This article explores the political implications of Muslim public self-presentation and forms of self-fashioning associated with the ongoing processes of re-Islamisation in both Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority societies. It sketches how projects of the Muslim public self contribute to a refiguring of the public sphere. The argument put forward is that public practices of self-reform grounded in religion and presented in pietistic terms are political by virtue of being tied to projects of societal reform and because they have a bearing on (...) the public sphere and public space. Proceeding from the premise that the public sphere is not neutral and that the subjectivities inhabiting it are shaped by power relations, the article examines the ways in which projects of Muslim public selves are imbricated in the material conditions of the settings in which they develop and as such are underpinned by dynamics of power and contestation. (shrink)

Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, The Disagreements of the Jurists: A Manual of Islamic Legal Theory. Edited and translated by Devin J. Stewart. Library of Arabic Literature. New York: New York University Press, 2015. Pp. xxxviii + 405. $40.

The aim of the paper is to discuss the idea of dialogue with nature. Even though the idea of dialogue with animals, plants – even objects of inanimate nature – is well known, it has usually been treated as an expression of a naive or folk view. Yet, it has recently gained in importance as an idea that is used to describe an ecological approach to natural environment and tends to be treated as a foundation for an ecological culture. A (...) noteworthy contribution to the reconsideration of the concept of human-nature dialogue has also been given by a number of contemporary philosophers who have offered an environmental reinterpretation of phenomenology and hermeneutics based on, among other things, Martin Buber’s concept of the I-You relationship. The paper will focus on two aspects of the concept of dialogue, namely on its epistemological and ethical implications. Following Erazim Kohák’s theory, which will be presented as a key figure of a particular manner of speaking about nature, one that leads to ecological personalism. (shrink)

In _Knowing God_, Ismail Lala investigates the nature of God and whether we can truly know Him according to the influential mystic, Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ʿArabī, and his disciple, ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Qāshānī.

The aim of this article is to suggest that one should think of gardens in terms of performances and not necessarily in terms of architecture, painting, or poetry, for it is possible to show that, strangely enough, gardens seem to share certain features with performance arts. Such an approach seems fruitful since it allows one both to grasp the fact that gardens combine culture and nature and to underline the role of the latter, which cannot be reduced to a sheer (...) medium as is traditionally done. The contention is that gardens should be treated more like a continuous, dynamic, partly planned process in which people can participate in different ways on a par with other non-human ‘actors’. Moreover, the category of performance seems to offer a useful framework helping to solve certain problems inherent in traditional ways of thinking about gardens. (shrink)

This study aims to investigate the experiences and problems of foreign nationals in Turkey, concerning microaggressions. Thus, it was aimed to find out which types of microaggressions -and at what frequency- are experienced by people who come to Turkey for different reasons like education, pursuit of a better life or escaping from war. The study was conducted in five different cities of Turkey. Students from primary school to university, teachers, parents and doctors took part in the study. The participants were (...) asked the single question “Do you ever experience deliberate or undeliberate insults, whether verbal or behavioral, targeting your ethnic identity and diversity in Turkey?” The results of the study show that microaggression is a very serious problem in Turkey. It can be gathered from the findings that Turkish people are not as tolerant to foreign people as they used to be. Behaviors that make people of foreign origin feel like second-class citizens and alienated take place quite often. Foreigners are usually connected with negative occurrences and they are reminded that they are not welcome in this country. These people are also accused of causing many misfortunes in the country. The study also exhibits that foreign nationals suffer greatly from prejudices about their cultures and they become the target of explicit and direct insults particularly regarding their race. (shrink)

Preview: It is not a gross exaggeration to state that philosophy is an inherently urban phenomenon. Born and largely practiced in the Greek polis, it was developed throughout the ages in various places that more often than not were situated within city walls. Even if, udoubtedly, philosophy has never been limited solely to urban spaces, it has become more and more embedded in cities over the centuries. Consequently, from the 19th century on it has been part and parcel of the (...) intellectual life whose main centers have been towns since it has been almost exclusively researched on and taught within academic institutions. (shrink)

