Islam and the Living Law

Politics, state, and Islam Spirituality and the Fiqh Ibn al-Arabi and Ijtihad Ibn al-Arabi's Legal Literalism The Polysemantic Quran Three Passages from Ibn al-Arabi's Fiq

The process of becoming Muslim : Analyzing the post-conversion processes of Finnish Muslim convert women

Tämä pro gradu –tutkielma käsittelee suomalaisten islamiin kääntyneiden naisten uskontulkinnan kehitystä islamiin kääntymisen jälkeen. Tutkielmassa pyritään selvittämään, onko tätä kehitystä mahdollista analysoida luokittelemalla kääntymisen jälkeinen uskonnollinen kehitys erilaisiin vaiheisiin. Työssä tarkastellaan myös sitä, minkälaisia erilaisia islamin tulkintoja suomalaiset käännynnäiset omaksuvat, sekä sitä, miten nämä tulkinnat heijastavat suomalaisen islamin kehitystä laajemmin. Tutkielman teoreettisena lähtökohtana on islam-tutkija Anne Sofie Roaldin islamiin kääntymisen jälkeistä uskonnollista kehitystä selittävä prosessiteoria, joka jaottelee kääntymisen jälkeisen prosessin neljään eri vaiheeseen: rakastuminen/kiihkoilu, pettymys, kypsyys/hyväksyntä sekä sekularisaatio. Tämän teorian sovellettavuutta selvitetään kvalitatiivisen aineistoanalyysin avulla peilaamalla sitä tutkimusaineistoon, joka koostu puolistrukturoiduista haastatteluista seitsemän suomalaisen islamiin kääntyneen naisen kanssa. Haastatteluissa käydään läpi naisten käsityksiä siitä, miten heidän elämänsä ja uskontulkintansa on muuttunut islamiin kääntymisen jälkeen, miten he tulkitsevat islamia nykyään ja mikä on islamin merkitys heidän elämässään laajemmin. Haastatteluissa pohditaan myös sukupuolirooleja sekä sitä, miten suomalaisuus ja islam ovat vaikuttaneet toisiinsa naisten elämässä. Tutkimusaineiston perusteella käännynnäisten uskontulkinnoissa on suuria eroja, sillä haastateltavat edustavat erilaisia islamin teologisia ja tulkinnallisia suuntauksia. Aineiston perusteella näkemykset islamin tulkinnasta voidaan jakaa karkeasti ottaen konservatiivisiin ja liberaaleihin, ja tätä jakolinjaa noudattaa myös se, kokevatko haastateltavat kuuluvansa suomalaiseen muslimiyhteisöön. Suomalaisesta muslimiyhteisöstä piirtyy tutkielmassa melko konservatiivinen kuva, sillä liberaalimmat käännynnäiset kokevat, että heidän on vaikea löytää sieltä paikkaa tulkinnoilleen. Sukupuoliroolit ja naisten asema nousevat esille haastateltavia jakavana teemana suomalaiseen muslimiyhteisöön kuulumisen ohella. Erilaisista tulkinnallisista painotuksista huolimatta haastateltavia myös yhdistävät monet asiat, kuten käsitys uskonnonharjoittamisen tärkeydestä, henkilökohtainen jumalasuhde ja luottamus siihen, että tuo suhde kantaa vaikeuksien läpi. Aineistosta käy ilmi, että islamofobia on kasvanut Suomessa viime vuosina. Suomalaisuus ja islam eivät kuitenkaan näyttäydy haastateltaville toisiaan poissulkevina identiteetteinä, vaan pikemminkin niiden välillä nähdään yhtäläisyyksiä. Aineistosta nousee voimakkaasti esille myös monien haastateltavien pettymys syntymuslimien kyvyttömyyteen erotella omaa kulttuuriaan ja islamia. Kääntymisen jälkeistä uskonnollista kehitystä neljään eri vaiheeseen jaotteleva prosessiteoria osoittautuu hyväksi analysoinnin työkaluksi, mutta se saa tutkielmassa myös osakseen kritiikkiä. Teoriaa lähemmin tarkastellessa ja tutkimusaineistoon soveltaessa syntyy vaikutelma, että uskonnollinen kehitys merkitsee lähes väistämättä sekularisaatiota. Tämän tutkielman tulokset eivät kuitenkaan tue tätä käsitystä. Työn loppupäätelmissä todetaan, että aineiston perusteella voidaan puhua kolmesta kääntymisen jälkeisestä vaiheesta: islamiin sitoutumisesta, pettymyksestä sekä reaktiosta tuohon pettymykseen, oli se sitten tiukempi sitoutuminen tietynlaiseen islamin tulkintaan tai mahdollisesti avautuminen erilaisille tulkinnallisille näkökulmille.This master’s thesis explores the development of religious interpretation among Finnish women who have converted to Islam and examines whether this development can be analyzed by dividing it into different stages. Another topic of interest in this work is how the diverse interpretations of Islam that converts embrace reflect the development of Finnish Islam in general. The theoretical premise is Islam researcher Anne Sofie Roald’s theory on the process of religious development that converts go through. The theory categorizes the post-conversion process in four stages: love/zealotry, disappointment, maturity/acceptance, and secularization. The applicability of this theory is examined with the methods of qualitative content analysis by mirroring it to the research data that consists of semi-structured interviews with seven Finnish Muslim convert women. The interviews focus on the women’s ideas on how their lives and interpretations of religion have changed after conversion, how they interpret Islam today and what the meaning of Islam is for their lives from a broader perspective. Other themes discussed in the interviews are gender roles and the impact that being Finnish and being Muslim have on one another. Based on the research data there are considerable differences in the religious interpretations of the converts, as the informants represent different theological and interpretational currents within Islam. Based on the data the interpretations of Islam can be roughly divided to conservative and liberal. Whether or not the informants feel that they are a part of the Finnish Muslim community follows this line of division as well. The interview data paints a rather conservative picture of the Finnish Muslim community, for the more liberal converts feel that it is difficult for them to find a place in it for their interpretations. Along with the issue of belonging to the Finnish Muslim community, gender roles and the position of women emerge as themes that divide the informants. Regardless of the different interpretative emphases, there are many things that unite the women in their experience of Islam, such as the idea of the importance of practicing Islam, a personal relationship with God and having faith in the power of this relationship to carry them through hardships. According to the research data, Islamophobia has increased in Finland in the past years. Despite this, ‘Finnish’ and ‘Muslim’ do not appear as mutually exclusive identities to the informants, but rather the women see parallels between them. A recurring theme in many interviews is the inability of born Muslims to separate between their culture and Islam. The process theory that categorizes the post-conversion religious development of Muslim converts into four different stages turns out to be a useful tool for analysis, but it also becomes subject to criticism. When brought under closer scrutiny the theory appears to suggest that secularization is an inevitable result of religious development. The findings of this research do not support such a conception. An alternative process model based on the research data of this study is proposed in the conclusions, consisting of three post-conversion stages: commitment to Islam, disappointment and the reaction to that disappointment, whether that means a renewed commitment to a certain interpretation of Islam or a widening of the convert’s perspective that leads to exploring different ideas of what it means to be Muslim

