Islamic Studies Commons^™

Why I Say "Merry Christmas": A Dei Perspective, Essraa Nawar

Library Articles and Research

"A few weeks ago, Dr. Daniele Struppa, our Chapman University President approached me with a cultural protocol question regarding sending holiday cards to his international collaborators oversees. Dr. Struppa who currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the American University of Sharjah has become professionally and personally acquainted with some members of the Royal family of the United Arab Emirates, some Social Entrepreneurs, Businessmen, Professors, Scholars and others through this academic engagement. Dr. Struppa was wondering whether or not it is appropriate to send a Chapman University Christmas Card during the Holidays even though December is technically not a …

Building Bridges Through Shared Spirituality: A Practical Theology Of Fasting And Prayer Among Christians And Muslims In Mombasa, Mathew Musyoki

The Journal of Social Encounters

Christians and Muslims who live at the coastal region of Kenya frequently engage in inter-religious conflict. Following Gerben Heitink, action domains of religion and society where practical theology is seen as a theology [medium] of action. This research aims at establishing what Christian pastors and Muslim imams could potentially do to build bridges around the shared spirituality of prayer and fasting. Questionnaires and interview guides for focused group discussions were used to collect data which from a sample size of 60 respondents who were selected randomly and purposively. The data were analyzed and the results discussed. The research established that …

Ritual, Spectacle, And Theatre In Late Medieval Seville (Chapter 1), Christopher B. Swift

Publications and Research

From the fall of Islamic Išbīliya in 1248 to the conquest of the New World, Seville was a nexus of economic and religious power where interconfessional living among Christians, Jews, and Muslims was negotiated on public stages. From out of seemingly irreconcilable ideologies of faith, hybrid performance culture emerged in spectacles of miraculous transformation, disciplinary processionals, and representations of religious identity. Ritual, Spectacle, and Theatre in Late Medieval Seville reinvigorates the study of medieval Iberian theater by revealing the ways in which public expressions of devotion, penance, and power fostered cultural reciprocity, rehearsed religious difference, and ultimately helped establish Seville …

Understanding An American Paradox: An Overview Of The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom, Spearit

Articles

In The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom, Sahar Aziz unveils a mechanism that perpetuates the persecution of religion. While the book’s title suggests a problem that engulfs Muslims, it is not a new problem, but instead a recurring theme in American history. Aziz constructs a model that demonstrates how racialization of a religious group imposes racial characteristics on that group, imbuing it with racial stereotypes that effectively treat the group as a racial rather than religious group deserving of religious liberty.

In identifying a racialization process that effectively veils religious discrimination, Aziz’s book points to several important …

Jesus And Spirituality In Interreligious Perspectives, Nancy M. Martin

Religious Studies Faculty Articles and Research

Rarely do members of diverse religions engaged in interreligious dialogue find agreement on metaphysics and doctrine, though such conversations may be very fruitful and lead to greater understanding and mutual illumination. In the area of religious experience, however, recognition of commonality may be much more readily apparent, and in such encounters, the life and spirituality of Jesus provide a meeting ground. This essay examines Jesus as a catalyst for spiritual inspiration and transformation from Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist and nontraditional perspectives. As an integral figure in Islam, Jesus appears in the writings of the likes of Ibn Arabi, Rumi and more …

What Is The Rosary? Why A Set Of Beads And Prayers Are Central To Catholic Faith, Kayla Harris

Marian Library Faculty Publications

It’s one of the most famous moments in modern Catholicism: the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima. The Virgin Mary allegedly appeared to three Portuguese children in 1917, when much of the world was engulfed in World War I. Over a series of six appearances, Mary emphasized to these young shepherds that to bring peace, they should pray the rosary every day.

Devotion to the rosary already had a centuries-old history, and the Marian apparition at Fatima only deepened it. So what is a rosary, and why is it so important to many Catholics?

Yunini Copy Of Sahih Al-Bukhari, Feruz Kholmuminov, Oybek Sotvoldiev

The Light of Islam

Among the collections of hadiths, the work of Imam al-Bukhari “Sahih al-Bukhari” is recognized as the most reliable book of hadiths. From the history of the creation of the work, it is known that Imam al-Bukhari created this work with great patience and perseverance for 16 years. It should be noted that the ideal and perfect state in which it has come down to our days is the result of the enormous work put into it. This process consisted of several stages. At the frst stage, several storytellers listened to “Sahih” from Imam Bukhari himself and wrote the book directly …

The Virgin Mary: Bridging Muslims And Catholics, Carl Chudy, Sx

The Journal of Social Encounters

This article reflects on Maryam of Islam, and what she may say to the Virgin Mary of Christianity through our sacred scriptures. Beginning with the Qur’an, the focus is on key verses that are relevant to her birth and early life (Q 3:33-37a), the annunciation of ‘Isa (Jesus) (Q 19: 17b-21; 3:45-51), and the birth of ‘Isa (Q 19:22-26). Likewise, there is a brief consideration of the Qur’an regarding Maryam’s submission to God. The scripture traditions of the Qur’an and Bible together underline convergence as well as divergence in their distinctive journeys of faith and how they see the Virgin …

