Islamic feminism: A perfect match or a contradiction in terms?

Gender inequality is a global issue that limits women’s social, economic as well as political opportunities. Fortunately enough, there have been many feminist movements that fight for gender equality and women’s rights. The basis for male domination is sometimes justified by culture, or religion. The problem arises when the oppression of women is being justified on the basis of religion mainly Islam in the Arab countries, for it becomes harder to women to challenge the situation, because it conflicts with their inner faith. This thesis will tackle the issue of Islamic Feminism, a recent movement that calls for gender equality in the name of Islam, through providing an alternative feminist interpretation of the Qur’anic text as well as Islamic Law. Although Islamic Feminists have succeeded in using their interpretation to reform laws that address women’s issues in the Muslim countries, they still face many challenges from traditional scholars who have attained Islamic education and have studies Islamic jurisprudence. Consequently, this paper argues that in order to move a step forward, and for the movement to be more effectively successful, Islamic feminists have to engage with the traditionalists, to increase the movement’s credibility as well as legitimacy and to be able to make the changes they long for come true

Book Review: \u3cem\u3eFeminist Edges of the Qur\u27an\u3c/em\u3e

Review of Feminist Edges of the Qur\u27an, by Aysha A. Hidayatullah. Oxford University Press, 201

Check list of plankton of the northern Red Sea

Qualitative estimation of phytoplankton and zooplankton of the northern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba were carried out from four sites: Sharm El-Sheikh, Taba, Hurghada and Safaga. A total of 106 species and varieties of phytoplankton were identified including 41 diatoms, 53 dinoflagellates, 10 cyanophytes and 2 chlorophytes. The highest number of species was recorded at Sharm El-Sheikh (46 spp), followed by Safaga (40 spp), Taba (30 spp), and Hurghada (23 spp). About 95 of the recorded species were previously mentioned by different authors in the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez. Eleven species are considered new to the Red Sea. About 115 species of zooplankton were recorded from the different sites. They were dominated by four main phyla namely: Arthropoda, Protozoa, Mollusca, and Urochordata. Sharm El-Sheikh contributed the highest number of species (91) followed by Safaga (47) and Taba (34). Hurghada contributed the least (26). Copepoda dominated the other groups at the four sites. The appearances of Spirulina platensis, Pediastrum simplex, and Oscillatoria spp. of phytoplankton in addition to the rotifer species and the protozoan Difflugia oblongata of zooplankton impart a characteristic feature of inland freshwater discharge due to wastewater dumping at sea in these regions resulting from the expansion of cities and hotels along the coast

Study of the physico-chemical conditions and evaluation of the changes in eutrophication-related problems in El- Mex Bay

El- Mex Bay is a relatively large coastal embayment west of Alexandria. The bay is an important fishery ground as well as recreation area. It includes both the Western Harbor and Dekhaila Harbor. It is one of heavily polluted areas on the Egyptian Mediterranean coast, receiving huge amount of agricultural, industrial, and sewage wastes from the adjacent Lake Mariut through El- Umoum Drain. According to different estimations in literatures the volume of the wastewaters varied between 7 × 106 and 8 × 106 m3day-1, which is supposed to increase with the growing population density of Alexandria city. These conditions cause pronounced eutrophication and drastic changes. Eutrophication-related problems in El- Mex Bay of Alexandria were studied seasonally from autumn 2011 to autumn 2012. Geographical information system (GIS) and remote sensing techniques were used together with the ground-based surveys to assess the vulnerability of the most important physical and eutrophication parameters along El- Mex Bay coast. As a result of increasing population and industrial development, poorly untreated industrial waste, domestic sewage, shipping industry and agricultural runoff are being released to the bay. With the rapid increase in the industries and population, changes in water quality would have potential consequences for the large rapidly growing population of the Alexandria region. Recom-mendations for environmental recovery and restoration are proposed for preservation of El- Mex Bay and harbors in order to facilitate development of environmental and tourist activities.Key words: El- Mex Bay, recreation area, El- Umoum drain, geographical information system (GIS), remote sensing, eutrophication, and restoration

Variability of spatial and temporal distribution of zooplankton communities at Matrouh beaches, south-eastern Mediterranean Sea, Egypt

