In the field of education, the Islamic educational institutions, both formal and non-formal, have played a major role in educating Indonesians from the colonial era 1600-1945, to the present day. / One of the Islamic educational institutions famous for its Islamic approach is the pesantren. This institution, however, is facing major challenges at present and is being asked to update, develop and change many of its programs in order to enable its graduates to participate more fully in Indonesian national life, particularly in the field of national development. As a result, some pesantrens began modernizing their educational systems. The modernization process is accomplished through the adoption of the national education system alongside the classical system, thus providing students with secular subjects and skills training together with religious education. As is to be expected, this modernization effort has created a number of problems for pesantrens such as lack of funds, finding skilled teachers for the secular and skill subjects, building the necessary facilities and creating the needed administrative apparatus. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

The Islamic prohibition of riba is unequivocal but textually not explicit. The traditional and liberal theological, juridical and philosophical hermeneutical effort has addressed it comprehensively but not conclusively. This inconclusiveness is due to the absence of the identification of the distinctive characteristic of riba, resulting from the use of limited scope pre-defined juridical and economic paradigms employing a contextual exoteric approach, excluding the broader esoteric content. This promotes an internal hermeneutical imbalance between the variables of meaning, application, rationale, underlying cause and consequence of riba, preventing the full convergence and congruence of these narrowly defined paradigms with the broadly implied paradigm in the Qur'an and the Sunna, and obstructing the promulgation of the prohibition. The resolution of this hermeneutical gridlock, predicated upon the discovery of the distinctive rationale and the derivation of the underlying cause of riba prohibition, has a direct bearing on the expansion of scope and unreserved acceptance of the prohibition.

As the most populous Muslim country in the world, Indonesia has a unique experience in dealing with Islamic education, a system that was established years before the country's independence. This dissertation focuses on the development of Indonesian Islamic schools in facing the challenges of modernization and globalization, with special reference to their changing curricula. Using the social constructionist perspective as an approach, this study examines the significance of political and social changes to the development of Islamic schools' curricula throughout the country's history. This study finds evidences of a reciprocal relationship between the changing curricula of Indonesian Islamic schools and the changing social and political circumstances.

The notion of usury/interest, subsumed under the Arabic term riba and Hebraic neshekh/marbit, has been the center of human attention throughout recorded history, but only as an exclusive economic paradigm subject to toleration, limitation or prohibition. Yet, in a clearly disproportionate treatment, all pristine major world religions consider this "economic act" as the greatest of sins, which, in Islam, additionally attracts the most graphic other-worldly punishments at the extremes of the spectrum. Economic usurpation of greater severity, e.g., theft by stealth and robbery by force do not attract as severe a Scriptural punishment as does "interest-taking" by consent, clearly implying, both scripturally and linguistically, that this seemingly exclusive "economic act" is in fact a sin of greater theological proportions. Yet, casuistry and a non-philosophical approach have so far prevented the extant Judaic, Christian and Islamic scholarship from assessing the depth and breadth of the theology at stake here. Utilizing a semiotic methodology and a philosophical/theological approach, and drawing out the glaring deficiencies of the current scholarship, this work posits that the Arabic riba /Hebraic marbit (growth), by virtue of its intrinsic characteristic of intra-activity as against its binary opposite of inter-activity inherent in bay' (exchange), causes self-emanation, self-subsistence and ex-nihilo creation, which, being exclusive Divine attributes, not only render marbit/riba an act of idolatry/polytheism (Arabic: shirk), but also thereby extend it to all spheres of human action. This diagnosis not only harmonizes the severe ordained punishment with the gravity of the sin, it also bestows perfect hermeneutical calibration to the whole riba paradigm for all monotheist religions, identifying the universal divine law: intra-activity (riba) ---lack of dependence---for the Master (Rabb) and inter-activity (bay')---dependence---for the servant ('abd). This yields the new critical theory of normative human behavior prescribed by "Islam"---the din al-fiṭra, which calls for total human conformity to the design and purpose of human creation in pairs (tathniya: duality), reserving riba (tawḥid : singularity) for the One whose divine attribute it is.

This study aims to discuss the question of foreign influences on early Islamic law. This issue has been dealt with from various perspectives. Some scholars claim that Roman law was the predominant influence in formulating Islamic law, both in its legal concepts and its application. Certain scholars, however, maintain that the provincial law influenced Islamic law more, arguing that Roman law was not really practiced in former Greek provinces where Islamic law was formulated. Still others argue that Jewish influences are also believed to have shaped the development of early Islamic law, considering that Babylonian schools were situated close to the Hanafi school. / The problem of foreign influences on early Islamic law, however, is a matter of degree only as far as the pre-Islamic Arab traditions are concerned. It is believed that certain institutions derived from pre-Islamic Arabic society, the Qur' an and the traditions of the Prophet provided the early Muslims with a considerable wealth of values, norms and broad principles as well as specific rules which were to guide the Muslims in their legal speculation in order to develop positive law.

This is an attempt to investigate the linguistic question ofderivation in usul ahfiqh (legal theory). Being treated in various linguistic disciplines, especially grammar, the subject matter is studied in light of these disciplines in order to expound the unique contribution of usulists to it. The present study explores the chronological evolution of the subject and presents "derivation" as one example of the methodology applied by usulists to linguistic issues. / Le present essai se veut le fruit d'une recherche sur la derivation: question linguistique mise en rapport avec le domaine suivant: usul ahfiqh (theorie legale). Le sujet, traite dans differentes disciplines, specialement la grammaire, est etudie a la lumiere de ces disciplines afin d'extraire la contribution particuliere qu" y ont apportee les usulistes. Notre etude retrace done revolution chronologique du sujet et presente la "derivation" comme un exemple de la ethodologie mise en practique par les usulistes en matieres linguistiques. fr

This thesis deals with one of the essential problems in epistemology, that is, the foundation and variety of universal concepts. The classical controversy on universals is baseless if we do not consider different kinds of universal concepts. In this thesis, universal concepts are examined as classified into three groups: first intentions, logical second intentions and philosophical second intentions. / We elaborate these three kinds of concepts from two perspectives. First, we have a journey in the history of Islamic philosophy from Farabi to contemporary philosophers in order to see what they mentioned in this regard. We found that the origin of the distinction between first and second intentions in Ibn Sina; however, he does not mention the philosophical second intentions, rather this kind of intentions is added sometime after Suhrawardi and Tusi We also examined William of Ockham's theory for the purposes of a comparative approach. Second, we discussed this threefold division based on our own understanding and analysis in the light of both Islamic and Western philosophy.

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<p> The purpose of this project was to write a grant to fund Youth for One World, a program designed to help Arab American youth predominately residing in Los Angeles and Orange counties develop leadership skills and participate in mainstream American society. The literature review described the shortages and benefits of Arab American youth involvement in leadership opportunities within mainstream America, the importance of empowering Arab American youth, and theoretical frameworks of increasing their leadership skills.</p><p> The Weingart Foundation was selected as the potential funder. The goal of Youth for One World program is to enhance leadership capabilities and promote Arab American youth by providing opportunities to build skills and proficiencies through engagement in activities that encourage and promote competence and support the involvement of Arab American youth in mainstream America activities and prospects. Actual submission and/or funding of this grant was not a requirement for successful completion of this project.</p>