İsrā’iliyyat which is the narration material passed on to Islam from other religions and cultures, primarily Judaism and Christianity has been one of the topics discussed especially within the frame of tafsir discipline throughout the fourteen centuries of Islamic history. While these narrations were used as one of the sources of information without being subjected to a normative evaluation in the early day tafsirs, they have been started to be criticized emphasizing mainly on the weakness of their imputation in the (...) classical tafsirs. When it was reached to the modern era, with the effect of movements of thoughts such as Western originated positivism, rationalism, and historical criticism, and orientalist allegations. İsrā’iliyyat has been criticized rather content-wise, reviewed as unreal, imaginary, mythological story-type narrations mixed with superstitions. As a result of these criticisms, both a distance has been kept from İsrā’iliyyat and also alternatives to it have been pursued. Although in the modern-day tafsirs, it has been consulted to the Bible as the strongest alternative to İsrā’iliyyat, this situation has made way for many debates, and it has dwelled on other alternatives than that. These points mentioned are valid for Tunisian scholar Tāhir İbn ʿĀshūr’s (1879-1973) tafsir named al-Tahrīr wa’t-Tanwīr, too. An important feature of this tafsir is that although it has been looked kindly upon İsrā’ili narrations within the frame of certain criteria, it has been criticized in general. The writer has developed alternatives to İsrā’ili narrations without complimenting them as much as possible. Among these alternatives, while he prioritized the Bible narrations, he didn’t settle for this and he headed for other alternatives, too. In this study, it has been emphasized on methods of text-centered commentary, socio-psychologic commentary, and foresight-based commentary, which İbn ʿĀshūr used as an alternative to İsrā’iliyyat from time to time. It has been seen that the writer developed stronger and farther-from-a-debate-ground methods compared to İsrā’iliyyat and used these methods successfully in this way. It has come to the conclusion that in the case of these methods being used in Qura’ân parables accurately, they can be an important alternative to İsrā’iliyyat. (shrink)

In this paper, I examine several commentaries and glosses on the prolegomenon of Najm al-Dīn al-Kātibī’s (d. 675/1276–77) Shamsiyya that relate to debates on the Aristotelian and Ibn Sīnān theory of science in the postclassical period. Chief among the commentaries of the Shamsiyya is Quṭb al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s (d. 766/1365) Taḥrīr al-qawāʿid al-manṭiqiyya. This commentary, rather than the base text of the Shamsiyya, set the stage for later interpretations by Mirak al-Bukhārī (fl. 733/1332), Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Qāshānī (d. 755/1354), Saʿd al-Dīn al-Taftāzānī (...) (d. 792/1390), al-Sayyid al-Sharīf al-Jurjānī (d. 816/1413), Dāwūd al-Khwāfī (fl. 839/1465) and ʿIṣām al-Dīn Isfarāyinī (d. 945/1538). I focus on three issues that were raised in these interpreta­tions of the Shamsiyya’s prolegomenon: (1) the place of the elements of sciences in logical corpus, (2) the notion of the prolegomenon and its content, and (3) the real essence of a science. I attend to the particular debates and contentions on these issues to reveal the general idea of science at that time. (shrink)

The third century of the hegira represents an extremely important period in terms of the formation process of Islamic sciences and the acquirement of the identity of a systematic school of fiqh madhhabs. In terms of the Zaydiyya madhhab, this century has an identity that affects the next period in terms of both political and scientific studies. Because in this period, the scholars of the madhhab like Kāsim al-Rassî (d. 246/860), Ahmad b. Isā (d. 247/861) and Yahyā b. al-Husayn (d. (...) 298/911), who were in a leading position both in politics and in sciences such as kalām, hadith and fiqh, emerged. Kāsim al-Rassî, who was accepted as the star of the Ahl al-Bayt by Zaydî sources in the first period, was presented as the Plato of Muslims by orientalists in modern studies. The main reason why today's studies on him are mostly about the history of sects and theology, most of Rassî's works are about kalām. However, Kāsim al-Rassî is an important name in the science of fiqh and İslamic legal theory as well as in the science of kalām. According to Abī Tālib Nātik bi’l-Hakk (d. 424/1033), one of the important jurists of the Zaydiyya madhhab, Rassî was a scholar who came to the fore with his ability in fiqh issues; in order to see his ijtihād method, his skill in furû al-fiqh, his mastery in using hadiths and knowing the disagreements of scholars, ‘‘Masā’il al-Dja’far b. Muhammad and Abd Allah b. Hasan” should be consulted. Rassi's epistles named Kitab al-Nāsikh wa’l-Mansūkh, Kitab al-tahāra, Kitab al-salāt al-yevm ve al-Laylā and Kitab al-menāsik are important studies on fiqh that have survived to the present day. In addition, Mueyyed-Billah (d. 411/1021) compiled Kāsim al-Rassî’s and Yahya b. al-Husayn's views on fiqh in his work named al-Tecrîd. Kāsim al-Rassî's views on fiqh are also determinative in later fiqh books such as Tahrîr, al-Cāmi' al-Kāfi, al-Intisār and al-Azhar. In time, the emergence of a jurisprudence sect named Kāsimiyya in Zaydiyya, referring to his name, is also important in terms of revealing his position. Although Rassî's views on fiqh have been referred to a number of studies in our country, no independent study has been found that deals with his views on fiqh. However, considering both of his works on fiqh that have survived to the present day and the early works in which his views are compiled, it is obvious that Kāsim al-Rassî's views on fiqh deserve an independent works. The aim of this study is to reveal Ressî's position within the madhhabs and his perspective on fiqh in general. In this context, in the study, the period in which Ressî lived, his life and works were briefly mentioned, and then the basic views of the fiqh, especially in the field of worship, were discussed in outline. (shrink)

