This thesis analyses data provided by face to face interviews with a sample of British converts to Islam to find out how and why they came to convert, and what were the repercussions of their conversions. The work is placed in the context of the predominantly post-Christian British society in which they had spent the greater part of their lives and the existence of a sizeable community of British Muslims. Influential studies of the psychology and sociology of religious conversion are reviewed and applied to the data. These tend to leave a series of loose ends and fail to pin down the causes or reasons for the conversions. The encounter and reaction with a proselytising group, a key finding in many previous studies, is found to be lacking in the evidence of the current sample of converts. A need is found to broaden the analytic approach. A holistic academic framework is found that both enables the researcher to analyse the conversions as a process through time and allows for further fields of study to be incorporated in the analysis. Thus the stage model for analysing the conversion process proposed by Lewis Rambo (1993) is employed, with a minor modification. Rambo's stage model permits the researcher to include in the study the insights into the human predicament offered by classical Islam. Literature based on and including the Qur'an and sunnah is reviewed. This provides a way of linking together some of the factors previous researchers have considered significant in the conversion process. The degree of interaction with Muslims prior to conversion varied enormously. In all cases there had been some contact but it is not found possible to state that such contact was necessary for the conversions to take place. The Islamic concept of hidayah is proposed as a unifying concept that can account for the disparate factors and apparently random coincidences identified as having been factors in the conversion processes. The Islamic concepts of tawheed and fitrah also contribute to a unifying view of the conversion phenomena. It is found that the common factor in the 'interaction' and 'commitment' stages of conversion is not immersion in a group of people, but interaction with a book, the Qur'an. This proves to be the pivotal element in all the conversions in this study. The post-conversion experiences of the converts as they became members of the Muslim ummah are found to be broadly similar in that they had been unprepared for the differences between their view of Islam, based mainly on the original texts, and that of the mainly South Asian Muslim community which included a history of cultural accretions. The success of their socialisation with the South Asian Muslim community varied a little from person to person, language and culture being the main stumbling blocks, but major differences were found that related to the gender and ethnicity of the converts. Their relationships within the non-Muslim community continued with some modifications. Little evidence is found that social problems, linguistic and cultural barriers, or what the future might hold, had, or would, deflect the converts from their faith. This may be because they all came to Islam through the Qur'an. It is therefore suggested that research into the psychological effect the Qur'an has on its readers would shed further light on the phenomenon of conversion to Islam.

