Universal human rights : a comparative study of the Charter of Medina and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Islam often receives criticism, particularly from right-wing movements, sections of media, governments, and the wider community in the West, for its lack of respect for respect human rights. In order to dispel such common myths about Islam, this study compares the Charter of Medina and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in terms of basic human rights, civil and political rights, and economic and social human rights. It also analyses the contents, concepts and principles of the Medina Charter, highlights the opinions and translations of Orientalists regarding the Charter, and identifies mistakes and shortcomings in those translations. To achieve these objectives, this study adopts a qualitative approach to analyse the Medina Charter and the UDHR. Document analysis, content analysis and thematic analysis were undertaken. These analyses show that the Orientalists are not proficient in Arabic and, at times, they have even relied on controversial Arabic books such as Al-Aghani (The Book of Songs) to understand and interpret the Medina Charter. The findings of the study also reveal that the Medina Charter could be used to establish universal legal frameworks that include both the individual and the tribe in order to achieve a level of political stability. The data analysis indicates that the Medina Charter considered the cultural and religious differences among people, unlike the Universal Declaration, which was drafted solely on the basis of Western thought. More importantly, the analysis shows that all the political and civil rights tenets stated in the UDHR were originally derived from the Medina Charter. This is indicative of the precedents set in the Sharia and their influence on the determination and preservation of human rights. Further, the data analysis reveals that the Sharia could be used to develop legal and policy mechanisms to protect all human rights of individuals, and that the rights relating to safety and social security in the UDHR in practice are less desirable than those in the Medina Charter. The research argues that the West can learn from Islam by knowing and understanding its approach to, and application of, human rights. This may enable Orientalists and Western-centric cultures to change their ill-informed stance. The study concluded that human rights embodied in the UDHR are less universal and overarching than those in the Sharia. Consequently, the reforms needed in the UDHR would benefit from the existing legislation in the Medina Charter that consider the cultural and religious differences in society

Occurrence and germination of dinoflagellate cysts in surface sediments from the Red Sea off the coasts of Saudi Arabia

AbstractThe distribution and abundance of dinoflagellate cyst assemblages were investigated in surface sediments from south-western Red sea coasts of Saudi Arabia at six sites during March 2010. A total of 19 taxa of dinoflagellate cysts were identified from all sites. The sampling sites showed a similar cyst assemblage, but they differed in total cyst abundance (3 to 4083 cysts g−1 dry weight). Cyst abundance was strongly correlated with sediment characteristics, the highest numbers being recorded in sediments with large contents of organic carbon, silt and clay. Cyst assemblages were dominated by cysts of potentially toxic species, including Cochlodinium polykrikos, Prorocentrum minimum, Dinophysis acuminata, Alexandrium catenella and Scrippsiella trochoidea. Most cysts germinated successfully at different rates at 15 and 25° C. This study suggests that surface sediments from all Saudi Red Sea coasts should be monitored for the presence of dinoflagellate cysts to give ample warning of the presence and abundance of toxic species in a given area

LEADERSHIP STYLE AMONG MIDDLE MANAGERS IN SAUDI MINISTRY OF HEALTH

Background: Middle managers within ministry of health act under continuous pressure from board level to be successful leaders of today's and tomorrow's healthcare service. Leadership styles are important factors among middle managers to retain employees in organizations and to ensure a high quality of practice.Aims: Two main aims: to examine the leadership style(s) of middle managers as perceived by them as leader from different departments of the Saudi Ministry of Health, and to examine the leadership style(s) of the middle managers as perceived by their subordinates as raters from different departments of the Saudi Ministry of Health.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to answer the research questions. A convenience sample of 121 participants, 30 middle managers and 91 subordinates, who were recruited through different departments at Saudi Ministry of Health during the period of June 2010 through September 2010.Participants were subjected to Univariate and Multivariate analysis. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) was used to collect data.Results: the mean ratings of all four components of transformational leadership for the subordinates and middle managers were between 2.90 to 3.29 .The mean ratings for contingent reward and management by exception active were 3.30 and 2.50 respectively and this was well within the optimum range as suggested by Bass. Management by exception passive and laissez-faire showed mean ratings of 1.67 and 1.25 respectively. The correlation coefficients among transformational leadership style and each variable of, satisfaction, effectiveness and extra effort for raters and leaders sample was high positively reached (r = .72, p< 0.05) , (r = .81, p< 0.05) , (r = .80, p< 0.05) respectively, The correlation coefficients among transactional leadership style and each variable of, satisfaction, effectiveness and extra effort for raters and leaders sample was high positively reached (r = .20, p<0.05) , (r = .44, p< 0.05) , (r = .35, p< 0.05) respectively, and The correlation coefficients among laissez -Faire leadership style and each variable of, satisfaction, effectiveness and extra effort for raters and leaders sample was high negatively reached (r = -.48, p< 0.05) , (r = -.46, p< 0.05) , (r = -.43, p< 0.05) respectively. There are agreement between leaders and raters on transformational, transactional and laissez-faire as distributive in Saudi Ministry of Health in kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The result showed there was no significant difference on the MLQ factors for raters and Leader due to gender, marital status, and age. Also , the analysis showed significant differences among raters’ opinions due to work experiences as contingent reward and extra effort in favor of raters who experience of them more than ˃ 6 Month, and finally, the analysis showed there significant differences among raters’ opinions due to period working with leaders as transformational, idealized Influence attributed, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, contingent reward, and effectiveness in favor of raters who working with leaders for a period between 6 months - ˂ 1 year, but significant differences among raters’ opinions due to period working with leaders as Laissez –Faire in favor of raters who working with leaders for a period between 1 year - 2 years.Conclusions: transformational leadership can contribute a lot to the effectiveness of organizations and that there is a need for further investigation of leadership at different levels

Induced voltages on fence wires and pipelines by AC powertransmission lines

A method is developed for calculating the induced voltages on fence wires/pipelines underneath AC power transmission lines. The method is based on the charge simulation technique and takes into account the disturbances of the electric field and potential due to the presence of the fence wire/pipeline underneath the line. The calculated values of the induced voltage on fence wires are compared with those measured before. Induced voltages on pipelines underneath 230- and 380-kV lines are measured, correlated to the calculated values and discussed in the light of electric field induction on objects adjacent to AC power transmission line

Induced voltages on fence wires and pipelines by AC powertransmission lines

A method is developed for calculating the induced voltages on fence wires/pipelines underneath AC power transmission lines. The method is based on the charge simulation technique and takes into account the disturbances of the electric field and potential due to the presence of the fence wire/pipeline underneath the line. The calculated values of the induced voltage on fence wires are compared with those measured before. Induced voltages on pipelines underneath 230- and 380-kV lines are measured, correlated to the calculated values and discussed in the light of electric field induction on objects adjacent to AC power transmission line

Combined method based on inversion and charge simulation forcalculating electric stresses in three-core belted cables

A combined method based on inversion and charge-simulation techniques for calculating the electric field everywhere in three-core belted cables is developed. A small number of simulation charges is required for accurate field determination. The set of equations which describe the potential and field is solved only once with direct determination of the electric potential and field values at any time instant. All of this achieved higher accuracy with a drastic saving in computer time in comparison with previous method

Calculation of electric stresses in three-core belted cables

The authors present a combined method based on inversion and charge-simulation techniques for calculating the electric field in three-core belted cables. Numerical techniques have been developed based on the charge-representation, charge-simulation and successive-imaging methods. The set of equations which describe the potential and field is solved only once with direct determination of the electric potential and field values at any time instant. This achieved higher accuracy with a very large saving in computer time in comparison with previous method