The National Sufi Council : redefining the Islamic Republic of Pakistan through a discourse on Sufism after 9/11

Abstract On September 11, 2001, the United States suffered four terrorist attacks on its soil by a group later identified as Al-Qaeda. The attacks, the worst in US history, resulted in immense destruction and loss of life. For the United States, and for a number of countries around the world, 9/11 constituted a major historical turning point which prompted a series of responses aimed at countering terrorism. For Pakistan, the pragmatic decision to join the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan immediately transformed the nation into a front-line state in the ‘war on terror’ being waged on its western border. In the years that followed, Pakistan experienced an escalation in terrorist-related incidents and fatalities across all four of its provinces and in the tribal areas. The rise in religious extremism and violence made Pakistan progressively less safe for its many citizens. Moreover, amidst media reports of ongoing terrorism in a nuclear-capable Pakistan, western audiences increasingly viewed Pakistan, and Islam, as synonymous with intolerance, militancy, and terrorism. Within the climate of extremism, sectarianism, and terrorism, a new type of discourse began to emanate from the political leadership in Pakistan. For President Musharraf, the formation of a cohesive national identity was central to the establishment of political legitimacy and hegemony without the need for physical force. He believed this would allow effective revenue extraction, which could be reinvested in much-needed social and economic development. This in turn would result in a peaceful and prosperous civil society, and reverse negative world opinion of Pakistan. Following this Gramscian assumption, after 9/11 President Musharraf attempted to construct an enlightened and moderate identity for Pakistan by promoting the ethical and peace-building aspects found within Islam. By 2006, he had established the National Council for the Promotion of Sufism. Three years later, in 2009, President Zardari reconstituted the council and renamed it the National Sufi Council. With its ostensible message of philosophical, spiritual, and social harmony, Sufism was posited by both administrations as the first and foremost symbol of national identity for Pakistan, as well as a global panacea to terrorism. In order to understand contemporary politics, and Islam, in Pakistan after 9/11, this thesis employed Critical Discourse Analysis as a theoretical framework and as a method for socio-political analysis. The main aim was to analyse and interpret government discourse on the subject of Sufism over a ten-year period following the attacks of 9/11 to demonstrate the ways in which Sufism was officially invoked and promoted. A further aim was to analyse and interpret the discourse of other political actors on the subject of Sufism during the same period to demonstrate the ways in which the official construction of Sufism was reproduced and resisted. Those narratives were then situated within the wider historical socio-political context. This approach was intended to allow a more nuanced understanding of the persistence of Islam as the first and foremost symbol of national identity, and of belonging, for Pakistani society despite the many theological differences that exist amongst the Muslims of Pakistan. It was also intended to reveal the complex and competing identity narratives which continue to hinder government efforts to create a single cohesive and shared national identity for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This thesis demonstrates that, whilst Islam has been the ultimate source of identity and legitimacy for Pakistan since before its creation in 1947, the many complex and competing interpretations of Islam that exist in the nation continue to divide it. Most crucially, the inability of Muslims to form a consensus with regard to Islam at a theological level has had a significant impact on the nation’s ability to establish a coherent ideology upon which to base a viable political system. Official attempts to construct a national identity through the lens of Sufism after 9/11 were a continuation of a wider, largely incomplete, and problematic struggle to build national unity in Pakistan. Ultimately, however, the turn to Sufism served to further complicate the issue rather than resolve it

No Child Left Behind: Implications for Career and Technical Education

High school principals and career and technical education (CTE) teachers throughout Illinois were subjects of this study which described principals\u27 and CTE teachers\u27 perceptions of the impact the No Child Left Behind Act of2001 has had on high school CTE programs. Findings indicated principals and teachers collectively disagreed with No Child Left Behind has had a positive impact on the image ofCTE at your school. Both groups also agreed CTE courses can help schools meet the goals of all students will reach high standards, at a minimum of attaining proficiency or better in reading and mathematics and all students will graduate from high school. However, a statistically significant difference between the groups was found with No Child Left Behind has had a positive impact on CTE enrollment at your school. Findings indicated while the principals agree, the teachers conversely disagreed with the statement

Probable Donor-Derived Human Adenovirus Type 34 Infection in 2 Kidney Transplant Recipients From the Same Donor.