Libyan secrets : sufism, esoterism and the state in the Jamahiriya

My research is based on a fifteen months field-work carried out in the city of Tripoli. In particular, my thesis focuses on the Issawiya, a Libyan Sufi brotherhood that has often attracted the curiosity of western observers due to the spectacular nature of its ritual performances. For centuries Libyan Issawis have made use of a specific secret knowledge that has allowed them to perform karamat (“miracles”). These miraculous exhibitions involve acts of self-harm aimed at demonstrating a prodigious invulnerability, and supernatural actions carried out through the acquisition of the strength of animals. Even though these miraculous performances are attested both in the colonial literature and in local narratives today the majority of the Issawis dismiss karamat as outdated practices that are in contrast with the dictates of the Qur’an. Bearing this in mind, one would be tempted to say that the Issawiya has embraced a more ‘disenchanted’ approach to Islam. In my thesis, however, I challenge this assumption. More specifically, I demonstrate that Issawis have not lost their belief in miracles, but only changed their attitude towards secrecy. Though still very much concerned with divine manifestations and supernatural phenomena, Issawis feel the need to distance themselves from the secret practices of the past in order to demonstrate the ‘transparency’ and orthodoxy of their religiosity. In order to understand why the brotherhood has ‘lost’ its secrets, I contextualise the Issawiya within the broader scenario of Gheddafi’s Libya, paying particular attention to the impact of the regime’s religious rhetorics on Sufism. In doing so I demonstrate that Libya’s political framework has forced Issawis to re-articulate the role of secrecy in their practices, but I also identify some internal dynamics of the brotherhood that have contributed to this ‘loss of secrets’

A study of the status of women in Islamic law and society with special reference to Pakistan.

LD:D50752/84 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

The alexander romance tradition: Ahmedi, his sources, and the reception of his sources in the 15th-16th century

From Antiquity to modernity, Alexander lived his second life as a legendary hero in the Alexander Romances composed around the third century CE that quickly promulgated all over the world and its languages from East to West. Alexander the Great is discussed in several cultures including Muslim literature, both Arabic and Persian. One of the most important representation of the Alexander Romance is in 10th century, Firdawsi’s Shahnama that presents some details about Alexander the Great. In the Ottoman Empire, one the earliest accounts are found in Ahmedi’s work, İskendername. Ahmedi was the greatest poet of the late fourteenth century and also of Turkish Divan Literature and one of the crucial representations of Alexander Romance tradition. This thesis is firstly to investigate the scholar Ahmedi and his source of information on Alexander the Great. Briefly, what was the reason for Ahmedi Alexander Romance tradition appearance in the Islamic world? Secondly, in the fourteenth century Ahmedi authored the first İskendername, which later became a tradition and there are receptions of the Ahmedi’s İskendername by Ahmed-i Rıdvan and Figani. In 16th century these works were written and presented and one of the parts of this thesis is investigates the translation issue of these texts. Following the Ahmedi’s tradition did they receive Ahmedi’s İskendername roughly or did they adhere to some other Persian version

