Muslim‐Christian polemics in Indonesian Islamic literature

As Indonesian Muslim depictions of Christianity have varied over time and according to the receptivity of particular regions, this study provides a brief survey of the Muslim attitudes towards Christianity from the seventeenth to the twentieth century in Indonesia. In this article, Nuruddin al‐Raniri and Hasbullah Bakry are taken as the prototype of Indonesian Muslims’ depictions of Christianity in the early and modem eras. In Bakry's works, as the main concern of this study, we find greater familiarity with the Bible which is quoted in an almost literal fashion. The biblical verses are quoted for the purpose of convincing a Muslim audience that Islam is the last religion and that Muhammad is the last messenger; they are used to defend Islam from the misrepresentations of Christians who had wielded the Bible as one of their chief weapons in the effort of Christianize Indonesia.     

Ijtihad and innovation in neo‐modernist Islamic thought in Indonesia

This article briefly explores three models of ijtihad followed in contemporary Islam: text‐based, eclectic and context‐based ijtihad, and attempts to sketch the features of the environment within which each model functions. The key aim of the article, however, is to examine the context‐based model of ijtihad which is utilized by the neo‐Modernist Muslims in Indonesia, to identify a number of their major concerns and to highlight the nature of the reform agenda the neo‐Modernists are pursuing. Though this agenda may be seen by many Muslims to be problematic and even dangerous, it is gaining ground in Indonesia, particularly within the younger generation who have had the opportunity of combining traditional Islamic scholarship with modern Western education. The article examines these issues of interest on the basis of interviews conducted during 1995 in Jakarta with two leading Muslim intellectuals: Nurcholish Majid, the leading neo‐Modernist thinker, and Abdurrahman Wahid, the leader of the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, Nahdlatul Ulama.     

Islamic Considerations on the Application of Patient’s Autonomy in End-of-Life Decision

Journal of Religion and Health - In end-of-life situation, the need for patient’s preference comes into the picture with the intention of guiding physicians in the direction of patient care....     

Are social value orientations expressed automatically? Decision making in the dictator game

Drawing on the social intuitionist model, the authors studied the hypothesis that social value orientations are expressed automatically in behavior. They compared spontaneous and more deliberated decisions in the dictator game and confirmed that social values determine behavior when responses are based on the automatic system. By means of both mediation and experimental analyses, the authors further demonstrate that the automatic expression of social value orientations is mediated by perceptions of interpersonal closeness. A reasoning process can subsequently override these automatic responses and disconnect decisions from perceptions of interpersonal closeness. This results in lower levels of other-regarding behavior, at least for prosocials.     

Islamic theology of Christian‐Muslim relations

As Islam becomes an important source for re‐assessing modern international order it needs to engage in a dialogue with its normative tradition to retrieve a relevant theology for the twenty‐first century. This paper undertakes that intellectual dialogue to evaluate the available concepts and ideas within the Islamic tradition and assess them critically to show whether they can become substantial resources for Christian‐Muslim relations in the twenty‐first century. The conclusion of the paper is that unless Muslim thinkers are willing to recognize the necessity to go beyond the epistemes provided in the classical sources, Islam will continue to remain unresponsive to the emerging pluralism in the global community today.     

Implications of the Islamic revival for Christian‐Muslim dialogue in Asia

Abstract

After a review of the demographic balance between Christians and Muslims in Asia, this article looks at the different factors which influence the relations between them. A review of the growth of Christianity in Asia is then followed by an outline of the four phases of the spread of Islam and a survey of the causes of the contemporary Islamic revival in the region. Particular attention is devoted to the influence of Wahhabi ideas from what is now Saudi Arabia, the hopes engendered by the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the influence of the Palestinian struggle, the legacy of the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the consequences of the Gulf War of 1991, and the impact of al‐Qa'ida and the events of 11 September 2001. Recent tensions between Christians and Muslims in Indonesia and the Philippines are discussed, and the significance of the revivalist critique of modernity and the clash of values between anthropocentric liberalism and the theocentric system of revivalist Islam is assessed.     

