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The history of the text of the Qur'an has been a longstanding subject of interest within the field of Islamic Studies, but the debate has so far been focused on the Sunni traditions about the codices of Caliphs Abu Bakr and 'Uthman b. 'Aff?n. Little to no attention has been given to the traditions on 'Ali b. Abi Talib's collection of the Qur'an. This book examines both Shi'i and Sunni traditions on the issue, aiming to date them back to the earliest possible date and, if possible, verify their authenticity. To achieve this, the traditions are examined using Harald Motzki's isnad-cum-matn method, which is recognised as an efficient tool in dating the early Islamic traditions and involves analysis of both matn (text) and isnad (chain of trans-mission) with an emphasis on finding a correlation between the two.

The four volumes in this major research collection address the key economic issues which affect the future development and diversification of the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Oman. Specifically, this recent research covers: Economic Diversification Development of Global Partnerships Labor Markets and Migration Financial Markets as Global Players The work brings together state-of-the-art analysis by some 40 international scholars who participated in a major joint initiative by the EU and the GCC, the al-Jisr Gulf-Europe Research Program. This collection will prove an essential reference work for policy makers and scholars on all the critical issues facing the Gulf countries as their economies develop beyond dependence on the oil and gas sector and forge new international alliances. Additional information on the four volumes The GCC in the Global Economy, edited by Richard Youngs (Director-General, FRIDE, Madrid) Changing geopolitical realities have seen the Gulf region turning to Asia and Africa to build new economic links, while strengthening old ones. This proactive internationalism is visible not just in economics and energy, but also in politics and security where a host of new agreements has been developed. This work provides an overview of the ways in which the GCC states now need to move ahead with reforms that will reflect issues such as raised expectations from a period of high revenues and the region's demographics. 200 pages Resources Blessed: Diversification and the Gulf Development Model, edited by Giacomo Luciani (Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences-Po, and Princeton Global Scholar) The Gulf countries have adopted a unique combination of policies to encourage diversification with largely positive results, while there are significant distinctions between the individual cases. This work evaluates various examples to show the extent to which the Gulf economies have diversifed to date, and how results can be measured, taking into consideration factors such as composition of GDP or exports; government services; and the categorization of industrial activities downstream of resources extraction (oil refining, petrochemicals) and their availability (aluminium, phosphates, iron, steel, glass and other energy- and resource-intensive industries). 328 pages. GCC Financial Markets: The World's New Money Centers, edited by Eckart Woertz (Princeton Environmental Institute, Princeton University) Bond markets in the GCC countries are underdeveloped, and the capital mix is heavily skewed towards banks, while ambitious development plans in fields like petrochemicals and infrastructure, as well as a rapidly growing population, create an increased need for finance. This study outlines the structure of various segments of GCC financial markets and points to regulatory challenges and future developments, ranging from capital market structures to the planned GCC Monetary Union, Islamic banking, and sovereign wealth funds. 304 pages. National Employment, Migration and Education in the GCC, edited by Steffen Hertog (London School of Economics) This volume provides a cross-cutting analysis of the policy challenges related to GCC labor markets. It analyzes the different dimensions of segmentation of these markets, factors of change influencing labor supply such as trends in education and demography, as well as the impact of potential future reforms in areas such as immigration policy, labor sponsorship, taxation and minimum wages. The work therefore provides an overview of what arguably will be the core socio-economic challenge for the GCC in the coming years. 304 pages.

Changing geopolitical realities have seen the Gulf region turning to Asia and Africa to build new economic links, while strengthening old ones. This proactive internationalism is visible not just in economics and energy, but also in politics and security where a host of new agreements has been developed. This work provides an overview of the ways in which the GCC states now need to move ahead with reforms. The work brings together state-of-the-art analysis by international scholars who participated in a major joint initiative by the EU and the GCC, the al-Jisr Gulf-Europe Research Program.

The Gulf countries have adopted a unique combination of policies to encourage diversification with largely positive results, while there are significant distinctions between the individual cases. This work evaluates various examples to show the extent to which the Gulf economies have diversified to date, and how results can be measured, taking into consideration factors such as composition of GDP or exports; government services; and the categorization of industrial activities downstream of resources extraction (oil refining, petrochemicals) and their availability (aluminium, phosphates, iron, steel, glass and other energy- and resource-intensive industries). This work brings together state-of-the-art analysis by international scholars who participated in a major joint initiative by the EU and the GCC, the al-Jisr Gulf-Europe Research Program.

