Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Theosophy'
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Goldstein, Matthew Mulligan. "Theosophy, culture, and empire /." Digital version accessible at:, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/main.
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Hall, Julie. "The concept of reincarnation in theosophy." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.744779.
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This thesis is a historical analysis of the concept of reincarnation in the thought of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891), the chief theorist of the Theosophical Society, an esoteric movement established in New York in 1875. Developed in England, America and India, Theosophy drew on a range of sources including Hindu and Buddhist thought, Spiritualism, modem science and Western esoteric traditions such as Neoplatonism, Kabbalah and modem occultism. Theosophy has been highly influential, particularly in the development of contemporary alternative spiritualities and the New Age Movement. Drawing on other disciplines but working primarily as a historian of ideas, my research traces the development of Blavatsky’s theories of rebirth. Until 1879, she taught a doctrine of ascendant metempsychosis (meaning rebirth on higher worlds) combined with a theory of non-normative same soul reincarnation. After her move to India, she embraced a doctrine of normative reincarnation on this earth that still allowed for occasional ‘same soul’ reincarnation. I offer a reading of both Blavatsky’s earlier and later doctrines, including a detailed consideration o f their theology, internal logic, relation to other Theosophical concepts, position, and function within the wider Theosophical system. I provide an intellectual history that consists o f both a cultural and historical contextualisation and o f a source criticism based on the eighty or so most important texts that lie behind Blavatsky’s two major works Isis Unveiled (1877) and The Secret Doctrine (1888). My analysis includes a consideration of the relative influence of European and Oriental sources in Theosophical reincarnation, the construction of Blavatsky’s theory and the nature of her hermeneutic. This analysis of a small but significant portion of the Theosophical enterprise functions as a prism through which to view wider historical issues. The mature Theosophical doctrine of normative reincarnation may be considered an emblem for the encounter between the English-speaking world and Oriental religions, the relationship between religion and science, the emergence of esoteric currents in a modem context.
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Bester, Dewald. "H.P. Blavatsky, theosophy, and nineteenth-century comparative religion." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27851.
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Although H. P. Blavatsky (1831-1891), co-founder of the Theosophical Society, has featured prominently in histories of Western esotericism, her engagement with late nineteenth-century comparative religion has not been appreciated. This thesis offers the first sustained analysis of H. P. Blavatsky's theosophical comparative religion. Despite the fact that one of the original goals of the Theosophical Society was advancing comparative religion, H. P. Blavatsky has been excluded from standard accounts of the field. This thesis draws on a range of theoretical resources - Richard Rorty's pragmatic theory of knowledge, Alun Munslow's analysis of narrative in history, Thomas Gieryn's critique of boundary-making in science, and Lorraine Daston and Peter Galison's history of objectivity - to argue for the inclusion of H. P. Blavatsky in the history of comparative religion. Substantial chapters analyse H. P. Blavatsky's major works, from Isis Unveiled (1877) to The Secret Doctrine (1888), to uncover the theoretical template that she developed for analysing religion and comparing religions. The thesis highlights H. P. Blavatsky's interpretative strategies in fashioning a theosophical comparative religion. In developing a comparative religion, H. P. Blavatsky referred to leading figures in the emerging field of the academic study of religion, such as F. Max Müller, E. B. Tylor, and Herbert Spencer, in positioning her theosophical comparative religion in the context of late nineteenth-century production of knowledge about religion and religions. This thesis demonstrates that H. P. Blavatsky's comparative religion was reasoned, literary, rhetorical, coherent, and strategic. By analysing H. P. Blavatsky's theoretical work on religion and religions in its late nineteenth-century context, this thesis contributes to the ongoing project of broadening our understanding of the complex and contested history of the study of religion.
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Gruffman, Paulina. "The Quest for Gnosis : G. R. S. Mead’s Conception of Theosophy." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Religionshistoria, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-192416.
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G. R. S. Mead is an important but neglected historical personality of the British fin-de-siècle occult, Theosophical, and post-Theosophical milieu. While previous scholars of Theosophy have portrayed the Theosophical movement as quite cohesive in nature, I argue that it might have been a lot more pluralistic, with ostensibly key Theosophical concepts being open for debate. By a careful study of Mead’s editorial activity, his debates with other Theosophists in leading occultist journal over the period 1890s through 1910s, I illustrate that Mead held alternative views of key Theosophical concepts. This gives us a clue as to how the movement of Theosophy can be characterized differently. I suggest that we speak of many different “Theosophies” rather than one singular “Theosophy” to better capture the seemingly diverse makeup of the Theosophical movement. I look at three areas wherein Mead’s views differed from those of other important Theosophists: the concept of “the Masters” as spiritual authority, which sources to turn to and how to interpret them, and the question of whether occultism should be understood primarily in theoretical or in practical terms. I propose that by seeing Theosophy as a debating ground where many different Theosophists competed over the definition of their particular kind of Theosophy, we might also better account for why so many post-Theosophical currents emerged. Lastly, Mead’s concept of “Gnosis” might have served as a bridge between his Theosophical and post-Theosophical periods, as the concept’s meaning, along with Mead’s spiritual outlook, does not appear to have changed over time. This gives some consequences to how we conceive of post-Theosophy, since he does not fit neatly within that category.
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Rudbøg, Tim. "H.P. Blavatsky's Theosophy in context : the construction of meaning in modern Western esotericism." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/9926.
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H.P. Blavatsky’s (1831-1891) Theosophy has been defined as central to the history of modern Western spirituality and esotericism, yet to this date no major study has mapped and analysed the major themes of Blavatsky’s writings, how Blavatsky used the concept ‘Theosophy’ or to what extent she was engaged with the intellectual contexts of her time. Thus the purpose of this thesis is to fill this gap. The proposed theoretical framework is based on the centrality of language in the production of intellectual products, such as texts—but contrary to the dominant focus on strategies, rhetoric and power this thesis will focus on the construction of meaning coupled with a set of methodological tools based on contextual analysis, intellectual history and intertextuality. In addition to an overview of Blavatsky research this thesis will map and analyse Blavatsky’s use of the concept ‘Theosophy’ as well as Blavatsky’s primary discourses, identified as: (1) discourse for ancient knowledge, (2) discourse against Christian dogmatism, (3) discourse against the modern natural sciences and materialism, (4) discourse against modern spiritualism, (5) discourse for system and (7) discourse for universal brotherhood. In mapping and analysing Blavatsky’s discourses, it was found that her construction of meaning was significantly interconnected with broader intellectual contexts, such as ‘modern historical consciousness’, ‘critical enlightenment ideas’, studies in religion, studies in mythology, the modern sciences, spiritualism, systemic philosophy, reform movements and practical ethics. It, for example, becomes clear that Blavatsky’s search for an ancient ‘Wisdom Religion’ was actually a part of a common intellectual occupation during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and that her critique of the Christian dogmas was equally a common intellectual trend. To read Blavatsky’s discourses as the idiosyncratic strategies of an esotericist, isolated from their larger contexts or only engaged with them in order to legitimise minority views would therefore largely fail to account for the result of this thesis: that in historical actuality, they were a part of the larger cultural web of meaning.
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Wagar, Samuel Eldon Charles. "Theosophical socialists in the 1920s Okanagan: Jack Logie's Social Issues Summer Camps /." Burnaby B.C. : Simon Fraser University, 2005. http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/2425.
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Butler, Ronald Kenneth. "The Influence of Theosophy on the Tradition of Speculative and Esoteric Theories of Music." Thesis, Griffith University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/365232.
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This thesis examines the influence of the teachings of the Theosophical Society, founded in 1875 by Madame Blavatsky, on the tradition of speculative and esoteric theories of music from its founding until the present day. Three fundamental propositions are identified: that music is of divine origin; that music can act as a moral determinate; and that music has healing and therapeutic powers. These speculative ideas have informed the Western occultic tradition throughout the centuries. The core teachings of the Theosophical Society are examined, and it is argued that while Blavatsky wrote only a minimal amount about music and metaphysics relating to music, her overall cosmological and occultic ideas had a profound influence on those musical thinkers and composers whose spiritual ideas were of an occultic leaning.
The writings of various authors are examined, showing how these Theosophical notions have informed their views concerning speculative ideas of music. A number of contradictions within their writings are examined, as is the veracity of some of their claims. The primary focus is on the writings of Rudolf Steiner, Corinne Heline and Cyril Scott, as well as the effect of Theosophical teaching on the life and work of composers Alexander Scriabin and Gustav Holst. The final part of the thesis examines the ways in which Theosophical notions have been used and described from the 1970s until the present day under the rubric of the New Age Movement. It is contended that although these individuals interpreted Theosophical notions in various ways, they can all be categorised as having in common what Antoine Faivre, in his definition of esoteric, has called “a form of thought”. Faivre describes this as having six characteristics, four of which are essential: Correspondences, living nature, mediation, transmutation, praxis of concordance and transmission.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Arts, Education and Law
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Zagoon-Sayeed, Haruna. "Islam and peacebuilding in the context of the Muslim community in Ghana." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2018. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/8748/.