Yemeni debates on the status of non‐Muslims in Islamic law

This essay examines Yemeni legal debates, in the period between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, regarding the status of and relations with non‐Muslims inside and outside the Islamic state. The legal works considered in this paper are written by Zaydi scholars, but they are informed by all other Muslim legal traditions. Studies of the Islamic law of nations and of the dhimma system have traditionally fluctuated between either wholesale condemnation or unqualified apologetic defence. And yet, as the works examined in this essay illustrate, the Islamic legal position on each of the controversial aspects of the laws of non‐Muslims is diverse, and it does not lend itself to essentialist classifications. Moreover, this diversity demonstrates the internal flexibility of the law and its inherent potential for reforming itself.     

Ahl al‐dhimma in an Islamic state: The teaching of Abū al‐Hasan al‐Mawardi's Al‐ahkam al‐sultaniyya

The much‐quoted Al‐ahkam al‐sultaniyya of the prominent Shafi'i jurisconsult, Abu l‐Hasan al‐Mawardi (364–450 AH/974–1058 AD), was written primarily to buttress the ‘Abbadsid caliphate which was facing, at the time, challenges to its authority by the competing caliphates of the Fatimids and Umayyads, in Cairo and al‐Andalus respectively, and, at home by the actual usurpation of its power by the Twelver Shi'ite Buwayhids (945–1055 CE).

Al‐Mawardi recapitulates Sunni political thought to lend credence to the primacy of the ^cAbbasid caliphate in Baghdad and its legitimacy. His discussion of the various functions, rights and duties of the caliph included discussion of the rights and obligations of ahl al‐dhimma (Christians and Jews) in the Muslim state which included freedom of worship and protection by the state, in lieu of the obligation of male adults to pay a poll tax (jizya) and land tax (kharäj) by farmers. Al‐Mawardi affirms the obtaining practice that allowed Christians and Jews to attain high ranks in the government, serving as executive ministers, and participating in certain military campaigns.     

Rational decision‐making among male street prostitutes

This ethnographic study examines the lives of 18 young male street prostitutes. The focus of this study is to identify the benefits and liabilities associated with this activity by grounding the decision to engage in this behavior in a rational choice perspective. Benefits identified include financial gain, sexual pleasure, control of work schedule, and affection. The liabilities include fear of arrest, potential for violence, having sex with undesirable people, and not being paid for services rendered. This study demonstrates that the decision to engage in street prostitution is a complicated process that involves the weighing of the perceived benefits against the perceived risks.     

Social Consciousness in Canadian Islamic Schools?

This note presents the results of interviews carried with lead teachers in four of Toronto's full-time oldest and largest Islamic schools. The study found a distinct development of pedagogical aspirations among these four schools. Teachers all reported encouraging and teaching about social consciousness as a fundamental aspect of faith practice. The note also traces how in the wake of 9/11 these schools have engaged in an explicit attempt to create a space for the teaching of social justice through fundraising, dialogue, and community activism. However, the note concludes by an analysis showing that the predominant conception of social justice in this establishment remains outward looking rather than inwardly critical.     

Rethinking citizenship rights of non‐Muslims in an Islamic state: Rashid al‐Ghannūshi's contribution to the evolving debate

Of interest to Islamists of the twentieth century has been the question of minority rights in an Islamic state and of how non‐Muslim minorities should be treated: in particular, should they enjoy equal citizenship rights and responsibilities with Muslims? Traditional Islamic law did not accord equal rights to non‐Muslim protected minorities (ahl al‐dhimma), placing Muslims above them in several key areas. Notwithstanding the law, however, early Muslim rulers exercised some pragmatic discretion according to the imperatives of their day. With the Islamic revival of the twentieth century, the traditional view has been adopted by several Muslim thinkers and leaders, though the traditional view is at odds with the concept of the nation‐state. The nation‐state is built on a secular premise, with no single religious group favoured over another. Within this context, a number of Muslim thinkers have attempted to reinterpret the traditionally held view of ‘citizenship rights’. This article will focus on the contribution of one such thinker, the Tunisian Islamist Rashid al‐Ghannūshi, who espouses somewhat ‘liberal’ views on the issue and argues for rethinking on a number of related aspects. Commencing with some background to the problem, the article explores the issue of citizenship rights as espoused by Ghannūshi, and notes the key importance of the concept of justice as their basis, in his view. Specific rights examined are: freedom of belief, including for Muslims who wish to change their religion; the holding of public office by non‐Muslims; equal treatment for Muslims and non‐Muslims in terms of fiscal duties and benefits. Throughout his arguments, Ghannūshi emphasizes justice as central to the issue, and as the basis of interpreting and developing related rules and laws. Although Ghannūshi's views are not entirely new, he goes well beyond what has been acceptable in Islamic law, and his contribution should be considered important in the efforts at rethinking Islamic law in this area.     

