EDITORIAL We are pleased to present the first summer issue of our new quarterly schedule. This will, in shii 'AZZiih, be followed by our fall issue in September 1992 and winter issue in December 1992. In this issue, Mahmoud Dhaouadi discusses the nature of human cultural symbols such as language, thought, religious beliefs, knowledge, cultural norms and values, and science. The essay develops a basic theoretical framework for studying the nature of what he describes as a cultural-symbolic soul. It then proceeds to apply this new concept to understandmg as well as devising a potential explanation of the dynamics of cultural-symbolic exchange and confrontation between human groups regardless of time and space constraints. Dhaouadi attempts to provide a balanced contribution to the ever-growing body of knowledge in the modem social and behavioral sciences by trying to work out a synthesis between theory and application, which, if executed successfully, would enhance the scientific credibility of the behavioral and social sciences. Dhaouadi pleads that by paying attention to other epistemologies, ideas, concepts, theories, and methodologies, an initial step could be taken towards resolving the crisis which the social sciences have been experiencing in the West since the 1970s. He believes that the continuing growth of the body of knowledge in the Islamic behavioral and social sciences will equip its practitioners with the knowledge to make constructive contributions to the reform of Western behavioral and social scientific thought. Muhammad Y. Faruqi traces the development of ijd ' from the practice of the Companions of the Prophet to the classicalfiqahii ' . The jurists of the four established schools of fish consider ijmi ', a concept which evolved as a legal doctrine during the second hijri century, as the third source after the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Farqui discusses the kinds of zjmi ' and raises the issue of the infallibility of ijmi ' . He argues that if the views of the classical jurists were adopted, in effect no one would be allowed to disagree or have a different opinion, as this would jeopardize the ummah's infallibility. He supports Ibn Hazm's view that consensus must be based on a nuq from either the Qur'an, the hadith, or both. As these sources are infallible, any resulting consensus will also be infallible. He brings up the interpretation of al Juwayni, who states that there is no clear Qur'anic or hadith text referring to the principle of ijmii '. Al Juwayni proves the authority of consensus by arguing that there are certain issues related to briim vi The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 9:2 and hQkZ which have been agreed upon by the ulama across the generations and from distant geographic locations. These definte positions taken by the learned and upright scholars of the religious sciences must be based on solid s h r % grounds and cannot be mistaken. The number of scholars supporting such decisions is so large that there is no reason to reject their consensus. Faruqi concludes that this interpretation of ijmij ‘ is capable of saving us from the dubious issue of infallibility that makes the doctrine impractical. Mohamed S. Fakir sets out to propose a methodology for the study of the history of Islamic science. He chooses the extemalist, rather than the internalist, method for his discussion. The internalist method of science follows a rational course, while the extemalist methodology studies many factors that influence the direction of science and may not be rational. He argues that narrative history and the logic of discovery are not adequate when one is trying to identify those key factors that have influenced the tradition of Islamic science. If Islamic science is unique, we should be able to explain how and when it branched off from the ancient sciences. Only external history, involving a study of cultural and sociological influences on the development of science and the roles of various socioeconomic and political institutions, Fakir asserts, can explain how Islamic science developed as a unique tradition and why it could not be sustained. M . Ramzan Akhtar studies employer-employee relationships in the light of ukhiiwah (brotherhood), iull (justice), and i&&z (benevolence). This provides an Islamic h e w o r k for conducting employer-employee relationships and for determining wages based on equity and justice. Akhtar’s findings show that an economically efficient and equitable wage structure can evolve within this framework, and that such a wage structure would promote the parties’ mutual relationships in a positive manner. This, in turn, would lead to industrial peace and social harmony. Akhtar provides a comprehensive review of the existing literature on the subject, which in itself is a valuable resource. Abdel-Hameed M. Bashir and Ali F. Darrat construct an equilibrium theoretical model of investment under the general principle of a profit-sharing arrangement. The analysis is conducted in a noncooperative game framework in which the partners make their decisions on the basis of different inhrmation and then try to protect themselves by maximizing separate lifetime utilities. Their model differs from previous studies by relying on equity rather than on debt to raise outside finance. They also subject the resultant theoretical model to empirical testing against actual time-series data obtained from an investment bank. Once again we present TW J. al ‘ AlwiSs reflections on taqlid and ijtihad. This time he begins with a discussion of the lexical and technical meanings of taqlid and then proceeds to contrast unquestioned following with following someone’s opinions based upon proper reasoning and conviction. He scans the opinions ofthe companions, the successors, and the imams about taqhd and shows Editorial vii how these individuals denounced the uncritical following of their views. A1 ‘Alwh- discusses different forms of taqlid and then identifies the ones that could be permissible. According to him, the taqlid of scholars more knowledgeable than the muqallid is permissible. He concludes that taqlid is not permitted, except in the case of the most ignorant and incapable persons. Under our research notes section, IbrahimOzdemir has outlined for us the concept of Islamic tradition in Fazlur Rahman’s writings. In his article, Ozdemir e k e s Fazlur Rahman’s understanding of Islamic tradition and how, accordmg to Fazlur Rahman, this tradition can be utilized to solve certain problems confronting contemporary Islamic thinkers. We could not have found a more qualified scholar of Sudanese affairs and of the Tbrabi revolution than John Obert Voll, who has reviewed Abdelwahab El-Affendi’s book Turabi 5 Revolution. As the author and editor of several research works on Sudan and Islam, and due to his own close personal knowledge of Tbrabi, he has both an objective and a scholarly opinion about the subject. On a stylistic note, we have broken with the tradition of using “the Sudan” and not “Sudan.” Since the definite article before a country’s name usually has a perjorative meaning, as it connotes a less-than-fully-independent status, it has been dropped since it is no longer relevant. John Obert Voll, president of the Middle Eastern Studies Association, has joined both k n S S and AMSS in recognition of Sudan as a fully independent and sovereign member of the international community of nations. The books Islamic Theology and Philosophy: Studies in Honor of George Hourani and Law and Zslarn in the Middle East are reviewed by two young energetic Muslim scholars: S. Nomanul Haq and Khalid Abou El Fad1 respectively. We want to remind our readers that IIIT jointly publishes with the Islamic Foundation in England a quarterly journal specifically dedicated to reviews of books on Islam and Muslims. This explains why MISS provides only a limited space for book reviews. We are grateful to Abdulaziz Sachedina, who attended the symposium on Muslims in Europe organized by the Institute for Comparative Social Research in collaboration with the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin), for sending us a brief report of the symposium. In these days of increasing ethnic tension in Europe, such a conference is both valuable and necessary. Talip Kucukcan has summarized for us the proceedings of the one-day conference held on 29 February 1992 on “Islam, Democracy, and Freedom in North Africa.” As North Africa, and Algeria in particular, has recently been making headlines in both North America and Europe, we felt that this report would be of great interest to our readers. Our views and comments section features the opinions of readers from different lands. Ahmad Fouad Basha, of Cairo University, has responded to Bassam Tibi’s paper on the Islamization of knowledge. This paper was presented ... V l l l The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 9:2 at the annual conference of the Middle East Studies Association held in San Francisco in 1990. Muhammad S. Ebrahim from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, has commented on a paper we published in an earlier issue of NZSS on commodity exchange and stock exchange in an Islamic economy We welcome comments and critiques from our readers and encourage a continuous dialogue. Rk also encourage our readers to keep sending us articles, conferencelseminar reports, and book reviews. byM.AkramKhan. Sayyid M. Syeed