Muhyiddîn el-Kâfiyecî (öl. 879/1474), on beşinci yüzyıl Saruhanoğulları, Osmanlı ve Memlüklü alimlerindendir. Yüzden çok eser yazmıştır. Makale Kâfiyeci’nin hayatı ve eserlerini araştırır. Yazdığı eserler, onun, Arap dili, Arap grameri, belagat, tarih metodolojisi, hadis ve usulü, tefsir ve usulü, fıkıh ve usulü, kelâm, tasavvuf, dil felsefesi, semantik, metafizik meseleler, geometri, optik ve astronomi gibi konularda uzmanlaştığını göstermektedir. Kâfiyeci en önemli eserlerini Arap dili ve mantık sahalarında yazmıştır. Eserleri içerisinde yaptığı linguistik çözümlemeler, onun yetkin bir dil alimi olduğunu göstermektedir. Kâfiyeci eserlerini yazarken (...) linguistik, mantıki, ilmi ve felsefi bir yöntem kullanmıştır. Araştırmada, Kâfiyeci’nin, hayatı boyunca en az yüz on iki eser yazdığı tespit edilmiştir. Bu eserlerden, doksan altısının adı belirlenmiştir. Kâfiyeci’nin eserleri konularına göre şöylece tasnif edilebilir: Arap Dili ve Dil Felsefesi: Şerḥu’1-i‘râb ‘an Ḳavâ‘idi’l-i‘râb, el-Unmûzec fî baḥsi’l-isti‘âre, Şerḥu’l-isti‘âre, Risâle fî Kâne Zeydun Ḳâimen, Risâle fî Zeydun Ḳâimun, Risâle fi’l-mebâḥisi’l-mute‘alliḳa bi Emmâ, Nuzhetu’l-mu‘rib fi’l-Meşrıḳ ve’l-Maġrib, Nuzhetu’l-aṣhâb fî mes’eleti’l-kuhl, Remzu’l-esrâr, en-Niseb li ehli’l-edeb, el-İşrâḳ fî meratibi’ṭ-ṭıbâk, Ḥâşiye ‘ale’l-Muṭavvel, Risâle fî “men” eş-şartiyye. Mantık: et-Terġîb fî keşfi rumûzi’t-Tehẕîb. Tarih Metodolojisi: el-Muḫtaṣaru’l-mufîd fî ‘ilmi’t-târîḫ, en-Naṣru’l-ḳâhir ve’l-fetḥu’ẓ-ẓâhir. Akâid ve Kelâm: Envâru’ṣ-Ṣa ‘âde, Şerḥu’l-‘Aḳâidi’l-‘Aḍuḍiyye, Hâşiye ‘alâ Şerḥi’l-‘Aḳâidi’l-‘Aḍuḍiyye, Şerḥu’l-Mevâḳıf, Telḫîsu Şerḥi’l-Mevâḳıf, el-Hidâye li beyâni’l-ḫalḳ ve’t-tekvîn, Risâle fî beyâni’l-mu‘cizât, Nehru’l-hayât fî ma‘rifeti’ṣ-ṣıfât, ‘İlmu’l-kumûn ve’l-burûz, Risâle fî Kavlihi Teâlâ “Lâ ye’menu mekr Allâhi ille’l-kavmu’l-hâsirûn” [A‘râf, 7/99]. Kur’ân, Kırâat ve Tefsir Bilimleri: Şerḥu’l-İsti‘âẕe ve’l-Besmele, Ḥâşiye ‘ale’l-Keşşâf, Şerḥ fî muḥâkemât beyne’l-mutekellimîn ‘ale’l-Keşşâf, Ḥâşiye ‘alâ Tefsîri’l-Beyḍâvî, eẓ-Ẓafer ve’l-ḫalâṣ, et-Teysîr fî ḳavâ‘idi ‘ilmi’t-tefsîr, Risâle fî ‘ilmi’t-tefsîr ve vucûhi’l-ḳırâat, Keşfu’n-niḳâb li’l-aṣḥâb ve’l-aḥıbbe fî ‘icâzi’l-Ḳur’ân, et-Temhîd fî şerḥi’t-taḥmîd, Ḳarâru’l-vecd fi şerḥi’l-ḥamd, el-İlmâ‘ bi ifâdeti Lev li’l-imtinâ‘ fî ḳavlihi Te‘âlâ “Lev kâne fîhimâ âlihetun illallâh le fesedetâ” [Enbiyâ, 21/22], Cevâb ‘an suâl fî ḳavlihi Te‘âlâ “Ve’n-Necmi iẕâ hevâ” [Necm, 62/1], Nuzhetu’l-iḫvân fî tefsi¬ri ḳavlihi Te‘âlâ “Yâ Lûṭu İnnâ Rusülü Rabbike” [Hûd, 11/81], Neylu’l-merâm fi tefsîri ḳavlihi Te‘âlâ “Ve Mâ Rabbuke bi Ẓallâm” [Fussilet, 41/46], el-Bişâra fî ḳavlihi Te‘âlâ “Fe’tû bi sûratin min mislih” [Bakara, 2/23], Nuzhetu’l-aṣḥâb, el-Ġurratu’l-vâḍıḥa fî tefsîri’l-Fâtiḥa, Zeḫîratu’l-ḳaṣr fî tefsiri Sûrati’l-‘Aṣr. Hadis Bilimleri: Muḫtaṣar fî ‘ulûmi’l-ḥadîs, Menbe‘u’d-durer fî ‘ilmi’l-eser, Ḫulâṣatu’l-‘aḳvâl fî ḥadîsi “İnneme’l-a‘mâlu bi’n-niyyât”. Fıkıh, Usûl ve Fetva: Risale fî mesʹeleti’l-istisnâʹ, Ḥâşiye ‘ala şerḥi’l-Hidâye, Vecîzu’n-niẓâm fî ıẓhâri mevâridi’l-aḥkâm, el-Feraḥ ve’s-surûr fî beyâni’l-meẕâhîbi’l-erba‘ati fi’l-‘uṣûr, Neşâtu’ṣ-ṣudûr fî şerḥi Kitâbi’l-Feraḥ ve’s-surûr, et-Taḥrîr lima zukira fi’d-Dureri’l-manẓûm, Muhâveratu’l-fıḳhiyye, Risâle fi’stiḳbâli’l-Ḳıble, Telḫîṣu’l-Câmi‘i’l-kebîr ve’l-Mecma‘, Kitâbu’t-Teẕkira/Risâle fi’l-vaḳf, Ravḍatu’ẓ-ẓahira en-nâfi‘a fî’d-Dünya ve’l-Âḫira, Kitâbu’l-muḫtasar fî ‘ilmi’l-istibdâl, er-Remz fî ‘ilmi'l-istibdâl, el-Kâfî fî beyâni’ṣ-ṣaffi’ṭ-ṭavîli’l-mustaḳîm, Risâle fî ṭabaḳâti’l-butûn li beyâni’l-vaḳf ‘alâ evlâdi’l-evlâd, el-İḥkâm fî ma‘rifeti’l-Eymân ve’l-aḥkâm, Ferâid baḥri’l-fevâiḍ. Siyasetname, Adap ve Ahlak: Niẓâmu ḳalâidi’l-‘ıḳyân, Seyfu’l-kuḍât ‘ale’l-buġât, Seyfu’l-mulûk ve’l-ḥukkâm el-murşid lehum ilâ sebîli’1-Haḳḳ ve’1-aḥkâm, Seyfu’l-ḥaḳḳ ve’n-nuṣra ‘alâ riḳâbı ehli’l-baġy ve’l-fitne, ed-Durratu’l-‘âliyetu’l-ġâliye. Metafizik, Tasavvuf ve Felsefe: el-Kâfî eş-şâfî, Kitâbu’r-ravḥ fî ‘ilmi’r-rûḥ, Kitabu’r-raḥme fî beyânı aḥvâli ‘alemi’l-berzâḫ, en-Nuzhe fî ravḍati’r-rûḥ ve’n-nefs, Neşâtu’l-bişâra bi’l-işâra fî kıbleti’l-ervâh, Ḳıbletu’l-ervâḥ fi’t-taṣavvuf, Nuzhetu’l-ervâḥ ve ġıbṭatu’l-eşbâḥ fi’t-taṣavvuf, Menâzilu’l-ervâḥ fi’t-taṣavvuf, ‘Ikdu’l-ferâid min baḥri’l-fevâiḍ fî şerḥi Esmâillâhi’l-husnâ, el-Unsu’1-enîs fî ma‘rifeti şeʹni’n-nefsi’n-nefîs. Siyer, İrşat ve Fazâil: Zeynu’l-feraḥ bi mîlâdi’n-Nebî (s.a.v.), Muḫtasar fî ‘ilmi’l-irşâd, Risâle fi’l-maḥabbe, Ḳalâidu’l-‘ıḳyân fî baḥri faḍâili Raceb ve Şa‘bân: Fen Bilimleri: Ḥallu’l-işkâl fî mebâhisi’l-eşkâl fi’l-hendese, Şerḥu’l-caġmînî fi’l-heyʹe, er-Remz fî ‘ilmi’l-uṣturlâb. Diğer Eserleri: Remzu’l-ḫıṭâb bi raşḥi’l-‘ıyâb, Benâtu’l-efkâr fî şeʹni’l-‘i‘tibâr, Keşfu’l-vucûhi’l-ḥasene’l-mestûra bi’n-niḳâb li faḍlillâhi’l-Cevâdi’l-Vehhâb, el-Keşf ‘an şerafi Ehli’l-Beyti’l-kirâm li efḍali’r-rusuli ve’l-enâm, ‘Iḳdu’l-ferâid min taḥrîri’l-fevâid, Risâle mustaḳılle bi ‘ilmi’n-nefs ve vucûhi’l-ḳırâa, Cevâbu’l-enẓâr, Ḥusnu’l-ḫıtâm li’l-merâmi min haẕa’l-kelâm, Ḫıtâmu’l-misk. (shrink)

The issue of textual criticism/matn criticism in the Islamic world has started to be discussed, especially in modern times, when the issue of criticism of the holy books came to the fore in the West. However, when the history of Islamic sciences literature is examined, it is seen that the subject of criticism of hadith texts has been on the agenda of Muslims, even though it is not as central as isnad. One of the important pillars of the text-centered approach (...) as a method of hadith criticism is the Arabic language. In our study, it is aimed to determine the effect and the limits of the Arabic language in hadith criticism based on the text. While doing this, first of all, the discussions about the link between the language and criticism of the holy scriptures in the West will be discussed, and then the relationship between the hadith and the Arabic language will be revealed, especially in the context of istishhād and literature. Then, the place where the Arabic language stands as a method in the criticism of hadith texts will be determined and an evaluation will be made about its limits and possibilities. The evaluations about the limits and possibilities of the Arabic language will be discussed in terms of the narration of hadiths with meaning, the different approaches of linguists and schools, the conflicts between tribes, and the reliability of poetry as an istishhād method. In this study, particular examples obtained by examining Ibn Dureyd’s (d. 321/933) Jamhara al-luga ve Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Azherī’s (d. 370/980) Tahzīb al-Luga Abū Aḥmad al-ʿAskarī’s (d. 382/992) Taṣḥīfāt al-muḥaddiṯīn and al-Ḫaṭṭābī's (d. 388/998) Iṣlāḥ ġalaṭ al-muḥaddiṯīn and Ṣafadī’s (d. 764/1363) Taṣḥīḥ al-taṣḥīf wa-taḥrīr al-taḥrīf. In addition, the subject has been examined by taking into account other linguistic sources, basic hadith texts and hadith commenta-ries. In this way, the reflection of the subject in the hadith literature will be revealed and it will be tried to determine the place where the Arabic language stands in hadith criticism, taking into account the problems of the language itself. (shrink)