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It has become almost impossible to engage in any useful discussion on global peace or violence without considering the activities of Islamist groups. Some of these groups use religious radicalization as a tool to promote extremism among Muslims across the world. It has been argued that Muslims will reject violence if they are made aware of peace lessons inherent in the Islamic primary sources and recurrent rituals. In view of the above, the study set out to examine peacebuilding avenues and values in Islam as a religious tradition; and to explore how Islamic recurrent rituals such as Hajj can be used to promote peacebuilding among Muslims, particularly in Ghana. Consequently, the study utilized participant observation, closed-ended survey questionnaire, and semi-structured interview as the main research methodological techniques to collect data. One of the key findings of the study is that Islam is replete with peacebuilding values such as forgiveness, reconciliation, compassion, justice, and tolerance among others. The study recommends among other things that with the existing fragile peace in Ghana, Muslim and non-Muslim religious bodies should engage in collaborative social projects which can create positive interaction amongst them.
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Hamasha, Oumama Emad. "Reconstructing the past : Ibn Al-Qayyim's approach in critiquing accounts of Maghāzī (battles) in his book Zād Al-Maʿād." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2018. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/8753/.
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The purpose of the present study is to assess the contribution of the renowned Mamluk-period scholar Shams al-Dīn Muhammad b. Abū Bakr, known as Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (d. 751/1350) in the maghāzī and sīrah genres, by investigating and examining the features of his approach in critiquing and evaluating the authenticity of maghāzī narratives in his sīrah collection, Zād al-Maʿād fī Hadī Khayr al-ʿIbād, and to reveal the main methods that he utilised in critiquing the isnāds and the matns of these narratives. This thesis also provides a comprehensive overview of the maghāzī genre and highlights the main theories that have been put forward in both Western and Muslim scholarship, to explain its nature, emergence, development and position among other Islamic genres. This thesis includes an introduction, five main chapters and a conclusion. The first includes the introduction where the rational, objectives, research questions and the methodology of the present research are discussed; the second outlines Ibn al-Qayyim's life and age; the third explores maghāzī literature and the work of Ibn al-Qayyim within this genre; the fourth provides an analytical survey of the main resources on which Ibn al-Qayyim built his maghāzī work; the fifth investigates first isnād criticism in the work of both Western and Muslim scholars and then analyses Ibn al-Qayyim's approach with respect to the isnād; the sixth chapter outlines the origin of matn criticism and explores the main methods of content criticism used by Ibn al-Qayyim to evaluate maghāzī narratives; finally comes the conclusion of the whole work which provides the main results of the present research and recommendations. The present thesis suggests that Ibn al-Qayyim's approach combines and intertwines between different methods applied by earlier traditionists, jurists and historians, by which he developed an advanced approach in critiquing and evaluating maghāzī narratives.
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Al-Nahee, Owed Abdullah S. "The religious structure of Najrān in late pre-Islamic and early Islamic history : from the end of the Ḥimyarite Kingdom until the end of the Rashidun Caliphate (525-661 CE)." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2017. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/7931/.
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This thesis questions what was the religious structure of the region of Najrān was during the period between 525 and 661 CE by examining the factors of forming the religious structure, how each religious community practised its religious life and the influence of Islam on this religious structure. It therefore consists of six chapters, Chapter one contains a discussion on primary and secondary sources relevant to the research questions. In Chapter two, the background on Najrān is given, in terms of its geography, demography, economy and political history prior to the period under research. The following three chapters after that investigate the religious aspects of polytheism, Judaism and Christianity in terms of origins, types of worship, rituals of worship and theological beliefs. The discussions also shed light on their religious leaders, places of worship and doctrinal sects. In Chapter six, the study debates how Islam influenced the religious structure of Najrān, by tracing its arrival and the policy of Muslim authorities to spread Islam among the Najrānite people. The thesis discusses the main features of the policy of the Muslim authority towards non-Muslims in terms of religion, security, economy and citizenship. It finally evaluates the impact of this policy on the lives of non-Muslim Najrānites. The thesis concludes that Najrān seems to represent a multi-religious society during the period under research. It points out that geographical, economic and political factors contributed towards making it. The thesis also deduces that each religious community established its identity which developed over the course of time to include places of worship, clergy, types of deity, doctrines, theological beliefs and rituals of worship, and that the domination of Islam clearly made the most important change in this multi-religious society by making Muslims the majority in the region.
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Khair, Nur Saadah Binti. "Anti-woman discourse in the Hadith literature : an analytical study of debates in literary works of feminists and fundamentalists." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2018. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/8768/.
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This study analyses interpretations of Hadiths among selected feminists and fundamentalists, in which they have different views on the meaning of the texts of Hadiths concerning women. The feminists argue that the Hadith literature contain misogynistic and anti-women reports. This debate has gradually developed in the nineteenth century and the issues continuously disputed until the present day. However, the debate receives different reactions from the fundamentalists who believe that Hadiths contain equal treatment to both men and women. Therefore, the present study seeks firstly to investigate which Hadiths that have caught the attention of both feminists and fundamentalists, and to identify the features of those Hadiths that have been claimed as anti-women. Secondly, to examine and compare various approaches applied by both feminists and fundamentalists in comprehending Hadiths concerning women by examining their strength and weakness. Finally, this study aims to develop a means of utilising the findings to tum the debates between feminists and fundamentalists into something constructive in the interpretation of Hadith. The study is qualitative in nature, by applying textual analysis on literary works written by selected women figures from the feminists and fundamentalists. The study in its findings argues that both feminists and fundamentalist have their own interpretative approach towards the Hadith, but both have similar objective in protecting women's rights. It recommends that future research on the Hadiths concerning women inquire further into said problems and limitations, in order to produce fair and better understanding of the Prophetic texts that can contribute to the contemporary gender discourse.
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Mamigonian, Malina. "Naughty stories : narrative and theodicy in the writings of Annie Besant and Charlotte Perkins Gilman." Thesis, University of York, 2000. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/10910/.
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Van, der Merwe Magrieta Elizabeth. "'n Historiese perspektief oor die kontroversiële lewe van Johanna Brandt (1876-1964)." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60431.
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Johanna Brandt (born Van Warmelo) lived in Pretoria during the Anglo Boer War. She became involved in the events as a nurse in hospitals and later on in the Irene concentration camp and also as a Boer spy. She married the Reverend L.E. Brandt in the Netherlands soon after the war. In 1903 they came to South Africa where Brandt became minister of the Zoutpansberg congregation of the Hervormde Kerk while Johanna organised a spinning school and joined the South African Women's Federation. In 1908 they moved to the Johannesburg congregation. After the Afrikaner Rebellion Johanna helped organize the women's march as well as the Woman's National Party, but she withdrew after internal quarrels. She was interested in women's rights but never became an active feminist.
The death of her mother in 1916 was for her traumatic and she sincerely believed that she saw visions which she explained in her book Millennium. While she desperately clung to her mother's home Harmony where she lived for a few years, she awaited the second coming of Christ. She also became involved in theosophy and naturopathy and wrote a book on the grape cure. In 1923 the Brandts moved to Vereeniging. Johanna subsequently undertook long tours on her own to publicize her cures, including a visit lasting 18 months to Europe and the USA. In 1930 the Brandts moved to a smallholding near Johannesburg where Johanna established a sanatorium. She also became involved in the New Age movement.
Johanna and Brandt had seven children of their own and adopted another one. He retired in 1939 but died soon afterwards in a freak accident. Johanna subsequently withdrew from public life and settled in Cape Town, where she continued writing. She died in 1964 at the age of 88.Johanna Brandt neé Van Warmelo het tydens die Anglo-Boereoorlog in Pretoria gewoon toe sy as verpleegster in hospitale en later in die Irene-konsentrasiekamp asook as Boerespioen by die stryd betrokke geraak het. Kort na die oorlog is sy in Nederland met ds. L.E. Brandt getroud. Hulle het in 1903 na Suid-Afrika gekom waar Brandt predikant in die Soutpansberggemeente van die Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk geword het, terwyl Johanna 'n spinskool gestig en by die SAVF betrokke was. Die Brandts het in 1908 na die Johannesburg-gemeente verhuis. Na die Afrikanerrebellie was Johanna betrokke by die Vroue-optog (1915) asook by die Vrouwe Nationale Party, maar na interne twis het sy haar onttrek. Sy was 'n voorstander van vroueregte maar nooit 'n aktiewe feminis nie. Die dood van Johanna se moeder in 1916 was vir haar traumaties en sy het geglo dat sy visioene gesien het waaroor sy die boek Millennium geskryf het. Haar trauma is verhoog deur haar onvermoë om die woonhuis Harmony, waar sy 'n paar jaar gaan woon het terwyl sy op die wederkoms van Christus gewag het, te behou. Sy het voorts by teosofie en natuurgeneeskunde betrokke geraak en 'n boek oor die druiwekuur geskryf. In 1923 het die Brandts na Vereeniging verhuis. Johanna het daarna op haar eie lang reise onderneem om haar kure te propageer en was onder meer vir 18 maande in Europa en die VSA. In 1930 het die Brandts na Johannesburg verhuis waar Johanna 'n sanatorium opgerig het. Sy was ook by die Nuwe Era-beweging betrokke Johanna en Brandt het sewe eie kinders gehad en een aangeneem. Hy is in 1939 kort na sy aftrede as gevolg van 'n fratsongeluk oorlede, waarna sy haar aan die openbare lewe onttrek het. Sy het haar in Kaapstad gevestig en steeds geskryf. Sy is in 1964 op 88-jarige leeftyd oorlede.
Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2016.
Historical and Heritage Studies
DPhil
Unrestricted
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Maihula, Jabir. "Ibn Taymiyya's concept of jihad and its appropriation by the contemporary jihadists." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50896/.
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Ahmad ibn Taymiyya (d.1328), is one of the most quoted medieval scholars by contemporary jihadists from the 1980s to the present time. Jihadists from ʿAbd Salām Faraj (d. 1981) to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) cite Ibn Taymiyya frequently in justifying their doctrines. These doctrines include excommunicating contemporary Muslim rulers and their allies and calling for jihad against them, classifying the Muslim countries as a domain of war and obligating emigration from them, suicide attacks in the name of jihad, and others. This thesis studies the relationship between Ibn Taymiyya’s concept of jihad and how it is appropriated by the contemporary jihadists. The thesis is divided into two parts. Part one studies selected works of Ibn Taymiyya on jihad to outline his concept of jihad while part two studies selected works of the contemporary jihadists to outline how Ibn Taymiyya’s concept of jihad is appropriated by them. The thesis argues that while some contemporary jihadi doctrines could be justified from Ibn Taymiyya’s concept of jihad, most of the doctrines cannot be justified from Ibn Taymiyya if his works on jihad are approached holistically. The thesis identifies the jihadi doctrines that can be justified from Ibn Taymiyya and those that cannot be. The thesis also identifies some sources that the jihadists use besides Ibn Taymiyya in justifying their doctrines.
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Al, Hosani Mohamed Mahmood Ahmad Gaith. "Concept of motivation in Islam." Thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2015. http://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/648/.
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This research study aims to explore the concept of motivation from the Islamic perspective, which is explored to a poor extent. It seeks to shed light on Islām and how it motivates its followers to behave appropriately while fulfilling their needs and desires, guided by the Holy Qur’ān and Ḥadīth. A comprehensive literature review is conducted to study and understand the various perspectives presented by other scholars on human psychology and motivation specifically from the perspectives of Islām, Christianity and Jewish cultures. This study adopts a qualitative approach and focuses on gathering secondary data from a broad range of sources. The data collected is then analysed in an interpretative yet subjective manner. To achieve the aims of this research, the emphasis is laid on gathering both comprehensive secondary data from the religious journals and academic books. The evidence was gathered from the holy books of these religions which include Holy Qur’ān, Bible and Torah. From the findings of the research, it was concluded by the researcher that Islām significantly highlighted and differentiated from Christianity and Judaism in endorsing motivation among its followers. It is identified that Allāh created mankind to spread His word and to perform His actions. He motivated humans by offering them certain rewards and making them fearful of the consequences in case they fail to follow His commands. This thesis provides greater insight into the role played by Islām in motivating human beings to live a life in a way that is beneficial here on earth and in the afterlife. This study is expected to contribute further to the collective knowledge and understanding of motivation and human behavior.
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Alshabani, Bayan Omar. "The misrepresentation of Jihad in public and academic discourse and its impact on the integration of multi-faith society." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2015. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/78418/.
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When a terror attack targets a multi-faith society, the rate of prejudice against the Muslim population suddenly increases. It was reported after the Oklahoma bombing in 1995 that there was a noticeable increase in prejudice against Arab Muslim Americans. Yet, it suddenly decreased after identifying the perpetrator as non-Arab/non-Muslim (Timothy McVeigh). This research argues that the misrepresentation of Islamic legal discourse, particularly jihad, participates in framing the cognitive aspect of prejudice against Muslims. It explains further that misrepresentation frames the mental representation of terrorism as 'Islamic terrorism'; an explicit crime that is committed by Muslims, motivated by jihad and targets the West. This thesis concludes that, due to the misrepresentation of jihad, terror attacks stimulate prejudice against Muslim populations. Misrepresented discourse confuses the receivers by activating the mental representation of a criminal act when using jihad instead of a legal rule, categorises the Muslim population as the out-group that threatens the security of the in-group, mainly the West. Ultimately, misrepresentation causes the domination of radical ideology and demonises the role of legal discourse and counter terrorism policies. This thesis makes recommendations regarding these issues. This research is library based; the researcher utilises her identity in the writing of this thesis (autoethnography). In addition to this, speech act theory is used as the main theory to reclaim the legal performative of “jihad” in Islamic international law by treating the Islamic legal discourse as an authoritative discourse. Other theories have a secondary role in examining the impact of misrepresentation on the social dynamics between the in-group and the out-group, especially after a terror attack; they are social psychology, frame theory, schema theory, discourse theory (pragmatic), and critical discourse analysis.
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Wood, Matthew R. "Spirit possession in a contemporary British religious network : a critique of New Age movement studies through the sociology of power." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 1999. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11874/.
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Studies of phenomena classed as part of the New Age Movement have become increasingly common in recent years. This Thesis develops a new perspective on these through the use of anthropological and sociological analysis of structures of social power and the contextualisation of symbols and discourse. Research was based on a two and a half year ethnographic study of a network in Nottinghamshire, Britain, which included a meditation group and a spiritual fair. Spirit possession was seen as particularly important to these, in the forms of channelling and mediumship. The concept of nonformative spirituality was used to delineate the network as lacking enduring leadership and authority, such that participants' experiences varied within groups and practices. Thus, the network was not seen as part of a movement, but as a collection of informal groups linked through people's practices. Theory of bodily performance, with a critical analysis of the sociology of knowledge, was used to interpret the four sorts of practices in the network: channelling, meditation, holistic health therapies and divination. By paying attention to people's spiritual biographies, their careers of seekership were understood to develop through dissonant experiences. Nonformative spirituality was compared with those more formative groups which it drew upon, such as spiritualism, the Anthroposophical Society and occult study groups, thus providing a broader picture of its place in contemporary Britain.
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Hadi, Samira Taha. "Mukhtaṣar jāmi' al-uṣūl fī aḥādīth al-rasūl by Abū Ja'far al Marwazī al-Astarabādī." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1989. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3995/.
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This thesis consists of a critical edition of the first volume of Mukhtaṣar Jāmi' al-Uṣūl by Abu Ja’far al-Marwazi al-Astarabadi, made from the only known MS, preserved in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. Use has also been made in the edition of the published text of the work abridged by al-Astarabadi, Ibn al-Athir’s Jāmi' al-Uṣūl, and the canonical works of h'adith cited by the two authors. The Arabic text occupies Part two of the thesis. Part one comprises the introduction, dealing with the description of the MS, the character of the two works and al-Astarabadi’s purpose, as recorded by him in his preface, in abridging Ibn al-Athir’s work, and his method of doing so. Brief biographies of the two authors are also given; that of al-Astarabadi is necessarily so, since little information concerning him appears in the standard sources. Notes on the edition are also provided, together with the notes on the contents of the work, comprehensive indices and a full bibliography.
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Alemohammed, S. M. Reza. "Taziyeh : history, form and contemporary relevance." Thesis, University of Warwick, 1995. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/36312/.
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The intention of preparing this thesis is an examination of Taziyeh, the passion play in Iran which appeared initially as part of the observance of Ashura for the sake of the commemoration of Imam Hussein and his family. Taziyeh as a part of the religious observance of Shiite Muslims exists in iran and different Islamic countries. Taziyeh during the course of centuries found a form of religious drama which made it feasible to be performed on other occasions than the Muharram ceremonies. The realisation of the existence of dramatic features and the appearance of several different types of Taziyeh, tragic and comic, created a ground for its existence to arouse the interest of travellers to Iran during the period of the last two centuries and Iranian and non-Iranian dramatists and schotars of the present century. These accounts and views first allow us to find the evidence for the date of the development of Taziyeh and second to assess the contemporary scholarly comments on the dramatic values of the Taziyeh. In this way Taziyeh has been found comparable with Greek, Medieval and Modem Drama. The Historical, Mythical and legendary grounds of the Taziyeh have been taken into consideration in this study in order to gain access to the true roots of the Taziyeh in the old land of Iran while the lack of a place for Taziyeh in Persian literature will become clear. The final part has been devoted to establishing the actual position of Taziyeh after the Islamic revolution in Iran by looking at the function of Taziyeh in Iranian society, theology and religious observance to-day. I have put my stress on an argument for a purifying of the Taziyeh to make it function more effectively in Iranian society.
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Chen, Shu-Chuan. "Getting healed from a globalised age : a study of the New Age Movement in Taiwan." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2006. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/52046/.
