Chan Tsz-on. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-78). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract / Acknowledgement / Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 1. --- (Auto) biographical Reconstruction as Indicator of Religious Conversion: The Sociology of Conversion and its Implication on Pauline Studies --- p.5 / Introduction --- p.5 / (Auto) biographical Reconstruction as Indicator of Religious Conversion --- p.5 / Was Paul a typical convert? --- p.11 / Summary --- p.26 / Chapter Chapter 2. --- Romans 7.14-25 as Paul's autobiographical account: A Survey of Scholarly Interpretations 7:14-25 --- p.28 / Introduction --- p.28 / 7:14-25 as Paul's autobiographical account of pre-conversion past --- p.29 / 7:14-25 as Paul's autobiographical account of Christian struggle with Sin --- p.33 / 7:14-25 as Paul's autobiographical account of his pre-conversion past from Christian perspective --- p.40 / Summary --- p.43 / Chapter Chapter 3. --- 7:14-25 as Paul's (auto) biographical reconstruction --- p.45 / Introduction --- p.45 / The significance of 7:5 as elaboration of 7:14-25 --- p.45 / Why was the divine commandment an opportunity for sin? Paul's pre-conversion sin as zealous persecutor in 7:7-13 --- p.45 / Paul's pre-conversion past under reconstruction in 7:14-25 --- p.50 / Paul' s (auto) biographical reconstruction and his current experience --- p.55 / The impact of Paul's religious experience on his (auto) biographical reconstruction --- p.58 / Summary --- p.66 / Conclusion --- p.67 / Bibliography --- p.70

La presente tesis busca identificar y describir la situación actual de la gestión de los residuos de aparatos eléctricos y electrónicos comercializados en las tiendas por departamento. Esta idea nace debido a que en los últimos diez años se ha incrementado el número de estos establecimientos a nivel nacional, las preferencias por parte de los consumidores para comprar en estos lugares y a la obligación legal de las tiendas por departamento para implementar planes de manejo de estos residuos. Por otra parte existe una mayor preocupación mundial en el manejo de estos residuos debido a su incremento y a los componentes tanto peligroso como reaprovechables que requieren un manejo especializado distinto al de los residuos urbanos. En el desarrollo del presente trabajo de tipo exploratorio se presenta de manera resumida el marco legal aplicable, rol de los diferentes actores involucrados en la gestión de los residuos, las dificultades y oportunidades que se presentan para el manejo de estos residuos, experiencias en otras regiones y en instituciones tanto públicas como privadas , avances entre otros. Se ha realizado una estimación de la probable generación de residuos en base a una metodología y supuestos, con los que ha permitido calcular aproximadamente el gasto monetario para el reaprovechamiento y/o disposición final. Finalmente se plantea una serie de conclusiones y recomendaciones para los diferentes actores a fin de mejorar el manejo de estos residuos. / Tesis

Mak, Ka Kui. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-48). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in Chinese.

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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.