Journal articles on the topic 'Federation of Arab Islamic International Schools'

The article examines the dynamics of political processes in the Middle East after the beginning of the Arab Spring at its various stages, how the foreign policy changes of recent years in the Middle East reflected important events in the international arena and influenced the Syrian crisis. Using the example of the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), the author analyzes the relations of the main actors of political processes whose interests were affected by the Arab Spring, as well as the approaches of the Russian Federation to ensuring collective security in the region. Special attention is paid to the complex relations between the Russian Federation, the United States and the Republic of Turkey. The differences in the sphere of regional interests are analyzed. The author also examines the confrontation between the State of Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran as one of the imbalances that hinder the settlement of the Middle East conflict. A brief analysis of the imbalances that are the driving force in international relations and aggressive actions of the actors, such as military intervention and the struggle for regional influence, are the main subject of the study in this article. The author relies in the analysis mainly on the works of domestic orientalists who gave a tentative assessment of the driving forces of the Arab Spring, paying special attention to the change in the position of the Russian Federation from expectant observation at the beginning of the events under consideration to subsequent active intervention and transition to influencing the situation in the region at the present time.

Arabic in its implications in the world of Islamic religious education, especially in Islamic sciences, has a urgent role. As the language of instruction for various references in the rapidly developing branches of science in the global era, Arabic cannot be excluded, although its existence does not exceed English as the language of international communication. It is to enter the doors of Islamic knowledge that Arabic is an important and to be important role to be learned from various branches of linguistics. Both grammatical and various Arabic language skills. For this reason, in every Madrasah, pesantren, and some schools, Arabic language is required to be included in their curriculum.

AbstractThe United Arab Emirates (UAE) is situated near the Persian Gulf in the North Eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Established in 1971 by the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE forms a federation of seven Emirates consisting of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah (The Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah had officially joined the federation on the 11th of February 1972.), and Fujairah. Because of its diversity and cosmopolitan nature, the country has always been a crossroad and prime location for people and trade. As Islam and Islamic principles have influenced Gulf societies in the very core of its existence, the Islamic way of conduct in trade relations and dispute resolutions are an element of paramount significance. This Article explores the role of Shari’a Law and its impact on the economic development of Muslim and non-Muslim business relations in the UAE and in particular in the Emirate of Dubai. The law and development from an Islamic perspective introduces a new vision on the theories of law and development by addressing the influence of Shari’a Law in economic development. In international trade relations and dispute resolution mechanisms such as formal contract enforcements in the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) and the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) the plurality of laws leads to the adoption of Shari’a Law over the Civil and Common Law regimes.

What kind of society does Islamic architecture reflect? What are the basic units and forms of Islamic society associated with Islamic architecture, and what kinds of relationships existed among its individuals? Is Islamic society a ‘uniform society’ or a ‘multi-layered society’? These fundamental questions are at the centre of this study. This paper explores the basic intellectual, social and environmental aspects that have shaped Islamic architecture. It explores these aspects as reflected in the building forms of Muslim societies. Functionalism and interactionism are two major schools of modern sociology. As a social phenomenon, Islamic architecture is examined in the light of these two schools. The urban fabric of the traditional Islamic city as an example of functionalism in architecture is examined with reference to the ruined city of Sāmarrāʾ, in Iraq; and examples of Ottoman architecture are considered as models of interactionism in city planning and architecture. The works of three major figures in contemporary Arab thought, Muḥammad Abed Al-Jabri and ʿAbdullah Al-ʿArawī from Morocco, and Mohammad Al-Anṣārī from Bahrain, are considered in this paper. Their thoughts and views are used as vehicles to test some innate features of Islamic architecture. The influence of language and the desert, two exceptionally important factors that have shaped the culture of Muslim societies and its manifestation in architecture, is also explored. The findings of this paper, although still at a preliminary stage, reiterate the major concepts of the medieval Arab scholar Ibn Khaldūn, in his Muqaddimah, in an architectural context.

Hazem's major international work in theatre was connected to his significant involvement with the International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR), the most important international organization of theatre scholars. In this organization, Hazem became one of the best-known and most respected younger members. He began regularly attending IFTR in 2005 and the following year he and I, along with Khalid Amine from Morocco, gathered the required fifty signatures from members of the organization to establish an ongoing working group dedicated to research in the theatre of the Arab/Islamic world. The Arabic Theatre Working Group was officially established by the organization in 2007 and Hazem served as co-convener of the group from that time onward. As such he was responsible for much of the organization and energy of the group, which became one of the most active in the organization, producing a variety of books and publications, regularly organizing major panels for the plenary sessions of the annual conventions, and establishing an online journal, Arab Stages, which appears twice a year and offers essays, interviews and translations from the Arab world and the Arab diaspora.

The article raises the most actual question: the problem of the prevention of international terrorism — and the mechanisms of the legal security of the counterterrorist activity. All these are analyzed at the constitutional level. Having this in mind the author undertook the respective analysis and established that a few of them have such legal regulations. Examples are to be found in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Iraq and the Arab Republic of Egypt. The attempt is made to explain the reasons of the existence of these legal regulations in the main laws of these countries and to define the efficacy of their application and realization into the practice. On the basis of analysis the author proposed to include the similar legal regulations in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Islamic banking is now a widespread notion in both Islamic countries and the West. It denotes a bank form and finances that seek to provide services to clients without interest. Proponents of Islamic banking say that the main objective is the "fish", which is prohibited by Islamic law. This attitude toward interest contributed to the unification of several Islamic schools, with the aim of finding ways for the development of an alternative banking system that would be compatible with the rules of Islamic Laws, and in particular to the rules relating to the prohibition of interest. Since the mid-1970s, the number of Islamic banks is on the rise. Islamic banks are not only based in countries where Islam is the prevalent religion, such as Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Bahrain, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Mauritania and Malaysia, but also in countries such as the UK, Germany and the Philippines where Islam is a minority religion. The International Islamic Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, whose shareholders are members of the Islamic Conference Organization are acting as sponsors for Islamic banking and finance throughout the Islamic world.

Apart from be.ing famous for the language of the Koran, Arabic has an important role in entering the current era of globalization, moreover Arabic is also an international language that we should have mastered. Therefore, Arabic has been widely studied in several schools, especially in Islamic educational institutions or Islamic-based schools. To make it easier for educators to convey Arabic language learning, educators should master the methods used in learning Arabic. In this writing, the author will explain a method for learning Arabic, especially the Maharah Al-Kitabah, to make it easier for educators to achieve learning goals. The method for learning Arabic in Maharah Al-Kitabah which will be discussed in this writing is the insyaiyah method. The purpose of this writing is to make it easier for educators or anyone who reads this article to inform and make it easier to choose Arabic language learning methods. The author uses the library research method, namely a series of activities relating to library data collection methods, by collecting as much data as possible through books, journals, the internet and so on, then criticizing and writing it into this paper when he has found it. accurate data.

Moderation in Islam was defined by Holy Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) as the ‘Way of Islam’. He has emphasized on opening a man’s heart to communal welfare and peace by avoiding scepticism. Moderation reifies faith, rejects extremism, and paves all roads to peaceful conflict resolution. Islamic moderation balances democratic social development in the face of restraints and boundaries to purchase sustainable peace. However, some schools of thought that appeal to Middle East and African Muslims hold forth the extremist ideology that has tarnished Islam globally. They ignore fundamental Islamic principles and archetypal Muslim characteristics thus they completely ignore Islam’s path of moderation. This study compares thoughts on Islamic moderation from the West Asian students (WAS) with the rest of Asian students (AS) studying in Malaysia. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, we have tried to achieve research objectives and found that WAS understood less of Islamic moderation than did the students from the rest of Asia. The Chi-square statistic was used to critically test the unique results of this study. The overall findings have revealed bigoted and negative WAS opinions towards Islamic moderation as well as towards non-Muslim societies. The Chauvinism appeared to be consequent to Arab permeated cultures and indoctrinations. Such perceptions and ignorance of authentic Islam affects the entire world with deeply negative overtones.
 Keywords: Social-religion Insight, Islamic Moderation, Chauvinism, Scepticism, Indoctrinations, Fundamental Islamic principles, Archetypal Muslim Characteristics, Communal Welfare, Sustainable Peace

Islam is by far the dominant religious faith in Tajikistan. At the end of the seventh century and the beginning of the eighth century Arab armies led by Qutayba Ibn Muslim conquered the region of Sogdiana, which included the northern part of present-day Tajikistan. The Arab invaders converted the local population to Islam and since then the Muslim faith has become an integral part of the Tajik culture. According to Tajikistan's State Committee on Religious Affairs, 97% of the Tajik population is currently Muslim and is served by 3224 mosques, 19 medresses (Muslim theological schools) and an Islamic university. An estimated 30–40% of the rural population and 5–10% of the urban population regularly follow Muslim practices or attend mosques.

The article analyzes the situation in the Middle East in connection with a new largescale armed confl ict between Israel and radical Islamist groups. The author reminds readers of the origins and causes of the Palestinian-Israeli confl ict and gives a detailed picture of the dynamics of events in the former British mandate territory of Palestine after 1948. The main reason for the ongoing tension in Israel's relations with the Arab and Muslim world is the disregard by the Israeli authorities and the leaders of a number of Arab countries of the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly on the creation of the State of Palestine. The ongoing occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights and Lebanese Shebaa farms by the Israeli armed forces does not help to strengthen confi dence in Tel Aviv on the part of neighboring Arab countries. The author believes that the main goals of the attack on Israel by Hamas militants and Islamic Jihad (banned in the Russian Federation) on October 7, 2023 were, fi rstly, to attract the attention of regional and global players to the Palestinian problem, and secondly, to demonstrate the increased military capabilities of Hamas and the vulnerability of Israel, and thirdly, a slowdown or complete disruption of the process of further normalization of Israel’s relations with Arab countries. In addition, Palestinian radicals believed that a successful military operation against Israel could lead to an increase in fi nancial, economic, political and military assistance to Hamas from its supporters and sponsors. The author notes the growing involvement of a number of regional and extra-regional players in the armed confl ict in the Gaza Strip (Lebanese Hezbollah, Yemeni Houthis, Iran, Qatar, Turkey, USA, EU countries). The article also notes the limited capabilities of UN institutions and other international organizations at this stage for a comprehensive and fair Middle East settlement.

Review of the textbooks: Islam in World Politics in Early XXIth Century: A Textbook / L.M. Yefimova, M.A. Sapronova, eds.; [A.M. Ahunov, V.A. Ahmadullin, R.I. Bekkin a. o.]; Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Federation, Dept. of Oriental Studies. Moscow: MGIMO–University, 2016. 345, [1] p. (In Russ.);Islam in the State and Socio-Political Systems of the Eastern Countries: A Textbook / L.M. Yefimova, M.A. Sapronova, eds.; [K.P. Borishpolets, R.D. Daurov, B.V. Dolgov a. o.]; Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Federation, Dept. of Oriental Studies. Moscow: MGIMO–University, 2018. 350, [1] p. (In Russ.);Muslim Socio-Political Ideas in Front of the Challenges of Modernity: A Textbook / L.M. Yefimova, M.A. Sapronova, eds.; [B.V. Dolgov, S.B. Druzhilovsky, L.M. Yefimova a. o.]; Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Federation, Dept. of Oriental Studies. Moscow: MGIMO–University, 2018. 192, [2] p. (In Russ.).The set of textbooks, written by the lecturers of Department of Oriental Studies, MGIMO–University, is a very useful publication both in terms of research and education. It covers the wide field of key problems of contemporary Islam and fills out some gaps in Russian studies of Islam.The first book of the series is focused on processes of globalization and democratization in Islamic world. The authors examine the role of Muslim states in multi-vector development of regional and global politics, analyze the impact of Islamic structures and concepts on present system of international relations. In the second book the authors emphasize the role of Islamic factor in domestic political life of specific countries and regions of the Muslim world. The authors focus on fundamental issues of constitutional law, functioning of supreme state bodies, building of parties and political systems. In the third book of the series the authors review the ideas of contemporary Muslim philosophers, public figures, political writers – both of conservative-fundamentalist and liberal-modernist orientation, basing on numerous facts. The authors managed to present the diversity of solutions, proposed by Muslim politicians and thinkers aimed at facing a number of challenges such as modernization and globalization, migration crises, poor ecological conditions, rise of social inequality, erosion and substitution of traditional values of Islam, etc.The textbooks in review may be of special interest not only for teachers and students at universities and high schools, but also for specialists in Oriental studies, political studies, as well as for broad audience of readers.

Islamization paradigm began in the late seventies and received a very strong impetus in both the Arab world and Muslim countries, as well as Muslim communities in the western world. Two seemingly divergent schools of thought emerged to provide the steering theoretical underpinnings for the Islamization of education project. However, a full application of Islamization theories as propounded by the two schools of thought has been difficult due to several emergent factors. The continued interest and participation of Muslim universities in the western global ranking of universities, continued increase in the number of Muslim countries that are participating in the non-Islamic based international assessment of students, non-existent of internationally recognized Islamic examination bodies as alternatives to the western bodies are all a telltale to the impossibility of full application of Islamization theories in the contemporary time. In its theoretical part, this paper suggests an eclectic approach to the Islamization of education, based on the Shari’ah principle of adopting lesser evil, and aims to create a synergy between multiple theories to form a single coherent and applicable system of education. The paper further suggests models for the application of such an eclectic approach to Islamization of education. In its empirical part, perspectives of stakeholders on the proposed models were explored to ascertain their best choice of model. The novelty of this paper lies in exposing practitioners to the possible models of Islamization of education amidst the limiting contemporary factors which may render the Islamization of education project as a mere caricature.

Overweight and obesity are highly prevalent in Kuwait and they are associated with the metabolic syndrome (MS). The present study aims to assess the prevalence of the MS among Kuwaiti female adolescents aged 10–19 years. A cross-sectional random sample of 431, apparently healthy, Kuwaiti female adolescents drawn from several randomly selected schools was studied for the prevalence of the MS using the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the National Cholesterol Education Program Third Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III) modified for age diagnostic criteria. Clinical assessment included measurements of waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, HDL and TAG. Whichever criteria are used, the prevalence of the MS among female Kuwaiti adolescents was found to be high, which indicates an urgent need for intervention programmes to prevent increased CVD and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The IDF criteria tend to give higher values for the prevalence of the MS in comparison with the modified ATP III criteria (14·8 v. 9·1 %). There have been no diagnostic criteria specific for the MS for the Gulf Arab population as yet.

A discussion of the modern economic system, usually refers to two major systems, namely capitalism based on the capital markets (capital) and guided socialism which tried to solve problems of production, consumption and distribution through the chain of command. In addition to these two major systems, also known as the Islamic economic system, which refers to the economic practice of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Islamic economic system is an alternative to the fundamental problems of the two major systems that already exist. However, when referring to the conditions of the birth of Islam in the midst of Arab society steeped in culture trade, alleged the influence of the capitalist culture of the economic system of Islam, so Islam is perceived closer to capitalism than socialism. Through the study of literary conclusion that Islam and capitalists are the two things affect each other. Sociologically, Islam is present in a capitalist society that both have an attachment. Capitalism, especially trade capitalism existed before Islam came. Before the birth of Islam, Mecca has become the center of international trade and finance. The Prophet Muhammad himself was a merchant before it became a prophet. Thus, capitalism is an ideology or a system that comes from the outside and into the schools of economic thought incoming and economic influence of Islam, although Islam also influence and correct the economic life or Capitalism applicable. Therefore Islam and capitalism are two forces that interact and influence.
 Keywords: Capitalism, Political Economy, Islamic Economics.

A discussion of the modern economic system, usually refers to two major systems, namely capitalism based on the capital markets (capital) and guided socialism which tried to solve problems of production, consumption and distribution through the chain of command. In addition to these two major systems, also known as the Islamic economic system, which refers to the economic practice of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Islamic economic system is an alternative to the fundamental problems of the two major systems that already exist. However, when referring to the conditions of the birth of Islam in the midst of Arab society steeped in culture trade, alleged the influence of the capitalist culture of the economic system of Islam, so Islam is perceived closer to capitalism than socialism. Through the study of literary conclusion that Islam and capitalists are the two things affect each other. Sociologically, Islam is present in a capitalist society that both have an attachment. Capitalism, especially trade capitalism existed before Islam came. Before the birth of Islam, Mecca has become the center of international trade and finance. The Prophet Muhammad himself was a merchant before it became a prophet. Thus, capitalism is an ideology or a system that comes from the outside and into the schools of economic thought incoming and economic influence of Islam, although Islam also influence and correct the economic life or Capitalism applicable. Therefore Islam and capitalism are two forces that interact and influence.
 Keywords: Capitalism, Political Economy, Islamic Economics.