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The aim of this qualitative study of the New Age Movement (NAM) in Taiwan was to test the ideas about 'self-religion', 'reflexive modernisation' and 'globalisation' that underlie many sociological accounts of the New Age phenomena. It also explored the neglected issues of emotions and embodiment in New Age practices. By means of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 40 participants in New Age activities, participant observation in two New Age courses about healing and documentary analysis, my project produced the following four conclusions. First, the characteristics of New Age spiritualities in Taiwan, such as 'spiritual but not religious' and 'transformational but not salvational', differ from those of the country's main religions and new religious groups. But many people in the NAM seek a new balance between 'tradition and modernity' or 'new age spiritualities and "old age" religions'. Second, changes in emotional states are critical for participants in New Age activities in terms of 'being healed' through a process of self-transformation. Participants experience emotional identification, display and experience, whilst also internalising a set of feeling rules based on the 'emotion ideology' of New Age spiritualities. Third, analysis of interviewees' biographical reconstructions of their experiences shows that the New Age can be regarded as an integral part of late modern society in Taiwan. Not only is the NAM mainly about self-reflexivity but it also influences the life politics of its followers. It can therefore serve as a source of 'alternative' expert knowledge in late-modern society. Fourth, the structure of the NAM in Taiwan can be described as a loose, web-like network. Furthermore, the globalised aspects of the movement cannot be regarded simply as an expression of 'Westernisation' or 'Americanisation', but should be properly understood as a process of 'parallel glocalization'. This thesis is an original combination of conceptual analysis, theoretical ideas and empirical investigation. Its main contributions are, on the one hand, to have integrated the New Age in Taiwan into theorising about late-modernity and globalisation and, on the other, to have placed emotions and healing at the center of the study of New Age activities.
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Tinaz, Nuri. "Conversion of African Americans to Islam : a sociological analysis of the Nation of Islam and associated groups." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2001. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/36425/.
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'Conversion of African Americans to Islam: A Sociological Analysis of the Nation of Islam Associated groups' is an empirical study of the religious experience of people who had/have distinctive features in terms of race, ethnicity and historical experience. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate how African Americans' (AAs) conversion experience in general, and the Nation of Islam associated groups' conversion in particular, differ from the studies of recruitment and conversion in the sociology of religion and New Religion Movements (NRMs). More specifically, their recruitment and conversion experiences to Islam diverge from those who converted to mainstream Islam. The study investigates how AAs' historical experience, soci-economic difficulties and the racism they encountered shaped and influenced their religious understanding. Research methods involved participant observations, a survey questionnaire, interviews, conversations, personal communications and correspondence. To collect ethnographic data eleven months field research was conducted mainly in the Chicago area and on two short visits to Detroit, and three years continued communications with Muslim officials and academics in the area. During the field research and afterwards through personal communication 181 survey questionnaire responses were received, and 23 Muslim officials, academics and ordinary Muslims were interviewed through semi-structured, unstructured interviews, conversation and correspondence. The thesis begins with a brief history of Islam and Muslims in general and the African American Muslims (AAMs) in particular. More emphasis is given on the historical development of the Nation of Islam (NOl). Then in Chapter III, discussions of schisms in the history of the NOT are examined from sociological perspectives of social and religious movements. In Chapter IV I aimed to formulate my own perspective to analyse and study the conversion experiences of AAMs to Islam. I used a multivariate approach, considering selectively widely held conversion and recruitment theories in the sociology of the religion. I consider in Chapter V the predisposing conditions for AAMs that influence their decision-making to join in the NOT, for example, political and nationalistic sentiments and socio-economic deprivations. In Chapter VI I have applied different terms to describe their religious experiences, such as conversion, alteration and reversion. I have analysed further their encounters with the NOT, the methods of recruitment they used and their major motives for joining the NOT and converting to Tslam. In the concluding chapters (Chapter VII VTTT) I describe the different responses of AAMS to Islam following the death of Elijah Muhammad. It is found out that the Islamic appeal has polarised. While Farakhan's NOT appeared to continue the tradition and style of the old NOI with the emphasis on nationalistic and socio-economic factors, Tmam W. D. Mohammed's community turned more to the religious and spiritual aspects of Tslam. These different approaches led to a polarisation of the appeal of Tslam to AAMS. This thesis contributes to knowledge in four key areas; the sociology of religion and religious movements, the sociology of social and nationalistic movements, religious and Islamic studies.
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Timol, Riyaz. "Spiritual wayfarers in a secular age : the Tablighi Jama'at in modern Britain." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2017. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/104936/.
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The Tablighi Jama'at (TJ) is widely regarded as the largest movement of grassroots Islamic revival in the world yet remains significantly under-researched. This thesis examines the British branch of the movement based on sustained ethnographic fieldwork conducted over 18 months. Intensive participant observation was combined with 59 semi-structured interviews to present a detailed typology and topography of the movement's organisational structure in Britain. Further, the issue of intergenerational transmission is explored – based on an analysis of the cultural identity markers of language, clothing and food – with clear shifts identified between the first-generation 'Old Guard' and the British-born 'Avant-Garde.' The thesis argues that TJ should best be characterised as a movement in transition located within broader processes of indigenisation operative within British Islam more generally. Theoretically, the thesis augments Berger and Luckmann's sociology of knowledge with insights derived from Bhaskar’s critical realism to propose the twin 'generative mechanisms' of secularity and spirituality from which empirically accessible social phenomena emerge. These are used to anatomise the process of 'intra-religious conversion' which emerges as a key motif of contemporary TJ experience. Turner's concept of liminality and Schutz's phenomenology of consciousness are further deployed to examine ritual and semantic dimensions of conversion that see the neophyte’s attachment to religion transition from a nominal to a passionate state. Generic theories in the sociology of religion are also consulted to explore issues of retention and post-conversion strategies of commitment-maintenance. Finally, utilising insights from Peter Berger’s vast oeuvre, the thesis explores the intersection of 'Islamic Revival' with secularisation theory in Europe. It argues that, in the context of contemporary ‘Eurosecularity,’ the willed and conscious exercise of agency in ways which publicly affirm faith is intrinsically imbued with a disconcerting ‘debunking’ potential for those who have unthinkingly imbibed into interior consciousness the taken-for-granted suppositions of a secular nomos.
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Lo, Polito Nicholas. "Abd Al-Karim Al-Jili : tawhid, transcendence and immanence." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2010. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/1193/.
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The present thesis is an attempt to understand Abd Al-Karim Al-Jili’s thought and to illustrate his original contribution to the development of medieval Islamic mysticism. In particular, it maintains that far from being an obscure disciple of Ibn Arabi, Al-Jili was able to overcome the apparent contradiction between the doctrinal assumption of a transcendent God and the perception of divine immanence intrinsic in God’s relational stance vis-à-vis the created world. To achieve this, this thesis places Al-Jili historically and culturally within the Sufi context of eighth-ninth/fourteenth-fifteenth centuries Persia, describing the world in which he lived and the influence of theological and philosophical traditions on his writings, both from within and without the Islamic world. A whole chapter is dedicated to the definition of the controversies that afflicted Islamic theology and philosophy over the issue of anthropomorphic representations of God and the relevance that this had on the subject of divine immanence and transcendence. Al-Jili’s original contribution to this discussion, summarised in the concept of the Perfect Human Being, is illustrated with the editing and translation of one of Al-Jili’s works, The Cave and the Inscription, followed by annotations to the book.
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Husseini, Sara Leila. "Early Christian explanations of the Trinity in Arabic in the context of Muslim Theology." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2011. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/2799/.
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This doctoral thesis examines the works of Theodore Abū Qurra (d.c.829), Abū Rā’iṭa (d. c.835), and ‘Ammār al-Baṣrī (d.c.850); three of the earliest known Christian theologians to explain and defend their beliefs in Arabic, under Islamic rule. In particular, it focuses on their respective explanations of the doctrine of the Trinity: assessing each individual author’s writings; investigating the tools and arguments they employ; and considering the extent to which they engaged with Islamic theological thought (kalām), primarily through their borrowing of concepts and structures from an internal Islamic debate concerning the divine attributes of God. This study asks to what extent these Christians were essentially translating their traditional doctrine into Arabic, and to what extent they developed a new expression of the Trinity, conceptually influenced by Islamic thinking. The key conclusion of this thesis is that Christian explanations of the Trinity in Arabic, whilst they show a deep awareness of Islamic thought and make use of contemporary Muslim debates surrounding the nature and unity of God, cannot be said to represent a development in Christian theology. Rather, such works should be viewed as an informed and creative response to the pressures and challenges of their Islamic surroundings.
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Isakjee, Arshad. "The securitised identities of young Muslim men in Birmingham." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2013. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/4034/.
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In the last two decades, following the Rushdie affair and the emergence of Islamic extremism as a security issue in the UK, there has been a surge of interest in British Muslim communities from academics, politicians and popular commentators. Discourses of Muslims as ‘others’ and as potentially risky citizens have been reinforced by government approaches to counter-terrorism, chiefly the Prevent programme aimed at preventing radicalisation of young Muslims. Moreover their loyalty and place in British society has been questioned. Yet there remains a disconnect between the treatment of young Muslim men as ‘tainted citizens’ and the reality of their history and their everyday lives. This thesis seeks to explore the identities of young Muslim men in the city of Birmingham and contrast it with the way their identities have been scrutinised through the lens of risk as part of the counter-terror agenda. In particular it investigates the impacts of the Prevent agenda and the surveillance scheme called ‘Project Champion’, both of which had significant implications for Muslim identity and its governance in the city. The thesis demonstrates how these governance processes have resulted in the securitisation of Muslim identities in the city.
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Alshehri, Mohammed S. H. "A critical study of western views on Hadith with special reference to the views of James Robson and John Burton." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2011. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/1671/.