The major argument in this article is that the contemporary concept of jihad inclines to have a heavy personal political baggage. In Southeast Asia, the talibanization and the influence of the al-Qaeda interpretation of the jihad appear to have made their inroad in regional radical salafi movements such as the Jamaah Islamiyah, Jama’ah Anshorut Tauhid, and Hizbut Tahrir. Radical salafi differs from the traditional salafi given its belief in the use of force to achieve religious-political objectives. Indonesia has been (...) the center for these movements and their presence has been felt in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and Philippines. Some of them have been active in propagating the new concept of jihad. Therefore, this article maps out the conception of jihad as it is propounded by the three movements. It discusses how the conception of these movements of jihad has departed from the earlier salafi movements. In addition, it discusses how the idea has been expanded from Indonesia to other parts of the Southeast Asian archipelago. (shrink)

The Ottoman legal system is built on religious (sharīʿa) and customary (ʿurfī) laws. The customary law consists of the rules that are not in contrast to the sacred law. Collection of regulations (qānūnnāme) were the most effective way for the execution of the customary laws. The qānūnnāme included the sultan’s orders and edicts (farman). Ottomans regulated and evaluated the taxes through measurements of lands specific times of the year. These measurements would be recorded into the taḥrīr books (written survey of (...) immovable prop-erties). And the administrative qānūnnāme were included in these books. In the qānūnnāmes, we can find information about the taxes, and the unlawful executions of the customary actors (ahl al-ʿurf) as well as the tax regulations. The qānūnnāmes on sanjak are composed accord-ing to the economic, social, and geographical characteristics of the administrative district it is written about, and with this, they provide us information on these issues. In this article, three sanjak qānūnnāmes are taken as the central topic and Kamah, Āmid, Pojega are evaluated in terms of the execution of customary law in these districts. These qānūnnāmes include record-ings of various taxing regulations, altered and cancelled executions, amounts of taxes, and punishments. We can compare the three districts in their economic and social characteristics.Summary: The Ottoman legal system consists of sharia and customary law. Ordinary law is based on some regulations which the sultan deems necessary and is composed of laws. The Ordinary law should not contradict sharia. When the Ottomans conquered a place, they generally protected the current laws (such as Uzun Hasan's laws), except for necessary changes or cancellations. When the Ottomans conquered a place, they used to make census to determine taxes. As a result of this census, Sanjak qānūnnāmes were placed in taḥrīr books. It also involves issues such as public and criminal law, customary tax regulations, and amounts of market taxes, which are approved by the emperor. In this article, the Sanjak qānūnnāmes of different regions belonging to the period of Suleiman the Magnificent, whose dates are close to each other, were selected. The Sanjak qānūnnāmes which are studied on are Kemah sanjak of Erzurum province belonging to (937/1530) and Āmid sanjak of Diyarbekir province belonging to (947/1540) and Pojega sanjak of Budin province belonging to (950/1545). The reason for this is to be able to compare the differences or stableness in tax and practices in the mentioned date range. At the same time, attention has been paid to the effectiveness of customary practices and the parts that are linked to sharīʾa. Some of the laws of Uzun Hasan are in force in Kemah and Amid. In these two sanjaks, some of the bâc taxes and some other taxes were removed. It is seen that the complaints made by the public due to the excess of taxes are taken into consideration. For example, in Kemah, the akche of murahhasiyye paid by the villagers for Armenian priests and bishops is one of them. The taxes that are abolished include kulluk and blend tax and taxes from various business lines. The tax, which was collected by the governors of the sanjak and the castle beys under the name of custom, which was imposed by some local administrators, was cancelled by seeing bidat. When three of the sanjaks are taken together, there are cautions that unfair and unlawful tax collections made by local administrators during tax collection have been abolished and these are accepted as bidat. Kemah sanjak qānūnnāme is 13 pages in total. Kemah, which has a geographical position and military transit route, has commercial relations with cities such as Trabzon and Hasankeyf. In Kemah, there are candle mill (şemhane), creamery (bezirhane) and tavern (meyhane). Kemah is one of the places where the climate has an impact on agriculture. Kemah's economy is based on trade, agriculture, small livestock, beekeeping. In Kemah, where caravan trade is important, trade goods are of value due to its location on the transit road. The Kemah qānūnnāme also contains various taʿzīr for unjust killing, wounding, and adultery. In the city, there are some arcs have ownership in common. The fact that there are mills indicates that the rivers in Kemah are utilized. Âmid Sanjak qānūnnāme consists of two pages. The title that attracts our most attention is that there is vitality and economic activity in the market since Âmid is on the Aleppo-Mosul Silk Road. The high number of weaving looms is due to the production of cotton. Amid has dye house and saphane. Indigo and Amid's red dye sold in the market shows the importance of weaving. Pojega sanjak qānūnnāme is composed of seven pages. Among the qānūnnāmes we have mentioned, this is the most legible one. In addition to the old practices, there are some new regulations in this qānūnnāme. The pig tax is only here because of the non-Muslim population. Transit tax fees indicate trading viability. Based on the studies made on these three sanjaks, it can be said that in the qānūnnāme, the rights of the raia (reaya) were tried to be protected by the rescript of the Sultan himself. Therefore, the most remarkable things in the qānūnnāme are not allowed unfair practices of local administrators and without the need to collect taxes from the public. The dates of the qānūnnāme are close to each other and Despite geographical differences, there is no remarkable change in taxation. Although there are non-Muslim populations in all three sanjaks, it is mostly in the Pojega sanjak. The fact that the pig tax is collected only from this sanjak is evidence of this situation. The presence of meyhane in Kemah, Amid and Pojega sanjaks point to the non-Muslim population. It is also used as a place where the villagers sell their grape juice. The mill tax on Kemah and Pojega show that rivers are used in common. (shrink)

