Jamaat, a transnational Islamic reform movement, which originated in India in the 1920s. The movement claims to reinforce faith by preaching among Muslims. Tablighi Jamaat is now operative in 165 countriess with about 80 million followers around the world. This study looks at the Tablighi Jamaat in two very different contexts, Bangladesh and the United Kingdom (UK), where the Tablighi Jamaat has been successful. In Bangladesh, the Tablighi Jamaat is a very large-scale movement where several million people attend the annual congregation (Bishwa Ijtema) of the Tablighi Jamaat every year. The UK has a much smaller following of the Tablighi Jamaat than Bangladesh. There are perhaps 50,000 active Tablighi Jamaat followers in the UK. This ethnographic study shows that the success of the Tablighi Jamaat results from the positive image, which it cultivates, and the systematic preaching activities of Tablighi Jamaat followers. The organisation’s apolitical image, the public profile of the ijtema, the humbleness in personality and behaviour of Tablighi followers, and the attraction of belonging to the global Tablighi community, all assist to create a positive image of the Tablighi Jamaat among ordinary Muslims. In addition, family and peer pressure, and a variety of personal reasons explain why people join the movement. In the thesis, I also argue that the Tablighi Jamaat remains successful because of its ability to hold its followers (both new and long-term) within a Tablighi-guided life. A Tablighi-guided life is perceived as a protection against the Western lifestyle. Followers define many elements of contemporary Western lifestyle as non-Islamic. By clearly defining what is Islamic and non-Islamic within contemporary society, the Tablighi Jamaat provides a way in which Muslims can live in the contemporary world, but remain good Muslims.

This doctoral thesis examines the works of Theodore Abū Qurra (d.c.829), Abū Rā’iṭa (d. c.835), and ‘Ammār al-Baṣrī (d.c.850); three of the earliest known Christian theologians to explain and defend their beliefs in Arabic, under Islamic rule. In particular, it focuses on their respective explanations of the doctrine of the Trinity: assessing each individual author’s writings; investigating the tools and arguments they employ; and considering the extent to which they engaged with Islamic theological thought (kalām), primarily through their borrowing of concepts and structures from an internal Islamic debate concerning the divine attributes of God. This study asks to what extent these Christians were essentially translating their traditional doctrine into Arabic, and to what extent they developed a new expression of the Trinity, conceptually influenced by Islamic thinking. The key conclusion of this thesis is that Christian explanations of the Trinity in Arabic, whilst they show a deep awareness of Islamic thought and make use of contemporary Muslim debates surrounding the nature and unity of God, cannot be said to represent a development in Christian theology. Rather, such works should be viewed as an informed and creative response to the pressures and challenges of their Islamic surroundings.

In the last two decades, following the Rushdie affair and the emergence of Islamic extremism as a security issue in the UK, there has been a surge of interest in British Muslim communities from academics, politicians and popular commentators. Discourses of Muslims as ‘others’ and as potentially risky citizens have been reinforced by government approaches to counter-terrorism, chiefly the Prevent programme aimed at preventing radicalisation of young Muslims. Moreover their loyalty and place in British society has been questioned. Yet there remains a disconnect between the treatment of young Muslim men as ‘tainted citizens’ and the reality of their history and their everyday lives. This thesis seeks to explore the identities of young Muslim men in the city of Birmingham and contrast it with the way their identities have been scrutinised through the lens of risk as part of the counter-terror agenda. In particular it investigates the impacts of the Prevent agenda and the surveillance scheme called ‘Project Champion’, both of which had significant implications for Muslim identity and its governance in the city. The thesis demonstrates how these governance processes have resulted in the securitisation of Muslim identities in the city.

The present thesis is a critical examination of the two well-known post-Schachtian scholars of Hadith; James Robson and John Burton. Both scholars are major contributors to modern Hadith studies in the West. It assesses their main arguments and their methodological approaches to Hadith literature. It also provides a historical survey of the key arguments and works of their predecessors since the rise of the modern Western debates over the reliability of Hadith materials. This critical study points to the conclusion that Robson and Burton were heavily influenced by the sceptical attitude of Ignaz Goldziher and Joseph Schacht towards the historicity of Hadith. However, Robson is inclined to accept some aspects of the Muslim traditional view regarding the genesis of Hadith and its isnad system (chain of transmitters). Burton, on the other hand, expresses a sceptical stance towards the historicity of Hadith and argues that the development of Hadith originated from the exegesis of the Qur’an, having no historical basis in the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.

This research examined the influence of Islam and culture on the Malay-Muslim business environment as observed in the Siti Khadijah Market of Kota Bharu, in the Malaysian state of Kelantan. It followed a qualitative research approach involving library research and a field study. The cultural influences on the Malays were reviewed through three historically distinct phases i.e. the traditionally primitive Pagan, Hindu and Islam, all of which have been dominant culture-spiritual feeders. Other influences have also come from the period of British Colonisation in Malaya in the 18th and 20th Century. All of these influences were examined, dissected and discussed in order to provide a describable entity of the Malay culture and its possible origins. The various definitions of the Malays were also given due attention followed by historical evidence of trade. These economic connections dated back to pre-colonial periods to the times of the Portuguese, Dutch and, recently, the British. The presence of Islam in Malaysia was first looked at from the dates and the process of the arrival of Islam into the Malay Archipelago. Indeed, the arrival process and how it became a dominant religion in the Malay Archipelago have been a subject of a long debate and was also given an empirical attention. Despite the strong mixture influence, the state of being Malays i.e. the “Malayness” of this people appeared to have oddly strengthened by only two central pillars: Islam as a religious and universal pillar, and the Malay customary laws or the Adat as the locally embedded moral entity. The research further looked at how traders within the environs of the Malays deal, tolerate and involve themselves within the interplays of Islamic teachings and the culture. Later, the research focused on understanding the issue of how the mixture of different cultures influenced the behaviour of business people in the Siti Khadijah Market where much of the study was carried out. As expected, the behaviour of the businesspeople in the market was dominantly influenced by Islam, both in belief and practices. Other cultural influences, however, never ceased to exist and still remained despite somewhat being slowly eroded. In conclusion, the adherence of Malay-Muslims to their religious values have kept them well guided in their business dealings. Finally the research suggested some areas in which further studies could be carried out, either using similar theoretical framework or otherwise.

This research aims to identify the legal theories developed and employed by the jurists of the Shāfi‘ī school of law for the purpose of issuing fatāwā. It intends to shed light on how these jurists understand the term iftā’, and what are the elements in their view that constitute the legal framework that they utilize for iftā’. This research also attempts to determine the differences between iftā’ and the general process of formulating legal rulings by way of ijtihād, and the factors of consideration that may result in the existence of such a differentiation. This research argues that the existing legal discourse within the Shāfi‘ī madhhab has not rendered due attention to the significance of iftā’, and thus there exist a dearth of literature within the madhhab on the legal theories of iftā’. This research also analyzes examples of fatāwā issued by the Singapore Fatwa Committee with the aim to comprehend how the legal theories of iftā’, lacking they may be within the legal deliberations of the Shāfi‘ī madhhab, have an influence on the iftā’ institution of the state and the fatāwā it issued.

This study investigates Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s and Tariq Ramadan’s conceptualizations of European Islam centering on three thematic issues: “European-Muslim” identity and the role of Muslims in Europe, reform in Islam pertaining to fiqh and Islamic ethics, and the question of incompatibility of Sharia with the European cultural system. It produces a detailed critique of the scholars’ positions, analyzes the ways in which their approaches overlap and differ from one another, evaluates the extent to which they take into account in their thinking the socio-political realities of Islam and Muslims in the West, and determines the feasibility of their propositions in the European context. The study argues that their approaches are inhibited by impractical suggestions, rhetorical ambiguities, and unexplained gaps that leave room for disagreement beyond the scope of intra-Muslim debate, but various other components within their thinking can be taken as building blocks that can be assembled into a more functional model that is devoid of the inconsistencies and problems identified in the thesis. It recommends that future research on Islam and Muslims in the West inquire further into said limitations and produce a well-argued critique that can contribute to the contemporary Muslim discourse on European Islam and reform.

