This master thesis deals with the modern messianic Ahmadiyya movement founded in the 19th century in Punjab, India, which later spread to Europe as a missionary movement. Followers of the Ahmadiyya consider themselves Muslims, but are considered heretics by the Muslim majority, and persecuted in many parts of the world because of their faith. The work presents the origin and history of the movement against the background of the life of its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, as well as the general context of messianism and the theory of the restoration of faith in India. It also maps the situation after the death of Ghulam Ahmad and the doctrinal schism in the movement. The aim of the thesis is to answer the question of the identity and exclusivity of the Ahmadiyya movement in the context of Islam, as well as to point out the connection between its political activity before the partition of India and the subsequent persecution in Pakistan after 1947. The work is based not only on the works of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and rich Ahmadiyya production, but also on academic studies of Western researchers and religious and social periodicals. Keywords: ahmadiyya, movement, Islam, messianism, India, Ahmad

Shaykh Aḥmad al-R­ūmī al-Āqḥiṣārī (d. 1041/1632), Ḥanafi jurist, theologian and Sufi, is largely an unknown figure to scholars of Ottoman religious history. Progress towards disclosing key aspects of al-Āqḥiṣārī’s thought has been made in recent times thanks to the important contributions of Y. Michot, who has, in particular, demonstrated the association of al-Āqḥiṣārī with the Ottoman puritanical movement, the Qaḍīzādelis. Building upon Michot’s work, this study delves further into the works of al-Āqḥiṣārī especially his seminal contribution, the Majālis al-abrār. The study sets out its main themes and the authorities on which it is based; it then moves to show the degree of overlap between al-Āqḥiṣārī’s understandings and Naqshbandī Sufism, as well as the extent to which his thought converges with that of better-known Ottoman puritans such as Birgivī Efendī (d. 981/1573) and Qaḍīzāde (d. 1044/1635). It is suggested that the impact of the Majālis al-abrār on the Qāḍīzādelis had the outcome in the second half of the seventeenth century of increasing the violence of their activists, a development which ultimately led to their downfall. A key aspect of this study is the re-examination of the view that the Qāḍīzādelis were a proto-Wahhābī or proto-Salafī movement, which is typical in the existing literature. Whilst demonstrating the influence of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751/1350) and his teacher, Aḥmad b. Taymiyya (d. 728/1328), upon al-Āqḥiṣārī’s thought, the limits of this influence are clearly demonstrated by bringing to light al-Āqḥiṣārī’s distinct doctrinal and legal positions, which were very much embedded within the Ottoman Islam of his times. Ultimately, by studying the relationship between al-Āqḥiṣārī’s masterpiece, the Majālis al-abrār and Qāḍīzādeli and Naqshbandī beliefs, the study aims to place the movement in its own Ottoman, Ḥanafī, and Sufi milieu, thereby challenging the dominant approach which reads the movement through modern paradigms.

Mild psychological effects, such as sleep-deprivation, on an oppressed and tortured human being can be characterized as “normal”. However, Shame by Salman Rushdie uses magical realist style to describe the psychological effects of shame in a patriarchal society which is based on capitalistic class values. This essay will focus on the Marxist feminist reading of the novel with a psychoanalytical perspective which is going to help analyse the effects of the oppressed female characters, Bilquis Hyder, Sufiya Zinobia and Rani Harappa.  The essay focuses on different incidents in the lives of these characters with the help of critics such as Aijaz Ahmad and Timothy Brennan. Both have written critically about Rushdie. This essay will discuss the different aspects of Marxism, feminism as well as psychoanalysis and connecting them to the novel, which would give the answers as to what shame can do to a person’s psyche. The Beauty and the Beast fairy-tale gets a different perception in this story, as Sufiya Zinobia is both the characters in one.

This essay takes its start in the problematic situation concerning source material in the study of the Norse religion before the Christianization of Scandinavia. There is a lack of written sources from the time when the religion was still practiced. There are plenty of archeological sources economic situation than their religious beliefs. The Icelandic stories written in the 13th and 14th centuries give us a broad pictureof the Norse mythology, but the writers were Christians which makes their reliability questionable. The focus of this essay is therefore on two texts written during the time when the Norse religion was still in practice. The first source is the travel notes written in 922 by the Muslim scholar Ahmad ibn Fadlan who met a group of the Rus’ people. The Rus’ were mainly Scandinavians (possibly from Sweden) and their religious practices hence falls under the category of Norse religion. Ibn Fadlan showed a great interest in the Rus’ and describes their ritual sacrifices and a funeral of theirs in great detail. The second source is the description of the heathen cult in the Swedish town of Uppsala written in 1076 by the Christian scholar Adam of Bremen. He describes Uppsala as the last outpost of the religion and among other things he describes their practices, their ritual sacrifices and a golden temple. I’ve used a comparative method as well as a historical critical method in order to findcredible similarities between the two sources. The focus is placed on the descriptions of the ritual sacrifices in both of the texts and how they can be understood in their context. This is done to find a common ground within the religion in order to construct a framework from which further research may find its foundation. With the help from earlier research on these two texts, on other written material, such as thethe Icelandic stories, and on archeological findings I’ve found many similarities between my two sources which can be considered as real parts of the Norse religion. These are the sacrifice to images of the gods, the sacrifice of different animals, the sacrifice in sacred groves and the hanging of scarified animals in trees and on treelike poles, the central role of sacrificing heads of animals and different ritual practices in order to experience a higher reality. Human sacrifice can be strongly questioned and both of the texts point to hanging as a mean of execution instead of sacrifice.

