters of various eleventh- and twelfth-century Arab Jewish traders who interacted within this larger Indian Ocean complex, provides perhaps the most foun- dational source to understand the economic activities, communal organiza- tion, family life, and material civilization of the medieval world’s Arabic- speaking Jews. Throughout Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and our current era, the Indian Ocean has been the economic backbone of an interconnected global com- munity. keywords: indian; mediterranean; ocean cache: ajiss-1423.pdf plain text: ajiss-1423.txt item: #347 of 2012 id: ajiss-1425 author: None title: ajiss-1425 date: 2020-11-06 words: 1766 flesch: 55 summary: This is signifi- cant, argues O’Meara, because early Islamic traditions represent the Kaʿba as the site of the world’s generation. The Kaʿba is also at the center of diagrams representing Islamic cosmological tradition, highlighting its role at the heart of the cosmic axis and its connection to the uppermost, celes- tial Kaʿba, the “Frequented House” (al-Bayt al-Maʿmūr). keywords: kaʿba; kiswa; o’meara; world cache: ajiss-1425.pdf plain text: ajiss-1425.txt item: #348 of 2012 id: ajiss-1426 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 1066 flesch: 29 summary: [p. 155]), although Hamadan is one of the rare Iranian cities that never had a Jewish quarter [see: Houman Sarshar, “Ham- adan: Jewish Community,” Encyclopædia Iranica, 11:620]), Between For- eigners and Shi`is represents a comprehensive and impressively docu- mented history of Jewish Iranian life during the second half of nineteenth century. Book Reviews 119 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk Daniel Tsadik’s book provides a history of the religious, political, and social life of Iranian Jews under Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (r. 1848-96). keywords: iran; iranian; jews cache: ajiss-1426.pdf plain text: ajiss-1426.txt item: #349 of 2012 id: ajiss-1427 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 5795 flesch: 54 summary: But first, some more on the film’s pro- Israel distribution network. It is readily admitted that Israel remains both a rallying cry and a source of tension for many American Jewish organizations and American Jews. keywords: aish; american; clarion; dvd; hatorah; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; islam; israel; jewish; obsession; pdf; shore cache: ajiss-1427.pdf plain text: ajiss-1427.txt item: #350 of 2012 id: ajiss-1428 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 7330 flesch: 42 summary: Hence, a theological issue formulated and deployed in one culture loses its historically and culturally specific context necessary for the understanding of its full and concrete impact on human lives as it “crosses” borders.35 For example, consider comments by Hassan Rahimpour, one of the representa- tives of IKERI (recorded in the 2002 Toronto conference entitled: “The Positive and Negative Challenges of Modernity for Iranian Shi`i Muslims and North American Mennonites Christians”): ”42 It is along these lines that the Mennonites’ literature refers to the deceptively small but powerful and dangerous institution of IKERI with such over- determined phrases as “Iranian Shi`i Muslims,” giving the impression that somehow this institution is representative of all Iranian Shi`i Muslims.43 On the other hand, this protective bordercrossing permits erroneous categorical oversimplifications. keywords: context; dialogue; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; ikeri; iran; iranian; islamic; mcc; mesbah; pdf; shi`i; trial; university; version; violence; yazdi cache: ajiss-1428.pdf plain text: ajiss-1428.txt item: #351 of 2012 id: ajiss-1429 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 932 flesch: 32 summary: To move past this “pedagogy of fear,” she called for a shift toward a pedagogy of hope rooted in anti-imperialist thought. Drawing upon Foucault’s notion of truth, she identified the necessity for “western” feminist to reapply the critical lens of anti-colonial thought when examining this issue. keywords: conference; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; imperialist; peace cache: ajiss-1429.pdf plain text: ajiss-1429.txt item: #352 of 2012 id: ajiss-1430 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 1197 flesch: 41 summary: John C. Haughey, S.J. (senior fellow, Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University) presented “The Driver in the Mind of Fethullah Gulen,” in which talked about his perceptions of Gulen’s inner life, for “the journey to God has to go through the self.” Ali Yurtsever’s (conference coordinator; president, Rumi Forum) open- ing remarks defined the conference’s context: the Gulen movement’s approach toward globalization, poverty, illiteracy, education, interfaith, and other problems afflicting humanity. keywords: conference; gulen; movement; university cache: ajiss-1430.pdf plain text: ajiss-1430.txt item: #353 of 2012 id: ajiss-1431 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 1301 flesch: 20 summary: Malaysia’s experiences of awqaf, zakat, and waqaf were highlighted in two papers as examples of Islamic poverty alleviation interventions within the state-instituted Islamic regulatory framework. The author’s core point was that Islamic principles should be more closely adhered to in micro-financing by refining decreasing partnerships so that they will be in alignment with the Islamic ideals of fairness and equitable treat- ment for all parties. keywords: development; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; islamic; malaysia; poverty cache: ajiss-1431.pdf plain text: ajiss-1431.txt item: #354 of 2012 id: ajiss-1432 author: Jay Willoughby title: 26-1-stripped-obay.qxd date: 2020-06-23 words: 1099 flesch: 37 summary: Similarly, Fair promoted greater engagement with Afghans in order to improve American-Afghan relations and identified the Afghan Parliament as a critical actor that the United States has neglected. Abdo reviewed the question of American engagement with proponents of political Islam and stressed that widespread ignorance on this topic is found among laypeople and policymak- ers alike. keywords: american; states; united cache: ajiss-1432.pdf plain text: ajiss-1432.txt item: #355 of 2012 id: ajiss-1433 author: None title: ajiss-1433 date: 2020-06-24 words: 2844 flesch: 48 summary: Secular Muslims should stop their anti-Islamist campaign and try to come to some sort of modus vivendi with conservative Muslims, one that respects the con- servatives’ understanding of Islam (even while disagreeing), since their voice cur- rently serves not as a positive catalyst for reform in the community, but rather as a disservice to their co-religionists (and ultimately to all Muslims), by the way it plays into the neoconservative agenda. Editorial One of the paradoxes facing conservative Muslims in North America is that while their apologetic literature stresses “Islam as justice” – that justice is the paradig- matic Qur’anic virtue after piety – in the eyes of the general public the progressive Muslims have claimed the mantle of justice. keywords: american; community; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; islam; islamic; justice; muslims; public cache: ajiss-1433.pdf plain text: ajiss-1433.txt item: #356 of 2012 id: ajiss-1434 author: None title: ajiss-1434 date: 2020-06-24 words: 3481 flesch: 47 summary: After sifting through some of the current media-propagated myths about a moribund church with a plummeting birth rate and a massive influx of Muslim immigrants with high birth rates, Jenkins looks at the actual pop- ulation statistics and examines the underlying assumptions behind the polit- ical fear-mongering. Special emphasis is placed on the scars left by Christian missionaries, still visible even as they are brought by Muslim immigrants to this country as a collective memory of bit- terness and misunderstanding. keywords: ayoub; dialogue; europe; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; islam; jenkins; muslim; smith cache: ajiss-1434.pdf plain text: ajiss-1434.txt item: #357 of 2012 id: ajiss-1435 author: None title: ajiss-1435 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1628 flesch: 46 summary: Taha is unlike other modern Muslim reformers and, as Mahmoud con- cludes, his “experiment” was one of the twentieth century’s boldest and brightest. Book Reviews Quest for Divinity: A Critical Examination of the Thought of Mahmud Muhammad Taha Mohamed A. Mahmoud Syracuse, New York: keywords: book; muslim; taha; thought cache: ajiss-1435.pdf plain text: ajiss-1435.txt item: #358 of 2012 id: ajiss-1436 author: None title: ajiss-1436 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1333 flesch: 43 summary: This policy book purports to advise American decision makers about the changes and transformations taking place in Turkey’s politics and foreign policy, as well as their reasons and implications. Graham Fuller argues that Turkey, under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and his successors, under- went an imposed “cultural lobotomy” designed to induce a national “amne- sia” about its Islamic and Ottoman past (p. 17). keywords: american; policy; turkey cache: ajiss-1436.pdf plain text: ajiss-1436.txt item: #359 of 2012 id: ajiss-1437 author: None title: ajiss-1437 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1080 flesch: 36 summary: According to Khan, the ordinance has facilitated the portrayal of middle-class women as docile and of working- class women as sexually promiscuous. Methodologically, Khan’s analysis of the ordinance’s effects on women in Pakistan is based on her fieldwork conducted in that country from 1998- 2002. keywords: khan; ordinance; women cache: ajiss-1437.pdf plain text: ajiss-1437.txt item: #360 of 2012 id: ajiss-1438 author: None title: ajiss-1438 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1313 flesch: 49 summary: The novels chosen for analysis have widely varying plots, but all reflect the place of women in Arab society and how they cope with difficult circumstances. Gender, an issue that has been in the headlines for decades now, has natu- rally also attracted the scholarly attention of both men and women. keywords: book; chapter; novels; women cache: ajiss-1438.pdf plain text: ajiss-1438.txt item: #361 of 2012 id: ajiss-1439 author: None title: ajiss-1439 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1101 flesch: 44 summary: Finally, chapter 12 argues that two codes of conduct are established for Shi`ites, one regulating interactions with non-Shi`ites, and one regulating interactions with other Shi`ites. Other reports por- tray a hierarchical organization within the community, distinguishing a scholarly elite from lay Shi`ites, or posit the existence of degrees of faith among them, the highest of which are attained by only a few. keywords: community; islamic; shi`ites cache: ajiss-1439.pdf plain text: ajiss-1439.txt item: #362 of 2012 id: ajiss-1440 author: None title: ajiss-1440 date: 2020-06-24 words: 999 flesch: 38 summary: Gabriele Marranci’s latest book, The Anthropology of Islam, examines the history and current status of anthropological work focusing on Islam. Edward Said’s critique of Orientalism and anthropology’s post-1980s “crisis of rep- resentation” notwithstanding, Islam and Muslims are still represented in many anthropological texts as fixed and unchanging, tethered to an imag- ined, unitary tradition. keywords: anthropology; islam; muslims cache: ajiss-1440.pdf plain text: ajiss-1440.txt item: #363 of 2012 id: ajiss-1441 author: None title: ajiss-1441 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1126 flesch: 50 summary: The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 25:4 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk As befits a social and intellectual historian, Rosenthal’s survey com- mences with the philology of the word knowledge (`ilm) and works through instances in early Islam and Arabic poetry before moving on to chapters on definition, theology, Sufism, philosophy, and finally concluding with a chap- ter on the social contexts and uses of knowledge. Rosenthal begins with the claim that civilizations tend to revolve around meaningful concepts of an abstract nature that, more than anything else, give them their distinctive nature; in the case of Islam, this is the centrality of knowledge and the pursuit of knowl- edge. keywords: chapter; knowledge cache: ajiss-1441.pdf plain text: ajiss-1441.txt item: #364 of 2012 id: ajiss-1442 author: None title: ajiss-1442 date: 2020-06-24 words: 838 flesch: 53 summary: This work includes diverse accounts of various central aspects and key figures of Islamic philosophy (Ibn Rushd, pp. Understanding Islamic philosophy, an indispensable formative link in the chain of medieval thought, is crucial to grasping the intertwined develop- ment of philosophical ideas both within and without the Islamic sphere dur- ing the period under discussion. keywords: islamic; philosophy cache: ajiss-1442.pdf plain text: ajiss-1442.txt item: #365 of 2012 id: ajiss-1443 author: None title: ajiss-1443 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1071 flesch: 42 summary: Chapter 1 provides an overview of the Qur’an as well as a conventional account of pre-Islamic Arabia and the life of Muhammad. Chapter 2 is an ambitious effort to present the development of the Muslim community dur- ing the years of the Qur’an’s revelation. keywords: chapter; mattson; qur’an cache: ajiss-1443.pdf plain text: ajiss-1443.txt item: #366 of 2012 id: ajiss-1444 author: None title: ajiss-1444 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1310 flesch: 38 summary: The spread of Islam to non-Arab communities, Morrow rightly argues, led to a deep Islamization of their cultures but only a superficial Islamization of their languages. Her empirical study on the frequency of using Allah-featuring expressions by informants from different Arab countries shows striking similarities in the heavy use of such familiar pan-Arab expressions as bismillaah (in the name of Allah), ’al- 140 keywords: allah; arab; lexicon cache: ajiss-1444.pdf plain text: ajiss-1444.txt item: #367 of 2012 id: ajiss-1446 author: None title: ajiss-1446 date: 2020-06-24 words: 2801 flesch: 55 summary: It is hoped that the passing of Imam WDM will also mark the end of a chapter in our collective American Muslim history, and perhaps now, in earnest, we can all look together toward The Third Resurrection. There are literally thousands, if not tens of thousands of young American Muslims just like me, born to immigrant parents who originate from all over the Muslim world. keywords: american; black; god; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; imam; muslim cache: ajiss-1446.pdf plain text: ajiss-1446.txt item: #368 of 2012 id: ajiss-1447 author: None title: ajiss-1447 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1560 flesch: 35 summary: Past and Current Examples,” consisted of Robert W. Lawrence (Albertus Magnus College), Mohammed Nimer (American University), and D. Jason Berggren. She commended AMSS for being open to such an evolution in female leadership in Muslim organizations. Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 151 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk Before the annual banquet’s keynote address, the late Dr. Louis Cantori was euologized by Mazrui and Roy Mottahedeh (Harvard University), Mazrui spoke of Cantori’s creative participation in interfaith dialogue, and commitment to cultivating mutual respect among Muslims, Christians and Jews through an enriched understanding of religious pluralism. keywords: american; dialogue; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; islam; muslims; panel; university cache: ajiss-1447.pdf plain text: ajiss-1447.txt item: #369 of 2012 id: ajiss-1448 author: None title: ajiss-1448 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1303 flesch: 24 summary: Muslim Girl Studies: Bismillahs, Barbies, and Bling A colloquium on “girl studies,” organized by Marcia Hermansen (director, Islamic World Studies) and Laura Miller (professor, Department of Anthro- pology) took place on 12 April 2008, at Loyola University Chicago. Supporters claim that girl studies is a worthwhile research domain due to the prior disregard for age within women’s studies and gender within youth stud- ies. keywords: american; girlhood; girls; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; studies cache: ajiss-1448.pdf plain text: ajiss-1448.txt item: #370 of 2012 id: ajiss-1449 author: None title: ajiss-1449 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1010 flesch: 26 summary: The pursuit of democracy in the Muslim world is destined to be a long and difficult path, but it is critical to remember that nothing worth having comes easily, and that establishing democracies in the Muslim world will, in the end, be well worth the effort. Topics like “The Many Faces of Political Islam,” “From Taliban to Erdogan,” and refuting the notions that American policymakers “lump all Islamists into the category of terrorists and extremists” and that the United States has abandoned its rhetoric of pushing for democracy were analyzed. keywords: democracy; islam; islamic; muslim cache: ajiss-1449.pdf plain text: ajiss-1449.txt item: #371 of 2012 id: ajiss-1450 author: None title: ajiss-1450 date: 2020-06-24 words: 794 flesch: 44 summary: Given the international focus on Islamic studies and law, the seminar was structured around the fundamental principles of Islamic law and how they can be embraced by elaborating upon their vital principles to make them better understood. Group C presented the Sunnah, one of the unan- imously accepted sources of Islamic law. keywords: islamic; law; shari`ah cache: ajiss-1450.pdf plain text: ajiss-1450.txt item: #372 of 2012 id: ajiss-1451 author: None title: ajiss-1451 date: 2020-06-24 words: 780 flesch: 32 summary: In the sessions on education, the presenters analyzed “Curriculum Development and Teaching Method in Fine Arts,” “Fine Arts Education and the Preservation of Cultural and Local Heritage,” “Fine Arts and Issues of the Environment,” and “The Devel- opment of Fine Arts Education and Information Technology.” Held under the auspices of Egypt’s first lady, Suzanne Mubarak, the opening ceremony featured welcome speeches by Farouk Hosni (minister of culture), Abdulla Barakat (president, Helwan University), Mohamed Mek- kawy (dean, Fine Arts), and Aleya Abdel-Hadi (conference organizer). keywords: arts; conference; egypt cache: ajiss-1451.pdf plain text: ajiss-1451.txt item: #373 of 2012 id: ajiss-1452 author: None title: ajiss-1452 date: 2020-06-24 words: 2214 flesch: 47 summary: It was the supreme confidence of Islamic society that allowed it Editorial iii PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk iv The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 25:3 to take truth from whichever quarter it might be found. After all, according to Islam, all knowledge comes from God, a God who communicates such knowledge and truth to humans through specially chosen messengers. keywords: god; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; islam; islamic; qur’an cache: ajiss-1452.pdf plain text: ajiss-1452.txt item: #374 of 2012 id: ajiss-1453 author: None title: ajiss-1453 date: 2020-06-24 words: 887 flesch: 46 summary: Volume 6, the index for the entire encyclopaedia, integrates the alpha- betically arranged entries of articles about the contents of the Qur’an accord- ing to the list of authors, articles, proper names, Arabic words and phrases, and Qur’anic citations. Siddiqui reviews the veil in the light of Islamic religious literature (viz., the Qur’an, Qur’an commentaries, and the hadiths) and portrays the current state of affairs concerning it. keywords: islamic; qur’an; world cache: ajiss-1453.pdf plain text: ajiss-1453.txt item: #375 of 2012 id: ajiss-1454 author: None title: ajiss-1454 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1230 flesch: 57 summary: On the strong side, Luxenberg suggests that the final alif, which has, with great difficulty, been interpreted as an accusative in words such as mathalan (11:24) or al-hawaya (6:146), can be better explained on the basis of corresponding Aramaic forms (pp. 44-45 and elsewhere). In a footnote fifteen pages on (p. 52, n. 62), Luxenberg reveals that Christian Arabs of Syria and Mesopotamia were the “originators of written Arabic.” keywords: arabic; book; luxenberg cache: ajiss-1454.pdf plain text: ajiss-1454.txt item: #376 of 2012 id: ajiss-1455 author: None title: ajiss-1455 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1149 flesch: 40 summary: The Palestinian political identity is in a state of flux, and Islam’s dominant role in Palestinian society can no longer be ignored or dismissed. Having explored both theories, Fatah’s visual and demographic components are then analyzed, revealing a calculated image that integrates the diverse constituencies of Palestinian society, from univer- sity students and new professionals to villagers and shop owners. keywords: gaza; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; identity; nationalism cache: ajiss-1455.pdf plain text: ajiss-1455.txt item: #377 of 2012 id: ajiss-1456 author: None title: ajiss-1456 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1025 flesch: 32 summary: There is a distinct overlap between the chapters on South Asian and Arab Muslim communities, something