İrap Arap dili ve İslami ilimlere dair tedvin faaliyetlerinin başlangıcından bu yana önemini devam ettiren bir olgudur. Bu sebeple farklı alanları konu alan İslami ilimlerin çoğunda esas alınan unsurlardan birisi olmuştur. Bu alanlardan biri olan ve öncelikli hedefi Kur’ân’ın anlaşılmasına katkı sağlamak olan tefsirin de önemli bir parçasıdır. Zira dile ait özelliklerin tam manasıyla gözetilmesiyle ancak doğru bir tefsir faaliyetinden söz etmek mümkün olabilmektedir. Arap dilinin tefsirle ilgili en bariz özelliklerinden biri ise iraptır. Bundan dolayı her bir müfessirin tefsir yönteminde (...) irap önemli bir yer işgal etmektedir. Tefsirinde iraba önemli bir yer ayıran müfessirlerden Beyzâvî, İslam âleminde ve özellikle Osmanlı âlimleri nazarında kabul görmüş bir müfessirdir. Nitekim tefsiri; şerh, haşiye, ihtisar vb. yönlerden başka çalışmalara konu olmuştur. Ayrıca bazı tefsir çalışmaları da bu tefsir esas alınarak oluşturulmuştur. Bu çalışmada Beyzâvî ve Osmanlı dönemi âlimlerinden olan Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin tefsiri, irabı ele alışları noktasında karşılaştırılmıştır. Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin iraba dair görüşlerinin çoğuna Beyzâvî’nin kaynaklık ettiği, Beyzâvî ile aynı düşündüğü noktalarda onun görüşlerini özetleme, açıklama veya yorumlama yoluna gittiği görülmüştür. Bazı durumlarda ise kendisinin dile ve özellikle iraba vukufiyetini gösteren bir tarzda Beyzâvî’nin görüşlerine katılmamıştır. Bu durumda Zemahşerî, Râzî, Ebû Hayyân başta olmak üzere daha başka müfessirlerin görüşleriyle kendi görüşünü desteklemiştir. Bazı örnekler üzerinden iki müfessirin iraba dair görüşlerinin karşılaştırmalı incelemesini yapan bu çalışmada bu iki müfessirin eserlerinden başka tefsirlerinde irabın önemli bir yer işgal ettiği zikri geçen müelliflerin eserleri de konuyla ilgisi bağlamında incelenmiştir. Özet: Açıklamak ve beyan etmek anlamlarına gelen i‘râb, Arap dilinde kelimelerin sonlarındaki alametleri düzenleyerek, kelimelerin birbirleriyle irtibatlarını kuran ve bu sayede anlam değerlerini belirleyen kurallar sistemidir. Dolayısıyla i‘râb, cümlede anlam belirsizliklerini ortadan kaldırarak anlam inceliklerinin ortaya çıkmasını sağlayan ve bu sayede sözdeki derin anlamların anlaşılma yolunu kolaylaştıran bir role sahiptir. Bu yüzden i‘râb, Arap dilcilerinin yanı sıra hadis, fıkıh, kelam gibi dile ilişkin özelliklerin gözetildiği alanlarda eser veren müelliflerin de çalışmalarını dayandırdıkları temel noktalardan birisi olmuştur. Kur’ân-ı Kerîm’in tefsirinde de i‘râb başta gelen unsurlardan biri olmuştur. Nitekim i‘râb kaidelerinin konulmasındaki temel dinamik, Kur’ân’ı Kerîm’i lahn adı verilen hatalı okumalardan korumak olmuştur. Tefsirciler de Kur’ân’ı Kerîm’i anlamada i‘râbdan çokça faydalanmışlardır. Tefsîr-i Beyzâvî diye de bilinen Envâru’t-tenzîl ve esrâru’t-te’vîl adlı eserinde Kur’ân’ı anlamada i‘râb özelliklerine sıkça başvuran âlimlerden birisi meşhur tefsirci Abdullah b. Muhammed el-Beyzâvî’dir (ö. 685/1286). Bu eser ilim çevreleri tarafından kabul görmüş bir tefsirdir. Beyzâvî gibi tefsirinde i‘râbı çokça kullanan bir diğer alim Muhammed b. Lutfullah el-Erzurûmî (ö. 1202/1788) olup Göğsügür Lütfullah Efendi olarak da bilinmektedir. Osmanlı dönemi âlimlerinden olan ve birçok ilim dalında eser veren Lutfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin tefsirinin adı Râmûzu’t-tahrîr ve’t-tefsîr olup bu tefsirin dil ve i‘râb özelliklerine geniş yer ayırması sebebiyle lugavî tefsir olarak da nitelendirilmesi mümkündür. Müellif bu tefsirinde Beyzâvî’nin i‘râba dair görüşlerinden istifade etmenin yanında çoğu zaman onun görüşlerini açıklama yoluna gitmiştir. Bununla birlikte i‘râba dair mevzularda Zemahşerî, Râzî, Ebû Hayyân ve daha başka âlimlerin görüşlerinden de yararlanmıştır. Bu çalışmada Beyzâvî’nin Envâru’t-tenzîl ve esrâru’t-te’vîl’i ile Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin Râmûzu’t-tahrîr ve’t-tefsîr’i, i‘râbı ele alışları açısından karşılaştırmalı olarak incelenmiştir. Çalışmada bu iki tefsirin seçilmesindeki belirleyici etken eserlerin i‘râbı ele alış yöntemlerinin benzerlik arz etmesidir. Bazı örnekler üzerinden konuyu karşılaştırmalı olarak inceleyen bu çalışmanın amacı iki müfessirin Kur’ân ayetlerini anlamada i‘râba yaklaşımlarını tespit etmek suretiyle bu iki müfessir arasındaki i‘râb değerlendirmeleri bağlamındaki ilişkinin niteliğini belirlemektir. Çalışmanın diğer bir amacı Beyzâvî’den sonra yaşamış olan Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin onunla aynı düşündüğü veya farklı görüşe sahip olduğu noktalardaki değerlendirmelerini incelemektir. Bu noktada, her iki eserde yer alan i‘râb örnekleri üzerinden incelenen konu, eserlerinde i‘râba geniş yer veren Zemahşerî, Râzî, Ebû Hayyân ve daha başka tefsircinin görüşleriyle de mukayeseli olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Bu çalışmada i‘râba dair görüşleri değerlendirilen her iki alim kuşkusuz çeşitli yönleriyle birçok çalışmaya konu olmuştur. Yıllar geçtikçe şöhreti daha da artan ve eserleri daha çok ilgi gören Beyzâvî hakkındaki çalışmalar daha fazladır. Konumuzla alakalı olarak tefsirindeki yöntemi ve ayetleri anlamlandırmada i‘râbı kullanış tarzını inceleyen çalışmalar bulunmaktadır. Ancak bu çalışma, önceki çalışmalardan farklı olarak Beyzâvî’nin tefsirindeki yöntemi ve tefsirde dile ait özellikleri ve i‘râbı nasıl kullandığını açıklamaktan ziyade Beyzâvî ile ondan sonra yaşamış olan Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin tefsirlerinde irabı ele alış tarzlarını mukayeseyi konu edinmektedir. Diğer taraftan Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî, Beyzâvî kadar çalışılmamış olsa da bazı eserlerinin çeşitli çalışmalara konu olduğu görülmektedir. Eserlerini dil yönünden inceleyen çalışmalar da bulunmaktadır. Ancak bu çalışma Beyzâvî’nin tefsirde i‘râbı ele alışını da değerlendirmekle birlikte iki müellifin bu konudaki görüşlerinin kıyaslamasını yaparak tefsirinde Beyzâvî’nin i‘râba dair görüşlerine başvuran Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin onunla ittifak ettiği ve farklı düşündüğü tarafları ve bu farklılıkların kaynaklarını ortaya koymaya çalışmaktadır. Ayrıca Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin Beyzâvî’yle ortak görüşe sahip olduğu noktalarda onun görüşlerini ele alış tarzının alıntılama, açıklama veya atıf yapma gibi şekillerden hangisiyle gerçekleştiğini tespit ederek buradan bir değerlendirme yapmayı amaçlamaktadır. Öte yandan farklı düşündüğü noktalarda ise bu görüşün önceki âlimlerin görüşlerinin değerlendirilmesi neticesinde birinin diğerine tercih edilmesi şeklinde mi yoksa bizzat müellifin kendi görüşü mü olduğu belirlenmeye çalışmaktadır. Çalışmaya konu olan iki eserdeki i‘râba dair mevzuların ele alınış biçimiyle ilgili olarak şu sonuçlara ulaşılmıştır: Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî çoğunlukla Beyzâvî’nin görüşüne tabi olmuştur. Beyzâvî’nin çoğu görüşünü özetleme yoluna gitse de bazı durumlarda açıklama yapma ihtiyacı hissetmiştir. Çalışmada bazı örnekleri sunulan bu konuya dair daha çok örnek her iki müellifin eserinden verilebilir. İhtilaf ettiği konularda ise diğer tefsirlerde daha isabetli gördüğü görüşleri sunmuştur. Beyzâvî’ye katılmadığı noktalarda ise başta Zemahşerî’nin Keşşâf’ı olmak üzere Râzî’nin Mefâtîhu’l-gayb’ı, Ebû Hayyân’ın el-Bahru’l-muhît’i ve daha başka tefsirlerdeki i‘râba dair görüşlerden yararlanmıştır. Bazı görüşlerinde ise gerek Beyzâvî gerek diğer müfessirlerin görüşlerine katılmayarak kendi görüşünü belirtmiştir. İraba dair bu değerlendirmeler, önceden dile getirilmemiş müellife ait bir görüş olabildiği gibi anlamı belirlemede açık etkisi olan herhangi bir görüşün üstün tutulması tarzında da tezahür edebilmiştir. Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî, Beyzâvî’nin görüşlerine katıldığı durumlarda bunu çeşitli deliller sunarak gerekçelendirmiştir. Bu husus, kadim müfessirleri takip eden sonraki müfessirlerin tefsirdeki rolünün sadece özetleme veya şerh etme şeklinde gerçekleşmediğini, bilakis kendilerine has yöntem, değerlendirme ve kıstaslarının bulunduğunu göstermektedir. Öte yandan çalışmaya konu olan iki eserin karşılaştırılmasıyla ortaya çıkan bu sonuçlar, kadim âlimlerin gerek dil alanında gerek diğer alanlarda sonrakilere bıraktığı bilgi birikimi ve teliflerin bolluğuna rağmen kapsamlı inceleme ve araştırmalar neticesinde onların elde edemedikleri bir takım neticelere sonrakilerin ulaşabileceğini de ortaya koymaktadır. (shrink)

