Islamization of knowledge (islāmiyyat or aslamat al-ma‘rifah) has emerged as one of the most significant Muslim global intellectual enterprises over the past half-century. Its efforts to integrate Islamic epistemology with Western knowledge systems have, however, subjected it to extensive criticism, a subset of which dismisses it as an ideological programme aimed at reviving religion, defying secularism, and subverting Western universal values. This article focuses on this subset of criticism and analyses its discourse by framing it within the broader context of (...) the “Muslim Question.” Reminiscent of the historical Jewish question, the “Muslim Question” continues to serve as a lens through which Islam and Muslims are systematically constructed as a problem. To dissect and retrace the inherent structure shared by the “Muslim Question” and this criticism, this study provides a discursive analysis of the criticism of the Islamization of knowledge revisiting the decades-long critique of Bassam Tibi. Then it contextualizes this criticism within the broader narrative of crisis; however, distinguishing it from European rhetoric of the crisis of Islam and probes its conflation at the intersection of reasonable critique and Islamophobia. The article concludes that a serious study of the Islamization of knowledge and its most recent facet, knowledge integration (al-takāmul al-ma‘rifī), should acknowledge the plurality and diversity within Muslim intellectual traditions and resist homogenizing them under reductive categories. Such a merited study will have the potential to promote a more balanced and inclusive engagement with the intricate realities of contemporary Muslim thought and practice. (shrink)

This book provides an overview of the origins, repercussions and projected future of the ongoing Gulf crisis, as well as an analysis of the major issues and debates relating to it. The Gulf region witnessed an extraordinary rift when, on 5 June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut all diplomatic ties and imposed a siege on the State of Qatar following the hacking of the Qatar News Agency website. This book approaches the Gulf crisis from an (...) interdisciplinary perspective by bringing together a group of top scholars from a wide range of disciplines and areas of expertise to engage in a nuanced debate on the current crisis. With the pressing role of media in general and social media in particular, new political realities have been created in the region. The book addresses the role that cyber and information security play on politics, as well as the shift of alliances in the region as a result of the crisis. It scrutinizes the role of media and information technology in creating political cultures as well as conflicts. The book also explores the long-term economic implications of the siege imposed on Qatar and identifies how the country's economy is adjusting to the impact of the siege. Thus, the book considers the extent of social and economic changes that the crisis has brought to the region. This book invites in-depth understanding of the regional crisis and its implications on nation building and the reconfiguration of political and economic alliances across the region. It will appeal to a broad interdisciplinary readership in the area of Gulf studies. (shrink)

The field of strategic management has witnessed a proliferation of theoretical perspectives following two main paradigms. The two camps roughly correspond, on the one hand, to the "classical" and "neo-classical" approaches, and on the other to the "contingency", "post-classical" and "postmodern" approaches. Underpinning these two camps are different conceptions of the theory of the firm and the purpose of theory itself in understanding business strategy, which are difficult and perhaps impossible to reconcile. Against this backdrop, this paper seeks to expose (...) the roots of this interminable argument over theory and proposes a way to escape this situation of incommensurability. (shrink)

"Inside Contemporary Qatar: An examination of State and Society" is an interdisciplinary book that includes the following themes, the politics and security of Qatar, the political economy and natural resources of Qatar, and the formation of national identity and the social contrast of the state. Each of these themes will delve into the topics of the matter during Shaikh Tamim's era. The book will offer a holistic understanding of the most important aspects of a state's development. This book will present (...) the reader with a comprehensive understanding of local, regional and international factors that played a role in forming today's Qatari state, its governance and policies, its strong economy, and its modernizing society. (shrink)

Describing the scientific findings in Quran is one of the popularised task among all over the Muslims of the world. This come out of the comparison between Quran and science. Quran is not a book of science, but it contains some of the verses which indicates to the scientific facts. The scientific knowledge works as a mean to strengthen the belief of the followers and its divinity. The question ‘does Quran contains scientific miracle or scientific truths?’ comes from the comparison (...) between Quran and science. The quest for comparison come out of the conclusion that Quran inspires people to think about the creations of god, the universe, the nature and science is the study about the nature. But the comparison between Quran which is absolute truth and science which is constantly changing is impossible. Here the question arises that how Muslim philosophers approached the science and Quran. The scientific facts in the Holy Quran has been discussed among classical, pre-modern and modern Muslim scholars and philosophers. But they all concluded on divergences of technics. The approach introduced by pre-modern scholars like imam al-Gazzali got acceptance as it gives philosophical background for the scientific reading. But when modern ideologies influenced the Muslim theological and intellectual discourses, the problem became more sophisticated. Scientific interpretation of the religious texts and ideologies got worldwide popularity. Dr. Mourris Bucaille, a French scientist in his book ‘The Bible, The Quran and science’ explained that Quran is a book of science. It got wide acceptance among Muslims, but, it got academic and scientific criticism from mainstream academicians and scientists. Even the criticism of the interpretations doesn’t affect the divinity of the Holy Quran the basic philosophy i.e. scientific interpretation of the verses or scientific miracles should be examined. As a result of this, modern and contemporary Muslim Academicians introduced new approach which is called ‘multi-layer and multi-level approach’ which is complete negation of the scientific facts in holy Quran. This paper analyse the philosophy of the scientific reading of the Holy Quran and describe diverse scholarly approaches to the science in the Quran and analyses them critically. This paper also suggest a new approach as it can resolve the holes and answer the criticism philosophically. (shrink)

This article compares and contrasts a western post-Enlightenment theory of knowledge with a Qur’anic epistemology. It first analyzes the development of post-Enlightenment epistemology, which resulted in the disappearance of established meaning and the implanting of doubt. Thereafter, western epistemology began to deal with such questions as “What can I know?” and “How can I distinguish between those things that I am justified in believing over those things that I am not justified in believing?” Eventually, this developed into the two dominant (...) and diverging paths that persist until today: “We might be able to know the truth” or “We are unable to know anything”. What makes this so important is its eventual influence upon the Muslim world with the advent of colonialism, European preeminence, and globalization. That influence, it is argued, has been disastrous because of its ability to uproot the indigenous Islamic epistemic tradition. Therefore this article, by focusing on various Qur’anic verses, shares insights for an alternative epistemology that would begin to rectify this dissonance. It does so by discussing the features of a Qur’anic epistemology, one that begins with the affirmation or certainty of “God knowing” with the potential for “human knowing.” In other words, it establishes an optimistic attitude toward “true” knowledge being possible and the potentiality of certainty being ever-present. (shrink)