from which sociologists and anthropologists could elicit more. Particularly interesting in this chapter, however, is the author’s delving into the national identi- ties of Arab Muslims and looking at such particular cases of immigration and transnational identity as that of Palestinian Americans, who exist in an uncomfortable limbo as refugees and in a diaspora. keywords: american; identity; muslim cache: ajiss-1456.pdf plain text: ajiss-1456.txt item: #378 of 2012 id: ajiss-1457 author: None title: ajiss-1457 date: 2020-06-24 words: 958 flesch: 49 summary: The title is also slightly misleading but, I guess, marketing demands this: a book on Indian Sufism will no doubt sell better than one that merely describes itself as a study of Deccan Sufism (it is, in fact, a bit more precise 130 Chapter 2 develops an argument about the poetry and politics of saint- hood in the Nizam’s state. keywords: chapter; deccan; sufis cache: ajiss-1457.pdf plain text: ajiss-1457.txt item: #379 of 2012 id: ajiss-1458 author: None title: ajiss-1458 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1122 flesch: 35 summary: The Heirs of the Prophet begs the question of how the disciples’ author- ity is related to Shiite religious authority during the Lesser Occultation and afterward. This substantially revised version of a dissertation completed at the School of Oriental and African Studies in 1990 focuses on the disciples (rijal) of the Imams in the Twelver Shiite tradition, arguing that they developed, through the routinization of charisma, a distinct type of religious authority in the eighth and ninth centuries based on their special relationship with the Imams, but to some extent independent of them. keywords: authority; disciples; imams cache: ajiss-1458.pdf plain text: ajiss-1458.txt item: #380 of 2012 id: ajiss-1459 author: None title: ajiss-1459 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1074 flesch: 29 summary: After a quick review of the question of national interest in the Islamic Republic’s constitution, the author applies conceptual and theoretical mod- els to Iran’s performance in the realm of foreign policy to present a better understanding of the status of national interest in Iran’s policy. He asserts that Iran’s foreign policy is essentially idealist, indicating the existence of contradictory trends regarding the question of national interest. keywords: http://www.software-partners.co.uk; iran; islamic; social cache: ajiss-1459.pdf plain text: ajiss-1459.txt item: #381 of 2012 id: ajiss-1460 author: None title: ajiss-1460 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1265 flesch: 36 summary: Just as Unity in Diversity opens with a series of recommendations for the “best practices” in IFD, it culminates with some advice concerning future IFD activities, such as professional training for staff and directors of IFD organizations, increased youth participation, and further research on IFD’s contribution to conflict resolution. Chapter 3, “Interfaith Dialogue and Peacebuilding in Israel and Pales- tine,” commences with a detailed analysis of IFD cases in Israel/Palestine and then explores such interfaith organizations as the Palestinian Academic Soci- ety for the Study of International Affairs and Sabeel. keywords: dialogue; ifd; interfaith; peace cache: ajiss-1460.pdf plain text: ajiss-1460.txt item: #382 of 2012 id: ajiss-1461 author: None title: ajiss-1461 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1035 flesch: 42 summary: This booklet lacks understanding of Islamic chaplaincy’s broad role in prison, which includes legitimate religious representation and accommoda- tion for prison inmates, with a clear recognition that such accommodation must be for all. One can only conclude that these and other questions on “deviant” trans- lations of the Qur’an and other topics were presented to overseas shaykhs who are unfamiliar with the legal and religious parameters of chaplaincy in American prisons. keywords: muslim; prison; questions cache: ajiss-1461.pdf plain text: ajiss-1461.txt item: #383 of 2012 id: ajiss-1462 author: None title: ajiss-1462 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1068 flesch: 43 summary: There is still much to be learned from the corpus of medical texts; this volume is an authoritative start for anyone interested in the subject. A valuable part of the book is the final chapter on the continuance of Islamic medical practices and texts through to the modern era. keywords: authors; islamic; medicine cache: ajiss-1462.pdf plain text: ajiss-1462.txt item: #384 of 2012 id: ajiss-1463 author: None title: ajiss-1463 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1059 flesch: 40 summary: Linguists, I suspect, will be espe- cially pleased to read this book, as Hurgronje is very careful to point out the variables of the language spoken in various social settings, from the home to the madrasa, that reflect this fusion of humanity. Brill’s republishing of Dutch scholar Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje’s (1857-1936) forgotten work offers the modern reader not only an invaluable window into the hajj as practiced before the age of mass commu- nication, but provides a hitherto neglected discussion on the social, cultural, political, and economic impact that the experience had upon Muslims. keywords: hurgronje; muslims; study cache: ajiss-1463.pdf plain text: ajiss-1463.txt item: #385 of 2012 id: ajiss-1464 author: None title: ajiss-1464 date: 2020-06-24 words: 2230 flesch: 56 summary: Bin Laden lays them out for anyone to read. Last accessed 10 Mar. 2008; “Bin Laden Rails Against Crusaders and UN.” keywords: bin; laden; mar; muslim; policy; world cache: ajiss-1464.pdf plain text: ajiss-1464.txt item: #386 of 2012 id: ajiss-1465 author: None title: ajiss-1465 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1489 flesch: 30 summary: Ebrahim Moosa’s (Duke University) concluding remarks ranged from highlighting the ethical and juristic dilemmas presented by technological reconfigurations and resuscitations of Muslim bodies in contemporary times to problematizing normative usages and mobilizations of ijtihad in response to the crucial challenges that (post)modern social imaginaries pose for Islam and Muslims. In his “‘What Their Hands Have Sent Forward’: Performatives of the Hand as Described in Qur’anic Exegesis and Hadith Literature,” Ali Altaf Mian (Duke University) explored possible reworkings of theorizing the performative (from John Austin and Jacques Derrida to Pierre Bourdieu and Judih Butler) using examples from Qur’anic verses and hadiths. keywords: bodies; body; duke; islam; panel; university cache: ajiss-1465.pdf plain text: ajiss-1465.txt item: #387 of 2012 id: ajiss-1466 author: None title: ajiss-1466 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1140 flesch: 36 summary: The event had several goals: to draw together and advance geographical research involving Muslims, provide a forum for debate about the spaces that shape Muslim lives, and establish informed dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims as well as between academics and activists. The theme of integration, with non-Muslims living in residential and national communities and with Muslims in other parts of the world, was fur- ther explored in “Geographies of Connection,” chaired by Tim Bunnell (Singapore). keywords: geographies; liverpool; muslims; research; spaces cache: ajiss-1466.pdf plain text: ajiss-1466.txt item: #388 of 2012 id: ajiss-1467 author: None title: ajiss-1467 date: 2020-06-24 words: 975 flesch: 24 summary: Contributions of Muslim Scientists in the Fields of Astronomy, Basic Space and Weather Sciences, Astronomical Observatories and Astronomical Applications in the Islamic Shari`ah; Humanities; Medical Sciences; Basic and Applied Sciences (Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, and Geosciences); Islamic Arts; Industrial Applications, Engineering and Mechanical Sciences; Agriculture, Soil, and Irriga- tion Sciences; and Geography and Oceanography. The conference created an intellectual platform to enhance communica- tion among scientists and researchers studying the history of the various sci- 158 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 25:3 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk https://www.sharjah.ac.ae/) http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 159 ences, highlight the Muslim scientists’ impact on advancing civilization, and documenting the testimonies of non-Muslim scientists who recognize the Muslims’ scientific achievements. keywords: islamic; muslims; sciences; university cache: ajiss-1467.pdf plain text: ajiss-1467.txt item: #389 of 2012 id: ajiss-1470 author: None title: ajiss-1470 date: 2020-11-06 words: 10220 flesch: 66 summary: al-Aṣamm is an early Mu‘tazili scholar whose name is ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. Kaysān. Ja‘far b. Mubashshir; see al-Ash‘arī, Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn, ed. keywords: abū; god; hadith; ibid; ibn; ibn ḥazm; islamic; jishumī; khaṭīb; knowledge; miskawayh; muslims; refinement; scholars; soul; thought; today; value; ḥazm cache: ajiss-1470.pdf plain text: ajiss-1470.txt item: #390 of 2012 id: ajiss-1471 author: None title: ajiss-1471 date: 2020-06-24 words: 3553 flesch: 50 summary: He posited a dyadic relationship between the West and Islam: whereas western values were laud- able, they were missing in Islam, for Western ideas of individualism, liberalism, constitutionalism, human rights, equality, liberty, rule of law, democracy, free markets, the separa- PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk tion of church and state, often have little resonance in Islamic, Confucian, Japanese, Hindu, Buddhist or Orthodox cultures.” So the idea that there is some essence to western civilization that is noble, and one to Islamic civilization that is ignoble, has established deep roots in public discourse in order to explain any kind of social or political phenomenon related to Muslims. keywords: democracy; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; hypocrisy; islam; muslims; social; values; west cache: ajiss-1471.pdf plain text: ajiss-1471.txt item: #391 of 2012 id: ajiss-1472 author: None title: ajiss-1472 date: 2020-06-24 words: 3425 flesch: 44 summary: It is hard to miss Nafisi’s working assumption (even though she has denied this in her interviews) that exposure to the works of such western novelists as Vladimir Nabokov, Jane Austin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Henry James enables Iranian women to assert their agency and counter Islamist dictatorship. Reading women’s memoirs does not automatically contribute to better pedagogies, just as exposure to western literature does not naturally liberate Iranian women from patriarchal dictatorship. keywords: http://www.software-partners.co.uk; iran; lolita; nafisi; reading; tehran; women cache: ajiss-1472.pdf plain text: ajiss-1472.txt item: #392 of 2012 id: ajiss-1473 author: None title: ajiss-1473 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1164 flesch: 44 summary: The medical staff received western medical training and adheres to the principles of modern biomedical ethics as formulated by American philosophers in the 1960s and 1970s (pp. 2-3 and 222). Kidney donation practices are fraught with potential conflict, because Pakistani families are very collectivistic instead of individualistic (pp. 76 and 217). keywords: moazam; transplantation cache: ajiss-1473.pdf plain text: ajiss-1473.txt item: #393 of 2012 id: ajiss-1474 author: None title: ajiss-1474 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1201 flesch: 48 summary: As part of President George W. Bush’s vision of overhauling the American military, this program became a sort of “official ideology” (p. 8) and response to two main concerns: (1) the long time (six months) it took to plan and amass American forces during the lead-up to the 1992 Gulf War that had reversed Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait (this length of time was considered to fall short of credible “superpower” projection), and (2) the American military’s ability to fight two major wars simultaneously, which came to be known as the “two-war doctrine” (pp. 5 and 9). The problem with the second consideration was that it required large ground forces to implement the doctrine, at a time when the foreseen trans- formation sought to trim American forces in favor of high-tech space and precision weapons. keywords: american; forces; http://www.software-partners.co.uk cache: ajiss-1474.pdf plain text: ajiss-1474.txt item: #394 of 2012 id: ajiss-1475 author: None title: ajiss-1475 date: 2020-06-24 words: 854 flesch: 27 summary: The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 25:2 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk Despite notable differences between Native and Palestinian cultures and somewhat homogenizing indigenous histories to bolster his argument, Salaita’s undertaking is an outstanding success. The Holy Land in Transit: Colonialism and the Quest for Canaan Steven Salaita Syracuse, NY: keywords: land; palestinian; salaita cache: ajiss-1475.pdf plain text: ajiss-1475.txt item: #395 of 2012 id: ajiss-1476 author: None title: ajiss-1476 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1271 flesch: 43 summary: Islamic Democratic Discourse: Theory, Debates, and Philosophical Perspectives examines how Muslim thinkers have and are trying to formulate systems for good and ethical self-gover- nance and the necessity, therein, for political discourse. The debates in these essays, which span a wide range of subjects and periods, are held together by a common principle: political discourse has a long standing in the Muslim world. keywords: discourse; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; islamic cache: ajiss-1476.pdf plain text: ajiss-1476.txt item: #396 of 2012 id: ajiss-1477 author: None title: ajiss-1477 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1203 flesch: 36 summary: But what is lacking here is a study of France and Germany, the main sites of Muslim radicalism in Europe. The challenge of such violent radicalism (and it is important to qualify it as such, since radicalism traditionally has been a political virtue of the Left demanding change) affects security policy as well as the integrity and dig- nity of Muslim communities. keywords: communities; european; muslim; radicalism cache: ajiss-1477.pdf plain text: ajiss-1477.txt item: #397 of 2012 id: ajiss-1478 author: None title: ajiss-1478 date: 2020-06-24 words: 907 flesch: 52 summary: Based upon the information provided, it seems that Middle Eastern women followed the conditions and campaigns of western women with great interest, even though they proffered a cogent critique of western liberation’s limitations and adopted only select western feminist ideas. In addition, the book’s sampling of women writers of the period contributes to 122 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 25:2 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk all gender research, not only that of the Middle East. keywords: book; middle; women cache: ajiss-1478.pdf plain text: ajiss-1478.txt item: #398 of 2012 id: ajiss-1479 author: None title: ajiss-1479 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1211 flesch: 32 summary: Daniel Martin Varisco’s Islam Obscured: The Rhetoric of Anthropological Representation provides a very sound and well-informed literary critique of Clifford Geertz’s Islam Observed (1968), Ernest Gellner’s Muslim Society (1981), Fatima Mernissi’s Beyond the Veil (1975), and Akbar Ahmed’s Dis- covering Islam (1988). Varisco Book Reviews 123 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk describes the main thread of ethnographic studies of Muslims, from Evans- Pritchard to Gellner, Geertz, and his students I. M. Lewis and Michael Gilsenen, as concentrating on Islamic mysticism: “Once again, it seems as though anthropology came to Islam via the exotic, as though the mundane was too obvious, perhaps too boring, to require explanation” (p. 17). keywords: islam; varisco cache: ajiss-1479.pdf plain text: ajiss-1479.txt item: #399 of 2012 id: ajiss-1480 author: None title: ajiss-1480 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1110 flesch: 40 summary: Although Shirin Ebadi, Mehrangiz Kaar, and other Iranian women have voiced their opinions on these issues, Moallem classifies them as “feminist legal schol- ars” (p. 180) and mentions them only in passing (pp. 150 and 180). Moallem argues that although many women and men were will- ing to die for the revolution’s success as it was unfolding, and although such enthusiasm knew no gender, after its success “martyrdom” became a sym- bol of masculinity while women were relegated to the roles of a martyr’s mother, sister, or wife (pp. 106-07). keywords: fundamentalism; islamic; women cache: ajiss-1480.pdf plain text: ajiss-1480.txt item: #400 of 2012 id: ajiss-1481 author: None title: ajiss-1481 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1068 flesch: 47 summary: At the end of each chapter, El-Enany provides an overview of the period and its writers and also summarizes the developments, if any, in East- West relations during the period in question. According to Said, the West depicts the Orient as stagnant, static, exotic, submissive, and retarded, in contrast to the sup- posedly enlightened and superior West. keywords: arab; period; west cache: ajiss-1481.pdf plain text: ajiss-1481.txt item: #401 of 2012 id: ajiss-1482 author: None title: ajiss-1482 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1148 flesch: 37 summary: In “Liberties Undone” (chapter 4), Majid describes the “third great wave of post-Andalusian ideologies”: capitalism, starting in 1848 (Eric Hobs- bawm, The Age of Capital: 1848-1875) and gradually giving birth to the “postcolonial condition” we know today. Yet he also interacts, for the first time, with a contemporary Muslim “reformer,” the Egyptian liberal thinker Sa`id al-`Ashmawy, who “has, in fact, charted out a path for Muslims and non-Muslims” (p. 209). keywords: book; majid; world cache: ajiss-1482.pdf plain text: ajiss-1482.txt item: #402 of 2012 id: ajiss-1483 author: None title: ajiss-1483 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1020 flesch: 61 summary: Although Kidwai draws attention to the common ancestry – and there- fore equality – of humanity, the issue of gender equality would appear more convincing if the verse in question (4:1) were interpreted to say that God cre- ated all men and women from a single soul. The book mainly deals with the concepts of God, messengership, and the Hereafter and throws some light on modes of worship, as well as on social and family relations, in a very lucid, fluent, and persuasive manner. keywords: book; god; qur’an cache: ajiss-1483.pdf plain text: ajiss-1483.txt item: #403 of 2012 id: ajiss-1484 author: None title: ajiss-1484 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1099 flesch: 46 summary: She recommends that all state teachers – not just music teachers – need to know more about Islam. Yet overall, Harris presents a strong case for the relevance of her topic and provides helpful advice for music teachers struggling to deal with these issues in a sensitive manner. keywords: harris; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; music cache: ajiss-1484.pdf plain text: ajiss-1484.txt item: #404 of 2012 id: ajiss-1485 author: None title: ajiss-1485 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1099 flesch: 46 summary: She recommends that all state teachers – not just music teachers – need to know more about Islam. Yet overall, Harris presents a strong case for the relevance of her topic and provides helpful advice for music teachers struggling to deal with these issues in a sensitive manner. keywords: harris; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; music cache: ajiss-1485.pdf plain text: ajiss-1485.txt item: #405 of 2012 id: ajiss-1486 author: None title: ajiss-1486 date: 2020-06-24 words: 5196 flesch: 55 summary: Origin- ally, British Indian coins simply said “East India Company,” the chartered British company that was the ruler of British India. Forum The Role of Popular Muslim Movements in the Indian Freedom Struggle Altaf Fatima keywords: british; company; freedom; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; india; islamic; khairabadi; movement; mughal; muslim; pdf; social; trial; version cache: ajiss-1486.pdf plain text: ajiss-1486.txt item: #406 of 2012 id: ajiss-1487 author: None title: ajiss-1487 date: 2020-06-24 words: 974 flesch: 30 summary: The first one, “Law Student Career Panel: All the Things to Do with a Law Degree,” analyzed steps that Muslim law students can take to achieve goals that are related to their individual interests and strengths, while simultaneously remembering the need to serve their communities. Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports Protecting America’s Promise The 2007 joint National Association of Muslim Lawyers (NAML) and National Muslim Law Students Association (NMLSA) conference took place on 9-11 November in San Francisco. keywords: law; muslim; session cache: ajiss-1487.pdf plain text: ajiss-1487.txt item: #407 of 2012 id: ajiss-1488 author: None title: ajiss-1488 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1940 flesch: 40 summary: Interestingly, the three grand ayatol- lahs in Qom never mentioned religion or religious peacemaking. Abdul Hayy Weinman (professor, University of New Mexico) spoke about the Sunni-Shi`ah dia- logues, areas for reconciliation, and effective practices in dialogic encoun- PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk ters within religious communities. keywords: conflict; peace; religion; scholars; shi`ah; theologians cache: ajiss-1488.pdf plain text: ajiss-1488.txt item: #408 of 2012 id: ajiss-1489 author: None title: ajiss-1489 date: 2020-06-24 words: 3783 flesch: 45 summary: Similarly, the countless hours expended by Dr. Ahmad to recruit Muslim and non-Muslim contributors added a great weight to the collaborative nature of his relationship with the founding editor-in-chief, Dr. Nyang. Biographies of the New Assistant Editors IMAD-AD-DEAN AHMAD, PH.D.: Dr. Ahmad graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1970 and went on to obtain a Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Arizona (1975). keywords: american; amss; board; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; islamic; journal; muslim; president; social; university cache: ajiss-1489.pdf plain text: ajiss-1489.txt item: #409 of 2012 id: ajiss-1490 author: None title: ajiss-1490 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1052 flesch: 45 summary: The French law banning the hijab from public schools presents itself as just as baffling as any non-western custom. So with a catchy title designed to appeal to this widespread bafflement, the author seeks to explain the intellectual underpinnings and political processes that led to this ban- ning of “ostentatious” religious symbols in public schools on March 15, 2004. keywords: french; law; state cache: ajiss-1490.pdf plain text: ajiss-1490.txt item: #410 of 2012 id: ajiss-1491 author: None title: ajiss-1491 date: 2020-06-24 words: 922 flesch: 48 summary: Due to Basmenji’s accessible and engaging writing style, I recom- mend this book not only to scholars of Persian culture and history, but also to anyone who aspires to be more informed about Iranian society and the chasm between its older and younger generations. This informative and timely book, Tehran Blues: How Iranian Youth Rebelled Against Iran’s Founding Fathers, is skillfully crafted into eleven chapters that showcase current Iranian politics while drawing insights from its past. keywords: basmenji; book; http://www.software-partners.co.uk cache: ajiss-1491.pdf plain text: ajiss-1491.txt item: #411 of 2012 id: ajiss-1492 author: None title: ajiss-1492 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1156 flesch: 34 summary: Drawing on royal speeches, legislation, newspapers, foreign archives, visual sources, and the recollections of individuals residing in Jerusalem during the given period, academic analyses are fused with personal accounts to produce a well-rounded insight into Jordanian Jerusalem. Chart- ing the endeavors of King Abdullah and King Hussein to assert Transjordan’s authority over Jerusalem despite international and Israeli rivalry, Katz affords a unique insight into the multifarious means used to court its residents through events, banknotes, and stamps between 1948 and 1967. keywords: abdullah; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; jerusalem; jordan cache: ajiss-1492.pdf plain text: ajiss-1492.txt item: #412 of 2012 id: ajiss-1493 author: None title: ajiss-1493 date: 2020-06-24 words: 912 flesch: 34 summary: As an anthropologist I applaud her study, in which careful observation of what Muslims both say they want to do and actually do differently hones theory, rather than subsumes political actors into pre-existing and often self-serving essentialist notions. Overriding this is a theoretical concern with explanations for transition to democracy, a field called “transitology” in political science. keywords: study; yemen cache: ajiss-1493.pdf plain text: ajiss-1493.txt item: #413 of 2012 id: ajiss-1494 author: None title: ajiss-1494 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1009 flesch: 48 summary: Veteran journalist Marvine Howe’s book on Morocco is unique in its genre. Though she worked for Radio Maroc and as a stringer for the New York Times and Time-Life in Morocco from 1951 to 1962, Howe has covered several topics related to that country since and returned for a serious “Tour du Maroc” with two old friends in 2001. keywords: book; howe; morocco cache: ajiss-1494.pdf plain text: ajiss-1494.txt item: #414 of 2012 id: ajiss-1495 author: None title: ajiss-1495 date: 2020-06-24 words: 810 flesch: 43 summary: An Intellectual Biography of Bedi- uzzaman Said Nursi is a timely contribution to the study of one of the most Book Reviews 117 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk prominent Islamic thinkers of the twentieth century. Even though Nursi’s first and foremost mission was to present a new exegesis of the Qur’anic teachings based on the revival of faith by confirmation (tahqiq), the author focuses on the historical context of Nursi’s life and writings to such a degree that she disregards the importance of expounding upon the Risale-i Nur’s main message and Nursi’s unique contribution to the study of Islam. keywords: http://www.software-partners.co.uk; nursi cache: ajiss-1495.pdf plain text: ajiss-1495.txt item: #415 of 2012 id: ajiss-1496 author: None title: ajiss-1496 date: 2020-06-24 words: 923 flesch: 44 summary: This pioneering study is still a standard work in Kurdish studies. In his foreword, the well-known Kurdologist Martin van Bruinessen writes that “many scholars have recognized its importance not only as a study of the earlier phases of Kurdish nationalism, but also as a framework for understanding later developments.” keywords: jwaideh; middle; study cache: ajiss-1496.pdf plain text: ajiss-1496.txt item: #416 of 2012 id: ajiss-1497 author: None title: ajiss-1497 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1136 flesch: 41 summary: Yet their centuries- long presence was such that, as the author notes, for those Jews who were born and grew up in Baghdad before the mass exodus of 1950-51, the pres- ence of a mere handful of elderly Jews in the city today is “a state of affairs [that] is hard to imagine” (p. 1). “It is all but impossible to pinpoint a date or an event with which the position of the Jews of Iraq began to deteriorate and take the course leading finally, Book Reviews 121 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk http://www.software-partners.co.uk inevitably, to the destruction of community,” writes Nissim Rejwan near the end of his memoir The Last Jews of Baghdad (p. 188). keywords: http://www.software-partners.co.uk; jews; rejwan cache: ajiss-1497.pdf plain text: ajiss-1497.txt item: #417 of 2012 id: ajiss-1498 author: None title: ajiss-1498 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1145 flesch: 45 summary: In a discipline rich in studies addressing the multifarious aspects of the Middle East, a publication exploring the region’s history from the pre-Islamic period to the present confronts a fervent contest in establishing itself as a notable work. Advancing into chapter 2, “The Middle East before Muhammad,” a charismatic and informative account of the early era is delivered through a straightforward narrative suited to the target readership. keywords: chapter; east; history; middle cache: ajiss-1498.pdf plain text: ajiss-1498.txt item: #418 of 2012 id: ajiss-1499 author: None title: ajiss-1499 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1116 flesch: 34 summary: A professor at Royal Holloway in London and former president of the Royal Asiatic Society, Robinson is one of the most prominent scholars on (early) modern Islam in South Asia. This collection of essays consists primarily of the output of Australia’s first major conference on South Asian Islam, held in 1996. keywords: http://www.software-partners.co.uk; islam; islamic; south cache: ajiss-1499.pdf plain text: ajiss-1499.txt item: #419 of 2012 id: ajiss-150 author: None title: ajiss-150 date: 2020-05-16 words: 5742 flesch: 65 summary: Referred to in: Yuán Shǐ 元史, Běnjì dì èrshí chéng zōngsān 本紀第二十　成 宗三, Paragraph 40; Yuán Shi ̌ 元史, Běnjì dì èrshíyī chéng zōng sì 本紀第二 十一　成宗四, Paragraph 7 and 9; Yuán Shi ̌ 元史, Běnjì dì èrshí'èr wǔzōng yī 本紀第二十二　武宗一, Paragraph 9 and 10; Yuán Shǐ 元史, Zhì dì sìshísān shí huò èr 志第四十三　食貨二, Paragraph 82; Yuán Shǐ 元史, Lièzhuàn dì liùshísān 列傳第六十三, Paragraph 3. 52. First Muslim Visitor to Japan 撤都魯丁 (a misprint or alternative rendering of Sādōulǔdīng), brought a letter from Yuán China seeking to establish good relations.42 keywords: chinese; envoy; japan; japanese; kamakura; month; muslim; nendaiki; paragraph; shi; sources; sādōulǔdīng; term; tokyo; xīn; yuán; yuán shi cache: ajiss-150.pdf plain text: ajiss-150.txt item: #420 of 2012 id: ajiss-1500 author: None title: ajiss-1500 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1174 flesch: 35 summary: How often has it been noted that those Muslims most frequently given access to the mainstream media are the fanatical and patently violent characters depicted in media stereotypes who actually have no right to “speak” for Islam in the first place? Contemporary Islam: Dynamic, Not Static challenges these prevailing currents in scholarship by actually engaging the audience in a fashion that does not concede Islam’s centrality to a larger human experience. Moreover, some of these chapters reiterate the desperate need to champion new modes of analy- sis that will help us move beyond the dangerous reductions of Islam to a sin- gle articulation of what the “West” supposedly is not. keywords: islam; new; world cache: ajiss-1500.pdf plain text: ajiss-1500.txt item: #421 of 2012 id: ajiss-1501 author: None title: ajiss-1501 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1080 flesch: 42 summary: In a very direct, easy-to-read, and simple language, the book introduces the current problematic situation of Islamic higher education and offers a practical solu- tion. Under its double- major systems, students majoring in Islamic studies are required to major in a second social science of their choice and vice versa. keywords: islamic; muslim; ummah cache: ajiss-1501.pdf plain text: ajiss-1501.txt item: #422 of 2012 id: ajiss-1502 author: None title: ajiss-1502 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1008 flesch: 56 summary: The introduction gives a brief snapshot of non-Sufi literature, brief biographies of Sufi authors, and a short review of the “post-classical” age. The idea for this collection is to present works by important Sufi authors on the knowledge of God, both exoteric (`ilm) and esoteric (ma`rifah). keywords: god; knowledge cache: ajiss-1502.pdf plain text: ajiss-1502.txt item: #423 of 2012 id: ajiss-1503 author: None title: ajiss-1503 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1023 flesch: 50 summary: Their aim is not to produce a well-researched and exhaustive collection of Persian love poetry, but rather “to encourage readers to delve further into the wealth of Persian literature” (p. 5). This little book is a beguiling collection of Persian love poems drawn from both classical and modern poetry, but united by the theme of love in its myr- iad interpretations. keywords: love; persian; poetry cache: ajiss-1503.pdf plain text: ajiss-1503.txt item: #424 of 2012 id: ajiss-1504 author: None title: ajiss-1504 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1416 flesch: 58 summary: For Hirsi Ali, “Muslim woman” is synonymous with “victim” and “Muslim man” with “tyrant.” The first, “My Childhood,” tracks Hirsi Ali’s early years on the move with her mother, sister, and brother as her father, beloved but perpetually absent, waged coup after coup against Muhammad Siad Barre with the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF). keywords: ali; hirsi; islam cache: ajiss-1504.pdf plain text: ajiss-1504.txt item: #425 of 2012 id: ajiss-1505 author: None title: ajiss-1505 date: 2020-06-24 words: 2215 flesch: 48 summary: This is because of the fact that a third group of Muslims is now inextricably linked to American history and American society. Yet, having said all this about the difficulties of the immigrants from the Muslim lands, one can quickly point out that, without denying the historical precedence of the African Muslims of ante bellum America, Islam became a reality in American society only after the Muslim immigrants of the Twentieth Century began to exercise their freedom of worship in an America where each and every citizen strongly believes in his right to worship differ- ently. keywords: american; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; islam; islamic; muslim cache: ajiss-1505.pdf plain text: ajiss-1505.txt item: #426 of 2012 id: ajiss-1506 author: None title: ajiss-1506 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1668 flesch: 39 summary: Adel Ait-Ghezala (American University) argued that tourism helps to recreate a colonial environment and thus debases local cultures and peoples. Sarah Swick (American University) discussed her research project on how young Muslim women in Britain create their own space within mainstream British culture. keywords: american; canada; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; islamophobia; muslim; panel; university cache: ajiss-1506.pdf plain text: ajiss-1506.txt item: #427 of 2012 id: ajiss-1507 author: None title: ajiss-1507 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1522 flesch: 37 summary: Islam, Democracy, and Public Life in South Africa and in France During 3-5 September 2007, scholars associated with University of Wit- watersrand’s Department of Anthropology and key members of the Johan- nesburg-based Institute of French Studies in South Africa explored ways to engage South African and French scholars in forms of cooperation. The theme, “Islam, Democracy, and Public Life in South Africa and in France,” identified three basic objectives: to re-imagine Islam as an object of academic enquiry, explore the epistemological dimensions of the study of Islam, and foster scientific networks. keywords: africa; france; islam; muslim; south; university cache: ajiss-1507.pdf plain text: ajiss-1507.txt item: #428 of 2012 id: ajiss-1508 author: None title: ajiss-1508 date: 2020-06-24 words: 984 flesch: 33 summary: William Maley (Australian National University, Australia) led off the third panel with an analysis of the various approaches used by Australia to deal with Muslim militancy and combat strategies. Amin Saikal (Australian National University, Australia) made the con- cluding remarks and highlighted the usefulness of international symposiums like the Fulbright both to academics as well as to the general community. keywords: australia; muslim; social; university cache: ajiss-1508.pdf plain text: ajiss-1508.txt item: #429 of 2012 id: ajiss-1509 author: None title: ajiss-1509 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1712 flesch: 24 summary: Usamah Ansari (York University) delivered “Lucknow Ki Sar-Zameen (Lucknow from Head to Toe): Performative Citations that Produce ‘Muslim- ness’ in South Asian Cinema.” Zulfikar Hirji (York University) showed, in “Cosmopolitanism, Islam, and Empire on the Western Indian Ocean: keywords: cosmopolitan; http://www.software-partners.co.uk; islamic; muslim; university; western cache: ajiss-1509.pdf plain text: ajiss-1509.txt item: #430 of 2012 id: ajiss-1511 author: None title: ajiss-1511 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1662 flesch: 59 summary: True dialogue, for which all people should strive, is the exact opposite of this: My truth is true for me, yours is true for you, and what can I learn from you and you from me? Resentment undermines good dialogue. keywords: amss; community; dialogue; muslim cache: ajiss-1511.pdf plain text: ajiss-1511.txt item: #431 of 2012 id: ajiss-1512 author: None title: ajiss-1512 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1055 flesch: 30 summary: His analysis of these references offers a stunning kaleidoscope of American images of the Muslim “other,” but reveals far more about the inner dynamics of American nation-building and cultural self-definition than about Islam or Muslims. Ironically, abolitionist writers used two diverging propositions: lag- ging behind “even” the savage Turks, who had abolished slavery in the 1850s, and simultaneously criticizing American slavery as more inhumane than “Muslim slavery.” keywords: american; book; muslims cache: ajiss-1512.pdf plain text: ajiss-1512.txt item: #432 of 2012 id: ajiss-1513 author: None title: ajiss-1513 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1074 flesch: 53 summary: The fourth chapter describes the mass media’s role as the intermediary and promoter of globalized jihad in the West. In recent years, more has been written about jihad than any other single topic related to Islam. keywords: devji; jihad cache: ajiss-1513.pdf plain text: ajiss-1513.txt item: #433 of 2012 id: ajiss-1514 author: None title: ajiss-1514 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1117 flesch: 51 summary: In the “relative” framework of “empirico-rationalism,” he argues that religious violence is always “immoral,” positing that “life,” as a manifestation of that which “exists,” is worth more than that which does not exist (p. 113). His main proposition is that recent religious violence is largely motivated by ideological competition between secular and religious claims to bases of legitimacy (p. 233). keywords: violence; war cache: ajiss-1514.pdf plain text: ajiss-1514.txt item: #434 of 2012 id: ajiss-1515 author: None title: ajiss-1515 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1106 flesch: 36 summary: Due to the deep structural incom- patibility between classical construals of marriage and sexual ethics and those pursued by contemporary progressive Muslims, Ali cautions against the selective reappropriation of individual elements of classical Islamic law (such as the absence of any legal requirement that wives perform house- work). Its primary objective is to 100 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 24:4 engage with the values and aspirations of contemporary American Muslims, although it should also find a broad non-Muslim audience in undergraduate courses and among non-specialist readers. keywords: ali; islamic; muslims cache: ajiss-1515.pdf plain text: ajiss-1515.txt item: #435 of 2012 id: ajiss-1516 author: None title: ajiss-1516 date: 2020-06-25 words: 937 flesch: 37 summary: Despite set- backs suffered by women in certain sectors and professions, Derayeh finds that Iranian women have kept the patriarchal forces at bay. She ends her analysis by stating that “the continuing struggle of Iranian women to pro- tect their rights and their social, legal, and political status, and their success in achieving access to various fields of education and employment, have made it almost impossible for the present government of Iran to impose upon women a more restrictive fundamentalist Islamic system” (p. 217). keywords: derayeh; islamic; women cache: ajiss-1516.pdf plain text: ajiss-1516.txt item: #436 of 2012 id: ajiss-1517 author: None title: ajiss-1517 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1048 flesch: 36 summary: It engages varied debates over Islamic identity and jurisprudence and how they reveal Book Reviews 107 themselves within the context of Islamic economics. In this brilliant contribution, Timur Kuran weaves six chapters into a sound critique of the assumptions and practices of Islamic economics. keywords: economics; islamic; kuran cache: ajiss-1517.pdf plain text: ajiss-1517.txt item: #437 of 2012 id: ajiss-1518 author: None title: ajiss-1518 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1085 flesch: 45 summary: Chapter 6 analyzes the “price and wage ‘scissors’” in medieval Egypt and England. The powerful new strain originated in Central Asia and raged through China, the Middle East, Europe, and elsewhere dur- ing the fourteenth century: “Plague depopulation, both urban and rural, was at least as severe in Egypt as in the more heavily stricken areas of Western Europe. ... keywords: chapter; egypt; england cache: ajiss-1518.pdf plain text: ajiss-1518.txt item: #438 of 2012 id: ajiss-1519 author: None title: ajiss-1519 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1029 flesch: 51 summary: Juliane Hammer’s new study examines young Palestinian returnees as part of a larger social, historical, political, and cultural framework (p. 114). Indeed, Palestinian identities have developed differ- ently in various host countries. keywords: palestinian; return cache: ajiss-1519.pdf plain text: ajiss-1519.txt item: #439 of 2012 id: ajiss-152 author: None title: ajiss-152 date: 2019-04-11 words: 19470 flesch: 55 summary: This question is fundamental, since for Quine truth precedes existence. The exact source of this inconsistency, I shall argue, is grounded in Quine’s ontological theses, which un- derlie much of what metaphysical realism imports into the domain of analytic theology. keywords: existence; god; islamic; mind; ontology; philosophy; quine; realism; reality; sense; theology; thesis; tradition; way; world cache: ajiss-152.pdf plain text: ajiss-152.txt item: #440 of 2012 id: ajiss-1520 author: None title: ajiss-1520 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1001 flesch: 67 summary: His trip was made partly out of curiosity, no doubt fueled by the fact non-Muslims are forbidden to enter Book Reviews 113 