Terminal kidney patients are faced with lower quality of life, restricted diets and higher morbidity and mortality rates while waiting for deceased donor kidney transplantation. Fortunately, living kidney donation has proven to be a better treatment alternative (e.g. in terms of waiting time and graft survival rates). We observed an inequality in the number of living kidney transplantations performed between the non-European and the European patients in our center. Such inequality has been also observed elsewhere in this field and it (...) has been suggested that this inequality relates to, among other things, attitude differences towards donation based on religious beliefs. In this qualitative research we investigated whether religion might indeed (partly) be the explanation of the inequalities in living donor kidney transplants (LDKT) among non-European patients. Fifty patients participated in focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted following the focus group method and analyzed in line with Grounded Theory. The qualitative data analyses were performed in Atlas.ti. We found that religion is not perceived as an obstacle to living donation and that religion actually promotes helping and saving the life of a person. Issues such as integrity of the body were not seen as barriers to LDKT. We observed also that there are still uncertainties and a lack of awareness about the position of religion regarding living organ donation within communities, confusion due to varying interpretations of Holy Scriptures and misconceptions regarding the process of donation. Faith leaders play an important educational role and their opinion is influential. This study has identified modifiable factors which may contribute to the ethnic disparity in our living donation program. We argue that we need to strive for more clarity and awareness regarding the stance of religion on the issue of living donation in the local community. Faith leaders could be key figures in increasing awareness and alleviating uncertainty regarding living donation and transplantation. (shrink)

Background Human Papilloma Virus vaccine was introduced in Bangladesh through the arrangement of a demonstration project in Gazipur district in 2016, targeting grade five female students and non-school going girls. HPV vaccination is expected to be eventually included in the nationwide immunization program if the demonstration project is successful. However, introduction and implementation of such a vaccination program raises various ethical concerns. This review paper illustrates a step by step assessment of the ethical concerns surrounding the HPV vaccination implementation in (...) Bangladesh considering specific elements in administering and conducting the program as well as the intended results. Policy-makers, vaccine implementers, vaccine recipients, and an ethics specialist in Bangladesh were interviewed. Electronic database and websites have also been reviewed for relevant published literature and government statements. Main body of the abstract This program imparted inadequate knowledge about HPV and cervical cancer to the recipients and participants. There was lack of autonomous and informed choice of the girls and their parents about taking the vaccine. The program did not have any follow-up plan for the adverse effects in the long run. The impact of a female-only strategy in the larger societal context was overlooked. There was lack of awareness among the implementers about safeguarding the ethical issues pertaining to HPV vaccination. Conclusion Adolescent health education imparted in the scope of the vaccination program should contain adequate information about HPV, its mode of transmission, risk factors along with the importance of secondary prevention despite primary prevention. Adolescent boys should be given HPV related health education as well. The right of making informed choice should be appreciated and respected. More ethical discussion and debate should be done among the public health professionals of Bangladesh in order to increase awareness about ethical issues related to human health. (shrink)

This book aims to present trompe-l'oeil painting as an ambigous aesthetic ideal offered by early modern theory of art. It embodies the idea of an image identical to what it represents. It is interpreted in terms of perceptual and aesthetic illusion, mimesis, diegesis, play, irony and scientific illustration.

