In selecting Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani as the subject of our thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master's Degree in the newly created Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, we are guided by two reasons. Firstly, the Modern Age of Islam is supposed to have begun in the second half of the nineteenth century. Though Islam, in the post-mediaeval period, was confronted by the West at various places since the beginning of the eighteenth century, the early impact did not cause a ripple in the somnolent waters of Islam. [...]

A student who deals with a theme from Turkish Islam is confronted with special problems of transliteration, owing to the use of the Latin alphabet by modern Turks. The method which has been adopted here utilizes a standard transliteration scheme, an outline of which is presented in the Appendix, for those Islamic technical terms which originated in Arabic and Persian. For terms and names which are recognizably Turkish, there is no problem of consequence. [...]

Since Islam entered Indonesia by way of trade via India, its first contact with the Indonesians was one of a very peaceful kind. Rich Muslim merchants married Indonesian girls of noble descent, and it was then that Islamic marriage law started to operate on the Indonesian soil. The peaceful conversion of the Indonesians to Islam and the tolerant elements of Islam have formed the foundation of an Indonesian Muslim community, in which Islamic law has gained a growing influence and indigenous adat is left undisturbed in so far this is compatible with Islam. Islamic law has succeeded in influencing the family law of adat to such an extent that in matters of marriage Islamic law becomes the principle, while adat is maintained as regards the marriage ceremonies.

With the emergence of newly independent Muslim countries in the last two decades, the idea of the Islamic state, which first appeared in Turkey during the 1876 Constitutional movement and then in Egypt in the movement of the al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin of the 1940's and early 1950'5, came more and more to the fore, in particular in Pakistan and Indonesia. It is felt that little is known about the Indonesian idea, while relatively much has been written about the Turkish, Egyptian and Pakistan cases.

This thesis is an examination of the extant psychological treatises of Abu Yusuf Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi, the ninth century A.D. Arab scholar who was among the first of his race to interest himself in strictly philosophical questions. Al-Kindi's writings were among the first fruits of the translation of Greek philosophical and scientific works into Arabic. It is under that aspect that this thesis approaches his views on soul and intellect - as an instance of the passage of Greek philosophical ideas to the Muslim Arabs. [...]

Islamic Tradition is the record safeguarded by the Islamic community which claims to preserve the very words and deeds of Muhammad as well as those of many of his companions. In the West major work on Tradition was undertaken first by Ignaz Goldziber in his Muhammedanische Studien (1888). His investigation into Umayyad history convinced him the period allowed the influx of numerous forgeries. These Traditionserdichtungen so overcame Tradition that no attempt in the 'Abbisid era could ever repair the damage. The second major scholar of Tradition was Joseph Schacht. Though his book, The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence (1950), treated the legal work of al-Shafi'i in particular, his evaluation of al-Shafi'i's fight for the position of Tradition in law led Professor Schacht to make numerous conclusions about the authenticity and growth of traditions. [...]

Rules of engagement, ethics of war, and codes of chivalry are all phrases which remind one of human attempts to rein in and regulate what is perhaps the most anarchic and illogical of all human activities: organized war. The role of the great religions of the world both in propagating war through crusades and jihads as well as their attempts at transcending its savagery through images of miles Christianus or the pious ghazi has also been much discussed. The aim of this thesis is to study the ethics of war in the context of Islamic societies in the Early Middle Ages from several complementary perspectives. Our sources for the period vary greatly from decade to decade and from region to region. This has often led historians of ideas and mentalities to concentrate on one aspect to the exclusion of others. [...] / Les règles du combat, l'éthique de la guerre, les codes chevaleresques - autant d'expressions révélatrices des efforts de l'Homme pour maîtriser et réglementer celle qui, de toutes ses actions, est sans doute la plus anarchique et la plus illogique: la guerre organisée. On a ainsi pu démontrer le rôle des grandes religions du monde dans la propagation de la guerre par le biais des croisades ou jihads s'efforçant de sublimer la sauvagerie de la guerre par la création d'images telle que celle du miles Christianus ou encore celle du ghazi pieux. Le but de notre propos est d'examiner l'éthique de la guerre replacée dans le contexte des sociétés islamiques du début du Moyen Age, en adoptant diverses approches qui se complètent les unes les autres. Les sources dont nous disposons pour cette période varient considérablement d'une décennie et d'une région à l'autre. Ces variations ont souvent amené les historiens des idées et des mentalités à se concentrer sur un seul aspect, à l'exclusion de tous les autres. [...]

This survey investigates the origin and growth of the mosque in pre-colonial West Africa emphasizing both the traditional and Islamic context. Initially the traditional West African society is observed with special emphasis on those features which were to affect the mosque. The origin of Muslim places of worship is examined, indicating the types of people and places involved. The various activities performed in the mosque and the role of the mosque personnel are seen to cover every aspect of Muslim life and to be similar to what obtained in other Muslim lands.

The question of the important role played by Abraham in the Qur'an has raised many controversies between the Orientalists. For some of them, such as Snouck-Hurgronje, Abraham holds in the Qur'an a quasi-political role which gives some independance and some authenticity to Mohammed's Mission. For others, such as youakim Mubarak, Muhammad followed Abraham because he saw him as the perfect religious pattern, responding to his own ideal. As for us, our opinion is that Abraham is the "universal Father of all the Believers" (Qur'an II, 118). He is consequently a personage with a universalist character. [...] / La question du rôle important que joue Abraham dans le Coran a soulevé plusieurs controverses entre les Orientalistes. Pour certains, tel Snouck-Hurgronje, Abraham tient dans le Coran un rôle quasi-politique, donnant une certaine indépendance et une certaine authenticité à la Mission de Mohammed. Pour d'autres, tel Yuakim Muhàrak, Mohammed s'est attaché à Abraham parce qu'il voyait en lui le type, religieux parfait qui répondait à son idéal. Mais pour nous, notre thèse est celle-ci: Abraham est le "Père universel de tous les croyants" (Coran II, 118). C'est donc un personnage à caractre universaliste. [...]

Islamic Law in Canada: Marriage and Divorce provides an analysis of how Canadian society and the Canadian judicial system have responded to the use of the Shari'a to resolve issues relating to Islamic marriage and divorce in Canada. This dissertation explores two instances where Canadian society has been forced to address the role of the Shari'a in Canada and its interaction with Canadian laws and values. The first involves the debate that took place in Ontario over the last decade concerning the use of Islamic arbitration in family matters. This public debate ultimately led to the rejection of faith-based arbitration in that province, a decision apparently consistent with traditional Canadian attitudes towards multiculturalism. The second area of interaction between Canadian and Islamic law is within the Canadian court system itself. [...] / La loi islamique au Canada: du mariage et du divorce analyse la façon dont la société canadienne et le système juridique ont réagi face à l'application de la shari'a au Canada, ce dans le but de résoudre certains litiges reliés aux mariages et aux divorces musulmans. Cette dissertation examine deux instances particulières où la société canadienne se vu forcée de se questionner sur le rôle de la shari'a au Canada, et ce, tant face aux lois canadiennes qu'avec les valeurs du pays. Le premier incident eu lieu en Ontario au cours des deniers années alors qu'il fut question d'utiliser l'arbitration islamique dans les litiges impliquant la famille. Un débat en découla, ultimement optant contre l'implication de la religion lors des cas d' arbitration dans cette province. Cette décision représentait en effet les attitudes canadiennes quelque peu conservatrices face à l'approche multiculturaliste. Le second cas où la shari'a et le droit canadien ont interagit ensemble est au sein même du système judiciaire canadien. [...]