A new form of software piracy known as digital piracy has taken the spotlight. Lost revenues due to digital piracy could reach $5 billion by the end of 2005.Preventives and deterrents do not seem to be working – losses are increasing. This study examines factors that influence an individual’s attitude toward pirating digital material. The results of this study suggest that attitude toward digital pirating is influenced by beliefs about the outcome of behavior (cognitive beliefs), happiness and excitement (affective beliefs), (...) age, the perceived importance of the issue, the influence of significant others (subjective norms), and machiavellianism. Given these results, measures can be developed which could alter attitudes toward digital piracy. (shrink)

Sufi group mainly dictates its followers to distance themselves from worldy affairs and to live in religious seclusion. This article offers a distinct perspective on the study of sufism through examining the political activities of the sufi group the Tarekat Qa>diriyah wa Naqsyabandiyah of Cukir in Indonesia and the group’s political patron, the Partai Persatuan Pembangunan. The article benefits form a French philosopher Michel Foucault’s concept of geneology and the notion of knowledge to better comprehend the nature of political activism (...) of a sufi group. It further argues that basic concept of student and master relationship in Sufism is explaining the politics of sufism in contemporary Indonesia. The mutual relation between leaders of the sufi group and the PPP has facilitated the crossing boundaries of Sufi basic principle of non-participatory politics. (shrink)

Information and communication technologies are increasingly used for development in the Global South, and mHealth plays key role. This paper analyzes the particular relationship to science that characterizes a global maternal mHealth program deployed in Ghana and India. Using science and technology studies, this research relies on qualitative interviews conducted between 2014 and 2016 with funders, implementers, and beneficiaries of this mHealth program. This story begins with a randomized controlled trial, a biomedical experiment with a strong positioning regarding science and (...) the production of evidence. But rapidly the scientific stance disappears to give way to the testing and marketing of a product for the digital economy. From science to market, this paper offers to revisit a classical STS topic through the lens of mHealth. It shows how the various experimental forms taken by this project fundamentally diverge from scientific methods and evidence production and at the same time how it nurtures an ongoing instrumental relationship with science. Thus, from clinical research to product marketing, this paper highlights the tenuous link between evidence-based and market-based mHealth in the Global South. (shrink)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the major players operating on Al‐Saha Al‐Siyasia online community, which is by far the most widely spread political online community in Saudi Arabia receiving 20 million page views per month.Design/methodology/approachIn addition to using “focused” silent observation to observe Al‐Saha Al‐Siyasia over a period of three months and thematic content analysis to examine 2,000 topics posted to Al‐Saha Al‐Siyasia during the period of May‐June 2007, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 15 key informants to (...) report their perceptions regarding Islamic fundamentalists, extremists and liberals, etc. on their forum.FindingsThe results of this study indicate that there are three main players operating in Al‐Saha Al‐Siyasia: Islamic fundamentalists, extremists, and liberals. Islamic fundamentalists who are the vast majority on this community use the forum as a medium to promote their image and defend their way of practising the religion. Extremists on the other hand, although their numbers in the forum are very small, use the forum as a medium to establish their credibility and the grounds for their actions. Finally, the liberals use the forum to communicate with the public, and advocate their plans for social reform, invite people to adopt a less strict version of Islam and adopt secularism as a way of life.Originality/valueThis paper continues the first comprehensive descriptive study of the size and influence of the Islamic fundamentalists, extremists, and liberals in their activities as online communities. (shrink)

BackgroundA different ethos with respect to the perception of medical ethics prevails in societies in transition such as those in the Arabian Peninsula, which makes it difficult to apply international principles of bioethics in medical practice. This study aimed to develop and psychometrically test an instrument that measures physicians’ awareness of bioethics and medical law and their attitudes towards the practice of medical ethics. Additionally, it examined physician correlates influencing the awareness of bioethics.MethodsFollowing a rigorous review of relevant literature by (...) a panel of experts, a 13-item instrument, the Omani physicians’ bioethics and medical law awareness (OBMLA) questionnaire was developed with the aim of assessing physicians’ awareness of bioethics and medical law. The study tool’s construct validity and internal consistency reliability were examined by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach’s alpha. In a cross-sectional study, the questionnaire was distributed among a random sample of 200 physicians at a tertiary hospital in Muscat, Oman. Participant characteristics that may influence awareness of bioethics and medical law were explored.ResultsThe EFA of the OBMLA questionnaire resulted in three well-loading factors: (1) Physicians’ bioethics practice subscale (2) incentive related bioethics subscale and (3) medical law awareness subscale. Internal consistency reliability ranged between Cronbach’s α: 0.73–0.8. Of the total 200 participants, 52% reported that teaching medical ethics during medical school was inadequate. The overall mean (standard deviation, SD) of the bioethics awareness score and Omani medical law awareness were 27.6 (3.5) and 10.1 (2.1) respectively. The majority of physicians (73%) reported that they frequently encountered ethical dilemmas in their practice and 24.5% endorsed the view that unethical decisions tended to occur in their practice.ConclusionThe study provides an insight into the practice of bioethics, and the awareness of bioethics and medical law among physicians in a teaching hospital in Oman. The OBMLA questionnaire appears to be a valid and reliable tool to assess a physician’s awareness of bioethics and medical law. In this preliminary study, it appears that participants have suboptimal scores on the indices which measure practice and awareness of bioethics and medical law. (shrink)

