scholarly journals The Emergence of the Islamic Messiah Al Mahdi and his “Ideal” State

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-50
Author(s):  
Vladimir Stefanov Chukov

This study aims to present the emergence of the Islamic Messiah Al Mahdi and his “ideal” state. Many modern preachers, clerics and thinkers are trying to find the signs of the appearance of the expected messiah given by Sharia tests and their interpretations by Islamic legal authorities. Thus, they create their own geopolitical versions, explaining modern political dynamics, based on their aspirations to build the ideal state formed under the light of the crescent. The dispositions of the Sharia norms are explained in a way that forms a logical-looking version of the emergence of a universal just state, led by the expected savior – Imam Mahdi. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Mahdi (Arabic: مُحَمَّد ابْن ٱلْحَسَن ٱلْمَهْدِي, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Mahdi) is believed by Twelver Shia to be the Mahdi, who has two other eschatologists with Jesus (Jesus) to fulfill their mission to bring peace and justice to the world. The Shivers of Twelver believe that al-Mahdi was born on the 15th of Sha'ban in 870 AD / 256 AH and adopted the Imam at the age of almost four after the assassination of his father, Hassan al-Askari. In the early years of his Imam, he is believed to have had contact with his followers only through the Four Deputies. This period was known as the Small Occult (ٱلْغَيْبَة ٱلصُّغْرَىٰ) and lasted from 873 to 941. A few days before the death of his fourth deputy Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Mohammed al-Samari in 941, he is believed to have sent a letter. to his followers. In this letter from Al-Samari, he announced the beginning of the main occult (ٱلْغَيْبَة ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ), during which the Mahdi was not to have direct contact with his followers, but had instructed them to follow the pious high clergy he had mentioned. some distinctive merits.

2021 ◽  
pp. 167-194
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Gowans

The chapter argues that Pyrrho and ancient Pyrrhonian skepticism (specifically, Sextus Empiricus) are plausibly interpreted as accepting a self-cultivation philosophy, though in somewhat different senses and with some qualification. For both, the existential starting point is an emotionally troubled life rooted in beliefs about the world, and the ideal state of being is a life of tranquility without these beliefs and guided by appearances. It is difficult to say what spiritual exercises Pyrrho thought were needed to achieve the ideal state: perhaps learning his philosophy and habituating ourselves to follow it. However, for Sextus, employment of skeptical arguments was the primary exercise. Since neither Pyrrho nor Sextus supposed we could make assertions about the specific nature of things, neither had a philosophy of human nature in a straightforward sense. Nonetheless, presentations of their outlooks betray some perspective on this (e.g., about the relationship between absence of belief and tranquility).


2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 636-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Claeys

AbstractThis article explores the ideas of “Walking” John Stewart (1747–1822), a little-known adventurer and philosopher active in debates over social reformation during the French Revolutionary period. Renowned as a peripatetic who walked from India to Britain, Stewart befriended Thomas Paine and others during the early years of the Revolution. His main aim was to persuade them of the value of his philosophy, which was derived from French materialism as well as Hindu and Buddhist sources. But Stewart also came under the influence of the Shakers, Dunkers, Moravians, and other North American sectarian communities. As early as 1791 he commended small-scale “cohabitations” of no more than 100 men and 100 women as the ideal form of association. Here, and in his radical approaches to marriage and sexual relationships, he strikingly anticipated the ideas of Robert Owen and the early socialists.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 597-627
Author(s):  
Muslim Hassan Mohammed ◽  
Zryan Hamza Aziz