A Bridge Between Earth & Sky: How The Natural World Shaped The Civilizations Of Ancient And Early-Modern Persia, Sophia Cabana

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This project seeks to investigate the ways in which nature shaped the culture of ancient Persia through technology, architecture, agriculture, and art. Furthermore, this project investigates how the symbols and mentalities of ancient Persia were carried forward into the early-modern period. Achaemenid Persia and Babylon are studied as societies which influenced one another and combined to create the foundation of Persian culture as it is currently understood, which then combined in later centuries with other Middle Eastern and Central Asian cultural movements to produce the Safavid and Mughal Empires. The Safavids and Mughals imitated and revived Persian culture in order …

Foundations For Muslim-Christian Dialogue And Peacemaking: Ideas About God, Faith, And Prayer, Jon Armajani

The Journal of Social Encounters

In this essay, I discuss God, faith, and sacred texts (including the Bible, Quran, and Hadith), and some ways that they constitute foundations for peacemaking between Christians and Muslims. The essay presents my personal, ethnic, and religious background in order to contextualize the ideas which the essay analyzes, and then describes three Christian theological approaches to non-Christian religions. Those approaches are particularist (or exclusivist), inclusivist, and pluralist. The essay discusses the historical background and significance of Vatican II, which took place between 1962 and 1965, and Nostra Aetate, published in 1965. The essay then analyzes three theological principles which undergird …

Kreeft's "Between One Faith And Another: Engaging Conversations On The World's Great Religions" (, Elizabeth Pearson

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Sikh Self-Sacrifice And Religious Representation During World War I, John Soboslai

Department of Religion Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper analyzes the ways Sikh constructions of sacrifice were created and employed to engender social change in the early twentieth century. Through an examination of letters written by Sikh soldiers serving in the British Indian Army during World War I and contemporary documents from within their global religious, legislative, and economic context, I argue that Sikhs mobilized conceptions of self-sacrifice in two distinct directions, both aiming at procuring greater political recognition and representation. Sikhs living outside the Indian subcontinent encouraged their fellows to rise up and throw off their colonial oppressors by recalling mythic moments of the past and …

Sikh Self-Sacrifice And Religious Representation During World War I, John Soboslai

Department of Religion Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper analyzes the ways Sikh constructions of sacrifice were created and employed to engender social change in the early twentieth century. Through an examination of letters written by Sikh soldiers serving in the British Indian Army during World War I and contemporary documents from within their global religious, legislative, and economic context, I argue that Sikhs mobilized conceptions of self-sacrifice in two distinct directions, both aiming at procuring greater political recognition and representation. Sikhs living outside the Indian subcontinent encouraged their fellows to rise up and throw off their colonial oppressors by recalling mythic moments of the past and …

Christian And Islamic Perspectives On The Ethical Dilemma Of In Vitro Fertilization (Ivf), Stephanie Sariles

Dialogue & Nexus

After defining IVF procedures and the associated biomedical ethics with each, I will compare and contrast Christian and Islamic perspectives on IVF. Christianity in general does not accept IVF, because it is an unnatural method of reproduction that can affect Christian traditions such as parenthood and marriage. Despite this view, Protestants, in particular, have opened up to IVF as a method for treating infertility. Islam fully accepts IVF provided the married couple follows Islamic law. Sunni Muslims do not accept gamete donation, but Shi’ite Muslims are more flexible with gamete donation and surrogacy.

Religion And Genocide Nexuses: Bosnia As Case Study, Kate E. Temoney

Department of Religion Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Social scientists have been involved in systematic research on genocide for over forty years, yet an under-examined aspect of genocide literature is a sustained focus on the nexuses of religion and genocide, a lacuna that this article seeks to address. Four ways religion and genocide intersect are proposed, of which two will receive specific attention: (1) how religious rhetoric and (2) how religious individuals and institutions foment genocide. These two intersections are further nuanced by combining a Weberian method of typologies, the Durkheimian theory of collective violence, and empirical data in the form of rhetoric espoused by perpetrators and supporters …

Proliferating A Culture Of Fear: Islam In A Post 9/11 America, Setareh Motamedi

Political Science Student Papers and Posters

The threat of terrorism perceived by the American public has been shaped by a series of traumatic events over the past decade. In the years following the attacks of September 11, 2001, fear of terrorism has extended beyond the threat of terrorist groups. Much of the American public considers not only terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, but the entire religion of Islam to be a security threat. In much of this security discourse, ideas of hatred, violence, and terror have become associated with Islam. This study explores that association, and aims to identify what motivates existing stereotypes. Drawing on research from …

Islam In Saudi Arabia: The Homogeneous Portrayal And Heterogeneous Reality, John Rogeberg