This subject of this thesis is Nuzhat al-nazar fī tawdīh Nukhbat al-fikar, a manual written by Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī (d. 852/1449), outlining the science of prophetic traditions (‘ilm al-hadīth). The thesis aims to fulfill two tasks. Firstly, an accurate and accessible translation of the Nuzhah will be presented in English. Secondly, this will be coupled with a detailed and critical commentary of Ibn Hajar’s work. This commentary will assess the worth of the Nuzhah in many ways; the writings of Ibn Hajar will be analysed to learn what it said about the climate of the ninth Islamic century, by comparing it with the works of Muslim scholars before and after Ibn Hajar. Additionally, where the works of modern, non-Muslim scholars such as Schacht and Juynboll are mentioned, it will be with the purpose to show the interaction with their Muslim counterparts. Themes such as the use of technical terms in the discipline, the importance of seniority and the pedagogical nature of the Nuzhah will also be discussed.

This study examines Western fatwā councils and all of the different aspects related to them. It looks at their modus operandi, the way they operate, choose, research and discuss topics, issue fatwas and then disseminate those fatwas. The study also undertakes field research to determine the way in which general Muslims as well as imāms and Muslim lecturers view the councils. At the same time, the research also portrays the views of some of the members of the councils with regards to the councils. The thesis focuses on a number of issues; firstly it defines ‘Fiqh for Muslim Minorities’ and strongly endorses it as a justified branch of Islamic law. Secondly, it highlights the historical roots to fatwā councils and how have they developed over time, thereby showing that scholars have throughout Muslim history gathered to discuss and debate religious issues. It takes an in-depth look at Western fatwā councils, discussing their formation and main aims and objectives. The research goes into detail regarding their modus operandi and the way they function. Another element of the study is to analyse the edicts of Western fatwā councils and see to what extent they agree with one another, other worldwide fatwā councils as well as classical opinions of jurists on the same or similar issues. The research also commissions social research whereby the views of the general Muslim public as well as imams and Muslim preachers are gauged. This study finds that there is a great need for fatwā councils, particularly in the West and that they play a very important role for Muslims in Western societies. The issues they discuss and the edicts they issue often deal with important and pertinent topics. Western fatwā Councils have made great strides since their inception. At the same time the study finds that Western fatwā Councils fall short in having raised sufficient awareness about them and their work. Councils also fall short in allowing easy access to their work, the dissemination of their work and in connecting with Western Muslims in their languages.

This thesis is an in-depth study into two of the UK charity iERA's da'wah narratives: the Qura'nic embryology 'miracle' and the Kalam Cosmological Argument. While the embryo verses have received scholarly attention, there is little to no research in the da'wah context for both narratives. Berger and Luckmann's social constructionism was applied to both, which were problematic. It was found that iERA constructed its exegesis of the embryo verses by expanding on classical meanings to show harmony with modern science. Additionally, it developed the Cosmological Argument by adapting it to Salafi Islamic beliefs. The construction processes were found to be influenced by an online dialectic between iERA and its Muslim and atheist detractors, causing it to abandon the scientific miracles and modify the Cosmological Argument. Signs point to a weakening of faith among young people, including Muslims, as they have unprecedented access to unfiltered online information on religion and science. By employing the narratives, iERA aims to legitimate the fundamentals of Islam to Muslims and to attract converts by presenting it as a rational and modern faith. While iERA's da'wah template is practical, its errors are relevant to the wider discussions on Qur'anic exegesis and modern challenges to the religion.