Bond markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are underdeveloped, and the capital mix is heavily skewed towards banks, while ambitious development plans in fields like petrochemicals and infrastructure, as well as a rapidly growing population, create an increased need for finance. This study outlines the structure of various segments of GCC financial markets and points to regulatory challenges and future developments, ranging from capital market structures to the planned GCC Monetary Union, Islamic banking, and sovereign wealth funds. The work brings together state-of-the-art analysis by international scholars who participated in a major joint initiative by the EU and the GCC, the al-Jisr Gulf-Europe Research Program.

This volume provides a cross-cutting analysis of the policy challenges related to Gulf Cooperation Council labour markets. It analyses the different dimensions of segmentation of these markets, factors of change influencing labour supply such as trends in education and demography, as well as the impact of potential future reforms in areas such as immigration policy, labour sponsorship, taxation and minimum wages. The work therefore provides an overview of what arguably will be the core socio-economic challenge for the GCC in the coming years. The work brings together state-of-the-art analysis by international scholars who participated in a major joint initiative by the EU and the GCC, the al-Jisr Gulf-Europe Research Program.

Asia constitutes the hub of the transformation of global economic power today. The Gulf, itself part of Asia, is of increasing importance in this transformation. This book documents the growing interactions between the economies of the Gulf states and those of the rest of Asia. These relationships are critical to how the world economy develops over the next decade, and how economic (and perhaps strategic) power is distributed. This volume assembles cutting-edge thinking by 16 specialists on a wide variety of topics covering Arab Gulf relations with China, Japan, ASEAN, Korea and India, as well as with Russia, Iran and Turkey.

This collection of new research brings together state of the art thinking by 46 experts from academia and business on all key aspects of Islamic Finance. Individual volumes deal with the key issues of: Political Economy, Values and Aspirations; Growth, Performance and Efficiency; Stability and Risk.

Islamic finance has had a transformational impact on markets well beyond the Muslim world. This development has been the outcome of various stakeholders and agencies interacting to develop a political economy based on Islamic values to generate religiously and culturally authentic financial institutions and instruments. - The studies presented in this volume discuss these interactions through specific examples from the GCC countries, supported by comparative perspctives, in order to articulate the development and consequences of Islamic finance.

In response to the recent global financial crisis, Islamic finance, as a religiously authentic proposition, has shown resilience through its inherited principles such as risk sharing and the avoidance of speculation. Such approaches have provided stability, which in turn has brought unprecedented growth to the sector. The studies in this volume focus on examples in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to provide empirical analysis of the risk aspects of Islamic finance, to test its stability, identify its growth trajectories, and measure its impact on economic growth.

The growth, stability and resilience of Islamic finance is now a well established fact. However, in order to achieve sustainable growth the Islamic finance industry has to be able to maintain its competitive edge by generating higher efficiency and performance. - The studies in this volume aim at providing empirical and comparative perspectives on the performance and efficiency of the Islamic finance industry through a number of econometric models, with a specific focus on the GCC countries supported by comparative cases.

Sadik Al-Azm (1934-2016) was one of today's foremost Arab public intellectuals, who offers innovative, often controversial challenges to conventional narratives on Islam and the West, secularism, Orientalism, and the Israel-Palestine issue.On Fundamentalisms includes essays on: Islamic Fundamentalism Reconsidered, Islam and the Science-Religion Debates in Modern Times, The Struggle for the Meaning of Islam, What is Islamism?, and The Takfir Syllogism.

Sadik Al-Azm (1934-2016) was one of today's foremost Arab public intellectuals, who offers innovative, often controversial challenges to conventional narratives on Islam and the West, secularism, Orientalism, and the Israel-Palestine issue.Islam - Submission and Disobedience includes essays on: Salman Rushdie, Is the Fatwa a Fatwa?, The Tragedy of Satan, Satanic Verses Post Festum: The Global, the Local, the Literary, and Universalizing from Particulars.

Sadik Al-Azm (1934-2016) was one of today's foremost Arab public intellectuals, who offers innovative, often controversial challenges to conventional narratives on Islam and the West, secularism, Orientalism, and the Israel-Palestine issue.Is Islam Secularizable? includes essays on: Civil Society and the Arab Spring, Orientalism and Conspiracy, Ground Zero Revisited, Islam and Secular Humanism, Time out of Joint: Western Dominance, Islamist Terror, and the Arab Imagination, Trends in Arab Thought, Palestinian Zionism, and Orientalism and Orientalism in Reverse.

The Qur'an Revealed is a landmark publication in the history of Islamic studies, providing for the first time a comprehensive critical analysis of Bedizuzzaman Said Nursi's 6000-page work of Quranic exegesis, The Epistles of Light. In discussing a wide range of themes, from Divine unity to causation, from love to spirituality, from prophethood to civilization and politics, Colin Turner invites the reader into Nursi's conceptual universe, presenting the teachings of arguably the Muslim world's most understudied theologian in a language that is accessible to both expert and interested layperson alike.