Makkah, and as a test for future travel in Arabia’s interior (p. 28). For example: the ease of passing off Arabic due to the wide differences in existing Arabic dialects (p. 32), the Turkish love for the gramophone (p. 55), the claim that the entrance to Madinah is more jealously guarded than Makkah itself (p. 77), how Per- sians are perceived in Arabia (p. 89), the travails of a camel caravan (pp. keywords: makkah; wavell cache: ajiss-1520.pdf plain text: ajiss-1520.txt item: #441 of 2012 id: ajiss-1521 author: None title: ajiss-1521 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1093 flesch: 54 summary: I found the chapters on the parallels between the Biblical and Qur’anic theistic con- cepts (chapter 1), Arabia’s pre-Islamic past (chapter 2), and the Makkan and Madinan periods (chapters 3 and 4, respectively) very interesting and well- written. In the epilogue of Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians, Francis Edward Peters, an expert on medieval Arab thinkers and the author of several com- parative works on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, describes what might have led him to write the present book: while sitting at his breakfast table, he watched the 9/11 events from his window. keywords: book; islam; peters cache: ajiss-1521.pdf plain text: ajiss-1521.txt item: #442 of 2012 id: ajiss-1522 author: None title: ajiss-1522 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1042 flesch: 44 summary: Stephan Dähne begins the volume by focusing on the Qur’an and its use in political speeches attributed to Abu Hamza al-Shari (d. 747), Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr (d. 692), Uthman ibn Hayyan al-Murri (d. after 713), and Abdallah ibn Tahir (d. 844). Keeping with the Christian theme, Sandra Toenies Keating discusses the work of the Christian apologist Abu Ra’ita (d. ca 835) and his attempt to defend Biblical scripture from the Muslim charge of falsification (tahrif). keywords: ibn; islamic cache: ajiss-1522.pdf plain text: ajiss-1522.txt item: #443 of 2012 id: ajiss-1523 author: None title: ajiss-1523 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1242 flesch: 43 summary: If so, this is not Grabar’s fault, whose inspiring work has con- tributed so much to gaining for Islamic art the place it deserves not only in our perception of Islamic culture, but also in the sphere of world art. The result is a small and very diverse col- lection of experiences that surely does not offer an overview of all responses to Islamic art. keywords: art; culture; islamic; world cache: ajiss-1523.pdf plain text: ajiss-1523.txt item: #444 of 2012 id: ajiss-1524 author: None title: ajiss-1524 date: 2020-06-25 words: 987 flesch: 53 summary: Among the translation difficulties mentioned in the book are choosing what to translate; different dialects inserted into the narrative (dialects differ considerably, sometimes even between neighboring villages), which occa- sionally could only be solved by questioning the original author; typograph- ical errors in the source text, deletions by publishers, and mistakes made by the author (see p. 65); and difficulties in convincing publishers to accept translated works despite worries that the English-speaking public would not show an interest in such works. Furthermore, no systematic rules of transcription are used for Arabic names and works of literature. keywords: arabic; book; chapter cache: ajiss-1524.pdf plain text: ajiss-1524.txt item: #445 of 2012 id: ajiss-1525 author: None title: ajiss-1525 date: 2020-06-25 words: 2255 flesch: 59 summary: We must make sure the countries of the world friends and foes alike know that Canada does not trample on the rights and civil liberties of its peo- ple and will not tolerate other countries trampling the rights and civil liberties of Canadians. Today, as we celebrate the hard work of many dedicated Canadians from all walks of life, including several elected officials from all parties, as we celebrate the hope that was restored in all of us by the actions of our court system, as we celebrate the recent responsible act of acknowledgment of the government of the grave miscarriage of justice in the case of Maher Arar ... as we celebrate, we call on our elected officials, over five years after the fateful events of September 11, to lead Canada back to its rightful position as the light unto the nations when it comes to civil liberties, social harmony and equal respect of all its citizens. keywords: canada; canadians; liberties; muslim cache: ajiss-1525.pdf plain text: ajiss-1525.txt item: #446 of 2012 id: ajiss-1526 author: None title: ajiss-1526 date: 2020-06-25 words: 5283 flesch: 60 summary: The Significance of Religion Marx wrote in the Introduction to a Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: “Religion is … the imaginary realization of human being, because human being possesses no true reality; Thus the struggle against religion is indi- rectly the struggle against that world whose aroma is religion … Religion is the opium of the people. Modernization, Religion, and Culture in Southeast Asia I would like to probe into the role of religion and culture with regard to the quality of life in Southeast Asia in the context of modernization. keywords: asia; cultures; god; human; life; man; modernization; people; religion; southeast cache: ajiss-1526.pdf plain text: ajiss-1526.txt item: #447 of 2012 id: ajiss-1527 author: None title: ajiss-1527 date: 2020-06-25 words: 910 flesch: 38 summary: AwqafSA and IRCICA, aware of the fact that very little research has been done on Islam in southern Africa, have strongly advocated holding a symposium to bring scholars, researchers, and stakeholders together to share their thoughts on their respective countries and communities. The symposium was held to realize the following goals: (1) to increase our knowledge of Islam’s history and heritage in southern Africa, (2) make the southern African Muslims’ religious and cultural heritage better under- stood by themselves and other communities both at home and abroad, (3) strengthen affinities and cooperation among Muslim and African nations and peoples by producing and disseminating Islamic and cultural knowl- edge, (4) promote better understanding and dialogue among Muslims and members of other faith and cultural communities, (5) offer a forum for the true understanding of Islamic culture in the world, (6) contribute to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development’s (NEPAD) African Millennium Pro- ject and the African Renaissance, and (7) produce authentic resources for fur- ther research and curriculum development. keywords: africa; islamic; symposium cache: ajiss-1527.pdf plain text: ajiss-1527.txt item: #448 of 2012 id: ajiss-1528 author: None title: ajiss-1528 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1105 flesch: 45 summary: Po Dharma (The French Research School of the Far East, France), in his “Notes on the Sociocultural and Economic Problems of the Cham in Central Vietnam,” mentioned other problems: traditional religious and cultural prac- tices have been forbidden, many Cham cannot read the traditional script, Vietnamese law supplanted customary law in 1975, and their spiritual life has not been respected. In his “Migration, Resettlement, and Identity of the Cham Diaspora in Southeast Asia,” Nicholas Weber (The Institut National des Langues and Civilisations Orientales, France) detailed how Cham communities have fared in the disapora. keywords: cambodia; cham; champa; language cache: ajiss-1528.pdf plain text: ajiss-1528.txt item: #449 of 2012 id: ajiss-1529 author: None title: ajiss-1529 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1083 flesch: 55 summary: The Arab states declared war on Israel and, out- numbered and under-equipped, 400,000 more Palestinians were expelled. Miller, the final speaker, discussed the after-effects of war: “Wars create pain in the prospects of gain, they create incentives and disincentives. keywords: conflict; israel; war cache: ajiss-1529.pdf plain text: ajiss-1529.txt item: #450 of 2012 id: ajiss-1530 author: None title: ajiss-1530 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1164 flesch: 50 summary: Shabana Mir discusses American Muslim women and cross-gender interaction on university campuses in the context of examining the nature of pluralism. Tahir Abbas’ reflection on teach- ing “Islam, Multiculturalism, and the State,” which reveals the parallel con- cerns, similarities, and differences found between teaching similar courses in North American academic environments, is particularly instructive. keywords: american; islam; percent; teaching cache: ajiss-1530.pdf plain text: ajiss-1530.txt item: #451 of 2012 id: ajiss-1531 author: None title: ajiss-1531 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1068 flesch: 59 summary: After the introduction by Noor Aishah and Lai Ah Eng, Chee Min Fui focuses on the historical evolution of madrasah education (chapter 1) and Mukhlis Abu Bakar highlights the ten- sion between the state’s interest and the citizens’ right to an Islamic education (chapter 2). During this period, the Council for the Development of the Singapore Muslim Community emerged to help revive madrasah education. keywords: chapter; education; madrasah cache: ajiss-1531.pdf plain text: ajiss-1531.txt item: #452 of 2012 id: ajiss-1532 author: None title: ajiss-1532 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1098 flesch: 46 summary: Voices of Islam in Southeast Asia is partly the outcome of a trend in the scholarship on Southeast Asian Islam that has gained momentum from the mid-1980s onwards: namely, a corrective of the tendency to regard Islam as a “thin veneer” (as the Dutch historian van Leur had described it) over much older and supposedly more profound cultural deposits from the Indian sub- continent. The book contains excerpts from some of the most prominent intel- lectuals and political leaders in twentieth-century Muslim Southeast Asia, as well as budding young intellectuals who have just started making a name for themselves. keywords: asia; islam; muslim; southeast cache: ajiss-1532.pdf plain text: ajiss-1532.txt item: #453 of 2012 id: ajiss-1533 author: None title: ajiss-1533 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1077 flesch: 38 summary: The importance of comparative works on Sufi communities should be evident, given Sufism’s transnational character. While maintaining such Sufi practices as dhikr and imitatio Muhammadi, as well as a centralized and hierarchical organization, the group has no sheikh and considers itself a da`wah organi- zation dedicated to individual salvation and strengthening the Islamic com- munity within a revivalist framework. keywords: muslim; sufism; west cache: ajiss-1533.pdf plain text: ajiss-1533.txt item: #454 of 2012 id: ajiss-1534 author: None title: ajiss-1534 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1031 flesch: 41 summary: The increased demand for government poor relief was met with increas- ingly stringent eligibility requirements (although that demand itself was at least partially the result of the government’s military conscription policies, which deprived families of their breadwinners and sometimes thrust them into poverty). Ener focuses largely on Egypt’s four state-sponsored institutions for poor relief nationwide: the Maristan Qalawun, founded in 1284; Takiyyat Tulun, within the historic mosque of Ibn Tulun; the Qishlah al-Sadaqah; 124 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 24:3 and Takiyyat Qabbari. keywords: egypt; social cache: ajiss-1534.pdf plain text: ajiss-1534.txt item: #455 of 2012 id: ajiss-1535 author: None title: ajiss-1535 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1026 flesch: 61 summary: The following day, when a Khmer Rouge cadre came to collect the Qur’ans for burning and to lead forty religious leaders and elders away, both of which the villagers refused to allow, they mobilized themselves on the assumption that they would die sooner or later anyways. The village was reportedly burned to the ground, renamed, and became the site of a Khmer Rouge security office. keywords: cham; khmer; rouge cache: ajiss-1535.pdf plain text: ajiss-1535.txt item: #456 of 2012 id: ajiss-1536 author: None title: ajiss-1536 date: 2020-06-25 words: 854 flesch: 47 summary: Safi demonstrates the social and political agenda at work in the “final,” post-tenth-century CE elaboration (as in “icing on the cake”) of Islamic orthodoxy, an epithet that should never be used. The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 24:3 and social history. keywords: book; chapter; islamic cache: ajiss-1536.pdf plain text: ajiss-1536.txt item: #457 of 2012 id: ajiss-1537 author: None title: ajiss-1537 date: 2020-06-25 words: 900 flesch: 49 summary: The book forces one to reassess and reexamine perhaps long-held prejudices about the nature of medieval Sunni exegesis and its formation. It also repeats his main contribution to the study of exegesis; he is no doubt correct that much scholarship on medieval exegesis is wrong-headed because it does not deal with a close reading of the texts, which would yield the multiplicity of meanings offered by the medieval exegete. keywords: exegesis; tha`labi cache: ajiss-1537.pdf plain text: ajiss-1537.txt item: #458 of 2012 id: ajiss-1538 author: None title: ajiss-1538 date: 2020-06-25 words: 3223 flesch: 52 summary: His latest book, British Islam: the Road to Radicalism, is due out in the spring of 2008. Teaching the Study of Muslim Minorities in Higher Education in the United Kingdom Tahir Abbas Introduction In this paper, I reflect on my experiences of teaching sociology of Islam at an elite British university: the University of Birmingham. keywords: abbas; britain; british; islam; minorities; muslim; students; study cache: ajiss-1538.pdf plain text: ajiss-1538.txt item: #459 of 2012 id: ajiss-1539 author: None title: ajiss-1539 date: 2020-06-25 words: 3796 flesch: 41 summary: CMEIS also sponsors a yearly Brown-bag Study Group that attracts both civilian and military faculty and staff members from all parts of the Naval Academy. Both professors came to the Naval Academy and discussed their works with a small group of faculty members, attended classes, and had the chance to meet and talk with stu- dents in informal settings. keywords: academy; cmeis; east; faculty; islamic; members; middle; middle east; naval; studies cache: ajiss-1539.pdf plain text: ajiss-1539.txt item: #460 of 2012 id: ajiss-1540 author: None title: ajiss-1540 date: 2020-06-25 words: 2644 flesch: 46 summary: Regarding the atmosphere in class, most Jewish students did not feel any tension between Jews and Muslims in class, while most Muslim students felt that such tension did prevail; some of them even found it disturbing. Yehoshua Frenkel (Haifa University) thrashed out the obstacles instruc- tors face when teaching about Islam to Muslim students whose worldviews are shaped by popular preachers and media images. keywords: course; islam; islamic; muslim; students; teaching; university cache: ajiss-1540.pdf plain text: ajiss-1540.txt item: #461 of 2012 id: ajiss-1541 author: None title: ajiss-1541 date: 2020-06-25 words: 968 flesch: 37 summary: Telling many stories of American oppression of Native peoples, Weaver concluded that it has been hard for Native peoples to bring their holistic, relational values, which stress generosity and belonging, to bear on American political life. Finally, Howard Zehr (co-director and professor, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, Eastern Mennonite University), Howard J. Vogel (professor of law, Hamline University), and Thomas W. Porter, Jr., (executive director, Just Peace Center for Mediation and Conflict Transformation), analyzed the prospects for religious people to find common ground around the restorative justice movement. keywords: law; professor; university cache: ajiss-1541.pdf plain text: ajiss-1541.txt item: #462 of 2012 id: ajiss-1542 author: None title: ajiss-1542 date: 2020-06-25 words: 983 flesch: 42 summary: The National Muslim Law Students Association (NMLSA), in conjunction with the WCL’s Islamic Legal Forum, proposed a conference that would look at the intersection of classical and modern conceptions of Islamic law, discourses around gender and Islam, and the larger political questions that often frame these issues. Mohammad Fadel (faculty member, School of Law, Toronto University) opened the first panel, “Islamic Law: An Introduction and Critical Issues,” by presenting the basics of Islamic law. keywords: islamic; law; muslim cache: ajiss-1542.pdf plain text: ajiss-1542.txt item: #463 of 2012 id: ajiss-1543 author: None title: ajiss-1543 date: 2020-06-25 words: 1431 flesch: 45 summary: Bakary expounded upon the unprecedented overtures made by a secular state, such as Turkey, to African religious leaders. The first session focused on “Reflections on the History and Future of Religious and Cultural Relationships between African Islamic Countries and Communities in Turkey.” keywords: african; communities; muslim; turkey cache: ajiss-1543.pdf plain text: ajiss-1543.txt item: #464 of 2012 id: ajiss-1546 author: None title: ajiss-1546 date: 2020-06-24 words: 2285 flesch: 51 summary: A Muslim will always pri- oritize hajj and Eid al-Adha over a non-Muslim celebration. The genius of Islamic civilization was to perceive its non-Muslim inhabitants’ desire for more distinctiveness and thus allow them a greater degree of freedom. keywords: christmas; holiday; islamic; muslim; society; tree cache: ajiss-1546.pdf plain text: ajiss-1546.txt item: #465 of 2012 id: ajiss-1547 author: None title: ajiss-1547 date: 2020-06-24 words: 5033 flesch: 41 summary: Contextualism, Deprivation Theory, and State-Centered Approaches Contextualism, which emerged as a reaction to essentialist scholarship, emphasizes the “contingencies in the study of Islamic social movements and rules out the irreversibility and teleology of modernization theory and the concomitant essentialization of Islam.”9 Thus, in order to understand Islamic political identity, a hermeneutical approach that focuses on human agency and its constant interaction with the social structure is used. keywords: approach; identity; islamic; ispms; literature; movements; scholars; social; state; turkey cache: ajiss-1547.pdf plain text: ajiss-1547.txt item: #466 of 2012 id: ajiss-1548 author: None title: ajiss-1548 date: 2020-06-24 words: 966 flesch: 43 summary: Subsequent chapters explore a number of sociocultural and political issues of interest to the Arab-American community, including the politics of the Arab world, activism (historical and contemporary) in Arab America, the relationship between Arab Americans and the American government at both the local and federal levels, religious traditions in Arab America, and the instability and diversity of Arab-American identity. Other strengths include Orfalea’s personal knowledge of many of the issues and histories he examines, his humanization through engaging profiles of individuals sub- sisting within a widely stereotyped community, and his condemnation of draconian legislation targeted at Arab Americans and rationalized by an Arab presence in the United States. keywords: americans; arab; book cache: ajiss-1548.pdf plain text: ajiss-1548.txt item: #467 of 2012 id: ajiss-1549 author: None title: ajiss-1549 date: 2020-06-24 words: 925 flesch: 62 summary: Personally, I would have preferred a more detailed analysis of the everyday lives of Thai Muslims. Linguistically, this demonstrates a fundamental difficulty: While the term Thai Muslim is commonly used, the logic described above suggests a neces- sary divide between being Thai and being Muslim. keywords: malay; muslims; thailand cache: ajiss-1549.pdf plain text: ajiss-1549.txt item: #468 of 2012 id: ajiss-1550 author: None title: ajiss-1550 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1000 flesch: 48 summary: She describes the grassroots efforts that developed orphanages, health clinics, and schools; writes about the women’s religious rituals; and describes the reinterpretation of Prophet Muhammad’s granddaughter Zaynab as a role model for Shi`i women. These women, having steadfastly studied their religion, locate themselves as pious women who can construct and define themselves in the modern world without succumbing to the pressures of western standards of modernity. keywords: islam; women cache: ajiss-1550.pdf plain text: ajiss-1550.txt item: #469 of 2012 id: ajiss-1551 author: None title: ajiss-1551 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1005 flesch: 43 summary: Her other theoretical contribution is to challenge and deconstruct simplistic and outdated conceptions of state sovereignty. In addition to its strong contribu- tion to the theoretical literature on emigration and state sovereignty, this book is an excellent reference source for scholars of the four countries selected as case studies. keywords: emigration; sovereignty; state cache: ajiss-1551.pdf plain text: ajiss-1551.txt item: #470 of 2012 id: ajiss-1552 author: None title: ajiss-1552 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1055 flesch: 40 summary: Shad Saleem Faruqi, who discusses the Malaysian constitution and implementation of Islamic laws, remarks that Malaysia, with its commendable record of multicultural rela- tions, has a hybrid legal system, one that is neither totally Islamic nor secu- lar. Mohammad Hashim Kamali examines Muslim scholarly perspectives, both Sunni and Shi`a, on the “Islamic state,” arguing they project a civilian state with Islamic law rather than a “theocratic” state, which is proscribed by Islamic law. keywords: asia; islamic; muslim; southeast cache: ajiss-1552.pdf plain text: ajiss-1552.txt item: #471 of 2012 id: ajiss-1553 author: None title: ajiss-1553 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1118 flesch: 41 summary: Providing quotes from various scholars (e.g., Lewis, Muir, Berlioux, Hughes, Garrett, Margoliouth, Roberts, and DeJong) (pp. 16-17), Clarence-Smith brings out of a set of synergistic syllogisms on the assump- tive plane that the Qur’an failed to eliminate slavery, that removing this prac- tice would shake the faith itself, that the Prophet was totally unaware of the concept of abolition as an idea as well as in practice, and, importantly, that the whole Islamic social structure with its attendant system was based on a type of slavery associated with the organization of the harem. This book delves into Islam and its connection with slavery in historical and etiological terms by presenting the synthesis in an almost axiomatic manner that “slavery has always been a part and parcel of the basic core and a central tenet of Islam.” keywords: author; chapter; islamic; slavery cache: ajiss-1553.pdf plain text: ajiss-1553.txt item: #472 of 2012 id: ajiss-1554 author: None title: ajiss-1554 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1016 flesch: 34 summary: It is Asad’s undermining of British social anthropology in the late 1960s and ethnographic functionalism in general that anticipates the postcolonial theories that would emerge many years later. More than being a simple icon of a generation that challenged the conven- tions of Orientalism, it is Asad’s essential (if often unacknowledged) contri- bution to our current self-critical engagement with the larger world that makes this book so valuable. keywords: asad; book; religion cache: ajiss-1554.pdf plain text: ajiss-1554.txt item: #473 of 2012 id: ajiss-1555 author: None title: ajiss-1555 date: 2020-06-24 words: 993 flesch: 58 summary: Her husband’s position forces Nadia, along with other women in simi- lar positions, to seek out GIA safe houses where she can stay and be pro- tected until the cloud of suspicion has passed. At this moment, Nadia begins to realize that Ahmed has not married her as a wife, but as a GIA (from French Groupe Islamique Armé) investment. keywords: gia; nadia; story cache: ajiss-1555.pdf plain text: ajiss-1555.txt item: #474 of 2012 id: ajiss-1556 author: None title: ajiss-1556 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1122 flesch: 40 summary: In his peculiarly self-abasing preface to Animals in Islamic Tradition and Muslim Cultures, Richard Foltz speculates that the audience for his book will probably consist of “non-Muslims who are sympathetic to Muslim cul- ture and interested in learning more about what it has to offer in terms of animal rights” (p. xii). 