Human adenovirus type 34 (HAdV-34) infection is a recognized cause of transplant-associated hemorrhagic cystitis and, in rare cases, tubulointerstitial nephritis. The source of such infections is often difficult to assess, that is, whether acquired as a primary infection, exposure to a pathogen in the transplanted organ, or reactivation of an endogenous latent infection. We present here 2 cases of likely transplant-acquired HAdV-34 infection from the same organ donor, manifesting as tubulointerstitial nephritis in 1

A longitudinal interpretative phenomenological analysis of the process of kidney recipients’ resolution of complex ambiguities within relationships with their living donors

Much previous research into living kidney donation has focused on the decision making of the donor, despite evidence suggesting this may be a more psychologically challenging time for the recipient. This longitudinal study explores the experiences of four recipients of kidneys from living donors throughout the transplant process. Transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three themes arose from the data, which were: Changing perceptions of relationships with kidney donors; Upbeat, temporal strategies for remaining positive; and Journey of the self. Findings from the first theme are presented in detail here. It was found that each participants’ relationship with their donor grew and developed in different ways, presenting their own complex challenges in terms of developing relationships and ambiguity around the decision to use the chosen donor

Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology of lesions in the head and neck performed without local anaesthesia – An analysis of pain perception

Introduction Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology is commonly carried out in the head and neck. The aim was to examine the amount of pain experienced by patients undergoing this procedure carried out without the use of local anaesthetic. Methods A questionnaire was given to 109 consecutive patients undergoing ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology containing a visual analogue scale. Patients were asked to mark with a vertical line on the 100 mm horizontal scale amount of pain they experienced during the biopsy. The pain was subsequently categorised as ‘no pain’, ‘mild pain’, ‘moderate pain’ or ‘severe pain’ based on previous pain studies. Results Hundred patients completed the visual analogue scale section of the questionnaire satisfactorily. Twenty-one patients experienced no pain, 62 experienced mild pain and 17 experienced moderate pain. No patients experienced severe pain. Further analysis showed that females had significantly higher visual analogue scale scores (Mann–Whitney test: U = 925.5, z = 2.211, P = 0.027). Patients who were aware that they were going to have a biopsy had significantly lower visual analogue scale scores than those who were not aware (Mann–Whitney test: U = 859.5, z = 2.263, P = 0.024). Conclusions Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology is generally a well-tolerated procedure with pain scores being higher in females. It is advised that patients are told by the referring clinician the need for biopsy as this reduces the amount of pain experienced. Keywords: Biopsy, ultrasound, pai

Novel marrellomorph moulting behaviour preserved in the Lower Ordovician Fezouata Shale, Morocco

Exoskeleton moulting is the process of shedding the old exoskeleton to enable growth, development and repair, representing a crucial recurrent event in the life histories of all euarthropods. The fossil record of moulting allows us to interpret the evolution of this important behaviour and its impact on the evolutionary trajectories of extinct and extant euarthropods. Current knowledge of Palaeozoic euarthropod moulting relates largely to trilobites, with fewer examples known for non-mineralised extinct taxa from early in euarthropod evolutionary history. We describe exuviae from a marrellid marrellomorph found abundantly in the Early Ordovician Fezouata Shale Lagerstätte of Morocco, which allow a novel reconstruction, the second ever, of marrellid moulting behaviours. We identify the moulting suture location, describe preserved moulting assemblages, and suggest how its moulting behaviours are adaptive to its morphology. Several specimens represent complete and nearly complete assemblages and additional disarticulated specimens confirm the suture line location. The suture line is located between the mediolateral and posterolateral spine pairs, dividing the cephalic shield into anterior and posterior parts. The Fezouata marrellid likely exited the exoskeleton during exuviation using posterior and upwards movements, analogous in terms of movement to lobster-like extant arthropods. The suture line is comparable in the closely related marrellid Mimetaster, and distinctive from that of another marrellid, Marrella splendens, which has an exuvial opening at the anterior of the cephalic shield and exited the exoskeleton anteriorly. This difference in moulting behaviour as compared to Marrella is likely adaptive to the greater complexity of the Fezouata marrellid, with upwards rather than forwards movement presumably providing a more favourable angle for the extraction of complex spines. This description of the moulting behaviours and related morphological features of marrellomorphs expands our understanding of this crucial characteristic in extinct euarthropods