continent. 2.3 (2012): 218–223 Vijay Prashad. Arab Spring, Libyan Winter . Oakland: AK Press. 2012. 271pp, pbk. $14.95 ISBN-13: 978-1849351126. Nearly a decade ago, I sat in a class entitled, quite simply, “Corporations,” taught by Vijay Prashad at Trinity College. Over the course of the semester, I was amazed at the extent of Prashad’s knowledge, and the complexity and erudition of his style. He has since authored a number of classic books that have gained recognition throughout the world. The Darker (...) Nations , a peoples’ history of the Third World, sent defibrillating shockwaves through an academic world that had almost forgotten the epic scope and historic dignity of the non-aligned movement and post-colonial struggles. In his recent, award-winning work, Arab Spring, Libyan Winter , Prashad delves into his capacious knowledge of the Third World to excavate the discourses and narratives surrounding the upheavals of 2011. “Revolutions have no specific timetable,” states Prashad in the opening line of this exciting and provocative look at contemporary events. Instantly, an atmosphere of suspense emerges. The reader is alerted to the problem of history. Does the making of history then involve a suspension of historical time, or is it a continuous narrative structure into which events must eventually be integrated? Arab Spring, Libyan Winter shows that the answer to the question, “How is history made?” lies just as easily in the asking. The first half of the book works through the events that transpired to bring about the explosive popular uprisings of Arab Spring: Tunisia and Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain. But the events are not put together in a cohesive, chronological fashion. Using an uncommonly gripping style more akin to the folk-story motif of the djeli than to traditionally Orientalist academia, Prashad suspends a given situation, points out its components, and traces back the characters and genealogies that define each link before resuming a narrative. Every moment is an end to itself, and an origin of something different. Thus, the making of history becomes the suspension of its own progress, it’s catastrophic 'stability,' in a process of differentiation through inclusion. Empirically, one might suggest that history is a condition of time, and by extension, of the subject, but history is also an eminent producer of the Subject and her concept of time through memory and narrative. Hence, history is often overdetermined by a dominant narrative of the sovereign. The apparently chaotic composition of Prashad’s historicity is, then, an interstitial morphology of resistance. It illustrates that the time to act for the revolutionary lies in the gaps within the dominant historical realities. It points out the sorties of signifiers constituting nothing in the obliterated ruins of history. Through such illuminations, Arab Spring, Libyan Winter breaks through “the surface of history” to elaborate revolution’s snapping synapses, exploding interruptions and breaches, connecting flows. Messianic Politics It is tempting to think, 'History is either singular, or it is diffuse. It is either one coherent factual narrative, or it is comprised of the aletheia of the multitude.' Yet the reader finds Prashad examining the structure of history on multiple levels. For Prashad, world history is shaped by geographically defined political movements, such as communism or national liberation, with historical agents like the working class for the former and the nationalist militant for the latter. Religion, however, is another matter: “Religion has an unshakable eschatology which a post-utopian secular politics lacks.” Within the telos of religion, there appears on the horizon the image of Benjamin’s thoughts on messianic time—time as “a small fissure in the continuous catastrophe,” a break with history, may contain an ultimate redemption of the human beyond the political power struggle. Succoring the split between geo-political and utopian-religious (messianic) time in the context of Arab Spring, Prashad indicates that the base of “the deep desire and commitment to some form of democracy” is forged by the affinity between eschatological Islamist politics with the People. To think about the Subject of messianic time in the context of the lack of a “coherent timetable” for emancipatory politics, it is perhaps best to return to the modern tradition of Martin Luther King, Jr., whose prefigurative blending of liberation theology and emancipatory politics became most important during his works of 1963, the climactic year of “The Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” the March on Washington, and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. In “The Letter,” King states the point bluntly: Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was “well timed” in view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word “wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant ‘Never.” We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” The timing of rebellious action must not be a part of history. It must change history. The kairos appears spontaneous and untimely in its convulsive, shocking presence, yet it is, deeper still, a path, a longue durée , forged through diligent and rigorous praxis. King put a finer point on the path of historic liberation in his declaration in his 1963 speech at Western Michigan University: “[T]ime is neutral.... Somewhere along the way we must see that time will never solve the problem alone but that we must help time. Somewhere we must see that human progress never rolls in on the wheels on inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals who are willing to be co-workers with God. Without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the insurgent and primitive forces of irrational emotionalism and social stagnation. We must always help time and realize that the time is always right to do right.” Time, then, exists in “the neutral,” while action must turn to the kairos , not only of taking time, but taking the right time. By turning our relation to time into kairos , we move time from its context within history to a duration between histories—the longue dure?e of Messianic time. The implementation of neutrality in this context suggests a broad space of time to extend through the valley of positive and negative. In Roland Barthes’s lectures from 1978, the neutral takes place in this minimal distance of non-conflict that exists outside of two extremes. It is, in the words of Maurice Blanchot, “the non-general, the non-generic, as well as the non-specific.” For Blanchot, the neutrality of time permeates life as death, impassive and beyond control; such is the neutrality of messianic time, which permeates the charge of history, changing the "I" into the "one." The neutrality of time therefore implicates history in a case against extremism, showing that the work of the radical is not to tend to any particular side, but to have the time to navigate through the terrible terrain of history by altering its course, its patterns and rhythms of movement, connection, sociality. Hence, one does not simply “make history,” one alters the course of history in accordance to “the right time.” The historical path toward emerging power is transmitted as a gesture to the outside of history, against history; a gesture as simple as reaching out. Thus a counterhistory, to use Foucault’s term, is brought forward as the guide of time past a point of no return, a Rubicon, the point where the normal path of history falls to the past. The subject, who must be the only true agent of history, facilitates time through helpfulness, and both the Subject and her history become decentered in relation to one another. Yet history negates the neutrality of time. As Barthes discloses, although the neutral is the “thought and practice of the nonconflictual, it is nevertheless bound to assertion, to conflict, in order to make itself heard.” Engaged with history, time is charged with a destiny, and becomes an opposition. As Prashad insists, “For Arab lands, the events of early 2011 were not the inauguration of a new history, but the continuation of an unfinished struggle that is a hundred years old.” The emergence of the Subject during Arab Spring did not conceive of a new history, but changed the path of history toward a different destiny. “Historical grievances combined with inflationary pressures now met with the subjective sense that victory might be at hand—this was not simply a protest to scream into the wind, but a protest to actually remove autocrats from their positions of authority. The facts of resistance had given way to the expectation of revolutionary change.” The negativity of this charge toward “revolutionary destiny” rendered control, as a positive force, seriously lacking. The lack of control lies in the problem that the Subject is not totally detemporalized or timeless, but untimely in her presence. The Subject is untimely, because her work is visionary, and it is only through such visionary work that the Rubicon can be crossed. Still, the crossing of this border is haunted by anxiety over an impending disaster that lays in wait. It is only through the form of what Benjamin calls divine violence, captivated not with the justice of the means, but the ends—the transformation of history—that a revelation of history’s traumatic foundations can be liberated, and patterns and rhythms of time developed throughout obscured traditions awakened. In this situation, the Subject appears to be outside of right, but setting the state to rights. Because her position is correct, in-so-far as the rebelling subject rebels due to a lack of recognition, her representation appears outside of the norm, which is mistaken as right. Therefore, such visionary work must be carried out through obscured traditions, underground, away from the surveillance of empire. Explaining his method from the start along the lines of Marx’s metaphor of the mole, Prashad insists, “It is the burrowing that is essential, not simply the emergence onto the surface of history.” Arab Spring, Libyan Winter is a book on uncharted networks of time, spread out over the 252 pages like an elaborate spider’s web of passages intertwining with and overwhelming the machinery of the state. Although untimely, Arab Spring was not a flash in the pan, or a Facebook or Twitter revolution. Prashad notes that the government’s suspension of these tools led to further radicalism by furthering communications through face-to-face encounters. In existential terms, Arab Spring might be thought of as a revolution of Being over techne , an uprising of the unchartable, infinite potential of the Other. The name of this Other is found in Chance. The faith of the revolution lies in the proper decentering of the subject, its giving to the Other of time, for only with respect to time does history actually appear on the horizon of the subject, rather than as an imposition. This time of historical agency appears as a moment when anything can happen—a revolutionary truth event where everything comes into question while being realized in its Otherness as a community of the people begins anew in the streets amidst discourse, friendship, reconfigurations of hegemony, and a becoming of a constituent power. Throwing a wrench into the gears of the “cobwebbed tradition” of Orientalism, the decentering of history in Arab Spring, Libyan Winter is a defining quality of its impassioned revolutionary cry. But perhaps the most paradigmatic points of the book emerge from the unexpected voices. To make the connection between the particular manifestations of revolutionary demands to the general historic terms of revolution, Prashad quotes an anonymous young Egyptian in Tahrir Square, who reminds us, “[T]he French Revolution took a very long time so the people could eventually get their rights.” Far from timelessness, the historicization of Arab Spring must exist precisely within the most uncanny appearance of time, as something that does not appear to come from the natural state of time as we know it, but in arriving has completely transformed the way that we understand time. Strange Monsters Revolution is never as simple as a revolt from below against a rusting structure of elites trying to remain in power. As with the French Revolution, Arab Spring consisted of complex familial ties, outside interests, and religious factions fighting alongside, often in awkward juxtaposition to, liberals, working class parties, farmers, and students. It is perhaps because of this historically difficult and incongruous composition that the Arabic word for revolution is thawra , referring to the image of the bull, or thawr , which has religious significance as a pagan deity for the Ancient Semitic tribes and Cartheginians. If Daniel Guérin was correct in saying, “Anarchism and Marxism drink from the same spring,” then it is quite a different oasis that drove the thirsty beast of revolution through what Prashad calls, “the Libyan labyrinth.” Recalling Bataille’s Acéphale, the intestinal labyrinth gains significance as the mode of metabolism and rumination in which, “(the Acephale) has lost himself, loses me with him, and in which I discover myself as him, in other words, as a monster.” Unraveling the discourse of the revolution, the flows of power and hegemony—from Qaddafi’s nationalist coup in 1969 to the wars with Chad from 1978 to 1987, the neoliberal reforms of the 1990s to, finally, the War on Terror—we find that the metabolic process of Libyan Winter ends in the production of oil. In a process of what Prashad calls “involution,” Qaddafi’s bellicose policies, along with his attempts to nationalize Islam together with oil, mutated the source of his power, turning his house against itself. Already a divided nation, with its two major cities on opposite geographic sides of the country, Libya became split between two opposed political powers—liberal reformists and staunch nationalists—as Qaddafi’s political disengagement manifested through what can only be described in psychoanalytic terms as a recursive passage a l’act (mysteriously calling Wikipedia “Kleenex,” declaring that opponents drank hallucinogens with their instant coffee, and so on). Prashad declares, “The mercurial style that Qaddafi adopted was not about his personality alone, but also a leader’s natural response to a system that relied upon power brokers whose own loyalty… did not have any ideological commitment to the system.” As in the case of other nations during Arab Spring, the true expression of revolt was an outward exposition of what had inwardly been happening in microcosmic societies throughout the realm—from indigenous tribes to political parties, for a century, the people, partly motivated by (and in resistance to) economic impositions of development, had been changing the traditional social compositions and participating in what Ruth Wilson Gilmore calls, “the relative autonomy of the movement from the leaders.” It was this empowerment of political reconfigurations taking place under the context of new democratic assemblages that shocked the elites and evoked such a powerful response. Unlike Qaddafi’s awkward policy choices and rants, real acts of power from the West were clear and decisive. Prashad sets the stages of war and diplomacy, far removed from the deserts, mountains, and cities that forged the backdrop of popular politics. Taking place under the now-classic architecture of the “four pillars” of US interests—oil, the War on Terror, Israel, and the circumvention of Iranian hegemony—we find elites rubbing elbows in “Heliopolist cocktail parties and hushed conferences in Kasr al-Ittihadiya” as well as the Concorde-Lafayette hotel in Paris, which provides the setting for a meeting of anti-Qaddafi figures consolidating their power. These scenes are buttressed with the careful portraiture of key historical actors. As Prashad brings the stage of history to life, we find the diplomats and liberals like Frank Wisner, whose career has brought him from Enron in the late 1990s to the Obama Administration, under the aegis of which he was meeting with Mubarak about military support during Arab Spring. We spy the provocateurs, for instance, gauche cavalier , Bernard Henri-Levy, who telephones Sarkozy from Benghazi about the need for more NATO air strikes. We follow the rebel military establishment as it suffers mysterious deaths and even more mysterious assents (like that of apparent CIA cohort, Khalifa Hifter). In each of these intriguing characters, we find different representations of the security state biopolitique: an oil-injected reification that drives Arab Spring from the resentment of rising food prices to the brink of implosion in Libyan Winter. Reminiscent of the scenes of Cold War soirées represented in old Bond films, the aristocratic fight for oil against democracy that was Libyan Winter presents a harsh truth that the new global crisis is simply the continuation of the old history: the global exploitation of capitalism waged against the imagination of the people. As Benjamin laments, “The labyrinth is the right path for the person who always arrives early enough at his destination. This destination is the marketplace.” Yet, “(t)he labyrinth is the habitat of… a humanity (a class) which does not want to know where its destiny is taking it.” Thus, the labyrinth leads, like the desert, only further into itself. As Blanchot explains, “The desert is even less certain than the world; it is never anything but the approach to the desert.” Only the visionary can take time out of the involution toward oblivion. It is here, in this approach to and escape from history, that we find ourselves within Benjamin’s Golgotha, Blanchot’s desert: A space of indeterminate uncertainty where we become familiar only with our own exile. Blanchot writes, “For the moderated and moderate man, the room, the desert, and the world are strictly determined places. For the man of the desert and the labyrinth, devoted to the error of a journey necessarily a little longer than his life, the same space will be truly infinite, even if he knows that it is not, all the more so since he knows it.” The desert, as allegory, provides an eschatology, a mortality in the destiny of Arab Spring. But any allegory of nature might lead to a labyrinthine eschatology (for example, in Bachelard, the forest presents "a limitless world"); the prescience of the untimely is always an uncanny acceptance of the infinite within the finite—the outside of what is understood. Transgenerational and occupied with the image of the future, the untimely makes otherness its home as it proceeds toward liberation. In the work of helping time navigate this dangerous passage of history, Prashad illustrates that the more violent break with history may have occurred in the peaceable struggles of Tahrir Square, and not in the military clashes of Qaddafi with his former Generals who defected to the CIA and NATO countries. It might be possible to suggest, then, that in the case of Tunisia and Egypt, the historical subject of the people was drawn together in a Dionysian dance of different rhythms in the marvelous realm of the ancients, while we fear that the case of Libya suggests an Apollonian future where time, itself, may lay dying under the machinic hand of history. The properly Nietzschean inversion would follow: time is dead, for history has killed it. Yet, if time is dead, struck down in Golgotha, exposed in the desert, mauled by the thawra , it is only in the present sense that it is rendered impossible outside of the context into which the untimely has thrown us. Thus, if history becomes an art of revolution, life as being-towards-death (death as the provocation of the neutrality of time) becomes what Benjamin calls “the allegory of resurrection” through the glorious ruins of history. Prashad ends his work with a rousing finale: “The time of the impossible has presented itself. In Egypt, where the appetite for the possibilities of the future are greatest, the people continue to assert themselves into Tahrir Square and other places, pushing to reinvigorate a Revolution that must not die… For them the slogan is simple: Down with the Present. Long live the Future. May it be so.&rdquo. (shrink)