The international food system is increasingly at risk. Increasing demand, limited and diminishing resources and rising volatility are putting new pressures on the agriculture sector globally. One of the growing critical threats to global stability and security is the inadequacy of food resources. This threat, exacerbated by global population growth, is illustrated by shifts in consumption patterns toward protein-rich diets and the growth of multinational food retail, which bring about a greater reliance on food imports. This book compares the food security policies of selected countries in Asia and the Middle East, and reviews the outcomes of policy applications in a broader context. Themes discussed include: -Shifts in regional and international foreign policy, such as new alliances between countries with rich agricultural resources and wealthier importing states -Creation of food security policy competition across regions -Foreign investments and investment risks for farmland investments -Social implications, such as potential unrest -Environmental sustainability of food security programs, such as the depletion of water resources -Impact of food security programs on trade policies and fiscal policies, such as import taxes and subsidies

Gulf Charities and Islamic Philanthropy in the "Age of Terror" and Beyond is the first book to be published on the charities of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf, covering their work both domestic and international. From a diversity of viewpoints, the book addresses: the historical roots of Islamic philanthropy in religious traditions and geopolitical movements; the interactions of the Gulf charities with "Western" relief and development institutions - now under pressure owing to budgetary constraints; numerous case studies from the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia; the impact of violent extremism on the sector, with the legal repercussions that have followed - especially in the USA; the recent history of attempts to alleviate the obstacles faced by bona fide Islamic charities, whose absence from major conflict zones now leaves a vacuum for extremist groups to penetrate; the prospects for a less politicized Islamic charity sector when the so-called "war on terror" eventually loses its salience.

How immune is the Gulf region to the changes that have engulfed the Arab world since 2011? This volume responds to this question by examining the impact of the Arab Spring on Gulf regimes and societies and contributing to debates on political participation and citizenship; sectarianism, gender and identity formation; as well as the role of the media in exposing the paradoxes of the Gulf system and its relationship to international political actors.

This book explores how growing economic ties between Asian countries and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) could impact their future relationship. It postulates that the stage is now set for strategic partnerships and highlights how some Asian countries have been explicit about showcasing their power and influence in the Gulf region. While exploring an alternative and broad-based security architecture, it identifies the challenges that any probable Asian cooperative approach could face as the countries of the Arabian Gulf show signs of looking beyond the United States to develop their long-term strategic interests.

This book examines the strategies and dynamics through which state-society relations in the Arab Gulf region have been cultivated, and explores the alternative political, social, economic and popular changes that threaten these relations. The work focuses on understanding how state sovereignty has been shifting to accommodate internal social, cultural, and intellectual forces and how these forces have managed to balance social and political powers in order to function within and co-exist alongside the state. Case-studies give specific examples of how social forces, popular movements, social media and youth culture are actively influencing cultural attitudes and practices as well as political actions.

Climate change requires coordinated global responses. All nations, including major Gulf Arab oil producers, should implement policies to contain greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Yet all realistic scenarios point to the continuing global need for fossil fuels. The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) thus face a dilemma between continuing development and use of their fossil fuel endowments and increasing reliance on low carbon sources, such as nuclear, solar or wind. This book explores various facets of the dilemma.

This study is a critique of Arabic textual sources for the history of the Arabs in late antique times, during the centuries immediately preceding Muhammad and up to and including the Umayyad period. Its purpose is to consider the value and relevance of these sources for the reconstruction of the social, political, cultural and religious history of the Arabs as they were still pagans, and to reconstruct the emergence of Muhammadan and immediately post-Muhammadan religion and polity. For this religion (including the composition and canonisation of the Qur'an), the label Paleo-Islam has been coined, in order to lend historical specificity to this particular period, distinguishing it from what came before and what was to come later, all the while indicating continuities that do not, in themselves, belie the specificity attributed to this period of very rapid change. This is argued further in Aziz Al-Azmeh's The Emergence of Islam in Late Antiquity: Allah and His People (Cambridge University Press, 2014), to which this book is both a companion and a technical preface. Al-Azmeh illustrates his arguments through examination of orality and literacy, transmission, ancient Arabic poetry, the corpus of Arab heroic lore (ayyam), the early narrative, the Qur'an, and other literary sources. The work includes a very extensive bibliography of the works cited. This is the first book in the Gerlach Press series Theories and Paradigms of Islamic Studies.