The impact of time to death in donors after circulatory death on recipient outcome in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation

\ua9 2024 The AuthorsThe time to arrest donors after circulatory death is unpredictable and can vary. This leads to variable periods of warm ischemic damage prior to pancreas transplantation. There is little evidence supporting procurement team stand-down times based on donor time to death (TTD). We examined what impact TTD had on pancreas graft outcomes following donors after circulatory death (DCD) simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation. Data were extracted from the UK transplant registry from 2014 to 2022. Predictors of graft loss were evaluated using a Cox proportional hazards model. Adjusted restricted cubic spline models were generated to further delineate the relationship between TTD and outcome. Three-hundred-and-seventy-five DCD simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplant recipients were included. Increasing TTD was not associated with graft survival (adjusted hazard ratio HR 0.98, 95% confidence interval 0.68-1.41, P = .901). Increasing asystolic time worsened graft survival (adjusted hazard ratio 2.51, 95% confidence interval 1.16-5.43, P = .020). Restricted cubic spline modeling revealed a nonlinear relationship between asystolic time and graft survival and no relationship between TTD and graft survival. We found no evidence that TTD impacts pancreas graft survival after DCD simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation; however, increasing asystolic time was a significant predictor of graft loss. Procurement teams should attempt to minimize asystolic time to optimize pancreas graft survival rather than focus on the duration of TTD

Detailing patient specific modelling to aid clinical decision-making

The anatomy of the craniofacial skeleton has been described through the aid of dissection identifying hard and soft tissue structures. Although the macro and microscopic investigation of internal facial tissues have provided invaluable information on constitution of the tissues it is important to inspect and model facial tissues in the living individual. Detailing the form and function of facial tissues will be invaluable in clinical diagnoses and planned corrective surgical interventions such as management of facial palsies and craniofacial disharmony/anomalies. Recent advances in lower-cost, non-invasive imaging and computing power (surface scanning, Cone Beam Computerized Tomography (CBCT) and Magnetic Resonance (MRI)) has enabled the ability to capture and process surface and internal structures to a high resolution. The three-dimensional surface facial capture has enabled characterization of facial features all of which will influence subtleties in facial movement and surgical planning. This chapter will describe the factors that influence facial morphology in terms of gender and age differences, facial movement—surface and underlying structures, modeling based on average structures, orientation of facial muscle fibers, biomechanics of movement—proof of principle and surgical intervention

Preparation and CO2 adsorption of amine modified Mg-Al LDH via exfoliation route

In response to the recent focus on reducing carbon dioxide emission, the preparation and characterization of organically functionalized materials for use in carbon capture have received considerable attention. In this paper the synthesis of amine modified layered double hydroxides (LDHs) via an exfoliation and grafting synthetic route is reported. The materials were characterized by elemental analysis (EA), powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD), diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectrometer (DRIFTS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Adsorption of carbon dioxide on modified layered double hydroxides was investigated by TGA at 25–80 °C. 3-[2-(2-Aminoethylamino) ethylamino]propyl-trimethoxysilane modified MgAl LDH showed a maximum CO2 adsorption capacity of 1.76 mmol g−1 at 80 °C. The influence of primary and secondary amines on carbon dioxide adsorption is discussed. The carbon dioxide adsorption isotherms presented were closely fitted to the Avrami kinetic model