The dissertation focuses on the conversion experiences and individual processes of twenty-four native British Muslim converts and fifty-two native German Muslim converts, based on personal interviews and completed questionnaires between 2008 and 2010. It analyses the occurring similarities and differences among British and German Muslim converts, and puts them into relation to basic Islamic requirements of the individual, and in the context of their respective social settings. Accordingly, the primary focus is placed on the changing behavioural norms in the individual process of religious conversion concerning family and mixed-gender relations and the converts’ attitudes towards particularly often sensitive and controversial topics. My empirical research on this phenomenon was guided by many research questions, such as: What has provoked the participants to convert to Islam, and what impact and influence does their conversion have on their (former and primarily) non-Muslim environment? Do Muslim converts tend to distance themselves from their former lifestyles and change their social behavioural patterns, and are the objectives and purposes that they see themselves having in the given society directed to them being: bridge-builders or isolators? The topic of conversion to Islam, particularly within Western non-Muslim societies is a growing research phenomenon. At the same time, there has only been little contribution to the literature that deals with comparative analyses of Muslim converts in different countries. This dissertation is based on the conversion research methods by Wohlrarb-Sahr (1999) and Zebiri (2008), and further concentrates on the acute challenges and personal understandings of Muslim converts regarding cultural, religious, and moral changes, changes in belief and adoption of religious practices as well as social relations. Dissatisfaction with the former faith or given social norms, the appeal of the Muslim tenets, the search for identity and the desire to have a sense of belonging included the participants’ motivation for conversion. Taking the former into consideration enabled the result of providing a personal, lively yet rational insight into the lives of British and German Muslim converts.

Ma recherche propose d’apporter des connaissances qualitatives sur les parcours et modes d’engagements religieux et politiques des individus actifs au sein de diverses associations musulmanes à Genève. L’objectif porte sur l’interrogation du sens dynamique donné à cette activité, lié à l’apport de connaissances empiriques. Les injonctions morales multiples et contraignantes ainsi que les stigmatisations auxquelles sont soumises les sujets de la figure historique « musulmans » en Europe nous amènent à poser une question centrale de recherche : comment ce cadre de pensée et d’action influence aujourd’hui les formes de mobilisation des acteur-trice-s de l’islam ? Pour tenter de répondre à cette question, nous proposons de nous pencher sur les parcours d’engagement et sur les trajectoires de vie des acteur-trice-s, sur le rapport qu’ils/elles entretiennent avec la religion musulmane et sur la manière dont ils expriment et valorisent leur islamité en lien avec une visibilité dans l’espace public. / My research proposes to bring qualitative knowledge on the paths and modes of religious and political commitments of individuals active within various Muslim associations in Geneva. The objective is to question the meaning given to this activity, linked to the contribution of empirical knowledge. The multiple and binding moral injunctions and the stigmatization of subjects of the historical "Muslim" figure in Europe lead us to ask a central question of research : how this framework of thought and action influences the forms of Mobilization of the actors of Islam? To try to answer this question, we propose to look at the paths of engagement and the life trajectories of the actor-s, their relationship with "visibility" and the Muslim religion and how they express and value their Islam and their presense in the public space.

The anthropology of ethics is a project of developing a common language in order to describe and to analyse ethical tensions as they manifest themselves across different traditions as well as changing social and historical contexts. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank, this thesis contributes to the anthropology of ethics with an analysis the virtuous spending of wealth - with a particular focus on zakat (Islamic almsgiving) - as it emerges through the Islamic discursive tradition. This stirs up wider issues, such as the trajectory of an ethical tradition in a politically repressive context. Historically, Nablus has been subject to different instances of foreign rule. Since 1967, the city has been under Israeli military occupation. This thesis shows how social interactions constitute a field of ethical practice. References to the Islamic Scriptures surfacing in greetings, conversations, and transactions in Nablus can be read as invoking an Islamic system of value. Acts of generous giving are sometimes inserted into this system, which unfolds in the context of the political economy of Israeli occupation. In this wider landscape, zakat in Nablus emerges both as (1) a socially embodied virtue realized within and through social relations; and as (2) an institutionalized practice carried out by zakat institutions, which since the 1970s have mainly evolved in a legal framework defined by state of Jordan. Analysing zakat on these two levels, this thesis grants insights into how military occupation, modern state administration, and capitalism fragment and inflect the Islamic discursive tradition, e.g. by foregrounding certain aspects of the Scriptures over others. With a view to embodied practices of zakat and ethical interactions, Islamic discourse manifests a certain plasticity and continuity. Conceiving wealth and scarcity as inherently ethical problems rooted in social interactions, the Islamic tradition notably provides a conceptual language of wider relevance.

