Islamic World and Near East History Commons^™

"The Garden Of Forking Paths": Islamic Legal Transformations In The Ottoman Empire During The Nineteenth Century, John Bugnacki

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

In the popular imagination, misconceptions abound regarding islamic law. Many outside of the Islamic world believe that Islamic law consists of a discrete series of inviolable, unchanging commands. However, both in historical and contemporary contexts, this characterization is false. The different legal schools within Islamic law have evolved and changed over time in response to surrounding conditions and other legal traditions that have existed alongside it. In the Ottoman Empire this process was particularly evident and, during the nineteenth century, its main tradition of Islamic law underwent an unprecedented transformation that would seek to combine Islamic legal principles within statist …

Into The Red: A Look Into The Reasons Why Refugees Decide To Flee, Settle Or Migrate To And From Morocco, Fadeelah E. Holivay

Master's Theses

This research paper explores some of the main reasons why refugees and asylum seekers, particularly from sub-Saharan African countries, embark on a journey and decide to settle, flee or migrate to and from Morocco. Because of this phenomenon, Morocco has seen a 96% increase of refugees migrating to the borders of Morocco each year for the past three years. Many say that this astonishing increase of migrants choosing Morocco is due to such factors as: wars breaking out regionally across central African and Middle Eastern countries causing them to flee; Morocco being a culturaly diverse francophone country whose laws and …

Yom Kippur War (October 6-25, 1973), Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Reviews and analyses U.S. and Soviet policymaking during the Yom Kippur War between Israel and various Arab countries during October 1973.

Going Gothic: Spanish Unity And Blame In The Legend Of Rodrigo And Florinda, Sara A. Gottardi

Doctoral Dissertations

The Legend of Rodrigo and Florinda is used to explain the causes for the successful Muslim invasion of Spain. My dissertation discusses six medieval versions of this legend, three Muslim and three Christian. I trace variations in blame to identify the different strata of society that are described as the corrosive catalysts for the Visigoths' divine punishment. I also analyze each source's presentation of the Visigothic prior to the invasion and examine how they assess the fracture of Spain into smaller kingdoms after the invasion. Identifying the Muslim invasion as a form of divine chastisement inherently includes the idea that …

The Wolf Attacks: A History Of The Russo-Chechen Conflict, Christina E. Baxter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the Chechens fought against the Russians for independence. The focus in the literature available has been on the wars and the atrocities caused by the wars. The literature then hypothesizes that the insurgency of today is just a continuation of the past. They do not focus on a major event in Chechen history: the Soviet liquidation of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1944. It is this author’s assertion that the liquidation of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR forever changed the mindset of the people because it fractured a society that was once unified. This …

Global Climate Change: The Political Impact Of Global Warming On Developing Countries. The Case Studies Of Egypt And Oman, Eugene Thomas O'Neal

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The discourse of climate change has become important in the field of political science, as well as in the policy-making community. Climate change has become a political phenomenon that has and will greatly impact political stability regionally and globally. Using the ecological security theory as a framework, I explored the relationship between climate change and political stability in developing countries.

This study utilizes both qualitative and quantitative analyses to investigate the relationship between climate change and its effects on political volatility in developing countries. Using regression models, the author examined all non-OECD countries (140 countries) and their relationship to political …

Gina Nahai: Reclaiming Jewish Iranian Identity In The American Diaspora, Mojgan Behmand

Mojgan Behmand

A Dream Deferred: The United States' Role In The Development Of The Kurdistan Regional Government (Krg) From 1991 – 2011, John Bugnacki

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Throughout the history of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the United States has both supported and undermined Kurdish nationalism depending upon changing geopolitical realities. In particular, the U.S. has sought to mollify important regional partners such as Turkey that possess large Kurdish populations who would presumably secede if the KRG were able to demonstrate the viability of an independent, Kurdish state. Despite its general policy of realpolitick, during the Iraq War, the U.S. embarked upon a period of nearly unprecedented positive support to the KRG, which allowed it to emerge as a major force in post-Saddam Iraq. However, the …

Iran: Beyond The Headlines, Musselman Library

Other Exhibits & Events

Poster with Fall 2014 events for Iran: Beyond the Headlines series.

Iran: Beyond the Headlines is a learning series that includes book discussions, film screenings, and lecture designed to help us move past today's headlines and explore the history, art, culture, and everyday life of Iranians. Series events are scheduled for September 2014 - April 2015. All events are free and open to the public.

