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The fact that Muslim life depends on jurisprudence accords the legal discussion a monopoly over rulings regarding body adornments and body modifications. Jurisprudence serves as a mechanism for creating norms, but at the same time these norms reflect the tension between contradictory tendencies. The jurists' creative solution, namely, a division of body adornments and modifications into categories of permitted and prohibited, each according to the criteria of temporary or permanent, enables them to tolerate some, while excluding, condemning, and forbidding others. The presentation and analysis of some popular body adornments and modifications will reveal body perceptions, the beauty myths of medieval Muslim societies, their making, and formulation by the jurists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay foregrounds the reformatory teachings of two of the greatest men that walked the earth – Jesus and Muhammad. The majority of the followers of these honoured prophets attribute their success to the power and influence of their transcultural theologies and see them as nothing more than founders of independent religions. Another presumption is that their religions are mutually exclusive. This essay looks beyond creedal orthodoxies and inflexible articles of faith to find commonalities in the approaches of prophets Jesus and Muhammad while exploring the possibility of imagining their missions as liberatory responses to the socio‐political conditions that prevailed during their times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In current debates, Muslims are often perceived as a homogeneous group of devout persons who one and all have close relations with mosque associations and regularly, for purely religious reasons, turn to such associations. However, such notions clash with the reality. This paper contrasts such generalizing ascriptions with a differentiated image close to actual life. On the basis of a comprehensive mixed-methods study, the spectrum and differentiation of the ties of Muslims to constituted Islam, over and beyond ethnic boundaries, are described. The analysis focuses on everyday experiences, views and activities; it also examines the process-driven character and virtualization through the Internet of religious life. The findings of the present study point up the changes religious authorities are experiencing, and just how ambivalent and diverse the relations of Muslims to religious organizational structures are or can be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No constitution is expected to be without the provision of fundamental rights such as the right to life, liberty, and dignity of man as the protection of fundamental rights is a must for the meaningful living of humans. These fundamental or basic rights are endowed on humans by birth, therefore, they have been provided to the people in varied forms and degree under all legal systems, culture, and civilizations. However, some western scholars seem to deny this historical evidence. They argue that the concept of fundamental rights does not exist in Islam. They claim that fundamental rights or human rights have emerged in western societies only. To them, in Islam, there are only duties to God and independent human rights are not available to the Muslims. This argument is based on the assumption that there is no space for the notion of fundamental rights in Islam as the Quran and the Sunnah emphasizes the performance of religious duties or obligations. The present paper examines the validity of this argument in view of the opinion of a few Muslim scholars. Further, it explores the meaning and the application of fundamental rights in the context of the constitutional practice and judicial interpretation in an Islamic state i.e.the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It posits that the superior courts in Pakistan have creatively employed Islamic law and jurisprudence to expand and strengthen the meaning, concept and the provisions of fundamental rights within its constitutional dispensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using nationally representative survey data from the 2011 Pew Muslim American Survey, this study investigates how the combined effects of religiosity, personal networks, and attitudes toward American society shape the subjective identities of Muslims residing in the United States. We draw on social identity theory, Simmel's notion of the "stranger," and past research on subjective identity among faith groups to examine U.S. Muslim identity preferences. We use multinomial logistic regression to examine the probability of self-identifying as Muslim, American, or Muslim American. Results suggest that self-identifying as Muslim as opposed to Muslim American is associated with religiosity and personal network closure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses some elements of the tradition of martyrdom among Muslims in northern Nigeria. It describes the basic frameworks of the concept of martyrdom in Islam with special reference to its contemporary usage. Then it discusses the shape of the idea of martyrdom during the times of Usman ?an Fodio's jihad. It further examines the concept of martyrdom as presented in the speeches of Muhammad Yusuf, the ideologue of the Boko Haram organisation, as well as its practical implementation in the times of the current rebellion in northern Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines discourses of liberal Islamophobia in Austria, analysing interviews with journalists from national newspapers, magazines and TV station. Using a theoretical framework that combines a Gramscian analysis with methods of discourse analysis, it identifies "temporalization" as an effective discursive mechanism in the construction of the Muslim "Other" as a "folk devil". It argues that liberal Islamophobia works as a historicist racism, which allows differently positioned subjects to invest into, and reproduce, a mythical space of representation where the Muslim "Other" figures as a "devil from our past", embodying everything Austrian society has supposedly done away with in the years of political reform after 1968. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper theorizes the role of iftāʾ , the process of producing fatwas (Islamic legal opinions), on the formation of Muslim societies. I argue in this paper that iftāʾ is an ethical embedding mechanism that historically carried out this function through a set of discursive and nondiscursive relations. "Ethical embedding" signifies the situating of the various spheres of the social world into an ethical domain. As for iftāʾ s discursive relations, the historical manifestations of its procedures and the production of fatwas represented a discursive formation because they manifested a particular regularity in their discursive operations. As for their nondiscursive relations, fatwas position actions and practices within the Islamic moral field through a definite social process. Finally, these operations generate a social field of power that structures the relations between the individuals and institutions of iftāʾ and induces personal dispositions that facilitate the practice of the norms embedded in the fatwa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the aspects of the pedagogical approaches implemented during the Islamic Guidance Programme (IGP). It reports that the IGP is a faith- based, spiritually embedded intervention that has been designed to cater to the rehabilitative needs of Muslims charged under extremism legislation, as well as those who appear vulnerable to faith- based radical extreme ideology.

Since 1965, the latest immigration to Denmark has not only brought new groups to the country but also resulted in new organizations, associations and movements established by people with Muslim background. In order to understand this extension and renewal of Danish civil society I distinguish between forms of organizations and forms of diffusion. The outcome of the analysis reveals four distinct clusters of Muslim organizations in Denmark: The first generation of Muslim associations was characterized by centralized state sponsored organizations, governed and financed by Arab countries and Turkey. The second generation of Muslim organizations took the form of transnational social movements and were often set up as a counterpart to the state sponsored organizations. The third wave of organization building, the so-called homegrown organizations, tried to unite Muslims in Denmark and worked for a dialog with the Danish majority. Most of the Muslim youth organizations belong to this category. However, some political Islamic youth organizations and networks have chosen an alternative strategy that challenges mainstream Danish institutions and values. The reaction of the government has been to tone down cooperation with representatives from the immigrant population and especially representatives from the Muslim minority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the activities of Gajret, the most important Muslim cultural association in the Yugoslav space of the first half of the twentieth century. Established in 1903 in Sarajevo, the association managed in its four decades of existence to involve thousands of activists of both sexes in its activities, and to organize a network of local branches reaching even beyond the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Initially established to provide scholarships for Muslim male pupils, the association gradually diversified its activities, published journals and books, provided literacy and handiwork courses, established student dorms and workshops, and much more. The text will focus on two aspects of the association's life: firstly, its relationship with the state authorities, and how this relationship shifted over time, from cooperation, to opposition, to co-optation. Secondly, the article will focus on the association's gender agenda, discourses and practices, with a special focus on Muslim women. At the intersection between these two research questions, the thesis of this article posits that Gajret's self-civilizing project aimed to foster new generations of modern, nationally aware Muslim men and women capable of playing an active role in the emerging Yugoslav middle class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Papers are full with debates and opinions on Brexit; yet despite this seemingly endless commentary nothing seems to make any sense. The debates associated with Brexit seems to imply that we can 'control' or even 'manage' through this turbulent period with ideas of progress, change and development. Brexit seems to embody and reflect a period which many critical observers have described as the Postnormal Time a period 'where old orthodoxies are dying, new ones have not yet emerged, and nothing really makes sense'. More crucially, it is a period 'when little out there can be trusted or gives us confidence' or more importantly, the spirit of our age, is characterised by uncertainty, rapid change, realignment of power, upheaval and chaotic behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present