Jews & Others in Iraq

The current image of Iraq in the media and public discourse is of a country sharply divided by communal boundaries and conflicts of religion, ethnicity, and community. This image goes right against any notion of “cosmopolitanism.” Yet, research into the history of the country in the twentieth century would show that, while communal boundaries and conflicts did exist, these were socially permeable, allowing much close interaction between individuals, families, and neighbourhoods across the boundaries

Muslim Societies. Unity or Diversity?

It is often claimed that Islam is not only a religion but a culture and a civilization. 'The Islamic world' and 'Islamic history' are commonly used terms, both in popular public discourse and in academic writing, suggesting some kind of coherent unity. At the same time, writers point to the diversity of Muslim countries from Morocco to Indonesia, from Nigeria to Turkey. Is there a unity behind the diversity, at least in the 'heartlands' of Islam in the Middle East and North Africa, as Ernest Gellner and others have claimed

Religious Authority and Public Life

The image of the Middle East projected in current public discourses is one imbued with religion. Media consumers would be forgiven for assuming that the region consists of angry bearded men prostrating themselves in prayer when not shaking their fists and burning American flags, and shadowy women with headscarves or chadors. The region is 'the Islamic world', religion stamped on every aspect of its life and function. The 'clash of civilizations' idea, much criticized, remains a potent notion both in the West and in Muslim circles. A mythical totalized 'Muslim world' is opposed to an equally mythical unified 'West', with religion as the essence of the former and the main key to its politics and society

Inclusion of the Domains of Sustainable Development in Al Hadith Text Books in the Intermediate Stage

This study aims to identify the areas of sustainable development that should be included in the textbooks of Prophetic Sayings (Hadeeth) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to determine the degree of availability, and to find out if there are statistically significant differences at (α≤0.05) in the degree of availability. The descriptive analytical method was used to analyze the whole study population. Cooper coefficient of stability, frequencies, and percentages were used to analyze the results and measure the degree of availability of these fields. Chi Square equation was also used to measure the differences between the availability of fields among grades. The social field was firstly ranked with a percentage of 78.16%, and a total of 433 frequencies, while the environmental field followed it with a percentage of 6.98% and a total of 37 frequencies. The paper showed that there were statistically significant differences in the inclusion in Chi equation

Types of refractive errors in northern Pakistan: a hospital-based survey

Background: The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that about 314 million people are visually impaired worldwide, and in 153 million of them the impairment is due to uncorrected refractive errors. Hence, uncorrected refractive error is one of the leading causes of blindness around the globe. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence and patterns of different types of refractive errors among the people attending the eye clinic in Northern Pakistan. Material and methods: A hospital-based retrospective audit was done on patients who presented to the Ophthalmology Outpatients Department of Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad between 1st June 2017 and 31st July 2017. The data of 662 patients were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics v. 22.0. Results: Refractive errors were found in 487 (73.5%) of the total participants. The crude prevalence of myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism was found to be 33.5%, 21.9%, and 18.1%, respectively. The refractive error status was found to be independent of gender (p = 0.075), but it varied among different age groups (p = 0.000). Conclusion: Myopia seems to be the most common refractive error in northern Pakistan, followed by hyperopia. The results of our study can be useful for the planning of eye care services in our country so that we can achieve the goal of VISION 2020 with proper care and planning

The Role of Teaching Practices of Science Teachers on Developing Innovative Thinking Among High School Students

The present study aims at identifying the role of teaching science teachers practices on developing innovative thinking among high school students in the city of Najran. To achieve the purpose of the study, the descriptive survey method was used. A questionnaire was designed as a tool for applying the study. It was applied to a random, Stratification sample of students (N=587) students. And a female student in the general secondary stage, and the results of the study concluded that the role of the teaching science teachers’ practices in developing innovative thinking among students from their point of view was large and very large for all dimensions of the study (fluency, flexibility, originality), and it also showed that there were no statistically significant differences in Significance level (α≤0.05) in the role of teaching practices to develop innovative thinking due to the variable (social), and based on the results, the study recommended spreading the culture of teaching practices to develop innovative thinking, and training science teachers during service on how to apply teaching practices to develop innovative thinking, motivating teachers Sciences to continue applying teaching practices to develop innovative thinking among their students, and to provide adequate support for their continuation

Religious Fundamentalism as an Obstacle to Peace in the Middle East: Under What Conditions Might Pragmatism Prevail?

Religious fundamentalists have in several instances served as barriers to the peaceful conclusion of disputes in the Middle East, especially in the framework of the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As a consequence and irrespective of the specific definition of fundamentalism, these groups can constitute in various countries a substantial hurdle for any arms control initiative such as the upcoming Middle East Conference (MEC). This gathering is to deal with the establishment of a zone free of all kinds of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery vehicles (DVs). Achieving a successful and sustainable outcome at the MEC could be hampered by a host of problems, one of which is the diffi cult role that religious fundamentalism could possibly play in undermining this initiative. Hence, this POLICY BRIEF provides decision makers and practitioners with information on these presumably ‘negative’ actors, drawn from case studies covering various fundamentalist groups within the Middle East and beyond. These recommendations are based on the key finding that, contrary to mainstream expectations, the major players can behave pragmatically, provided they are acting in favorable circumstances

The influence of minimum sitting period of the ActivPAL™ on the measurement of breaks in sitting in young children

Sitting time and breaks in sitting influence cardio-metabolic health. New monitors (e.g. activPAL™) may be more accurate for measurement of sitting time and breaks in sitting although how to optimize measurement accuracy is not yet clear. One important issue is the minimum sitting/upright period (MSUP) to define a new posture. Using the activPAL™, we investigated the effect of variations in MSUP on total sitting time and breaks in sitting, and also determined the criterion validity of different activPAL™ settings for both construct