A discussion of the modern economic system, usually refers to two major systems, namely capitalism based on the capital markets (capital) and guided socialism which tried to solve problems of production, consumption and distribution through the chain of command. In addition to these two major systems, also known as the Islamic economic system, which refers to the economic practice of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Islamic economic system is an alternative to the fundamental problems of the two major systems that already exist. However, when referring to the conditions of the birth of Islam in the midst of Arab society steeped in culture trade, alleged the influence of the capitalist culture of the economic system of Islam, so Islam is perceived closer to capitalism than socialism. Through the study of literary conclusion that Islam and capitalists are the two things affect each other. Sociologically, Islam is present in a capitalist society that both have an attachment. Capitalism, especially trade capitalism existed before Islam came. Before the birth of Islam, Mecca has become the center of international trade and finance. The Prophet Muhammad himself was a merchant before it became a prophet. Thus, capitalism is an ideology or a system that comes from the outside and into the schools of economic thought incoming and economic influence of Islam, although Islam also influence and correct the economic life or Capitalism applicable. Therefore Islam and capitalism are two forces that interact and influence.<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi;">A discussion of the modern economic system, usually refers to two major systems, namely capitalism based on the capital markets (capital) and guided socialism which tried to solve problems of production, consumption and distribution through the chain of command. In addition to these two major systems, also known as the Islamic economic system, which refers to the economic practice of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Islamic economic system is an alternative to the fundamental problems of the two major systems that already exist. However, when referring to the conditions of the birth of Islam in the midst of Arab society steeped in culture trade, alleged the influence of the capitalist culture of the economic system of Islam, so Islam is perceived closer to capitalism than socialism. Through the study of literary conclusion that Islam and capitalists are the two things affect each other. Sociologically, Islam is present in a capitalist society that both have an attachment. Capitalism, especially trade capitalism existed before Islam came. Before the birth of Islam, Mecca has become the center of international trade and finance. The Prophet Muhammad himself was a merchant before it became a prophet. Thus, capitalism is an ideology or a system that comes from the outside and into the schools of economic thought incoming and economic influence of Islam, although Islam also influence and correct the economic life or Capitalism applicable. Therefore Islam and capitalism are two forces that interact and influence.</span></em></p>

Communication skill is a vital element that every teacher needs to master when conducting teaching activity. Nonverbal communication (NVC) has been identified as an element in teaching skills that helps teachers to improve the quality of their teachings as well as the students' interest and motivation. Hence, this study is conducted to explore the mastery and practices of non-option trainee teachers in NVC skills in teaching Arabic. This study adopted a qualitative approach through observation and document analysis as the main instrument of the study. Seven participants from Islamic Education program at Selangor International Islamic University College were involved in this study. Those semester six trainee teachers are currently undergoing training at schools. The data was analyzed using NVIVO software to elicit appropriate themes in order to determine the importance of NVC skills in teaching. The finding showed that trainee teachers were lack of NVC skills while conducting Arabic teaching. The implication of the study suggests that NVC should be made as communication elements that must be mastered by trainee teachers and applied in teachers’ training program. Also, a specific course on NVC needs to be designed by institutions that offer educational program out of their obligatory courses. This skill not only enhances the competency of non-option trainees in Arabic teaching but also becomes added value to them as Arabic is not their major program.
 Abstrak
 Kemahiran komunikasi merupakan suatu elemen penting yang perlu dikuasai oleh setiap guru ketika melaksanakan aktiviti pengajaran. Komunikasi Bukan Lisan (KBL) telah dikenalpasti sebagai satu elemen dalam kemahiran mengajar yang membantu guru mempertingkatkan kualiti pengajaran serta minat dan motivasi murid. Justeru, kajian ini dijalankan untuk meneroka penguasaan guru pelatih bukan opsyen dalam kemahiran KBL dan amalannya dalam pengajaran Bahasa Arab. Kajian ini berbentuk kualitatif yang dilaksanakan melalui kaedah pemerhatian dan analisis dokumen sebagai instrumen. Peserta kajian melibatkan tujuh orang guru pelatih semester enam program Diploma Perguruan Pendidikan Islam, Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor yang sedang menjalani latihan praktikum di sekolah. Data dianalisis dengan menggunakan perisian NVIVO untuk mendapatkan tema-tema yang sesuai bagi menentukan kepentingan kemahiran KBL dalam pengajaran tersebut. Dapatan menunjukkan guru pelatih kurang menguasai kemahiran KBL ketika melaksanakan pengajaran Bahasa Arab. Implikasi kajian pula menjelaskan bahawa KBL seharusnya dijadikan elemen komunikasi yang wajib dikuasai oleh guru pelatih dan perlu diterapkan ke dalam program pendidikan guru. Satu kursus spesifik tentang KBL perlu dibina oleh pihak institusi yang menawarkan program pendidikan untuk guru pelatih semasa mereka mengikuti program perguruan tersebut. Kemahiran ini bukan sahaja dapat meningkatkan kompetensi guru pelatih dalam pengajaran Bahasa Arab malah memberi nilai tambah kepada mereka kerana Bahasa Arab bukan opsyen pilihan.

ملخص البحث:
 تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى الكشف عن إسهامات المدوَّنات النصيَّة في الدراسات اللغويَّة وبيان دورها في تعليم اللغة العربيَّة وتعلُّمها، ستقوم هذه الدراسة بتحليل مدوَّنتين نصيَّتين في ماليزيا، هما: مُدوَّنة الكتب العربيَّة الـمُقرَّرة والـمُدونات النصيَّة العربيَّة للجامعة الإسلاميَّة العالميَّة بماليزيا؛ إذ تتمثَّل مدوَّنة الكتب العربيَّة في الكتب الـمُقرَّرة لـمادّة اللغة العربيَّة بالمدارس الثانويَّة بماليزيا ابتداء من السنة الأولى حتى السنة الخامسة؛ أمَّا المدوَّنات الأخرى فتحتوي على النصوص الأكاديميَّة العربيَّة التابعة للجامعة الإسلاميَّة العالميَّة بماليزيا مثل الأطروحات الجامعيَّة، وأوراق المؤتمرات والمقالات المنشورة في المجلات الـمُحكَّمة. ونتج عن هذه الدراسة قوائم كلمات، وكشافات سياقيَّة اعتماداً على كلتا الـمُدوَّنتين سعياً إلى الكشف عن الكلمات الشائعة ووجوه استخدامها في السياقات المختلفة، وأوضحت الدراسة بأنَّه لا يمكن الاستغناء عن الـمُدوَّنات النصيَّة لمن لديهم اهتمام في تطوير لغتهم وتعبيرهم مثل الـطلاب والـمُعلِّمين ومؤلفي الكتب المقرَّرة، وكتب تمارين اللغة العربيَّة والمعاجم؛ حيث تُعتبر قائمة الكلمات مرجعاً أساسيّاً ومهمّاً في الدراسات اللغويَّة وبالأخصّ في تعليم اللغة وتعلُّمها.
 الكلمات المفتاحية: المدوَّنات النصيَّة-قائمة الكلمات-الكشافات السياقيَّة-تكرار الكلمات-الكتب العربية المقررة.
 Abstract:
 This study aims to discover the contribution of Arabic corpus in language studies, and to explain it’s role in learning and teaching Arabic language. This study analyses two Malaysian corpora which are Arabic Textbooks Corpus and Arabic Corpus of International Islamic University Malaysia. The first corpus is on Arabic textbooks used in Malaysian secondary schools by the first until the fifth years of the secondary schools. The second corpus contains academic texts for example from theses, conference papers and journal articles. The result of this study shows the word list and concordance for both corpuses. This study proves that the corpus is important to develop the language among learners, teachers, writers of textbooks, exercise books and dictionaries. The word list is regarded as the basic reference in language study as well as in learning and teaching of language.
 Keywords: Corpus, word list, concordance, word frequency, arabic textbooks
 
 Abstrak:
 Kajian ini bertujuan mengenal pasti sumbangan korpus berbahasa Arab dalam pengajian bahasa, di samping menghuraikan peranannya dalam pembelajaran dan pengajaran bahasa Arab. Kajian ini menganalisis dua korpus dari Malaysia iaitu Korpus Buku Teks Bahasa Arab dan Korpus Bahasa Arab dari Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia. Sumber korpus yang pertama daripada buku teks bahasa Arab bagi tingkatan satu hingga tingkatan lima yang digunakan di sekolah menengah di Malaysia. Manakala korpus yang kedua mengandungi teks akademik seperti tesis, kertas persidangan dan artikel jurnal. Hasil bagi kajian ini ditunjukkan dalam bentuk senarai kata dan konkordans bagi kedua-dua korpus. Kajian ini membuktikan bahawa korpus penting untuk pengajian bahasa dalam kalagan pelajar, tenaga pengajar, serta penulis buku teks, buku latihan dan kamus terutamanya hasil daripada senarai kata yang menjadi rujukan asas dalam kajian bahasa, serta pembelajaran dan pengajaran bahasa.
 Kata kunci: Kekerapan kata kerja, data korpus-buku teks-kekerapan, senarai kata.

Research Objectives: The research aims to build a model according to standards and indicators for school accreditation for schools of post-basic education in the Sultanate of Oman from an Islamic educational perspective that is compatible with the nature of the educational system in the Sultanate. To be a guide and guide for those in charge of improving and developing school performance, since school accreditation is one of the modern systems prevailing globally in evaluating the performance of global institutions. Study Methodology: The study relies on the descriptive approach, collecting information and literature on international and Arab school accreditation standards and linking them to the Islamic perspective. Results: The researcher designed a special school accreditation model for post-basic education consisting of (12) criteria distributed over (94) main indicators. Based on the need analysis and review of the main dimensions used in the previous studies, and for the purpose of sorting out the educational efficiency criteria for the school in the Ministry of Education in the Sultanate of Oman, these dimensions were framed in (12) main criteria. The originality of the research: The school accreditation system is one of the educational systems that studies have agreed upon is an urgent and necessary need for schools to ensure the quality of outputs and reassure the community that the school is doing its job to the fullest. And recommended the need to apply it in educational institutions. Which recommended that accreditation should not be limited to institutions of higher education and private education alone, but should be extended to include the education system in all its stages and institutions. Hence the necessity of conducting this study, due to the lack of accurate standards that enable us to measure the efficiency of the school, through an evaluation program based on well-studied global scientific foundations and in line with the environment, Omani society and the nature of the stage and characteristics of post-basic education.

Research Objectives: The research aims to build a model according to standards and indicators for school accreditation for schools of post-basic education in the Sultanate of Oman from an Islamic educational perspective that is compatible with the nature of the educational system in the Sultanate. To be a guide and guide for those in charge of improving and developing school performance, since school accreditation is one of the modern systems prevailing globally in evaluating the performance of global institutions. Study Methodology: The study relies on the descriptive approach, collecting information and literature on international and Arab school accreditation standards and linking them to the Islamic perspective. Results: The researcher designed a special school accreditation model for post-basic education consisting of (12) criteria distributed over (94) main indicators. Based on the need analysis and review of the main dimensions used in the previous studies, and for the purpose of sorting out the educational efficiency criteria for the school in the Ministry of Education in the Sultanate of Oman, these dimensions were framed in (12) main criteria. The originality of the research: The school accreditation system is one of the educational systems that studies have agreed upon is an urgent and necessary need for schools to ensure the quality of outputs and reassure the community that the school is doing its job to the fullest. And recommended the need to apply it in educational institutions. Which recommended that accreditation should not be limited to institutions of higher education and private education alone, but should be extended to include the education system in all its stages and institutions. Hence the necessity of conducting this study, due to the lack of accurate standards that enable us to measure the efficiency of the school, through an evaluation program based on well-studied global scientific foundations and in line with the environment, Omani society and the nature of the stage and characteristics of post-basic education.

The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), in partnership with IstanbulUniversity’s Faculty of Theology, organized the Reform of Educationin Muslim Societies conference on March 18-19, 2016, in Istanbul, Turkey.The conference opened with memorial lectures by Hisham Altalib (vice president,IIIT) and Fathi Malkawi (regional director, Arab World) for Jamal Barzinji(d. 2015) and Shaykh Taha Jabir Al-Alwani (d. 2016), respectively. Thissession was moderated by Yaqub Mirza (president and CEO, Sterling ManagementGroup, Inc.).Session I: Contemporary Ethics of IslamZiauddin Sardar (chair, Muslim Institute, London) began his “Education Reform:From Islamisation of Knowledge to Integration of Knowledge” by relayingthree remarks from the imprisoned Anwar Ibrahim, a main force behindthe education reform project: (1) the crisis of education is universal, (2) Muslimsshould confidently engage with the West on equal terms, and (3) the discussionof reforming education needs to involve all of society. The crux of hispaper was the shift from the “Islamization of Knowledge” to the “Integrationof Knowledge.” Contending that western disciplines are inherently biased towardwestern values and cultures because they are socially constructed and reflecttheir originators’ worldview, he said that the best way to progress is tolaunch “a multigenerational project” to integrate the best of both cultures.Abdelwahab El-Affendi (head, Political Science Department, Doha Institutefor Graduate Studies, Qatar) spoke on the “Obstacles Facing EducationReform.” He pointed out that Muslims send their children to very expensiveinternational schools that conduct their classes in English and teach westernvalues. We cannot teach “our children texts in English and French and hope[that] someday they will produce material in Arabic,” he proclaimed.Jeremy Henzell-Thomas (Centre of Islamic Studies, Cambridge University)discussed his “Towards an Expanded Glossary of Key Terms.” Citingthe need for a common understanding of modern terms and concepts, he remarkedthat our recognition of various types of intelligences and ways of ...

The article is devoted to the analysis of the Saudi model of development for the Islamic world, which Riyadh started actively promoting after the “Arab Spring”. The popular protests in the Middle East and North Africa countries, which led to the changes in the ruling regimes, opened up prospects for the states of the region to transform their own models of statehood. In this regard large regional actors such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey proposed their own models as an example for possible changing political systems and foreign policy of countries affected by unrest. The relevance of the topic of this study is determined by the fact that the current struggle for leadership in the Middle East, unfolding between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has reached a level where the rivals could influence the choice of development path of other countries, such as Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. In this regard, it is extremely important to assess the models proposed by Riyadh and Tehran, to determine the prospects for their implementation. The purpose of the article is to identify the features of the development model for the Islamic world proposed by Saudi Arabia, as well as to assess the limitations of this model. The author used both general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization) and methods of historical science (concrete historical, comparative historical, historical genetic methods) and religion studies (causal analysis). In addition, the methodology of political science and economics was widely used. A special focus was done on the quantitative analysis of the amount of aid sent by Saudi Arabia to implement various projects in the countries of the Islamic world as part of international development assistance programs, with the aim of forming a ranking of recipient states from Riyadh. As a result of the study, the author came to the conclusion that Saudi Arabia pursues a pragmatic foreign policy strategy, in fact, not relying on Islamic principles. However, Riyadh is devoting significant financial resources to implementing programs to promote the development of the Islamic world and religious diplomacy, in which the promotion of its own “version” of Islam - Wahhabism, and more precisely Salafism, plays an important role. Among the main limitations of the Saudi model the author identified oil as the basis for modernization, since not all states have this resource and can develop their own economy on its basis; Wahhabism as a “small-town” doctrine, which can hardly be borrowed by the countries of the Islamic world, in which more moderate religious schools have traditionally dominated; absolute monarchy as a form of government, even with elements of democracy.