Islamic Philosophy seems essentially to be a response to the challenge that reached the Muslim world from Greek thought. Various conflicts arose in early Islam from time to time with respect to certain principles in different sects and everyone adapted whatever new form seemed to be conducive to his thought. The conflict between the Muctazilite tradition influenced by rationalism and Ashcarite tradition dominated by 'faith' was virtually set at naught by the chief of the Ashcarites, Abū-Ḥāmid Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (1058-1111 A.D.), who found the culmination of tradition in mystical awareness. From the time of al-Ashcarī down to that of al-Ghazālī the Arabs assimilated the fundamentals of Hellenism, and Greek culture caused a vigorous philosophical renaissance represented by Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī (died A.D. 950) and Abū-cAlī al-Husayn ibn-cAbd-Allāh ibn-Sīnā (A.D. 980-1037). Under the influence of their philosophical thought theology was shaken once more when confronted by the ideas of the Muctazila. Facts and phenomena had no ultimate significance beyond what they presented in experience. Men who were concerned with the refinements of philosophical speculations and the intricacies of metaphysical abstractions were greatly needed to work to the support of the dogmas of Islam and to nullify the conclusions of a philosophy inconsistent with it. When this colossal task appeared to be imperative, the Muslim world found their leader in al-Ghazālī who was capable of withstanding Hellenism and attacking its representatives. In addition to his being a philosopher who wished to counteract the unorthodox tendencies of his hellenising predecessors, al-Ghazālī was an eminent mystic, sufi and original thinker. In the Muslim world he was the great bridge between traditionalism and mysticism, activism and intuitionism. From the days of his youth he possessed an intense thirst for knowledge which persuaded him to study every form of philosophy and religion and to question all whom he met with regard to the nature and significance of their belief. He discussed problems of understanding, value of knowledge, learning, instruction, efficiency and duty. The ruthless iconoclasm practised by al-Ghazālī in destroying the revered images of Greek Philosophy which then held sway over the mind of many Muslims and his efforts to bring about a reconciliation between mysticism and orthodoxy crowned him with the title of Ḥujjat al-Islam.

Assez peu reconnu à son époque et encore largement méconnu aujourd'hui, l'intellectuel algérien Malek Bennabi (1905-1973) a pourtant fait une entrée remarquée dans la vie intellectuelle en Algérie avec sa notion de "colonisabilité " en 1949. Il se fera connaitre ensuite dans le monde musulman notamment avec ses définitions fonctionnelles de la culture et de la civilisation. Néanmoins, sa conception réformiste de la religion, nommée " idée religieuse " et ayant une fonction sociale, a été très peu analysée. Or, elle est la clé de voûte de la compréhension de la pensée de Bennabi. Pour lui, " l'idée religieuse " doit être une idée vécue comme une " vérité travaillante ", authentique avec l'islam et efficace dans le monde moderne. Il mélange des savoirs issus à la fois de la Tradition musulmane et des sciences humaines et propose de connecter l'islam authentique avec l'esprit technique cartésien. Ainsi, dans un contexte de décolonisation, Bennabi veut réaliser, par le déploiement moral et social de " l'idée religieuse " un projet de société pérenne, prospère et ouvert sur la civilisation humaine. Par le biais de cette notion " d'idée religieuse ", nous proposons, tout d'abord, de situer Bennabi dans l'histoire de l'Algérie mais aussi de l'islam contemporain. Nous voulons ensuite comprendre les fondements et les finalités de sa pensée qui est singulière au sein du réformisme musulman. Ce qui permettra enfin de mesurer l'impact de " l'idée religieuse " dans son projet de société sur trois niveaux de réflexion ; l'homme, la société, l'humanité. / Although he is not really recognized by his contemporaries and still largely unknown today, the Algerian intellectual Malek Bennabi (1905-1973) nevertheless made a remarkable entry into the intellectual life in Algeria with his notion of "colonisabilité ". Then, he will be known in the Muslim world with its functional definitions of culture and civilization. Thus, his reformist conception of religion, having a social function, which he called "religious idea", was ignored. It is, however, the keystone of the understanding of Bennabi's thinking. For him, "The religious idea" must be an idea lived as a "working truth", being authentic with Islam and effective in the modern world. He mixes the knowledge of the Muslim Tradition with the human sciences and proposes to connect his vision of an authentic Islam with the Cartesian technical spirit. Moreover, in a context of decolonization, Bennabi wants to realize, by the moral and social deployment of the "religious idea", a project of sustainable society, which he sees as being prosperous and open to human civilization. Through this concept of "religious idea" we propose, first of all, to question the place of Bennabi in the history of Algeria but also of contemporary Islam. Then, we want to question the foundations and the purposes of his thought which is singular in Muslim reformism. Finally, this will allow us to measure the impact of the "religious idea" in its project of society on three levels of reflection: man, society, humanity.

The boundaries of normative Islam are critically explored in this thesis, which presents a translation of the most important aspects of a modern study on bid‘ah (heretical innovation), by the late Egyptian Reformist Scholar, Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazālī (1917 – 1996). The translator’s introduction contextualizes the life and work of the author and also briefly locates this particular study within the broader framework of classical and contemporary writings on the subject of bid‘ah. Only the book’s introduction, first three chapters (constituting the theoretical spine of the original work), and conclusion are translated. The first chapter is an introductory excursus into Islamic law, necessary to enable the reader to grasp the legal debate on bid‘ah. The second chapter casts a wider net, examining the influence of foreign elements upon Islamic thought, while the third chapter deals specifically with the topic of bid‘ah. The short conclusion reaffirms the importance of normative Islamic practice. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Arabic)

The boundaries of normative Islam are critically explored in this thesis, which presents a translation of the most important aspects of a modern study on bid‘ah (heretical innovation), by the late Egyptian Reformist Scholar, Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazālī (1917 – 1996). The translator’s introduction contextualizes the life and work of the author and also briefly locates this particular study within the broader framework of classical and contemporary writings on the subject of bid‘ah. Only the book’s introduction, first three chapters (constituting the theoretical spine of the original work), and conclusion are translated. The first chapter is an introductory excursus into Islamic law, necessary to enable the reader to grasp the legal debate on bid‘ah. The second chapter casts a wider net, examining the influence of foreign elements upon Islamic thought, while the third chapter deals specifically with the topic of bid‘ah. The short conclusion reaffirms the importance of normative Islamic practice. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Arabic)