Sadik al-Azm's Critique of Religious Thought set off one of the the great Arab intellectual uproars of the twentieth century, leading to the author's imprisonment and trial for mocking religion and inciting sectarian conflict. As in his earlier Self-Criticism after the Defeat, Al-Azm takes on the taboos of the age and their sponsors: the religious elites. In this book, he attempts to awaken the Arab mind from its dogmatic slumber, leading it out of the Middle Ages and into a modern world characterized by science and rationality. Critique of Religious Thought is one of the most controversial and influential books about the role of religion in Arab politics. This is the authorised translation of Sadik Al-Azm's work, Naqd al-fikr ad-dini, originally published in Arabic in 1969. The 2014 edition includes an introduction by the author and translations by George Stergios and Mansour Ajami.

Following the great expeditions of the 18th and 19th century, travel activity in general increased from the end of the 18th century onwards. In addition to European destinations, the Orient and, above all, Egypt now became the goal of this movement embracing travel and exoticism. This work centers on the question of the received patterns of thought and argumentation that were applied consciously or unconsciously by the travelers. By way of example, the reports of the Austrian scholar and scientist Joseph (Ritter von) Russegger are examined. Russegger's travels to Egypt are notable because he traveled the country as a scientist on behalf of the Egyptian government, which gave him insights into areas of the country and the state that were seldom accessible to a foreigner. The factor that distinguishes Russegger from other travelers is his meticulousness, thanks to which he may be regarded as a forerunner of science in the sense of Humboldt's educational ideal.

The Gulf region's primary economic relationships are rapidly shifting from West to East. Relations with China, Japan and South Korea are becoming increasingly strategic in nature: based on a degree of mutual dependence far greater than is present in Gulf-Western relations. The balance of global politics will be critically affected by this powerful emerging relationship. This book provides documentation of the trend and examines some of the political and strategic issues which follow from it.

Saudi Arabian Wahhabism is the ultra-puritanical form of Sunni Islam which has been adopted by Islamist radicals, Salafists, and jihadists to legitimize and spread their extremist agenda. The scholarly articles in these two volumes throw fresh light on this messianic radicalism by tracing its origins in the 18th century up to its present role as the authoritative interpretation of Islam in the strategically vital Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Volume 1 focuses on the main tenets of Wahhabi doctrine that brought about the Wahhabi community as a group clearly distinguishable from other interpretations of Islam at the eve of modernity, and which are responsible for its essentially exclusive character as well as the militancy ascribed to it with regard to other Muslims. Volume 2 covers the development of Wahhabism in the peculiar socio-political conditions it sprang from, particularly its symbiosis with the Saudi ruling house, the structures and institutions it brought forth and its efforts to react to the challenges of a changing society.

Although the Caliphate was formally abolished ninety years ago, it had already ceased to exist as a unitary and effectively administered political institution many centuries earlier. The ever widening gap between political ideal and historical reality is also reflected in the varying conceptualizations and theories of the Caliphate developed by Islamic religious scholars and Muslim intellectuals past and present. However, recent events in the Islamic world show that the idea of a Caliphate still appeals to Muslims of varying persuasions. This three-volume reference work tracks the history of the Caliphate as what many Muslims believe to be a genuine and authentic Islamic political institution: From its emergence in seventh-century Arabia until highly contested and controversial attempts of its revival at the beginning of the twenty-first century by radical Islamists in Afghanistan and Iraq. No matter how grandiose such interpretations of a seemingly archaic institution may be, they show the Caliphate's longevity as a rallying point - real or symbolic - for Muslims across the world. Volume I: Origins and Formation Volume II: Challenges and Fragmentation Volume III: Modern Interpretations

This book offers a critical analysis and re-examination of the notion of Divine trial, first by providing a comprehensive typology and a contextual interpretation of the Qur'anic narratives pertaining to the concept. Divine trial is then investigated through a historical review of prophetic tradition (hadith) and the exegetical literature (tafsir); followed by a discussion on Prophetology, and an overview of bala in the lives of the prophets. The book further develops key aspects of Muslim theology and mysticism through an examination of the works of Rumi and al-Ghazali.

Despite their commonalities, the Arab Gulf States have started economic diversification from different settings and against different political backgrounds. This book applies a multi-method approach including Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to highlight their heterogeneous economic development trajectories and to compare them to other major oil exporters. From a political economy perspective, it demonstrates how neoclassical economic theory fails to grasp the underlying mechanisms of their development. The research design of this study is tailored to small and medium-sized samples with special characteristics. As such, it offers new opportunities for comparative studies not only of this region but also of other specific samples of countries from a wider perspective of heterodox economics.