The development of the Minimalist Program, Noam Chomsky's most recent generative model of linguistics, has been highly influential over the last twenty years. It has had significant implications not only for the conduct of linguistic analysis itself, but also for our understanding of the status of linguistics as a science. The reflections and analyses in this book contain insights into the strengths and the weaknesses of the MP. Among these are, a clarification of the content of the Strong Minimalist Thesis (...) ; a synthesis of Chomsky's linguistic and interdisciplinary discourses; and an analysis of the notion of optimal computation from conceptual, empirical and philosophical perspectives. This book will encourage graduate students and researchers in linguistics to reflect on the foundations of their discipline, and the interdisciplinary nature of the topics explored will appeal to those studying biolinguistics, neurolinguistics, the philosophy of language and other related disciplines. (shrink)

There are few examples in the literature of objective measures for the assessment of donor willingness. The author describes the scoring system in use at his own renal transplant unit which has brought objectivity to the process of determining the willingness of living related donors. In this system, a total score to determine the degree of willingness or unwillingness is calculated based on responses to a series of questions. The author believes that with minor modifications this system could be implemented (...) by transplant units in different countries and cultures to screen out donors who are acting under duress. (shrink)

This paper presents a general framework for philosophical counseling founded upon the distinction between philosophical discourse and philosophy as a lived experience. Clients enter counseling, usually, philosophically unsophisticated, but with a set of perspectives and a predicament. I outline the two general processes of philosophical counseling that address such a reported predicament.The first process---critique---involves a critical examination of the client’s philosophical perspectives, as they are related to the reported predicament. Through the use of the Socratic method, the counselor attempts to (...) examine the relation, meaning, implications, etc., of such perspectives. This, I argue, leads to a destabilization of the client, where previously unquestioned beliefs and values become doubtful. As such, a second process---creation---is needed in order to overcome the destabilization of the initial process. For this process to succeed, I argue, philosophical counseling must avoid the problem of suggestion by not relying on any first-order philosophical assumptions. (shrink)

Aims To examine the understanding of the ethical dilemmas associated with Big Data and artificial intelligence (AI) among Jordanian medical students, physicians in training, and senior practitioners. Methods We implemented a literature-validated questionnaire to examine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the target population during the period between April and August 2023. Themes of ethical debate included privacy breaches, consent, ownership, augmented biases, epistemology, and accountability. Participants’ responses were showcased using descriptive statistics and compared between groups using t-test or ANOVA. (...) Results We included 466 participants. The greater majority of respondents were interns and residents (50.2%), followed by medical students (38.0%). Most participants were affiliated with university institutions (62.4%). In terms of privacy, participants acknowledged that Big Data and AI were susceptible to privacy breaches (39.3%); however, 59.0% found such breaches justifiable under certain conditions. For ethical debacles involving informed consent, 41.6% and 44.6% were aware that obtaining informed consent posed an ethical limitation in Big Data and AI applications and denounced the concept of “broad consent”, respectively. In terms of ownership, 49.6% acknowledged that data cannot be owned yet accepted that institutions could hold a quasi-control of such data (59.0%). Less than 50% of participants were aware of Big Data and AI’s abilities to augment or create new biases in healthcare. Furthermore, participants agreed that researchers, institutions, and legislative bodies were responsible for ensuring the ethical implementation of Big Data and AI. Finally, while demonstrating limited experience with using such technology, participants generally had positive views of the role of Big Data and AI in complementing healthcare. Conclusion Jordanian medical students, physicians in training and senior practitioners have limited awareness of the ethical risks associated with Big Data and AI. Institutions are responsible for raising awareness, especially with the upsurge of such technology. (shrink)

PurposeDigital and social inclusion are becoming more talked about as approaches to what has been discussed as the digital divide. But what is digital or social inclusion? The purpose of this paper is to explore the notion of social exclusion as a variety of, sometimes conflicting, social programmes which embody ideas of what society should be. Becoming more aware of this variety of approach can give insights into programmes addressing the digital divide and the political, cultural and social aspects of (...) policies of social inclusion.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyses the notion of social inclusion as a variety of social policies to address social exclusion and develop the nation state. It uses an example of a telecentre in Jordan's knowledge station programme to illustrate and extend this analysis.FindingsThe analysis and discussion of the KS initiative shows how different notions of social and digital inclusion are important features of strengthening the Jordanian state and are useful in analysing the relative success of this programme.Originality/valueThe paper argues that analyses of digital divides and digital exclusion could be strengthened by a closer understanding of policies of social inclusion. In this way it is possible to move from technological connection as a measure of a digital divide to a more thorough understanding using social inclusion policy which illuminates social, political and cultural aspects of technological change. (shrink)