Aflatun’s thoughts, as great Greek philosopher, are still counted as one of the best references in terms of political philosophy and are in practice in the world of politics. Aflatun owns a utopian state based on the foundation of justice and virtue. Aflatun’s state, ruled by philosopher-kings, is characterized by having particular thoughts about the system of education. Politics is vitally important within Aflatun’s philosophy. It is regarded as means of planning his utopian city. Aflatun believes that political systems can be classified, in accordance to their ruling type, into aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, monarchy and dictatorship. Among them, Aflatun believes that aristocracy is the best since it’s practiced by a philosopher-king.    Aflatun in his ideal state refers to metaphysics as an important basic of his utopian city.  Aflatun’s view is that the ideal state can only be cherished in the life of hereafter, though those in power may be able to find some sort of the ideal life in this world. The philosopher-kings, on the other hand, are able to practice such an ideal life in this world. In Aflatun’s view, any sort of change happening in the world from the perfection towards the imperfection and weakness. This is due to the unstable feature of the world that never stays constantly. Only God is characterized by stableness and mortality.    Aflatun thinks that ‘ethics’ is one of the practical fields of philosophy which shows the will of any human being that depends on performing the duty of individuals in the society to establish social justice. Aflatun states that education refers to the right preparation of human beings to suit the world of justice. He sees the education as the highest virtue. Aflatun repeats that all the social city-state classes have to get the proper education formed in certain phases based on the age of the citizens.


Author(s):  
Michael N. Barnett

How do American Jews envision their role in the world? Are they tribal—a people whose obligations extend solely to their own? Or are they prophetic—a light unto nations, working to repair the world? This book is an interpretation of the effects of these worldviews on the foreign policy beliefs of American Jews since the nineteenth century. The book argues that it all begins with the political identity of American Jews. As Jews, they are committed to their people's survival. As Americans, they identify with, and believe their survival depends on, the American principles of liberalism, religious freedom, and pluralism. This identity and search for inclusion form a political theology of prophetic Judaism that emphasizes the historic mission of Jews to help create a world of peace and justice. The political theology of prophetic Judaism accounts for two enduring features of the foreign policy beliefs of American Jews. They exhibit a cosmopolitan sensibility, advocating on behalf of human rights, humanitarianism, and international law and organizations. They also are suspicious of nationalism—including their own. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that American Jews are natural-born Jewish nationalists, the book charts a long history of ambivalence; this ambivalence connects their early rejection of Zionism with the current debate regarding their attachment to Israel. And, the book contends, this growing ambivalence also explains the rising popularity of humanitarian and social justice movements among American Jews.


Author(s):  
Gerald Gaus

This book lays out a vision for how we should theorize about justice in a diverse society. It shows how free and equal people, faced with intractable struggles and irreconcilable conflicts, might share a common moral life shaped by a just framework. The book argues that if we are to take diversity seriously and if moral inquiry is sincere about shaping the world, then the pursuit of idealized and perfect theories of justice—essentially, the entire production of theories of justice that has dominated political philosophy for the past forty years—needs to change. Drawing on recent work in social science and philosophy, the book points to an important paradox: only those in a heterogeneous society—with its various religious, moral, and political perspectives—have a reasonable hope of understanding what an ideally just society would be like. However, due to its very nature, this world could never be collectively devoted to any single ideal. The book defends the moral constitution of this pluralistic, open society, where the very clash and disagreement of ideals spurs all to better understand what their personal ideals of justice happen to be. Presenting an original framework for how we should think about morality, this book rigorously analyzes a theory of ideal justice more suitable for contemporary times.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-153
Author(s):  
Toufan Aldian Syah

Banking industry has a very important role in economic development in a country. Indonesia, which is the largest Muslim country in the world, certainly has the prospect of the development of Sharia Banking Industry is very good in the future. However, the development of Sharia Bank has been slowing down in recent years and the profitability of sharia comercial banking is still below the ideal value. This study aims to determine the internal factors and external factors that affect the profitability of Sharia Bank in the year of January 2012 until August 2017. The variables used in this study are ROA, Inflation, NPF, and BOPO. The data used is aggregate data of all Sharia Commercial Banks recorded at Bank Indonesia. Measurement of Statistic Description, F-Test, T-Test, Correlation Coefficient, Coefficient of Determination and Multiple Linear Regression using IBM SPSS 21 software. The results showed that significant negative effect of BI rate, NPF and BOPO was found, while Inflation variable showed negative but not significant. Overall, the above variables affect the ROA of 87.7%, while 12.3% is likely to be influenced by other factors.