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The present thesis is a critical examination of the two well-known post-Schachtian scholars of Hadith; James Robson and John Burton. Both scholars are major contributors to modern Hadith studies in the West. It assesses their main arguments and their methodological approaches to Hadith literature. It also provides a historical survey of the key arguments and works of their predecessors since the rise of the modern Western debates over the reliability of Hadith materials. This critical study points to the conclusion that Robson and Burton were heavily influenced by the sceptical attitude of Ignaz Goldziher and Joseph Schacht towards the historicity of Hadith. However, Robson is inclined to accept some aspects of the Muslim traditional view regarding the genesis of Hadith and its isnad system (chain of transmitters). Burton, on the other hand, expresses a sceptical stance towards the historicity of Hadith and argues that the development of Hadith originated from the exegesis of the Qur’an, having no historical basis in the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.
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Ahmad, Muhammad Bin. "The influence of culture on Malay business practice : a case study of Malaysia with special reference to the State of Kelantan Darul Naim." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2010. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/833/.
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This research examined the influence of Islam and culture on the Malay-Muslim business environment as observed in the Siti Khadijah Market of Kota Bharu, in the Malaysian state of Kelantan. It followed a qualitative research approach involving library research and a field study. The cultural influences on the Malays were reviewed through three historically distinct phases i.e. the traditionally primitive Pagan, Hindu and Islam, all of which have been dominant culture-spiritual feeders. Other influences have also come from the period of British Colonisation in Malaya in the 18th and 20th Century. All of these influences were examined, dissected and discussed in order to provide a describable entity of the Malay culture and its possible origins. The various definitions of the Malays were also given due attention followed by historical evidence of trade. These economic connections dated back to pre-colonial periods to the times of the Portuguese, Dutch and, recently, the British. The presence of Islam in Malaysia was first looked at from the dates and the process of the arrival of Islam into the Malay Archipelago. Indeed, the arrival process and how it became a dominant religion in the Malay Archipelago have been a subject of a long debate and was also given an empirical attention. Despite the strong mixture influence, the state of being Malays i.e. the “Malayness” of this people appeared to have oddly strengthened by only two central pillars: Islam as a religious and universal pillar, and the Malay customary laws or the Adat as the locally embedded moral entity. The research further looked at how traders within the environs of the Malays deal, tolerate and involve themselves within the interplays of Islamic teachings and the culture. Later, the research focused on understanding the issue of how the mixture of different cultures influenced the behaviour of business people in the Siti Khadijah Market where much of the study was carried out. As expected, the behaviour of the businesspeople in the market was dominantly influenced by Islam, both in belief and practices. Other cultural influences, however, never ceased to exist and still remained despite somewhat being slowly eroded. In conclusion, the adherence of Malay-Muslims to their religious values have kept them well guided in their business dealings. Finally the research suggested some areas in which further studies could be carried out, either using similar theoretical framework or otherwise.
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Bakaram, Mohamed Fatris. "Theories of iftā’ in Islamic law with special reference to the Shāfi‘ī school of law and their application in contemporary Singapore." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2010. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/1121/.
Full textAbstract:
This research aims to identify the legal theories developed and employed by the jurists of the Shāfi‘ī school of law for the purpose of issuing fatāwā. It intends to shed light on how these jurists understand the term iftā’, and what are the elements in their view that constitute the legal framework that they utilize for iftā’. This research also attempts to determine the differences between iftā’ and the general process of formulating legal rulings by way of ijtihād, and the factors of consideration that may result in the existence of such a differentiation. This research argues that the existing legal discourse within the Shāfi‘ī madhhab has not rendered due attention to the significance of iftā’, and thus there exist a dearth of literature within the madhhab on the legal theories of iftā’. This research also analyzes examples of fatāwā issued by the Singapore Fatwa Committee with the aim to comprehend how the legal theories of iftā’, lacking they may be within the legal deliberations of the Shāfi‘ī madhhab, have an influence on the iftā’ institution of the state and the fatāwā it issued.
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Haji, Mohamad Mohamad Azmi Bin. "European Islam and reform : a comparative study of the theologies of Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Tariq Ramadan." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2015. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/5082/.
Full textAbstract:
This study investigates Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s and Tariq Ramadan’s conceptualizations of European Islam centering on three thematic issues: “European-Muslim” identity and the role of Muslims in Europe, reform in Islam pertaining to fiqh and Islamic ethics, and the question of incompatibility of Sharia with the European cultural system. It produces a detailed critique of the scholars’ positions, analyzes the ways in which their approaches overlap and differ from one another, evaluates the extent to which they take into account in their thinking the socio-political realities of Islam and Muslims in the West, and determines the feasibility of their propositions in the European context. The study argues that their approaches are inhibited by impractical suggestions, rhetorical ambiguities, and unexplained gaps that leave room for disagreement beyond the scope of intra-Muslim debate, but various other components within their thinking can be taken as building blocks that can be assembled into a more functional model that is devoid of the inconsistencies and problems identified in the thesis. It recommends that future research on Islam and Muslims in the West inquire further into said limitations and produce a well-argued critique that can contribute to the contemporary Muslim discourse on European Islam and reform.
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Hussain, Ather Shahbaz. "The Nuzhah of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d.852/1449) : a translation & critical commentary." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2012. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/3405/.
Full textAbstract:
This subject of this thesis is Nuzhat al-nazar fī tawdīh Nukhbat al-fikar, a manual written by Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī (d. 852/1449), outlining the science of prophetic traditions (‘ilm al-hadīth). The thesis aims to fulfill two tasks. Firstly, an accurate and accessible translation of the Nuzhah will be presented in English. Secondly, this will be coupled with a detailed and critical commentary of Ibn Hajar’s work. This commentary will assess the worth of the Nuzhah in many ways; the writings of Ibn Hajar will be analysed to learn what it said about the climate of the ninth Islamic century, by comparing it with the works of Muslim scholars before and after Ibn Hajar. Additionally, where the works of modern, non-Muslim scholars such as Schacht and Juynboll are mentioned, it will be with the purpose to show the interaction with their Muslim counterparts. Themes such as the use of technical terms in the discipline, the importance of seniority and the pedagogical nature of the Nuzhah will also be discussed.
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Hanif, Mohammed Ahsan. "Western Fatwa Councils : their development and impact." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2011. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/2797/.
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This study examines Western fatwā councils and all of the different aspects related to them. It looks at their modus operandi, the way they operate, choose, research and discuss topics, issue fatwas and then disseminate those fatwas. The study also undertakes field research to determine the way in which general Muslims as well as imāms and Muslim lecturers view the councils. At the same time, the research also portrays the views of some of the members of the councils with regards to the councils. The thesis focuses on a number of issues; firstly it defines ‘Fiqh for Muslim Minorities’ and strongly endorses it as a justified branch of Islamic law. Secondly, it highlights the historical roots to fatwā councils and how have they developed over time, thereby showing that scholars have throughout Muslim history gathered to discuss and debate religious issues. It takes an in-depth look at Western fatwā councils, discussing their formation and main aims and objectives. The research goes into detail regarding their modus operandi and the way they function. Another element of the study is to analyse the edicts of Western fatwā councils and see to what extent they agree with one another, other worldwide fatwā councils as well as classical opinions of jurists on the same or similar issues. The research also commissions social research whereby the views of the general Muslim public as well as imams and Muslim preachers are gauged. This study finds that there is a great need for fatwā councils, particularly in the West and that they play a very important role for Muslims in Western societies. The issues they discuss and the edicts they issue often deal with important and pertinent topics. Western fatwā Councils have made great strides since their inception. At the same time the study finds that Western fatwā Councils fall short in having raised sufficient awareness about them and their work. Councils also fall short in allowing easy access to their work, the dissemination of their work and in connecting with Western Muslims in their languages.
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Baz, Mira A. "Online Islamic Da'wah narratives in the UK : the case of iERA." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2017. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/7235/.
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This thesis is an in-depth study into two of the UK charity iERA's da'wah narratives: the Qura'nic embryology 'miracle' and the Kalam Cosmological Argument. While the embryo verses have received scholarly attention, there is little to no research in the da'wah context for both narratives. Berger and Luckmann's social constructionism was applied to both, which were problematic. It was found that iERA constructed its exegesis of the embryo verses by expanding on classical meanings to show harmony with modern science. Additionally, it developed the Cosmological Argument by adapting it to Salafi Islamic beliefs. The construction processes were found to be influenced by an online dialectic between iERA and its Muslim and atheist detractors, causing it to abandon the scientific miracles and modify the Cosmological Argument. Signs point to a weakening of faith among young people, including Muslims, as they have unprecedented access to unfiltered online information on religion and science. By employing the narratives, iERA aims to legitimate the fundamentals of Islam to Muslims and to attract converts by presenting it as a rational and modern faith. While iERA's da'wah template is practical, its errors are relevant to the wider discussions on Qur'anic exegesis and modern challenges to the religion.