ABSTRAK
 Artikel ini bertujuan untuk menilai amalan kendiri dalam kalangan guru pelajar Mod Pengajian Sarjana Pendidikan Bahasa Arab Cuti Sekolah, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM), kampus Gombak, Kuala Lumpur dalam pengaplikasian konsep Pembelajaran Abad Ke-21 (PAK21) dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran (PdP) di sekolah-sekolah mereka. Seramai 30 orang guru pelatih jurusan Pengajian Sarjana Pendidikan Bahasa Arab sebagai Bahasa Kedua telah terlibat sebagai responden kajian semasa tempoh pengajian yang diadakan selama 3 minggu dari 2 Disember hingga 20 Disember 2019 di Kampus Induk UIAM Gombak. Reka bentuk kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif deskriptif yang disokong oleh soalan terbuka bagi mendapatkan respons penambahbaikan yang patut dilakukan di sekolah masing-masing dalam melaksanakan PAK21. Para responden dikehendaki menjawab 20 item melalui empat konstruk ciri-ciri PAK21 atau ‘Konsep 4C’ iaitu kreativiti (creativity), pemikiran kritis (critical thinking), kolaborasi (collaborative) dan komunikasi (communication) melalui soal selidik kajian yang diubahsuai menggunakan skala likert lima mata. Analisis kajian hanya melibatkan deskriptif kekerapan, peratusan, dan analisis tema kualitatif daripada soalan terbuka bagi melaporkan dapatan kajian. Hasil kajian secara keseluruhan mencatatkan tahap kekerapan dan peratusan tinggi dan sederhana bagi keempat-empat ‘Konsep 4C’ iaitu kreativiti (creativity), pemikiran kritis (critical thinking), kolaborasi (collaborative) dan komunikasi (communication). Dapatan soalan terbuka juga turut mengumpulkan cadangan penambahbaikan yang patut dilakukan di sekolah masing-masing dalam melaksanakan PAK21 secara teori dan praktikal dalam konteks pengajaran dan pembelajaran (PdP) bahasa Arab di Malaysia.
 ABSTRACT
 This article aims to assess self-practice among student teachers in Master of Education in Teaching Arabic to Non Native Speaker (M.ED TANAS) for School Holiday mode at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Gombak Campus, Kuala Lumpur in the application of learning 21st Century Education (PAK21) in Teaching and learning (PdP) in their schools. A total of 30 teachers from Master of Education in Teaching Arabic to Non Native Speaker (M.ED TANAS) for School Holiday mode was involved as a respondent during the study period which was held for 3 weeks from 2 December to 20 December 2019 at the IIUM main campus. The design of this study employs a descriptive quantitative approach supported by open ended questions to obtain in-depth responses in implementing PAK21. The respondents were required to answer 20 items through the four elements of the PAK21 or 'concept of 4C ', namely creativity (creativity), critical thinking (critical have), collaboration (collaborative) and communication (communication) through a a modified survey by using 5 Likert scales. The analysis only involves a descriptive frequency, percentage, and a qualitative theme analysis from open ended question in reporting the findings of the study. The results of the study showed high and moderate percentages of the four ' concept of the 4C', namely creativity (creativity), critical thinking (critical have), collaboration (collaborative) and communication (communication) . The finding of open ended question also collects the proposed improvement to be implemented in their schools in applying PAK21 theoreticaly and practically in the context of teaching and learning (PdP) of Arabic language in Malaysia.
 Keywords: Arabic, PAK21, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication.

The article presents an overview of the most significant results in Russian academic research in philosophy of the Arabic Middle East in the second half of the XX century-the beginning of XXI century. The author consistently examines the contribution of various schools and their main representatives to the field of Arabic studies, in particular, the academic research works dedicated to the Middle East philosophy and history written by the scientists from the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Saint Petersburg State University and RUDN University. The article attempts to show the conceptual findings and results of this academic research on Arabic Islamic philosophy of the Middle Ages considering the problems of understanding and interpreting Arab and Muslim culture, which was held by a number of leading experts during the second half of the XX century, up to the early XXI century. It is equally important to understand the role and place of the historical and philosophical Arabic studies in the dialogue between different philosophical cultures - in the context of striving for responses to the challenges of the modern time. The author of the article proves the idea that overcoming false cultural, philosophical and ideological stereotypes in the unprecedented global interaction of East and West in the late XX and early XXI centuries will significantly expand academic mobility and internationalization in the fields of education and science, open new perspectives for international cooperation in various fields and promote mutual enrichment of cultures.

The global spread of Salafism, though it began in the 1960s and 1970s, only started to attract significant attention from scholars and analysts outside of Islamic studies as well as journalists, politicians, and the general public following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks perpetrated by Al-Qaeda Central. After the attacks, Salafism—or, as it was pejoratively labeled by its critics inside and outside of the Islamic tradition, “Wahhabism”—was accused of being the ideological basis of all expressions of Sunni militancy from North America and Europe to West and East Africa, the Arab world, and into Asia. According to this narrative, Usama bin Laden, Ayman al-Za- wahiri, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and other Sunni jihadis were merely putting into action the commands of medieval ‘ulama such as Ibn Taymiyya, the eighteenth century Najdi Hanbali Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, and modern revolutionary ideologues like Sayyid Qutb and ‘Abdullah ‘Azzam. To eradicate terrorism, you must eliminate or neuter Salafism, say its critics. The reality, of course, is far more complex than this simplistic nar- rative purports. Salafism, though its adherents share the same core set of creedal beliefs and methodological approaches toward the interpretation of the Qur’an and hadith and Sunni legal canon, comes in many forms, from the scholastic and hierarchical Salafism of the ‘ulama in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim majority countries to the decentralized, self-described Salafi groups in Europe and North America who cluster around a single char- ismatic preacher who often has limited formal religious education. What unifies these different expressions of Salafism is a core canon of religious and legal texts and set of scholars who are widely respected and referenced in Salafi circles. Thurston grounds his fieldwork and text-based analysis of Salafism in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and home to one of the world’s largest single Muslim national populations, through the lens of this canon, which he defines as a “communally negotiated set of texts that is governed by rules of interpretation and appropriation” (1). He argues fur- ther that in the history of Nigerian Salafism, one can trace the major stages that the global Salafi movement has navigated as it spread from the Arab Middle East to what are erroneously often seen as “peripheral” areas of the Islamic world, Africa and parts of Asia. The book is based on extensive fieldwork in Nigeria including interviews with key Nigerian Salafi scholars and other leading figures as well as a wide range of textual primary sourc- es including British and Nigerian archival documents, international and national news media reports, leaked US embassy cables, and a significant number of religious lectures and sermons and writings by Nigerian Salafis in Arabic and Hausa. In Chapter One, Thurston argues that the Salafi canon gives individ- ual and groups of Salafis a sense of identity and membership in a unique and, to them, superior religious community that is linked closely to their understanding and reading of sacred history and the revered figures of the Prophet Muhammad and the Ṣaḥāba. Salafism as an intellectual current, theology, and methodological approach is transmitted through this can- on which serves not only as a vehicle for proselytization but also a rule- book through which the boundaries of what is and is not “Salafism” are determined by its adherents and leading authorities. The book’s analytical framework and approach toward understanding Salafism, which rests on seeing it as a textual tradition, runs counter to the popular but problematic tendency in much of the existing discussion and even scholarly literature on Salafism that defines it as a literalist, one-dimensional, and puritani- cal creed with a singular focus on the Qur’an and hadith canon. Salafis, Thurston argues, do not simply derive religious and legal rulings in linear fashion from the Qur’an and Prophetic Sunna but rather engage in a co- herent and uniform process of aligning today’s Salafi community with a set of normative practices and beliefs laid out by key Salafi scholars from the recent past. Thurston divides the emergence of a distinct “Salafi” current within Sunnis into two phases. The first stretches from 1880 to 1950, as Sun- ni scholars from around the Muslim-majority world whose approaches shared a common hadith-centered methodology came into closer contact. The second is from the 1960s through the present, as key Salafi institutions (such as the Islamic University of Medina and other Saudi Salafi bodies) were founded and began attracting and (perhaps most importantly) fund- ing and sponsoring Sunni students from countries such as Nigeria to come study in Saudi Arabia, where they were deeply embedded in the Salafi tra- dition before returning to their home countries where, in turn, they spread Salafism among local Muslims. Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north, as with other regions such as Yemen’s northern Sa‘ada governorate, proved to be a fertile ground for Salafism in large part because it enabled local Muslims from more humble social backgrounds to challenge the longtime domi- nance of hereditary ruling families and the established religious class. In northern Nigeria the latter was and continues to be dominated by Sufi or- ders and their shaykhs whose long-running claim to communal leadership faced new and substantive theological and resource challenges following the return of Nigerian seminary students from Saudi Arabia’s Salafi scho- lastic institutions in the 1990s and early 2000s. In Chapters Two and Three, Thurston traces the history of Nigerian and other African students in Saudi Arabia, which significantly expanded following the 1961 founding of the Islamic University of Medina (which remains the preeminent Salafi seminary and university in the world) and after active outreach across the Sunni Muslim world by the Saudi govern- ment and Salafi religious elite to attract students through lucrative funding and scholarship packages. The process of developing an African Salafism was not one-dimensional or imposed from the top-down by Saudi Salafi elites, but instead saw Nigerian and other African Salafi students partici- pate actively in shaping and theorizing Salafi da‘wa that took into account the specifics of each African country and Islamic religious and social envi- ronment. In Nigeria and other parts of West and East Africa, this included considering the historically dominant position of Sufi orders and popular practices such as devotion to saints and grave and shrine visitation. African and Saudi Salafis also forged relationships with local African partners, in- cluding powerful political figures such as Ahmadu Bello and his religious adviser Abubakar Gumi, by attracting them with the benefits of establishing ties with wealthy international Islamic organizations founded and backed by the Saudi state, including the Muslim World League. Nigerian Salafis returning from their studies in Saudi Arabia actively promoted their Salafi canon among local Muslims, waging an aggressive proselytization campaign that sought to chip away at the dominance of traditional political and religious elites, the Sufi shaykhs. This process is covered in Chapter Four. Drawing on key sets of legal and exegetical writ- ings by Ibn Taymiyya, Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, and other Salafi scholars, Nigerian Salafis sought to introduce a framework—represented by the canon—through which their students and adherents approach re- ligious interpretation and practice. By mastering one’s understanding and ability to correctly interpret scripture and the hadith, Salafis believe, one will also live a more ethical life based on a core set of “Salafi” principles that govern not only religious but also political, social, and economic life. Salaf- ism, Thurston argues, drawing on the work of Terje Østebø on Ethiopian Salafism, becomes localized within a specific environment.As part of their da‘wa campaigns, Nigerian Salafis have utilized media and new technology to debate their rivals and critics as well as to broad- en their own influence over Nigerian Muslims and national society more broadly, actions analyzed in Chapter Five. Using the Internet, video and audio recorded sermons and religious lectures, books and pamphlets, and oral proselytization and preaching, Nigerian Salafis, like other Muslim ac- tivists and groups, see in media and technology an extension of the phys- ical infrastructure provided by institutions such as mosques and religious schools. This media/cyber infrastructure is as, if not increasingly more, valuable as the control of physical space because it allows for the rapid spread of ideas beyond what would have historically been possible for local religious preachers and missionaries. Instead of preaching political revo- lution, Nigerian Salafi activists sought to win greater access to the media including radio airtime because they believed this would ultimately lead to the triumph of their religious message despite the power of skeptical to downright hostile local audiences among the Sufi orders and non-Salafis dedicated to the Maliki juridical canon.In the realm of politics, the subject of Chapter Six, Nigeria’s Salafis base their political ideology on the core tenets of the Salafi creed and canon, tenets which cast Salafism as being not only the purest but the only true version of Islam, and require of Salafis to establish moral reform of a way- ward Muslim society. Salafi scholars seek to bring about social, political, and religious reform, which collectively represent a “return” to the Prophet Muhammad’s Islam, by speaking truth to power and advising and repri- manding, as necessary, Muslim political rulers. In navigating the multi-po- lar and complex realm of national and regional politics, Thurston argues, Nigerian Salafi scholars educated in Saudi Arabia unwittingly opened the door to cruder and more extreme, militant voices of figures lacking the same level of study of the Salafi canon or Sunni Islam generally. The most infamous of the latter is “Boko Haram,” the jihadi-insurgent group today based around Lake Chad in Nigeria, Chad, and Niger, which calls itself Jama‘at Ahl al-Sunna li-l-Da‘wa wa-l-Jihad and is led by the bombastic Abubakar Shekau. Boko Haram, under the leadership first of the revivalist preacher Mu- hammad Yusuf and then Shekau, is covered at length in the book’s third and final part, which is composed of two chapters. Yusuf, unlike mainstream Nigerian Salafis, sought to weaponize the Salafi canon against the state in- stead of using it as a tool to bring about desired reforms. Drawing on the writings of influential Arab jihadi ideologues including Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi and the apocalyptic revolutionary Juhayman al-‘Utaybi, the lat- ter of whom participated in the 1979 seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Yusuf cited key Salafi concepts such as al-walā’ min al-mu’minīn wa-l-bara’ ‘an al-kāfirīn (loyalty to the Believers and disavowal of the Disbelievers) and beliefs about absolute monotheism (tawḥīd) as the basis of his revival- ist preaching. Based on these principle, he claimed, Muslims must not only fulfill their ritual duties such as prayer and fasting during Ramadan but also actively fight “unbelief” (kufr) and “apostasy” (ridda) and bring about God’s rule on earth, following the correct path of the community of the Prophet Abraham (Millat Ibrāhīm) referenced in multiple Qur’anic verses and outlined as a theological project for action by al-Maqdisi in a lengthy book of that name that has had a profound influence on the formation of modern Sunni jihadism. Instead of seeing Boko Haram, particularly under Shekau’s leadership, as a “Salafi” or “jihadi-Salafi” group, Thurston argues it is a case study of how a group that at one point in its history adhered to Salafism can move away from and beyond it. In the case of Shekau and his “post-Salafism,” he writes, the group, like Islamic State, has shifted away from the Salafi canon and toward a jihadism that uses only stripped-down elements from the canon and does so solely to propagate a militaristic form of jihad. Even when referencing historical religious authorities such as Ibn Taymiyya, Thurston points out, Boko Haram and Islamic State leaders and members often do so through the lens of modern Sunni jihadi ideologues like Juhay- man al-‘Utaybi, al-Maqdisi, and Abu Mus‘ab al-Zarqawi, figures who have come to form a Sunni jihadi canon of texts, intellectuals, and ideologues. Shekau, in short, has given up canonical Salafism and moved toward a more bombastic and scholastically more heterodox and less-Salafi-than- jihadi creed of political violence. Thurston also pushes back against the often crude stereotyping of Af- rican Islamic traditions and movements that sees African Muslims as being defined by their “syncretic” mix of traditional African religious traditions and “orthodox” Islam, the latter usually a stand-in for “Arab” and “Middle Eastern” Islam. Islam and Islamic movements in Africa have developed in social and political environments that are not mirrors to the dominant models of the Arab world (in particular, Egypt). He convincingly points out that analysis of all forms of African Islamic social and political mobi- lization through a Middle East and Egypt-heavy lens obscures much more than it elucidates. The book includes useful glossaries of key individuals and Arabic terms referenced in the text as well as a translation of a sermon by the late, revered Salafi scholar Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani that is part of the mainstream Salafi canon. Extensive in its coverage of the his- tory, evolution, and sociopolitical and religious development of Salafism in Nigeria as well as the key role played by Saudi Salafi universities and religious institutions and quasi-state NGOs, the book expands the schol- arly literature on Salafism, Islam in Africa, and political Islam and Islamic social movements. It also contributing to ongoing debates and discussions on approaches to the study of the role of texts and textual traditions in the formation of individual and communal religious identity.
 Christopher AnzaloneResearch Fellow, International Security ProgramBelfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University& PhD candidate, Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University