Author(s):  
Hallie M. Franks

In the Greek Classical period, the symposium—the social gathering at which male citizens gathered to drink wine and engage in conversation—was held in a room called the andron. From couches set up around the perimeter of the andron, symposiasts looked inward to the room’s center, which often was decorated with a pebble mosaic floor. These mosaics provided visual treats for the guests, presenting them with images of mythological scenes, exotic flora, dangerous beasts, hunting parties, or the specter of Dionysos, the god of wine, riding in his chariot or on the back of a panther. This book takes as its subject these mosaics and the context of their viewing. Relying on discourses in the sociology and anthropology of space, it argues that the andron’s mosaic imagery actively contributed to a complex, metaphorical experience of the symposium. In combination with the ritualized circling of the wine cup from couch to couch around the room and the physiological reaction to wine, the images of mosaic floors called to mind other images, spaces, or experiences, and, in doing so, prompted drinkers to reimagine the symposium as another kind of event—a nautical voyage, a journey to a foreign land, the circling heavens or a choral dance, or the luxury of an abundant past. Such spatial metaphors helped to forge the intimate bonds of friendship that are the ideal result of the symposium and that make up the political and social fabric of the Greek polis.


Author(s):  
Laurent Bonnefoy

Contemporary Yemen has an image-problem. It has long fascinated travelers and artists, and to many the country embodies both Arab and Muslim authenticity; it stands at important geostrategic and commercial crossroads. Yet, strangely, Yemen is globally perceived as somehow both marginal and passive, while also being dangerous and problematic. The Saudi offensive launched in 2015 has made Yemen a victim of regional power struggles, while the global “war on terror” has labelled it a threat to international security. This perception has had disastrous effects without generating real interest in the country or its people. On the contrary, Yemen's complex political dynamics have been largely ignored by international observers--resulting in problematic, if not counterproductive, international policies. Yemen and the World aims at correcting these misconceptions and omissions, putting aside the nature of the world's interest in Yemen to focus on Yemen's role on the global stage. Laurent Bonnefoy uses six areas of modern international exchange--globalization, diplomacy, trade, migration, culture and militant Islamism--to restore Yemen to its place at the heart of contemporary affairs. To understand Yemen, he argues, is to understand the Middle East as a whole.


Author(s):  
Dominic Scott

This chapter presents a reading of Plato’s Republic. The Republic is among Plato’s most complex works. From its title, the first-time reader will expect a dialogue about political theory, yet the work starts from the perspective of the individual, coming to focus on the question of how, if at all, justice contributes to an agent’s happiness. Only after this question has been fully set out does the work evolve into an investigation of politics—of the ideal state and of the institutions that sustain it, especially those having to do with education. But the interest in individual justice and happiness is never left behind. Rather, the work weaves in and out of the two perspectives, individual and political, right through to its conclusion. All this may leave one wondering about the unity of the work. The chapter shows that, despite the enormous range of topics discussed, the Republic fits together as a coherent whole.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-208
Author(s):  
Brigitte Le Normand

To understand the distinctiveness of ports under state socialism, it is necessary to shift the focus from the built environment to flows of people, goods, knowledge and capital. In so doing, this article examines the operation of Yugoslavia's main shipping line, Jugolinija, from its inception in 1947 until 1960. This enterprise was based in the port of Rijeka, with both firm and port experiencing rapid growth during this period. The impact of state socialism can be seen in the primacy of the political over the profitability of the firm, with Jugolinija used to advance Yugoslavia's foreign trade and foreign policy, its interests being subordinated to the project of building self-managed socialism. It can also be seen in the unique challenges posed by having to operate at the intersection of the global market and a highly regulated economy – a situation that also created opportunities for the firm as a whole, as well as for its employees, who had access to foreign currency, travel and knowledge of the world. Jugolinija's privileged access to the world in what was still very much a closed society also created opportunities for ‘leaks’ of personnel and goods. Finally, socialist ideology left its imprint on Jugolinija's operations and shaped the ways in which its employees understood their work and the place of the firm within the Yugoslav economy. While it is tempting to see state socialism as ‘getting in the way’ of Jugolinija's business, in actuality the firm was remarkably successful both at operating within the Yugoslav socialist state framework, and capitalizing on the opportunities provided by access to the global market. Jugolinija's employees, in turn, profited from the mobility that came with working for the firm, sometimes at the expense of the enterprise and the state.


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