When the Matrix trilogy was published in the mid-1980s, it introduced to mass culture a number of post-human tropes about the conscious machines that have haunted our collective imaginaries ever since. This volume explores the social representations and significance of technological developments - especially AI and human enhancement - that have started to transform our human agency. It uses these developments to revisit theories of the human mind and its essential characteristics: a first person perspective, concerns and reflexivity. It looks (...) at how the smart machines are used as agents of change in the basic institutions and organisations that hold contemporary societies together: for example in the family and the household, in commercial corporations, in health institutions, or in the military. Its main purpose it to enrich the ongoing public discussion of the social and political implications of the smart machines by looking at the extent to which they further digitalize and bureaucratize the world, in particular by asking whether they are used to develop techno-totalitarian societies that corrode normativity and solidarity. talize and bureaucratize the world, in particular by asking whether they are used to develop techno-totalitarian societies that corrode normativity and solidarity. (shrink)

In Islam, the acquisition of knowledge is a form of worship. But human achievement must be exercised in conformity with God's will. Warnings against feelings of superiority often are coupled with the command to remain within the confines of God's laws and limits. Because of the fear of arrogance and disregard of the balance created by God, any new knowledge or discovery must be applied with careful consideration to maintaining balance in the creation. Knowledge must be applied to ascertain equity (...) and justice for all of humanity. Research in Islam must be linked to the broad ethical base set forth in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Whether embryonic stem cell research or cloning is ethically acceptable in Islam depends on the benefits derived from such applications. What is most important for the scholars is to adhere to the concepts of compassion, mercy, and benefit to everyone. (shrink)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the ethical behaviour of Muslim IT professionals in an attempt to stop many unethical practices such as software piracy, software intellectual property violations and general software development.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines the computer ethical principles presented in the Association for Computing Machinery code of conduct from an Islamic point of view through studying some relevant verses of The Holy Quran and Hadiths of Prophet Mohammed. An evaluation of the benefits of this newly proposed Islamic (...) computer code of ethics is presented by surveying how IT students, IT professionals and software house owners would adhere to it. The evaluation was carried out by teaching different groups of participants aspects of the ACM code of conduct and the proposed Islamic computer ethics code and then surveying their opinions by a questionnaire.FindingsThe study demonstrates that teaching computer ethics in general, and computer ethics from an Islamic point of view in particular, clearly contributes to ethical behaviour of Muslim IT professionals with regards to software development issues.Research limitations/implicationsIt is not possible to put participants through real life scenarios and practically observe how they would react to different ethical situations. The empirical research thus relies on what participants said they would do.Practical implicationsThe newly developed Islamic code of computer ethics and its proposed implementation method can be utilised by organisations for their benefit.Originality/valueThe study is the first to address the issue of computer ethics and Islam for IT professionals. This paper presents a first Islamic computer code of ethics and presents a methodology for applying it. It also reports a study undertaken in Bahrain of how attitudes might be influenced by teaching computer ethics in general, and computer ethics from an Islamic point of view in particular. (shrink)

Burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment, is an occupational phenomenon now recognized by the World Health Organization. This study explores the interplay between psychological capital and emotional labour in contributing to burnout among workers in a Malaysian non-profit organization (NPO). Psychological capital encompasses positive psychological states such as self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience. Emotional labour involves managing emotions to fulfil job roles, often requiring workers to present emotions that may not reflect their true (...) feelings. The constant need to maintain these emotional displays can lead to emotional dissonance and burnout. Given Malaysia's demographic shifts towards an ageing population, the implications of burnout among NPO workers, who provide critical services to vulnerable groups, are significant. The high workload and emotional demands placed on these workers can result in chronic stress, emotional exhaustion, and a decrease in job performance and motivation. This study aims to fill the research gap by examining the specific factors that contribute to burnout in the Malaysian context, considering the unique cultural and social dynamics that may influence these relationships. The findings of this research can provide valuable insights for developing interventions to enhance psychological resilience and manage emotional labour more effectively among NPO workers. By addressing these challenges, organizations can support their workforce in maintaining high levels of service quality and personal well-being, which is crucial for the sustainability of NPOs and the well-being of the communities they serve. (shrink)

Fake news detection involves predicting the likelihood that a particular news article is intentionally deceptive. Arabic FND started to receive more attention in the last decade, and many detection approaches demonstrated some ability to detect fake news on multiple datasets. However, most existing approaches do not consider recent advances in natural language processing, i.e., the use of neural networks and transformers. This paper presents a comprehensive comparative study of neural network and transformer-based language models used for Arabic FND. We examine (...) the use of neural networks and transformer-based language models for Arabic FND and show their performance compared to each other. We also conduct an extensive analysis of the possible reasons for the difference in performance results obtained by different approaches. The results demonstrate that transformer-based models outperform the neural network-based solutions, which led to an increase in the F1 score from 0.83 to 0.95, and it boosted the accuracy by 16% compared to the best in neural network-based solutions. Finally, we highlight the main gaps in Arabic FND research and suggest future research directions. (shrink)

Authors endure considerable hardship carrying out biomedical research, from generating ideas to completing their manuscripts and submitting their findings and data to a journal. When researchers submit to journals, they entrust their findings and ideas to editors and peer reviewers who are expected to respect the confidentiality of peer review. Inherent trust in peer review is built on the ethical conduct of authors, editors and reviewers, and on the respect of this confidentiality. If such confidentiality is breached by unethical reviewers (...) who might steal or plagiarize the authors’ ideas, researchers will lose trust in peer review and may resist submitting their findings to that journal. Science loses as a result, scientific and medical advances slow down, knowledge may become scarce, and it is unlikely that increasing bias in the literature will be detected or eliminated. In such a climate, society will ultimately be deprived from scientific and medical advances. Despite a rise in documented cases of abused peer review, there is still a relative lack of qualitative and quantitative studies on reviewer-related misconduct, most likely because evidence is difficult to come by. Our paper presents an assessment of editors’ and reviewers’ responsibilities in preserving the confidentiality of manuscripts during the peer review process, in response to a 2016 case of intellectual property theft by a reviewer. Our main objectives are to propose additional measures that would offer protection of authors’ intellectual ideas from predatory reviewers, and increase researchers’ awareness of the responsible reviewing of journal articles and reporting of biomedical research. (shrink)

BackgroundDefensive medicine (DM) practice refers to the ordering or prescription of unnecessary treatments or tests while avoiding risky procedures for critically ill patients with the aim to alleviate the physician’s legal responsibility and preserve reputation. Although DM practice is recognized, its dimensions are still uncertain. The subject has been highly investigated in developed countries, but unfortunately, many developing countries are unable to investigate it properly. DM has many serious ramifications, exemplified by the increase in treatment costs for patients and health (...) systems, patients’ exposure to risks, and negative effects on the psychological health of both health providers and recipients. Ultimately, the most serious consequence is the ethical consequences.MethodsThis work is based on a review of the literature related to DM worldwide and a comparison with the available knowledge found in Jordan. It is qualitative with a descriptive nature, aiming to diagnose the current DM practice in Jordan.ResultsThis is the first published article that discusses DM in Jordan by diagnosing its ethical and economic consequences for the health system as well as for patients. Despite the knowledge of the reasons that support its practice, little is being done to solve this issue. The absence of agreeable medical malpractice law, the dearth of unified medical protocols, the overwhelming pressure imposed by patients on medical staff, and the deteriorating patient-physician relationship are some of the causes of DM practice. Surely, the solution to these issues is to focus on fortifying the ethical and humanitarian aspects on the side of both the physician and the patient to ensure positive collaboration. The ethical aim of the physician to treat the patient faithfully and do what is possible to help combined with the appreciation of the physician’s efforts and the choice to not take advantage of the physician through litigation could be the most reasonable solution in the near future.ConclusionJordan is suffering from DM due to the limited financial expenditure on the health sector and the impracticality of medical malpractice law. The authors highlight that the cardinal step in solving this dilemma is restoring the ethical dimension of the patient-physician relationship. (shrink)