The global spread of Salafism, though it began in the 1960s and 1970s, only started to attract significant attention from scholars and analysts outside of Islamic studies as well as journalists, politicians, and the general public following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks perpetrated by Al-Qaeda Central. After the attacks, Salafism—or, as it was pejoratively labeled by its critics inside and outside of the Islamic tradition, “Wahhabism”—was accused of being the ideological basis of all expressions of Sunni militancy from North America and Europe to West and East Africa, the Arab world, and into Asia. According to this narrative, Usama bin Laden, Ayman al-Za- wahiri, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and other Sunni jihadis were merely putting into action the commands of medieval ‘ulama such as Ibn Taymiyya, the eighteenth century Najdi Hanbali Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, and modern revolutionary ideologues like Sayyid Qutb and ‘Abdullah ‘Azzam. To eradicate terrorism, you must eliminate or neuter Salafism, say its critics. The reality, of course, is far more complex than this simplistic nar- rative purports. Salafism, though its adherents share the same core set of creedal beliefs and methodological approaches toward the interpretation of the Qur’an and hadith and Sunni legal canon, comes in many forms, from the scholastic and hierarchical Salafism of the ‘ulama in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim majority countries to the decentralized, self-described Salafi groups in Europe and North America who cluster around a single char- ismatic preacher who often has limited formal religious education. What unifies these different expressions of Salafism is a core canon of religious and legal texts and set of scholars who are widely respected and referenced in Salafi circles. Thurston grounds his fieldwork and text-based analysis of Salafism in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and home to one of the world’s largest single Muslim national populations, through the lens of this canon, which he defines as a “communally negotiated set of texts that is governed by rules of interpretation and appropriation” (1). He argues fur- ther that in the history of Nigerian Salafism, one can trace the major stages that the global Salafi movement has navigated as it spread from the Arab Middle East to what are erroneously often seen as “peripheral” areas of the Islamic world, Africa and parts of Asia. The book is based on extensive fieldwork in Nigeria including interviews with key Nigerian Salafi scholars and other leading figures as well as a wide range of textual primary sourc- es including British and Nigerian archival documents, international and national news media reports, leaked US embassy cables, and a significant number of religious lectures and sermons and writings by Nigerian Salafis in Arabic and Hausa. In Chapter One, Thurston argues that the Salafi canon gives individ- ual and groups of Salafis a sense of identity and membership in a unique and, to them, superior religious community that is linked closely to their understanding and reading of sacred history and the revered figures of the Prophet Muhammad and the Ṣaḥāba. Salafism as an intellectual current, theology, and methodological approach is transmitted through this can- on which serves not only as a vehicle for proselytization but also a rule- book through which the boundaries of what is and is not “Salafism” are determined by its adherents and leading authorities. The book’s analytical framework and approach toward understanding Salafism, which rests on seeing it as a textual tradition, runs counter to the popular but problematic tendency in much of the existing discussion and even scholarly literature on Salafism that defines it as a literalist, one-dimensional, and puritani- cal creed with a singular focus on the Qur’an and hadith canon. Salafis, Thurston argues, do not simply derive religious and legal rulings in linear fashion from the Qur’an and Prophetic Sunna but rather engage in a co- herent and uniform process of aligning today’s Salafi community with a set of normative practices and beliefs laid out by key Salafi scholars from the recent past. Thurston divides the emergence of a distinct “Salafi” current within Sunnis into two phases. The first stretches from 1880 to 1950, as Sun- ni scholars from around the Muslim-majority world whose approaches shared a common hadith-centered methodology came into closer contact. The second is from the 1960s through the present, as key Salafi institutions (such as the Islamic University of Medina and other Saudi Salafi bodies) were founded and began attracting and (perhaps most importantly) fund- ing and sponsoring Sunni students from countries such as Nigeria to come study in Saudi Arabia, where they were deeply embedded in the Salafi tra- dition before returning to their home countries where, in turn, they spread Salafism among local Muslims. Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north, as with other regions such as Yemen’s northern Sa‘ada governorate, proved to be a fertile ground for Salafism in large part because it enabled local Muslims from more humble social backgrounds to challenge the longtime domi- nance of hereditary ruling families and the established religious class. In northern Nigeria the latter was and continues to be dominated by Sufi or- ders and their shaykhs whose long-running claim to communal leadership faced new and substantive theological and resource challenges following the return of Nigerian seminary students from Saudi Arabia’s Salafi scho- lastic institutions in the 1990s and early 2000s. In Chapters Two and Three, Thurston traces the history of Nigerian and other African students in Saudi Arabia, which significantly expanded following the 1961 founding of the Islamic University of Medina (which remains the preeminent Salafi seminary and university in the world) and after active outreach across the Sunni Muslim world by the Saudi govern- ment and Salafi religious elite to attract students through lucrative funding and scholarship packages. The process of developing an African Salafism was not one-dimensional or imposed from the top-down by Saudi Salafi elites, but instead saw Nigerian and other African Salafi students partici- pate actively in shaping and theorizing Salafi da‘wa that took into account the specifics of each African country and Islamic religious and social envi- ronment. In Nigeria and other parts of West and East Africa, this included considering the historically dominant position of Sufi orders and popular practices such as devotion to saints and grave and shrine visitation. African and Saudi Salafis also forged relationships with local African partners, in- cluding powerful political figures such as Ahmadu Bello and his religious adviser Abubakar Gumi, by attracting them with the benefits of establishing ties with wealthy international Islamic organizations founded and backed by the Saudi state, including the Muslim World League. Nigerian Salafis returning from their studies in Saudi Arabia actively promoted their Salafi canon among local Muslims, waging an aggressive proselytization campaign that sought to chip away at the dominance of traditional political and religious elites, the Sufi shaykhs. This process is covered in Chapter Four. Drawing on key sets of legal and exegetical writ- ings by Ibn Taymiyya, Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, and other Salafi scholars, Nigerian Salafis sought to introduce a framework—represented by the canon—through which their students and adherents approach re- ligious interpretation and practice. By mastering one’s understanding and ability to correctly interpret scripture and the hadith, Salafis believe, one will also live a more ethical life based on a core set of “Salafi” principles that govern not only religious but also political, social, and economic life. Salaf- ism, Thurston argues, drawing on the work of Terje Østebø on Ethiopian Salafism, becomes localized within a specific environment.As part of their da‘wa campaigns, Nigerian Salafis have utilized media and new technology to debate their rivals and critics as well as to broad- en their own influence over Nigerian Muslims and national society more broadly, actions analyzed in Chapter Five. Using the Internet, video and audio recorded sermons and religious lectures, books and pamphlets, and oral proselytization and preaching, Nigerian Salafis, like other Muslim ac- tivists and groups, see in media and technology an extension of the phys- ical infrastructure provided by institutions such as mosques and religious schools. This media/cyber infrastructure is as, if not increasingly more, valuable as the control of physical space because it allows for the rapid spread of ideas beyond what would have historically been possible for local religious preachers and missionaries. Instead of preaching political revo- lution, Nigerian Salafi activists sought to win greater access to the media including radio airtime because they believed this would ultimately lead to the triumph of their religious message despite the power of skeptical to downright hostile local audiences among the Sufi orders and non-Salafis dedicated to the Maliki juridical canon.In the realm of politics, the subject of Chapter Six, Nigeria’s Salafis base their political ideology on the core tenets of the Salafi creed and canon, tenets which cast Salafism as being not only the purest but the only true version of Islam, and require of Salafis to establish moral reform of a way- ward Muslim society. Salafi scholars seek to bring about social, political, and religious reform, which collectively represent a “return” to the Prophet Muhammad’s Islam, by speaking truth to power and advising and repri- manding, as necessary, Muslim political rulers. In navigating the multi-po- lar and complex realm of national and regional politics, Thurston argues, Nigerian Salafi scholars educated in Saudi Arabia unwittingly opened the door to cruder and more extreme, militant voices of figures lacking the same level of study of the Salafi canon or Sunni Islam generally. The most infamous of the latter is “Boko Haram,” the jihadi-insurgent group today based around Lake Chad in Nigeria, Chad, and Niger, which calls itself Jama‘at Ahl al-Sunna li-l-Da‘wa wa-l-Jihad and is led by the bombastic Abubakar Shekau. Boko Haram, under the leadership first of the revivalist preacher Mu- hammad Yusuf and then Shekau, is covered at length in the book’s third and final part, which is composed of two chapters. Yusuf, unlike mainstream Nigerian Salafis, sought to weaponize the Salafi canon against the state in- stead of using it as a tool to bring about desired reforms. Drawing on the writings of influential Arab jihadi ideologues including Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi and the apocalyptic revolutionary Juhayman al-‘Utaybi, the lat- ter of whom participated in the 1979 seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Yusuf cited key Salafi concepts such as al-walā’ min al-mu’minīn wa-l-bara’ ‘an al-kāfirīn (loyalty to the Believers and disavowal of the Disbelievers) and beliefs about absolute monotheism (tawḥīd) as the basis of his revival- ist preaching. Based on these principle, he claimed, Muslims must not only fulfill their ritual duties such as prayer and fasting during Ramadan but also actively fight “unbelief” (kufr) and “apostasy” (ridda) and bring about God’s rule on earth, following the correct path of the community of the Prophet Abraham (Millat Ibrāhīm) referenced in multiple Qur’anic verses and outlined as a theological project for action by al-Maqdisi in a lengthy book of that name that has had a profound influence on the formation of modern Sunni jihadism. Instead of seeing Boko Haram, particularly under Shekau’s leadership, as a “Salafi” or “jihadi-Salafi” group, Thurston argues it is a case study of how a group that at one point in its history adhered to Salafism can move away from and beyond it. In the case of Shekau and his “post-Salafism,” he writes, the group, like Islamic State, has shifted away from the Salafi canon and toward a jihadism that uses only stripped-down elements from the canon and does so solely to propagate a militaristic form of jihad. Even when referencing historical religious authorities such as Ibn Taymiyya, Thurston points out, Boko Haram and Islamic State leaders and members often do so through the lens of modern Sunni jihadi ideologues like Juhay- man al-‘Utaybi, al-Maqdisi, and Abu Mus‘ab al-Zarqawi, figures who have come to form a Sunni jihadi canon of texts, intellectuals, and ideologues. Shekau, in short, has given up canonical Salafism and moved toward a more bombastic and scholastically more heterodox and less-Salafi-than- jihadi creed of political violence. Thurston also pushes back against the often crude stereotyping of Af- rican Islamic traditions and movements that sees African Muslims as being defined by their “syncretic” mix of traditional African religious traditions and “orthodox” Islam, the latter usually a stand-in for “Arab” and “Middle Eastern” Islam. Islam and Islamic movements in Africa have developed in social and political environments that are not mirrors to the dominant models of the Arab world (in particular, Egypt). He convincingly points out that analysis of all forms of African Islamic social and political mobi- lization through a Middle East and Egypt-heavy lens obscures much more than it elucidates. The book includes useful glossaries of key individuals and Arabic terms referenced in the text as well as a translation of a sermon by the late, revered Salafi scholar Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani that is part of the mainstream Salafi canon. Extensive in its coverage of the his- tory, evolution, and sociopolitical and religious development of Salafism in Nigeria as well as the key role played by Saudi Salafi universities and religious institutions and quasi-state NGOs, the book expands the schol- arly literature on Salafism, Islam in Africa, and political Islam and Islamic social movements. It also contributing to ongoing debates and discussions on approaches to the study of the role of texts and textual traditions in the formation of individual and communal religious identity.
 Christopher AnzaloneResearch Fellow, International Security ProgramBelfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University& PhD candidate, Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University

World Journal of English Language wishes to acknowledge the following individuals for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Their help and contributions in maintaining the quality of the journal are greatly appreciated.World Journal of English Language is recruiting reviewers for the journal. If you are interested in becoming a reviewer, we welcome you to join us. Please contact us for the application form at: wjel@sciedupress.comReviewers for Volume 13, Number 8Abderrazak Zaafour, Almería University, SpainAbdul Majeed Hameed Joodi, Al-Farahidi University, Baghdad, IraqAbdulfattah Omar, The Australian National University, AustraliaAli Hussein Hazem, University of Patras, GreeceAndrés Canga , University of La Rioja, SpainAntonio Piga, University of Cagliari, ItalyAravind B R, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, IndiaAtyaf Hasan Ibrahim, University of Diyala, IraqAyman Rashad Rashid Yasin, PRINCESS SUMAYA UNIVERSITY FOR TECHNOLOGY, JordanBadri Abdulhakim Mudhsh, University of Technology and Applied Sciences, OmanBeibei Ren, University of South Florida, USABerhane Gerencheal, Aksum University, EthiopiaChahra BELOUFA, Arab Open University, Saudi ArabiaChunlin Yao, Tianjin Chengjian University, ChinaDaniel Ginting, Universitas Ma Chung, IndonesiaDeena Elshazly, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, EgyptDon Anton Balida, International College of Engineering and Management, OmanElsadig Hussein Fadlalla Ali, King Khalid University, Saudi ArabiaGhazwan Mohammed Saeed Mohammed, University of Bisha, Saudi ArabiaHameed Yahya Ahmed Al-Zubeiry, Al-Baha University, Saudi ArabiaHerman, Universitas HKBP Nommensen Pematangsiantar, IndonesiaHossein Salarian, University of Tehran, IranHouaria Chaal, Hassiba Ben Bouali University of Chlef, AlgeriaHussain Hamid Ali Ghazzaly, Al-Azhar University, EgyptInayatullah Kakepoto, Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering Science & Technology, Nawabshah, PakistanJamal Uthman Nogoud, University of Buraimi, OmanJaypee R. Lopres, Gallup McKinley County Schools, New Mexico Public Education Department, USAJergen Jel A. Cinco- Labaria, Western Philippines University, PhilippinesKhadija Alamoudi, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi ArabiaKristiawan Indriyanto, Universitas Prima Indonesia, IndonesiaL. Santhosh Kumar, Kristu Jayanti College ( Autonomous), IndiaLeila Lomashvili, Shawnee State University, USALihong Ding, Lanzhou University of Arts and Sciences, ChinaMaria Isabel Maldonado Garcia, University of the Punjab, PakistanMohamad Amin Shirkhani, University of sistan and baluchestan, IranMohamad Fadhili bin Yahaya, Universiti Teknologi Mara Perlis Branch, MalaysiaMohammad Hamad Al-khresheh, Northern Border University, Saudi ArabiaMohammed AbdAlgane, Qassim University, Saudi ArabiaMorteza Amirsheibani, Millat Umidi (MU) University, Tashkent, UzbekistanMuhammad Farkhan, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, IndonesiaMuhammad Mooneeb Ali, HED punjab, PakistanMuhammed Ibrahim Hamood, University of Mosul, IraqMundi Rahayu , Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, IndonesiaMusa Saleh, Qimam Al-Ulum Institute for Languages, Saudi ArabiaNing Li, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University (GDPU), ChinaNitin Malhotra, Amity University Madhya Pradesh, IndiaNuriadi Nuriadi, University of Mataram, IndonesiaOlena Andrushenko, Universität Augsburg , GermanyP. Jayakumar, St. Joseph’s College of Engineering, IndiaPhyll Jhann Gildore, UNIVERSITY OF MINDANAO, PhilippinesR. Kannan, Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science (A Deemed to be University), IndiaReimundus Raymond Fatubun, Cenderawasih University, Jayapura, IndonesiaRoberto Martínez Mateo, UNIVERSITY OF CASTILE LA-MANCHA , SpainS. V. Dhanawade, Vivekanand College(Autonomous) Kolhapur, IndiaSafi Eldeen Alzi’abi, Jerash University, JordanSaif Ali Abbas Jumaah, University Of Mosul College Of Arts Dept. Media and English Communication, IraqSantri Djahimo, Nusa Cendana University, IndonesiaŞenel, Müfit, 19 Mayıs University , TurkeyServais Dieu-Donné Yédia DADJO, University of Abomey-Calavi, BeninShalini Yadav, Compucom Institute of Technology and Management, IndiaShangrela Genon-Sieras, Mindanao State University, Main Campus, PhilippinesTeguh Budiharso, State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) of Surakarta, IndonesiaValeria Silva de Oliveira, Marinha do Brasil, BrazilWARID BIN MIHAT, Academy of Language Studies, MARA University of Technology (UiTM), Malaysia