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Amin, El-Sayed Mohamed Abdalla. "Terrorism from a Qur'anic perspective : a study of selected classical and modern exegeses and thier interpretation in the modern context." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2010. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/1269/.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is an attempt to study terrorism from a Qur’anic perspective with special reference to selected classical and modern exegeses and how they are understood by modern scholars. The study is divided into an introduction, five main chapters and a conclusion. In the introduction, a brief background about the tafsar (exegesis) genres is provided with special focus on thematic exegesis as a type of exegesis that makes a central contribution to this study. The introduction also includes brief biographical sketches of the selected exegetes, an outline of the thesis methodology, a literature review, and a note on the research questions and the objectives of the thesis. Chapter One is devoted to presenting and evaluating various organizational definitions of terrorism from both Islamic and Western perspectives. Chapter Two discusses the difference between terrorism and arming for deterrence in the light of Qur’an 8: 60. Chapter Three investigates whether or not there is a relationship between jihad and terrorism. It focuses, by way of a case study, on how the actions of the perpetrators of the September 11th 2001 attacks should be judged according to the Qur’an. Chapter Four looks at how terrorist suicide attacks are different from martyrdom. It features another case study, on "martyrdom" or "suicide" operations in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Chapter Five attempts to identify a punishment for terrorism on the basis of the Qur’anic text. This study finds that terrorism is totally different from jih«d and martyrdom as they are treated in the Qur‘ān. It also finds that there is a huge difference between the peaceful, tolerant and inclusive teachings of the Qur’an and the violent, intolerant and exclusive practices of those Muslims whose approach to the Qur’an and its exegesis is marked by selectivity and lacks the essential tools of Islamic scholarship. These and other findings are highlighted in the thesis conclusion, along with other suggestions for future research in the field.
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Al-Turkistany, Younis B. I. "A critical Hadith study of the Tablighi Nisab and its intellectual impact on the Jama at Al-Tabligh." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2011. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/1772/.
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It is common knowledge that movements are based on ideologies that are considered to be the foundation of their methodologies and policies. Often, these ideologies are disseminated in letters, books or other publications that present them in the form of texts that are available to the public and become sources of information about these movements. The Jamā‘at Al-Tablīgh is one of the movements that plays an important role in the sphere of Islamic Da‘wah (mission). This movement adopts some techniques of Da‘wah; one of the most important among them being Targhīb, which expounds the merits and benefits of virtuous deeds. This research studies one of the most popular books of the movement, titled in Urdu Tablīghī Nisāb, which uses this sort of technique. It was written by the famous H adīth scholar and the general supervisor of the movement, Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyyā Kāndahlawī. The first publication of the book in Urdu was in (1374 H./1955 CE.). It has been translated into several different languages, and this reflects the importance of the book. The thesis falls into six chapters, including the introduction as chapter one and the conclusion as chapter six. Chapter two talks about the definition of weak Ahadīth and its different types, criteria used to determine weak Ahādīth, different trends among the scholars regarding weak Ahādīth, the consequences of using and publicizing weak and fabricated Ahādīth. Chapter three deals with the biography of the author of the Tablīghī Nisāb, while chapter four focuses on the book itself, by specifying the original name of it and looking at the different editions and translations, and compares the original Urdu with the Arabic and English versions. The chapter also discusses the methodology of the author in his book. Chapter five is a critical study of the Ahādīth of the Tablīghī Nisāb, whether found in the main text of the book or in the commentary to verify the Ahādīth in terms of their authenticity or weakness.
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Amer, Amin Fateh. "A critical study of the Anti- Ḥadīth Ideology from a Qur’ānic perspective." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2010. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/980/.
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The contemporary debate over the Ḥadīth of the prophet Muḥammad is taking a new and serious direction. After being a simple scholastic debate between those who questioned the authenticity and the authority of Ḥadīth and its status and the Ḥadīth supporters (classical Muslims or Traditional ones), it has moved towards rejecting Ḥadīth and considering it absolutely fabricated and faked stories. This thesis is a critical study of this debate seeking to identify the core issues involved and analytically discussing them. The first chapter deals with the background, objectives and significance of the research, literature review, research methodology and structure of the research. The second chapter demonstrates some writings of anti-Ḥadīth figures particularly in the Muslim scholarship. The third, fourth and fifth chapters respond to the main points of the anti-Ḥadīth views and refute them by discussing three main subjects: the humanity of the prophet, his role and the different forms of divine revelation. The sixth and final chapter includes concluding remarks and suggestions as to how to deal with such a serious debatable issue.
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Ramsey, Charles Magee. "Elucidating the Word : Sayyid Aḥmad Khān (1817-1898) : revelation, and coherence." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2015. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/5914/.
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Sayyid Aḥmad Khān (1817-1898) was a prominent religious reformer and educationist in pre-partition India. One of his least understood works is Tabyīn al-kalām fī tafsīr al-taurāt wa ‘i-injīl ‘alā millat al-Islām (The Elucidation of the Word in Commentary of the Torah and Gospel According to the Religion of Islam), or as the author simply termed it: ‘The Mohomedan Commentary on the Holy Bible’ (1860-1865). In this dissertation I examine Tabyīn along with other principle works in the original Urdu to enquire: how did Sayyid Aḥmad conceptualize revelation in the Bible? I argue that he employed a systematic paradigm to categorize all prophetic revelation, the identification of which opens the way for a clearer understanding of our author’s attitude towards the Bible. In this light, Tabyīn emerges as a prototypical example intended to demonstrate that prophetic texts share greater consonance than dissonance if universal principles are applied to regulate interpretation. Sayyid Aḥmad’s view of the coherence of all revelation, natural and prophetic, allowed for a reverent but critical juxtaposition of the Bible with Islam’s primary textual sources as initiated in Tabyīn, and continued in his final exegetical work, Tafsīr al-Qur’ān.
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AlRajaibi, Iman M. "Aesthetics in the Qur’ān : a thematic study based on selected modern exegeses." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2016. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/6986/.
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This thesis studies the notion of aesthetics from a Qurʼānic perspective by adopting the methodology of thematic exegesis with special reference to modern exegeses. The aim of adopting this specific exegetical genre is to construct a ‘unified’ understanding of what may be considered the Qurʼānic view of the notion of aesthetics. This study finds that aesthetics in the Qurʼān is expressed using a number of terms, all of which have specific connotations. The study shows that the term ḥusn is the most significant term related to the notion of aesthetics. It also finds that aesthetics from a Qurʼānic perspective is an aspect of reality and it is deliberately incorporated into God’s creation. Knowledge of the Creator and other religious functions are the ultimate purposes of aesthetics from a Qur’ānic perspective. Perfection, pleasure and goodness are intrinsically linked to the Qurʼānic conception of aesthetics. Qurʼānic discourse refers to nature as the most rewarding source of aesthetic experience. Aesthetics from a Qurʼānic perspective is not merely related to physical domains; it is rather an ethical perspective. Qurʼānic teaching disseminates an understanding of aesthetics throughout all facets of ethical conduct. The concept of iḥsān has a crucial role in Qurʼānic discourse on the ethics of aesthetics. Aesthetics in the Qurʼānic conception is not always mentioned with positive implications; it also can have negative connotations.
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Azmi, Ahmad Sanusi Bin. "Qurʾānic references to prophet Muḥammad's early life : an analysis of selected works of the third/ninth century." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2017. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/7376/.
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This study analyses Qurʾānic references purported to be allusions to the Prophet Muḥammad’s early life. Observations of the use of Qurʾānic references in the early sīra sources substantiate the fact that each of the authors of sīra employed greatly differing numbers of Qurʾānic references. In fact, the use of Qurʾānic references within the work of sīra is occasionally obscure or even, at times, inconsistent. Therefore, the present study seeks firstly to investigate the earliest Qurʾānic references to Muḥammad’s early life recorded in Muslim sources of the ninth century, and further, to explore the ninth century context and early Muslim hermeneutical responses to and understanding of Qurʾānic references to Muḥammad’s early life. Finally, the thesis will analyse for what specific reasons these references were developed, and their various socio-religious contexts. The study is qualitative in nature, and is one in which the researcher will employ both descriptive and source-critical approaches. Its analysis will seek to argue for and confirm the rarity of Qurʾānic references to the Prophet’s early life in the works of ninth century Islamic literature. The study in its findings will argue that the use of Qurʾānic references in constructing the Prophet’s biography is the result of several factors. These include the substantiation of miraculous elements in the narratives, the elucidation of lexical ambiguity in the texts and the ‘Qurʾānisation’ of stories and traditions about the Prophet’s life. It will recommend and extended other areas of future study and analysis of early Islamic literature, in order to explore more deeply the nature of the connection between the Qurʾān and the narratives of the Prophet’s life.
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Howard, Damian Andrew Joseph Keeling. "Trajectories of the Humanum in contemporary Islamic thought." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2010. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/662/.
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This thesis explores how the spread of evolutionary theory has affected the beliefs of contemporary Muslims regarding human identity, capacity and destiny. Incorporating traditional and modern notions, Muslim responses to the crisis of the religious imagination presented by evolutionary ideas fall into at least four different modes of engagement. During the 19th century encounter with “the West” Muslims addressed the issue largely by juxtaposing the data of scientific discovery with those of revelation, a method still dominant today in the guises of creationism and modernisation. Another approach, whose impact on Islamic thought reaches from India to West Africa, emerges under the influence of Henri Bergson’s optimistic evolutionary philosophy and inclines towards a dynamic view of human personhood. Diametrically opposed to this is a perennialist Traditionalism marked by the cultural pessimism of post-1918 Europe. Strongly influenced by neo-Platonic Sufism, it represents the most rigorous rejection possible of evolutionary ideas. The last style of engagement arises from various late-20th Century attempts to renew science itself by “Islamizing” it. The thesis evaluates the content, influence and success of these four modes, asking how Muslims might now proceed to address the profound challenges which evolutionary theory poses to the effective reconstruction of religious thought.
