Peter Riddell – författare

Aside for the secretaries of state, those lofty roles at the Home Office, MOD, Exchequer, and Foreign office, the ministers of the UK are a cast of roles that expand, and contract based on the whims and political needs of the Prime Minister. Within their portfolios those MPs and Lords are immensely powerful - able to reshape whole sectors of British society, grant or refuse government contracts and planning permission, and intervene in matters throughout the country.And yet, few members of the British Public could name every single minister and fewer still could say the extent of each minister''s responsibilities. We like to imagine that they are competent, prepared, and entirely in control, and we hold them to standards as though they are. But they are often none of those things.These men and women serve at the pleasure of the Prime Minister. Any misstep or scandal can invite media attention, public outcry, and their swift departure. At the same time, their resignations can shatter political alliances and bring down Prime Ministers and even governments. Their positions are, therefore, both immensely powerful and precarious. In Fifteen Minutes of Power, Peter Riddell draws on interviews with former ministers, conducted on behalf of the Institute of Government, to reveal the fraught existence of these powerful men and women.

Aside for the secretaries of state, those lofty roles at the Home Office, MOD, Exchequer, and Foreign office, the ministers of the UK are a cast of roles that expand, and contract based on the whims and political needs of the Prime Minister. Within their portfolios those MPs and Lords are immensely powerful - able to reshape whole sectors of British society, grant or refuse government contracts and planning permission, and intervene in matters throughout the country.And yet, few members of the British Public could name every single minister and fewer still could say the extent of each minister's responsibilities. We like to imagine that they are competent, prepared, and entirely in control, and we hold them to standards as though they are. But they are often none of those things.These men and women serve at the pleasure of the Prime Minister. Any misstep or scandal can invite media attention, public outcry, and their swift departure. At the same time, their resignations can shatter political alliances and bring down Prime Ministers and even governments. Their positions are, therefore, both immensely powerful and precarious. In Fifteen Minutes of Power, Peter Riddell draws on interviews with former ministers, conducted on behalf of the Institute of Government, to reveal the fraught existence of these powerful men and women.

This volume comprises 17 articles on various aspects of Islamic Studies, brought together to celebrate the scholarly work of Professor A.H. Johns, which spans Islam of the medieval Middle East and Islam in Southeast Asia. The first part of the book contains 9 articles which deal with Islam as a scriptural religion, concerned to revere and interpret the Qur'an, and promote the spread and doctrinal purity of Islam. Subjects included are Qur'anic exegesis, problems of translating the Qur'an into Chinese, and analyses of the theological reasoning used by Muslim scholars.The second part of the book contains 8 articles which deal with Islam in Southeast Asia, especially Javanese Islam and modern articulations of Islam inspired by Muhammad 'Abduh. Subjects dealt with include the Islamisation of the Javanese Court, and the impact of the journal al-Manar on religious discussion in the archipelago.

This book presents for the first time the oldest surviving example of universal history to be produced in the Malay-Indonesian World. In the process it challenges previous scholarly assumptions about pioneering works in this genre. The study is based on a document contained in Cambridge University Library manuscript Or Gg.6.40 dating from the turn of the 17th century. The initial chapters in this book situate the manuscript within its historical, social and religious context in the Sultanate of Aceh. This is followed by a transliteration of the Jawi text and translation into English, as well as the original Jawi text of the work.