My academic research journey started a decade ago as a Ph.D. student at the Azman Hashim International School, University Technology Malaysia. Since then, I have authored over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, books, and book chapters. In addition to guest editing several special issues for academic journals, I also had an opportunity to serve as the Director of Research for numerous professional organizations. Furthermore, I have served in senior editorial positions for numerous well-established hospitality and services management journals for the last three years. All these roles involve sending out invitations to review the manuscripts. The usual scenario is where some invitees accept to review, and others decline. However, what stands out is that many invitees do not respond to the invitation or send a review comprising three to four sentences. Conferences and special issues usually are tight on time schedules because of deadlines. Journals also need to publish timely research. Most of it is possible with a quality review provided on time. Hospitality and tourism management is a relatively smaller discipline, and it is difficult for many editors/conference chairs to manage reviewers for an increasing number of submissions. Consequently, at times, many scholars receive dozens of review invitations every month with shrinking deadlines to get the job done. Including myself, I know of numerous scholars who review over hundred articles every year. The question, however, is if this is fair to be putting a burden of reviewing on a relatively smaller number of people. Recently a discussion on TRINET MAILSERV attracted some of the prominent scholars in our discipline with exciting viewpoints. An interesting question was raised in the discussion - "How many papers should an active researcher review every year?" To answer the question, while some mentioned a numeric number, others responded with an emphasis on the quality of reviews instead of the quantity. I stand for both of these arguments. I think an active researcher should publish a certain number of papers every year and try to beat that number the following year without compromising the quality of the feedback. I also think that reviewing for a journal should be incentivized. Monetary incentives can be lucrative but not practical. Some journals have started including quality and reliable reviewers on their editorial boards. It is a great practice that can benefit early-career researchers but is not being practiced by all journals. Another incentive can be pushing for the recognition of reviewing process. Recently, there has been an increase in journal editors working with Publons to provide recognition to reviewers. Another reason why many junior faculty members do not want to review academic journals is the simple cost-benefit equation. Providing quality reviews for several papers every year takes considerable time. However, reviewing is often given little weightage in an already minimum share of service for tenure-track faculty members towards their tenure and promotion. Since most of the editors in the hospitality and tourism discipline are senior faculty members, there is an increasing need for them to push for having some weightage to 'reviewing' in the tenure and promotion guidelines within their colleges/schools/departments. It is important because I know a few younger faculty members who love to review papers and provide feedback but cannot do it because it is not considered a performance metric. Lastly, just like anything else, reviewers also need to be developed. Many institutes and conferences hold panel discussions and workshops on research methodology or publishing papers. It is good for the benefit of the authors. However, there are no workshops provided to train reviewers. Recently, I moderated an online webinar, "Academic Peer Review: Benefits and Challenges." Panelists included Dr. Ulrike Gretzel, Dr. Stanislav Ivanov, Dr. Metin Kozak, and Dr. Marissa Orlowski. Here is a link for all of you to watch the webinar and forward it to your students or colleagues. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nJ66YyeEdk). The webinar generated a huge interest from around the world, further strengthening my viewpoint about the need for such activities. In the peer review process, reviewers act as the gatekeepers, which signifies their importance in advancing knowledge. However, most of the reviewers are self-taught or mentored in-house by their advisors. It is time for journal editors and conferences to step up and think about holding workshops to train the reviewers on how to review. It can be done at a major conference such as the Annual ICHRIE Conference or the Graduate Conference with a larger graduate student population to cultivate the next crop of reviewers. It can be a valuable step not only to deal with the shortage of reviewers but also to ensure quality reviews. Overview of This Issue This is the second issue of the Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism. This issue features five exciting research papers and two viewpoints. The first paper written by Noradiva Hamzah, Norlida Hanım Mohd Salleh, Izuli Dzulkifli, and Tengku Kasmini Tengku Wook, sheds light on intellectual capital from the Islamic Value dimension to Muslim-friendly Medical Tourism. Using a case study approach, this study gives some directions for the hospital's management in developing and managing its intellectual capital and Islamic values. This study also explains how they can better leverage their intellectual capital and create added value to respond successfully to the increasingly competitive environment. It is pioneering research that develops a theoretical model to incorporate Intellectual Capital dimensions and Islamic Values in Muslim-friendly Medical Tourism. The second paper is written by Shaniel Bernard, Imran Rahman, Sijun Liu, and Luana Nanu. It examines the effect of reliance on different sources of information on the credibility of COVID-19 information (BCI). In addition, the effect of BCI on fearfulness and the corresponding fear on intention to use accommodation services and stay at home are analyzed. The authors collected data from 1,017 American consumers and analyzed them using a structural equation model. The results confirm the significant effects of trust in media and government on BCI and the corresponding positive effect of BCI on the scarecrow. However, the adverse effects of fear on intentions to visit hotels and restaurants (general and Chinese) and the positive effects of fear on intentions to stay at home and use third-party meal delivery services are confirmed. Rami K. Isaac conducts the third study from the Breda University of Applied Sciences. This research aims to understand better the impact of terrorism on risk perceptions and attitudes of Dutch travel behavior towards Egypt. The researcher obtained data from 414 respondents, and findings show that (potential) Dutch tourists are less likely to take risks when traveling with children. For example, people who often travel with children avoid traveling to countries in the MENA region due to terrorism-related unrest. Furthermore, it was determined that more than half of the sample size did not consider traveling to Egypt due to the current travel advice of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The fourth paper is written by Michael Vieregge from the University of Western Colorado. Although the demand for rural destinations has increased after the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of studies on this topic is scarce. This study contributes to the field by focusing on local gastronomy in rural communities. The archival research study focuses on 549 Cittaslow and non-Cittaslow towns and cities in 19 European countries. According to the research findings, rural towns offer more local gastronomy than cities, and towns with Cittaslow certification are more common than non-Cittaslow ones. The research suggests rural towns should focus on expanding their local gastronomy, and Cittaslow recommends expanding cities even further. The last article is authored by Cecily Martinez, Amy Bardwell, Julie Schumacher, and Jennifer Barnes. This study is based on implementing six nutrient claims evaluated by a group of registered dietitians. The snack items were conveniently placed near the cash register to "nudge" purchases, and sales of snacks before and after the claims implementation were examined. The authors applied paired-sample t-tests and indicated that after nutrient claims were implemented, sales of snacks increased in both groups. Results indicate that nutrient claims that had a significant impact on sales differed between the two groups. In addition to these five research papers, this second issue of JGHT also has two viewpoints. The first is an academic viewpoint, written by Prof. Stanislav Ivanov from Varna University of Management. He suggests academic research accepts and pays more attention to the economics of technologies in travel, tourism, and hospitality. According to Ivanov, travel, tourism, and hospitality (TTH) are intrinsically connected to technology. At the same time, tourists book their flights and accommodation through technology, reach their destination with the help of technology, explore the destination with technology, and share their experiences online with technology. Economic principles, like any other business, run them. Economic factors also drive their decisions to invest in technology. That is why academic research needs to acknowledge and pay more attention to the economics of technologies in travel, tourism, and hospitality. This academic viewpoint also outlines several directions for future research in the field. The second viewpoint is industry-focused and is authored by Mr. Murat Toktaş. He is the founder/president of KATID (Black Sea Tourist Operators Association), the founder/president of SKAL Karadeniz, and the founder/vice-president of TUROYD (Tourism Hotel Managers Association) and a member of the Board of Directors of TUROFED (Turkish Hoteliers Federation). In his viewpoint, he explains how destination management organizations (DMOs) work with local governments in Turkey. He suggested a successful destination marketing strategy for the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA). Collaboration between local and DMOs is essential for destinations to be adequately promoted and become a successful brands. Marketing is effective when a destination's artistic and cultural features are correctly promoted, as in the case of TGA. This viewpoint also concludes with several future research directions.

Islamic education in Chechnya has its own historical-political and spiritual-cultural factors of formation, dating back to the period of the adoption of Islam by the Chechens, associated with the socio-political structure of their society, beliefs, Arab conquests, the construction of mosques, during which primary Muslim schools were always created, also madrasah secondary schools. These schools existed in the North Caucasus, the Volga region, and Central Asia; they had a Kadimist (or Bukhara) system of training children. At the dawn of Soviet power, all Islamic educational institutions, with rare exceptions located in Uzbekistan, were liquidated for political reasons. Islamic education in the USSR was generally interrupted as a phenomenon alien to progressive Soviet society. Religious education, including Islamic, in the post-Soviet period in Russia and its regions, is being revived, acquiring a new status and receiving tangible development. The purpose of the article is to consider the experience of the development of Islamic education in Chechnya, including modern ones, in the context of the tasks of strengthening the state unity and integrity of the Russian Federation, preserving the ethnocultural identity of its peoples, ensuring the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens, harmonizing public and state interests. It is concluded that the modernization of Islamic education carried out in the Chechen Republic is becoming a significant factor in the religious and national security of the region and Russia as a whole. A unified and viable system of continuous Islamic education and science has been created in the republic, represented by three levels of spiritual education.

Abstract
 
 Discussing about the role of Islamic boarding schools in the formation and development of education, especially Islamic education, in Indonesia is hardly debated and doubtful. Long before Indonesia's independence, this institution which was in charge of ulama (kyai) was present in the archipelago. The history that goes through shows that the pesantren is not only able to maintain the survival of the times, but also can take care of its development which continues to increase from time to time. According to available data, this institution was first established, especially in Java, in the 15th century by Maulana Malik Ibrahim (one of the oldest walisongo) and later developed by other walisongo. By the end of the 19th century, the number of Islamic boarding schools in Java had grown to 300, and based on the records of the Indonesian Ministry of Religion Islamic Boarding School Database, the number of Islamic Boarding Schools in 2018 was around 21,321. The survival and continuous development of the boarding school certainly cannot be separated from the scientific tradition developed which has a strong enough distinction. One of them is the transformative education pattern. This makes the pesantren not just a religious institution that is merely active in the world of religious education for the santri, but at the same time has a concern and active role together with the community in empowering themselves. These values ​​also did not escape the Al-Istiqomah Islamic Boarding School in Kebumen. This pesantren which is famous for its 'Arab Village' has more value which requires the Al-Istiqomah Islamic boarding school to be developed into an international standard education. This internationalization is important to be put forward, in addition to developing and strengthening the quality of Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia and in Kebumen in particular, Internationalization will also be the biggest contribution to the development and strengthening of its own academic community. It will also make Islamic boarding schools play a greater role in making concrete contributions to global life.
 
 Keywords: Survive Management of Islamic Boarding Schools, International Islamic Education, Quality of Islamic Boarding Schools

الملخص تتعامل الدول العربية والإسلامية مع مسألة الثقافة بكثير من الحذر والحساسية لما لها من علاقة مباشرة مع الهوية والأصالة. إلا أنه في ظل العولمة وتقارب الشعوب، تحتم على سياسات تلك الدول المواءمة بين الموروث والحداثة وبين الأصالة والمعاصر، فكان لكل دولة دبلوماسيتها الثقافية الخاصة. وما يطرحه هذا البحث هو التساؤل عن مدى تأثير الدبلوماسية الثقافية على تطور الخامات والتقنيات في الفن التشكيلي الإماراتي. فقد بعثت الإمارات في إطار سعيها إلى الانفتاح على ثقافات الشعوب عدة مؤسسات ومتاحف ودور عرض أثرت بشكل أو بآخر على صلة الفنان التشكيلي الإماراتي بالمحدث من الفن وبالموروث من التراث. كما تم الاهتمام بالفنانين التشكيليين فتم ابتعاثهم في بداية السبعينيات لتلقي تكويناً في مختلف المدارس الفنية العالمية مما أنتج تهجيناً بين الهوية والعولمة في فكر وتفنيات الفنان. وقد توصل الباحث من خلال دراسة ثلاث تجارب مختلفة لتشكيليين إماراتيين إلى حقيقة أن العولمة أنتجت حتمية الحديث والمعاصر في الفن التشكيلي، وأن المعاصر في الفن هو البحث في فكر وتركيب فني جديد له صلة بالمحدث في الفنون من جهة وبالهوية والتراث دون التقوقع مع ما هو موروث فكري وفني من جهة أخرى. فلا السياسات التي تنتهجها الدول في إطار الدبلوماسية الثقافية من أجل الانفتاح والحداثة تمس من حماية الخصوصية للتراث والهوية، ولا يعني التشبث بالهوية رفض وانعزال واندثار ولا يعني مسايرة العصر والسعي وراء الحداثة اقتلاع من الجذور. الكلمات المفتاحية: الفن التشكيلي الإماراتي، العولمة، الهوية الثقافية، الدبلوماسية الثقافية. Abstract Arab and Islamic countries treat the issue of culture with great caution and sensitivity because of its direct relationship with identity and authenticity. However, in the light of globalization and the convergence of peoples, the policies of these countries must harmonize between heritage and modernity, and between tradition and modernity, wherefore each country has its own cultural diplomacy. What this research raises is the question of the impact of cultural diplomacy on the evolution of materials and techniques in the Emirati plastic arts. In its quest for openness to peoples' cultures, the UAE has founded several institutions, museums and theaters which have influenced, in one way or another, the link of the Emirati visual artist with the modernity of art and heritage. The attention being paid to visual artists who were sent on scholarships in the early 1970s to train in various international art schools, which produced a hybrid between identity and globalization in the artist's thought and techniques. By studying three different experiences of Emirati visual artists, the researcher came to the fact that globalization has produced the inevitability of modernism and the contemporary in visual art, and that contemporary art is the search for a new artistic thought and an up-todate form of art related to the modernism in the arts on the one hand, and identity and heritage on the other hand, without being weighed down by intellectual and artistic heritage. The politics pursued by countries within the framework of cultural diplomacy for openness and modernity does not affect the protection of the privacy of heritage and identity, and clinging to identity does not affect the protection of the privacy of heritage and identity and does not mean rejection or isolation or extinction, and the fact of adapting to one's time and seeking modernity does not mean uprooting. Keywords: Emirati plastic art, globalization, cultural identity, cultural diplomacy.