126 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 24:2 That being the case, Animals in Islamic Tradition does seem to have, if not a thesis, then at least a slant: it is clearly concerned with championing ani- mal rights and identifying the sources from which an Islamic emphasis on animal rights, an Islamic vegetarianism, and the like might justify them- selves. keywords: animal; book; islamic cache: ajiss-1556.pdf plain text: ajiss-1556.txt item: #475 of 2012 id: ajiss-1557 author: None title: ajiss-1557 date: 2020-06-24 words: 2816 flesch: 55 summary: The basic point I will make is a simple one: It is not very productive to study Islam through the lenses of tradition and modernity. Since then, the debates on tradition and modernity have been reframed and, in the intervening years, seem to have been dis-placed and re-mapped onto Islam. keywords: god; islam; modernity; qur’an; tradition cache: ajiss-1557.pdf plain text: ajiss-1557.txt item: #476 of 2012 id: ajiss-1558 author: None title: ajiss-1558 date: 2020-06-24 words: 4947 flesch: 47 summary: In light of the coalitions on the “war on terror” that have transpired since 9/11, the historical evolution of international society and world history shows that groups, nations, and states have been fighting terror for a long time but in a different context. But in terms of their relevance for an all-inclusive recognition, many states are not signatories to it and there are limited sanctions for non-enforcement. keywords: american; coalition; international; law; society; states; terror; terrorism; united; war; world cache: ajiss-1558.pdf plain text: ajiss-1558.txt item: #477 of 2012 id: ajiss-1559 author: None title: ajiss-1559 date: 2020-06-24 words: 2816 flesch: 55 summary: The basic point I will make is a simple one: It is not very productive to study Islam through the lenses of tradition and modernity. Since then, the debates on tradition and modernity have been reframed and, in the intervening years, seem to have been dis-placed and re-mapped onto Islam. keywords: god; islam; modernity; qur’an; tradition cache: ajiss-1559.pdf plain text: ajiss-1559.txt item: #478 of 2012 id: ajiss-1560 author: None title: ajiss-1560 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1100 flesch: 44 summary: While American Muslim leaders and participants argued that Islamophobia was not only a reality but also a rapidly growing phenomenon in the United States, the government’s position was that while there have been increased incidences of anti-Muslim episodes in the coun- try, the word Islamophobia deepens the divide between the two sides. US Government and American Muslims Engage to Define Islamophobia On 4 December 2006, the American Muslims’ national leadership met with key senior American government officials to discuss Islamophobia in the country and American-Muslim relations. keywords: american; islamophobia; muslim cache: ajiss-1560.pdf plain text: ajiss-1560.txt item: #479 of 2012 id: ajiss-1562 author: None title: ajiss-1562 date: 2020-06-24 words: 2633 flesch: 73 summary: Since I invented Editorial iii this barbette and have taken the veil as a nun in the Fontevraud Abbey, I am incensed with this up-start trying to tell me what is and is not properly Bri- tish, and moreover that he thinks he can tell me how I should dress!” Olivia again turns to Cesario bewildered: “O Cesario, Italy, the land of the Virgin Mary, is opposed to the veil?? Puzzled Cesario gets up to leave, and Eleanor and Olivia rise too. keywords: cesario; eleanor; islamic; olivia; social; veil cache: ajiss-1562.pdf plain text: ajiss-1562.txt item: #480 of 2012 id: ajiss-1563 author: None title: ajiss-1563 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1058 flesch: 37 summary: Unlike previous chapters, in which he makes the case for the compatibility of concepts, here he asserts the need to adapt Islamic law and the current conditions of Islamic communities to the project of modernity and its universal values. Here, Kassim attacks both those who claim that Islamic law does not offer sufficient human rights and those who believe that the very notion of human rights is a western concept that is inapplicable to the non-western world. keywords: islamic; kassim; modernity cache: ajiss-1563.pdf plain text: ajiss-1563.txt item: #481 of 2012 id: ajiss-1564 author: None title: ajiss-1564 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1177 flesch: 41 summary: This book includes eight articles on various aspects of Islamic law in the modern world, as well as an introduction by the two editors. Wael Hallaq’s article is the most provocative, for he suggests that because the traditional socioeconomic infrastructure that supported the Shari`ah as a social institution in the pre-modern world has vanished in the face of the centralized state, the Shari`ah cannot be restored without revolu- tionary institutional changes in the Arab state that would, at a minimum, give religious scholars the institutional independence to formulate a legiti- mate vision of Islamic law. keywords: egypt; islamic; law cache: ajiss-1564.pdf plain text: ajiss-1564.txt item: #482 of 2012 id: ajiss-1565 author: None title: ajiss-1565 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1166 flesch: 48 summary: Officially, it was administered through the religious bureaucracy of the chief qadi (judge) and the directors of Islamic scholars, as well as of each Haram mosque. This scholar rose rapidly to the position of the Sultanate of Aceh’s shaykh al-Islam and launched his cam- paign for Islamic renewal to correct what he considered to be misunder- standings of Sufi doctrines, such as notions of wujudiyah as propagated by some local scholars. keywords: azra; islamic cache: ajiss-1565.pdf plain text: ajiss-1565.txt item: #483 of 2012 id: ajiss-1566 author: None title: ajiss-1566 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1182 flesch: 27 summary: In what should be lauded as a com- plex triumph, chapter 3, “The Context: The Arab-Israeli Intractable Conflict,” smacks of inconsistencies as it blunders through a history of the Arab-Israeli conflict omitting the demeritorious activities exacted by the Israeli govern- ment and military, choosing instead to dwell upon the Palestinians’ actions. From a strong opening chapter, the authors negotiate through twelve chapters adeptly, the most notable of which include chapter 4, “Represen- tation of Arabs in Public Discourse”; chapter 5, “Representation of Arabs in School Textbooks”; and chapter 10, “Studies with Schoolchildren, Adoles- cents, and Young Adults.” keywords: arabs; chapter; conflict; stereotypes cache: ajiss-1566.pdf plain text: ajiss-1566.txt item: #484 of 2012 id: ajiss-1568 author: None title: ajiss-1568 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1006 flesch: 42 summary: Russell places the disparate views of Egyptian women in the con- text of growing consumerism and educational opportunities in the late nine- teenth and early twentieth centuries. For example, Christine Sproul’s unpublished dissertation “The American College for Girls, Cairo, Egypt: Its History and Influence on Egyptian Women: A Study of Selected Graduates” (University of Utah: 1982), is not mentioned in the author’s research. keywords: education; women cache: ajiss-1568.pdf plain text: ajiss-1568.txt item: #485 of 2012 id: ajiss-1570 author: None title: ajiss-1570 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1157 flesch: 30 summary: None of them are closely related to the four fatwa-issuing bodies, except for Abdurrahman Wahid, a former leader of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and president of Indonesia who has become increasingly isolated from mainstream Indonesian Islam due to his perceived commitment to liberal democratic values over Reve- lation. The strength of this book lies in its detailed exposition of a broad range of Indonesian fatawa and the underlying methods of reasoning, along with its provocative assessment of state intrusion into religious life. keywords: fatawa; indonesian; islam; state cache: ajiss-1570.pdf plain text: ajiss-1570.txt item: #486 of 2012 id: ajiss-1571 author: None title: ajiss-1571 date: 2020-06-24 words: 992 flesch: 40 summary: For example, René Devisch’s paper on Kinshasa is not really about civil war, but rather about the effects of the collapse of state authority and the formal economy, both of which unleashed rampant vio- lence in the city but also led to the emergence of independent Christian heal- ing communes as a sort of refuge. 112 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 24:1 Conversely, Paul Richards’ paper on Sierra Leone’s RUF (Revolutionary United Front) as a millennarian sect, while clearly about civil war, is only about “religion” if one defines the term so broadly that it loses all analytical specificity. keywords: papers; religion; war cache: ajiss-1571.pdf plain text: ajiss-1571.txt item: #487 of 2012 id: ajiss-1572 author: None title: ajiss-1572 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1211 flesch: 36 summary: Unless civic-democratic Islam offers a practical framework to chip away at the institutional founda- tions of dictatorial rule, efforts to anchor civic pluralism within Muslim thought may be ineffective in fostering overt democratization. Manda- ville’s exegesis on transnational Islam and John Bowen’s “Pluralism and Normativity in French Islamic Reasoning,” for example, scrutinize how immigrant Muslim communities in Europe have renovated their ethical and legal traditions to deal with new social situations. keywords: civic; islamic; muslim; pluralism cache: ajiss-1572.pdf plain text: ajiss-1572.txt item: #488 of 2012 id: ajiss-1573 author: None title: ajiss-1573 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1127 flesch: 44 summary: In chapter 8, “The Meaning of the Text as an Approxima- tion,” three issues are taken up: the conceptual category of the Unseen (ghayb), the explanation of historical texts by referring to the other faith tra- ditions (particularly the isra’iliyat), and parables (amthal). The author makes his final and third premise in chapter 3, “Revelation and Interpretation.” keywords: interpretation; qur’an; saeed cache: ajiss-1573.pdf plain text: ajiss-1573.txt item: #489 of 2012 id: ajiss-1574 author: None title: ajiss-1574 date: 2020-06-24 words: 908 flesch: 52 summary: Part Three, “Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Responses to Religious Diversity,” features two Jewish, two Chris- tian, and four Muslim responses exploring what it means to be committed adherents to their own faith tradition while seeking to respect those of other faith traditions or how, in the words of Anglican vicar Marcus Braybrooke, to “learn to see members of other faiths as fellow pilgrims” while remaining a “witness to one’s experience of divine mercy (p. 225).” On page 23, Diana Eck defines the different responses to the reality of reli- gious diversity: exclusivism (our tradition is the one and only truth, excluding all others), inclusivism (there are many traditions, but ours is the culmination of or superior to all others), and pluralism (no one tradition has a monopoly on truth, and we can learn from each other without giving up our own com- mitments). keywords: book; islam cache: ajiss-1574.pdf plain text: ajiss-1574.txt item: #490 of 2012 id: ajiss-1575 author: None title: ajiss-1575 date: 2020-06-24 words: 993 flesch: 57 summary: The first step toward understanding traditional hadith scholarship is to know its terminology. Ibn al-Salah’s book can help correct certain modern misunderstandings about the nature of traditional hadith scholarship and the technical meanings of such basic terms as sahih, da`if, munkar, and tadlis. keywords: hadith; sahih cache: ajiss-1575.pdf plain text: ajiss-1575.txt item: #491 of 2012 id: ajiss-1576 author: None title: ajiss-1576 date: 2020-11-06 words: 1113 flesch: 57 summary: Initially misled by the title, I was expecting the book to be a qualitative study based on interviews with Muslims and Christians debating justice and love. We should commend Johnston on bringing together scholarship on these two virtues (justice and love) into a single volume. keywords: chapter; justice; love cache: ajiss-1576.pdf plain text: ajiss-1576.txt item: #492 of 2012 id: ajiss-1577 author: None title: ajiss-1577 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1007 flesch: 58 summary: Ibn Abi Hatim’s interest in hadith is reflected in his oeuvre, which Dickinson classifies into three categories: hadith criticism (six works), theology and religious subjects (ten works), and, lastly, biogra- phy and history (three works). Chapter 4, “The Testimonial Evidence,” a mere four pages, illustrates how Ibn Abi Hatim used testimonial evidence from the earliest Muslims to prove that hadith criticism was practiced by the early generations of Muslims. keywords: hadith; hatim; ibn cache: ajiss-1577.pdf plain text: ajiss-1577.txt item: #493 of 2012 id: ajiss-1578 author: None title: ajiss-1578 date: 2020-08-14 words: 6644 flesch: 66 summary: These are a remarkable willingness on the part of religious people to work out a means of living together, but against a backdrop of diminishing popular religious belief and practice of a sort that the Great Names of the three Abrahamic Faiths would not recognise as deriving from their Teaching. For it seems to me that if religion, or religious people, are to have a role in promoting world peace it has to be through influencing politicians and the leaders and formers of opinion – which would include the “Media” – at least to tell the truth, and not to lie, most of the time. keywords: book; dialogue; faiths; god; islam; islamic; need; people; religion; social; way; world cache: ajiss-1578.pdf plain text: ajiss-1578.txt item: #494 of 2012 id: ajiss-1579 author: None title: ajiss-1579 date: 2020-08-14 words: 1647 flesch: 54 summary: To this, one must add prominent women like Sayyidah Nafisah (the daughter of Imam Hasan) and Sayyidah `A’ishah (the daughter of Imam Sadiq), whose mastery of exoteric and esoteric knowledge have been acknowledged by Sufi masters like Ibn `Ata’llah Iskandarani and many others. The fact that Tabatba’i did not mention the names of female Shi`i scholars and masters of esoteric sciences is perhaps just an accident. keywords: book; man; women cache: ajiss-1579.pdf plain text: ajiss-1579.txt item: #495 of 2012 id: ajiss-1581 author: None title: ajiss-1581 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1234 flesch: 35 summary: Zainab Alwani (International Islamic University Malaysia) presented the main factors that contribute to the shortcomings experienced in the aca- demic development of Middle Eastern studies programs in American uni- versities: opposition to Islam in the Christian West, the Crusades, and the Spanish Inquisition. Norbani Binit Ismail (International Islamic University, Malaysia) compared the translations of Surah Maryam by five British Orientalists to those pro- duced by profound Muslim scholars. keywords: american; canada; islamic; muslim; panel; university cache: ajiss-1581.pdf plain text: ajiss-1581.txt item: #496 of 2012 id: ajiss-1582 author: None title: ajiss-1582 date: 2020-06-24 words: 1498 flesch: 49 summary: When Hezbollah killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two more near the Israel-Lebanon border on 12 July 2006, Israel responded by bombing Lebanon and Hezbollah responded by firing rockets into northern Israel. After discussing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) influence in Washington, he ana- lyzed what the world would be like if the lobby was less influential. keywords: american; israel; lobby; war cache: ajiss-1582.pdf plain text: ajiss-1582.txt item: #497 of 2012 id: ajiss-1583 author: None title: ajiss-1583 date: 2020-06-26 words: 2620 flesch: 54 summary: To be sure, many contemporary Mus- lims, along with their hostile or unaware non-Muslim western counterparts, need to be reminded of this. There was also the usual skepticism and claims of anti-Muslim discrim- ination from some Muslims. keywords: csis; islamic; muslim; rcmp; terror; toronto; war cache: ajiss-1583.pdf plain text: ajiss-1583.txt item: #498 of 2012 id: ajiss-1584 author: None title: ajiss-1584 date: 2020-06-26 words: 3534 flesch: 45 summary: Poets crossed over from Spain to Provence and beyond, and so did singing girls “sent as gifts by Muslim rulers to their Christian counterparts” (p. 72). He rests his case by monitoring the fre- quency of religious names in specific periods of time (see his appendix on “Quantitative Onomastics”), because these illustrate parents’ common atti- tudes about future trends. keywords: bulliet; chapter; christian; civilization; europe; islam; islamic; muslim; power cache: ajiss-1584.pdf plain text: ajiss-1584.txt item: #499 of 2012 id: ajiss-1585 author: None title: ajiss-1585 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1145 flesch: 42 summary: His purpose here is to counter the impression that secular political practices sim- ulate religious ones by arguing that the sacred and the secular depend upon each other, rather than one coming after the other (p. 26). According to the author, secularism is more than a mere separation of religious from secular institutions of government, for it presupposes new concepts of religion, ethics, and politics; as well as the new imperatives associated with them, and is closely linked to the emergence of the mod- ern nation-state (pp. 1-2). keywords: secular; secularism cache: ajiss-1585.pdf plain text: ajiss-1585.txt item: #500 of 2012 id: ajiss-1586 author: None title: ajiss-1586 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1182 flesch: 53 summary: The subject of child detention is fraught with complexities of both a legal and an emotional nature, particularly when placed in the context of conflict. For many children, the nightmare begins before they even enter the courtroom. keywords: child; children; court cache: ajiss-1586.pdf plain text: ajiss-1586.txt item: #501 of 2012 id: ajiss-1587 author: None title: ajiss-1587 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1216 flesch: 53 summary: It should be noted that vom Bruck almost totally ignores the sadah of southern Yemen as well as of the Tihama, although her text sometimes reads as if it were describing a generic class of sadah for Yemen as a whole. The anthropological literature on Yemen has had little to say about the class of sadah (plural of sayyid) who dominated the Zaydi imamate in North Yemen from the tenth century until 1962. keywords: sadah; social; yemen cache: ajiss-1587.pdf plain text: ajiss-1587.txt item: #502 of 2012 id: ajiss-1588 author: None title: ajiss-1588 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1389 flesch: 45 summary: For Kaylan, modern Turkish history unfolds in an almost Manichean struggle between secularist Kemalists and “[t]he fundamentalist Islamic extremists bent on establishing orthodox Muslim regimes One particularly blatant example should suffice to make this point: On page 198, Kaylan lumps together as brotherhoods the “reactionary” Muslim Brotherhood, the “Shafis” (sic), the “Maliki Brotherhood,” and the “liberal … Melami and Bektashi brother- hoods” – apparently not understanding the differences between a modern Islamist movement, schools of law, and Sufi orders. keywords: book; islamic; kaylan; turkish cache: ajiss-1588.pdf plain text: ajiss-1588.txt item: #503 of 2012 id: ajiss-1589 author: None title: ajiss-1589 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1109 flesch: 41 summary: The intellectual contributions of the editors and nine other distinguished scholars, all of whom belong to a range of academic disci- plines, make this collection of eleven essays a remarkable and highly read- able work on life histories – biographies, autobiographies, and oral accounts – from India. Life histories provide an alternative, individualized, and culture- specific version of “truth” that can problematize and counter any of the naïve truth claims of meta-narratives. keywords: essays; histories; history; life cache: ajiss-1589.pdf plain text: ajiss-1589.txt item: #504 of 2012 id: ajiss-1590 author: None title: ajiss-1590 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1115 flesch: 39 summary: She discusses how Ottoman women “conceptualised a specifically Eastern vision of emancipation and engaged in a clear-sighted evaluation of the relative merits of occidental liberation” (p. 97). Throughout the fourth chapter, the author discusses how western women travellers to the Orient represented and eroticized the bodies of Ottoman women. keywords: lewis; ottoman; women cache: ajiss-1590.pdf plain text: ajiss-1590.txt item: #505 of 2012 id: ajiss-1591 author: None title: ajiss-1591 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1137 flesch: 48 summary: In real life, the conventional approach of cloistering women does not pre- clude chance cross-gender encounters, as was the case with Souad. Burned Alive is the true story of Souad, a young Palestinian woman who survived an attempted honor killing carried out by her brother-in-law. keywords: book; souad cache: ajiss-1591.pdf plain text: ajiss-1591.txt item: #506 of 2012 id: ajiss-1592 author: None title: ajiss-1592 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1161 flesch: 57 summary: It is in the pres- entation of these debates, more than anywhere else, that we see that while A History of Islamic Philosophy is distinguished from the work of many other grand narrative histories by not being marred by a partisan viewpoint, Fakhry’s is by no means a clinically scientific approach. Fakhry’s scholarship is meticulous, and his style, even when handling the most complex ideas, remains simple and straightforward. keywords: fakhry; islamic cache: ajiss-1592.pdf plain text: ajiss-1592.txt item: #507 of 2012 id: ajiss-1593 author: None title: ajiss-1593 date: 2020-06-26 words: 863 flesch: 58 summary: Within this new understanding, the Imams’ status became protected by the doctrine of infal- libility (`ismah) rather than esoteric knowledge, and quietism was no longer considered a suspect attitude. Esoteric taqiyya was “a necessary and integral part” of Twelver Shi`ism in early times, for the 134 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:4 community’s very existence and status depended upon notions of privileged knowledge belonging to the Imams, which is shared secretly with the com- munity. keywords: knowledge; taqiyya cache: ajiss-1593.pdf plain text: ajiss-1593.txt item: #508 of 2012 id: ajiss-1594 author: None title: ajiss-1594 date: 2020-06-26 words: 5571 flesch: 50 summary: A final issue is the ignorance of many in the West of the beliefs and practices of Islam that, since its origins, has disapproved of prisoner abuse. Prisoner abuse has occurred in most, if not all, previous military con- flicts, including World War II,2 Korea,3 Vietnam,4 and the first Persian Gulf war.5 That fact demands a serious effort to avoid prisoner abuse in present and future conflicts. keywords: abuse; american; army; commander; enemy; epw; geneva; islamic; military; muslim; prisoners; schumm; treatment; war cache: ajiss-1594.pdf plain text: ajiss-1594.txt item: #509 of 2012 id: ajiss-1595 author: None title: ajiss-1595 date: 2020-06-26 words: 951 flesch: 42 summary: He expanded on the point that Muslim communities are more willing to participate in interfaith dialogue then intra-faith dialogue. Several themes emerged in the course of this event, among them the fol- lowing: the relationship between Islam and culture, the need for intra-faith 150 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:4 dialogue between Sunnis and Shi`ahs, the need to understand Islam’s inter- nal diversity, recovering Islamic nonviolence from the early tradition, mov- ing toward the sh´ra (consultation) model of community, bringing women’s voices into intra-faith dialogue, identifying the main Sunni and Shi`ah lead- ers for training and dissemination, learning how to “tolerate the intolerant,” and the need for the American Muslim community to engage in dialogue with the larger American society. keywords: dialogue; interfaith; muslim cache: ajiss-1595.pdf plain text: ajiss-1595.txt item: #510 of 2012 id: ajiss-1596 author: None title: ajiss-1596 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1032 flesch: 47 summary: The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:4 Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 153 Many people do not care who wins as long as the fighting stops. Shamser Mobin Choudhury, the ambas- sador of Bangladesh, said that trans-nationalism has led to decolonization and the universalization of human rights; the globalization of capitalism with its destabilizing effects on less developed countries; a technological revolution in transportation and communication; and the expansion of social networks that facilitate the reproduction of trans-national migration, economic organi- zation, and politics. keywords: afghanistan; globalization; nationalism; south cache: ajiss-1596.pdf plain text: ajiss-1596.txt item: #511 of 2012 id: ajiss-1597 author: None title: ajiss-1597 date: 2020-06-26 words: 939 flesch: 52 summary: Talking about prisoner abuse, he presented “Gitmo’s secret weapon”: the use of religion against the detainees. After making opening remarks on illegal immigrants and terrorism, Mohammad Nimer (research director, CAIR) introduced Chaplain Yee, who had served at Camp Delta from November 2002 to September 2003. keywords: guantanamo; prisoners; yee cache: ajiss-1597.pdf plain text: ajiss-1597.txt item: #512 of 2012 id: ajiss-1598 author: None title: ajiss-1598 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1831 flesch: 51 summary: Here, we find Muslim communities that seem not to be so entranced by what we in the West consider to be the most pressing issues: the Muslim world vs. the West and/or modernity, the Abrahamic faiths trialogue, politi- cal and economic reform, the suitability of western-style democracy in Muslim countries, and the rise of Islamic “fundamentalism,” “terrorism,” “extremism,” or whatever similar term the media throws at us. One of our articles (Peterson) deals with how Chinese Muslim scholars of the pre-modern era tried to solve this problem. keywords: china; chinese; islamic; muslim; xinjiang cache: ajiss-1598.pdf plain text: ajiss-1598.txt item: #513 of 2012 id: ajiss-1599 author: None title: ajiss-1599 date: 2021-09-05 words: 2463 flesch: 47 summary: By documenting the ear- liest tradition of Chinese Islamic scholars writing about Islam in Chinese, she reveals the extent to which these Muslims had adapted Chinese intellec- tual traditions to their understanding of Islam and how Islamic intellectual trends in China were influenced by trends in the rest of the Islamic world. The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:3 Review Essays 91 of the Chinese terms used to describe Islamic principles, Murata shows how Chinese Muslim scholars were able to create ways of expressing basic Islamic principles fluently – and often strikingly – in the Chinese language. keywords: china; chinese; islam; islamic; muslim; scholars; women cache: ajiss-1599.pdf plain text: ajiss-1599.txt item: #514 of 2012 id: ajiss-1600 author: None title: ajiss-1600 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1062 flesch: 41 summary: Anna M. Gade’s Perfection Makes Practice stresses the cultural aspect of Indonesian Muslim practices by analyzing the practices of reciting and memorizing the Qur’an, as well as the annual competition. Perfection Makes Practice is suggestive in its interdisciplinary approach and argument for the role of emotion and social context in religious practice. keywords: gade; practice; qur’an cache: ajiss-1600.pdf plain text: ajiss-1600.txt item: #515 of 2012 id: ajiss-1601 author: None title: ajiss-1601 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1278 flesch: 45 summary: In his introduction, Millard observes how Singapore and Southeast Asia were generally prosperous and peaceful until the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, 9/11, and the 2002 Bali bombings. Jihad in Paradise explores cultural and religious interaction in Singapore and compares this with the intolerant radical Islamism threatening the country and Southeast Asia in general. keywords: asia; millard; singapore; southeast cache: ajiss-1601.pdf plain text: ajiss-1601.txt item: #516 of 2012 id: ajiss-1602 author: None title: ajiss-1602 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1065 flesch: 49 summary: Osman then moves on to how the Khmer Rouge sought to destroy community solidarity: turning Cham against Cham and children against parents, forbidding Islamic and Cham customs in toto, destroying the Qur’an and the keitab (a book explaining the Qur’an), making local leaders “disappear,” splitting up families during forced evacua- tions, and resettling the Cham among ethnic Khmer and Chinese. While the full list of Cham prisoners is provided, due to the Cham penchant for truncating Muslim names and then spelling them phonetically, the reader cannot even ascertain if there were any female Cham prisoners at S-21. keywords: cham; khmer; rouge cache: ajiss-1602.pdf plain text: ajiss-1602.txt item: #517 of 2012 id: ajiss-1603 author: None title: ajiss-1603 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1286 flesch: 38 summary: It is hardly convincing that “Chinese Muslim” cul- tural identity was, like other Chinese identities, institutionally shaped during the Qing era (p. 62), and it is even difficult for this reviewer to find a proper Book Reviews 107 translation for “Chinese Muslim” in the Qing context. The result of the millennium-long inquiry into the two cultural identities unavoidably results in studying Chinese Muslim “identity,” enticed by such recent studies on Manchu “ethnicity” as Pamela Crossley’s A Translucent Mirror: History and Identity in Qing Imperial Ideology (Ber- keley: University of California Press, 1999) and Mark Elliott’s The Manchu Way: The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001). keywords: china; chinese; muslim cache: ajiss-1603.pdf plain text: ajiss-1603.txt item: #518 of 2012 id: ajiss-1604 author: None title: ajiss-1604 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1142 flesch: 44 summary: Administrative differences make sense to both Hui identity debates and Han identity. The fifth and sixth chapters concentrate on Han hostility toward the Hui and documents in detail the massacre of Muslims by Han officials and mili- tia as well as major Hui resistance campaigns: rebellions in Yunnan’s east- ern, southern, and western regions. keywords: han; hui; yunnan cache: ajiss-1604.pdf plain text: ajiss-1604.txt item: #519 of 2012 id: ajiss-1605 author: None title: ajiss-1605 date: 2020-06-26 words: 959 flesch: 39 summary: In any case, the work clearly shows that these mosques serve as important social nodes that do much to galvanize nationwide Muslim women organizations in China and thereby contribute to increased Muslim women activism, either in social welfare programs, education, or even new mosque building. The multiple challenges Muslim women in China must negotiate between family, home, mosque, work, public sphere, and the state is best understood by letting China’s Mus- lim women speak for themselves, which this book, through extensive quo- tations, inclusive authorship, and several appendices and glossary, splen- didly accomplishes, as the following quote by a Ms. Yang Yinliang Ahong from the northeastern city of Harbin so vividly demonstrates: Since I was appointed nu ahong keywords: china; muslim; women cache: ajiss-1605.pdf plain text: ajiss-1605.txt item: #520 of 2012 id: ajiss-1606 author: None title: ajiss-1606 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1125 flesch: 43 summary: However, although she offers a comprehensive analysis of the pre-Soviet and the Soviet periods, she makes too many gener- alizations about developments in the post-Soviet era. Corcoran-Nantes explains that while the Soviet regime was empowering Central Asian women by liberating them from traditional religious values and setting quotas in public structures, these radical shifts in daily life inevitably complicated their identities in various social situations. keywords: central; social; soviet; women cache: ajiss-1606.pdf plain text: ajiss-1606.txt item: #521 of 2012 id: ajiss-1607 author: None title: ajiss-1607 date: 2020-06-26 words: 910 flesch: 50 summary: In this interesting book, Aversion and Desire: Negotiating Muslim Female Identity in the Diaspora, Shanaz Khan challenges us to rethink static and fixed conceptions of Muslim women. She also points out that because 116 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:3 minority identities are fixed, women who happen to be Muslim are often forced to enter social and political spaces as Muslim women. keywords: muslim; women cache: ajiss-1607.pdf plain text: ajiss-1607.txt item: #522 of 2012 id: ajiss-1608 author: None title: ajiss-1608 date: 2020-06-26 words: 849 flesch: 49 summary: Until this point, accounts of the 118 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:3 seemingly mundane activities of Ottoman women were limited to travelers’ accounts, gossip, and information that could be discerned through the lattice- work guarding the imperial harem. His book not only removes the popular notion that “Ottoman woman” is synonymous with “harem girl,” but shows that there was an extensive network of politics, intrigue, and socio-religious change and adaptation outside of the urban elite. keywords: ottoman; women cache: ajiss-1608.pdf plain text: ajiss-1608.txt item: #523 of 2012 id: ajiss-1609 author: None title: ajiss-1609 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1054 flesch: 45 summary: Pilgrims of Love: The Anthropology of a Global Sufi Cult Pnina Werbner London: Hurst & Co., 2003. Pnina Werbner’s Pilgrims of Love, a truly exceptional book in several impor- tant ways, is the result of some eleven years of fieldwork in Britain and Pakistan. keywords: book; saint; werbner cache: ajiss-1609.pdf plain text: ajiss-1609.txt item: #524 of 2012 id: ajiss-1610 author: None title: ajiss-1610 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1093 flesch: 40 summary: At the heart of this provocative study is a bravely argued claim that pat- terns of state violence vary because of international borders and how states operate within and beyond them. Scholars of state violence, among them sociologists and legal scholars, have insisted upon the existence of certain distinctions that separate those police methods deemed acceptable to the international human rights community from those methods of state brutality considered worthy of condemnation. keywords: ron; state; violence cache: ajiss-1610.pdf plain text: ajiss-1610.txt item: #525 of 2012 id: ajiss-1611 author: None title: ajiss-1611 date: 2020-06-26 words: 3297 flesch: 72 summary: On special nights called ong troon muk troon (Ramadan 27), some Cham Hindus bring fruits and sweets to the sang mügik to offer to Po Auloah and pray along with Cham Bani acars. Cham Bani tradition holds four days during Ramüvan in high esteem: the first, the fifteenth (full moon), the twentieth, and the thirtieth (the last day). keywords: acars; bani; cham; cham bani; islam; mügik; sang cache: ajiss-1611.pdf plain text: ajiss-1611.txt item: #526 of 2012 id: ajiss-1612 author: None title: ajiss-1612 date: 2020-06-26 words: 4387 flesch: 57 summary: I would argue that such anger could be construed by sit- uating the voices in the context of “pure war” constituted by ter- rorism used by different groups in the name of Islam, as well as state violence used in the name of security and order at the expense of rights and democracy. How, then, could such anger be vented among Muslims facing this situation? keywords: anger; context; muslims; rumor; southern; state; thailand; violence; war; world cache: ajiss-1612.pdf plain text: ajiss-1612.txt item: #527 of 2012 id: ajiss-1613 author: None title: ajiss-1613 date: 2020-06-26 words: 2181 flesch: 67 summary: But the Uyghurs were not prospering, and I was especially con- cerned about the situation of Uyghur women. Fighting for Uyghur Rights Rebiya Kadeer I begin my brief story in the 1960s, when many Uyghur (also spelled “Uygur” and “Uighur”) people, including myself, struggled against starva- tion. keywords: government; people; rights; uyghur; women cache: ajiss-1613.pdf plain text: ajiss-1613.txt item: #528 of 2012 id: ajiss-1614 author: None title: ajiss-1614 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1080 flesch: 37 summary: Presenters at the conference were Baktybek Abdrisaev (Utah Valley University), Ehsan Ahrari (Strategic Paradigms, Washington, DC), Rouben Azizian (APCSS), Sanjay Chaturvedi (Panjab University), Jon Chicky (U.S. Department of Defense), Elizabeth Van Wie Davis (APCSS), Jim DeHart (U.S. Department of State), Feng Shaolei (East China Normal University), Fu Jen-Kun (Ching Yun University), Roger Kangas (Marshall Center, Ger- many), Alisher Khamidov (The Johns Hopkins University), Fatima Kuke- yeva (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University), Alexey Malashenko (Car- negie Moscow Center), Robert T. Moeller (U.S. Central Command), Yury Morozov (Center for Military-Strategic Studies, Moscow), Askar Nursha (Kazakhstan Institute of Strategic Studies), Thomas W. Simons, Jr. (Harvard University), Nadia Usaeva (Radio Free Asia), Shi Ze (China Institute of Inter- national Studies) Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports Terrorism, Geopolitics, and Multinational Security Cooperation in Central Asia On 22-24 February 2006, the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) held this conference on the complex security environment of Central Asia as the region continues to struggle with the phenomena of ter- rorism and religious extremism, poverty and corruption, political instability and authoritarian governance, as well as great power (China, Russia, and the United States) suspicion and rivalry. keywords: asia; central; region; university cache: ajiss-1614.pdf plain text: ajiss-1614.txt item: #529 of 2012 id: ajiss-1615 author: None title: ajiss-1615 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1653 flesch: 36 summary: Prof. of Religious Studies Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania State University University Park, Pennsylvania University Park, Pennsylvania Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 155 Islam and Bioethics: Concerns, Challenges, and Responses On 27-28 March 2006, Pennsylvania State University hosted an international conference on “Islam and Bioethics: Concerns, Challenges, and Responses.” keywords: ethics; islamic; medical; panel; patient; university cache: ajiss-1615.pdf plain text: ajiss-1615.txt item: #530 of 2012 id: ajiss-1616 author: None title: ajiss-1616 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1163 flesch: 35 summary: In the first “Black American Writing and Social Activism” workshop, Fredrik Sunnermark (senior lecturer, Cultural Studies, University West, Troll- hättan, Sweden) presented “Sameness and Difference: The Paradoxical Meaning of the ‘Negro’ in the Rhetoric of Martin Luther King, Jr.” Mari- angela Palladion (Ph.D. candidate, University of Stratchclyde, Glasgow, UK) spoke on “History, Postcolonialism, and Postmodernism in Toni Morrison’s Beloved,” which The New York Times recently named the best work of Amer- ican fiction in the last 25 years. The first day featured three keynote lectures: Anthony Grooms (writer and professor of creative writing, Kennesaw State University, Georgia, USA) on “Civil Rights Movement Narrative and the American Civic Place,” Inga Brandell (associate professor, Department of Political Science, Södertörn University) on “Revisiting Ibn Khaldun: Contemporary Use and Misuse of