This study analyses interpretations of Hadiths among selected feminists and fundamentalists, in which they have different views on the meaning of the texts of Hadiths concerning women. The feminists argue that the Hadith literature contain misogynistic and anti-women reports. This debate has gradually developed in the nineteenth century and the issues continuously disputed until the present day. However, the debate receives different reactions from the fundamentalists who believe that Hadiths contain equal treatment to both men and women. Therefore, the present study seeks firstly to investigate which Hadiths that have caught the attention of both feminists and fundamentalists, and to identify the features of those Hadiths that have been claimed as anti-women. Secondly, to examine and compare various approaches applied by both feminists and fundamentalists in comprehending Hadiths concerning women by examining their strength and weakness. Finally, this study aims to develop a means of utilising the findings to tum the debates between feminists and fundamentalists into something constructive in the interpretation of Hadith. The study is qualitative in nature, by applying textual analysis on literary works written by selected women figures from the feminists and fundamentalists. The study in its findings argues that both feminists and fundamentalist have their own interpretative approach towards the Hadith, but both have similar objective in protecting women's rights. It recommends that future research on the Hadiths concerning women inquire further into said problems and limitations, in order to produce fair and better understanding of the Prophetic texts that can contribute to the contemporary gender discourse.

Beginning with 2002, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has mobilized millions of Turkish citizens from the most impoverished districts of Istanbul. Based on two years of ethnographic engagement in two districts of Istanbul (Esenler and Kucukcekmece), the party’s stronghold, this dissertation focuses on the conjunction of neoliberal economic transformations, mass mobilization and political Islam. By paying close attention to personal histories, daily capacities, emerging hopes and inter-generational grievances of the party members and sympathizers, it investigates how material and financial transformations facilitate and even promote a popular knowledge that authoritarian politics, embodied by the AKP in Turkey, are the only solution for the predicaments of late capitalism. The project aims to problematize some key presumptions of contemporary social scientific analyses, namely individualization, depoliticization, and economic rationality, and investigates the emergence of alternative practices in their steads: self-negation, authoritarian mobilization, and fundamentalist disposition. To this end, the dissertation intervenes in four current debates of social scientific and public significance. Firstly, against the long standing debates about the character and consequences of neoliberal transformation in the global south, in which the general consensus is that these new economic practices have resulted in depoliticization and apathy among the masses, the project demonstrates that the very same economic polices and practices result in the promotion of a form of mass mobilization that is authoritarian in its characteristics. Second, it intervenes in a related literature about depoliticization, which claims that the contemporary form of capitalism produces isolated individuals, i.e. individuation. The dissertation shows that neoliberal transformations have precipitated a wide range of political and social practices, like self-sacrifice of partisans, which produce alternative modes of political identification and new identities conditioned by economic vulnerability. Third, the research and analysis argues that the critique of bureaucracy and bureaucratic regulations, conceived as sources of unproductivity and institutional rigidities by neoliberal thought collectives, has been appropriated by the masses in Turkey as a part of anti-formalist policies that the AKP propagates. However, the popular critique of bureaucracy among the AKP partisans does not produce a version of liberal governance, in which transparency, flexibility, and accountability are dominant values, but a popular conviction that rules, regulations, and laws may be suspended for the interest of “the people,” thus legitimizing the violation of “bureaucratic” rights, be they human rights, freedom of speech, or fair trial principle. Lastly, this dissertation furthers a significant body of anthropological works on political Islam that complicates the relationships between secularism and religiosity by showing their co-constituted histories. However, it substantially diverges from the trajectory of this literature by shifting the focus from morality to efficacy, from cultural politics to political economy. Ultimately, the purpose of the dissertation is to understand how neoliberal economic transformations provided a suitable social, material and political context for religiously informed authoritarian practices without attributing any essentialized qualities to their religious characteristics.

Based on 18 months of fieldwork this thesis focuses on work, life and migration in a Muslim wood crafting community of Saharanpur (North India). Drawing on ethnographic and other material regarding Indian Muslims, artisans, informal economies and ‘informality' more broadly, the thesis addresses four primary questions: What does it mean to work in an economic space where moves towards labour informality, as played out in post-liberalisation economies globally, have always been the primary means of organisation? Are workers in such spaces better equipped to deal with informality? Where state regulation has always been partial, what regulates everyday economic activity? Are these spaces isolated, in decline and increasingly marginalised, or are they highly connected and central to contemporary capitalism? In this context the thesis follows the lives and stories of craft workers across a variety of ‘niches of production' which are defined through religious, gender-based and affective factors. The thesis utilises ‘informality', not just to understand work and conditions of employment, but also networks, connections, niches and spaces of production and exchange. It begins with the history of a community and industry that has been shaped by the colonial experience, the upheavals of partition, political changes and economic liberalisation. The thesis explores the complexities of a supply chain filled with ambiguous actors and the connections and networks within which craft workers operate. It traces the influence of Islam and explores connections of religion and friendship. It follows pathways of migration across the country and to the Gulf. Whilst playing out within a gendered and stratified social fabric within which production is embedded, the long experience of operating under conditions of informality has given workers in Saharanpur certain attributes useful in negotiating the economic terrain. However, it also makes them accepting of these conditions. Connections, built on Muslim and other networks, enables workers to retain a high degree of geographical mobility. Whilst there are very specific constraints emanating from their Muslim identity, these networks create certain possibilities for connecting with other people and places. Carefully cultivated links of community, neighbourhood and friendship provide an important resource through which work can be found and mutual support provided. Yet there is a duality present throughout, with these same networks simultaneously acting as a means of incorporation into chains of supply. Against this complex backdrop the thesis explores the ways in which workers engage with networks, connections, niches and spaces of production and exchange. It considers the constraints and potentialities therein. It makes its original contribution to knowledge on two counts. Firstly, and primarily, it provides an empirical contribution by providing a thickly descriptive account of lives in an industry which has received little ethnographic attention. Secondly, it utilises circulatory understandings of the production of capitalism to show how spaces such as Saharanpur's wood industry are not marginal but form an important part of the way capitalism works and how such spaces have played a role in shaping global processes of labour force informalisation.

