scholarly journals Middle East & African Student (MEAS) Perceptions of Islam and Islamic Moderation: A Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-80
Author(s):  
Mansoureh Ebrahimi ◽  
Kamaruzaman Yusoff ◽  
Rozmi Ismail

Islamic Moderation is such a fundamental concept that without it understanding the faith is inadequate at best. Muslims are required by definition of the term ‘Muslim’ to remain on the middle path in everything pertaining to the life ways. They must not overstep the bounds (tafrit) and become trapped in the extremist quagmire (ifrat). As an Islamic doctrine par excellence, moderation inherently finds solutions for injustice and the violation of human rights. Nonetheless, some schools of Islamic thought (madhhabs) attend extremist ideology, particularly those of Middle East and African savour. These have spread a frightful spirit of intolerance throughout the world that has indelibly blackened Islam’s image by choosing to deny Islam’s characteristic spirit of moderation. In so doing, they marginalize any proper implementation of authentic Islam and block all corrective political discourse. Militant radicals clearly neglect moderation as a doctrinal position that is traditionally essential to the creed. This paper presents a broad exposure to Islam’s middle path with a focus on 192 respondents to a survey taken by Middle Eastern and African students (MEAS) studying in Malaysia.Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to achieve four significant findings indicating these students do not understand the nature of being a good Muslim.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carson Ezell

There are significant geographical disparities in activism throughout the world with respect to supporting the Uyghur cause against human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region of China. This paper introduces the history of Chinese rule of the Xinjiang region and examines the ways in which the Uyghur diaspora has spread. It then explores how geographical, cultural, economic, and religious relationships between Xinjiang and segments of the international community impact attitudes and levels of activism in response to recent developments in Xinjiang, particularly focusing on the weaker responses in the Middle East relative to the rest of the Islamic community. It then proposes recommendations for regional stakeholders in Middle Eastern civil society to encourage greater support for the Uyghur community.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. p65
Author(s):  
Sri Michael Das

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, situated not only physically at the center of the world has also been the center of some of its most significant moments. These involved the Kingdom’s role in supporting peace between Israel and Egypt alongside former President and Humanitarian Jimmy Carter. Carter, demonized for his Southern style and failures in the Middle East, especially during the Iran Hostage Crisis, engineered one of its greatest diplomatic feats ever: Peace between ancient enemies, Israel and Egypt. Their long-standing vendetta which had real consequences for centuries nearly moved the modern world to the brink of World War 3. In stepped President Carter, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin and eventually, the Royal Family of Jordan and all that changed. In this paper I would like to explore the personalities, roles and conditions that brought them together, re-celebrate their achievements, and challenge the world to model their characters and repeat their successes. Once again or even still, Israel is the pearl in the Middle Eastern oyster, and a weary world is eager move on. It is my hope my research will give us an inkling where to begin a process that could once again prevent a Global Conflict.


2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-24
Author(s):  
Deanna Ferree Womack

This article considers the history and contemporary reality of Middle Eastern Christianity in light of new demographic information available from the World Christian Encyclopedia. For readers interested in church history and World Christianity, it identifies key lessons to be learned about Christians in and from the Middle East today. It focuses on understanding the region’s Christian diversity, the complexities of recent demographic decline, the relationship between Middle Eastern and global Christianity, and the interreligious realities of Christian life in the region.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-427
Author(s):  
Katherine Recinos ◽  
Lucy Blue

Abstract Maritime cultural heritage is under increasing threat around the world, facing damage, destruction, and disappearance. Despite attempts to mitigate these threats, maritime cultural heritage is often not addressed to the same extent or with equal resources. One approach that can be applied towards protecting and conserving threatened cultural heritage, and closing this gap, is capacity development. This paper addresses the question of how capacity development can be improved and adapted for the protection of maritime cultural heritage under threat. It asserts that capacity development for maritime cultural heritage can be improved by gaining a more comprehensive and structured understanding of capacity development initiatives through applying a consistent framework for evaluation and analysis. This allows for assessment and reflection on previous or ongoing initiatives, leading to the implementation of more effective initiatives in the future. In order to do this, a model for classifying initiatives by ten parameters is proposed. It is then applied to a number of case studies featuring initiatives in the Middle East and North Africa region. This is followed by a discussion of how conclusions and themes drawn from the examination and evaluation of the case study initiatives can provide a deeper understanding of capacity development efforts, and an analysis of how the parameter model as a framework can aid in improving capacity development for threatened maritime cultural heritage overall.


2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 325-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Ozbilgin ◽  
Geraldine Healy

Mainstream work on careers tends to be situated within an individualistic paradigm and against a North American/Western European context (although frequently unacknowledged). This paper throws new conceptual and contextual insights on the career concept through its exploration of careers in the Middle East. It draws on articles included in two special issues on career development in the Middle East published in Career Development International, and demonstrates how careers are intertwined with history, politics, organisational practices and structures as well as the individual self. Importantly it identifies the interconnectedness of the Middle East with the rest of the world and how this impacts on individual careers. Through this regional lens, the complexity and diversity of the career concept is brought into sharp focus.