A Muslim lobby at Whitehall? examining the role of the Muslim minority in British foreign policy making

While much has been written on the role of ethnic and religious pressure groups in US foreign policy making, little has been noted of the participation of these groups in the British context. This paper examines the role of the British Muslim community in the making of British foreign policy. In particular, it examines the lobbying activity of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), which, though only established in 1997, has achieved prominence in political and media circles. This study reveals a disparity between the MCB’s regular access to government ministers and officials under the New Labour tenure and its only limited influence in foreign policy making. More generally, it seeks to show the complexity of the relationship between domestic and foreign policy as well as between culture and politics.     

Political implications of the Islamic notion of ‘supersession’ as reflected in Islamic jurisprudence

The paper undertakes to investigate the ways in which the dominant Muslim community regulated legal‐ethical relations with its non‐Muslim minorities. The ideological underpinnings of the Islamic legal tradition in the area of jihad provided legitimacy for the Muslim political domination of the lands and peoples beyond the original boundaries of Islam. The central argument of the paper is that Muslim jurists were involved in the routinization of the qur'anic message about ‘Islam being the only true religion with God’ (Q. 3:19) in the context of the social and political position of the community. The interaction between the idea of Islam being the universal faith for all humankind and the existing predominance of Muslim political power created the specific legal language that provided the justification to extend the notion of jihad beyond its strictly defensive meaning in the Qur'an to its being an offensive instrument for Muslim creation of a dominant political order.     

Islamic identity re‐covered: Muslim women after September 11th

For women, hijab is a prominent and oftentimes controversial physical marker of their social identity as Muslims. This study explores the perceptions of Muslim women living in Houston regarding the hijab and how these perceptions were partially shaped by media portrayals of Muslim women overseas after the September 11th tragedy. The effects of these perceptions on women's decisions to wear the hijab after September 11th were also examined. Using a convenience sample of 67 women, semi‐structured interviews were conducted. Results suggest that American Muslim women were more likely to talk about hijab in terms of identity than immigrant Muslim women, and to believe that by wearing hijab they could help portray a more positive image of Muslims in the United States.     

Post‐conversion experiences of native British converts to Islam

Research¹ has been carried out on native British converts to Islam. It was based on formal interviews with 70 converts to Islam, 50 males and 20 females. Interviews were done in various parts of England. The sample consïsted of 66 English, 3 Irish, and 1 Welsh. Fifty‐one had been Anglicans, 12 Catholics, 3 Methodists, and 4 Jews. The research was designed to find out the pre‐conversion, conversion, and post‐conversion experiences of the converts interviewed. The present article is part of the research, looking at the converts’ post‐conversion experiences with regard to intellectual, moral, and social changes, changes in beliefs and practices, behaviour, and social relations.     

Worries about crime: Rank‐ordering survival concerns among urban transient females

This exploratory study examined the role that worries about crime occupies in the lives of New York City's homeless women. Building upon Coston's (1988) research finding of self‐perceptions of high vulnerability but low levels of fear of crime among homeless females, the present study suggests that homeless women deprioritize worries about crime in lieu of worries about their family's well‐being, poor physical health, lack of proper nutrition, and lack of money. Maslow's (1954) needs hierarchy is applied as an explanation of these findings.     

Grapheme—phoneme probabilities in British English

A computational analysis of a large British English database was performed and frequencies of occurrence of grapheme—phoneme correspondences were obtained. A computer program was implemented, which used these frequencies to predict the probabilities of all possible pronunciations of any given string of graphemes. These results led to a proposal for a quantitative method of measurement of the orthographic depth of different languages.