No description available.

Robert Douglas was a Church of Christ missionary to Libya, Egypt, and Lebanon during the 1960s. Traveling during this period introduced Douglas to the reality of post-colonial context of the countries. He and his family lived as foreigners and missionaries in these countries, interacting with the American oil industry in Libya, Egyptian and Arab nationalism, and the impact of the Cold War on the Arab World. Although Douglas did not notice the Cold War around him, it impacted his time there in important ways. In all his travels, the United States and the Soviet Union struggled to gain influence over the young countries in which he resided. His religiosity encouraged him to travel to these countries under false pretenses. In Libya he could come in as a preacher to the American and British oil workers in Benghazi, but desired to be a missionary, while in Egypt he and his family came in as tourists and had to renew these visas but created a steady congregation of converts through missionary efforts. Both actions were illegal, due to laws in Libya and Egypt, and these laws led to the retraction of he and his family’s visas. He made his way to Lebanon where he constructed a missions’ school for recent converts. The Six Days’ War led to his leaving Lebanon and returning to the United States. Upon his return, he attended Fuller Seminary and the University of Southern California and became regarded as an expert in Muslim-aimed evangelism among Protestant evangelicals. His career challenges standard missionary narratives through his independent missionary activities, highlights American understandings and misconceptions of Islam, and the reality of the Cold War in the Middle East. All of this makes his journey into a historical narrative to challenge and address the larger macrohistories for American Christian missionaries abroad. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Spring Semester 2019. / April 12, 2019. / Christianity, Cold War, Islam, Missionary, Modernity, Nationalism / Includes bibliographical references. / Will Hanley, Professor Directing Thesis; Nilay Ozok Gundogan, Committee Member; Catherine Elisabeth McClive, Committee Member.

This study examines the argument that Islam is far removed from violence in any form. It also delves into the discussion that many of the terrorist activities that have been carried out in America have much to do with homegrown terrorism than those related to Islam. At the center of this research is the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community which sees itself as an authentic form of Islam attuned to American values and offering a concise and rational version of Islam. This study explores the various outreach initiatives and activities of the Ahmadiyya that supports the counter-narrative that Islam does not condone violence. Following the various engagements and activities by the Ahmadiyya that are conducted both online and physically with the Hispanic and African community in Miami, the study concludes that the counter-narrative of Islam by the Ahmadiyya is far from the violence perpetrated in its name.

<p>Undersökningar visar att många människor är negativt inställda till islam. Syftet med denna underökning är att ta reda på vilken bild eleverna har av islam före respektive efter religions-undervisningen om islam, samt att se om elevernas bilder har förändrats.</p><p>För att ta reda på detta har jag i två gymnasieklasser delat ut en enkät, dels före och dels ef-ter undervisningen.</p><p>Slutsatser som jag har kommit fram till genom min undersökning är att antalet elever som uppgav att de är positivt inställda till islam ökar från 13 % till 17 %. I det stora hela anser jag att elevernas föreställningar har blivit mer positiva. Därmed har undervisningen i skolan bi-dragit till att minska främlingsfientlighet och intolerans.</p> / <p>Contemporary surveys have shown that people in Sweden often assume a negative attitude towards Islam. The purpose of this study is to investigate the conceptions and attitudes stu-dents assume towards Islam before they study religions in Swedish schools and to what extent their attitudes are changing after the religious education.</p><p>Two groups of students at Upper Secondary School were given questionnaires with state-ments and questions about Islam before and after they pursued studies about the religion.</p><p>The result of the study displays that the number of students who stated they had a positive attitude towards Islam increased from 13 to 17 percentages after they pursued knowledge about the religion and the students’ view of Islam became generally more positive after their studies. The study thus indicates that religious education at Upper Secondary School has a significant role to change students’ negative attitudes and conceptions of religions. In exten-sion, these conceptual changes will, in line with the national curriculum, create understanding and tolerance towards religions in a multi-religious society.</p>