The objectives of this work are to determine the main environmental drivers of zooplankton variability in water of Matrouh beach, south-eastern Mediterranean Sea and to evaluate the differences in zooplankton abundance and population structure in relation to chemical and biological parameters. Samples were collected seasonally from summer 2009 to summer 2010 at 10 sampling beaches. The zooplankton community was characterized by its high variability, and lower diversity. Zooplankton variability primarily responded to seasonal changes in water temperature and variation in salinity. In total, 49 zooplankton species were quantified; most of them were protozoans (22 species) and copepods (14 species). The average zooplankton abundance was 36.0 × 103 ind. m−3, where copepods were dominant, making up 72.4% of the total population. Protozoa formed the second group, comprising 11.7%. Differences in species diversity were analysed in a zooplankton community, where the dominance of a single species was frequent. The Shannon–Wiener Diversity Index classified Matrouh water as being between moderately polluted and polluted, whereas the WQI demonstrated that it was between good and excellent. It can be concluded that, the index based on WQI is currently more suitable than the zooplankton species index for assessing the quality of water of Matrouh beaches

On the ecological role of Copepoda in the Suez Canal marine ecosystem

Species-specific abundance of copepods was determined at monthly intervals at 10 stations in the Suez Canal water between June 1994 and May 1995. Sampling stations were chosen to represent different environmental conditions and human activities along the navigational path-way of the canal. A total of 24 copepod species belonging to 17 genera within the orders: Calanoida, Cyclopoida and Harpacticoida were recorded in the present investigation. The densities of total copepods in the surface layer (0-5 m) were higher than those in the sub-surface (5-10 m) and near bottom layer (10-15 m). Copepod nauplii and copepodites formed 22 % and 58 % of the total copepod counts, while the rest comprised the adult copepods. In the Suez Canal, only 3 species formed the main bulk of copepods, namely: Oithona nanan (Giesbrecht), Paracalanus crassirostris (Dahi) and Euterpina acutifrons (Dana) and with an average of 5590, 438 and 496 ind. M-3, respectively. There was a seasonal cycle with low winter and high summer abundance in the canal water. The copepod community of the Suez Canal is characterized by low species diversity. The inverse relationship observed between equitability and the magnitude of standing crop of copepods was discussed. Moreover, the importance of copepods in the marine food web and secondary productivity in the canal water, as well as their response to environmental variations in the Suez Canal ecosystem were discussed. KEY WORDS: Zooplankton, Copepoda, food web, marine ecosystem, Suez Canal Egyptian Journal of Biology Vol.3(2) 2001: 116-12

Evaluation of the neuroprotective effect of taurine and green tea extract against oxidative stress induced by pilocarpine during status epilepticus

Status epilepticus (SE) has functional and structural consequences resulting in brain damage. The present study aims to investigate the role of taurine and green tea extract in the neuroprotection against oxidative stress and changes in acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and Na+,K+-ATPase activities during SE induced by pilocarpine in the hippocampus of adult male rats. Animals received an oral administration of either taurine (100 mg/kg) or green tea extract containing 100 mg/kg epigallocatechin gallate for 3 days before the induction of SE with pilocarpine (380 mg/kg, i.p.) and were sacrificed 1 h after pilocarpine injection. Data indicated that a state of oxidative stress has evolved during SE as evident from the significant increase in lipid peroxidation level and significant decrease in reduced glutathione (GSH) level. Significant decreases in AChE and Na+,K+-ATPase activities were also recorded. Pretreatment of rats with taurine exaggerated the increase in lipid peroxidation and failed to prevent the decrease in Na+,K+-ATPase activity resulting from pilocarpine. However, taurine pretreatment prevented the reduced activity of hippocampal AChE induced by pilocarpine during SE. Pretreatment of rats with green tea extract prevented the increase in lipid peroxidation occurring during SE. However, it failed to inhibit the decrease in Na+,K+-ATPase activity. In conclusion, taurine pretreatment failed to reduce the oxidative stress induced during SE. In contrast, pretreatment of rats with green tea extract ameliorated the oxidative stress induced by pilocarpine and this may assist in reducing the insults of hyperexcitability and excitotoxicity that occur during SE and thereby reduce neuronal damage