Digital Commons Network^™

2025-2026 Annual Report: Leadership, Spirituality & Education, Muslim Student Life

Muslim Student Life

This annual report provides a concise overview of the Muslim Chaplaincy and its initiatives and programs for Muslim students during the 2025-2026 academic year. It showcases only a select few of the programs and accomplishments of the Muslim community at Syracuse University and beyond.

Cultural Diplomacy Through Museums: An Analysis Of The Role Of Sheikh Dr. Sultan Al Qasimi In Promoting Intercultural Dialogue Through History, Culture, And Tourism, Abdulla Almheiri, Fareed Awae, Muhammad Talhah Jima’Ain, Hamdan Chehdimae, Mohamad Azrien Mohamed Adnan, Fuad Trayek

All Works

This study aims to analyze the role of cultural diplomacy in the Emirate of Sharjah through museums. Particular emphasis is placed on the important contributions of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Al Qasimi in promoting intercultural communication and consolidating cultural identity through the support of history, archaeology, and tourism. The study uses a quantitative approach with a survey research design. The perspectives of 285 museum visitors have been analyzed based on arithmetic means and standard deviations to measure their level of awareness regarding the museum’s historical, cultural, and tourism dimensions. The findings indicate a high level of awareness concerning the …

The Historical Persistence Of Working-Class Culture: How Laborers Created The Ethical Foundation Of Western Civilization, Kenneth Atkinson

Faculty Publications

This article highlights four historical events that shape our present: the world’s first industrial strike in ancient Egypt to protest workers’ health and safety; working-class efforts to improve labor conditions during the Roman Republic and Middle Ages through strikes and the creation of guilds; the social justice activism of the prophets of Western religions (all working-class folks!); and the creation of the selfie and the transition from a culture of character to our present obsession with celebrities and individualism that began during the Renaissance. Each case highlights unique features of working-class culture, working class reactions to societal changes, and the …

Wv Bully Pulpits, Robert Ellison

English Faculty Research

This presentation is grounded in Theodore Roosevelt’s notion of the “bully pulpit,” defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a “public office or position of authority that provides its occupant with the opportunity to speak out and be listened to on any issue” (in this context, “bully” is used in its 19th-century sense of “very good” or “excellent,” not in its modern sense of someone who likes to intimidate, threaten, or actually harm others).

Roosevelt used the term metaphorically, but my presentation will focus on literal pulpits, specifically those occupied by ministers whose sermons challenge the prevailing orthodoxies of a …

Charity Simone, Mark Naison, Anthony Abd-Al Shafi Rosado

Oral Histories

Simone’s path to leadership was inspired by her late mentor, Charles Foster, who encouraged her to be an active voice in their community. After seeing issues with building maintenance and a lack of clear communication, Simone ran for office and was elected Treasurer of her Building Association in 2023. Through this role, she noticed that community work is complex and needs navigating different opinions, yet the experience ultimately reinforced her belief that community is a “verb.” To her, it is an intentional, ongoing action that requires showing up every day to hold the system accountable.

A significant aspect of Simone's …

Ammar Abdul Rahman, Mark Naison, Anthony Abd-Al Shafi Rosado, Jane Kani Edward

Oral Histories

As a leader, Rahman plays many roles beyond leading prayers. He serves as a counselor, advisor, and guide, especially for immigrants and first-generation college students who may lack extended family support. He helps community members navigate not only education but also careers, marriage, and faith-based decisions through an Islamic lens. At Fordham University, he works to build a Muslim community through programs such as Ramadan events, spiritual counseling, mentorship initiatives, and multifaith dialogue.

Overall, Imam Rahman's lived experience demonstrates the role of a religious leader who continues to support minority communities and immigrants. His messages and teachings show how Islam …

Virginia Commonwealth University Undergraduate Bulletin (2026), Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Undergraduate bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2026-2027. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for undergraduate programs

1340–1345: Ibn Qayyim Al-Ǧawziyya On The Question Of Permanent Truce, Suleiman A. Mourad

Middle East Studies: Faculty Publications

This article analyses Ibn Qayyim al-Ǧawziyya’s discussion of permanent truce (al-hudna al-muṭlaqa) in his “Legal Judgements about the People of Protected Status” (Aḥkām ahl al-ḏimma). Focusing on Ibn al-Qayyim’s method and arguments, the article examines the content of a relevant section from the work, situating it within the broader discussion of “truce” in the Sunnī legal tradition. Ibn al-Qayyim manages to ground permanent truce in the Prophetic tradition. Both his argument and its justification do not conform to anything we find in Sunnī law, including Ibn al-Qayyim’s own Ḥanbalī school. The article thus underscores the creativity …

