In his tenth-century work, al-Madīnah al-Fāḍilah, the Muslim philosopher Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī posits a solution to the internecine hostilities between Muslim intellectual communities which occurred as a result of conflicting positions on the relationship between revelation and reason, religion and philosophy. In this work al-Fārābī demonstrates that both religion and philosophy are derived from, and dependent upon, divine revelation from Allah to the Prophet. Modern scholars of al-Fārābī interpret his work differently, reading him as an enemy of religion who subordinates Islam to philosophy. In this thesis, after establishing al-Fārābī within the historical and ideological context of tenth-century Islamic thought I analyze al-Madīnah al-Fāḍilah in light of a commentary on the text by Richard Walzer, who is among those scholars who read al-Fārābī as an enemy of Islam who merely reproduces Greek philosophy in Arabic. Contrasting the original Arabic text with Walzer’s English translation and commentary I apply readings of several of al-Fārābī’s other works as an interpretive lens, through which the correct reading of al-Madīnah al-Fāḍilah is made clear. I further analyze the text in light of Islamic Scripture, by which I demonstrate that the foundation on which al-Fārābī’s cosmology is founded has precedence within the Qur’ān. Working in the tenth century al-Fārābī sought to reconcile the conflicting views of his fellow Muslims, in order to bring peace to the community, the Muslim Ummah. Al-Madīnah al-Fāḍilah should be regarded as his crowning achievement in these efforts. / Religion

This study took place at Tafsir Islamic School (TIS), a mid-sized K-12 Islamic school in a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States, and seeks to answer two questions: (1) by what means are specific versions of orthodoxy and orthopraxy constructed, maintained, and challenged in the Tafsir community?, and (2) how could the general interpretive climate corresponding to these processes be described in theoretical terms? Qualitative ethnographic field work was conducted at TIS over an 18 month span involving extensive participant-observation and semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with 20 adult participants–including teachers, administrators, and community members–a flexible and collaborative research design strategy, and an iterative, grounded theory approach to data analysis. The findings suggest that orthodoxy and orthopraxy are constructed and contested through a complex network of corroborating and competing factors, including (a) executive decisions, (b) rogue pedagogy, (c) theological dialogue, (d) peer discipline, (e) community reinforcement, (f) sanctioned associations, and (g) vigilante policing. The distribution of interpretive power within the school community results in a de facto system of checks and balances, as disputes within and between sects (e.g., Sufis, Salafis, conventional Sunnis) prevent any one group from gaining unchallenged prominence. Colliding hermeneutical processes result in a normative balance that fluctuates over time with changing community members and socio-historic circumstances. This balance, referred to as a dynamic interpretive equilibrium, characterizes the general ideological climate of the school. In examining the diversity of interpretive orientations at an Islamic school, this study demonstrates the active role Muslims play in shaping the character of their faith. It likewise undermines popular one-dimensional depictions of Muslim schools, portraying Islamic education as a living, active and contested phenomenon. / Urban Education

This dissertation analyzes the shape and scope of the virtuous life as it is made possible by and oriented toward God in the thought of two of the most consequential philosophical and theological thinkers in Christianity and Islam, Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274) and Abu Hamid al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111), respectively. My analysis reveals that they share a commitment to the importance and reality of divine agency in shaping human moral action but sharply diverge in their vision of what constitutes a good human life. I argue that attending to these convergences and divergences in their ethics presents contemporary scholars and practitioners with a wide set of resources to theorize or navigate questions and challenges related to loving God, living well, and making moral decisions. This dissertation is a work of comparative theological ethics and engages in historical and rational reconstruction alike. I analyze Aquinas’s and al-Ghazālī’s central arguments on their own terms before extending them into contemporary conversations about divine agency, human happiness, and love. I clarify ongoing disputes about virtue in Aquinas scholarship by arguing for the compatibility of the acquired and infused moral virtues through a more robust appreciation of his account of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the beatitudes. I also contribute to burgeoning analyses of al-Ghazālī’s neglected account of virtue by arguing that his varied use of terms like good character traits (khulq), states of the soul (aḥwāl), and stations (maqāmāt) are united by his commitments to habituation and to his conception of happiness as grounded in the love of God alone. I argue that al-Ghazālī’s insights regarding eternal happiness can inform ongoing debates about the compatibility of acquired and infused moral virtues in Aquinas scholarship and can help Christian theologians and practitioners better appreciate the necessity of the presence of both kinds of virtue in the Christian moral life. I utilize Aquinas’s well-developed account of the infused theological virtue of charity (caritas) to illumine al-Ghazālī’s station of love (maḥabba) as a virtuous activity that can structure a moral way of life oriented toward the end of knowing and loving God. Aside from its contributions to our understanding of these figures and these dimensions of moral thought and life, this dissertation also demonstrates the value of comparison more generally as a tool to clarify debated and neglected concepts in moral philosophy and theology, to enrich ethical deliberation, and to deepen love of God and neighbor. / 2026-05-16T00:00:00Z

The Islamic minority in France today is experiencing adversity as the government of France passed legislation stating that all facial coverings will be henceforth illegal, restricting or prohibiting religious symbols in various public spaces. Some Islamic women feel as though this is a pointed attack on women of the Muslim faith for their choice to wear traditional clothing which covers the face and body. There have been outcries that this is a human rights violation and restriction of religious rights. This project is an examination of the effects of France’s “burqa ban” and restrictions on religious symbols on both Islamic men and women who live in France. The goal of this project is to speak directly to those affected by this legislation and to understand the perspective and opinions of French Muslims. Records such as documented personal testimonies, legal archives, and transcriptions of in-person interviews are utilized to study the perspective of this minority in response to the controversial legislation. Neglecting to pursue an understanding of another culture and belief system will only yield disharmony among groups, and this research aims to avoid this phenomenon. In collecting the data, I set a goal to have and later discuss a better understanding of this issue and the people affected by it.

Teachers and parents make considerable sacrifices to affiliate themselves with Islamic schools. As they commit to Islamic education, they acquire certain expectations that they want their school to fulfill. The purpose of this study was to explore the academic, social, and cultural expectations of five teachers and five parents in an Islamic School on the West Coast in order understand how these expectations could be fulfilled in other Islamic schools across the United States. The main research questions of this study were: What are the academic, social, and cultural expectations that parents and teachers have of their Islamic schools? To what extent are Islamic schools meeting the expectations of parents and teachers? Qualitative, phenomenological research methods were used for the design of this study along with a purposeful sampling of teachers and parents, triangulation of data sources, and a thorough coding process. Findings from the study supported that teachers and parents expected children to be knowledgeable about Islam in its broadest and deepest interpretations. Additionally, teachers and parents expected children to apply their knowledge of Islam in their everyday lives. Lastly, the degree that expectations were met depended on the support that teachers and parents received from their school community. When teachers and parents felt encouraged by school stakeholders, their expectations were generally fulfilled. Conversely, when teachers and parents felt that their needs were overlooked by school stakeholders, their expectations tended to remain unmet. Conclusions from the study explored ways to bridge the gap between met and unmet expectations of teachers and parents. Implications invited teachers and parents to move beyond expectations toward transformative educational experiences for children in Islamic schools.

The ideology of the Islamic State in Indonesia did not emerge in an abrupt manner, but was the product of a long development. The ideology was one outcome of the role that Islam had played (through the Islamic movement) in the struggle of the Indonesians for the political independance of their country. According to the nationalist point of view this struggle began with the creation of the Budi Utomo in 1908, but the Islamic group consider 1905, the date of the establishment or the Sarekat Dagang Islam, as the starting point. [...]

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