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In certain contemporary Muslim majority states apostasy and blasphemy are not merely religious sins; they are acts which potentially have legal, or extra-legal, consequences. Although apostasy has not been criminalised in many such states, extrajudicial killings of apostates are carried out by some extremist groups and individuals. Such groups always justify these murders of fellow Muslims and non-Muslims on the grounds of apostasy and blasphemy. The concept and use of takfir (excommunication) is also a serious issue in Muslim majority states. Groups such as Daesh (also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) rely on takfir to attack fellow Muslims, despite there being no legal basis in Shari’a for the use of takfir or for criminalising apostasy. Although the concept was developed by people, not God, takfir are now being used to bypass rational human judgement. Their use plays a major role in many of the religious issues confronting Muslim majority states, such as the criminalisation of apostasy and blasphemy. This thesis analyses the central issues of apostasy, blasphemy and takfir collectively, as their history and their contemporary use and misuse by extremist groups are inextricably entwined. The key finding is that the right to punish apostasy and blasphemy and to issue declarations of excommunication (takfir), all originally reserved in Islam for God only, have been appropriated by man. Through developments in the understandings of these concepts, all three have come to be seen by some scholars and ordinary believers as a ‘right of man’. This evolution in interpretation and in application is inconsistent with Shari’a law.

The purpose of this thesis was to explore young Shia Muslim Canadian women's discursive constructions of physical activity in relation to Islam and the Hijab. The aims of the study were primarily informed by feminist poststructuralist and postcolonial theories. Qualitative methods were favored and poststructuralist discourse analysis was used to analyze the transcripts of conversations with 10 young Hijab-wearing Shia Muslim women residing in the Ottawa or Toronto regions. The results show that the participants discursively constructed physical activity in terms of being physically active (involved in fitness activities rather than sport), feeling good about themselves (i.e., being physically and mentally healthy), and losing weight or remaining "not fat." The participants were extremely heterogeneous in their ideas and experiences but, nevertheless, a majority mentioned that they would choose Islam over physical activity if they had to make a choice between the two. Wearing the Hijab while participating in physical activity was seen by most as difficult and limiting but, in the end, neither the Islamic religion nor the Hijab were considered barriers to physical activity. Participants strongly resisted the Islamophobic discourse present in Canada, they appealed to a discourse dominant in their own communities that presents a relatively progressive interpretation of the Quran and they constructed themselves as modern Muslim subjects yet they located themselves within a dominant gendered/religious discourse on women and physical activity. In the end, the young Shia Muslim women appropriated an intersectional discourse that legitimates their refusal to choose between their right to religious freedom and their right to physical activity.

This thesis is an analysis and interpretation of six chapters from al-Nabulusi's commentary. One of these is an account of his intentions for writing the commentary and the other five are commentaries on parts of the Fusus al-hikam. These chapters chosen from al-Nabulusi's commentary treat important subjects in the Fusus al-hikam which exemplify Ibn 'Arabi's thought particularly well. They are concerned with certain issues which were perceived to have a special importance in the Islamic religious tradition. One issue, for example, is that of Pharaoh's profession of faith which was a prominent subject of debate and discussion in Islamic literature. Ibn 'Arabi's position on this was severely criticised by many. The thesis argues that there are four ways in which to appreciate the commentary's intellectual and religious outlook: first, with respect to its approach to Ibn 'Arabi's ideas; second, with respect to its use of Qur'an and hadith in the specific context of developing an independence from Ibn 'Arabi's thought and in the general context of Qur'anic exegesis; third, in its use of language, narrative and metaphor, finally, in its legal approach towards the issue of Pharaoh's faith evincing arguments similar to those of Ibn 'Arabi, but not identical, and, like Ibn 'Arabi, adopting positions different from those of the wider Islamic religious tradition. The thesis demonstrates that the commentary's significance can be appreciated in two historical contexts: the anti-Ibn 'Arabi tendency manifest in late 17^th century Damascus; and the enduring tradition of polemics surrounding Ibn 'Arabi's thought.

Islamic banking system is one of the fastest growing segments of the international financial industry. This system has been receiving a growing attention nowadays especially after the global financial crisis which gave Islamic banks an opportunity to prove their resilience and contribution to financial and economic stability. The beginning of the Islamic banking in its contemporary mode was in the sixties of the past century by the first modern Islamic banking experiment which was undertaken in Egypt in 1963 by Ahmad Al-Najjar. Islamic financial institutions are established to operate commercial banking activities within an Islamic teaching perspective which depends on the elimination of any prohibited element in Islamic Shariah jurisprudence such as interest, gambling, speculation, dealing in pork or alcohol. The very distinct nature of Islamic banking led to a growing interest in determining the success factors of such type of banks especially that in most of the cases they operate with conventional banks vis a vis within the same market and sometimes under the same regulatory framework. The aim of this research is to make a comparative study between the performance of Islamic banks and conventional banks in the Egyptian financial market. The study is an attempt to determine the internal and external contingent factors that affect the profitability of Islamic banks in Egypt in comparison to conventional banks while taking into consideration the fact that both types of banks operate under the same rules and regulations. The goal is to discover whether the different nature of operations between the two types of banks is likely to affect their determinants of performance. The main motivation for undertaking this research is to fill the gap in literature and provide some information that might benefit both academics and practitioners in this field. A thorough revision of the literature suggested contingency perspective as the most suitable and appropriate theoretical framework for this type of research (Thomas, 1991; Schweikart, 1985; Otley, 1980). Data were gathered in this research through the collection of annual financial reports for the two Islamic banks working in Egypt and a sample of eleven conventional banks registered in the stock market. The study covered the period from 2002 to 2010. The findings indicate that in general, the performance of conventional banks in Egypt outweighed that of their Islamic counterparts. Moreover, it can be concluded from the results of the study that there are differences between the profitability determinants of Islamic banks and conventional banks. And eventually, it can be inferred that the nature of operations has an effect on the determination of profitability in Islamic banks and conventional banks.

