Thesis (Ph.D.)--Aberdeen University, 2009. / Title from web page (viewed on June 11, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity International University, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-146).

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 69 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-68).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 253-260).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Oct. 22, 2007). Directed by Leila Villaverde; submitted to the School of Education. Includes bibliographical references (p. 234-252).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Full text release at OhioLINK's ETD Center delayed at author's request

Over the past two decades, both the British and Russian states have sought to institutionalise relations with their Muslim communities through Muslim councils. However, such attempts at institutionalisation raise challenges for these organisations, which need to balance state demands for incorporation into religious governance and Muslim community expectations for more inclusive representation. Challenges of integration and representation have received considerable coverage in Western and Russian studies. However, little comparative research has focused on the behaviour of Muslim councils and how this is affected by different institutional settings. In particular, theories of social movements and interest groups suggest that strategies for dealing with this tension between integration and representation vary between more corporatist and pluralist state-religion relations. Russia and Britain are taken as exemplars of the two traditions, and thus help us to understand how these tensions manifest themselves and are responded to in the two different contexts. The project provides a comparative analysis of the strategies and discourses used by the Muslim Council of Britain and the Russia Council of Muftis in 1997-2013. It explores the conditions under which the councils engage with or disengage from the state. It also examines how the two organisations respond to criticisms from Muslim communities and undertake internal reforms to improve their legitimacy. A detailed analysis of the councils’ engagement with state authorities and Muslim communities is used to unpack the challenges of Muslim collective representation. The thesis contributes to research by providing new empirical data and theoretical insights on Muslim national organisations. It offers an innovative analytical framework by revisiting the concepts of pluralism and corporatism and applying them to the institutional context of state-religion relations in Britain and Russia. It draws on social movement theories and institutionalist approaches to understand how Muslim organisations deal with the dual pressure of co-optation and representation. It examines how Muslim councils behave like interest group organisations and offers theoretical insights that can be extrapolated to other kinds of institutions. Finally, the thesis integrates Western and Russian scholarship on the role of interest groups in general and religious institutions in particular.

This study explores the question of religion and ethnicity as a source of family diversity and ideology. An ideal-typical "traditional Muslim family ideology" was developed and tested. Eight Indian Muslim students at Rhodes University were asked about their attitudes and perceptions of marriage and family life, to determine the particular type of family ideology that these students embraced. Family-related issues such as marriage; the division of labour; gender roles; the extended family system; divorce; and polygamy were addressed. On the basis of the research results, it was found that these students largely adopted the "traditional Muslim family ideology". Religion and ethnicity were found to play an important role, in the make-up of these students' perception of marriage and family life, and a strong preference for the extended family was shown.

The topic of religious radicalization in the Balkans is gaining attention among academia in recent years. However, motivational factors of radicalization in the region still remain rather under-researched. Furthermore, comprehensive research focusing particularly on the motivational factors of Islamist radicalization in the Muslim-majority countries of the Balkans - countries with a specific context and background unique in the wider Europe - hasn't been yet carried out. This paper thus elaborates on the motivational factors of radicalization in the Muslim-majority countries of the Balkans, which is Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo, by applying generally-known factors of radicalization to this specific theatre. Predominantly secondary sources as well as documents issued by the OSCE which maintains field presence in all of the abovementioned countries are utilized in order to provide a thorough overview of motivational factors of radicalization in each of the selected countries. These are discussed respectively in corresponding chapters. Individual chapters are in dialogue with each other following the same methodology and structure, focusing on similar issues. A comprehensive overview of the motivational factors of radicalization in Balkan Muslim-majority countries is thus presented. Applying the...

Muslim Charitable Clinics are free healthcare clinics that provide healthcare services to uninsured patients of all faiths, free of charge, and publicly identify as Muslim. This study seeks to better understand Muslim Charitable Clinics’ potential to provide vital healthcare services to communities in need while promoting mutual understanding between Muslim and Non-Muslim Americans. The data consists of a case study of one Muslim Charitable Clinic in Longwood, Florida, the American Muslim Community Clinic, and a national survey of Muslim Charitable Clinics. The American Muslim Community Clinic operates a uniquely flexible model with profound benefits for underserved residents in the surrounding Longwood community. The study will explore how the clinic's Muslim identity may also help promote mutual understanding between Muslim and non-Muslim Americans by providing the Muslim American community with positive exposure and visibility. Comparing the findings from this case study to data reported in a national survey of Muslim Charitable Clinics, this thesis finds that the American Muslim Community Clinic was in many respects representative of many other Muslim Clinics across the country, as the survey demonstrates.