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al-Shamahi, Abdulla. "al-Imām al-Manṣūr ʼAbdullah b. Ḥamzah b. Sulaymān (d. 614/1217) : a biography by his disciple Al-Faqīh Ḥumayd b. Ahmad al Muḥallī (d. 652/1254) in his work Al-Ḥad̄ʼiq al-Wardiyyah fī Manāqib Aʼimmah al-Zaydiyyah, v. 2: a critical edition." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2003. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6835/.
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This is the biography of the Zaydi Imam, 'Abdullah b. I:Iamzah, who stood against the Ayyfibid's rule in Yemen, of his time. The biography covers the Imam's life, family background and relations with other sects. These include the Shi'ah and the Zaydis, particularly those of the Mutarrafis. The biography also gives a detailed picture of the Imam's relations and conflicts with the local Ayyfibids in Yemen. As the author considered the Imam a great authority in the field of religion and thinking, we find a large amount of quotations from the Imam's works, both poetry and prose. The author, as the Imam did, gave special attention to the authority of the Fatimi 'Alawid's descendants in the field of religion, and in particular how the post of Imamate should be aquired only by them. The importance of this work comes from the fact that it is the only surviving complete biography of this Imam, written by one of his well known and distinguished contemporaries. The highly classical Arabic which the author used to write the biography, increased the prestige of the work, and added importance to it. This reflects AI-Mu1;lalli's authority in the fields of Arabic language, literature and history. The thesis consists of two main parts; Section A (or 1) is a short introduction and study to the text and its author, followed by the English translation of the Arabic text, while Section B (or 2) is the edited Arabic text (the biography). Finally the conclusion, will illustrate the main points in the whole work. I hope the work I produce can represent a valuable addition to Yemeni history, literature and beliefs.
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Warden, Rosalind. "A sociological study of Islamic social work in contemporary Britain." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2013. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/47577/.
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Recent years have witnessed increasing interest in the topics of religion and spirituality in social work, including a small body of texts focusing on social work with Muslims. Alongside this, statistical evidence such as the 2001 Census has documented the socio-economic disadvantage experienced by many Muslims communities in Britain. However, there is a paucity of empirical research exploring grassroots initiatives developed by these communities to address welfare needs. There is also a dearth of research analysing the perspectives of Muslim service users. It is this lack of inquiry which this thesis addresses. This research centres on a case study of an Islamic organisation providing services including Islamic counselling, advocacy, khul divorces, mediation and chaplaincy. The study explores the construction of the organisation’s Islamic approach to social work, their everyday practices and areas of particular on-going negotiation. It draws on interviews with individuals working at the organisation, Muslim service users who have accessed the services and also external professionals who have referred individuals to the organisation. An exploration of the potential benefits for Muslim service users focuses on the counselling services provided to young women and asylum seekers in particular. The findings of the study highlight the opportunities and challenges experienced in the process of professionalising internal forms of support amongst British Muslim communities. This research has implications for three key areas of academic debate. Firstly, it contributes to the sociological study of religion, specifically to the field of British Muslim studies. Secondly, the thesis informs current discussion within the social work discipline, particularly regarding the role of spirituality when working with minority service users. Thirdly, this study contributes to contemporary debate regarding the role of faith groups providing welfare services. Overall, this research gives an original insight into the development of professional Islamic social work in contemporary Britain.
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Wahab, Abdul. "A study of Surat al-A'raf : development in Tafsir studies." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1997. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/7234/.
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Al-Jeran, Abdul Rahman. "Muslims in Britain : between reality and ambition." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1998. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/7236/.
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The study of Muslims in the United Kingdom 'Between Reality and Ambition' represents one of the most important and challenging subjects in the arena of public concern. Yet if we were to move beyond the geographical boundaries of the subject of this research we would surely find similar concerns, hopes and visions being represented in a large part of the Islamic and western world. A reading of present realities testifies a struggle between ideological success and failure. This struggle has played a decisive role in the condition of the Muslim community in the United Kingdom. Similarly the principles of Da 'wah (propagation) and its priorities, the human environment to which these efforts are directed and the freedom afforded for such activities in the west constitute fundamental points of reference for an understanding of the Islamic project in the west. In addition, the western outlook on life, and its philosophical bases, influences and communicative methods all provide genuine indicators of the challenges confronting Muslims in the west. The presence of various Islamic groups in the United Kingdom reflects, in one way or another, a representation of the Islamic world in all its dimensions, visions, thoughts and culture. Thus it may be truly fitting to advance certain vital proposals specifying the parameters of Islamic activity in the west. They may lead to increased understanding and a closing of the ranks between the various groups. This study will further take into account the vital question of educational training which is in itself a major handicap of Muslims everywhere. While this research lays no claim to finality, it nevertheless has at least opened the doors for further discussion and enquiry that may eventually lead to an improvement in the conditions of Muslims in the west. Similarly, it is the author's hope that this study will have illuminated several important aspects of life of Muslims in the United Kingdom, and that by so doing, it will have inspired and assisted the various Islamic Centres and charitable associations in their efforts towards progress and development.
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Al-Zouebi, Abdullah. "Al-Tahrir fi Sharh al-Faz al-Tanbih by al-Nawawi." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1999. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/5005/.
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One of my greatest hopes, after I had finished my M.A was to visit the British Library in London, in particular the section on oriental manuscripts. I soon fulfilled this desire and following the examination of the index of the manuscripts, I hoped to find one on the Language of al-Fiqh [Language of Jurisprudence] in particular. I found a manuscript by aI-Imam al-Nawawi which was amongst many others also belonging to him. This manuscript was entitled al-Tah• rlr fi Sharh • al-Ffiz al-Tan blh , which provides detailed explanations of the terms found in • al-Tanblh by aI-Shirazi that required further interpretation, mainly from a linguistic and occasionally from a religious side. Qadi Safad, an eminent • • scholar, stated that " the book of al-Tahrlr is of great benefit and of . - widespread use for every knowledge seeker" (DIQ, p. 91). The status of al- Tahrlr, was due to its focus on the language of al-Fiqh, taking into account the - vanous linguistical aspects too. Occasionally, religious meanings are also provided. Al-Tahrlr explains the uncommon terms that were present in al-Tanblh by al- I ShirazI. Al-Tanblh is considered to be one of the main and most important works ever to be compiled in the Shafi'i Jurisprudence School in the fourth century AH. Therefore, many scholars, including al-Nawawi went on to compile books regarding it, explaining, commenting, criticising and sUlrunanzmg it. AI-Tahrir is amongst one of these. As scholars in the early • centuries compiled books in Gharib al-Lughah, Gharib al-Hadith and Gharib A _'. al-Quran, they also compiled books in Gharib al-Fiqh, one of which is the book that I have edited. Al-Nawawi, an accomplished scholar and author, attained a hig-h status in the oriental libraries and studies. AI-Ta.hr ir was amon-gst m-any of his distinguished works, which were a site of attraction for many researchers. Al-Nawawi in al- Ta~rir referred to many linguistics books, which were wellknown and available at his time, such as Kiti1b al- 'A.y n b-y aI-Khalil,- al- Tahdhib and al-Zi1hir by al-Azhari, al-Muhkam by Ibn Sidah and many others. In the editing of al-Ta~rir. I compared nine different manuscripts, all from different places and made the Berlin manuscript the main one, comparing the remammg eight with it. The Berlin manuscript is symbolized by (I). The differences in the manuscripts are noted at the bottom of each page (foot note). In authenticating and documenting al-Nawawl's explanations, I referred to the notable dictionaries and sources that al-Nawawi himself also referred to. I also made reference to the books of al-Gharib (uncommon words)~ Ghar'ib al- Lughah. Gharfb al-Quri1n. Gharib al-ljadith. Mi1 TaltlGnu Ffhi al- 'Ammah, history, biographies and others. Where necessary, I have commented on these explanations and these can be found following the text, in volume two in the chapter entitled 'al-Takhnjat wa al-Ta'liqat 'ala al-Nas.' Following this is a list of indexes; tenns, names, places, measurements, Quranic and Hadith verses . • I have dedicated a chapter to the language of al-Fiqh, its origin, how it has emerged, its chronological history and books compiled in this field. I also dedicated a chapter to the political and educational situation in al-Nawawi's era followed by a chapter on the life of al-Nawawi, his milieu and his works. I have given the editorial method followed by the description of the nine manuscripts. I have provided a summarized comparison between the works of al-Nawawi in al-Tahrfr and of al-Azhan in al-Zahir. I shed light on the • educational background of both authors, their subject topic, al-Azhan's impact on al-Nawawi, the methodology of the works of both scholars, similarities and differences, conclusion and an evaluation. I have assigned a chapter for the biography of the names mentioned in al-Ta~rfr followed by a bibliography.