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The inclusion of representational imagery in a sacred context is extremely rare in the history of Islamic art. This dissertation examines the evolution of the Ottoman En'am-i Serif, a group of manuscripts dating from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, in which sacred text was illuminated by sacred art. In the early period, the content of these prayer books consisted of entire chapters of the Qur'an and various prayers. In the seventeenth century, calligraphic images known as hilye were added, consisting of textual descriptions of the Prophet Muhammad's physical and moral characteristics. In the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, representational images of the Prophet's mantle, hand, footprint, sandal, sword, and other relics were included for the sake of their baraka, the Divine grace that emanates from God and passes to ordinary people through the prophets and saints, or the objects that they touch. That Ottoman Islam was heavily influenced by Sufism is apparent in the En'am-i Serif. Its calligraphers and patrons were members or affiliates of the various Sufi orders, and they were also frequently highly placed members of the ruling class. At the same time that the Ottomans were defending themselves against the rise of European nationalism, Islam came under attack from within as the Wahhabi movement challenged the Ottoman sultan's role as protector of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. It is not surprising that Sufi calligraphers chose this precise moment to transform a simple book containing Qur'anic text and prayers into an elaborate manuscript combining sacred text with images of sacred places and objects. In addition to reinforcing the spiritual aspects of Islam that had come under attack from the fundamentalist movement, the artists of the En'am-i Serif also made a strong political statement by choosing to present these images in such a way as to highlight the Ottomans' role as the rightful inheritors of the caliphate and protectors of Islam. / Graduate

This work examines how two Islamist forces, the Islamic State and the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, use Islamic messages and themes in their propaganda and narrative in an effort to persuade others to their point of view. It does so through the lens of propaganda analysis and narrative theory, and focuses specifically on the efforts of these groups to create an imaginary "model Muslim" for persuadees to emulate, the use of religiously loaded terms, and the intertwining of government and Islamic themes to create Islamic messages with the intent to persuade.

This thesis aims at investigating the validity of baiʿ al-ʿīnah, not only in classical terms but also in modern practice in the Malaysian banking industries. It also examines modes of Islamic personal financing, apart from baiʿ al-ʿīnah, which are currently practised, or may potentially be used in the future, and their validity, viability and marketability as Islamic financing tools. They include classical and organised tawarruq, rahn-based qarḍ, qarḍ and sale financing, takāful-based qarḍ and hibah-sale based financing. It also investigates the proper legal foundation for the alternatives, namely maṣlaḥah mursalah and its connection with ḥīlah and, whether or not the former could replace the latter as an Islamic legal foundation. Furthermore, it examines parameters for the alternatives to be Sharia compliant. Analysis is confined to the instrument of baiʿ al-ʿīnah in personal financing by using the primary and secondary sources of Sharia through legal analysis of uṣūl al-fiqh. It is concluded that the application of baiʿ al-ʿīnah in the Malaysian banking industries should not be solely referred to the ruling of the instrument in its classical form. Contemporary baiʿ al-ʿīnah is considered non-Sharia compliant if the instrument contains one of the prohibited elements such as the element of a sale for a sale, a sale for a qarḍ, a sale with invalid conditions, selling unavailable or unpossessed items, selling without the responsibility to guarantee and non-Sharia ḥīlah. Any alternative to baiʿ al-ʿīnah could be based on maṣlaḥah mursalah or ḥīlah sharʿīyah to comply with their requirements. The instruments of salam-based financing, classical and organised tawarruq, rahn-based qarḍ, takāful-based qarḍ and hibah for a reward financing have the qualities to replace baiʿ al-ʿīnah as Sharia compliant personal financing instruments.

The interpretive, exploratory research reached conclusions from historical secondary data regarding financing models, namely interest-based and non-interest-based methods of financing with respect to the concept of sustainable consumption. The purpose of the research was to demonstrate that the way we manage our finances has an effect on the concept of sustainable consumption and its goals. The outcome of the research showed us that there is a definite linkage between the variables, especially in light of general systems theory, and concludes that the interest-based financing model is negatively aligned to the goal of sustainable consumption. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted