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Unlike Western European countries, in Poland, there are two groups of native Muslim citizens: the Tatars and converts to Islam. They differ from mainstream society by their religion – Islam, and the Tatars, additionally, by their ethnicity. However, one of these groups – Islam converts – is racialised by the other. We argue that the Polish Tatars can use the repertoire of both sides – non-Muslim mainstream society and born Muslims – in order to otherise and racialise Polish converts to Islam. As autochthonous Poles, whose membership in mainstream society has never been questioned, they can employ strategies used by non-Muslims. As born Muslims they can build on the wide range of strategies against Islam newcomers. Moreover, the racialisation of Polish converts seems to be a strategy that aims to maintain the boundaries between these two groups and the positive self-assessment of the Tatars. This article contributes to the scholarship on racialisation of white converts to Islam by bringing out the local context with unique dynamics and power relations between different groups of Muslims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an attempt to understand education in light of the complex multiethnic relationships and politics prevailing in the state of Manipur. With the sustained tension between the Nagas, Kukis, and Meiteis over the matter of identity, education in the state remains massively divided along ethnic lines. That said, the Meiteis, as the ethnic majority, have been systematically influential in prioritising their identity and development in education, as its control remains in their purview. The subsequent claim and counterclaim regarding the imposition of the dominant Meitei language and culture in the school curriculum have further worsened the ethnic relationship. Consequently, the perceived sense of alienation by the tribal minorities in this sense has added to their sectarian aspirations and detachment from the state. Thus, through fieldwork and a review of literature, this paper presents the various discourses concerning the complex tussle over the control of resources and governance in the education system of Manipur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This film review explores Return to Seoul's portrayal of a French-Korean adopted person's negotiation with visiting and living in South Korea, as well as the inclusion of a birth search and reunion narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, the Indian parliament adopted the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which grants citizenship to non-Muslims 'persecuted' minorities such as Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis or Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Protests were held against the CAA in various parts of India. For protestors, the CAA is contrary to the secular character of the Indian citizenship. Supporters of the CAA also held rallies enumerating its benefits. This paper traces the historical evolution of the constitutional debates and changes in the Indian citizenship rules, and examines the socio-political impact of the CAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1908 Revolution of the Young Turks not only put an end to the autocratic rule of Sultan Abdülhamit II by making him restore the 1876 Constitution–thus reestablishing the constitutional monarchy–it also proclaimed the equality of Muslims and non-Muslims. Fraternity seemed to reign the day. However, early tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims, particularly the Greeks, soon arose over how the 1908 parliamentary elections were conducted. The elections demonstrated that Muslims–"the dominant nation"–were not ready to accept the newly proclaimed equality, and despite assertions that religion and ethnicity were not going to play any role in 1908 parliamentary elections, they were in fact central to the conduct and consequences of those elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against a backdrop of racialised nationalism and widespread securitisation of Muslim communities, how are those on the British political left responding to the issue of Islamophobia? This paper draws together empirical accounts from anti-racist activists with a series of theoretical contributions from scholars in the field of ‘race’ and racism studies. I point towards an ambivalence in talking about and challenging Islamophobia amongst non-Muslim activists, and highlight accounts by Muslim activists of marginalisation and Islamophobia on the British left. I argue that these trends are best understood – and critically addressed – by drawing on understandings of racialisation and nationalism. Finally, I consider how we might think about the role of Muslim activists on the left, drawing on the concept of the ‘racialised outsider’ (Virdee [2014. Racism, Class and the Racialized Outsider. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan]) to argue that their experiences and analyses place them in a unique position from which to challenge Islamophobia in the current moment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay surveys the long history of Christian-Muslim relations in Egypt. Interfaith relations in this context have ranged from cordial to tense, depending on a variety of internal and external factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tolerance is claimed not just as central to liberalism, but increasingly as the sole preserve of a liberal order. This essay opens up a critical space for examining the naturalized relationship between liberalism and tolerance by focusing on the political thought of Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (1951–), a prominent Pakistani public intellectual who is often labeled as a "liberal" Islamic thinker. Ghamidi has never identified himself as one. Using as an investigative opportunity the disjuncture