Afghanistan has a long history of Islamic education while Western type of education (maktab) is of more recent date. The latter type of education has expanded rapidly recently. However, girls’ enrolment remains low, around 35 per cent. The present study examines children’s, particularly girls’, participation in the two educational systems. Throughout history three conflicting issues are apparent in Afghan education: state control over Islamic education, the role of Islam in education, and girls’ participation. A case study approach has been adopted providing an analysis of how history and the present globalisation processes affect current education, and how students, parents and teachers in two villages perceive the changes. The focus has been on capturing the meaning attached to education. The findings indicate high expectations on education as a vehicle to peace, enhanced morals and living standards. The traditional madrasas have declined, other forms of Islamic education have emerged. The Mosque schools are neglected by education authorities but highly esteemed by villagers. Concerns are expressed with the amount of time in maktab and with the quality of learning. The Islamic concept of farz (obligation, responsibility) puts both types of education in high demand. Dilemmas are associated with choosing between Islamic and Western type of education, applying farz to girls’ education and the encounter between Islam and globalisation. Two folk theories, one on globalisation and another on farz in education, were formulated as a basis for the further analysis. Worries are articulated about preserving Islamic values and ethics. Although ‘globalisation’ is a never heard of concept, villagers know some of its features, e.g. secularisation, individualism and consumerism, and fear these may lead to a weakened Islamic identity. Girls’ education is generally accepted. Albeit some consider a few years enough, most consider girls’ right to education to be identical to boys’, on certain conditions. Besides security, a female teacher is the most important. However, findings from the village with a long established girl school with female teachers indicate that this is not the crucial factor. In Islamic education, girls will continuously be excluded from advanced Islamic studies since female mullahs do not exist. Apparently, the real obstacles for girls’ education are the strictly segregated gender roles in Afghan society. Therefore, a new interpretation of farz is emerging, a ‘glocalised’ version. This is likely to be a decisive factor for giving girls equal access to education in both educational systems.

This thesis is an attempt to study Ibn Jama'ah's approach to educational reform as illustrated in his Tadhkirat al-Sami' wa al-Mutakallim fi Adab al-'Alim wa al Muta'allim. Ibn Jama'ah (639-733 A.H. / 1241-1333 A.D.) was a distinguished Shafi'i Chief Judge and prominent scholar of Islamic studies during the Bahri Mamluk's Sultanate in Egypt and Syria. Ibn Jama'ah's theory of education reflects an emphasis on the Qur'an and hadith as primary sources of knowledge. Specifically, his suggestions for curriculum composition are designed to facilitate the evolution of a pious, religiously oriented generation of scholars. Ibn Jama'ah emphasizes the need for the teacher to foster motivation among his student body. Furthermore, he recommends that the teacher carefully gauge his students' abilities and limits. Another critical component of Ibn Jama'ah's educational program is the need for the teacher to realize the influence he has on his students; consequently, he must carry himself in a respectable and pious manner. He also addresses the various duties needed for a student to excell in his studies. In his evaluation of the teacher and student relationship, one can detect his affiliation with the Sufi khanqah tradition.