contribution is twofold. On the one hand we shall discuss the background of some Islamic legends about places and wondrous objects – holy relics of the past – that had once been in the possession of the Gothic monarchy by inheritance, but were subsequently lost or looted out of al-Andalus by the Muslim leaders. On the other hand our study is concerned with the relationship between the content of the legends in question and the “loss of Spain” in a more general sense, i.e. not only the loss of these objects by the Christian Goths subsequent to their loss of power in Spain, but also their disappearance from Muslim ownership. Besides, the legends possess a moral core, which is interesting in its own right: the way in which they are viewed in the Muslim sources, the locations and objects they describe, and their relationship to the Gothic monarchy may provide the modern reader with an insight into the striking vision of the past held by the invading Muslim culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the legal provision with regard to mualaf (new Muslim convert) registration is clearly stated in the state Islamic enactments, there is no any written law to determine the naming for mualaf. Starting from the year 1981, Malaysian religious authority published an official guideline on the naming for individuals who convert to Islam which is lately being criticised by some mualafs. This article intends to discuss the concept of naming from the Islamic perspective, issues related to naming of new Muslims and naming policy that administered at the religious institutions. Besides of that, the article also will discuss the narratives of mualaf regarding the implication of Muslim naming policy towards their personal life, identity, and family dynamic. Therefore, this research has conducted an in-depth semi structured interview with 11 mualaf and Muslim preachers who experience facing and handling issues related to identity change after conversion. The research found that although there is no any written law concerning the naming method for mualaf, however, the guideline on the naming published by the Department of Islamic Advancement of Malaysia (Jakim) has been taken as a policy in determining the naming for mualaf. Despite some mualaf agree to the practice of changing their previous names to Arab-Islam style names, however, there are several implications caused by the change since their identity record is not synchronized between all government and private agencies. The research also found that the practice of changing the name to Arab-Islam style name for mualaf has affected their ethnic identity and caused them problems with their family. This research is important to reevaluate the current naming policy for mualaf to make it more flexible and understand the mualaf's initial social culture in order to ensure the continuity of da'wah in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the study of religion, syncretism has been conveyed as a controversial concept and has become an issue for debate because it depicts 'impurity' or 'inauthenticity'. The term has been widely used by some Western scholars to elaborate on its practice among Ancient and Christian societies, and at the same time, it is also used in the context of Muslim communities, particularly in describing the practice of traditional cultures in Malaysia that were rejected by Muslim reformers. In practice, however, traditional culture cannot be easily distinguished from Muslim practices. Thus, what explains the desire of some Muslims to continue practising elements of their traditional culture associated with syncretism? This paper aims to discover the factors influencing the intention of the Kedayan people to practise elements their traditional culture that are associated with syncretism. Data were self-administered among 414 respondents and analysed using descriptive and inferential analyses of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The results of this study revealed that the Kedayan people have a tendency to continue with practices of their traditional culture that may still contain remnants of syncretism. In addition, the results also revealed their agreement with the common perception of traditional culture and subjective norms as factors influencing Kedayans' intention to practise their traditional culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the processes through which identity change takes place at the individual and collective level? How might a focus on embodied religious performance and ritual contribute to understandings of such identity change? Through an ethnographic analysis of the Muharram rituals of Iraqi Shi’is in London, I take religious rites as a starting point from which to theorise a performative theory of identity change to highlight the role of ritual and performance in shaping changing notions of identity at both the individual and collective level. Such a project necessarily engages both with processes of identity change and with the paradox of identity/difference, particularly the ways in which articulations of subjective identity are ontologically dependent on an external ‘other’. Ultimately, I argue that paying close critical attention to the performative and (re)iterative processes of micro-level identificatory practices allows a more nuanced understanding of the mechanisms through which identity change comes to take effect, both at the level of individual subjectivity and that of collective social belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a case study of A Complaint with the Cadi (Algeria), ca. 1896 - a painting by the French Orientalist artist Marie Lucas-Robiquet (1858-1959). Using cultural and social history as prisms, it explores what Lucas-Robiquet’s visual record communicates to the cultural ‘outsider’ about Muslim social life in French colonial Algeria. Attention is given to this artwork because it depicts the Islamic judiciary system as practised in late nineteenth-century Algeria. This article argues that this painting and its subject matter are rare in the Orientalist canon; that the artist was female, is, I posit, crucial to the ways in which this work can be read. Lucas-Robiquet, a decorated Orientalist, used a Naturalist style of painting which was both nuanced and sensitive to Islamic cultural traditions. I contend that A Complaint with the Cadi (or qāḍī meaning judge) is an important work because it represents a locus of historicised forms of Otherness: the French female artist and the Algerian cultural attribute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the socio-cultural and religious life of the Laz and Hemshin people living in the Hopa district of Artvin province was examined within the theoretical, practical and sociological descriptions of the religious experience typified by Joachim Wach. In the questionnaire designed to explain religion-society, there are questions about how people believe Islam's religion in terms of beliefs, how often perform various worship, and how religion affects their social lives. This questionnaire has been applied to 258 people over 18 years olh who are reached by snowball sampling method. As a result of the research, it is understood that Laz and Hemshin ethnic groups have distinctive differences in their social and religious life according to their intra-group dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culture is a conception which is a pretty difficult to describe. Only studies on the definition of the concept have an extremely broad literature. Culture has emerged in the context of people's social relations. One of the important components of the culture is music. On the environment which is determined by the social relations, to the extent that the culture changes and transforms the music is directly influenced by these changes and transformations. Tracking the stages of music in order to follow a change in a region will provide us with important clues to the process, although it will not fully explain it to us. Hopa is the tip of the north in turkey. It hosts different ethnic groups. Autochthonous communities spreading in Eastern Blacksea as Lazs, Hamshenis, Georgians, Poşas, Loms have been for many years in Hopa, one of the most important centers of the region. While this coexistence experience is nourished by tensions, it causes for a important wealthiness in cultural area. In the study specially, moving from Kazim Koyuncu, the intensity of Laz culture was given.. But it is useful to say that in that area it can't be mentioned in a pure culture. When the people of that region, which have different cultural factors, come together in the county town, it is very hard to see the differences for a foreigner. In Hopa as the whole Eastern Blacksea, the music is a specific activity that all people from every age touch. We will mention in music we see that different ethnic identities use as a self expression, different from the traditional form. However, in the area of popular music, Eastern Black Sea is also a rich field to be a major work topic. It is essential to say that as a field of struggle the popular music responds to each stage of hegemony from Eastern Blacksea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we study the representation of Muslims on the Internet in Spain. After the terrorist attacks in Europe, Islamophobia and Muslimophobia have grown considerably in our society. There is a strong rejection of Muslim groups and individuals, they are perceived not only as different, but also as dangerous and violent. We follow a cognitive linguistics approach using corpus linguistics as a methodology in order to know which concepts are related to Muslims in discourse. We have used three corpora: the Spanish part of the esTenTen corpus, which is a large web corpus intended to give a picture of the Spanish language on the Internet; a Twitter corpus encompassing tweets published by five main political parties in Spain and their candidates in 2015-2016; and a third corpus of articles on the topic "Muslims" from four important digital newspapers (El País, La Vanguardia, La Voz de Galicia, and ABC). We examine word co-occurrence patterns of islámico ('Islamic') and musulmán ('Muslim') to shed light on the stigmatization of this minority in the online discourse and its frequent presence in negative frames. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being home to a majority of Jews before the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979, Udlajan is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Tehran. Through interviews with a select group of its past Jewish and Muslim residents, this research considers Udlajan's past soundscape and its former residents' sonic recollections in order to examine the role of sounds and silences in the social construction of space. By narrating sound memories together with other ones, Udlajan former residents express their understanding of space, communications with others, sense of identity, self and otherness, and norms of inclusion and exclusion. This paper illustrates how the Jewish residents, despite aspects of their everyday lives being circumscribed, are not mute victims but exercise agency in appropriating, negotiating and using public space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores forms of sociability and partner relationships among pious young Muslims in Sarajevo with a focus on the emic concepts of Islamic cafés (hospitality establishments perceived to operate according to Islamic moral principles) and Sharia dating (premarital relationships perceived to be sanctioned by Sharia). It draws on 10 months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in different spaces of Islamic worship, learning, and sociability. This paper places the renewed interest in Islam within the context of a post-Dayton Bosnia characterized by complex and impractical government structures, lingering post-war grievances, and a brutal transition to a neoliberal capitalist economy. Although it acknowledges the continuing relevance of Islam as a resource for Bosniak nation building, it suggests treating the Muslim faith community as overlapping but distinct from the Bosniak community. By focusing on gendered interaction and partner-seeking strategies, this paper explores how young members of this faith community contextually negotiate their Islamic beliefs with mainstream local expectations of conventional behavior. The paper argues that believers’ varying responses to this predicament can be observed as an example of the localization of Islam, but they do not constitute a return to local, traditional gender roles and marriage practices, nor are they an introduction of foreign cultural patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores how Muslims are represented in the two most successful Iraq War films, American Sniper (2014, US) and The Hurt Locker (2008, US), and offers a comparative analysis of the cultural assertions being deployed in their representation. To do this, I provide a close reading of the films' depictions within visual, discursive, and sonic fields of production and show how their representations of Muslims signify specific mean- ings to the audience, which render Muslims distrustful, threatening, and uncivilized, thereby legitimizing specific oppressive treatment and policies toward them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article explores the emergence of Hizballah, the Party of God, and the development of its ideas of resistance at a local and regional level. It begins by considering the emergence of Hizballah and the Lebanese context through the lens of Giorgio Agamben’s work onbare life. It suggests that these conditions existed in Lebanon—amidst the Shi’a community—and asks how people came together to reject the condition of ‘being thus’. Conventional approaches suggest that this occurred through Hizballah’s ideas of resistance, yet this has largely been under-conceptualized. To do this, it looks at the role of the Karbala Narrative in helping the group draw support from Shi’a Muslims in Lebanon, while also locating itself at the vanguard of resistance in the Middle East. With the emergence of Da’ish in the summer of 2014, this position was challenged. By reflecting on speeches from prominent Hizballah figures, the severity of the threat can be seen, justifying the Party of God’s involvement in Syria. It concludes by arguing that the need to maintain its geopolitical influence has required military action in Syria, which has ultimately led to the creation ofbare life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last three decades, the influence of orthodox Islam in contemporary Indonesian society has become increasingly visible. The use of Muslim clothing, Islamic expressions and commodities has become prevalent in the everyday life of Muslims in Indonesia. Along with this change, some prominent localised forms of Islam are being gradually replaced by standard orthodox Islam. However, syncretic Islamic practices continue strongly in some regions in Indonesia. In this article I explore factors enabling syncretic forms of Islamic practice through a case study of the Gumay of South Sumatra. Drawing on a longitudinal ethnographic study of the Gumay people, I argue that the sustained importance of local Islamic authorities and the transmission of Islamic knowledge that are embedded in everyday kinship relations is the key, although school education and other external Islamic authorities are shaping the way Muslim Gumay see what orthodox Islam should be. Also important are the Indonesian government’s cultural policies, the political importance of ethnicity, and the popular use of new media as these have played a significant role in keeping such syncretic Islamic practices alive among the younger generations of the Gumay. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Forced marriage (FM) affects numerous communities within the UK and has far-reaching effects for both individuals and the wider society. This paper attempts to address this issue from an Islamic jurisprudence standpoint. While the paper provides a comparative-contrastive account of key discussions between Muslim jurists (fuqahā’) from the four Sunni schools of law regarding coercion (ikrāh) and its effect on the marriage contract, it pays particular attention to the Hanafi school of law’s position and ways in which its jurists’ reasoning dissents from that of the majority of Sunni jurists. This paper collates the pertinent information, focusing on the effect of coercion (ikrāh) and on the pivotal issues of consent (riḍā) and choice (ikhtyār). It also considers recent UK legislation and established personal status laws in several Muslim countries. We conclude that FM is incompatible with the objectives of Islamic law and has no reliable basis in its sources, highlighting that the function of the guardian (walī) is to protect the interests of the ward, rather than to exercise authority over those under his guardianship. We suggest that victims of FM in the UK should be able to seek annulment via the courts rather than traditional, community-based, non-enforceable mediation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years, requests by mosque authorities across Europe to broadcast the adhans (calls to prayer) have triggered fierce protests at both local and national levels. Concerns were not limited to noise nuisances, but reflected also the belief that adhans represent an Islamic quest for domination and a decline of Christian values. Based on an analysis of case-studies in England, Sweden and Germany, the article traces the dynamics of contestations over adhans in Europe and argues that the hybrid practical-symbolic approach to this specific Islamic practice is characteristic of a broader trend, and complicates conflicts that can be reasonably reconciled within a liberal context. Drawing a comparison to adhans in mosques in Israel, which have also become hotly debated, the article demonstrates how different socio-political contexts affect the outcomes of these contestations. It further emphasizes that in liberal societies, the demands and attitudes of majorities as well as minorities should be informed by universal guidelines drawn from the foundations of liberal theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the arrival of Muslims in several European countries and the considerable problems they caused in living together with the Christian community. It reflects on the terrorist attack in New York on September 11, 2001 and the use of violence by radical Islamist groups and individuals.

London elected a Muslim mayor in 2016, less than a year after Germany took the lead in welcoming Syrian refugees. What accounts, then, for political leaders’ public assertions of the death of multiculturalism and the resurgence of far-right parties? We examine the possibility that some areas of multicultural policy foster a sense of discrimination on the part of majority populations and reduce their sense of safety, putting pressure on political leaders for assurances and providing the impetus for populist political party agendas, even to the point of Brexit. Data from the Banting/Kymlicka Multiculturalism Policy Index project and from the European Social Survey allow us to explore the impact of specific areas of multicultural policy on those who identify as majority group members, ethnic minorities, and Muslims in fourteen European states. We provide a quantitative multivariate analysis of the influence of key areas of state-level multicultural policy on individuals’ sense of being in a group that is discriminated against, as well as their feelings of safety, satisfaction with life, and satisfaction with the national government. Background factors, including respondents’ education, are controlled. For each of the three groups of respondents, the article offers conclusions as to which areas of multicultural policy seem to contribute to the most adverse reactions. Our findings help to explain the backlash against multiculturalism and the shift in focus in European states toward “mainstreaming” integration programs. They also provide a contextual background for understanding the increasing sway of rightist party demands and cautions for the development of programs to counter violent extremism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The case study explores the experiences of Muslim women in the area of physical activity participation conducted whilst they were studying at one UK University. Previous research in the field indicated that Muslim women can be denied opportunities to participate in areas of sport-related physical activity through multiple factors such as socio-cultural, familial, religious or sporting structural constraints. Despite increased knowledge about the inclusion of Muslim girls in school-based physical education and sport, there is a dearth of literature on Muslim women's experiences post their school years. Informed by socio-cultural theories of the body, identity and embodied cultures, the study focuses on Muslim women's early physical activity experiences, university-based participation patterns and reflections on the influences that shaped their attitudes and beliefs towards such participation. Open-ended questionnaires, 34/50 returned (68%), and 6 in-depth interviews were conducted with volunteers studying a wide range of programmes. Content analysis revealed that values, attitudes and behaviours were largely influenced by the family; prior to university, the women's physical activity experiences were mixed and dependent on family activity patterns and school-based opportunities; university recreational sport-related provision did not cater for the women's Islamic needs denying them opportunities to participate. Religious belief and cultural expectations made a significant contribution to the women's preferences for participation environments that respected their Islamic beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An essay is presented on women's participation in social, political, and economic life in the Muslim world. It offers history on women's rights in the national parliaments such as education and enhancement of their economic standing in the richer Muslim-majority countries. It also cites the revolutionary regime and mobilization of the Islamic religion.

