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This study examined the relationship between the Turkish Islamic movements and the present government of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, AK Party). Since the AK Party came to power in 2002 it implemented unparalleled political reforms and pursued to improve Turkey’s relations with the EU. Opponents argued that because of the dominance of the secular military in Turkish politics, the AK Party is forced to secretly advance its Islamic agenda using the language and symbolism of democracy and human rights. This study argued that the ideas of the AK Party show similarities with the “Ottomanist” thought of the late Ottoman era. With special reference to the preservation of the Ottoman State, Ottomanism in an eclectic way was able to incorporate Islamic principles like freedom, justice and consultation into the political arena which was increasingly dominated by the secular European concepts. Literature on Islam and politics in Turkey, however, disregards the Ottoman roots of freedom and pluralism and tends to reduce the relationship between religion and state into exclusively confrontational struggles. This conceptualization of the political process relies on particular non-Turkish Muslim experiences which do not necessarily represent Islam’s venture in Turkey. Contrary to the prevailing scholarship, Islamic movements in Turkey, namely, Naqshbandi, National View and Nur, which are discussed in detail in this study, are not monolithic. They all uphold the same creedal tenets of Islam but they have sharp differences in terms of how they conceptualize the role of religious agency in politics. I argue that this diversity is a result of three distinct methodologies of Islamic religious life which are the Tariqah (Tarikat), Shariah (Şeriat), and Haqiqah (Hakikat). The differences between these three approaches represent a typological hierarchy in the formation of the Muslim/believer as an agent of Islamic identity. Through these different if not conflicting modes, the AK Party reconnected itself with Turkey’s Ottoman heritage in a post-Ottoman, secular setting and was able to develop an eclectic political identity of Neo-Ottomanism that is evident in the flexibility if not inconsistency of its domestic and foreign policy preferences.

La relation entre la peinture et la littérature persane était étroitement liée pendant toute l'histoire del'Iran après la conquête de l'Islam. Ce sont souvent les sujets mystiques qui dominent la littérature persane et ils se manifestent également dans la peinture par l'illustration des divans et des ouvrages soufis. C'est ainsi que la peinture persane est le grand témoin de l'approche gnostique et elle possède une dimension mystique transcendante. Les éléments et les symboles, inspirés des métaphores sublimes de la littérature soufie persane, nous orientent vers des interprétations mystiques dont on trouve la manifestation explicite dans la plupart des suppléments de la peinture persane. Les conceptions soufies se sont manifestées également dans la peinture des écoles dérivées de la peinture persane comme l'école de la peinture inde-persane et l'école de la peinture moghole. Il faut souligner que la circulation de la langue persane avait un rôle remarquable dans ce parcours. Notamment, d'une part le persan était la langue officielle de l'Inde sous le règne d'Akbar, l'empereur moghole passionnée de la culture persane, et de l'autre part les vagues d'émigrations des poètes et des peintres iraniens vers l'Inde, sous la pression des docteurs religieux safavides développaient l'influence de la culture persane dans le sous-continent indien.Les deux raisons essentielles qui préparaient la base d'un grand mouvement artistique. L'affection des rois moghols envers les confréries soufies, hérité de leur grand ancêtre Tamerlan, se manifestait par le respect qu'ils avaient pour les soufies et, en particulier, pour les Sheikh (s) naqšbandî. / Persian painting and Persian literature were closely linked during the history of Iran after the conquest of Islam. lt is often the mystical topics of Persian literature, which have an effect on the Persian painting. During the Timurid dynasty, Sufism has occupied a central place in the society of Iran. The Sufism ideology, in particular the naqsbandî beliefs, has brought a transcendent mystical dimension to the illustrations of this period of history of Persian art. We can find the explicit mystical influence of the big naqshbandî master and the last great medieval mystic, Jami, on the painting of Kamâl al-Dîn Bihzâd. Obviously, the success of Bihzâd disciples, who were under his influence, gave birth to the lndo-Persian painting in Mughal court.Moreover, Akbar (1542-1605) and his great passion for the Persian language and culture had adecisive role in the development of the Persian mystical thoughts in lndia. The Persian language became the official language of the lndian Mughal Empire du ring his reign.The devotion of Akbar for the Sufism was particularly manifested in his special respect toward naqsbandî Sheikhs. At the same time, under the religious pressure of the Safavid dynasty some of the lranians were obliged to leave their country. The big passion of Akbar in one hand and the immigration waves of lranians, especially Sufis, poets and artists to the lndia, on the other hand,prepared the society for intellectual and artistic movements.ln fact, the naqsbandî traditions and ideas have travelled from Iran to the northern lndia. Bokhara played a great role in the circulation of beliefs and ethics of the naqsbandî order between Persia and India.

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Jerusalem - the third holiest city in Islam - is home to some 300,000 Muslims. But due to Israel’s occupation, they live difficult and disrupted lives. What might it mean for Muslims to practice their faith - on the ground, day by day - in such a conflicted place? One way religion becomes a meaningful category in people’s lives is through ritual. Scholars of Muslim religious practice have been attuned to this insight and observed it in various contexts. But their analyses have often been predicated on an implicit and unquestioned assumption - that people who desire to perform rituals have the means to act on their intention in regular and routine ways. Scholars have also shown that when societies are in rapid transition - be they weakened or threatened - their rituals often evolve with them. In this project, therefore, I ask: what happens in Jerusalem when Muslims live under the existential threat of occupation and their ability to routinely perform religious rituals cannot be assumed? I argue that when rituals are disrupted, Muslims are forced to improvise. Religious rituals - like the performances of skilled jazz musicians - are spontaneous and dynamic but also practiced and deliberate. Rituals are spontaneous in that they respond to the occupation’s disruptions, making physical and discursive adjustments. They are practiced in that Muslims draw from an established repertoire of themes that includes Islam and sacred space, nationalism and resistance, local culture and geography. I term the coalescence of these dynamics the “improvisation thesis” and explore three case studies where specific improvisations have different levels of resonance. The Naqshbandi improvise rituals to make peace, but they are discordant with other established themes; Ramadan rituals have resonance that define specific moments; and the improvisations of the Murabitat are deeply resonant, influencing Muslim rituals throughout the city.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil (Religion and Theology) / South African debates on food security address a wide range of issues related to the production, the distribution and the consumption of food in the context of deep concerns over the impact of poverty, unemployment and inequality. One aspect of such debates is on the need for nutritious food amidst hunger, malnutrition, obesity and the prevalence of diabetes. This study will investigate the Islamic theological injunctions and guidelines that govern the production, the different facets of distribution and the consumption of food in Muslim communities. There are numerous theological injunctions from the Quran and prophetic traditions (?ad?th) guiding the Muslim community in relation to food security. These include injunctions around the need to provide nutritious food. The study will assess the programmes of five Muslim faith-based organisations in the Cape Town Metropolitan Area, working in the field of food security and more specifically, feeding schemes. The food programmes of these organisations will be described, analysed and assessed in order to establish whether, and to what extent, the Islamic injunctions on nutrition are implemented, given various constraints. This will require attention to the policies, the strategies and the practices associated with such feeding schemes.