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In formulating his understanding of Islamic history, thought and politics, the Turkish Muslim thinker Ahmet Davutoğlu adopts the German philosopher Edmund Husserl’s formulation of phenomenology – or, philosophy of consciousness. Both Husserl and Davutoğlu perceive a crisis in humanity and identify its causes in scientism and logical positivism, against which they develop their respective phenomenological alternatives. This article places in parallel Husserl’s stylised history of Western thought and Weltanschauung method with that of Davutoğlu’s Muslim worldview, in order to illuminate the latter’s putatively comprehensive interpretation of Islam, diagnosis of the ills of secularism, modernisation, and crisis of values he finds in Muslim societies; and his prescribed treatment for those ills: the privileging of ontology over epistemology, and the full unfolding of core theological concepts of revelation, monotheism, and prophecy. Davutoğlu seeks to reconcile tensions and disputes within Islamic intellectual traditions concerning the nature of God and God’s attributes, and the tension between mysticism and rationalism, and the historical and the atemporal. In summary, Davutoğlu’s intervention in Islamic traditions is interesting in the effort it makes to appropriate elements of both Husserl and GWF Hegel for the purpose of reconciling a phenomenological reading of Islam with established Islamic authorities and commitments.

People displaced in Myanmar during decades of civil conflict, as well as more recently displaced persons, need accessible legal pathways and assistance to regain access to their land and properties. Myanmar needs a clear vision on restitution to end its civil wars and displacement.

US refugee resettlement agencies are directing more attention andeffort toward assisting LGBT refugees and asylum seekers, and bestpractices are beginning to emerge.

Humanitarians and architects can fail to find a common language, characterising each other in schematic terms. It is time to bridge the divide and encourage greater collaboration between these professions. By learning from each other’s way of thinking they may also become more relevant to displaced people seeking shelter.

More and more refugees are resettled in communities where they have no intention of living and then move on.

Global attention should place a primary focus on the application of best practice and the development of innovative initiatives to solve climaterelated internal displacement, rather than on grappling with the far rarer movements of people across borders.

There are two distinct categories of emergencies –those for which you are prepared and others forwhich you are not.

A group of actors stands in a frozen image of a community whose members do not communicate. A man comes from the audience and moves the actors around to create an image of everyone standing in reconciliation. Then a man and a woman create an image of 'transition’, where the actors show a willingness to communicate by sitting in a circle drinking the local brew. The actors then show the three images in succession and theaudience applauds.

Strategic litigation to protect individuals at risk can usefully support higher-level protection initiatives.

Many of those who have fought against displacement now find themselves being advocates for resettlement and relocation. Knowing that displacements will occur as a result of climate change,the humanitarian community will need to work pre-emptively with communities identified as likely to be threatened on the land-based solutions that may be available to them.

What dangers does climate change pose to societies most vulnerable to changes in local environmental conditions?

An integrated approach to climate change demands that human rights and adaptation strategies are pursued hand-in-hand.

The UN’s Pinheiro Principles represent the first consolidated global standard on the housing, land and property restitution rights of displaced people.

The tsunami has reminded us of the need for a rights-based approach to post-disaster reconstruction. If housing, land and property rights are put at the heart of a post-disaster plan – rather than cast aside as too complicated or expensive – the chances are that it will succeed. If these rights are ignored or, more ominously, systematically violated, not only will rights be abused but also reconstruction will fail.