It is now almost 15 years since the world witnessed one of modern history’s most devastating terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001. Despite all its promises, the so called ‘War on Terror’ failed to combat a growing tide of violent extremism. 11 years after the US led offensive on Iraq in 2003, the rise of terrorism by non-state actors in the Arab world presents a significant concern to international security and world peace. Since 2001 Australian Muslims have consistently been called upon to openly reject terrorism committed by a minority of Muslims who adhere to an extreme interpretation of Islamic doctrine that justifies attacks on civilians both in the Arab world and abroad.The responsibility placed on Australian Muslims to actively reject terrorism comes from both official channels through government funded programs under the banner of counter terrorism and countering violent extremism and the public through the popular media. Yet, Muslims in Australia who do speak out against religiously motivated non-state terrorism find themselves in an impossible bind. They are expected to speak out as representatives of a fragmented, heterogeneous and diverse mix of communities and ideologies. Often, when they do speak out, they are viewed with suspicion and presumed to be ‘apologists for Islam’ whose claim to tolerance and the peaceful nature of Islamic doctrine purposefully ignores its true nature. Such responses render these spokespersons illegitimate- both as representatives of Muslim communities and as Australian citizens. The question “Why don’t moderate Muslims speak out against terrorism?” is often raised in the popular media in response to attacks against Western interests by jihadi groups. On 15 August 2014 an article in the Daily Telegraph by well-known conservative journalist Piers Akerman raised the question in relation to the Australian government’s announcement of increased powers for law enforcement agencies to deal with the issue of returned foreign fighters who had joined the Islamic State’s conflict in Iraq and Syria. The article, titled “It’s Time for Muslim Leaders to Speak Up” reiterated much of the construction of the silent Muslim majority that has pervaded the Australian popular media since 2001. Akerman states: “They [the Australian government] should be making it clear to Australian Muslims that they expect their leaders to speak out more vehemently against those who groom terrorists from the among the young and stupidly impressionable in their communities”. While he continues by acknowledging that Muslims in Australia are diverse in ethnicity and religious views and that the vast majority of Muslims do not support terrorism, he concludes by stating that “the few are costing the majority of Australians millions in security and those who enjoy leadership titles must accept that some responsibility attaches to their position or they should abdicate in favour of individuals who are prepared to consent to the obligations inherent in their station” (Piers Akerman). The same sentiments were expressed by Pia Ackerman in the Australian who wrote that “AUSTRALIA’S Muslim leaders need to speak out against Islamic State terrorists or risk losing their credibility and ability to reach young men attracted to the extremists’ cause” (Pia Akerman).Other responses in the popular media present a different argument. In an article titled “The Moderate Muslims Are Talking If Only You Will Listen”, David Penberthy of the Herald Sun cites examples of Muslim Australians who are speaking out including the case of prominent Sydney GP Jamal Rifi whose condemnation of terrorist activities in the Arab world has earned him death threats from members of the Islamic State (Penberthy). Yet, as Penberthy rightly acknowledges the questions “where are the moderates? Where are the decent Muslims? Are there any? Why aren’t they speaking out?” are still the most salient questions being asked of Muslims in the public sphere. For Australian Muslims at least, they are questions that pervade their everyday lives. It is these questions for example that leads Muslim women who wear the tradition head covering or hijab to challenge media representations of themselves as complicit actors in terrorism by acting as alternative sources of truth for curious co-workers and members of the broader community (see Aly, A Study).Muslim women who do not wear the hijab can face even more barriers to speaking out because they do not pass the test of ‘legitimate’ Muslims: those who fit the stereotype of the angry bearded male and the oppressed female shrouded in black. This author, who has in the past written about extremist interpretations of Islam, has faced condemnation from anti- Islamic groups who questioned her authenticity as a Muslim. By speaking out as a Muslim against the violent actions of some Muslims in other parts of the world, I was being accused of misinformed. Ironically, those who are vehemently anti- Islamic espouse the very same ideological world view and interpretations of Islamic doctrine as those Muslims they claim to oppose. Both groups rely on an extreme and minority version of Islam that de-legitimises more mainstream, nuanced interpretations and both groups claim legitimacy to the truth that Islam can only ever be violent, aggressive and oppositional.It is not just in the public and media discourses that Muslims who speak out against terrorism face being branded illegitimate. The policy response to home-grown terrorism — acts of violence carried out by Australian citizens within Australia — has, albeit inadvertently, created the conditions through which Muslims must verify their legitimate claims to being Australian by participating in the governments’ program of counter terrorism.In the wake of the 2005 London bombings, the Prime Minister met with selected representatives from Muslim communities to discuss the development of a Muslim Community Reference Group. The Group was charged with assisting the Australian Government by acting as an advisory group and by working with Muslim communities “promote harmony, mutual understanding and Australian values and to challenge violence, ignorance and rigid thinking”. This was iterated through a Statement of Principles that committed members of Muslim communities to pursue “moderate’ Islam (Prime Minister, “Meeting”). The very need for a Muslim summit and for the development of a Statement of Principles (later endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments, COAG), sends a lucid message to the Australian public that not only are Australian Muslims responsible for terrorism but that they also have the capacity to prevent or minimise the threat of an attack in Australia.In 2005, the policy response to terrorism took its first step towards linking the social harmony agenda to the securitisation of the state in the form of the National Action Plan to Build Social Cohesion, Harmony and Security. The stated purpose of the National Action Plan (NAP) notably conflated national security with social cohesion and harmony and clearly indicated an understanding that violent extremism could be addressed through programs designed to reinforce Australian values, social harmony, interfaith understanding and tolerance: “The purpose of this National Action Plan (NAP) is to reinforce social cohesion, harmony and support the national security imperative in Australia by addressing extremism, the promotion of violence and intolerance…”(Commonwealth of Australia, National Action Plan).Between 2005 and 2010, the National Action Plan provided funding for 83 community based projects deemed to meet the Plan’s criteria of addressing extremism and the promotion of violence. Of the 83 projects funded, 33 were undertaken by associations that identified as Muslim or Islamic (some applicants received funding for more than one project or in more than one round). The remaining 50 organisations funded included universities and vocational training organisations (4), multicultural social services or migrant resource centres (14), interfaith groups (3), local councils (4), ethnic organisations (specifically African, East African, Afghan, Hazara, Arabic and Pakistani), sporting clubs (4) and miscellaneous social clubs and service providers. The kinds of projects that were funded were predominantly aimed at Muslim communities, most notably youth and women, and the provision of services, programs, education, information and dialogue. Sixty five of the projects funded were explicitly aimed at Muslim communities and identified their target groups variously as: ‘African Muslim’; ‘Muslim youth’; ‘Muslim women’; ‘at risk Muslims’; ‘young Muslims’; ‘Iraqi Muslims’; ‘Lebanese Muslims’ and ‘young Muslim men from Arabic speaking backgrounds’. Seven projects were described as involving ‘interfaith’ elements, though a further 13 projects described some form of interaction between Muslim and non-Muslim communities and groups through activities such as sport, dialogue, fashion parades, workshops, art and craft programs, music workshops. 29 projects involved some form of leadership training for Muslims: youth, women and young men. Overall, the range of projects funded under the National Action Plan in the five years of its operation reflect a policy approach that specifically identifies Muslim communities (including ethno specific and new and emerging Muslim communities) as the primary target of Australia’s broader security strategy.The National Action Plan was succeeded by the Building Community Resilience (BCR) Program. Despite the positive steps taken in attempting to move the BCR program away from the social harmony policy agenda, it continued to reflect an underlying preoccupation with the assumptions of its predecessor. Between 2011- 2013 it funded 51 community based projects. Of these, 7 projects were undertaken by Islamic or Muslim associations. Ten of the projects specifically target Muslims or Muslim communities, with 6 of these being Muslim youth leadership and/or mentoring programs. The remaining 4 Muslim focussed projects include a project designed to encourage Muslim youth to build positive connections with the broader community, the development of a Common Curriculum Framework for teaching Islamic Studies in Australian Islamic primary and secondary schools, a project to address misconceptions about Islam and promote cultural understanding and the production of a DVD for schools to address misperceptions about Muslims. Notably, only one project specifically targets white supremacist violent extremism. The Australian governments’ progressive policy approach to countering violent extremism at home has disproportionately focussed on the Australian Muslim communities. In an environment where Muslims are viewed with suspicion and as having the primary responsibility as both perpetrators and gatekeepers of terroristic ideologies, Muslims in diaspora communities have been forced to make legitimate claims to their innocence. In order to do this they are required to reaffirm their commitment to Australian values, not just by speaking out against terrorism but also by participating in programs that are based on false assumptions about the nature of Muslim citizenship in Australia and the premise that Muslim Australians are, both individually and collectively, opposed to such values by virtue of their religious affiliation. In 2014 and in response to growing concerns about the number of Australians travelling to Iraq and Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State, the government made a bold move by declaring its intention to overhaul existing terror laws. The new laws would reverse the onus of proof on those who travelled to certain countries deemed to be terrorist hotspots to prove that they were not partaking in armed conflict or terrorist training. They would also give more powers to law enforcement and surveillance agencies by lowering the threshold of arrest without a warrant. The announcement of the new laws by the Prime Minister coincided with the news that the Government would abandon its controversial plans to drop section 18c from the Racial Discrimination Act which makes it unlawful to "offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people" because of their race or ethnicity" (Aston). The announcement was made under the guise of a press conference on terror laws and inferred that the back down on the Racial Discrimination Act reforms were a measure to win over the Muslim communities cooperation on the new terror laws. Referring to a somewhat curious notion of “team Australia”, the Prime Minister stated “I want to work with the communities of our country as team Australia here” (Aston). “Team Australia” has since become the Government’s narrative frame for garnering public support for its proposed new terrorism laws. Echoing his predecessor John Howard, whose narrative of Australian values pervaded much of the political discourse during his term in office, Prime Minister Abbott stated in a radio interview that "everyone has got to put this country, its interests, its values and its people first, and you don't migrate to this country unless you want to join our team". He followed this statement by emphasising that "What we need to do is to encourage the moderate mainstream to speak out" (Cox).Shortly after the release of a horrific image on social media showing Australian jihadists proudly flaunting the severed heads of their victims, the Australian government reacted with an even bolder move to introduce legislation that would see the government cancelling the welfare payments of persons “identified by national security agencies as being involved in extremist conduct.” According to the Government the reforms would “enable the Department of Human Services to cancel a person’s welfare payment if it receives advice that a person has been assessed as a serious threat to Australia’s national security.”(Prime Minister of Australia) The move was criticised by several groups including academics who argued that it would not only alienate the already disenfranchised Muslim communities, but could also result in greater radicalisation (Ireland). In response to the raft of new measures perceived to be targeting Muslim communities, Australian Muslims took measured steps to voice their opposition through written statements and media releases stating that, among other things: These proposals come in the same style as those which have preceded [sic] since the Howard era. An alleged threat is blown out of all proportion as the pretext, further "tightening" of the laws is claimed necessary and rushed through, without proper national debate or community consultation. The reality of the alleged threat is also exposed by the lack of correspondence between the official 'terror threat' level, which has remained the same since 2001, and the hysterical rhetoric from government ministers. (ABC News, "Australian Muslims")Australian Muslim leaders also boycotted government meetings including a planned meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss the new laws. The Prime Minister promptly branded the boycott “foolish” (ABC News, "Tony Abbott") yet refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the claims made in the media statements and messages by Muslim organisations that prompted the boycotts. As Australian Muslims continue to grapple with ways to legitimize their claims to citizenship, the developing discourse on national security and terrorism continues to define them as the objects of terror. Notably, the media discourse is showing some signs of accommodating the views of Muslim Australians who have found some space in the public sphere. Recent media reporting on terror activities in the Middle East has given some consideration to the voices of Muslim leaders who openly oppose violent extremism. Yet Muslims in Australia are still battling for legitimacy. Those who speak out against the hijacking of their religion by a minority who espouse a rigid and uncompromising ideology in order to justify violence often find themselves the subjects of intense scrutiny. From within their communities they are seen to be mouth pieces for an unfair and unjust government agenda that targets Muslims as objects of fear. From outside their communities they are seen to be apologists for Islam whose authenticity should be questioned if not denied. Attempts by Muslim Australians to have their voices heard through political practices that define the very nature of democracy including peaceful demonstrations, boycotts and written statements have not been taken seriously. As a result, Muslim voices in Australia are deemed illegitimate regardless of the forms or platforms through which they seek to be heard. ReferencesABC News. “Australian Muslims Denounce Proposed 'Anti-Terror' Laws”. ABC Religion and Ethics, 21 Aug. 2014. 23 Aug. 2014 .ABC News. “Tony Abbott Says Muslim Leaders 'Foolishly Boycotted' Counterterrorism Law Meeting.” 22 Aug. 2014. 24 Aug. 2014 .Akerman, Pia. “Muslim Leaders Must Speak Out against Extremists, Academic Warns.” The Australian 13 Aug. 13 2014. 20 Aug. 2014 . Akerman, Piers. “It's Time for Muslim Leaders to Speak Up.” Daily Telegraph 15 Aug. 2014. 20 Aug. 2014 .Alynne, A. A Study of Audience Responses to the Media Discourse about the ‘Other’: The Fear of Terrorism between Australian Muslims and the Broader Community. Lampeter: Edwin Mellen, 2010.Aly, Anne. “Media Hegemony, Activism and Identity: Muslim Women Re-Presenting Muslim Women.” Beyond the Hijab Debates: New Conversations on Gender, Race and Religion, eds. T. Dreher and C. Ho. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars, 2009.Aly, Anne, and Mark Balnaves. “The Atmosfear of Terror: Affective Modulation and the War on Terror.” M/C Journal 8.6 (2005).Aly, Anne, and Lelia Green. “‘Moderate Islam’: Defining the Good Citizen.” M/C Journal 10.6/11.1 (2008). 13 April 2008 ‹http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0804/08aly-green.php›.Aston, H. “Tony Abbott Dumps Controversial Changes to 18C Racial Discrimination Laws.” Sydney Morning Herald 5 Aug. 2014. 24 Aug. 2014 .Australian Government, Attorney General's Department. Building Community Resilience Grants Program. n.d. 24 July 2014 . Commonwealth of Australia. Transnational Terrorism White Paper: The Threat to Australia. Canberra: Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2004. . Commonwealth of Australia. National Action Plan to Build Social Cohesion, Harmony and Security. Canberra: Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 2006. .Commonwealth of Australia. Counter Terrorism White Paper: Securing Australia, Protecting our Community. Canberra: Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2010. 19 Nov. 2011 .Cox, L. “'You Don't Migrate to This Country unless You Want to Join Our Team': Tony Abbott Renews Push on National Security Laws.” Sydney Morning Herald 18 Aug. 2014. 24 Aug. 2014 . Ireland, J. “Extremism Warning on Coalition's Move to Cut Welfare Payments.” Sydney Morning Herald 19 Aug. 2014. 24 Aug. 2014 .Penberthy, D. “The Moderate Muslims Are Talking If Only You Will Listen. Herald Sun 17 Aug. 2014 .Prime Minister of Australia. “New Counter-Terrorism Measures for a Safer Australia - Cancelling Welfare Payments to Extremists”. 16 Aug. 2014. 23 Aug. 2014 .Prime Minister of Australia. “Meeting with Islamic Community Leaders, Statement of Principles.” 23 Aug. 2005. July 2008 .


 
 
