This work is a result of the need felt at the McGill Institute of Islamic Studies to have a fair list of literature available in Montreal as an aid to the Seminar on modern Islam in India and Pakistan. [...]

The Deoband School (India ) has been, throughout its existence, an orthodox religious movement professing its loyalties, with some puritanical tinge, to the Hanafi school of Muslim fiqh. Politically, till 1947 it upheld the tradition of being vehemently anti-British and has been 'nationalist' through and through. Whatever it has done, it claims to have done it for the cause of Islam and the welfare of the Muslim community. [...]

This thesis arose from a general interest in Turkish history and the Kemalist transformation heightened by a brief residence in Istanbul under the auspices of the World University Service of Canada. In this period, the writer became aware of the formidable challenge facing the Turks between 1939 and 1945, and of the considerable diplomatic skill with which they responded. Their foreign policy during the Second World War is a subject worthy of far greater attention than it has yet received, as the appended bibliography will show. [...]

The thesis aims at studying the growth and systematization of Shi'i Usül al-fiqh in the fifth century, A.H. The attempt involves an analysis of the background against which this systematization developed and takes into account the two major works of the period, representing this systematization. The first is al-Dhari'ah of Sharif al-Murtada (d. 436/1044) and the second, 'Uddat al-Usul of Shaykh Abü Ja'far al-Tüsi (d. 460/1067).

From 1925 till his death, 'abd al-Hamid ibn Badis, an Algerian who trained in the traditional Islamic sciences, set to reconstruct his society from the decadent state in which traditionalism and colonialism plunged it into to one in which Islamic principles and modernism could be reconciled. His ideas on the causes of decline, on the conditions for regeneration, on the relationship between Algeria, the East and the West, are to be found in the newspaper he edited, al-Shihab. It is the purpose of this thesis to make these ideas known. Their relevance for present day Algeria have also been considered. This study rewrites an important page of the history of change in Algeria. It also contributes to the further understanding of Islamic reformism which swept all Muslim countries after the nineteenth century.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze Kitab al-Tajalliyât (The Book of Theophanies), a trilogy by the contemporary Egyptian author Jamal al-Ghitani. I will be situating my analyses within the context of contemporary Arab discourse about the relationship between al-turath (tradition) and al-mu'asara (modernity). ln his experimentation with narrative strategies, al-Ghitâni constructs his works in a relationship of "hypertextuality" to conventional forms of discourse that constitute part of the Islamic turâth. In Kitab al-Tajalliyat, he parodies the genre of sufi epistles, with specifie evocation of the discourse of Muhyi al-Din Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240). [...] / L'objet de cette thèse est d'analyser le Kitab al-Tajalliyat (Le Livre des Théophanies), une trilogie de l'auteur égyptien contemporain Jamâl al-Ghitani. Mon analyse se situe dans le contexte du discours arabe contemporain sur les rapports entre al-turath (la tradition) et al-mu'asara (la modernité). En jouant sur les stratégies narratives, al-Ghitâni construit ses oeuvres en relation "hypertextuelle" avec les formes traditionnelles du discours formant une partie du turath islamique. Dans le Kitab al-Tajalliyat, il parodie le genre de l'épître soufie, évoquant plus particulièrement le discours de Muhyi al-Din Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240). [...]

Sayyid Muhammad al-Husayni-i Gisudiraz (721/1321-825/1422) was a famous Indian sufi of the Chishti order, an order which is still popular in Indian to this day. He was also the first Chishti sufi to have been a prolific writer. Since there is inadequate primary source material on the earlier Chishtis, only a study of Gisudiraz may cast some light on the doctrinal system of his order. Two very controversial topics - "Saintship" (walayah) and "Audition of Music" (sama') have been chosen for the present study. The concept of Saintship is discussed from two angles: in comparison to Prophethood (nubuwwah, and insofar as it is qualified by Gisudiraz's world-view in general. Audition of Music is also discussed from two points of view: the rules and conditions attached to this institution (exoteric aspect), and as a mystical path leading to God (esoteric aspect). [...] / Sayyid Muhammad al-Husayni-i Gisudiraz (721/1321-825/1422) était un célèbre soufi indien de l'ordre Chishti, un ordre qui compte encore aujourd'hui beaucoup de sympathisants en Inde. Gisudiraz est le premier soufi Chishti qui ait laissé une oeuvre écrite considérable. Comme il n'y a pas de documentation satisfaisante sur les Chishtis antérieurs, c'est seulement une étude de Gisudiraz qui permet d'éclaircir les doctrines de cet ordre. Deux thèmes de controverse, la "Sainteté" (walayah) et "l'Audition de Musique" (sama') ont été choisis pour cette étude. L'idée de sainteté est traitée de deux points de vue: par rapport à l'idée de prophétie (nubuwwah) et en tant que modifiée par les pensées de Gisudiraz sur le monde en général. L'Audition de Musique est traitée de deux points de vue également: éxotérique et ésotérique; c;est-à-dire les règles et les conditions attachées à cette institution et l'audition comme voie mystique menant à Dieu. [...]

This thesis is, as its title duely indicates, an attempt to establish and describe the facts or events of an aspect of the public life of Ibn Taymiya (661-728), namely, his mihan or the trials and tribulations he underwent apparently due to the stands he took on certain dogmatic issues of his time. This thesis is divided into two chapters: the first tries to determine the originality of the sources -- in relation to each other as well as in relation to the mihan -- and their reliability; in all eighteen sources are dealt with.

Most modern studies have portrayed the Mamlûk period as that in which the Christian population of the Mamlük empire reached its demise. Two reasons are most often given for this situation: 1) the effect of the Crusades in arousing anti-Christian sentiment and 2) the Mongol invasions to which several Christian powers gave active assistance. This study which is limited to the contemporary and later Arabic chronicles and which examines the reign of Qalâ'ün as a case study for the Mamlûk period, indicates that contrary to this view, no correlation exists between these two historical factors and the treatment of Christians in the Mamluk period during the reign of Qalâ'ûn. In fact, the situation of the indigenous Christians seems to have been relatively stable. [...] / La plupart des études modernes ont décris l'époque des Mamelouks comme celle dont la population chrétienne de l'empire mamelouk a atteint son décés. Deux raisons sont souvent données pour cette situation: 1) l'effet des croisades en éveillant des sentiments contre les Chrétiens, et 2) les attaques des Mongoles que plusieurs puissances chrétiennes ont aidées activement. Cet étude, qui se limite aux chroniques arabes contemporaires et tardives et qui examine le règne de Qala'ün comme exemple de l'époque des Mamelouks, indique le contraire de cette perspective. Il n'y a pas de rapport entre ces deux éléments historiques et le traitement des Chrétiens pendant le règne de Qala'ün dans l'époque des Mamelouks. En effet, la situation des Chrétiens indigènes parait avoir été relativement fixe. [...]

This thesis is a study of the Shi'i community of Lebanon. The thrust of the study is the political development of the Shi'a in the light of certain past events. The Shi'a, otherwise known as Matawila, are admitted to be the poorest of the Lebanese communities, materially and educationally. They are almost totally dependent on a small upper class of notables who derive their power from land as well as financial enterprises, and by exploiting their "clients" through control of their resources.