On the island of Cyprus, believed to be the birthplace of Aphrodite, the Muslim minority (settled there following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571) and Orthodox Christians (the native majority) lived together in peace for hundreds of years. However, as a result of ethnic conflict in the late 1950s, the Muslim Cypriot Turks established their own political state in the north of the island in 1974, and Cyprus was divided into northern Turkish and southern Greek sections. This paper attempts to examine historical, religious, cultural and psychological aspects of the relationship between these two large groups, prior to recent conflicts, by studying fairy tales told by Turkish Cypriots about a hundred years ago. It is hoped that this paper will encourage similar studies of other communities where different large-group identities live side by side, and that such studies may support their peaceful co-existence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the convergence of athletic interest among Jews, Muslims and Christians as reflected in the youth, scouting and sports movements in Mandate Palestine during the period 1932-1936. Several historical events are cited including the first and second conferences of the Youth Congress in Jaffa on December 4, 1932, the athletic skills exhibition sponsored by the Arab Palestine Sports Federation (APSF) in July 1935, and the outbreak of the 1936 Revolt.

The article discusses ways in which Muslims are challenging their citizenship rights and claims to the Western City. Topics covered include the strategies that allowed Muslims to make claims for spaces, building and land in colonial and post-colonial Western democracies. Also mentioned are the challenges facing the Afghan cameleers in building and financing their first mosque within the territorialization of colonial Adelaide in South Australia.

Research Highlights and Abstract This article: Examines the meaning of claims for 'recognition' and struggles against 'misrecognition' by working through aspects of Muslim political agency in contemporary British politics;, Contributes to research on the political mobilisation of Muslims in Britain by examining how civil society organisations respond to perceived stigmas and project a Muslim civic identity;, Contributes to research that investigates dilemmas of political agency between the pressure to conform to standards of neutrality and maturity, on the one hand, and creativity and opposition, on the other;, Demonstrates how minority actors manoeuvre and position themselves in the unsettled environment of contemporary British politics., It is a common complaint among Muslim civil society organisations that their presence in British politics is misconstrued. An increasing number of activists and groups are concerned to repudiate what they perceive to be the misperception of their political agency as exceptional and difficult to accommodate. Organisations and initiatives thus project and practice civic identities, to demonstrate that they are committed to the 'common good'. This article explores how a number of organisations positioned themselves in response to experiences of 'misrecognition' in the context of the General Election 2010. With this conceptual focus we explore one of the most pertinent characteristics of Muslim political agency in Britain today: how actors respond to perceived pressures, make claims and project identities in opposition to alleged misperceptions or the refusal to acknowledge their desired self-descriptions. The article draws on a set of qualitative interviews with representatives of advocacy organisations that mobilised Muslim constituents in the run-up to the General Election 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary global events of the War on Terror, the War on ISIS, and the United States contentious relationship with Muslim societies make it crucial to teach about Islam and Muslims in school. However, negative representations of Islam and Muslims often impede this process. Overcoming these challenges is critical for the development of compassionate and informed students who are capable of thinking critically in a complex and globalized world. This article shows the importance of addressing Muslim representation in the media, debunks myths about Islam and Muslims, and provides concrete classroom recommendations for teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the potential conflict intensity concerning with Islamic State (ISIS) organization. It highlights the European Social Survey (ESS) data which shows the number of estimated Muslims who express terror symphathies regarding the terrorist attack in Paris, France and Copenhagen, Denmark . It also emphasizes the analysis of global Islamist terror support among global Muslim populations.