 Introduction I am a transmigrant who has moved back and forth between the West and the Rest. I was born and raised in a Muslim family in a predominantly Muslim country, Bangladesh, but I spent several years of my childhood in Pakistan. After my marriage, I lived in the United States for a year and a half, the Middle East for 5 years, Australia for three years, back to the Middle East for another 5 years, then, finally, in Australia for the last 12 years. I speak Bengali (my mother tongue), Urdu (which I learnt in Pakistan), a bit of Arabic (learnt in the Middle East); but English has always been my medium of instruction. So where is home? Is it my place of origin, the Muslim umma, or my land of settlement? Or is it my ‘root’ or my ‘route’ (Blunt and Dowling)? Blunt and Dowling (199) observe that the lives of transmigrants are often interpreted in terms of their ‘roots’ and ‘routes’, which are two frameworks for thinking about home, homeland and diaspora. Whereas ‘roots’ might imply an original homeland from which people have scattered, and to which they might seek to return, ‘routes’ focuses on mobile, multiple and transcultural geographies of home. However, both ‘roots’ and ‘routes’ are attached to emotion and identity, and both invoke a sense of place, belonging or alienation that is intrinsically tied to a sense of self (Blunt and Dowling 196-219). In this paper, I equate home with my root (place of birth) and route (transnational homing) within the context of the ‘diaspora and belonging’. First I define the diaspora and possible criteria of belonging. Next I describe my transnational homing within the framework of diaspora and belonging. Finally, I consider how Australia can be a ‘home’ for me and other Muslim Australians. The Diaspora and Belonging Blunt and Dowling (199) define diaspora as “scattering of people over space and transnational connections between people and the places”. Cohen emphasised the ethno-cultural aspects of the diaspora setting; that is, how migrants identify and position themselves in other nations in terms of their (different) ethnic and cultural orientation. Hall argues that the diasporic subjects form a cultural identity through transformation and difference. Speaking of the Hindu diaspora in the UK and Caribbean, Vertovec (21-23) contends that the migrants’ contact with their original ‘home’ or diaspora depends on four factors: migration processes and factors of settlement, cultural composition, structural and political power, and community development. With regard to the first factor, migration processes and factors of settlement, Vertovec explains that if the migrants are political or economic refugees, or on a temporary visa, they are likely to live in a ‘myth of return’. In the cultural composition context, Vertovec argues that religion, language, region of origin, caste, and degree of cultural homogenisation are factors in which migrants are bound to their homeland. Concerning the social structure and political power issue, Vertovec suggests that the extent and nature of racial and ethnic pluralism or social stigma, class composition, degree of institutionalised racism, involvement in party politics (or active citizenship) determine migrants’ connection to their new or old home. Finally, community development, including membership in organisations (political, union, religious, cultural, leisure), leadership qualities, and ethnic convergence or conflict (trends towards intra-communal or inter-ethnic/inter-religious co-operation) would also affect the migrants’ sense of belonging. Using these scholarly ideas as triggers, I will examine my home and belonging over the last few decades. My Home In an initial stage of my transmigrant history, my home was my root (place of birth, Dhaka, Bangladesh). Subsequently, my routes (settlement in different countries) reshaped my homes. In all respects, the ethno-cultural factors have played a big part in my definition of ‘home’. But on some occasions my ethnic identification has been overridden by my religious identification and vice versa. By ethnic identity, I mean my language (mother tongue) and my connection to my people (Bangladeshi). By my religious identity, I mean my Muslim religion, and my spiritual connection to the umma, a Muslim nation transcending all boundaries. Umma refers to the Muslim identity and unity within a larger Muslim group across national boundaries. The only thing the members of the umma have in common is their Islamic belief (Spencer and Wollman 169-170). In my childhood my father, a banker, was relocated to Karachi, Pakistan (then West Pakistan). Although I lived in Pakistan for much of my childhood, I have never considered it to be my home, even though it is predominantly a Muslim country. In this case, my home was my root (Bangladesh) where my grandparents and extended family lived. Every year I used to visit my grandparents who resided in a small town in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). Thus my connection with my home was sustained through my extended family, ethnic traditions, language (Bengali/Bangla), and the occasional visits to the landscape of Bangladesh. Smith (9-11) notes that people build their connection or identity to their homeland through their historic land, common historical memories, myths, symbols and traditions. Though Pakistan and Bangladesh had common histories, their traditions of language, dress and ethnic culture were very different. For example, the celebration of the Bengali New Year (Pohela Baishakh), folk dance, folk music and folk tales, drama, poetry, lyrics of poets Rabindranath Tagore (Rabindra Sangeet) and Nazrul Islam (Nazrul Geeti) are distinct in the cultural heritage of Bangladesh. Special musical instruments such as the banshi (a bamboo flute), dhol (drums), ektara (a single-stringed instrument) and dotara (a four-stringed instrument) are unique to Bangladeshi culture. The Bangladeshi cuisine (rice and freshwater fish) is also different from Pakistan where people mainly eat flat round bread (roti) and meat (gosh). However, my bonding factor to Bangladesh was my relatives, particularly my grandparents as they made me feel one of ‘us’. Their affection for me was irreplaceable. The train journey from Dhaka (capital city) to their town, Noakhali, was captivating. The hustle and bustle at the train station and the lush green paddy fields along the train journey reminded me that this was my ‘home’. Though I spoke the official language (Urdu) in Pakistan and had a few Pakistani friends in Karachi, they could never replace my feelings for my friends, extended relatives and cousins who lived in Bangladesh. I could not relate to the landscape or dry weather of Pakistan. More importantly, some Pakistani women (our neighbours) were critical of my mother’s traditional dress (saree), and described it as revealing because it showed a bit of her back. They took pride in their traditional dress (shalwar, kameez, dopatta), which they considered to be more covered and ‘Islamic’. So, because of our traditional dress (saree) and perhaps other differences, we were regarded as the ‘Other’. In 1970 my father was relocated back to Dhaka, Bangladesh, and I was glad to go home. It should be noted that both Pakistan and Bangladesh were separated from India in 1947 – first as one nation; then, in 1971, Bangladesh became independent from Pakistan. The conflict between Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) and Pakistan (then West Pakistan) originated for economic and political reasons. At this time I was a high school student and witnessed acts of genocide committed by the Pakistani regime against the Bangladeshis (March-December 1971). My memories of these acts are vivid and still very painful. After my marriage, I moved from Bangladesh to the United States. In this instance, my new route (Austin, Texas, USA), as it happened, did not become my home. Here the ethno-cultural and Islamic cultural factors took precedence. I spoke the English language, made some American friends, and studied history at the University of Texas. I appreciated the warm friendship extended to me in the US, but experienced a degree of culture shock. I did not appreciate the pub life, alcohol consumption, and what I perceived to be the lack of family bonds (children moving out at the age of 18, families only meeting occasionally on birthdays and Christmas). Furthermore, I could not relate to de facto relationships and acceptance of sex before marriage. However, to me ‘home’ meant a family orientation and living in close contact with family. Besides the cultural divide, my husband and I were living in the US on student visas and, as Vertovec (21-23) noted, temporary visa status can deter people from their sense of belonging to the host country. In retrospect I can see that we lived in the ‘myth of return’. However, our next move for a better life was not to our root (Bangladesh), but another route to the Muslim world of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia. My husband moved to Dhahran not because it was a Muslim world but because it gave him better economic opportunities. However, I thought this new destination would become my home – the home that was coined by Anderson as the imagined nation, or my Muslim umma. Anderson argues that the imagined communities are “to be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined” (6; Wood 61). Hall (122) asserts: identity is actually formed through unconscious processes over time, rather than being innate in consciousness at birth. There is always something ‘imaginary’ or fantasized about its unity. It always remains incomplete, is always ‘in process’, always ‘being formed’. As discussed above, when I had returned home to Bangladesh from Pakistan – both Muslim countries – my primary connection to my home country was my ethnic identity, language and traditions. My ethnic identity overshadowed the religious identity. But when I moved to Saudi Arabia, where my ethnic identity differed from that of the mainstream Arabs and Bedouin/nomadic Arabs, my connection to this new land was through my Islamic cultural and religious identity. Admittedly, this connection to the umma was more psychological than physical, but I was now in close proximity to Mecca, and to my home of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Mecca is an important city in Saudi Arabia for Muslims because it is the holy city of Islam, the home to the Ka’aba (the religious centre of Islam), and the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad [Peace Be Upon Him]. It is also the destination of the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islamic faith. Therefore, Mecca is home to significant events in Islamic history, as well as being an important present day centre for the Islamic faith. We lived in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia for 5 years. Though it was a 2.5 hours flight away, I treasured Mecca’s proximity and regarded Dhahran as my second and spiritual home. Saudi Arabia had a restricted lifestyle for women, but I liked it because it was a Muslim country that gave me the opportunity to perform umrah Hajj (pilgrimage). However, Saudi Arabia did not allow citizenship to expatriates. Saudi Arabia’s government was keen to protect the status quo and did not want to compromise its cultural values or standard of living by allowing foreigners to become a permanent part of society. In exceptional circumstances only, the King granted citizenship to a foreigner for outstanding service to the state over a number of years. Children of foreigners born in Saudi Arabia did not have rights of local citizenship; they automatically assumed the nationality of their parents. If it was available, Saudi citizenship would assure expatriates a secure and permanent living in Saudi Arabia; as it was, there was a fear among the non-Saudis that they would have to leave the country once their job contract expired. Under the circumstances, though my spiritual connection to Mecca was strong, my husband was convinced that Saudi Arabia did not provide any job security. So, in 1987 when Australia offered migration to highly skilled people, my husband decided to migrate to Australia for a better and more secure economic life. I agreed to his decision, but quite reluctantly because we were again moving to a non-Muslim part of the world, which would be culturally different and far away from my original homeland (Bangladesh). In Australia, we lived first in Brisbane, then Adelaide, and after three years we took our Australian citizenship. At that stage I loved the Barossa Valley and Victor Harbour in South Australia, and the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast in Queensland, but did not feel at home in Australia. We bought a house in Adelaide and I was a full time home-maker but was always apprehensive that my children (two boys) would lose their culture in this non-Muslim world. In 1990 we once again moved back to the Muslim world, this time to Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. My connection to this route was again spiritual. I valued the fact that we would live in a Muslim country and our children would be brought up in a Muslim environment. But my husband’s move was purely financial as he got a lucrative job offer in Muscat. We had another son in Oman. We enjoyed the luxurious lifestyle provided by my husband’s workplace and the service provided by the housemaid. I loved the beaches and freedom to drive my car, and I appreciated the friendly Omani people. I also enjoyed our frequent trips (4 hours flight) to my root, Dhaka, Bangladesh. So our children were raised within our ethnic and Islamic culture, remained close to my root (family in Dhaka), though they attended a British school in Muscat. But by the time I started considering Oman to be my second home, we had to leave once again for a place that could provide us with a more secure future. Oman was like Saudi Arabia; it employed expatriates only on a contract basis, and did not give them citizenship (not even fellow Muslims). So after 5 years it was time to move back to Australia. It was with great reluctance that I moved with my husband to Brisbane in 1995 because once again we were to face a different cultural context. As mentioned earlier, we lived in Brisbane in the late 1980s; I liked the weather, the landscape, but did not consider it home for cultural reasons. Our boys started attending expensive private schools and we bought a house in a prestigious Western suburb in Brisbane. Soon after arriving I started my tertiary education at the University of Queensland, and finished an MA in Historical Studies in Indian History in 1998. Still Australia was not my home. I kept thinking that we would return to my previous routes or the ‘imagined’ homeland somewhere in the Middle East, in close proximity to my root (Bangladesh), where we could remain economically secure in a Muslim country. But gradually I began to feel that Australia was becoming my ‘home’. I had gradually become involved in professional and community activities (with university colleagues, the Bangladeshi community and Muslim women’s organisations), and in retrospect I could see that this was an early stage of my ‘self-actualisation’ (Maslow). Through my involvement with diverse people, I felt emotionally connected with the concerns, hopes and dreams of my Muslim-Australian friends. Subsequently, I also felt connected with my mainstream Australian friends whose emotions and fears (9/11 incident, Bali bombing and 7/7 tragedy) were similar to mine. In late 1998 I started my PhD studies on the immigration history of Australia, with a particular focus on the historical settlement of Muslims in Australia. This entailed retrieving archival files and interviewing people, mostly Muslims and some mainstream Australians, and enquiring into relevant migration issues. I also became more active in community issues, and was not constrained by my circumstances. By circumstances, I mean that even though I belonged to a patriarchally structured Muslim family, where my husband was the main breadwinner, main decision-maker, my independence and research activities (entailing frequent interstate trips for data collection, and public speaking) were not frowned upon or forbidden (Khan 14-15); fortunately, my husband appreciated my passion for research and gave me his trust and support. This, along with the Muslim community’s support (interviews), and the wider community’s recognition (for example, the publication of my letters in Australian newspapers, interviews on radio and television) enabled me to develop my self-esteem and built up my bicultural identity as a Muslim in a predominantly Christian country and as a Bangladeshi-Australian. In 2005, for the sake of a better job opportunity, my husband moved to the UK, but this time I asserted that I would not move again. I felt that here in Australia (now in Perth) I had a job, an identity and a home. This time my husband was able to secure a good job back in Australia and was only away for a year. I no longer dream of finding a home in the Middle East. Through my bicultural identity here in Australia I feel connected to the wider community and to the Muslim umma. However, my attachment to the umma has become ambivalent. I feel proud of my Australian-Muslim identity but I am concerned about the jihadi ideology of militant Muslims. By jihadi ideology, I mean the extremist ideology of the al-Qaeda terrorist group (Farrar 2007). The Muslim umma now incorporates both moderate and radical Muslims. The radical Muslims (though only a tiny minority of 1.4 billion Muslims worldwide) pose a threat to their moderate counterparts as well as to non-Muslims. In the UK, some second- and third-generation Muslims identify themselves with the umma rather than their parents’ homelands or their country of birth (Husain). It should not be a matter of concern if these young Muslims adopt a ‘pure’ Muslim identity, providing at the same time they are loyal to their country of residence. But when they resort to terrorism with their ‘pure’ Muslim identity (e.g., the 7/7 London bombers) they defame my religion Islam, and undermine my spiritual connection to the umma. As a 1st generation immigrant, the defining criteria of my ‘homeliness’ in Australia are my ethno-cultural and religious identity (which includes my family), my active citizenship, and my community development/contribution through my research work – all of which allow me a sense of efficacy in my life. My ethnic and religious identities generally co-exist equally, but when I see some Muslims kill my fellow Australians (such as the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005) my Australian identity takes precedence. I feel for the victims and condemn the perpetrators. On the other hand, when I see politics play a role over the human rights issues (e.g., the Tampa incident), my religious identity begs me to comment on it (see Kabir, Muslims in Australia 295-305). Problematising ‘Home’ for Muslim Australians In the European context, Grillo (863) and Werbner (904), and in the Australian context, Kabir (Muslims in Australia) and Poynting and Mason, have identified the diversity within Islam (national, ethnic, religious etc). Werbner (904) notes that in spite of the “wishful talk of the emergence of a ‘British Islam’, even today there are Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Arab mosques, as well as Turkish and Shia’a mosques”; thus British Muslims retain their separate identities. Similarly, in Australia, the existence of separate mosques for the Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Arab and Shia’a peoples indicates that Australian Muslims have also kept their ethnic identities discrete (Saeed 64-77). However, in times of crisis, such as the Salman Rushdie affair in 1989, and the 1990-1991 Gulf crises, both British and Australian Muslims were quick to unite and express their Islamic identity by way of resistance (Kabir, Muslims in Australia 160-162; Poynting and Mason 68-70). In both British and Australian contexts, I argue that a peaceful rally or resistance is indicative of active citizenship of Muslims as it reveals their sense of belonging (also Werbner 905). So when a transmigrant Muslim wants to make a peaceful demonstration, the Western world should be encouraged, not threatened – as long as the transmigrant’s allegiances lie also with the host country. In the European context, Grillo (868) writes: when I asked Mehmet if he was planning to stay in Germany he answered without hesitation: ‘Yes, of course’. And then, after a little break, he added ‘as long as we can live here as Muslims’. In this context, I support Mehmet’s desire to live as a Muslim in a non-Muslim world as long as this is peaceful. Paradoxically, living a Muslim life through ijtihad can be either socially progressive or destructive. The Canadian Muslim feminist Irshad Manji relies on ijtihad, but so does Osama bin Laden! Manji emphasises that ijtihad can be, on the one hand, the adaptation of Islam using independent reasoning, hybridity and the contesting of ‘traditional’ family values (c.f. Doogue and Kirkwood 275-276, 314); and, on the other, ijtihad can take the form of conservative, patriarchal and militant Islamic values. The al-Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden espouses the jihadi ideology of Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966), an Egyptian who early in his career might have been described as a Muslim modernist who believed that Islam and Western secular ideals could be reconciled. But he discarded that idea after going to the US in 1948-50; there he was treated as ‘different’ and that treatment turned him against the West. He came back to Egypt and embraced a much more rigid and militaristic form of Islam (Esposito 136). Other scholars, such as Cesari, have identified a third orientation – a ‘secularised Islam’, which stresses general beliefs in the values of Islam and an Islamic identity, without too much concern for practices. Grillo (871) observed Islam in the West emphasised diversity. He stressed that, “some [Muslims were] more quietest, some more secular, some more clamorous, some more negotiatory”, while some were exclusively characterised by Islamic identity, such as wearing the burqa (elaborate veils), hijabs (headscarves), beards by men and total abstinence from drinking alcohol. So Mehmet, cited above, could be living a Muslim life within the spectrum of these possibilities, ranging from an integrating mode to a strict, militant Muslim manner. In the UK context, Zubaida (96) contends that marginalised, culturally-impoverished youth are the people for whom radical, militant Islamism may have an appeal, though it must be noted that the 7/7 bombers belonged to affluent families (O’Sullivan 14; Husain). In Australia, Muslim Australians are facing three challenges. First, the Muslim unemployment rate: it was three times higher than the national total in 1996 and 2001 (Kabir, Muslims in Australia 266-278; Kabir, “What Does It Mean” 63). Second, some spiritual leaders have used extreme rhetoric to appeal to marginalised youth; in January 2007, the Australian-born imam of Lebanese background, Sheikh Feiz Mohammad, was alleged to have employed a DVD format to urge children to kill the enemies of Islam and to have praised martyrs with a violent interpretation of jihad (Chulov 2). Third, the proposed citizenship test has the potential to make new migrants’ – particularly Muslims’ – settlement in Australia stressful (Kabir, “What Does It Mean” 62-79); in May 2007, fuelled by perceptions that some migrants – especially Muslims – were not integrating quickly enough, the Howard government introduced a citizenship test bill that proposes to test applicants on their English language skills and knowledge of Australian history and ‘values’. I contend that being able to demonstrate knowledge of history and having English language skills is no guarantee that a migrant will be a good citizen. Through my transmigrant history, I have learnt that developing a bond with a new place takes time, acceptance and a gradual change of identity, which are less likely to happen when facing assimilationist constraints. I spoke English and studied history in the United States, but I did not consider it my home. I did not speak the Arabic language, and did not study Middle Eastern history while I was in the Middle East, but I felt connected to it for cultural and religious reasons. Through my knowledge of history and English language proficiency I did not make Australia my home when I first migrated to Australia. Australia became my home when I started interacting with other Australians, which was made possible by having the time at my disposal and by fortunate circumstances, which included a fairly high level of efficacy and affluence. If I had been rejected because of my lack of knowledge of ‘Australian values’, or had encountered discrimination in the job market, I would have been much less willing to embrace my host country and call it home. I believe a stringent citizenship test is more likely to alienate would-be citizens than to induce their adoption of values and loyalty to their new home. Conclusion Blunt (5) observes that current studies of home often investigate mobile geographies of dwelling and how it shapes one’s identity and belonging. Such geographies of home negotiate from the domestic to the global context, thus mobilising the home beyond a fixed, bounded and confining location. Similarly, in this paper I have discussed how my mobile geography, from the domestic (root) to global (route), has shaped my identity. Though I received a degree of culture shock in the United States, loved the Middle East, and was at first quite resistant to the idea of making Australia my second home, the confidence I acquired in residing in these ‘several homes’ were cumulative and eventually enabled me to regard Australia as my ‘home’. I loved the Middle East, but I did not pursue an active involvement with the Arab community because I was a busy mother. Also I lacked the communication skill (fluency in Arabic) with the local residents who lived outside the expatriates’ campus. I am no longer a cultural freak. I am no longer the same Bangladeshi woman who saw her ethnic and Islamic culture as superior to all other cultures. I have learnt to appreciate Australian values, such as tolerance, ‘a fair go’ and multiculturalism (see Kabir, “What Does It Mean” 62-79). My bicultural identity is my strength. With my ethnic and religious identity, I can relate to the concerns of the Muslim community and other Australian ethnic and religious minorities. And with my Australian identity I have developed ‘a voice’ to pursue active citizenship. Thus my biculturalism has enabled me to retain and merge my former home with my present and permanent home of Australia. References Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London, New York: Verso, 1983. Australian Bureau of Statistics: Census of Housing and Population, 1996 and 2001. Blunt, Alison. Domicile and Diaspora: Anglo-Indian Women and the Spatial Politics of Home. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. Blunt, Alison, and Robyn Dowling. Home. London and New York: Routledge, 2006. Cesari, Jocelyne. “Muslim Minorities in Europe: The Silent Revolution.” In John L. Esposito and Burgat, eds., Modernising Islam: Religion in the Public Sphere in Europe and the Middle East. London: Hurst, 2003. 251-269. Chulov, Martin. “Treatment Has Sheik Wary of Returning Home.” Weekend Australian 6-7 Jan. 2007: 2. Cohen, Robin. Global Diasporas: An Introduction. Seattle: University of Washington, 1997. Doogue, Geraldine, and Peter Kirkwood. Tomorrow’s Islam: Uniting Old-Age Beliefs and a Modern World. Sydney: ABC Books, 2005. Esposito, John. The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality? 3rd ed. New York, Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. Farrar, Max. “When the Bombs Go Off: Rethinking and Managing Diversity Strategies in Leeds, UK.” International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations 6.5 (2007): 63-68. Grillo, Ralph. “Islam and Transnationalism.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 30.5 (Sep. 2004): 861-878. Hall, Stuart. Polity Reader in Cultural Theory. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1994. Huntington, Samuel, P. The Clash of Civilisation and the Remaking of World Order. London: Touchstone, 1998. Husain, Ed. The Islamist: Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw inside and Why I Left. London: Penguin, 2007. Kabir, Nahid. Muslims in Australia: Immigration, Race Relations and Cultural History. London: Kegan Paul, 2005. ———. “What Does It Mean to Be Un-Australian: Views of Australian Muslim Students in 2006.” People and Place 15.1 (2007): 62-79. Khan, Shahnaz. Aversion and Desire: Negotiating Muslim Female Identity in the Diaspora. Toronto: Women’s Press, 2002. Manji, Irshad. The Trouble with Islam Today. Canada:Vintage, 2005. Maslow, Abraham. Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper, 1954. O’Sullivan, J. “The Real British Disease.” Quadrant (Jan.-Feb. 2006): 14-20. Poynting, Scott, and Victoria Mason. “The Resistible Rise of Islamophobia: Anti-Muslim Racism in the UK and Australia before 11 September 2001.” Journal of Sociology 43.1 (2007): 61-86. Saeed, Abdallah. Islam in Australia. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2003. Smith, Anthony D. National Identity. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1991. Spencer, Philip, and Howard Wollman. Nationalism: A Critical Introduction. London: Sage, 2002. Vertovec, Stevens. The Hindu Diaspora: Comparative Patterns. London: Routledge. 2000. Werbner, Pnina, “Theorising Complex Diasporas: Purity and Hybridity in the South Asian Public Sphere in Britain.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 30.5 (2004): 895-911. Wood, Dennis. “The Diaspora, Community and the Vagrant Space.” In Cynthia Vanden Driesen and Ralph Crane, eds., Diaspora: The Australasian Experience. New Delhi: Prestige, 2005. 59-64. Zubaida, Sami. “Islam in Europe: Unity or Diversity.” Critical Quarterly 45.1-2 (2003): 88-98. 
 
