This article explores area studies contributions to sociolinguistics by examining Sunni reformers’ use of the Arabic term al-qāida, or a ‘‘pragmatic base.” Material is drawn from an audiocassette collection formerly owned by Usāma Bin Lādı n. Divergent approaches to the qāida suggest that the term functions a base for many forms of spatial, temporal, social, and ethical orientation. Much of the...

Having been asked by a few persons to provide a detailed explanation on why the Shia Imamis have a negative stance on 'Shaykhul Islam' Ibn Taimiyyah, we have provided the research carried out by Al-Ghadeer Center. This gives a brief a overview on why this man is viewed as an extremist and why his views were not only conflicting with Islam, but served to damage Islam through the adherence of a f...

Department of Health Education; Department of Epidemiology, School of Health, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Islamic Republic of Iran (Correspondence to F. Rakhshani: [email protected]). 2Department of Health Education, Tarbiat Moddares University, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. ABSTRACT A qualitative study in Zahedan, Islamic Republic of Iran, used focus group discussio...

This paper examines the role that political institutions play in inducing or subduing ethnic identification. I provide a formal model of ethnic identification as a function of institutional design and social context that focuses on one question: what kinds of institutions will induce individuals to identify with the state rather than along ethnic lines? Among other things, the model offers pred...

MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL VOLUME 58, NO. 1, WINTER 2004 Although the majority of Oman’s population is Arab and either Ibadi or Sunni Muslim, the country exhibits a wealth of diversity in ethnic groups and native languages. While these other groups are often small in total size, they are represented in such areas as politics and commerce in numbers disproportionate to the weight of their communities a...

This article focuses on contemporary Islamic attitudes towards the question of compensation to a non-relative live organ donor. This article presents the history of the debate on organ transplantation in Islam since the 1950s and the key ethical questions. It continues by presenting the opinions of the mainstream ulema such as Tantawi and Qaradawi. The article ends with a conclusion that there ...