Marriage is one of the time-honoured customs of human society which appears to have developed out of primeval habits of human mating and assumed the shape of custom, regulated later on by law. The norms of this custom and the details of its institutional set-up have varied from one society to another, according to their level of civilization. Having passed through its multifarious phases of evolution, marriage has grown into a social institution whose significance has been acknowledged almost universally. Celibacy has been condemned in China and Japan, among the Semites and many other peoples.

As war approached, Kemalist Turkey sought safety through collective security arrangements. Despite her proclamation of non-belligerency in 1939, she remained during the first phase of the world conflict a willing ally of Britain and France. In the second period she became increasingly cautious, and in the third (that of the Axis zenith) she embraced neutrality. From early in 1943 until the declaration of war, she returned to a pro-Allied partiality, although this was much complicated by Russian presence among the Allies. Indeed, throughout the war her main fear was of Soviet imperialism.

The East, in general, and the Muslim countries, in particular, have yet to solve the problem of adaptation to the process of modernisation initiated by the Western Civilisation in its expansive phase. This modernisation is a multi-sided process. It relates to military technique, industrial methods, administrative patterns, intellectual thinking, religious and moral concepts; in short, to the whole way of living. [...]

In 1917 the British Government gave its sanction to the establishment of a Jewish National Home in Palestine. In 1948 the independent State of Israel came into existence as an outgrowth of that sanction. At the end of this thirty-one year period the Jews constituted about one-third of the population of Palestine, but their tremendous zeal, backed by a large financial outlay by the Jews of the Diaspora, made them more than a match for the remainder of the population. [...]

One who is involved in inter-religious understanding and communication cannot avoid the charge of presumptuousness. The charge may be levelled against him by men of his own or of another tradition. The charge should also come spontaneously from his own humility and realism. The observer can only with effort sense the motives and emotions of the participant.

The Common-Link Theory, invented by Joseph Schacht and widely accepted in modern scholarship, argues that hadith authorities knowingly and purposefully placed traditions in circulation with little care to support these hadiths with satisfactory isnads. G. H. A. Juynboll, Michael Cook and other Schachtians subsequently embraced and elaborated upon this theory. This dissertation challenges the accuracy of Schacht's founding theory. / Dans sa théorie du common-link (lien commun), Joseph Schacht soutient que les compilateurs de hadith faisant autorité ont sciemment et délibérément propagé des traditions dont l'excellence des chaînes de transmission pouvait être mise en doute. Ce point de vue a subséquemment trouvé de nombreux adhérents parmi les orientalistes. G. H. A. Juynboll, Michael Cook et d'autres ont épousé les vues de Schacht et ont su en tirer d'autres applications. Dans la présente thèse, nous contestons la justesse de la théorie de Schacht.

The study attempts to determine the extent to which Arab nationalism, as expressed tn the writings of Michel 'Aflaq, may be considered truly secular. The analysis of 'Aflaq's published essays and speeches focuses upon his treatment of religion in general and of Islam in particular. In order to present a valid analysis of his writings, the origins of 'Aflaq's thinking are traced to the experiences and influences he underwent. / Cette étude tend à determiner l'étendue du laicisme dans le nationalisme arabe tel qu'exprimé par Michel 'Aflaq. L'analyse des essais et des discours publiés par 'Aflaq converge sur son traitement de la religion en général et de l'Islam en particulier. Afin de présenter une étude valable de ses écrits, les sources de la pensée de 'Aflaq sont referées aux expériences et aux influences qu'il a subites.

This thesis attempts to describe the responses of certain groups in the northern Sudan to the imposition of colonial rule during the first two decades of the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium. The nature of the source materials necessitates limiting its scope to a discussion of Sudanese-British collaboration as seen through British policy and the Sudanese response to it. It is contended that the Sudanese pre-colonial experience was an important factor in determining Sudanese reaction to the Condominium: thus the first two chapters deal with the pre-Condominium period. The third chapter investigates the interaction of Sudanese institutional leadership wlth the Condominium administration, and speculates as to the motives of Sudanese collaboration. / Cette thèse tente de décrire la réaction de certains groupes du Soudan septentrional à l'imposition du gouvernement colonial pendant les deux premières décennies du régime anglo-egyptien. La nature du matérial de base de cette étude nécessite sa limitation à un examen de la collaboration soudano-britannique telle qu'aperçue à travers le biais de la politique britannique et la réaction soudanaise à celle-ci. Nous prétendons que l'expérience pré-coloniale soudanaise était un facteur important déterminant la réaction soudanaise au nouveau régime; ainsi, les deux premiers chapitres traitent de la période pré-coloniale. Le troisième chapitre examine l'interaction entre la classe dirigeante soudanaise et l' administration coloniale et discute de la motivation de la collaboration soudanaise.

By 1800, the English East India Company at Bombay was, interested in achieving stability in the Persian/Arabian Gulf, which served as an imperial trade and mail route. The first obstacle encountered was piracy of the Qawasim tribal confederacy of al-Sir province of 'Uman. Piracy was an integral aspect of Qasimi maritime warfare and economy, but the British identified Qasimi piracy with Wahhabi control over al-Sir. For several years, Bombay lacked sufficient funds, ships and manpower to defeat the Qawasim, and therefore made limited efforts to punish Qasimi, pirates without risking involvement with the Wahhabi power in Eastern Arabia. [...] / Vers 1800 la firme anglaise East India Company a Bombay était déja interessé dans le problème d'achever une certaine stabilité dans le Golfe persique/arabe, lequel servait comme route de commerce et de courrier impériaux. Le premier obstacle rencontré fût la piraterie par la confédération tribale des Qawisim de la province al-Sir de 'Uman: La piraterie était un aspect intégral des méthodes de guerre et de l'économie maritimes des Qawasim mais les anglais identifiaierent la piraterie Qasimi avec le controle Wahhabi sur al-Sir. Pendant plusieurs années Bombay manquait de fonds, de navires, et de main d'oeuvre suffisants pour punir les pirates Qasimi sans risquer de se compromettre avec le pouvoir Wahhabi dans l'Arabie de l'est. [...]

The problem of freedom and determinism has not been treated in late Islamic philosophy, yet it figures prominently in the thought of Sadr al-din Shirazi (Mulla Sadra) d.1640. The treatment of and solutions to this problem, and the related problem of theodicy, although influenced by previous Islamic formulations, derive mainly from Sadra's own peculiar and complex philosophical system. The application of Sadra's doctrine (of the systematic ambiguity) of existence, which is the central underlying principle of his entire thought, furnishes a unique if not original compatibility theory of freedom and determinism. The application of Sadra's doctrine of essence furnishes the principle component of his theodicy. / Bien que le problème du libre arbitre et du déterminisme ne figure pas pour beaucoup dans la dernière floraison de la philosophie islamique, il devient un sujet principal de la pensée de Sadr al-din Shirazi (Mulla Sadra) ob. 1640. La manière dont il traite de cette question, et du problème de la théodicée qui s'y apparente, aussi bien que les soolutions qu'il propose, dérivent pour la plupart d'un système original et complexe qui lui est propre, bien que Sadra soit influencé par certaines formulations islamiques précédentes. En appliquant au problème du libre arbitre la doctrine de Sadra sur l'ambiguité systématique de l'existence (lequel comporte le principe central et sous-jacent de sa pensée entière), on arrive à une théorie, unique sinon tout à fait originale, qui fournait la base d'une conciliation entre le libre arbitre et le déterminisme. L'application de sa doctrine d'essence fournit l'élément principal de sa théodicée.