Characteristics Of Women Who Fast During Pregnancy: Findings From The Kuwait Birth Cohort Study, Abdullah Al-Taiar, Ali H. Ziyab, Reem Al Sabah, Ahmed N. Albatineh, James Blando, Majeda S. Hammoud

Epidemiology, Biostatistics, & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Fasting during pregnancy is a widespread practice in Muslim communities, yet its health implications remain poorly understood. A lack of conceptual frameworks and limited understanding of the characteristics of women who fast during pregnancy have hindered research in this area. This study examines the differences in several nutritional biomarkers between women who fasted and those who did not and identifies factors associated with fasting behaviour. We analysed data from the Kuwait Birth Cohort in which information on fasting, sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviours was collected via structured interviews between 2017 and 2021. Clinical and laboratory data were extracted from medical …

Killing Like A State: Explaining The Edge Cases Of Rebel Perpetration Of Wartime Genocidal Violence, Cheng Xu

Government: Faculty Publications

Genocide scholarship overwhelmingly identifies states as the primary perpetrators of genocidal violence. While non-state armed groups, particularly pro-government militias, have been implicated in genocide, rebel-perpetrated wartime genocidal violence remains exceedingly rare. This paper argues that state-centric explanations of genocide can be exported to explain these edge cases. I argue that four high-threshold conditions must align for rebels to commit wartime genocidal violence: (1) effective territorial control, (2) the dispensability of civilian support, (3) a rigid and exclusionary ideological program, and (4) perceptions of threat, typically constitutive rather than military, where the target group is framed as incompatible with the nascent …

Manhaj Tafsir Al-Azhar, A.N. Amir

Pre-2000

Syaikh Abdul Malik bin Abdul Karim Amrullah (Buya Hamka) (Februari 17, 1908 - Julai 24, 1981) merupakan pemikir dan pentafsir fiqh Islam yang cukup masyhur di abad ini. Pada sosoknya yang trampil itu terungkap cita-cita besar dan ketangkasan idealisme seorang faqih dan filasuf agung.

Fall 2025 Student Scholar Symposium Abstract Volume, Chapman University Center For Undergraduate Excellence

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

No abstract provided.

Bridging Machine Learning And Islamic Scholarship: A Study In Hadith Translation And Similarity Analysis, Asiyah R. Speight

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Translation of Islamic religious texts poses unique challenges requiring both linguistic and theological expertise. This study explores the application of neural machine translation (NMT) models to Arabic-English hadith translation while analyzing semantic similarity patterns across different human translations. Using the complete Sahih Bukhari corpus (7,550 hadiths) as the primary dataset, we adopt a dual approach combining transfer learning and comprehensive neural network analysis to demonstrate the critical impact of corpus size on model performance.

First, we fine-tune a pre-trained MarianMT Arabic-English translation model on the full Sahih Bukhari corpus, comparing models trained on 40 hadiths versus 7,550 hadiths. Performance is …

Apocalypticism And Prognostication In Early ShiʿI Literature, Mohammad Amin Mansouri

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Arts and Humanities

This article studies the origins of Jafr, an apocalyptic, eschatological and occult book attributed to the first Shiʿi imam, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (d. 661). While it remains unclear whether Jafr was ever physically composed, it became associated with lettrism (ʿilm al-ḥurūf) in medieval Sunni and Shiʿi literature. Jafr gradually evolved into a crucial component of Islamic occult traditions and influenced various cosmological theories as well as the letter-magic practices of prominent Sunni and Shiʿi occultists. Despite its historical significance, confusion regarding Jafr’s roots, authorship and content in Shiʿi sources from the third to fifth centuries AH …

The Mālikī School In The United Arab Emirates: Historical Roots, Methodological Specificities, And Contemporary Prospects., Dr. Hafiz Abdel Rahman Mohamed

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Papers | بحوث هيئة التدريس المحكمة

No abstract provided.

Associate Professor Of Linguistics, Tasbeeh Yasser Elessaily Tye, Wessam Morsi Wm

English Language and Literature

Code-mixing occurs when speakers alternate between two or more languages within a single utterance, and it is used

in different social contexts such as academic, media, and daily conversations. Given the paucity of studies conducted on code-

mixing phenomenon at the university level in Egypt, the current study aims to examine the perception of phycology Department

students toward English-Arabic code-mixing at a private university in Egypt. The participants of the study were 70 Egyptian female

and male students that aged from 17-23 years old. A survey of 18 questions was distributed to the participants. The qualitative and

quantitative methods were …

Cv: Elizabeth Sartell (Theology, Islamic Studies), Elizabeth Sartell

Theology Department Faculty Curricula Vitae

No abstract provided.