between his self-identification and how his ideas are labeled, and placing Ghamidi's ideas within the wider tradition of Islamic thought, this essay elaborates on his vision of non-liberal tolerance predicated on individual responsibility infused with humility and shari'a-inspired state minimalism. Insight into the depth of nonliberal conceptions can facilitate a reconsideration of the relationship between liberalism and tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aḥkām ahl al-dhimma is a book of regulations about Christian and Jewish subjects of Islamic rule, written by the Ḥanbalī jurist and theologian Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751/1350). It is an important resource for historical studies of non-Muslim minorities in the Mamluk period and is often cited as a normative text in present-day Muslim discussions about Muslim-non-Muslim relations. This article gives an insight into the history of the only surviving manuscript of Aḥkām ahl al-dhimma and the unusual process by which the first printed edition was compiled. It shows that the movement of the manuscript was largely a result of Ibn Taymiyya's and Ibn al-Qayyim's more general popularity in specific geographic regions than the authority of the text itself, and that individuals' religious-intellectual interests were decisive for the publication of a printed edition in 1961. It also shows that the unusual editing process impacted on the reliability of the printed editions available today, the majority of which are financed by Saudi institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In describing Christianity in the Middle East, scholars often highlight religious oppression, especially in relation to the larger Islamic context. Such contentious descriptions often cast Christians in the role of dhimmis , who are tolerated but not regarded as equal members of Muslim societies. Only in recent years some scholars have begun to modify their depictions of Christians and Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle East. While Christians in the Middle East have experienced and in certain regions continue to experience persecution, solely portraying them as victims does not do justice to the reality on the ground. By means of a case study on Palestine, I argue that an examination of the interaction between sharia (Islamic law) and Christian personal status laws sheds a different light on Christian identity and Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle East, and demonstrates the agency of Palestinian Christian communities in this respect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines Muslim-non-Muslim disparities in locational attainment. We pool data from the 2004, 2006, and 2008 waves of the Public Health Management Corporation's Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Survey. These data contain respondents' religious identities and are geocoded at the census-tract level, allowing us to merge American Community Survey data and examine neighborhood-level outcomes to gauge respondents' locational attainment. Net of controls, our multivariate analyses reveal that among blacks and nonblacks, Muslims live in neighborhoods that have significantly lower shares of whites and greater representations of blacks. Among blacks, Muslims are significantly less likely than non-Muslims to reside in suburbs. The Muslim disadvantages for blacks and nonblacks in neighborhood poverty and neighborhood median income, however, become insignificant. Our results provide support for the tenets of the spatial assimilation and place stratification models and suggest that Muslim-non-Muslim disparities in locational attainment define a new fault line in residential stratification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern historians routinely cast the Fatimid era in Egypt and Syria as a time when flourishing non-Muslim communities enjoyed an unusual degree of influence in the state. To complement the theme of this special issue – the real and perceived influence of minority out-groups in medieval societies – this essay examines representations of non-Muslim influence in the Fatimid period by post-Fatimid Sunni authors. Such representations do not reflect pervasive hostility among Sunni historians to Shiʿis or non-Muslims. Instead, they are quite diverse and not pervaded by sectarian antagonism. They are best understood within the contemporary 'social logic' of the works that contain them. At times their authors simply transmitted earlier sources intact; at others they had narrative goals that superseded their implicit views of either the Fatimids or their Jewish, Christian and Samaritan subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey imposed a controversial tax on wealth to finance the army in 1942. This tax was arbitrarily assessed and fell disproportionately on non-Muslim minorities. We study the heterogeneous impact of this tax on firms by assembling a new dataset of all enterprises in Istanbul between 1926 and 1950. We find that the tax led to the liquidation of non-Muslim-owned firms, which were older and more productive, reduced the formation of new businesses with non-Muslim owners, and replaced them with frailer Muslim-owned startups. The tax helped "nationalize" the Turkish economy, but had negative implications for productivity and growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the treatment of Jewish and Israeli history in post-World War II Turkish textbooks. Jewish and Israeli history remains largely relegated to the margins in the books. The Jews of Arabia are shown in an antagonistic role during the advent of Islam, while the Jews of the Ottoman Empire are generally subsumed under the category of non-Muslims. The Ottoman reception of the Spanish (Sephardi) Jews is used to exemplify Turkish tolerance. The subject of the Jewish Holocaust is usually avoided. The older textbooks strike a more balanced approach towards Israel than the recent ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gizistag Abāliš is a ninth- or tenth-century Pahlavi text, recording a debate which took place at the court of al-Maʾmūn between a Zoroastrian priest and a heretical dualist. This article, the first in-depth study of this important work, examines the text in its broader Islamicate environment. It argues that the narrative itself is probably fictional, but reflects a real historical phenomenon, namely the interreligious debates which took place among Zoroastrians, Muslims, Christians, and Jews during the ʿAbbasid period. It argues that the text is a unique Zoroastrian example of a literary genre that was common among Christians at the time, namely, "the monk in the emir's majlis." By comparing the Gizistag Abāliš to these Christian texts, it explores why Zoroastrians generally did not launch explicit polemics against Islam, comparable to those of other non-Muslim communities. It seems that Zoroastrian authors were more concerned with explaining their own doctrines than critiquing the beliefs of others. This is curious considering the large numbers of Zoroastrians who were converting to Islam at the time. Finally, the article proposes new ways of refining the way we read Pahlavi texts, by analyzing them alongside the literatures of other religious communities in the early Islamic empire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halal food is that which is permissible or lawful for Muslims to consume. Meat products must abide by a number of requirements in relation to their preparation, condition and content to be considered halal. We conducted a survey in order to assess the knowledge of, and attitudes towards, halal meat products in two contrasting countries, one with a majority non-Muslim population (Australia, respondent n = 565), where the most commonly followed religion is Christianity, and one with a majority Muslim population (Malaysia, n = 740). The most common reasons for avoiding halal food were animal welfare, religion and meat quality. Malaysians generally believed that halal processes led to improved meat quality, whereas Australians did not. The general consensus was in favour of legally controlling animal welfare during slaughter, supported by both Muslims and Christians. Malaysians were more aware of the main tenets of halal slaughter than Australians. However, some non-compulsory, incorrect practices were thought to be required practices by respondents in both countries, but especially in Australia. Muslims were more concerned about humane treatment of animals during halal slaughter. They generally believed that stunning is never allowed and that this view was acceptable, whereas people from other belief systems generally held the view that this was unacceptable. Religion and education were the most common factors associated with attitudes, beliefs and consumer habits concerning halal. Information from this study can help to improve understanding of attitudes to halal and provide insights to policy makers seeking to address animal welfare concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines a fatwa written in the late nineteenth century by Jaʿfar b. Idrīs al-Kattānī, a distinguished Moroccan legal scholar. The issue that gave rise to the fatwa was the subject of heated debates among Moroccan Muslims at the time: the legality of using goods manufactured by non-Muslims. New historical conditions brought by Moroccan modernity eroded religious and communal boundaries between Muslims and non-Muslims and accentuated concerns about the integrity of Islam. Suspicion and anxiety of the population found expression in widespread rumors about impurities in products manufactured by non-Muslims. By analyzing al-Kattānī's fatwa, this article aims to offer insights into the relationships between the ʿulamāʾ, Islamic tradition, and modernity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accounts of modern Islamic reformist currents offered by recent studies take for granted that Islamists have embraced the modern nation-state, and, relatedly, that there is consequently a rupture in Islamic discursive tradition. This article seeks to nuance these notions by examining "the new Islamist" discourse on the poignant question of non-Muslim belonging in an Islamic state. Not all Islamists have embraced the nationstate and its majoritarian and secular logics in quite the same way. Those who remain committed to making ijtihad from within the Islamic tradition, such as Yusuf al-Qaradawi, continue to offer a fundamentally different view of political authority than those republican Islamists, such as Fahmi Huwaydi and Tariq al-Bishri, who treat Islamic tradition as a mine of wisdom and source of republican values and inspiration rather than a coherent system of norm production. This difference can be detected even when they appear to substantially agree on a number of policies and aspirations, such as the accommodation of non-Muslims as not only tolerated but as nearly equal citizens in an Islamic state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article surveys the appeal of Ottomanism for non-dominant group members of the Young Turk organisation. It focuses on a specific reading of Ottomanism as a nationalist discourse articulated by Young Turk intellectuals in exile. The article analyses the actions, thoughts and writings of Ottoman Albanian İsmail Kemal who, in 1900, after an influential career in Ottoman officialdom, escaped to Europe and affiliated himself with the leaders of the organisation in exile. What emerges from this study is that Ottomanism was, until the Committee of Union and Progress adopted an authoritarian and pro- Turkist stance, a feasible discourse for Young Turk activists from both a dominant and non-dominant background. The article also suggests that an assessment of the role of Young Turks from a non-Muslim or non-Turkish background needs to include a consideration of a simultaneous and compatible role of such members as working for imperial reform and for the improvement and protection of their own particular community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the Ottoman Empire's guarantee of religious privileges for non- Muslims made in 1853 and the struggles that occurred thereafter, between Muslim state officials and Armenian elites. It argues that the guarantee of religious privileges, which prepared a new set of terminology--that is, "privileges," "religion," and "politics"--for discussing the scope of the jurisdiction to be granted to the non- Muslims' religious authorities, represented a shift in how the empire approached non-Muslims. Muslim officials aimed to circumscribe the jurisdiction of non-Muslims and place them under the state's control by emphasizing the "religiousness" of the privileges. To do so, they also displayed a decided tendency to bypass the religious authority by using lay non-Muslim elites as intermediaries. The Armenian elites, for their part, strategically chose their attitudes toward the distinction of "religious" and "nonreligious" (or "political"), thus managing to protect, to a certain extent, the scope of the religious authority's jurisdiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to put forth the opinions and expectations of non-Muslim minorities concerning citizenship and citizenship education in Turkey. The research included three minority groups that have been officially recognized in Turkey: Orthodox Greeks, Armenians, and Jews. The qualitative method was adopted and the snowball sampling technique was used to select the participants. Semi-structured interviews were used as a data collection tool, and discussions based on the research questions were held during face-to-face interviews with the participants. The data accumulated during the semi-structured interviews was transcribed. After all the interviews had been written down, the texts were checked more than once and a holistic view was targeted concerning the issue. In the study, the content analysis method was used as a data analysis tool while notes from the interviews were analyzed categorically together with the questions that the participants had been asked. Considering the data gathered in this study, although the non-Muslim minorities had a certain number of suggestions and criticisms regarding citizenship and citizenship education policies that have been implemented in Turkey, these policies can be said to have generally reached a more positive point compared to the situation in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relations between the Coptic minority and the Egyptian state have gone through different stages, with Copts experiencing greater or lesser degrees of integration into, or alienation from, the social and civil fabric of Egypt. This paper traces the long and ongoing path of the Coptic community fromdhimmahto citizenship, a path that is not yet concluded, with a particular focus on the relations between the Copts and Al-Azhar, especially in the transition period opened by the 25 January Revolution. New discourses among both Islamic and Christian intellectuals are examined in order to search out the conceptions of citizenship emerging both in Al-Azhar and Islamist scholars’ thought and in Coptic circles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Dhimmī (non-Muslim subjects, mostly Christians and Jews, who were afforded protection by the Islamic state) persecution in Islamic Egypt included most notably that instigated by the Fatimid caliph al-Ḥākim from about 395/1004 until near the end of his reign in 411/1021. This ruler imposed burdensome restrictions and sumptuary regulations on Jews and Christians, causing significant numbers of them to adopt Islam. He also commenced the state-sponsored destruction of churches and synagogues, most famously the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. And yet, near the end, this same caliph relented, mitigating the severity of his previous policies. A general picture of what happened already exists, but the precise chronological order of these events and many of the exact details remain vague. Most importantly, we continue not to have a reason for his radically new policy. Al-Maqrīzī's various accounts provide useful evidence although they hardly suffice. The Jewish reaction is far from clear. Two Christian histories, those by the Melkite YaḤyā ibn Saīd of Antioch and the History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria, confirm many particulars. However none of this information explains why. Was al-ākim moved to act as he did in response to, or in imitation of, the strikingly similar set of restrictive regulations imposed long before under the so-called "Pact of. Umar"?. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay seeks to make a contribution to the study of persecution (which has often been dominated by the European experience) by examining the case of Coptic Christians in Fatimid Egypt: How did they perceive and imagine persecution? This case is of special interest because of the vaunted "tolerance" of the Fatimids towards non-Muslims (with the exception of the caliph al-ākim). The Copts' sense of persecution throughout this period, and their resistance to Islamization, are perceived through an examination of two texts that each represent the topos of the prominent Muslim who converts to Coptic Christianity: first, the Fal min Maqāla Masīiyya preserved in Paris BNF Ms Arabe 131, where it is understood to be the caliph al-Muizz's confession of Christian faith; and next, a recension of the well-known Muqaam miracle-account that places it during the reign of the caliph al-ākim, as preserved in Monastery of St. Anthony, Ms Hist. 86. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with particular tactics, established during the Fatimid era, and thus additional to the traditional ones they already possessed, which permitted the Jews to define their niche within Fatimid society. It presents three of these tactics: l. Production of historical and genealogical documents in order to ameliorate the status of dhimmls and to achieve an intermediate position of privileged dhimml. This is illustrated by an analysis of a Geniza document designed as a historical bill of rights accorded by the Prophet Muhammad to the Jews of Khaybar. 2. The writing of literary-liturgical oeuvres that respond to current persecutions through a messianic interpretation hidden behind laudatory expressions to the Fatimid ruler. It is illustrated by an analysis of the liturgical composition known as "The Egyptian Scroll." 3. Practices of mourning and repentance intended to cope with mass fear, illustrated through a record of testimony from 1030 about a traumatic event that almost took place in Ramla, but was prevented by a dream. Although the three tactics seem to be very diverse, they all responded to the Fatimid reality and used its language and norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ottoman Berats (charters1) were official documents issued by Sultans delineating the tasks, powers, exemptions and concessions granted to Greek Orthodox Patriarchs to be the applicable within the jurisdiction of the Patriarchs. The Berat also showed that the Patriarch was elected by the Synod and approved by the Sultan. A Patriarch who did not have Berat could not perform his duties or exercise executive authority. This article critically examines the Berats of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem in the period 1873-1931. These Berats are analysed in terms of their contents as well as in connection to the way non-Muslims were subject to rules which applied to the domestic relations of the Greek Orthodox community and to public law areas which came within the scope of Sharia law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores some implications of the "Asia" setting of Chaucer's Prioress's Tale. Its method is literal and historicist. Its argument is that the tale is meant to present real, not figurative, Jews; that Chaucer had opportunity to meet and know about Jews outside of England (which had expelled its Jews in 1290); that "Asia" in Chaucer's day was under Islamic control and Europe was threatened by Islamic invasion; that Jews were often viewed as allied with, or even interchangeable with, Muslims. The paper considers some recent scholarship on the tale and ends with interpretive options that follow from a literal historicist reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay seeks to make a contribution to the study of persecution (which has often been dominated by the European experience) by examining the case of Coptic Christians in Fatimid Egypt: How did they perceive and imagine persecution? This case is of special interest because of the vaunted "tolerance" of the Fatimids towards non- Muslims (with the exception of the caliph al-Ḥākim). The Copts' sense of persecution throughout this period, and their resistance to Islamization, are perceived through an examination of two texts that each represent the topos of the prominent Muslim who converts to Coptic Christianity: first, the Faṣl min Maqāla Masīḥiyya preserved in Paris BNF Ms Arabe 131, where it is understood to be the caliph al-Mu˓izz's confession of Christian faith; and next, a recension of the well-known Muqaṭṭam miracle-account that places it during the reign of the caliph al-Ḥākim, as preserved in Monastery of St. Anthony, Ms Hist. 86. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is intended as an epilogue and concludes the papers of this collection by analyzing their content from the specific vantage point of a comparison with parallel developments and phenomena in the Maghrib and particularly in Islamic Spain (al-Andalus). The issues studied in the collection are thus reviewed in a wider geographical and chronological context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Questions of whether, how, and why non-Muslims, whose infidel religious practice necessitates ongoing disregard for the Prophet Muhammad, should be punished for the crime of insulting the Prophet (sabb al-rasūl or shatrn al-ras&#363l) prompted lively debate among Muslims in the eleventh century, especially Shāfi'īs. This article presents the history and development of the law, and demonstrates that while two of its most draconian interpretations, that of Qāḍī 'Iyāḍ and Ibn Taymiyya, eclipsed more nuanced discussions that took place among Shāfi'īs and Ḥanafīs, some late Ḥanafī ulama viewed this as a bad development and sought to mine the tradition to reclaim and render normative a more lenient interpretation of the law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many classical Islamic sources argue that it is not permissible for non-Muslims to reside in the Ḥijāz, especially Mecca and Medina. Such arguments are usually based on a famous Prophetic saying, “Two religions should not join/remain in the peninsula/land of the Arabs”, and on the reported action taken by the second caliph 'Umar b. al-Khaṭṭāb to remove non-Muslims from settlements in western Arabia. In this article, it is argued that the contradictory nature of the evidence for this expulsion casts serious doubt on whether such a widespread action actually took place, certainly not in the decades immediately following Muḥammad's death. It concludes that the widely attested classical prohibition on non-Muslims residing in the Ḥijāz rather had much more to do with the gradually evolving need to draw up firmer communal boundaries, which could help distinguish Muslims from others, and the role played by sacred spaces in doing so. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Historians and anthropologists are confronted with a persistent problem for which there is no clear solution: the conceptual tools which we use to attempt to understand cultures are themselves products of (often) the very cultures we are attempting to understand. Take “religion”. Boyarin ([2004]. “The Christian Invention of Judaism: The Theodosian Empire and the Rabbinic Refusal of Religion.”Representations85: 21–57) has argued that the very concept of “religion” as we know it was a product of the fourth and fifth centuries, as bishops and emperors constructed Christianity as a religion (the true one, of course), and in counterdistinction constructed “Judaism” and “Hellenism” (or paganism) as “false” religions. For Boyarin, Judaism only becomes a “religion” when Christian authorities define it as one. The same could be said for the jumble of texts, beliefs and rituals that the English, upon arriving in India, lump together under the name “Hinduism”, which they turn into a religion. Building, defining and policing borders between confessional groups has been an important part of constructing identities—or visions of community—in various societies, in particular those ruled by Christians or Muslims, from the time of the fourth-century Christian Roman emperors. In this article, I examine how Christian and Muslim jurists of the fourth to eleventh centuries use law to define and police confessional boundaries, in particular how they attempt to limit interactions that could transgress or blur those boundaries: shared meals, sexual contact, syncretic practices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores the establishment of a western European diplomatic presence in Salonica and the impact the local Ottoman administration perceived it to have on the local Jewish population. By studying the records of the şeriat court, the principal official documents produced in eighteenth-century Salonica, the article analyzes the evolving interactions between local Jews and Europeans during the eighteenth century and the rise of a new local Jewish elite whose privileges and prominence stemmed from its contacts with European consuls and merchants. It also examines the ambivalence of the Ottoman administrators toward the growing presence of foreigners in Salonica, which they saw as both a contribution to the local economy and a threat to public order. The growing Ottoman suspicion toward the connections between local non-Muslims and European representatives was evident especially during the second half of the eighteenth century, when the responsibility for enforcing the Ottoman order on non-Muslims who had obtained European protection was transferred from local officials to the imperial center. At this stage, the Ottoman bureaucracy in Istanbul mobilized its resources and began to take administrative steps to enforce the boundaries separating locals from foreigners, monitoring the nomination deeds granted to local non-Muslims ( zimmis) and enforcing the status of zimmi on all those whose claim to European protection was proved to be false or to have been misused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the textbooks in Arab and Islamic nation-states have been carefully critiqued for any content that Westerners view as promoting hate or violence against non- Muslims. Very little has been said, however, about the portrayals of Islamic and Arab society in Western textbooks. This report investigates the perspectives and ideologies concerning representations of Islam and Arab societies in textbooks worldwide, and specifically in Western countries' national education systems. Seventy-two textbooks from 15 Western countries and Israel were examined to investigate the included and excluded content related to Islam and Arab societies. This research found that those countries with either an immediate stake in the Middle East (e.g., Israel) or an immediate past stake in the region (e.g., the United Kingdom) were the most likely to include coverage of Islam and Arab societies in secondary textbooks. The major findings of this research, however, are that content related to contemporary Islam and Arab societies in Western secondary-level textbooks is overwhelmingly related to terrorism and terrorists, the Arab/ Israeli conflict, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The majority of content related to contemporary Islam and Arab societies represents Muslims and their communities as: 1) socially, politically, and economically repressed; 2) religiously and ideologically oppressed; and 3) both typically and frequently violent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plight of non-Muslims or other minority communities within a Muslim majority country has been much debated under the broad topic of human rights. Yet problems relating to Muslim minorities in non-Muslim polities have yet to be adequately addressed. More should be done to educate the large Muslim world on the plight of these minority Muslim communities. The lack of focus on the fate of such minorities had resulted in their being subjected to unfair treatment or oppression, painful misery, and unfriendly policies of containment or integration. The authors export other more subtle forms of subjugation more serious than overt oppression and violence. Muslims in adverse minority settings have always struggled to maintain a proper balance between sustaining their religious identity and obligations and maintaining loyalty towards their country. We examine several issues in the light of established human rights principles and identify practical challenges faced in translating these ideals into reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims at offering a critique of recent approaches to the study of vernacular Islamic literature in South Asia through examples taken from Islamic literature composed in Tamil. First, the article argues that many approaches tend to re-inscribe essentialised religious differences by assuming that specific religious meanings underlie the semantics of a given language. This tendency