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Deane, Susannah. "Sowa Rigpa, spirits and biomedicine : lay Tibetan perspectives on mental illness and its healing in a medically-pluralistic context in Darjeeling, Northeast India." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2014. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/73236/.
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This thesis examines Tibetan perspectives on the causation, management and treatment of mental illness (Tib.: sems nad) within a Tibetan exile community in Darjeeling, northeast India. Based on two six-month periods of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2011 and 2012, it examines common cultural understandings of mental illness and healing, and how these are reflected in health-seeking behaviour. To date, research on lay Tibetan perspectives of mental illness and their impact on health-seeking behaviour has been limited, especially in relation to the concept of smyo nad (‘madness’). Following on from work by Jacobson (2000, 2002, 2007) and Millard (2007), the thesis investigates lay Tibetan perceptions of the causation and treatment of various kinds of mental disorders through the use of indepth semi-structured interviews and participant observation, comparing and contrasting Tibetan approaches to those of biomedical psychology and psychiatry and their accompanying classification systems, the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and European International Classification of Disease (ICD). Four case studies of individuals labelled with different Tibetan and biomedical diagnoses related to mental health conditions are described in order to illustrate a number of key concepts in Tibetan approaches to mental illness and its healing. The research found that that a number of informants successfully combined different – sometimes opposing – explanatory frameworks and treatment approaches in response to an episode of mental illness. However, the thesis concludes that the Tibetan and biomedical categories remain difficult to correlate, due in part to their culturally-specific nature, based on significantly different underlying assumptions regarding individuals and their relationship to the environment.
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Siddiqi, Mohammad. "The Tablighi Jamaat in Bangladesh and the UK : an ethnographic study of an Islamic reform movement." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2015. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/64930/.
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Jamaat, a transnational Islamic reform movement, which originated in India in the 1920s. The movement claims to reinforce faith by preaching among Muslims. Tablighi Jamaat is now operative in 165 countriess with about 80 million followers around the world. This study looks at the Tablighi Jamaat in two very different contexts, Bangladesh and the United Kingdom (UK), where the Tablighi Jamaat has been successful. In Bangladesh, the Tablighi Jamaat is a very large-scale movement where several million people attend the annual congregation (Bishwa Ijtema) of the Tablighi Jamaat every year. The UK has a much smaller following of the Tablighi Jamaat than Bangladesh. There are perhaps 50,000 active Tablighi Jamaat followers in the UK. This ethnographic study shows that the success of the Tablighi Jamaat results from the positive image, which it cultivates, and the systematic preaching activities of Tablighi Jamaat followers. The organisation’s apolitical image, the public profile of the ijtema, the humbleness in personality and behaviour of Tablighi followers, and the attraction of belonging to the global Tablighi community, all assist to create a positive image of the Tablighi Jamaat among ordinary Muslims. In addition, family and peer pressure, and a variety of personal reasons explain why people join the movement. In the thesis, I also argue that the Tablighi Jamaat remains successful because of its ability to hold its followers (both new and long-term) within a Tablighi-guided life. A Tablighi-guided life is perceived as a protection against the Western lifestyle. Followers define many elements of contemporary Western lifestyle as non-Islamic. By clearly defining what is Islamic and non-Islamic within contemporary society, the Tablighi Jamaat provides a way in which Muslims can live in the contemporary world, but remain good Muslims.
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Ahmed, Mohammed. "Sacred rhythms : an ethnography of a Cardiff mosque." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2016. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/100628/.
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This thesis presents a case study of a single mosque, Jamia Masjid. It provides a description of everyday life, with attention to the congregation and the construction of sacred space. Its claim to originality is that it is an “insider” ethnographic perspective of a mosque in Britain, built upon an extended year-long period of fieldwork. It is an “insider” ethnography both in the sense that the researcher has a pre-existing relationship with the mosque, and also, that it focuses on the space and meanings within the mosque. Its timeliness is predicated upon the second decade of the 21st century being a period in which an increasingly British-born and young Muslim population take leadership in mosques established a generation prior. The thesis argues that Jamia Masjid is an interspatial mosque, providing a diverse range of activities to fulfil the needs of its congregation. It achieves this by operating as a subaltern counter-public, or a “coffee shop mosque”, in which congregants take agency for activities and events. The role of the congregation is pronounced in the thesis to address an identified gap in existing research. Furthermore, the thesis provides theorisation on the temporal dimensions of sacred space, drawing upon Henri Lefebvre and Rhythmanalysis (2004). It argues that sacredness is not a static concept, but dynamic and rhythmic. This sacredness is described as baraka. Jamia Masjid is both a site of distributing and receiving baraka, and it is sacredness is constructed dialectically – transcending some existing categorisations of sacred space in the literature. The thesis argues also that conflict is not an inevitable consequence of sacred space but, at times, a meaningful way of marking and constructing it. These original theoretical contributions are presented through a rich ethnography that provides an insight into the everyday activities of a mosque congregation.
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Hukelova, Miroslava. "Integration, homogenisation and radicalisation : contemporary Muslim identity in the UK, Germany and the Czech Republic." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2013. http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/16335/.
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The thesis deals with one of the most important challenges of our times: how to forge political unity and societal cohesion in an environment of increasing cultural diversity and ever increasing politicisation of identities. Explicitly, it investigates shifts in Muslim identity and its relationship with the European Union, European nation states and their societies from a comparative perspective. Existing literature and case studies often treat Muslims in Europe as a homogeneous group and fail to connect how policies of state and non-state actors influence Muslim identities. Located within the theories of multiculturalism, the argument introduced in this thesis suggests that Muslims in Europe are a heterogeneous group with diverse cultural, social but also religious traditions. These factors all contribute to developments in Muslim identities and their relationship with host societies. As such, the study evaluates perceptions of Muslim communities in a comparative perspective with three case study countries, the UK, Germany and the Czech Republic, on their inclusion, civic participation and belonging. This critical assessment is complemented by objective analysis of the EU strategies on religion, integration and minority groups. The purpose is to illustrate, within this complex web of relations, the most effective approach from the Muslim perspective. The novelty and unique contribution of this research to knowledge lies in its socio-political and cross-country approach which is supported by the use of structured questionnaires followed by semi-structured interviews. By using a combination of questionnaires and interviews, participants were given space in which they could gradually express their views and feelings. The results show that religious traditions and places of origin are very important. However, national policies play the most significant role in the formation of Muslim identities. Multicultural policies in Britain have been, thus far, most successful in the integration and inclusion of Muslim communities. On the contrary, the largely state-centric policies of Germany which provide social provisions but often exclude political participation, contribute to split identities and segregated communities. In the context of post-communist Europe, the Czech Republic is yet to devise policies and legislation addressing the question of religious minorities. At present, the Czech Republic stretches liberal policies to almost an extreme and fails to accommodate minority cultures. The role of the European Union has been rather minor with most participants being sceptical of the EU’s mechanisms and relevance for Muslims in Europe.
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Agilinko, Stephen Akpiok-bisa. "Contemporary Sunni and Ahmadiyya views of Jesus in Ghana in the light of four pre-modern Islamic sources." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2017. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43341/.
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This thesis examines contemporary Sunni and Ahmadiyya views of Jesus in Ghana in the light of four pre-modern Islamic sources, namely, the Qur’an, the prophetic tradition (hadith), the exegetical tradition (tafsir) and the pre-modern Muslim anti-Christian polemical tradition. Overall, seventeen treatises comprising eleven Sunni and six Ahmadiyya works are examined in this thesis. Chapter 1 is about the background to the thesis. Chapter 2 explores the person of Jesus from the perspective of four pre-modern sources in Islam. Chapter 3 examines the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, the Incarnation, the divine sonship of Jesus etc from the standpoint of the contemporary Sunni and Ahmadiyya works. Chapter 4 investigates the death of Jesus from the perspective of the contemporary Sunni and Ahmadiyya works. Chapter 5 summarises the previous four chapters. The first finding of this thesis is that there is substantial theological agreement between the contemporary and pre-modern sources in terms of their representation of Jesus. However, the one fundamental disagreement is that the Ahmadiyya polemicists reject the substitution hypothesis espoused by all the pre-modern sources which posits that Jesus survived death by crucifixion through a miraculous intervention by God resulting in the death of an unnamed substitute. Using Qur’anic, biblical and extra-biblical evidence, the Ahmadiyya polemicists argue that Jesus was crucified, that he swooned on the Cross and was taken down and buried. This theory continues that Jesus came out of the tomb on the third day and travelled to the regions around India where he died many decades later. The second finding is that there are stylistic and methodological differences between the pre-modern sources examined in Chapter 2 and the contemporary sources examined in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. Chapter 2 shows a philosophically rigorous, theologically sophisticated and rationally robust critique of traditional Christology. By contrast, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 are largely an aggregation of theological arguments against traditional views of both the divinity of Jesus and his death by crucifixion. Finally, this thesis concludes that the contexts of the pre-modern and contemporary sources, the lack of appreciation of the nuances of traditional Christology by the contemporary polemicists and the needs of the Ghanaian readers may partly account for the differences in the pre-modern and contemporary sources that are examined in thesis.
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Provenzola, Thomas A. "A world view analysis of the anthropological thought in the new consciousness of Carlos Castaneda." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1986. http://www.tren.com.
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