Popular Islam: Faith, Ritual, and Models
“Popular religion” draws life from local customs and traditions, and varies from one society to the next. Since its inception...
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Islam in Kurdistan: Sunnah, Shiites, Khorshids
While the Kurdish question has received due attention in Western scholarship and public discussions, a range of political and cultural...
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Islam in South Africa: Muslims’ Contribution to the South African Transition process and the Challenges of Contextual Readings of Islam
Islam in South Africa is characterised by an exceptional diversity that can be compared to that of the Muslim world...
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Traditional Islam: Historical Formation and Current Challenges
Present-day discussions about “traditional Islam” bear relevance to the crisis of identity arising from Muslim encounters with modernity, as well...
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Religions in Iraqi Kurdistan
Al-Mesbar’s 136th monthly book explores the religious and sectarian diversity of the area. In addition to Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims,...
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Naqshbandism: Text, History, Impact
Al-Mesbar’s 134th monthly book, Naqshbandism: Text, History, Impact (February 2018), examines the theological and social history of Sufism’s esteemed Naqshbandi...
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Islamists and Education Curricula in the Arab World, Turkey and Iran
In addition to their involvement in politics, Islamists in many Arab and Muslim countries have achieved “social depth” by significantly...
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After Qatar
Since Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani ascended to Qatar’s throne in 1995 following a palace coup against his father, the...
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Akbari Sufism: Ibn Arabi, History and Text
In Al-Mesbar’s 131st monthly book, we share further knowledge of Sufism, popular Islam, and traditional and parallel religiosity — by...
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References of a Terrorist Mentality: Resources and Ideas
Islamist movements draw on a range of historical and contemporary source materials to fuel their ideologies. In 2013, one study...
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The State in Arab and Islamic Theory: Roots and Challenges
The concept of the nationstate did not enter Arab political discourse in earnest until the second half of the twentieth...
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