SIMULATION ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 95 (8) ◽  
pp. 693-706
Author(s):  
Barry G Silverman ◽  
Gnana Bharathy ◽  
Nathan Weyer

We have been modeling an ever-increasing scale of applications with agents that simulate the pattern of life (PoL) and real-world human behaviors in diverse regions of the world. The goal is to support sociocultural training and analysis. To measure progress, we propose the definition of a measure of goodness for such simulated agents, and review the issues and challenges associated with first-generation (1G) agents. Then we present a second generation (2G) agent hybrid approach that seeks to improve realism in terms of emergent daily activities, social awareness, and micro-decision making in simulations. We offer a PoL case study with a mix of 1G and 2G approaches that was able to replace the pucksters and avatar operators needed in large-scale immersion exercises. We conclude by observing that a 1G PoL simulation might still be best where large-scale, pre-scripted training scenarios will suffice, while the 2G approach will be important for analysis or if it is vital to learn about adaptive opponents or unexpected or emergent effects of actions. Lessons are shared about ways to blend 1G and 2G approaches to get the best of each.


2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 754-757
Author(s):  
Johan Mathew

There are few figures as universally beloved and yet recognizably “Middle Eastern” as Sindbad. The text of Sindbad's seven voyages travel easily across continents and languages and many of the tales blur imperceptibly into those of Homer'sThe Odysseyand Swift'sGulliver's Travels. Yet this swashbuckling adventurer is also firmly situated in the world of Abbasid Iraqandthe Indian Ocean world. Sindbad is clearly identified as a good Muslim and respected Baghdadi merchant, and while fantastical, there are recognizable geographic and cultural markers that locate his voyages within the Indian Ocean world. This iconic character of Arab popular culture pushes us to contemplate how easily the Arab world flows into that of the Indian Ocean.


2011 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-61
Author(s):  
Robyn Magalit Rodriguez

AbstractHow do migrants assert their rights as workers when they do not enjoy the rights of citizenship in their countries of employment and are unable to assert their human rights through international conventions? This article focuses on the work of Migrante-International's Middle East chapter in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, it examines the ways Philippine migrants strategically assert their rights as Philippine citizens transnationally in local labor struggles. This case study of transnational labor activism in a region where migrant workers enjoy limited rights not only highlights how migrants exercise their agency in spite of major obstacles, but it also offers up novel ways to think about worker organizing within the context of contemporary neoliberal globalization for labor activists and scholars concerned with the labor rights of migrants.


T oung Pao ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-542
Author(s):  
Helen Dunstan

AbstractThis article presents a case study of the bureaucratic response to devastating floods that struck northern Jiangsu and Anhui provinces in 1746. It is based on the detailed official directives preserved in an anonymous casebook of administrative correspondence. The work offers revealing glimpses into the world of a senior official striving to balance correct bureaucratic procedure with prompt, meticulous attention to the pressing needs of over 800,000 flood victims. The article highlights some noteworthy features of the approach to flood relief reflected in the casebook, thereby complementing previous scholarship on the state's response to drought in the same period and refining our understanding of some points of procedure. The material arguably represents Qing famine-relief efforts at their peak of conscientiousness, on the eve of a long era of decline. Concluding reflections place the study in a larger, cross-cultural framework, identifying possible implications for the diplomacy of human rights in our own day. L'étude de cas présentée dans cet article porte sur la réponse de la bureaucratie aux inondations dévastatrices qui affligèrent les provinces du Jiangsu et du Anhui en 1746. Elle s'appuie sur les directives officielles détaillées conservées dans un recueil anonyme de correspondance administrative. L'ouvrage livre des aperçus révélateurs de l'univers d'un haut fonctionnaire s'efforçant de jongler entre l'application correcte de la réglementation et une attention immédiate et méticuleuse aux besoins urgents de plus de 800 000 victimes d'inondations. L'article met en lumière quelques traits remarquables des méthodes adoptées pour secourir ces dernières, ce qui permet de compléter les travaux antérieurs consacrés à l'action contre la sécheresse pendant ces mêmes années et d'affiner notre compréhension sur certains points de procédure. Les matériaux analysés représentent probablement les efforts pour combattre la famine sous les Qing au maximum de leur efficacité, avant une longue période de déclin. Les remarques de conclusion replacent cette étude dans une perspective interculturelle plus large et suggèrent de possibles implications pour la diplomatie des droits de l'homme aujourd'hui même.


2019 ◽  
Vol IV (III) ◽  
pp. 20-27
Author(s):  
Tasaddaq Hussain ◽  
Muhammad Aslam Pervez ◽  
Shahid Minhas

(FOE) is a basic human right, unanimously accepted all over the world; however it has no universal definition. The Islam condemns the Blasphemy strongly, whereas the West takes it as an offshoot of FOE and a symbol of democracy. This paper is an attempt to investigate, to what extent the Islamic concept of FOE is consistent with the Western concept? Its main objective is to point out the real cause of the rift and to discover recipe which could be used in curing the bleeding sore of humanity. Methodologically, qualitative research technique is used; analytical approach is adopted. Principal books, Scholarly articles, and academic writings are especially consulted. It is concluded that all the basic human rights have limits; therefore FOE must also be aligned. In this way, a common socio-religious definition of FOE is suggested for a peaceful and tolerant democratic global society.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document