The Manaqib al-`Arifin is a series of hagiographic biographies of the first Mevlevi masters. It was written in Persian by the dervish Eflaki in the first half of the fourteenth century in Konya. Because of the limited number of narrative sources from that period, Eflaki appears as an outstanding witness of the late Seldjuk, Ilkhanid, and early Beylik period in Anatolia. / This thesis intends to evaluate the Manaqib al-`Arifin as a source for political history. While previous historical scholarship has made frequent use of this source for isolated episodes, barely any systematic study of the Manaqib has been published yet. / The evaluation presented in this thesis results from a comparison between every element of information that can be considered "political" in the Manaqib al-`Arifin and current scholarship on the respective topic. These elements of information fall into four broad categories: The Seldjuk of Anatolia, the akhi organization, the Ilkhan state, and the beylik states. / The most part of this thesis consists in an exhaustive enumeration of the elements of political history that could be found in the Manaqib. In turn, these elements set the tone of the global conclusion of the inquiry, that is to say that the Manaqib al-`Arifin, without being a revolutionary source, offers information which is often original and which, under certain conditions, can prove highly reliable.

This thesis presents Islamic modernism in Malaya as reflected in the life and works of Sayid Syekh al-Hadi (1867-1934). Having first described and evaluated the previous writings mentioned about al-Hadi, it outlines the main characteristics of Islamic modernism, and discusses al-Hadi's life and his thought covering four topics namely: ritualism, education, woman and politics. / The study has shown that al-Hadi was a Malayan Muslim modernist. He seriously advocated Islamic modernism to overcome what he had perceived as the causes contributing to Malayan Muslim decadence and backwardness. He believed that Malayan Muslims could advance and progress even though they were under British rule because Islamic teachings are practicable and realistic.

Inaug.-Diss.--Geschichte--Mainz, 1968. / Bibliogr. p. 181-193. Index.

M.A. (Islamic Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

In this thesis I will describe the process of working with a piano trio. The trio consisted of Jonny Ek on piano, Uno Dvärby on bass and, me, Jakob Bylund on drums. This process included choosing musicians, studying influences, rehearsing, and the selecting and arranging songs.  I will also reflect on my role as the drummer and band leader of the trio. The main purpose was to investigate what happens to a trio that does not only rehearse often, but also puts in a lot of work in to studying their role models, such as Oscar Peterson trio and Ahmad Jamal trio, by listening and transcribing arrangements played by them.  By using these methods, the trio hoped to achieve a greater understanding of what these references were actually playing, and using that knowledge to develop its own interplay, dynamics and sound.  The impact of role models is analyzed by comparing the Oscar Peterson trio and Ahmad Jamal trio to each other, and to my own trio, finding the uniqueness of each group as well as the similarities between them.  During this project I have learned a lot as a drummer, arranger and band leader. Because of our many rehearsals and the way we studied our role models, I have gained a deeper understanding of my tendencies when drumming. I’ve also learned that the drummer in a piano trio could determine the direction of the music with very subtle but efficient ways, and therefore has a lot of power and responsibility to take care of the music.  As a result of using these methods the trio managed to get a deeper understanding of why its role models sounded like they did and use that information to develop in their footprints. / <p>Jonny Ek - Piano.</p><p>Uno Dvärby - Kontrabas.</p><p>Jakob Bylund - Trummor.</p><p></p><p>"Where Or When" - Richard Rodgers</p><p>"Long Ago And Far Away" - Jerome Kern</p><p>"Black And Tan Fantasy" - Duke Ellington</p><p>"I Was Doing All Right" - George Gershwin</p><p>"In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" - David Mann</p><p>"Avalon" - Al Jolson, Buddy DeSylva, Vincent Rose</p><p>"Con Alma" - Dizzy Gillespie</p><p>"It's Only A Paper Moon" - Harold Arlen</p><p>"Easy Living" - Ralph Rainger</p>

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