<p>År 2008 drabbades stora delar av världen av en finanskris. Avstampet var de så kallade subprimelånen, dvs. lån utan säkerhet, som gjorde att låntagarna inte klarade av att fortsätta amortera på sina lån. Situationen resulterade i att låntagarna blev tvungna att sälja den belånade bostaden till ett lägre värde än de räknat med från början och bankerna blev belastade med kreditförluster. Detta fenomen begränsades inte enbart till USA, utan spreds världen över då banker vanligtvis opererar på en internationell nivå. Finanskrisen har uppmärksammat det islamiska banksystemet som aldrig förr och det är nu en trend som växer allt fortare idag. Det faktum att det finns ett annorlunda och samtidigt helt fungerande banksystem i världen är mycket fascinerande. Ett banksystem som enligt många ekonomer kan ha klarat sig bättre än det konventionella under den pågående ekonomiska krisen.</p><p> Utifrån detta påstående har vi valt att undersöka de två banksystemens prestation med hjälp av fyra nyckeltal, tillväxtförändringen, räntabilitet på eget kapital, kreditförlustnivån och förändringen i den löpande verksamhetens kassaflöde. Dessutom gör vi även en jämförelse mellan de två banksystemen. Geografiskt har vi valt att begränsa oss till Förenade arabemiraten i och med deras öppna mottagande för etablering av både islamiska och konventionella banker och att detta dessutom sker på lika villkor.</p><p> Utifrån resultat- och analysavsnittet drar vi slutsatsen att det islamiska banksystemet överlag har presterat bättre än det konventionella banksystemet i Förenade arabemiraten. Denna slutsats kan dock inte på något sätt generaliseras då vi utgår från ett fåtal banker som inte anses vara representativa för resterande banker i världen.</p>

År 2008 drabbades stora delar av världen av en finanskris. Avstampet var de så kallade subprimelånen, dvs. lån utan säkerhet, som gjorde att låntagarna inte klarade av att fortsätta amortera på sina lån. Situationen resulterade i att låntagarna blev tvungna att sälja den belånade bostaden till ett lägre värde än de räknat med från början och bankerna blev belastade med kreditförluster. Detta fenomen begränsades inte enbart till USA, utan spreds världen över då banker vanligtvis opererar på en internationell nivå. Finanskrisen har uppmärksammat det islamiska banksystemet som aldrig förr och det är nu en trend som växer allt fortare idag. Det faktum att det finns ett annorlunda och samtidigt helt fungerande banksystem i världen är mycket fascinerande. Ett banksystem som enligt många ekonomer kan ha klarat sig bättre än det konventionella under den pågående ekonomiska krisen.  Utifrån detta påstående har vi valt att undersöka de två banksystemens prestation med hjälp av fyra nyckeltal, tillväxtförändringen, räntabilitet på eget kapital, kreditförlustnivån och förändringen i den löpande verksamhetens kassaflöde. Dessutom gör vi även en jämförelse mellan de två banksystemen. Geografiskt har vi valt att begränsa oss till Förenade arabemiraten i och med deras öppna mottagande för etablering av både islamiska och konventionella banker och att detta dessutom sker på lika villkor.  Utifrån resultat- och analysavsnittet drar vi slutsatsen att det islamiska banksystemet överlag har presterat bättre än det konventionella banksystemet i Förenade arabemiraten. Denna slutsats kan dock inte på något sätt generaliseras då vi utgår från ett fåtal banker som inte anses vara representativa för resterande banker i världen.

Undersökningar visar att många människor är negativt inställda till islam. Syftet med denna underökning är att ta reda på vilken bild eleverna har av islam före respektive efter religions-undervisningen om islam, samt att se om elevernas bilder har förändrats. För att ta reda på detta har jag i två gymnasieklasser delat ut en enkät, dels före och dels ef-ter undervisningen. Slutsatser som jag har kommit fram till genom min undersökning är att antalet elever som uppgav att de är positivt inställda till islam ökar från 13 % till 17 %. I det stora hela anser jag att elevernas föreställningar har blivit mer positiva. Därmed har undervisningen i skolan bi-dragit till att minska främlingsfientlighet och intolerans. / Contemporary surveys have shown that people in Sweden often assume a negative attitude towards Islam. The purpose of this study is to investigate the conceptions and attitudes stu-dents assume towards Islam before they study religions in Swedish schools and to what extent their attitudes are changing after the religious education. Two groups of students at Upper Secondary School were given questionnaires with state-ments and questions about Islam before and after they pursued studies about the religion. The result of the study displays that the number of students who stated they had a positive attitude towards Islam increased from 13 to 17 percentages after they pursued knowledge about the religion and the students’ view of Islam became generally more positive after their studies. The study thus indicates that religious education at Upper Secondary School has a significant role to change students’ negative attitudes and conceptions of religions. In exten-sion, these conceptual changes will, in line with the national curriculum, create understanding and tolerance towards religions in a multi-religious society.