Saīd Nursi’s Arguments for the Existence of God in Risāle-i Nur

This dissertation examines the philosophical and theological writings of Saīd Nursi (1877–1960) entitled Risāle-i Nur (Epistles of Light), and presents a critical analysis of his arguments for the existence of God. Although certain aspects of Nursi’s writings have been studied at various academic levels, his ways of arguing for the existence of God, and defending his position against the sceptics have not been studied at doctoral level. Therefore, the objective of this study is to understand Nursi’s arguments, then try locate him among other philosophers and scholars and bring out into light his original viewpoints in this context. The thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 presents the historical background and the overview of main theistic arguments from the Christian, Islamic and Jewish points of views concerning God’s existence. The theistic arguments analysed are: the ontological arguments, the cosmological arguments, including the kalām cosmological arguments, the teleological arguments, which are also known as arguments to or arguments from apparent design, the arguments from morality and conscience, and, finally, the arguments from miracles and religious experience. Counter-arguments to the theistic arguments posed by the sceptics are also examined such as problem of evil, the problem of Hell, and the poor design arguments. In this chapter, we also aim to sum up some of the chief arguments in order to prepare some basis for this study. These arguments are analysed from Nursian viewpoint in later chapters. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the life and thoughts of Saīd Nursi and explores how and why his discourse changed from political activism into that of intellectual and spiritual life. Certain terminologies that have been developed by Nursi are discussed here. The Ensuing four Chapters, from 3 to 6 analyse four different arguments employed by Saīd Nursi’s for the existence and the unity of God (tawḥīd). The first argument, ‘the great book of the universe’, which is, in modern philosophy, the equivalent of the design argument is discussed in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 examines the second argument which Nursi calls the argument from prophethood (nubuwwah), with a particular focus on Prophet Muḥammad. Chapter 5 deals with the third argument, i.e. from Scriptures (waḥy), with the Qur’ān as the main focus. Finally, Chapter 6 discusses Nursi’s fourth argument that is conscience (wijdān) and the primordial human nature (fıṭrat-ı bashar). In addition, the critics posed specially by the atheist and the sceptics are subjected to an evaluation from Nursi’s perspective. Darwinian theory of evolution as an alternative to creation, criticisms to the Qur’ān and the Prophet Muḥammad, and philosophical issues such as the problem of evil and hell are among the challenges to which Nursi responds. The thesis concludes that Nursi’s first three arguments i.e. the design argument, the argument from prophethood and the argument from scriptures, despite certain different interpretations by Nursi, seem to be a continuations of the traditional argument. However, Nursi’s originality lays in his moral argument or the argument, namely, the argument from primordial human nature

A Structural-Functional Analysis of the Poetics of Arabic Qaṣīdah: An Ethnolinguistic Study of Three Qaṣīdahs on Colonial Conquest of Africa by Al-ḥājj ῾Umar b. Abī Bakr b. ῾Uthmān Krachi (1858-1934)

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Indiana University, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, 2015This study examines three poems composed by a West African Muslim scholar known by the name Alḥājj 'Umar b. Abi Bakr b. 'Uthman Krachi (1858-1934). He was born in the Northern Nigerian city of Kano where he completed his education. He then settled in the mid-Volta region of present-day Ghana to teach, write and serve as community leader. This moment coincided with intensive colonial invasions into the region and Alḥājj 'Umar viewed it all with mixed feelings of presentiment and hope. Within a period of seven years, he composed the three poems which came to be known as his "colonial poems" to give account of the historical clashes between the European forces and Africans that culminated into the official establishment of colonial administration across the region. The first two poems were composed in Arabic in 1899 and 1900 respectively, while the last one was composed in 1907 in Hausa Ajami (the native language of the poet). The three poetic narratives are considered from a structural-functional analytic perspective derived from the theoretical formulations of van Gennep and Victor Turner regarding the ritual transformational tripartite process of the Rite of Passage. Following Professor Suzanne Stetkevych's pioneering study of the Arabic qaṣīdah, 'Umar's qaṣīdah have been examined as representing the trajectory of a life-changing ritual transformation in the poet's world view (as well as Africa generally) motivated by the European colonial invasion of Africa from 1884 to around 1910. The tripartite structures of the poems (the nasib or prelude, the rahil or journey and the ghard or closure) are analyzed on the basis of the tripartite structure of the rite of passage: pre-liminal/separation, liminal/margin, post-liminal/re-aggregation that correspond to the symbolic ritual process of the poet's psychological transformation

K.G. Saiyidaen on “Iqbal’s Educational Philosophy”- A Study

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