Pour comprendre l'Iran d'aujourd'hui il faut poser son regard sur la Perse antique, terre de nomades, de marchands et de voyageurs mais aussi de champs de bataille sur lesquels ont été érigés les fondements d'une société raffinée tant aimée par les scientifiques, les artistes, les poètes et surtout par les voyageurs. Au fil des siècles, beaucoup d'italiens l'ont traversée ou y ont séjourné et il est impossible de parler de l'Iran sans prendre en considération son passé de Grand Empire, sa transformation religieuse du polythéisme à l'Islam en passant par le Mazdéisme, et ses bouleversement socio-culturels survenus lors de la transition entre la monarchie de Pahlavi et la République islamique d'Iran instaurée en 1979 à la suite de la révolution. A travers l'analyse et la comparaison de divers reportages de voyages, cette étude socio-culturelle tentera donc de mettre en évidence la façon à travers laquelle la vision de l'Iran, que certains voyageurs italiens possédaient, s'est modifiée et de quelle manière le voyage en Iran, entre le sacré et le profane, a influé sur la personnalité de ces derniers. D'après les textes des journalistes, des touristes, des littéraires et des aventuriers examinés, il est possible d'affirmer que tous ces gens sont tous partis en Iran avec beaucoup de craintes et un bagage de préjugés assez important. Cependant le voyage les a tellement surpris qu'ils ont rapidement reconnu leur erreur de jugement. La magnificence des lieux et la gentillesse de la population les ont amenés à aimer chaque pierre, chaque légende, et chaque personne rencontrée jusqu'à en arriver à se sentir comme à la maison malgré les nombreux kilomètres qui séparent la République islamique d'Iran de leur propre patrie. Lorsqu'il se rend en Iran, le voyageur prend conscience de se trouver dans un État théocratique qui impose des règles strictes mais qui entretient pourtant la pureté d'âme parfois perdue en Occident. Il s'agit d'un État dans lequel les Gardiens de la révolution intimident régulièrement les femmes en contrôlant leurs habits, en les obligeant à vivre selon les lois de la Charia, mais c'est dans ce même pays que les hommes sont toujours gentils et respectueux. C'est un lieux où le chant du Muezzin invite à la prière à l'aube, à midi et au coucher du soleil et où des ombres silencieuses, enroulées dans leurs tchadors obligent à réfléchir sur un pays où cohabitent des femmes résignées et tristes avec d'autres, bien courageuses, à la tête couverte dans toute sorte de tissus et prêtes à défier leurs familles et la société en découvrant de plus en plus leurs têtes enroulées dans des rusari colorés. L'Iran est un lieu où les fidèles chiites prient le même Dieu que leurs frères ennemis sunnites, toujours prêts à réitérer les événements de Kerbala. Et c’est un endroit où, pendant le Noruz zoroastrien, l’âme sombre de l’Ashura cède la place à l’espoir d’une meilleure année. / To understand the Iran of today we must look at ancient Persia, land of nomads, merchants and travelers but also battlefield on which have been erected the foundations of a refined society so loved by scientists, artists, poets and especially by travelers. Over the centuries, many Italians have crossed or stayed there, and it is impossible to talk about Iran without taking into consideration its past of the Great Empire, its religious transformation from polytheism to Islam via the Mazdaism, and its socio-cultural upheaval occurred during the transition from the Pahlavi monarchy to the Islamic Republic of Iran established in 1979 following the revolution. Through the analysis and comparison of various travel reports, this socio-cultural study will try to highlight how the vision of Iran, that some Italian travelers had, has changed and in which way the trip to Iran, between the sacred and the profane, has influenced the personality of this travelers. According to the texts of the journalists, the tourists, the literary people and the adventurers examined, it is possible to affirm that all these people have all reached Iran with a lot of fears and a baggage of prejudices quite important. However, the trip surprised them so much that they quickly recognized their misjudgment. The magnificence of the place and the kindness of the people, led them to love every stone, every legend, and every person they met, they made them feel at home despite the many kilometers that separate the Islamic Republic of Iran from their own homeland. When traveling to Iran, the traveler becomes aware of being in a theocratic state which imposes strict rules, but whose people maintains the purity of soul, sometimes lost in the West. This is a state in which Revolutionary Guards routinely bully women by controlling their clothes, forcing them to live by Shari'a law, but it is in that same country that men are always kind and respectful. It is a place where the song of Muezzin invites to prayer at dawn, at noon and at sunset and where silent shadows, rolled up in their chadors, make you think about a country where resigned and sad women live together with others brave, with their heads covered in all sorts of fabrics and ready to challenge their families and society by discovering more and more their heads wrapped in colorful rusari. Iran is a place where Shiite worshipers pray to the same God as their Sunni enemy brethren, always ready to reiterate the events of Kerbala. And is a place where during the Zoroastrian Noruz, the dark soul of Ashura gives way to the hope of a better new year.

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Although 'The Revival of Islam and Muslims' has not been studied, discussed and researched in the past as a specific subject of Islamic Sciences or as a part of Islamic curricula in seminaries and educational institutions, at present it has become a hot cake for intellectual and academic discourse among Muslim and non-Muslim scholars alike. In this context the present study investigates, examines and critically analyses the ideology of Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri regarding Islamic Revivalism. This study examines the areas of Muslim Thought which have been subjected to severe ailments and distortions, during the decline period of the Muslim Ummah, leading them to inactivity and stagnancy. I also attempt to suggest various remedial measures to overcome the prevailing conditions, using the ideology of revivalism by Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri critically compared with other ideologies of Maududi and al-Banna. Furthermore, I will analyse the ideology of Dr Al-Qadri for the reconstruction of the political, economic, juristic, religious and spiritual thought of Islam in the contemporary context. As Qur'anic Philosophy of Revivalism is a new concept in academia, there is vast scope for investigation of this field to discover new horizons in this particular subject ofIslamic sciences bringing forth some new aspects of research regarding the revival of Islam and Muslims. The present study will enhance the knowledge, background, rationale, significance as well as the necessity of the revival of Islam and its religious, spiritual, academic, legal, juristic, economic and political values and also create awareness for the reformation of the prevailing declining and decaying conditions of Muslim societies around the globe. Consequently, this thesis will enable one to realise and appreciate the significance of revivalism in the contemporary context. In the main, my methodology focuses on library research in relation to the works of Dr Al-Qadri as well as other revivalists in contemporary Muslim Thought. Thus, I will rely heavily on the Islamic core sources approach to Tafsir, Hadith scholarship and Islamic law (Fiqh) in terms of textual analysis.