Classical Arab Science,” and Irina Sandomirskaja (professor of culture stud- ies, The Baltic and East European Graduate School, Södertörn University) on “One-sixth of the World: keywords: conference; english; literature; postcolonial; university cache: ajiss-1616.pdf plain text: ajiss-1616.txt item: #531 of 2012 id: ajiss-1617 author: None title: ajiss-1617 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1703 flesch: 52 summary: While it would be preferable to extend the notion of criminality, rather than the politically driven and latently anti-Islamic concept of terrorism, he rightly states: “The techniques they use are often very similar. After the Bandido incident, there was some press coverage of a suggestion from Ottawa South Liberal MP David McGuinty that the Hells Angels biker gang be labeled a terrorist organization. keywords: angels; hells; islamic; muslims; public cache: ajiss-1617.pdf plain text: ajiss-1617.txt item: #532 of 2012 id: ajiss-1618 author: None title: ajiss-1618 date: 2020-06-26 words: 2542 flesch: 43 summary: For many seeking to understand Syria’s present and likely future, the primary questions to answer are: Who is Bashar and what has influenced his development as a political leader? Inheriting Syria analyzes the Syrian regime through the lens of American foreign policy, arguing that a poor understanding of Bashar’s leadership objectives and his capacity for action domestically and regionally has pro- duced an ineffectual Syrian policy and, in fact, has caused a serious deterio- ration in Syrian-American relations. keywords: bashar; george; lesch; leverett; regime; syria cache: ajiss-1618.pdf plain text: ajiss-1618.txt item: #533 of 2012 id: ajiss-1619 author: None title: ajiss-1619 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1117 flesch: 46 summary: As a result of their encounter with western scholarship, Muslim intellectuals felt increasingly compelled to respond to what they saw as Orientalist distortions. In devising a framework for what they call the “dialectical relation- ship” between twentieth-century Islamic thought and modernity, Suha Taji-Farouki and Basheer Nafi have resolved to construct their account around three themes: the emergence of new spokespersons, the diversity of twentieth-century Muslim discourse, and the connections and disrup- tions between Islamic thought and the rest of “the global intellectual arena” (p. 5). keywords: century; islamic; muslim; new cache: ajiss-1619.pdf plain text: ajiss-1619.txt item: #534 of 2012 id: ajiss-1621 author: None title: ajiss-1621 date: 2020-11-06 words: 2985 flesch: 36 summary: Dabashi textures the successive moments of colonial production and anti- colonial interpretation, calling to reread and revivify the Persian travelogue “at the concluding end of postcoloniality, when minds are decolonized” (258)—a bold, and perhaps premature, resolution to the riddled condition of postcoloniality in the twenty-first century, particularly in Iran. Dabashi’s proposition, then, is that it is the scholar’s responsibility to dismantle the ahistorical, and Europe-centered geopolitics of such travelogues as they have merely “left us eyewitness ac- count[s]” which have “carved an indelible mark for the future of the region as postcolonial nation-states” (81). keywords: chapter; dabashi; europe; iran; persian; travelers; travelogue cache: ajiss-1621.pdf plain text: ajiss-1621.txt item: #535 of 2012 id: ajiss-1622 author: None title: ajiss-1622 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1169 flesch: 44 summary: However, reading these six essay together underscores one point: Whether it is in renouncing the right of revenge conferred by suffering, seeing glory in moral power, searching for “the moral man of the earth,” balancing power with the vision of peace, engaging in honest self-criticism, or advocating reli- gious liberty and universal human rights, each author, in his own individual way, calls for religious people to have the courage to choose peace. The glories of the past, however, are due more to the Muslims’ moral power, which, according to him, is “always supportive and productive” (p. 65). keywords: book; peace; university; violence cache: ajiss-1622.pdf plain text: ajiss-1622.txt item: #536 of 2012 id: ajiss-1623 author: None title: ajiss-1623 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1113 flesch: 34 summary: They call on universal Islamic ideals while, in practice, the ummah is riddled with racialized class prejudice. We may find racialized class prejudice reinscribed in cyberspace (p. 64). keywords: asian; immigrants; lawrence cache: ajiss-1623.pdf plain text: ajiss-1623.txt item: #537 of 2012 id: ajiss-1624 author: None title: ajiss-1624 date: 2020-06-26 words: 987 flesch: 46 summary: Such a close- grained focus allows her to provide a very visceral depiction of how they live out their religious commitments in their everyday interactions with each other, with other Sierra Leoneans, and with Anglo-Americans. An Imagined Geography: Sierra Leonean Muslims in America JoAnn D’Alisera Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. keywords: islamic; leonean; sierra cache: ajiss-1624.pdf plain text: ajiss-1624.txt item: #538 of 2012 id: ajiss-1625 author: None title: ajiss-1625 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1113 flesch: 46 summary: It highlights the importance of sociological factors in shaping modern Islam in the Arab countries and in the West. Globalized Islam is in the same category as Werner Schiffauer’s Die Gottesmänner: Türkische Islamisten in Deutschland: Eine Studie zur Her- 102 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:2 stellung religiöser Evidenz (God’s Men: Turkish Islamists in Germany: A Study To Produce Religious Evidence (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2000) and Ursula Spuler-Stegemann’s Muslime in Deutschland: Nebeneinander oder Miteinander? keywords: islam; roy; west cache: ajiss-1625.pdf plain text: ajiss-1625.txt item: #539 of 2012 id: ajiss-1626 author: None title: ajiss-1626 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1084 flesch: 29 summary: In other words, Islamic reform must emerge from a rereading and synthesis of these two historical approaches to reform. Safi’s text interrogates the potential of Islamic reform movements to articu- late a democratic and pluralistic politics throughout the Middle East and the broader Islamic world. keywords: islamic; reform; state cache: ajiss-1626.pdf plain text: ajiss-1626.txt item: #540 of 2012 id: ajiss-1627 author: None title: ajiss-1627 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1125 flesch: 40 summary: Amin designates the latter structure as a manifestation of “mameluke power,” reflecting a complex traditional system that has merged the person- alized power of warlords, businessmen, and men of religion (p. 3). He criticizes currents “claiming to be Islamic” (p. 6), particularly those of the Wahhabi type, viewing Islamic militant groups as manifestations of a revolt against “destructive” capitalism and “deceptive” modernity (p. 6), more interested in sociopolitical issues than in matters of theology. keywords: islamic; social cache: ajiss-1627.pdf plain text: ajiss-1627.txt item: #541 of 2012 id: ajiss-1628 author: None title: ajiss-1628 date: 2020-06-26 words: 993 flesch: 44 summary: This beautifully produced work provides a gendered reading of the cen- trality of the Karbala commemorations among Shi`i communities. However, it represents the maturity of the state of Shi`i studies, having moved beyond the sensationalism of political obses- sions following the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the textually based Orientalism of an earlier generation to considerations of actual practices, performances, understanding of texts, and enactments of doctrines. keywords: karbala; studies; women cache: ajiss-1628.pdf plain text: ajiss-1628.txt item: #542 of 2012 id: ajiss-1629 author: None title: ajiss-1629 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1119 flesch: 48 summary: Based on field research, observation, and personal experience, the author demonstrates with vivid case studies, legends, and folklore how the two peoples had formerly lived by shared deities and how the change of identity based on Hindu nationalism and Islam has wrought havoc. Al-Biruni (973-1048), whose monumental work on India was widely acclaimed, contrasted Islamic culture sharply with Hindu culture. keywords: book; communities; hindu cache: ajiss-1629.pdf plain text: ajiss-1629.txt item: #543 of 2012 id: ajiss-1630 author: None title: ajiss-1630 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1102 flesch: 40 summary: Located in an area of geographical wonders that range from the planet’s lowest body of water body (1,310 ft. below sea level) to extreme weather conditions that witnessed a locale southwest of the Dead Sea receive its average total annual rainfall in a one-hour downpour during December 2003, the environment has not escaped the consequences of political discord. Middle East Patterns: Places, Peoples, and Politics, 4th ed. keywords: east; middle; patterns; region cache: ajiss-1630.pdf plain text: ajiss-1630.txt item: #544 of 2012 id: ajiss-1631 author: None title: ajiss-1631 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1041 flesch: 43 summary: United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s laconic comment on the widespread looting triggered by Baghdad’s fall in early April 2003 arguably marks the lowest point in Iraqi archaeology, a field already stained and tarnished by the ugliness of international geopoli- tics. He also offers a standard history of early archaeological theory and an overview of Islamic views on Mesopotamian history. keywords: archaeology; bernhardsson; iraq cache: ajiss-1631.pdf plain text: ajiss-1631.txt item: #545 of 2012 id: ajiss-1632 author: None title: ajiss-1632 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1114 flesch: 45 summary: Chapter 1 deals with attitudes in pre-Islamic and Islamic Arab societies toward inbreeding, especially their awareness of its biological hazards, in view of the favorable status of mar- riage between cousins, which is not considered incestuous by Middle Eastern standards even today. By doing so, he proposes a resolution to the presupposed contradiction between strict taboos against incest in pre-Islamic and Islamic societies and the role that incest played in reality. keywords: incest; islamic; literature cache: ajiss-1632.pdf plain text: ajiss-1632.txt item: #546 of 2012 id: ajiss-1633 author: None title: ajiss-1633 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1088 flesch: 52 summary: Second, the question of Druze identity is an intricate one. Moreover, to suggest that “Druze history is composed of a string of con- frontations between Druze believers and those of the Muslim faith, who con- stitute the overwhelming population of the Arab nation” (p. 109) is contra- dicted by the author himself and ignores the entire nineteenth and twentieth centuries. keywords: druze; faith cache: ajiss-1633.pdf plain text: ajiss-1633.txt item: #547 of 2012 id: ajiss-1634 author: None title: ajiss-1634 date: 2020-06-26 words: 741 flesch: 61 summary: The film begins on a light-hearted note (as does her web site, with the tag line of “put- ting the fun back into fundamentalism”) with Muslim comic Azhar Usman joking about the lack of appropriate space available in mosques for Muslim women. The documentary traverses mosques in Canada and the United States, such including places as Aurora, Illinois; Mississauga, Ontario; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Regina, Saskatchewan; Surrey, British Columbia; and Morgan- town, West Virginia. keywords: film; mosque; women cache: ajiss-1634.pdf plain text: ajiss-1634.txt item: #548 of 2012 id: ajiss-1635 author: None title: ajiss-1635 date: 2020-06-26 words: 4350 flesch: 57 summary: These teachings, I believe, hindered the adoption of prayer times, set tithes, fasting, or pilgrimages to specific “more holy” sites, even if they might have fostered greater social cohesion. One such illustration concerns the role of the Five Pillars in supporting and maintaining social cohesion among monotheists. keywords: christian; church; cohesion; god; islam; jesus; muslim; pillars; schumm; social cache: ajiss-1635.pdf plain text: ajiss-1635.txt item: #549 of 2012 id: ajiss-1636 author: None title: ajiss-1636 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1127 flesch: 29 summary: The first panel, “Global Islam and the West,” accommodated papers exemplifying the responses and contributions of Muslims to globalization. In the “Muslims, Integration, and the European Union” panel, Ahmed Yukleyen (Boston University) presented “Redefining Islam and Europe in Turkey’s EU Membership Process,” in which he discussed the mutual transformation of Turkish Islam and the cultural context of Europe. keywords: islam; muslims; turkey; university cache: ajiss-1636.pdf plain text: ajiss-1636.txt item: #550 of 2012 id: ajiss-1637 author: None title: ajiss-1637 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1031 flesch: 43 summary: Presenters in the first panel included Mehnaz Afridi (University of South Africa), who, speaking to “Islam and Its Forgotten Others,” sees the ummah as the acceptance of the “Other.” In her “Choreographing the Golem and the Dybbuk: Portrait of the Other, Jewish Folklore in Dance,” Margot Mink Colbert (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) described her own ballet choreography inspired by the story of the Golem of Prague, the spirit who saved an innocent young Jewish man accused of blood libel from certain death. keywords: human; panel; texts; university cache: ajiss-1637.pdf plain text: ajiss-1637.txt item: #551 of 2012 id: ajiss-1638 author: None title: ajiss-1638 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1022 flesch: 36 summary: With such reasoning in mind, the Muslim community has partnered with var- ious faith communities to create the National Religious Campaign against Torture (NRCAT), which was launched during the “Theology, International Law, and Torture: A Conference on Human Rights and Religious Commit- ment” conference sponsored by Princeton Theological Seminary, 13-15 Janu- ary 2006, in Princeton, New Jersey. Theology, International Law, and Torture: A Conference on Human Rights and Religious Commitment In the post-9/11 environment keywords: american; conference; law; torture cache: ajiss-1638.pdf plain text: ajiss-1638.txt item: #552 of 2012 id: ajiss-1639 author: None title: ajiss-1639 date: 2020-06-26 words: 656 flesch: 31 summary: New board members appointed for various terms include: Zafar Bokhari (Chicago State University), Ada Puryear Burnette (Valdosta State University), Shu Jen Chen (City College, SUNY), (Jaibun Earp (Florida A&M University), Bruno Ferrer (University of Puerto Rico), Regina Jones (Syracuse University), Frank Lucido (Texas A&M University), Shauneen Pete (University of Regina), Wendy Trott (Delaware Technical & Community College), and Dr. Nili Luo (University of Montana-Western). A sampling of institutions represented included the University of Tennessee, six institutions from the California State system, Hampton University, Yale University, Quinnipiac University, Howard University, George Mason University, Wesleyan University, University of Kansas, and Purdue University. keywords: association; studies; university cache: ajiss-1639.pdf plain text: ajiss-1639.txt item: #553 of 2012 id: ajiss-1640 author: None title: ajiss-1640 date: 2020-06-26 words: 2794 flesch: 61 summary: “According to the poll, the proportion of Americans who believe that Islam helps to stoke violence against non-Muslims has more than doubled since the attacks, from 14 percent in January 2002 to 33 percent today.”1 Doubled since 9/11. While reaching different conclusions with respect to non-Muslims who try to interpret the Qur’an, both Dakroury and Sayyid are, from another per- spective, also making similar points about its “meaning.” keywords: american; islam; islamic; muhammad; muslims; pbuh; prophet cache: ajiss-1640.pdf plain text: ajiss-1640.txt item: #554 of 2012 id: ajiss-1641 author: None title: ajiss-1641 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1118 flesch: 56 summary: In the chilling “Outsiders as Enablers: Consequences and Lessons from International Silence on Iraq’s Use of Chemical Weapons during the Iran- Iraq War,” Joost R. Hiltermann reveals that Iraq experimented with [poison] gas and faced no real opposition, as the international community ignored it and thereby silently condoned further chemical weapons-induced mass mur- der. Book Reviews Iran, Iraq, and the Legacies of War Lawrence G. Potter and Gary G. Sick, eds. keywords: iran; iraq; war cache: ajiss-1641.pdf plain text: ajiss-1641.txt item: #555 of 2012 id: ajiss-1642 author: None title: ajiss-1642 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1050 flesch: 47 summary: As presented by McDowall, a close scrutiny of modern Kurdish history reveals striking continuities. David McDowall, a noted British specialist on Middle Eastern minority affairs and an acknowledged expert on Kurdish studies, has extensively revised the 1996 second edition of his book. keywords: iraq; kurdish; kurds cache: ajiss-1642.pdf plain text: ajiss-1642.txt item: #556 of 2012 id: ajiss-1643 author: None title: ajiss-1643 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1037 flesch: 53 summary: Given her unique approach to Jordanian history, she admits that her work is incomplete, for many first-hand accounts and memoirs, which cannot be found, should be examined in light of the larger body of literature on Jordan. Al- Nablusi, pushing the card further, openly courted the Soviet ambassador, allowed Jordanian communist parties to function normally, and permitted the Soviet news agency, Tass, to open an office in Jordan. keywords: history; jnm; jordan cache: ajiss-1643.pdf plain text: ajiss-1643.txt item: #557 of 2012 id: ajiss-1644 author: None title: ajiss-1644 date: 2020-06-26 words: 990 flesch: 41 summary: As Awadi’s interviews with members from December 2000 through 2002 reveal, the decision to seek legality and seats in Parliament was viewed as a choice that crossed the line from popular legitimacy to an unacceptable level of political legitimacy. This may prove a useful springboard for under- standing other authoritarian contexts, in which popular legitimacy plays only a limited role, or indeed in any environment in which state legitimacy is a contested sphere. keywords: brothers; legitimacy cache: ajiss-1644.pdf plain text: ajiss-1644.txt item: #558 of 2012 id: ajiss-1645 author: None title: ajiss-1645 date: 2020-06-26 words: 996 flesch: 50 summary: Provence has also done a superlative job in amassing supporting documentation, espe- cially correspondence from and between rebel leaders and even seven pho- tos from the period, all of which provide an unexpected degree of insight into the rebels and the long-ignored brutalities the war inflicted on the Syrians. 