Dante's Understanding of the Two Ends of Human Desire and the Relationship between Philosophy and Theology

I discuss Dante’s understanding that human existence is “ordered by two final goals” and how this understanding defines philosophy’s and theology’s respective scopes of authority in guiding human conduct. I show that, while Dante devalues the philosophical authority associated with the traditional Aristotelian emphasis on the significance of contemplative activity, he does so in order to highlight philosophy’s ethico-political authority to guide human conduct toward its “earthly beatitude.” Moreover, I argue that, although Dante subordinates earthly beatitude to spiritual beatitude, he nonetheless maintains that philosophy’s authority to reveal a path to spiritual beatitude requires its fundamental independence from theology

Home shrines in Britain and associated spiritual values

In a quantitative survey of religious attitudes and practices in a multi-religious sample of 369 school pupils aged between 13 and 15 in London, the presence of a home shrine was found widespread in 11% of adolescents spanning several religious affiliations and ethnicities – especially Buddhists, Hindus and those of Indian, Chinese and ‘Other Asian’ ethnicity. Having a home shrine correlated significantly with spiritual attitudes such as agreement with filial piety, the Eightfold Path, subjectivity of happiness, meditation, Sikh festivals, reincarnation and opening Gurdwaras to all. It is suggested that teachers and the social services should be aware of the importance of shrines to many religious communities and recognize their potential as a spiritual asset and manifestation of religion outside the congregational place of worship

Problematic Issues of Institutional Development of Islamic Associations in Contemporary Ukraine

The article analyzes the revival of the Islamic religion which began in Ukraine in the 1990s. The authors point to the problematic issues of the institutional establishment of Islamic associations in contemporary Ukraine. In particular, four stages of development of Islam in independent Ukraine, which have their own institutional and ideological characteristics, are distinguished. Thus, the first stage was the creation of the first three spiritual administrations (the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Crimea, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Ukraine, and the Spiritual Center of Muslims of Ukraine), the development of which defined the ideology of future development of Islam in Ukraine (national orientation, leadership projects, etc.). That ideology was unacceptable to many independent Muslim communities who refused to participate in national and leadership projects. This led to the formation of the second stage (2007-2010) of the local development of Islam. The completion of the stage was marked by the creation of the common Council of Spiritual Administrations and Centers of Muslims of Ukraine. The next stage (2010-2016) is characterized by the artificial creation of associations affiliated with other Spiritual administrations. In the fourth stage, which has been going on since the end of 2016, the processes of self-identification of Muslims in a multi-confessional and multi-ethnic environment, the participation of Muslims in the protection of their homeland, etc., have intensified. In total, nine Muslim Spiritual Administrations or Centers have been established during the years of independence, four of which (DUM of Crimea, DCM of Ukraine, DUMU “The Unity” and DCM of Crimea) now operate in the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russia and have embarked on the path of collaborationism. The authors draw attention to the numerical indicators of accounting of Muslim communities and believers in general, the peculiarities of the Islamic educational process, the dependence of Ukrainian Spiritual administrations on foreign Islamic centers, and the attempts of political activity of the Ukrainian Islamic Ummah

Haji Bektash Veli and the Bektash Path in Albania and Macedonia

The Bektashi World Community officially represents the spiritual teachings of the Bektashi Sufi Order, one of the many mystical branches found within Islam. This religious order was founded in the 13th century by the Sufi saint Hajji Bektash Veli. The ultimate goal of the Bektash spiritual path is the perfection of the human soul. It is a path which fortifies its wayfarers with ethical and spiritual principles, which bring closeness to the Divine. Being founded on the revealed religion of Islam, Bektashism offers a unique and distinctive reading of the Qur’an, as well as the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, the Twelve Imams and the great Sufi mystics. With its sacred headquarters in Tirana, Albania, the Bektashi World Community has members in over 31 nations, with the largest concentration of Bektashi believers being found in Albania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Macedonia