ignores that both Arabic as well as South Asian vernaculars were employed in multi-religious environments long before Islamic vernacular literature came to be composed in any of these languages. Second, the article seeks to challenge the assumption that the prime aim of vernacular literature was didactic, i.e., that it was composed for the sole purpose of educating a population largely ignorant of religious tenets in Islam. This has led scholars to overemphasize the constraints under which authors composed texts and to ignore the importance of aesthetics in the production of vernacular Islamic literature. Third, the article critiques the portrayal of vernacular Muslim authors as isolated individuals grappling with a non-Muslim environment. Rather, it suggests that many authors responded to other Muslims communicating in the same vernacular, forming a network of poets and texts following similar conventions. In conclusion, the article argues for understanding vernacular Islamic discourse in South Asia as expression of an ‘Indic’ Islam rather than of an uneasy encounter between Islam and Hinduism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two areas of therapeutic provision in eastern East Africa are contrasted: a coastal stretch inhabited mainly by Muslims, and a largely non-Muslim hinterland, each with its own healers, medicines, and customary ethic. Spread over both areas are providers of biomedicine associated originally, and to some extent today, with Christianity. Whether or not they also attend biomedical sites, Muslims seek healers in the coastal stretch and non-Muslims usually in the hinterland, each following ethico-religious preferences. However, because people move through the two areas and compare treatments, individuals’ journeys can change direction, with non-Muslims sometimes seeking Muslim healers and either of these groups choosing the more dispersed biomedical outlets. The notion of ‘pathways’ to health thus combines set journeys to areas known for particular healers and a distinctive ethic, with possible detours to alternative sources of therapy, including biomedicine not regarded as governed by the same ethic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is usually accepted among modern scholars that the Mamluk period marked a drastic decline in the position of non-Muslims. Jews and Christians were exposed to increasing persecutions and, inter alia, could not serve as great physicians unless they converted to Islam. Against these assumptions, the article discusses new data regarding three Jewish court physicians from the first half of the 8th/i4th century. Despite being under a strong pressure to convert, these doctors gained honorable positions and a high social status in the Mamluk sultanate. As erudite physicians and skillful practitioners, they were integrated with the highest circles of the political, military and especially intellectual Muslim elite of their time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses descriptions of Christians, also known as dhimmis, in the Ottoman Mashriq region during the 18th century. It examines religious exchanges between Muslims and Christians, the status of Christians as compared to Muslims in the region, and the role of Arabic-speaking Orthodox and Catholic Christians in the Ottoman Mashriq. It discusses the appearance of Christians in the work of historians such as Abu al-Qasim al-Zayani, and the familiarity of Christians with the Qur'an.

Article 11 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia states that every individual has the right to profess, practice and preach his religion or belief. However, Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution also states that the propagation of non-Islamic religions among Muslims is forbidden. This article aims to discuss both the justifications and the legal restrictions - that is, the legal provisions - that restrict and control the propagation of non-Islamic religions among Muslims in Malaysia. This discussion identifies three justifications for the prohibition of the propagation of non-Muslim religions among Muslims in Malaysia. The first justification relates to the background and history of the special status and position of Islam in Malaya; the second relates to the key role of Malay Rulers in preserving the sanctity of the Islamic religion from the pre-independence period to the present day; and the third justification relates to the nature of Islamic teachings and the maxim that apostasy is a crime. Legal provisions that control the propagation of non-Islamic religions among Muslims are found at both federal and state levels. However, the problem of legal enforcement and, in particular, the jurisdictional limitations of the Syariah Courts over non-Muslims in Malaysia result in a lack of implementation of these legal provisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study discusses the issue of Muslim imitation of non-Muslims, particularly in respect of the celebrations of the multicultural society in Malaysia. Recently, arguments have emerged pertaining to the issue of Muslim practices of imitation of non-Muslim celebrations, such as participating in celebration in the temples or churches and wearing the special symbol of a particular religion. In accordance with this, the imitation phenomenon has raised jurisprudential implications for Muslims. This article attempts to analyse this kind of social phenomenon by referring to the traditions of the Prophet PBUH that strictly prohibited this practice. Moreover, this study discusses the patterns of imitation that are permitted and prohibited according to Islamic jurisprudence. The results of this study show there are prohibited imitations being practiced by Muslims in Malaysia, especially in respect of festivals and celebrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the important role of halal awareness, halal certification, and marketing-related