Peygamberler diyarı Kudüs, İslâm’da özel bir yere ve kudsiyete sahiptir. Müslümanların ilk kıblesi olması ve Allah Resûlü’nün İsrâ gecesinde içine girip namaz kıldığı Mescid-i Aksâ’yı bünyesinde barındırması sebebiyle Kudüs, evvela sahabenin sonra da bütün İslâm âleminin ilgi odağı hâline gelmiştir. Bu makalede, faziletine dair ayet ve hadislerin bulunduğu, tarihî ve manevî değeri yüksek yerlerden biri olan Kudüs topraklarına ve Mescid-i Aksâ’ya gerek Hz. Peygamber döneminde gerekse Hz. Peygamber’in vefatından sonra sahabenin gösterdiği ilgi ve bu ilginin sebepleri üzerinde durulacaktır. Ayrıca sahabenin (...) Mescid-i Aksâ’ya ve İsrâ hadisesine fazla önem vermediğine veya ilgi göstermediğine dair günümüzde ileri sürülen bazı farklı görüş ve iddialar eleştirel bir bakış açısıyla ele alınıp değerlendirilecek, bu görüş ve iddiaların ne derece doğru veya tutarlı olduğu ortaya konulmaya çalışılacaktır. (shrink)

Kadim bir dil olan Arapça, İslamiyet’in gelişiyle birlikte kutsal bir kitap olan Kur’an-ı Kerim’in dili olmuş, günümüze kadar varlığını ve önemini korumuştur. Anadili Arapça olmayanlara bu dilin öğretilmesi için farklı coğrafya ve farklı dönemlerde medreselerde veya devletin resmi eğitim kurumlarında Arapça dersleri verilmiştir. Verilen Arapça eğitimlerinde nahiv ve sarf temelli bir eğitim uygulanmıştır. Gramere dayalı bu dil eğitimi İlahiyat veya İslami İlimler fakültelerinde verilen eğitimlerle daha ileri bir seviyeye taşınmaya çalışılmıştır. İlahiyat veya İslami İlimler fakültelerinde verilen Arapça eğitimleri temelde dört (...) beceriyi kazandırma odaklı hazırlanmıştır. Ancak gramer odaklı verilmeye çalışılan Arapça eğitimlerinde hedeflenen başarı elde edilememektedir. Bu araştırmanın konusu, İlahiyat veya İslami İlimler fakültelerinde okutulan Arapça hazırlık eğitiminin değerlendirilmesi ve bu eğitimin kalitesinin arttırılması için yapılması gerekenlerdir. Bu doğrultuda bu çalışmada Bitlis Eren Üniversitesi İslami İlimler Fakültesi %30 Zorunlu Arapça Hazırlık Sınıflarının 2018-2019 Eğitim ve Öğretim Yılında aldıkları Arapça eğitimi model alınmıştır. Hazırlık Sınıflarında Arapça eğitimi alan 90 öğrenciye 33 sorudan oluşan anket uygulanmıştır. Anket sonuçları değerlendirilmiş ve verilen Arapça eğitiminin kalitesi ortaya konulmuştur. Elde edilen sonuçlardan hareketle, verilen eğitimde eksik ve hatalı durumlar tespit edilerek, eğitimin daha kaliteli bir düzeye ulaştırılması için önerilerde bulunulmuştur. Giriş bölümünde İlahiyat veya İslami İlimler fakültelerindeki Arapça eğitimi hakkında bilgiler verilmiştir. Sonrasında çalışmanın amacı, önemi, sınırlılıkları, problemi ve örneklem ortaya konulmuştur. Fakültede uygulanan Arapça hazırlık eğitimi hakkında bilgiler verilmiş ve uygulanan anket çalışmaya eklenmiştir. Son olarak bulgular ve yorumlar verilerek çalışma sonuç ve öneriler ile sonlandırılmıştır. (shrink)

Kemal Pasazâde (873-940/1468-1534) “fî Tahkîki Ta’rîbi’l-Kelimeti’l-A’cemiyye” adlı risalesinde “ta’rîb” yani “yabancı kelimelerin Arapçalastırılması” konusunu teorik ve pratik olarak inceler. Müellif verdigi çok sayıda örnekle neredeyse alanında küçük bir sözlük telif etmistir. Arap dünyasında iki kez tahkîk edilen ve karsılastırmalı çalısmaları yapılan risalede incelenen kelimelerin yaklasık beste biri, özel isimlerin büyük çogunlugunu olusturdugu Kur’ân-ı Kerîm kelimelerinden seçilmistir. Eser, bu yönleriyle Kur’ân’da Arapça dısı kelimelerin varlıgı üzerine yapılan tartısmalara önemli katkılar saglamaktadır.