Lata'if al–Asrar li–Ahl Allah al–Atyar of Nur al–Din al–Raniri: An annotated transliteration together with a translation and an introduction of his exposition on the fundamental aspects of sufi doctrines

The Lata'if al–Asrar li–Ahl Allah al–Atyar is another major work of Nur al–Din al–Raniri, the Shaykh al–Islam of Acheh. It was written at the behest of Sultan Iskandar Thani of Acheh in 1050 A.H./1640 A.D. Two copies of the manuscripts (dated 1248 A.H. and 1263 A.H.) found in Terengganu were used to produce an annotated transliteration from the Jawi text into Romanized Malay, a translation into English and an introduction in this book. The Lata'if or the Spiritual Subtleties for the Swiftly Ascending People of God was written to elucidate the fundamental aspects of Sufi doctrines. It is meant as an introduction to more advanced works for the novice on the path and a reminder for the adept

The Efficacy of Leader's Islamic Spiritual Intelligence Toward Employee Emotional Well-being

The objective of this study is to find the evidence for the efficacy of Religiosity on spirituality workplace. The research conducted by measuring the effect of employee's perspectives of leader's islamic spiritual intelligence on employee emotional well-being which mediated by the quality of employee spiritual value. The data was collected from the employees of moslem small medium enterprises on cullinary industry in Surakarta. The 75 samples was analyzed by multivariate analysis (Path Analysis) using SPSS 18 Software Program.The Islamic spiritual intelligence is explained by the variables that reflect the Muhammad SAW characters: sidiq (truthfulness), amanah (trustful), tabliq, and fatanah (wisdom). From the empirical research reveal that the employee spiritual value significantly mediating the effect of sidiq and fatanah toward employee's emotional wellbeing. Meanwhile the variable of amanah and tabliq has no significant effect to employee spiritual value and employee emotional wellbeing. Therefore the higher the islamic spiritual value of leader (sidiq and fatanah) the higher the spiritual value of employee and the better the quality of employee's emotional wellbeing

Living spiritual childhood according to Anzelm Gądek OCD (1884-1969)

Ks. Andrzej PerzyńskiFather Anzelm Gądek, the founder of the Order of Carmelite Sisters of the Infant Jesus, is a candidate for beatification. Alongside St Maximilian Kolbe, St Faustina Kowalska, St Ursula Ledochowska, Bl. Rafal Chylinski and Bl. Anastazy Pankiewicz, he belongs to the saints and blessed whose lives or activities were associated with the city of Łódź. Today, the writings of the Servant of God still hold relevance for spiritual theology, theology of consecrated life and theology for lay people searching and following their own vocation. The article contains the following parts: Introduction; 1. Theology of Consecrated Life (life of faith, Carmelite charism, living by evangelical virtues); 2. The Path of Spiritual Childhood (proclaiming spiritual childhood, biblical grounds for the path of spiritual childhood, relevance of the idea of spiritual childhood, the Mystery of the Infant Jesus as a model of life, pedagogical significance of the teaching on spiritual childhood); Conclusion.Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawi

Visual Verses: From the Form of Spirit to the Spirit of Form

Visual Verses: From the Form of Spirit to the Spirit of Form, is a personal spiritual journey that re-envisioned the studio as a sacred space, and art making as a spiritual practice, during a process of cultural adaptation from a religious context (Saudi Arabia) to a secular one (Canada). The project used a number of methodologies that integrate elements of Ta’wil, sound visualization, and art making as worship within the theoretical framework of Sufism and Sufi practice. The investigation culminated in the visual representation of Islamic holy scripts in new ways, beyond the traditional methods of calligraphy; the work is thus situated between a strongly religious background and contemporary art practice. This visual exploration was an attempt to combine the spiritual path and studio practice of a Sufi artist, and thereby highlight the author’s spiritual journey as a form of self-exploration and cultural adaptation