100 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:1 The Great Syrian Revolt and the Rise of Arab Nationalism Michael Provence Austin: University of Texas Press, 2005. keywords: french; provence; revolt cache: ajiss-1645.pdf plain text: ajiss-1645.txt item: #559 of 2012 id: ajiss-1646 author: None title: ajiss-1646 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1070 flesch: 39 summary: He argues that the common threat of Islamist extremism has brought the United States and Uzbekistan together and has become a pretext for the latter to continue its repressive policies, which have caused Uzbekistan’s human rights and democratization records to falter even further. The discourse of the fight against Islamist extremism and the desire to avoid Russia’s continuing influence in Central Asia have been central to Uzbekistan’s foreign policy preferences. keywords: akbarzadeh; karimov; uzbekistan cache: ajiss-1646.pdf plain text: ajiss-1646.txt item: #560 of 2012 id: ajiss-1647 author: None title: ajiss-1647 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1060 flesch: 50 summary: The author also argues that territorial ambitions were integral to European trading in India from the beginning. He, therefore, com- ments that this is “less a book on pre-colonial Bengal” and more a book on European trade and colonial conquest (p. vii). keywords: bengal; european; trade cache: ajiss-1647.pdf plain text: ajiss-1647.txt item: #561 of 2012 id: ajiss-1648 author: None title: ajiss-1648 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1029 flesch: 45 summary: However, it ends up being a valuable contri- bution to understanding the process of intellectual thought regarding political issues and questions, all within the context of the applications of government. Crone, perhaps better known for her more controversial works, such as Hagarism (Cambridge: 1977), God’s Caliph (Cambridge: 1986), and Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam (Oxford: 1987), is no stranger to Islamic political theory, having written Slaves on Horses: The Book Reviews 107 108 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:1 Evolution of the Islamic Polity (Cambridge: 1980). keywords: crone; government; islamic cache: ajiss-1648.pdf plain text: ajiss-1648.txt item: #562 of 2012 id: ajiss-1649 author: None title: ajiss-1649 date: 2020-06-26 words: 981 flesch: 55 summary: For this reason, Early Shi`i Thought should be of interest not only to students of Shi`ism, but also to all those con- cerned with the often complex development of Islamic civilization during its early period. Book Reviews 111 112 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:1 Despite these reservations, it is important to stress that the author suc- cessfully fulfills her objective of providing an overview of Muhammad al- Baqir’s life and thought. keywords: baqir; shi`i cache: ajiss-1649.pdf plain text: ajiss-1649.txt item: #563 of 2012 id: ajiss-1650 author: None title: ajiss-1650 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1289 flesch: 44 summary: The author regards its founding father, Hassan al-Banna (1906-49), in “many respects as the founding father of Islamic fundamentalism.” The second formulation, which Milton-Edwards calls revivalism and links directly to the phenomenon of Islamic fundamentalism, was fed by such thinkers as Pakistan’s Abu-l A`la Mawdudi (1903-79) and Egypt’s al-Banna. keywords: fundamentalism; islamic; milton; muslim cache: ajiss-1650.pdf plain text: ajiss-1650.txt item: #564 of 2012 id: ajiss-1651 author: None title: ajiss-1651 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1090 flesch: 55 summary: If this is correct, then what differentiates Islamic NGOs from non-Islamic NGOs? Although a key component of his argument is that the state bureaucracy has hampered and controlled the functionality of Islamic NGOs, he fails to explain what distinguishes Islamic NGOs from their coun- terparts. keywords: islamic; state cache: ajiss-1651.pdf plain text: ajiss-1651.txt item: #565 of 2012 id: ajiss-1652 author: None title: ajiss-1652 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1249 flesch: 40 summary: Reading Wansbrough is apparently even frustrating for some of the most prominent historians of Islam, as can be deduced from Humphreys’ characterization of Wansbrough’s chosen writing style: “He affects a ferociously opaque style which bristles with unexplained technical terms in many languages, obscure allusions, and Teutonic grammar” (Humphreys, Islamic History [1999], 83-84). After making excursions into the ethnic orientation of Islamic prophetology, the inimitability of the Qur’an and, closely related to that, the potential doctrinal minefield of the createdness versus the eternity of the Qur’an, the author returns to textual study per se, since the Muslim commentators (“masoretes” in Wansbrough’s parlay) “were above all grammarians” (p. 84). keywords: islamic; studies; study; wansbrough cache: ajiss-1652.pdf plain text: ajiss-1652.txt item: #566 of 2012 id: ajiss-1653 author: None title: ajiss-1653 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1114 flesch: 53 summary: However, due to various political and religious developments after the Prophet’s death, new holy personalities, particularly in Shi`i Islam, emerged. In the last chapter, Gordon deals with the contemporary sociopolitical concerns that Islam confronts. keywords: chapter; gordon; islam cache: ajiss-1653.pdf plain text: ajiss-1653.txt item: #567 of 2012 id: ajiss-1654 author: None title: ajiss-1654 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1111 flesch: 34 summary: In outlining a brief history of Arab feminism, Golley strives to both demystify the “aura of exoticism” that has surrounded Arab women and to demonstrate that Arab feminism “is not alien to Arab culture.” The selection of a wide variety of texts, ranging from interviews with illiterate women to autobiographies written by women with economic class privileges, is demonstrative of the author’s desire to bring both the diversity and complexity of Arab women’s lives to light. keywords: arab; golley; women cache: ajiss-1654.pdf plain text: ajiss-1654.txt item: #568 of 2012 id: ajiss-1655 author: None title: ajiss-1655 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1087 flesch: 55 summary: Favoring the second view, he notes that Ghazali differen- tiated between religious doctrines that could be openly expressed and those that could not. Ghazali’s actual views on this question have been a point of serious debate in both the Muslim intellectual tradition and Ghazali scholarship in the West. keywords: ghazali; soul cache: ajiss-1655.pdf plain text: ajiss-1655.txt item: #569 of 2012 id: ajiss-1656 author: None title: ajiss-1656 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1191 flesch: 57 summary: Through the discussion on Sibawayhi’s principal teachers (Yunus ibn Habib and al-Halil ibn Ahmad; pp. 25-32) and the question of his originality, Carter shows how the Kitab documents the evolution of Sibawayhi’s gram- mar by illuminating the latter’s attitude both to the subject matter and to his masters, for the Kitab contains reports of real conversations and debates. Sibawayhi did show the utmost respect, especially to his master al-Halil, whose presence in the Kitab is ubiquitous (p. 29). keywords: carter; kitab; sibawayhi cache: ajiss-1656.pdf plain text: ajiss-1656.txt item: #570 of 2012 id: ajiss-1657 author: None title: ajiss-1657 date: 2020-06-26 words: 997 flesch: 52 summary: Yet if the United States is Book Reviews 131 132 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:1 the “great democracy” it “brags” to be, Bennis argues, a greater responsi- bility is put on American peace movements and American citizens who are “liable for [the] US government’s actions” (p. 108). Its thesis is simple and straightforward: American unilateralism and militarism have spawned a global social move- ment against such eventualities, giving rise to a new kind of internationalism. keywords: american cache: ajiss-1657.pdf plain text: ajiss-1657.txt item: #571 of 2012 id: ajiss-1658 author: None title: ajiss-1658 date: 2020-06-26 words: 977 flesch: 40 summary: The rest of the book (less than a third) interacts with western thinking on the subject of creativity: discussing the literature (chapter 5) on psychol- ogy (they quote from two encyclopedias), philosophy (two books on creativ- ity theory), pedagogy (how to impart creativity to students), and business and management (the lion’s share of the chapter, mainly because the mate- rial is eminently practical and seeks to train people to become creative in their thinking and apply it to their work); and attempting to integrate philo- sophical language, mind, and thought (chapter 6). The first part is devoted to Islamic civilization’s contribution to human civilization: tafakkur and other Qur’anic words calling for people to think creatively (chapter 1); applying secular “thinking styles” literature to the Qur’an, including the inquisitive, objective, positive, hypothetical, rational, reflective/contemplative, visual, metaphorical, analogical, emotional, per- ceptual, conceptual, intuitive, scientific, and wishful thinking styles (chapter 2); analyzing the concept of ijtihad and its vocation to constantly adapt Islamic law to changing circumstances and find creative solutions to persist- ent socioeconomic and political challenges (chapter 3); and summarizing Muslim contributions to science, philosophy, and medicine (chapter 4). keywords: chapter; creativity; islamic cache: ajiss-1658.pdf plain text: ajiss-1658.txt item: #572 of 2012 id: ajiss-1659 author: None title: ajiss-1659 date: 2020-06-26 words: 2292 flesch: 48 summary: The diversity of interpretations of Islamic sources and practices has created tensions, particularly in Islamic centers where the tendency is to impose strict interpretations about the appropriate place and role of Muslim women in the masjid and the community. This is more pressing today as the question of women capacity to exercise leadership and serve the community is put to rest through impressive track record of Muslim women achieving in the academia, professional work, and community service. keywords: community; islamic; masjid; muslim; women cache: ajiss-1659.pdf plain text: ajiss-1659.txt item: #573 of 2012 id: ajiss-1660 author: None title: ajiss-1660 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1139 flesch: 40 summary: From January 20-22, 2006, a group of almost thirty Muslim and non-Muslim specialists working in Islamic studies and on the study of Muslim societies from fifteen countries in Europe and Southeast Asia gathered in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Thailand, to discuss the diverse “Voices of Islam” in these two regions. The workshop focused on two major themes: how events following the September 11 attacks have affected the nature of Islamic studies in Europe and Southeast Asia, and how changes in Islamic studies are impacting upon Muslims and their understanding of Islam in these two regions. keywords: islam; islamic; muslim cache: ajiss-1660.pdf plain text: ajiss-1660.txt item: #574 of 2012 id: ajiss-1661 author: None title: ajiss-1661 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1095 flesch: 33 summary: In attendance were representatives from the American government, officials from a variety of American Muslim organizations, American Muslim foreign policy experts, others from the Washington think- tank and policy communities, and students. On January 9, 2006, in Washington, DC, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution hosted the highest level meeting between the Bush administration and the American Muslim community. keywords: american; islamic; muslim; world cache: ajiss-1661.pdf plain text: ajiss-1661.txt item: #575 of 2012 id: ajiss-1662 author: None title: ajiss-1662 date: 2020-06-30 words: 1658 flesch: 41 summary: Muslim nations are trying to address their internal weaknesses and build upon their strengths. The paper is quite timely, for with the rapidly developing fields of medical sci- ences, new issues are calling for collective ummatic ijtihad. keywords: islamic; muslim; need; truth; ummah; world cache: ajiss-1662.pdf plain text: ajiss-1662.txt item: #576 of 2012 id: ajiss-1663 author: None title: ajiss-1663 date: 2020-06-30 words: 5362 flesch: 49 summary: This, in turn, opens the door to an acceptance of not only Process Theologian Hanbalites and Aristotelian-Neoplatonic Ash`arites, but anyone who sim- ply claims to speak on behalf of Islamic revelation, no matter how convo- luted their logic might seem. Yet, few of the book’s reviewers seem to have fully appreciated the magnitude of Jackson’s project as laid out in his introductory essay – virtually an independent piece in its own right – and devoted, instead, the bulk of their reviews to the rest of the work.2 What I intend to do in the few pages that follow is to respond briefly to some of his arguments insofar as they pertain to his ideas on intra-Islamic theologi- cal ecumenism.3 keywords: divine; god; ibn; islamic; jackson; process; revelation; theology cache: ajiss-1663.pdf plain text: ajiss-1663.txt item: #577 of 2012 id: ajiss-1664 author: None title: ajiss-1664 date: 2020-06-30 words: 1052 flesch: 53 summary: Today, notes Abou El Fadl, the fact that engineers, doctors, and even those with little for- mal education pontificate on issues of Islamic law is but one sign of a Muslim society in complete disarray. In the first chapter (“Islam Torn between Extremism and Moderation”), Abou El Fadl describes the split that divides the Islamic com- munity and helpfully defines the terms moderate (as opposed to modernist, progressive, or reformist) and puritan (not fundamentalist, militant, extrem- ist, radical, or jihadist). keywords: chapter; islam; law cache: ajiss-1664.pdf plain text: ajiss-1664.txt item: #578 of 2012 id: ajiss-1665 author: None title: ajiss-1665 date: 2020-06-30 words: 1081 flesch: 45 summary: He further argues that race and racism are intricately entangled in how British Muslims were perceived, and that their culture was habitually stereotyped and perceived as obstructive to assimila- tion and integration into British society. This argument, in particular, is a stepping stone to opposing the categorization of British Muslims as the “other.” keywords: modood; racism cache: ajiss-1665.pdf plain text: ajiss-1665.txt item: #579 of 2012 id: ajiss-1666 author: None title: ajiss-1666 date: 2020-06-30 words: 1064 flesch: 39 summary: As a result, they fail to acknowledge the existence of ethnic, doctrinal, national, economic, and lin- guistic divisions within Muslim communities that may contribute to the variable experiences that Muslims have with European states. , the blanket application of “Algerian” and “Turk” in respect to French and German Muslim communities, respectively, fails to account for the vast range of generational and regional/cultural distinctions that these Muslims make as they socialize and organize politically. keywords: europe; muslim; state cache: ajiss-1666.pdf plain text: ajiss-1666.txt item: #580 of 2012 id: ajiss-1668 author: None title: ajiss-1668 date: 2020-06-30 words: 1088 flesch: 53 summary: Section 5, “Fiction,” con- tains short stories written by American Muslim women. Ever since the West’s initial contact with the East, Muslim women have occupied center stage as highly politicized subjects who the West has claimed to liberate from the oppressive East and who the East has claimed to protect from the hedonistic West. keywords: american; islam; muslim; women cache: ajiss-1668.pdf plain text: ajiss-1668.txt item: #581 of 2012 id: ajiss-1669 author: None title: ajiss-1669 date: 2020-06-30 words: 892 flesch: 52 summary: From one-third to one-half of New York’s Arab Americans are Muslim. A Community of Many Worlds: Arab Americans in New York City Kathleen Benson and Philip M. Kayal, eds. keywords: arab; book; new; york cache: ajiss-1669.pdf plain text: ajiss-1669.txt item: #582 of 2012 id: ajiss-1670 author: None title: ajiss-1670 date: 2020-06-30 words: 774 flesch: 45 summary: The “primary sources” section, comprised of entries in Arabic and Persian along with their translations into modern languages (if applicable), is further divid- ed into five subcategories: works by Ismaili authors, collective Ismaili works, anonymous Ismaili and pseudo-Ismaili works, the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity, and selected works by non-Ismaili Muslim authors. This bibliography contains an important survey of medieval and con- temporary developments in Ismaili studies. keywords: ismaili; literature; studies cache: ajiss-1670.pdf plain text: ajiss-1670.txt item: #583 of 2012 id: ajiss-1671 author: None title: ajiss-1671 date: 2020-06-30 words: 1049 flesch: 36 summary: Although written primarily for a non-academic, American audience, it is a useful and important text on contemporary Middle East history. The first chapter provides an account of western colonialism’s social, political, economic, and cultural legacy wrought on the Middle East. keywords: east; khalidi; middle cache: ajiss-1671.pdf plain text: ajiss-1671.txt item: #584 of 2012 id: ajiss-1672 author: None title: ajiss-1672 date: 2020-06-30 words: 1123 flesch: 45 summary: Within the context of Islamic thought, suicide has met both tolerance and resistance and has spawned two cultural categories: suicide and martyrdom. Nadia Taysir Dabbagh approaches the issue with a dexterity honed by med- ical experience, and her insightful analysis of the two concepts reveals that suicide is perceived as a private act condemned by society and religion, while martyrdom is a public act exalted for the greater good. keywords: dabbagh; social; suicide cache: ajiss-1672.pdf plain text: ajiss-1672.txt item: #585 of 2012 id: ajiss-1673 author: None title: ajiss-1673 date: 2020-06-30 words: 1117 flesch: 45 summary: The main impetus behind this book is the alienation experienced by young Muslims and converts who are confronted with the traditional and conservative forms of Islam presented (and vigorously defended) by the immigrant-dominated mosque culture. These are the misgivings, reservations, and doubts raised by young Muslims and converts who have not yet lost their religion, but who are unlikely to get any help from the local imam either. keywords: lang; muslim; religion cache: ajiss-1673.pdf plain text: ajiss-1673.txt item: #586 of 2012 id: ajiss-1674 author: None title: ajiss-1674 date: 2020-06-30 words: 1017 flesch: 52 summary: Into this array of publica- tions comes Jerald Dirks, who offers his contribution as an attempt to pres- ent an undistorted introduction to Sunni Islam based almost exclusively on the Qur’an and the Sunnah and aimed primarily at the western Christian reader. Understanding Islam: A Guide for the Judaeo-Christian Reader Jerald F. Dirks Beltsville, MD: amana publishers, 2003. keywords: dirks; islam; islamic cache: ajiss-1674.pdf plain text: ajiss-1674.txt item: #587 of 2012 id: ajiss-1675 author: None title: ajiss-1675 date: 2020-06-30 words: 4564 flesch: 47 summary: Jackson quotes the eleventh- century Spanish Maliki jurist Ibn `Abd al-Barr, who defines the agent of hirabah as Anyone who disturbs free passage in the streets and renders them unsafe to travel, striving to spread corruption in the land by taking money, killing people or violating what God has made it unlawful to violate is guilty of hiraba … be he a Muslim or a non-Muslim, free or slave, and whether he actually realizes his goal of taking money, or of killing or not. And in the eyes of the classical jurists, this is why the terrorist deserves to be sentenced to death regardless of the status of the victim, whether he/she is a Muslim or a non-Muslim. keywords: american; contemporary; ideology; islam; islamic; muslim; terrorism; time; years cache: ajiss-1675.pdf plain text: ajiss-1675.txt item: #588 of 2012 id: ajiss-1676 author: None title: ajiss-1676 date: 2020-06-30 words: 6521 flesch: 59 summary: Therefore, the Qur’an has never been the main textbook for Muslim students even in the Islamic religious science classroom. In fact, this weakness probably explains why Muslim students or young people are easily swayed by those western cultures and values that contradict Islamic culture and values. keywords: curriculum; education; islamic; knowledge; muslim; qur’an; school; sciences; students; teachers; teaching cache: ajiss-1676.pdf plain text: ajiss-1676.txt item: #589 of 2012 id: ajiss-1677 author: None title: ajiss-1677 date: 2020-06-30 words: 1006 flesch: 48 summary: After the welcoming and introductory remarks by Program Chair Khalid Blankinship (Temple University) and Rafik Beekun (University of Nevada), Abdul Mutualo (American University in Cairo) began the proceed- ings by discussing the history of Islam as an “imported” religion in his native Mozambique. Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports The Thirty-fourth AMSS Annual Conference This conference, held from Sept. 30 – Oct. 2, 2005 and co-sponsored by Temple University (Philadelphia), represented a homecoming for the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), for its source of inspira- tion, Dr. Isma`il al-Faruqi, taught religion there from 1968-1986. keywords: muslim; panel; temple; university; women cache: ajiss-1677.pdf plain text: ajiss-1677.txt item: #590 of 2012 id: ajiss-1678 author: None title: ajiss-1678 date: 2020-06-30 words: 956 flesch: 34 summary: Zahid Bukhari talked on “Ethnicity and Muslim Political Experience in the United States,” and Jocelyne Cesari presented a comparative paper titled “Public Discourse on Islam: A Transatlantic Comparison.” Panel 4 was on “Comparative Attitudes towards Political Mobilization and Participation among Western Muslim Minorities.” keywords: american; muslim; public cache: ajiss-1678.pdf plain text: ajiss-1678.txt item: #591 of 2012 id: ajiss-1679 author: None title: ajiss-1679 date: 2020-06-30 words: 1065 flesch: 43 summary: Muhammad Nur Abdullah (president, ISNA) spoke of such ISNA accomplishments as the imam and chaplain training services and empowering Muslim youths. One highlight was the presence of Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes, who met with heads of Muslim American organizations on the grounds that she needed their advice to help her reach out to the wider Muslim world. keywords: islamic; isna; justice; muslim; president cache: ajiss-1679.pdf plain text: ajiss-1679.txt item: #592 of 2012 id: ajiss-1680 author: None title: ajiss-1680 date: 2020-06-26 words: 2105 flesch: 50 summary: Khan, the convener and editor of this debate, is often referred to as the voice of moderate Islam. Is it possible to imagine that the Turkish Islamists, now under the leadership of such visionaries such as Prime Minister Erdogan, are the harbingers of moderate Islam and Islamic democracy? Question 3: Moderate Muslims are often associated with their advocacy of ijtihad and the subsequent reform of Muslim practice and interpretation of Islam through its much wider and systematic revival and application. keywords: american; debate; islam; islamic; muslim; world cache: ajiss-1680.pdf plain text: ajiss-1680.txt item: #593 of 2012 id: ajiss-1681 author: None title: ajiss-1681 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1091 flesch: 60 summary: The author argues that in true Islam, terror does not exist. Gülen engages non-Muslims in Book Reviews 119 a discussion of dialogue by expressing the values of Islam, which are shared by many religions. keywords: dialogue; gülen; islam cache: ajiss-1681.pdf plain text: ajiss-1681.txt item: #594 of 2012 id: ajiss-1682 author: None title: ajiss-1682 date: 2020-06-26 words: 1185 flesch: 42 summary: Ephraim Nimni’s “Introduction” (pp. 1-19) and his essay “From Galut to T’futsoth: Post-Zionism and the Dis>