components in determining purchase intention has been recognized in the marketing literature, empirical examination of this issue is limited. In order to fill this knowledge gap, this study aimed to determine the relationships between halal awareness, halal certification, food quality, marketing promotion, and brand with the intention to purchase halal product among the non-Muslim community in Malaysia. The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire survey consisting of 226 non-Muslim consumers. Structural equation analyses indicated that the halal awareness, halal certification, marketing promotion, and brand were positively related to purchase intention, whereas food quality was negatively associated with it. Theoretically, this study is one of the first attempts to develop and to empirically test a conceptual model on halal purchase intention by integrating halal components with marketing-related components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reasons why a person leave his own religion, which he has been exposed to since his birth, and although all the reaction of the social environment, why he converts to another religion are examined by religion psychology and sociology experts. Obviously, there are many factors in adopting a new religion. These reasons can be classified in these sections: the religion indoctrinated by parents may not be fulfilling, negative attitudes of the per-formers of that religion, positive attitudes of the performers of the new religion and the desire to live in this environment, desire to marry a person adopting another religion, expecting material benefit or social status, being influenced by religious advices and being exposed to a shock event. In this study, on the basis of archive documents and mainly Religious Registry Books, we focus on converts living in Denizli from 1875 to 1920, when non-muslims were relocated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the view of many non-Muslims, Islam is a religion that promotes hatred and violence and claims are repeatedly heard of how difficult it is for non-Muslim minorities to live in peace and harmony in Muslims countries. Moreover, recent clashes between Muslim and Christian groups in the aftermath of the Egyptian revolution have exacerbated prejudices against Islam, namely that it is a religion that promotes violence and that Muslims are inherently militant and irrational people who cannot tolerate living and cooperating with the followers of other religions. This misconception has sounded alarm bells amongst many Arab Christian leaders, who warn Christians in the Arab world of the danger of allowing Muslim groups to rule. It therefore becomes imperative to counter such depictions. The aim of this article is to explain from a qur'anic point of view what should characterize Muslim relations and attitudes towards non-Muslims in day-to-day life and the rules that should be applied to non-Muslims. It concentrates on a selection of key qur'anic verses relating to the subject and attempts to demonstrate that Islam as prescribed in the Qur'ān and exemplified by the life of the Prophet Muḥammad and his Companions accepts, celebrates and even encourages diversity, harmony and peaceful co-existence with non-Muslims. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The poll-tax account book No. 1375 contains the claims and collection data of the poll-tax and their account records for the year 1269 (1852-1853). According to the book, based on the poll-tax for the same year; it was agreed to collect from 1.572 prosperous, 8.199 middle sort and 11.568 low-income (a total of 21.339) non-Muslim citizens living in Lefkoşa Centre and Tuzla, Limoson, Piskopi, Gilan, Evdim, Magosa, Karpas, Dağ, Değirmenlik, Baf, Kukla, Hırsofı, Lefke, Omorfo, Mesarye and Girne (16 towns), a total amount of 512.640 gurus. According to the poll-tax records collected in the year 1269 (1852-1853) the non-muslim citizens, liable to poll-tax in the island of Cyprus, lived in Lefkoşa centre, sixteen towns, 35 neighbourhoods and 492 villages. Their population was 22.624 of which 1121 were prosperous, 8441 were middle sort and 13.062 had low income. The amount of tax collected from them was 516.420 gurus. The poll-tax belonging to the year 1269 (1852-1853) was collected in three installments. The first installment collected in March amounts to 311.190 gurus, the second collected in April amounts to 150.360 gurus and the last installment collected in December was 54.870 gurus totalling 516.420 gurus altogether. When examined, the book shows that the amount collected is 3.780 gurus more than the claimed amount of 512.640, and 21.495 gurus more than the previous year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical research on Jewish and Christian minorities within the Muslim world typically refers to the notion of dhimmi in which religious tradition formulates the relations between Muslim rule and subjects. Rulers should protect the life and property of religious minorities, while members of these communities must accept certain restrictions appropriate to their status. During the second half of the 20th century, anthropologists in North Africa were able to directly observe and interpret Jewish-Muslim interaction among the dwindling number of Jews who still lived in the region. They were impressed by the ability of both Muslims and Jew to create individualized ties that crossed communal boundaries, and suggested that this type of interaction be understood in terms of patron-client relations. This paper explores and discusses this paradigm, and argues that webs of patronage should be seen as complementing the older scheme in which dhimmi status sets the parameters for viewing a person's place in society, rather than providing an alternative to it. This elaborated perspective is exemplified with data from Jewish life in Libya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]