Investigating Linguistic Boundaries: The Impact Of English-Arabic Codemixing Among Psychology Students In Egypt, Tasbeeh Yasser Elessaily Ty, Wessam Morsi Wm

English Language and Literature

Code-mixing occurs when speakers alternate between two or more languages within a single utterance, and it is used in different social contexts such as academic, media, and daily conversations. Given the paucity of studies conducted on codemixing phenomenon at the university level in Egypt, the current study aims to examine the perception of phycology Department students toward English-Arabic code-mixing at a private university in Egypt. The participants of the study were 70 Egyptian female and male students that aged from 17-23 years old. A survey of 18 questions was distributed to the participants. The qualitative and quantitative methods were used …

Based In Pakistan, A Global University For Muslims - Interview With The Aga Khan

University press releases and calendars

No abstract provided.

Partition, Passport And The Documentary Life Of Belonging, Haimanti Roy

History Faculty Publications

As India and Pakistan emerged as two new nation-states after 1947, questions around nationality and citizenship animated official and public discourses. While there were constitutional and legal pronouncements to clarify these matters, this article suggests that particular documents governing mobility became central to how such issues were framed and understood. In particular, this article focuses on the Indian passport and similar documents of mobility control, such as the domicile certificate, permits, and so on, to examine how they worked singly and in conjunction to frame the documentary life of belonging. The article also focuses on particular mobile groups, Muslim minorities …

A General Bibliometric And Conceptual Structure Approach To Global Trend On Poverty Research In Islam Using Biblioshiny, Mohd Zaid Mustafar, Mohd Khairul Nizam Mohd Aziz, Dziauddin Sharif, Md Azzaat Ahsanie Lokman, Ashraff Bin Ruslan, Saiyidi Mat Roni

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study maps the intellectual landscape of research on poverty in Islam using a structured bibliometric approach with Biblioshiny (Bibliometrix) in RStudio. A Scopus search (TITLE-ABS-KEY “poverty” AND “Islam”) conducted on 1 September 2023 identified 279 English-language journal articles published between 1976 and 2023. The corpus spans 227 sources, 646 authors, and 10,262 cited references, with an annual growth rate of about 5%. Performance and science-mapping analyses reveal two “motor themes”—Islamic finance and healthcare/public health—while spiritually anchored constructs (e.g., maqasid, zakat governance, waqf, spiritual poverty) remain peripheral in co-occurrence and thematic maps. Citation patterns indicate higher field-normalized impact when studies …

Interview With Robert Cliver, Jacey Terrill

What Happened Here

This is a transcript of an oral history interview with Robert Cliver, a professor of History at Cal Poly Humboldt for eighteen years. He is highly critical of the administration’s choices during the protest and greatly supports the protesters, not only in their right to protest but in their messaging. He explains his negative views on the Israeli government, while also emphasizing that the protesters did not act from antisemitic sentiments. Much of his interview comes from the perspective of a historian, and knowing this document may be used by historians in the future, he extensively explains his reasoning. He …

Internationalizing Islamic Higher Education In Indonesia: A Lesson Learned From Australia, Sibawaihi Sibawaihi, Dwi Ratnasari, Sri Purnami, Melanie Brooks

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Internationalization plays a crucial role in enhancing the quality and global recognition of Islamic higher education institutions in Indonesia. This study investigates how these institutions implement internationalization by drawing insights from the experience of Monash University in Australia. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were collected through interviews and document analysis. The findings indicate that while Islamic higher education institutions have implemented key aspects of internationalization, there is still room for improvement. Institutions must continuously enhance educational quality while maintaining their unique identity to attract international students. Greater autonomy in financial and administrative management is necessary to align Islamic …

Who Really Invented Servant Leadership?, Essraa Nawar

Library Articles and Research

"That program gave me tools and vocabulary I still carry today—frameworks like transformational leadership, emotional intelligence, and ethical decision-making. But one concept stood out to me more than any other: servant leadership.

Robert Greenleaf’s idea that a great leader begins as a servant—putting others’ needs first, listening deeply, and nurturing the growth of others—felt less like something I was learning, and more like something I was remembering.

Because I had seen it before. Not in business school. Not in theory. But in faith, family, and the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ."