“In Light Of Real Alternatives”: Negotiations Of Fertility And Motherhood In Morocco And Oman, Victoria E. Mohr

Student Publications

Many states in the Arab world have undertaken wide-ranging family planning polices in the last two decades in an effort to curb high fertility rates. Oman and Morocco are two such countries, and their policies have had significantly different results. Morocco experienced a swift drop in fertility rates, whereas Oman’s fertility has declined much more slowly over several decades. Many point to the more conservative religious and cultural context of Oman for their high fertility rates, however economics and the state of biomedical health care often present a more compelling argument for the distinct differences between Omani and Moroccan family …

Medicine And Doctoring In Ancient Mesopotamia, Emily K. Teall

Grand Valley Journal of History

Medicine and pharmaceuticals in Mesopotamia during the span of c. 3000-1000 BCE were more sophisticated than many ancient and modern scholars from other cultures would concede. The limited historical evidence in the form of cuneiform texts and the complementary archaeological material allow for medical practice in this long time span to be examined as a whole. There were two dichotomous traditions of healing present in ancient Mesopotamia, one more therapeutic and one more religious; they were non-competitive and both considered reputable and essential. The therapeutic tradition is given a closer examination in order to provide a picture of how pharmaceutical …

Die Widerspiegelung Von Abergläubischen Und Religiösen Glaubensvorstellungen Des Islams Anhand Von Beispielen In Emine Sevgi Özdamars Das Leben Ist Eine Karawanserei – Hat Zwei Türen – Aus Einer Kam Ich Rein Aus Der Anderen Ging Ich Raus, Shiva Rahmani Khanghahi

Open Access Theses

In the following work, I deal with the relationship of faith to superstition, and their reflection in German literature based on religious studies in a literary work.

First, there will be an introduction to this work and the topic and then the subject of superstition will be generally treated. After a description of superstition and beliefs is a discussion of their impact on culture and literature, illustrated by means of examples in a literary work of Emine Sevgi Özdamar. In the next chapter based on historical investigation, religion, its origin, its development and role is generally described, whereas the focus …

From Monuments To Ruins: An Analysis Of Historical Preservation In Jordan, Mason Seymore

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The city of Amman, Jordan manages a plethora of archaeological sites that date back several millennia. Unfortunately, with the limited resources the government has at its disposal, the city is unable to conserve the sites in the best way possible. Because of this, a public disconnect between the value of history and attempts that are made to preserve it has emerged. This study explored the effects of historical conservation in Jordanian society. More specifically, the study focused on the relationship between how the public and the government perceives historical conservation efforts in Jordan. This study attempted to answer two research …

Whose India?: The Independence Struggle In British And Indian Fiction And History, Teresa Hubel

Teresa Hubel

For centuries, India has captured our imagination. Far more than a mere geographical presence, India is also an imaginative construct shaped by competing cultures, emotions, and ideologies. In Whose India? Teresa Hubel examines literary and historical texts by the British and Indian writers who gave meaning to the construct “India” during the final decades of the Empire. Feminist and postcolonial in its approach, this work describes the contest between British imperialists and Indian nationalists at that historical moment when India sought to achieve its independence; that is, when the definition, acquisition, and ownership of India was most vehemently at …

Tempo And Mode Of Domestication During The Neolithic Revolution: Evidence From Dental Mesowear And Microwear Of Sheep, Melissa Zolnierz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Neolithic Revolution marked a dramatic change in human subsistence practices. In order to explain this change, we must understand the motive forces behind it. Researchers have proposed many different stimuli, with most theories invoking environmental dynamics, human population density increases beyond environmental carrying capacity, and the natural outgrowth of human and plant/animal interactions. However, unanswered questions remain concerning the mechanics of animal domestication. Traditional studies of changing faunal morphology and skeletal population profiles offer some clues, but such research has had limited success identifying stages intermediate between wild and domesticated forms, which makes it difficult to discern initial attempts …

Frederick Ii: Holy Roman Emperor Extraordinaire, Prose/Poem 7/23/2014, Charles Kay Smith

Charles Kay Smith

Frederick avoided fighting the 6th Crusade by negotiating a peaceful sharing of Jerusalem by people of all faiths. No doubt it helped that he spoke Arabic and personally engaged in five months of negotiations rather than combat.

Dante And Islam, A Prose/Poem 6/19/2014, Charles Kay Smith

Charles Kay Smith

In this poem, Dante is revealed as a scholar of Islamic literature who was influenced by two islamic texts about Muhammad's visits to Purgatory and Hell narrated in the The Isra, and whose visit to Paradise was recorded in The Mirage. The concept of Limbo introduced by Dante in his Divine Comedy was an Islamic/Christian hybrid new to his first readers.

Kashmiri Marsiya (Elegy) Manuscripts: The Valuable Sources For The Dissemination, Reconstruction And Safeguarding The History And Culture, Tawfeeq Nazir, Javaid Hussain Bhat

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Manuscripts are the links to the historical facts that will otherwise remain unknown to the world. They contain authentic information and facts about the social, political and cultural aspects of a nation. Therefore their intellectual value cannot be over emphasized. Many countries and nations are joining hands towards preserving such cultural assets by way of taking conservation and preservation measures including digitization and documentation.

Marsiya or Elegy has gained more importance after the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain (a.s) and his companions and household in Karbala. Marsiya has been since written and recited in order to mourning the tragic events of …

Letter To Editor Indiana Magazine Of History, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Letter responding to comparison of Guantanamo bay terrorist detainees with the noted Indiana Civil War case of Lambdin Milligan, ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, who was detained by Union military authorities during the Civil War for his pro-confederate activities and tried by a military court.

Claiming The Mad, Samar Nour

Theses and Dissertations

Mental asylums in Egypt during the colonial period.