Makalede, İbn-i Kemâl’in “Risâletun fî Beyâni’l-Uslûbi’l-Hakîm” adlı risalesinde “el-üslûbu’lhakîm” belâğî sanatını incelemesi ele alınmıştır. es-Sekkâkî’nin isim babası olduğu söz konusu sanatın tanımı, örnekleri ve özellikle Kur’ân’daki yansımaları eserin genel konularıdır. es-Sekkâkî’nin tanımıyla sunduğu bazı örnekler arasında tam bir uygunluk olmadığına dikkatleri çeken müellif, konuyu daha doğru bir zemine oturtabilmek için öncelikle mevcut tanımı ıslah etmeye gayret etmiştir. es-Sekkâkî’nin örneklerini her iki bakış açısıyla tartışan Kemâl Paşazâde, yeni örnekler sunarak ilgili sanatın anlaşılmasına önemli katkılarda bulunmuştur. Ayrıca müellifin, âyetlerin daha doğru anlaşılması (...) için metin ve bağlam sentezlemesinin nasıl yapılacağına dair uygulama örnekleri tefsir açısından kıymetli veriler taşımaktadır. (shrink)

We consider a chain of metabolic reactions catalyzed by enzymes, of reversible Michaelis-Menten type with full dynamics, i.e. not reduced with any quasi-steady state approximations. We study the corresponding dynamical system and show its global stability if the equilibrium exists. If the system is open, the equilibrium may not exist. The main tool is monotone systems theory. Finally we study the implications of these results for the study of coupled genetic-metabolic systems.

This paper discusses the contribution of a prolific author and an Egyptian scholar Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd and his hermeneutical approach to the Qur’an. The article argues that Abu Zayd is a Muslim reformer of the twentieth century through his takwil. His hermeneutical concept is questioning the “an-nash ” tradition of the Qur’an and the transformation of Arab culture from oral to text-oriented culture in the earliest history of the Qur’an. He differentiates between tanzil to takwil. This article further argues (...) that Abu Zayd’s hermeneutical concept should be understood from the history of revelation which speaks to a particular community and respond to a particular situation. Thus, the Qur’an itself is a living phenomenon and open for interpretation, rather than a closed corpus. (shrink)

The current study explored the effects of using digital flashcards and mobile devices on learning academic vocabulary. The participants were 86 university students majoring in Psychology in two experimental conditions and one control group. A list of 361 core academic words frequently used in Psychology was taught to the participants using different materials, and the learning outcomes were compared across the three groups. Accordingly, the participants in the experimental group 1 used a DF application, participants in the experimental group 2 (...) used traditional materials, and those in the control group were given a list of target words with their definitions. Receptive knowledge of the target words was tested before and after the treatment, and the learning outcomes were compared across the groups using one-way between-groups ANOVA. The findings of the study indicated that using DFs enhanced students’ engagement with learning their discipline-specific academic vocabulary and that experimental group 1 outperformed those participants in other learning conditions. The findings add to the existing literature on mobile-assisted vocabulary learning and provide empirical support for the effectiveness of such platforms for learning academic vocabulary. The implications of the study were discussed in terms of the affordances provided by DFs on mobile devices and corpus-based word lists for informing vocabulary learning components in teaching English for Academic Purposes. (shrink)