Intergenerational Mobility In Ottoman Istanbul: Evidence From Court Records, Metin M. Coşgel, José-Antonio Espín-Sánchez, Emre Özer

Discussion Papers

We use data from the Istanbul court registers spanning from the 16th -19th centuries to establish, for the first time, long-term trends in intergenerational mobility in a major premodern city. The dataset contains information on over 270,000 individuals who appeared in court in various roles, including litigants, witnesses, and representatives. Crucially, it records the honorific titles (if any) of individuals and their fathers, which we use as measures for socioeconomic status. Our goal is to trace long-term changes in Istanbul’s social structure, analyze the relationship between fathers’ and sons’ titles to assess shifts in intergenerational mobility, and determine whether these …

Ua12/2/2 Talisman: Connection, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Spring 2025 Talisman:

• Alali, Cecilia & Ragan Harrington. Connection
• Hardesty, Emma. On a Roll – Dungeons & Dragons
• Muscutt, Carson. Grinding Through Life – Molotov Skateshop
• Cox, Kate. Stopwatch
• Harrington, Ragan. 1 Campus, 7 Strangers – Logan Hesse, Nicholas Basile, Spencer Winterbottom, Alliyah Jones, Alex Gehring, Annie McClurg, Rowan Finley
• Vickers, Abigail. Forged in Combat – Mixed Martial Arts
• Wood-Morris, Oli. Survivors to Neighbors – Bosnian Refugees
• Jordan, Shylin. Severed Roots
• Bivens, Emily. Behind the Screen – Social Media
• Dean, Clarissa. Shear Talent – Shake Rag Barbershop
• Sutton, Avery. For the Love of the Old – Thrift Shopping
• Phelps, Maggie. …

A Fiqhi Vision For Investing In Gold Company Stock (Legal, Classifications, Issues, And Alternatives), Dr. Mohamed Hassan Abdel-Wahhab

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Papers | بحوث هيئة التدريس المحكمة

This research addresses the investment in gold company stocks from a fiqhi (juridical) perspective, focusing on the legal classification of purchasing stocks in companies whose primary assets are gold. The study highlights the fiqhi rulings regarding gold and silver, with emphasis on the condition of equivalence and handover in financial transactions. As financial markets have evolved, the trading of gold company stocks has raised questions about the legitimacy of such transactions and their compliance with Islamic law. The research aims to evaluate the Sharia-compliant alternatives for these transactions, especially when physical handover, which is a condition for the validity of …

Recovering Palestinian Lives: Qudsiyya Khurshid From Mandate Palestine To Postwar Pennsylvania, Andrea L. Stanton

Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

This article works to recover the life story of Qudsiyya Khurshid, a once well-known Mandate Palestinian intellectual and educator, who wrote essays for publication and for broadcasting on the Palestine Broadcasting Service, while working as a principal at girls’ schools in al-Bireh and Jerusalem. One of a number of educated women active in the Mandate public sphere, she disappeared from public consciousness after the Nakba. But in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, where she had moved with her husband, a naturalized U.S. citizen, she became a prominent figure in civic work and as a community speaker on Palestinian and Middle Eastern life …

Oceanic Wahhabism, Nicholas P. Roberts

Student Scholarship

At some point around 1810, a leading Wahhabi theologian in the capital of the First Saudi State fielded an intriguing question: Although Wahhabi leaders preached the ideals of enmity and violence toward non-Wahhabi peoples, could Wahhabi merchants travel to non-Wahhabi lands, do business with non-Wahhabi persons, and reside among them while pursuing commercial agend as? The theologian answered yes. I argue that this question and its answer reveal a lived reality in Najd that historians have yet to fully uncover. The theologian’s answer reveals how Arabia’s interior where Wah habismemerged was enmeshed alongside Arabia’s coasts within the broader Afro-Asian Indian …

The Social Interpretation Of Surat Al-Balad And Its Impact On Addressing Poverty, Dr. Ali Abdul Aziz Sayour

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Papers | بحوث هيئة التدريس المحكمة

This research is titled The Social Interpretation of Surat Al-Balad and Its Impact on Addressing Poverty answers a question: How does Surat Al-Balad, through its interpretation from a social perspective, provide solutions to the phenomenon of poverty prevalence? The research has two topics: the first is indicating the research terminology, and the second is dividing Surat Al-Balad into Four Sections; each section contains several verses presenting a method that contributes to addressing poverty. In this research, both descriptive and deductive methodology was used. It concluded with several results, including: proving that Surat Al-Balad provides us with a model that is …