The "Bayän al Adyan" (the Exposition of Religions) of Abu 1-Ma'ali Muhammad b. 'Ubayd Allah: Translation, Introduction and Notes. The Bayn al-Adyan is the. earliest Persian work which we have on religions in general and one of the earliest Muslin works on this subject. It was written in 485 A. H. (1092 A. D. ). The translation is based on 'Abbäs Iqbäl's edition, Teheran, 1934, with some additions which I found lacking from the text when comparing it with the original ls. The introduction contains a general study of the text. The notes are an attempt to elucidate and clarify this concise text. They are meant to be a full commentary on it. They are of two kinds : (a) these written on non-Muslim religions, (b) those written on Muslim sects. In (a), I have attempted to give some aspects of the Muslim knowledge of these religions, as presented by the early Muslim authors. When discussing (b) I have attempted to use books written by members of each particular seat, but in the absence of such books other available sources had to be used. Modern studies have been referred to in both sections when necessary. Beside this, I have prepared for publication a treatise on Zaydi theology entitled, "Misbah ul-Ulum fi Ma'rifat al. Hayy al-Qayyum" written by a Zaydi called Ahmad b. al-Hasan ar-Rassas (d. 600 or 656 A. H. ) by collating six Mss. of it, preserved in the British Museum. I have also produced a chapter on the rise of Kharijism from a book entitled "al-Kashf wa 'l-Bayan" written by an Ibadi Khariji called Abu Sa'id a1-Qal/hati. This work is a unique M.S. in the British Museum. The chapter referred to above is given in an abbreviated English translation because the text is corrupt in some places. As far as I know, this is the first time an account of Khärijism, written by a Khariji, has been published.

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This thesis follows the emergence and development of Tahmid, the Arabic laudatory preamble, as a literary genre in the Arabic tradition: a genre that imaginatively presents the distinct worldview (weltanschauung) that its author embraces and a genre that not only features as a standard introduction for an infinite number of texts, but is also, in and of itself, a rich source of meaning. The dissertation proposes a literary approach for unearthing its depths of knowledge, termed the 'relational approach'. This approach identifies and focuses on the various relations and associations, highlighted and evoked by a Tahmid despite its usual conciseness, which are the source of its vitality. Drawing upon a broad range of samples, the study also delineates the common characteristics and trends of the Tahmid tradition as a whole, and focuses on its distinctiveness and significance in Fatimid-Tayyibi literature ('Fatimid-Tayyibi' refers to Ismili Musta'lian Tayyibi Shiites in Fatimid Egypt as well as their spiritual successors in Yemen and India, commonly known as the Da'udi Bohras). Following the introduction, the thesis is structured on a chronological basis in three parts. Section-I (chapters 1-3) traces the development of Tahmid from its origins to maturity as a distinct genre in Arabic prose. Section-II (chapter-4), building on the literary-history presented in the previous section, presents a methodology for the analysis of Tahmid and applies it to a selection of examples. Section-III (chapters 5-7) focuses on the unique characteristics of Fatimid-Tayyibi Tahmids and presents an analysis of a number of examples. The section ends with a case-study of a Tahmid in one of the Fatimid-Tayyibi Da'i Syedna Taher Saifuddin's (d. 1385/1965) risalahs. The question posited in the title of this thesis, 'is the Tahmid a literary genre?' is answered in the Conclusion. An appendix of Tahmids referred to in the thesis and illustrative samples, especially from the Fatimid-Tayyibi manuscripts, accompanies the dissertation in a separate volume.

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