 
 
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OPENING
 Welcome to this special feature of Approaches, which was inspired by the 1st Mediterranean Music Therapy Meeting. Organised by the Giovanni Ferrari Music Therapy School of Padua, with the support of the Italian Association of Professional Music Therapists (AIM) and the Italian Confederation of Associations and Music Therapy Schools (CONFIAM), this event took place on 22nd September 2018 in Padua, Italy. Reflecting the theme of this meeting, Dialogue on Music Therapy Interventions for Dementia and End-of-Life Care: Voices from Beyond the Sea, this special feature aims to raise awareness and promote dialogue around music therapy in the Mediterranean region with a focus on dementia and end-of-life care settings.
 The special feature contains brief country reports. Although reports vary in writing style and depth of information, each report has a two-fold overall focus: to outline briefly the current state of music therapy within each country and to describe particular applications of music therapy within dementia and end-of-life care contexts. Additionally, this special feature contains a Preface by Melissa Brotons, who was the keynote speaker at the 1st Mediterranean Music Therapy Meeting, as well as a conference report outlining key aspects of this meeting.
 THE SEA AROUND US: A NOTE ON THE MEDITERRANEAN
 The name of the Mediterranean Sea originates from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning “middle of the earth”. This name was first used by the Romans reflecting their perception of the sea as the middle or the centre of the earth. Interestingly, while perceived as a middle point, the Mediterranean was also experienced as something that surrounded people. Thus, both the Ancient Greeks and the Romans called the Mediterranean “our sea” or “the sea around us” (mare nostrum in Latin, orἡ θάλασσα ἡ καθ’ἡμᾶς [hē thálassa hē kath’hēmâs] in Greek). 
 The Mediterranean Sea is linked to the Atlantic Ocean. It is surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and enclosed by land: on the north by Southern Europe and Asia Minor, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by Western Asia. Since antiquity the Mediterranean has been a vital waterway for merchants and travellers, facilitating trade and cultural exchange between peoples of the region. The Mediterranean region has been the birthplace of influential civilizations on its shores, and the history of the region is crucial to understanding the origins and evolvement of the modern Western world. Throughout its history the region has been dramatically affected by conflict, war and occupation. The Roman Empire and the Arab Empire are past examples with lasting footprints in the region; while ongoing conflicts in Syria, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories are contemporary examples, some of which have led to a refugee crisis in the region. As such, the history of the region has been accompanied by endeavours and struggles to define and redefine national identities, territories and borders. Interestingly, Cyprus is one of just two nations, and the first one in the world, to include its map on its flag (the second is Kosovo – a Balkan country close to the Mediterranean region).
 The sea touches three continents, and today the Mediterranean region can be understood, framed and divided differently based on varying geopolitical and other perspectives (see, for example, the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the World Health Organization [WHO, 2020]). For the purposes of this special feature, we understand the Mediterranean region as including 12 countries in Europe, five in Asia and five in Africa. These countries, in clockwise order, are Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
 Despite its relatively small geographical area, the Mediterranean region is characterised by the richness of cultures, religions and musical traditions. Likewise, there is a dramatic diversity in terms of political and socio-economic situations. This diversity is equally reflected in the development of dementia and end-of-life care in these countries. Regarding dementia care, in 2016, the Monegasque Association for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease, published the Alzheimer and the Mediterranean Report where is underlined that “[in] many Mediterranean countries, there is still little knowledge about the problems surrounding Alzheimer’s disease, which remains under-estimated and insufficiently documented” (AMPA, 2016, p.7). The report identified a concerning rise in the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders in the Mediterranean area, but little biomedical, fundamental and clinical research, unequal and unspecialised access to home care services, and also a general lack of training among professionals and a lack of status recognition for family carers. 
 In terms of end-of-life care, in 2017 the first systematic attempt to map and assess the development of palliative care in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region was published (Osman et al., 2017). Results demonstrate that palliative care development in Eastern Mediterranean countries is scarce. Most countries are at the very initial stages of palliative care development, with only a small fraction of patients needing palliative care being able to access it. This situation also applies to the integration and provision of palliative care within care homes and nursing homes offering long-term care for older people (Froggatt et al., 2017). Recent reviews also demonstrate that palliative care is variable and inconsistent across the region, while various barriers exist to the development of palliative care delivery. Examples of such barriers include the lack of relevant national policies, limited palliative care training for professionals and volunteers, as well as weak public awareness around death and dying (Fadhil et al., 2017).
 Similar barriers around legislation, training and public awareness are met in the development of music therapy in many Mediterranean countries. Music therapy, as a contemporary profession and discipline, and indeed its applications in dementia and end-of-life care, are equally limited and characterised by diversity across the region. As such, this special feature is a modest attempt to bring together perspectives and present initial information for areas of work which are not widely developed, explored or documented so far in most Mediterranean countries. Hopefully this publication will raise further awareness and inform the future development of music therapy with specific reference to its potential applications to dementia and end-of-life care in each country. This becomes even more relevant considering the increase of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer, in the region (Fadhil et al., 2017).
 BEHIND THE SCENES
 Inviting authors
 Although the 1st Mediterranean Music Therapy Meeting included speakers only from a few Mediterranean countries, this special feature attempted to include authors from every single Mediterranean country. In addition to inviting the speakers from the meeting to contribute to this special feature, we invited authors from each of the other Mediterranean countries. After listing all the countries, we tried to identify music therapists in each of them. We drew on our own professional networks, as well as information available on the websites of the European Music Therapy Confederation (EMTC) and the World Federation for Music Therapy (WFMT), along with relevant publications in the open access journals Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy and Voices: A World Forum of Music Therapy. In countries where we could not identify a music therapist (with or without direct experience of working in dementia and end-of-life care), we attempted to identify and invite other relevant professionals with an explicit interest in music therapy. When this second option was impossible, no authors were invited. There were also cases where potential authors who met the above criteria did not respond to the invitation. As such, this special feature does not include a report from every Mediterranean country. The absence of reports from some countries, however, does not necessarily reflect the lack of music therapy work in these countries.
 Some of the contributing authors are members or representatives of professional associations and some are not. In either case, their contribution to this special feature aims to represent their views and experiences as individuals without claiming to represent national or other professional bodies. Depending on the position of each individual author, different aspects of music therapy may be explored, prioritised, silenced or challenged in each country report. We want to be clear: these reports are not about absolute ‘truths’ and do not provide comprehensive accounts of music therapy and of its applications in dementia and end-of-life care in each country. Instead of being a ‘full stop’, we see these reports as an opening; as invitations for dialogue, debate, critique and mutual growth. We encourage readers to engage with the contents of this special feature critically; being informed by their own experiences and practices, as well as by related literature and historical trajectories in the field (e.g. De Backer et al., 2013; Dileo-Maranto, 1993; Hesser & Heinemann, 2015; Ridder & Tsiris, 2015a; Schmid, 2014; Stegemann et al., 2016).
 The challenge of the review process
 All reports were peer-reviewed. Although we strived to ensure a ‘blind’ review process, this was difficult to achieve in certain cases due to the nature of the reports and the small size of the music therapy communities in certain countries. We invited music therapists living and working in Mediterranean countries to serve as reviewers. We also invited some music therapists living in other parts of the world, given their experience and role within international music therapy bodies and initiatives. Reviewers were requested to evaluate not only the accuracy of the information provided in each report but also the reflexive stance of the authors. This comes with acknowledging that in some instances authors and reviewers came from diverse professional and disciplinary spheres, where music therapy can be understood and practised differently. This was particularly relevant to country reports where we could not identify reviewers with ‘inland’ knowledge of the music therapy field and of its relevance to local dementia and end-of-life care contexts.
 Towards hospitality
 Professionalisation issues – which seem to be a common denominator across the reports of this special feature – are often an area of controversy and conflict, where alliances and oppositions have emerged over the history of the music therapy profession within and beyond the Mediterranean region. Writing a country report, and indeed reviewing and editing a collection of such reports, can be a ‘hot potato’! Although it is impossible to remain apolitical, we argue (and we have actively tried to promote this through our editorial and reviewing work) that a constructive dialogue needs to be characterised by reflexivity. It needs to be underpinned by openness and transparency regarding our own values and assumptions, our pre-understanding, our standpoint, as well as our invested interests.
 Professionalisation conflicts within some Mediterranean countries have led to the development of multiple and, at times, antagonistic associations and professional bodies. In Spain, for example, there are over 40 associations (Mercadal-Brotons et al., 2015), whereas in Italy there are four main associations (Scarlata, 2015). In other countries, such as Greece (Tsiris, 2011), there are communication challenges and conflicting situations between professional association, training programmes and governmental departments. Although such challenges tend to remain unarticulated and ‘hidden’ from the professional literature and discourse, they have real implications for the development of the profession within each context and for the morale of each music therapy community.
 Overall, this special feature aims to promote a spirit of open dialogue and mutual respect. It is underpinned by a commitment to remain in ongoing dialogue while accepting that we can agree to disagree. As editors we tried to remain true to this commitment, and this became particularly evident in cases where reported practices and concepts were at odds with our own perspectives and understandings of music therapy and its development as a contemporary profession and discipline in Western countries. Indeed, the perspectives presented in some of the reports may sit on the edge or even outside the ‘professional canon’ of music therapy as developed in many contemporary Western countries. In line with the vision of Approaches, this special feature opens up a space where local-global tensions can be voiced (Ridder & Tsiris, 2015b), allowing multiple translations, transitions and borders to be explored. What becomes evident is that definitions of music therapy are inextricably linked to cultural, including spiritual and political, meanings and practices of music, health and illness.
 Mediterranean people are known for their hospitality but also for their passionate temperament. We hope that this special feature creates a hospitable and welcoming environment for professional and intercultural exchange where passion can fuel creative action and collaboration instead of conflict. We invite the readers to engage with each report in this spirit of openness and reflexivity. This special feature will hopefully be only the start of future dialogue, debate and constructive critique. To this end, we also invite people to add their voices and perspectives regarding music therapy in the Mediterranean region in relation to dementia and end-of-life care. Music therapists, palliative care practitioners and other professionals are welcome to submit their own papers in the form of articles, reports or letters to the editor.
 References
 AMPA (2016). Alzheimer and the Mediterranean Report 2016: Overview – challenges – perspectives. Retrieved from https://ampa-monaco.com/files/MAA_Rapport_GB_web_sml.pdf
 De Backer, J., Nöcker Ribaupierre, M., & Sutton, J. (2013). Music therapy in Europe: The identity and professionalisation of European music therapy, with an overview and history of the European Music Therapy Confederation. In J. De Backer & J. Sutton (Eds.), The music in music therapy: Psychodynamic music therapy in Europe: Clinical, theoretical and research approaches (pp. 24-36). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
 Dileo-Maranto, C. (Ed.). (1993). Music therapy: International perspectives. Saint Louis, MI: MMB Music, Inc.
 Fadhil, I., Lyons, G., & Payne, S. (2017). Barriers to, and opportunities for, palliative care development in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The Lancet Oncology, 18(3), e176-e184.
 Froggatt, K., Payne, S., Morbey, H., Edwards, M., Finne-Soveri, H., Gambassi, G., Pasman, H. R., Szczerbinska, K., & Van den Block, L. (2017). Palliative care development in European care homes and nursing homes: Application of a typology of implementation. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 18(6), 550.e7-550.e14.
 Hesser, B., & Heinemann, H. (Eds.). (2015). Music as a global resource: Solutions for social and economic issues (4th ed.). New York, NY: United Nations Headquarters.
 Mercadal-Brotons, M., Sabbatella, P. L., & Del Moral Marcos, M. T. (2017). Music therapy as a profession in Spain: Past, present and future. Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy, 9(1), 111-119. Retrieved from https://approaches.gr/mercadal-brotons-a20150509
 Osman, H., Rihan, A., Garralda, E., Rhee, J.Y., Pons, J.J., de Lima, L., Tfayli, A., & Centeno, C. (2017). Atlas of palliative care in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Houston: IAHPC Press. Retrieved from https://dadun.unav.edu/handle/10171/43303
 Ridder, H. M., & Tsiris, G. (Eds.). (2015a). Special issue on ‘Music therapy in Europe: Paths of professional development’. Approaches: Music Therapy & Special Music Education, Special Issue 7(1). Retrieved from https://approaches.gr/special-issue-7-1-2015/
 Ridder, H. M., & Tsiris, G. (2015b). ‘Thinking globally, acting locally’: Music therapy in Europe. Approaches: Music Therapy & Special Music Education, Special Issue 7(1), 3-9. Retrieved from https://approaches.gr/special-issue-7-1-2015/
 Scarlata, E. (2015). Italy. Approaches: Music Therapy & Special Music Education, Special Issue 7(1), 161-162. Retrieved from https://approaches.gr/special-issue-7-1-2015
 Schmid, J. (2014). Music therapy training courses in Europe. Thesis at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, Austria.
 Stegemann, T., Schmidt, H. U., Fitzthum, E., & Timmermann, T. (Eds.). (2016). Music therapy training programmes in Europe: Theme and variations. Reichert Verlag.
 Tsiris, G. (2011). Music therapy in Greece. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Retrieved from https://voices.no/community/?q=country-of-the-month/2011-music-therapy-greece
 World Health Organization (WHO) (2020). Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Countries. Retrieved from: http://www.emro.who.int/countries.html