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Cette thèse se propose de montrer, à partir d’exemples concrets de textes anti-Šu‘ūbiyya tirés des œuvres d’al-Ğāḥiẓ (m. 255/869) et d’Ibn Qutayba (m. 276/889), la prégnance de la période préislamique sur l’adab du IIIe/IXe siècle. La méthode retenue est la confrontation critique notamment de la version numérisée de ces textes. Cette approche permet d’alimenter l’hypothèse d’une représentation magnifiée de l’Arabie préislamique : une image qui a fondé une part non négligeable des symboles identitaires de la culture arabo-musulmane, nourrie d’un passé mythique dans lequel peuvent se retrouver tous les musulmans sans préjuger de leurs ascendances.En effet, entendant par « mythe » les récits des origines qui cherchent à expliquer des données de la réalité en les inscrivant dans une dimension transcendée et surnaturelle, le symbolisme de l’adab situe l’essence des valeurs qu’il défend dans l’héritage des anciens Arabes. Cherchant à expliquer le monde, les udabā’ feront de la ğāhiliyya la source des vertus et le berceau de la langue arabe la plus pure. Inventant de nouvelles généalogies « fédératrices », ils s’attacheront à mettre en avant la maîtrise des traditions arabes préislamiques. Ainsi, nos deux auteurs situent la naissance de la civilisation arabo-musulmane dans des récits hors du temps et en rupture avec le présent. Les musulmans non-arabes peuvent donc ne plus se réclamer de leurs passé « réaliste » et prendre plutôt racine dans un passé qui favorise une culture commune inscrite dans un temps autre que le temps historique. Nos auteurs inventent une manière de culture vierge qui, seule, peut permettre à leurs yeux le commencement absolu. Par conséquent, les référents à la supériorité devraient être bouleversés par « l’effet anti-Šu‘ūbiyya » puisque l’origine ethnique ou la réalité historique ne sont plus le seul sens de l’existence. / Based on concrete examples from anti-Šu‘ūbiyya texts pulled from works of al-Ğāḥiẓ (d. 255/869) and Ibn Qutayba (d. 276/889), this thesis aims to demonstrate the pre eminence of the pre-Islamic period on the adab of the IIIe/IXe century. From a methodology which consists in a critical confrontation between these texts (especially the digitalized version of the texts), our point is to fuel the hypothesis of an adorned representation of pre-Islamic Arabia : This image produced a very important part of identical symbols of the Arab-Muslim culture, based on a mythical past in which all the Muslims without prejudice to their ancestries can find themselves."Myth" meaning the narratives of the origins created to explain data of the reality by registering them in a transcent and supernatural dimension, the symbolism of the adab places the essence of the values it is based on in the inheritance of the former Arabs. Trying to explain the world, the udabā’ made of the ğāhiliyya the source of the virtues and the cradle of the purest Arabic language. They devised new common genealogies to put forward the knowledge of the pre-Islamic Arabic traditions. Our two authors stand out the birth of the Arab-Muslim civilization in timeless narratives and in breach with the present time. Thus the non-Arabic Muslims can not refer anymore to their "historical" past and to take rather roots in a past which supports a common culture registered in a not historical time. Only this kind of blank culture, invented by our two authors, could allow the absolute beginning. Consequently, the markers of the supposed superiority could be shaken by the "anti-Šu‘ūbiyya effect" since the ethnical origin or the historical reality are not the only sense of the existence anymore.

Masters of Art / study analyses the concept of al-Karāmah al-Sūfīyah (the Sufi Saintly Miracle) in both its religious and literary dimensions. The researcher will shed more light on this genre of narrative literary phenomena by developing its definition and placing it in the social and historical context of the Sufi thought as a whole. Many communities in the Islamic world embrace and practice the Sufi doctrine and also believe in the Ṣūfī Sheikhs’ saintly miracles and its paranormal aspects, which they also consider to be parallel in its sacredness to the miracles of the Prophets. Furthermore, in this study the researcher will not only focus on the religious significance of the saintly miracle but also on their literary approach and aesthetic dimensions. In fact many of the contemporary Arab scholars and Litterateurs categorize this narrative discourse to fall under the cloak of al-Adab al-‘ajāibī (miraculous literature) due to the nature of its narrative style and structure from which it achieves its goals, such as: Myth – Legend – Superstition – Storytelling, etc. The study will be mainly qualitative. It is a content analysis study in the sense that the researcher will analyse the stylistic, formal and rhetorical techniques of the saintly miracles’ discourse with specific reference to extracts taken from al- Sheikh al-Hassan al- Shadili and al-Sheikh Abdelssalam Bin Machich. The study will use an eclectic theoretical and conceptual framework which combines the historical approach with the reception theory.