Masters Theses

The objective of this thesis is to apply commonly held statistics in the world of missiology regarding folk Islamic practices to the least likely country for such practices to be found, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is believed by most to be the birth-site of an austere, strict, orthodox form of Islam, responsible for the nature and nurture (education, promotion, and financing) of Islamic extremism. Conversely, I posit that through tracing the development of Wahhabism and its current global influence on Islam, its literalist interpretation becomes a profitable tool for the student of anthropology, missiology, and cross-cultural studies to gain a …

Rulers, Religion, And Riches: Why The West Got Rich And The Middle East Did Not, Jared Rubin

Economics Faculty Books and Book Chapters

For centuries following the spread of Islam, the Middle East was far ahead of Europe. Yet, the modern economy was born in Europe. Why was it not born in the Middle East? In this book Jared Rubin examines the role that Islam played in this reversal of fortunes. It argues that the religion itself is not to blame; the importance of religious legitimacy in Middle Eastern politics was the primary culprit. Muslim religious authorities were given an important seat at the political bargaining table, which they used to block important advancements such as the printing press and lending at interest. …

Salafism, Wahhabism, And The Definition Of Sunni Islam, Rob J. Williams

Honors Program: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

My capstone deals with the historical definition of Sunni Islam, and how it has changed in approximately the past 200 years. Around 1800, Sunni Islam was pretty clearly defined by an adherence to one of four maddhabs, or schools of law: the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali schools and are all based in nearly a millennium of legal scholarship. Since 1800, however, numerous reform movements have sprung up which disavow previous scholarship and interpret Islamic law their own way. However, certain reformist groups, such as Traditionalist Salafis and Wahhabis, claim that their version of Islam is the only “pure” …

Are Christian College Students Equipped To Share Their Faith With Their Muslim Friends?: A Plan Of Action, Tim Orr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

According to Pew Research Center, the U.S. Muslim population will double by 2030. Training the church to reach this group of people is vital. This project proposes that the Christian college is the best resource to train students to reach their Muslim friends and neighbors for Christ because these institutions have at their disposal a rich reservoir of resources that are vital to providing the biblical, theological, missiological, sociological, and cross-cultural knowledge that is necessary to be effective witnesses for Christ. The project also identifies four important components to successful ministry to Muslims. The four components include spiritual vitality, cultural …

Isis & Eschatology: Apocalyptic Motivations Behind The Formation And Development Of The Islamic State, Matthew Henry Musselwhite

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The goal of this thesis was to analysis the Islamic State’s apocalyptic nature by studying both classic Islamic eschatology and the Islamic State’s online magazine Dabiq. In order to conduct this research, I separated my thesis into two separate angles of approach. The first angle (chapters one & two) exclusively looked at Islamic eschatology, classic apocalyptic texts, shifts in how literature was written over time, and on examples of modern messianic revolutions occurring. In this way, I attempted to emphasize how extra-Qur’anic texts have played a large part in providing details for what Islamic eschatology entails. I also looked at …

In Jerusalem By Mahmoud Darwish, Uri Horesh

Transference

Translated from the Arabic by Uri Horesh.

Women And Religion In Nigeria, Fatai A. Olasupo

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Religious Practice And The Phenomenology Of Everyday Violence In Contemporary India, Vikash Singh

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article focuses on ‘dread’ in religious practice in contemporary India. It argues that the dread of everyday existence, which is as salient in a biographical temporality as it pervades the phenomenal environment, connects and transfers between religious practices and everyday life in India for the marginalized masses. For such dread, dominant liberal discourses, such as those of the nation, economy, or ego-centric performance, have neither the patience nor the forms to represent, perform, and abreact. Formulated in dialogue with critical theory, phenomenology, and psychoanalytic theory, this article conceives of religious practices in continuum with the economic, social, ethical, and …

Neighbor-Love As A Keystone To Christian-Muslim Dialogue, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Chapter by Brian Stiltner from a collection of essays edited by Marinus C. Iwuchukwu and Brian Stiltner.

"This is a collection of essays that address inter-faith dialogue between Muslims and Christians in America and Africa. It addresses the issues dealing with how some Christians depict America as founded on Christian principles, and how this might deter dialogue across different religions. The goal is to get people to converse, not as formulaic Muslims or Christians, but as people with complex, plural, and ever-changing identities that defuse religious antagonism"--Publisher website.

Love, Nancy M. Martin, Joseph Runzo

Religious Studies Faculty Books and Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Trends. United States Foreign Policy, Iran, And Mirror Imaging, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the tension between the rule of law and democracy vs. religious authority in the context of international relations between the United States and Iran.

Ua12/2/1 December Magazine, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

Special magazine edition of the College Heights Herald. This issue includes articles:

• Fish, Tim. Sorcerer’s Apprentice – Deniece Rogers
• Clark-Tod, Tom. ‘70s A Quiet Revolution: Re-Evaluating a Revolution - & Revealing Another
• Beshear, Tom. ‘70s A Quiet Revolution: Serving Leftovers from the ‘60s
• Salato, Nancy. ‘70s A Quiet Revolution: The Great Buildup – Construction
• Bilbrey, Greg & Cecelia Mason. ‘70s A Quiet Revolution: Glancing Back at Western