The paper aims at an analysis of the concept of landscape, offering an ontological approach. Our claim is that such a perspective is hardly ever assumed in philosophical aesthetics, even if theories of landscape appreciation are in fact based on tacit ontological assumptions. We argue that having an explicit ontology of landscapes is important, for aesthetic theories of their appreciation are often attacked in terms of the problems caused by their tacit ontologies. Therefore, we sketch an “Experience Ontology” that serves (...) as an alternative to the ontologies implied in the two best known aesthetic approaches to landscapes. We contend that a landscape should not be conceived of as an object or view but as a way of experiencing one’s surroundings, and we argue that our theory is not only free from the shortcomings of the two dominant theories but that it also corresponds better to everyday intuitions. (shrink)

Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240) is regarded as one of the foremost mystical thinkers in Islam. This paper explores the ways in which he and his followers distinguish between the reality of Muḥammad (al-ḥaqīqa al-Muḥammadiyya) or the light of Muḥammad (al-nūr al-Muḥammadī), as the metaphysical reality of Muḥammad, and his metahistorical manifestation as Muḥammad Ibn ‘Abd Allāh. In his metaphysical reality, Muḥammad is the manifestation of the qur’ān, which ‘brings together’ the divine and His creation. Muḥammad’s metaphysical reality, as (...) the primary recipient of the divine outpouring, enables further differentiations of the divine to emerge in the form of the universe, and establishes his connection to the divine. Yet the Qur’an is also temporal in terms of being an historical act of revelation. Likewise, Muḥammad Ibn ‘Abd Allāh, in terms of his physical reality, was temporally circumscribed. It is in these ways, argues Ibn ‘Arabī and his acolytes, that Muḥammad, as reality and personality, brings together the divine and the temporal, in the same manner as the qur’ān/Qur’an respectively. (shrink)

South Korea created miracles out of a mess in the second half of the twentieth century. They have built an industrial production and export giant called Han Miracle and a democratic culture. They also began to create a cultural fever worldwide called the Korean Wave. However, what makes the Korean modernisation story unique compared to other development experiences in Asia is neither its industrial development nor its democratisation. The rapid Christianisation, especially the Protestantisation of Korea, which walks alongside modernisation, is (...) what makes this story special. Catholics entered Korea first, but they failed due to various reasons. Then, a peasant movement called Tonghak, which is organised around a syncretic religion named Cheondogyo, began to rise. They even started a nationwide uprising and gained massive supporters, but they could not succeed in expanding aggressively after the Japanese occupation. The latest comers, the Protestants, eventually became the largest religious group in South Korea. The Protestants studied the Catholics’ failure and the Tonghak movement’s success well and created a syncretic folk religion that did not exclude local religious elements. This syncretism was the key to their mind-blowing success in South Korea. (shrink)

A postcolonialist reading of the deployment of the concept of culture in literature, anthropology, philosophy, sociology, cultural studies. It argues that modernity as understood in the Anglo-US episteme is structured around eurocentrism.

BackgroundThe principle of equivalence in prison health has been established for nearly four decades. It seeks to ensure that prisoners have access to the same level of healthcare as members of society at large, which is entrenched within the international legal framework and England’s national health policies.AimsThis study examined how key policymakers interpret and implement the principle of equivalence in English prisons. It also identified opportunities and threats associated with the application of the principle.MethodsIn total, 30 policymakers took part in (...) this research. These participants engaged in policymaking activities and occupied positions of authority in the prison field.ResultsDespite the policymakers’ consensus on the importance of the equivalence principle, there was a varying degree of understanding regarding what constitutes ‘equivalence’. Participants described how the security culture impedes prisoners’ access to healthcare services. Additionally, the increasing size and complexity of the prison population, coupled with a diminishing level of resources, reduce the level of care being provided in prisons and thus compromise implementation of equivalence in English prisons.ConclusionsInconsistent interpretation of equivalence, the prevailing security drive, increasing numbers and health complexities of prisoners and fiscal austerity threaten the implementation of equivalence in English prisons. This research calls for new guidance on how to interpret and implement equivalence, along with measures to educate prison governors and staff on the prison rehabilitation value, ensure greater investment in prison health and consider alternatives to imprisonment to future-proof the principle of equivalence in the English prison system. (shrink)