Abstract
This paper discusses how Al Qaeda conceptualises the western world and in turn how the West chooses to envisage what is arguably its most potent threat. The paper first looks at the religious assumptions of Islamic fundamentalism and, in particular, how these conceptions of the Islamic faith impact upon the outlook of Al Qaeda and the religious factors that facilitate its continued development and increasing appeal amongst Muslims around the world. The paper then assesses how Al Qaeda impacts upon the individual and general society in the Islamic world and discusses the links between Al Qaeda and the previous Taliban rulers of Afghanistan.

From the Paper
"We must take it as sacrosanct that the existence of Al Qaeda is destabilising and thwarts any wish to inaugurate a period of history based on peace and stability. However, the actions of the western world, in particular the United States does not in any way facilitate a move in this direction. There exists, within the bastions of American republicanism unfounded and misguided conceptions of how to deal with the question of Islam and international terrorist networks such as Al Qaeda. Such outlooks go a long way to compete with Islamic extremism in terms of their destabilising and dangerous connotations. Personally, I believe that if progress is to be made in understanding the current international situation, and if we are to safeguard a brighter future, free of extremism both Muslim and Western, it is the centre that has to prevail. We all have a role to play."

Tags:western terrorism, bin Laden, Taliban

Abstract
In this article, the writer analyses the attitudes of the public towards Islamic mortgages. Before analysing their attitudes the writer obtained literature from various scholars as well as bank information in order to understand views towards Islamic banking in general. The writer points out that the scholars as expected disagreed with the current conventional banking methods due to the use of interest while the conventional banks simply promoted their ability to offer products of which was approved by a Shariah board. The writer also discusses the results of a survey conducted regarding Islamic mortgages. The writer concludes that if banks were to offer the same product with a different name this could have an appeal to a wider market. This paper includes questionnaires and colour charts.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Literature Review
Research Methodology
Ethical Issues
Evaluation of Methodology
Key Research Findings
Areas for Future Research
Bibliography
Appendix 1, 2 and 3

From the Paper
"Having compiled the feedback from the respondents it became obvious that the majority of the mortgage owners held conventional mortgages. Although the questionnaire was dominated by Muslim participates only six individuals held Islamic mortgages or were willing to obtain one. The general consensus was that many participants felt that the Islamic mortgage was unethical and expensive. The larger group of participants responded to it being unethical and therefore led me to believe that from my sample audience, the majority of the Muslim audience felt that this was not in accordance to their faith and the rules of the Shariah law. The fact that it was also seen as being expensive also makes it appear that the Muslims participates also believed that the extra cost of having the Islamic mortgage was too expensive for them even though they may have believed in it."

Tags:Shariah, Muslim, cost, banking

Abstract
This paper discusses how the religion of Islam is central to an understanding of the Middle East and North Africa's most distinguished features - the religious vitality that infuses every aspect of its social, cultural and political life. The pape looks at how religious identity is deeply embedded in the beliefs and daily practices of the Middle Eastern and North African societies and how Islam has become the vocabulary of daily life, changing the language of politics, aspects of national culture and ethnic tradition.

From the Paper
"Identity is an underlying concept in the modern social psychology. "The nature and formation of group identity, as well as the construction of individual identity, is the subject of much theoretical and empirical inquiry." (Lori Peek, Becoming Muslim: The Development of a Religious Identity, in Sociology of Religion, Vol. 66, No. 3(Autumn, 2005), p215-242) Identity defines and describes individuals' sense of self, group incorporation and structural positions. Identity results from internal subjective comprehension, self-reflection, and external characterizations. Opposed to earlier understandings that identity is fixed and unalterable, today identity is more often viewed as a process of "becoming" rather than just "being". Individual identity can change over time, due to larger social changes and personal experiences. (Lori Peek, Becoming Muslim: The Development of a Religious Identity, in Sociology of Religion, Vol. 66, No. 3(Autumn, 2005), p215-242)
"

Tags:Quran, Hadith, Shari'ah, Prophet, Muhammad

Abstract
The paper provides a detailed assessment of the Arab/Israeli conflict and its influence on tension between the Islamic world and the West. The paper examines a number of religious factors and issues such as the status of Jerusalem and its importance in Islamic tradition which, it contends, is the primary reason for Muslim antipathy towards Israel. According to the paper, it is the West's consistent support of Israeli that has ultimately caused the resurgence of anti western sentiment in the Arab Muslim world and terrorism.

From the Paper
"The historical relationship between the Muslim world and the West has often been one of enmity and distrust. Moreover, in recent years the divisions have appeared to become more protracted and divisive. In definitional terms it is sometimes problematic to use ambiguous terms like Muslim and Western 'Worlds'. However, it is nonetheless important to note that that the history of relations between the two has invariably been characterised by "continuing and deeply conflictual relations between Islam and Christianity".
"This historical tendency towards disagreement and division has manifested itself in a number of ways. Central among these is the ongoing conflict between Israel and her Arab neighbours which since the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948 has come to personify the lasting nature of disagreement between Islam and the West. Moreover, although some academic authorities have attempted to play down its significance; it is certainly possible to see the manner in which religious motivation has often formed the foundation on which age old tensions rest. As such, any assessment of the modern conflict between Israel and the Arabs must ultimately be based on a religious foundation whilst simultaneously accounting for other factors."

Tags:islam, christianity, jerusalem, arab, prophets, religious

Abstract
In this article, the writer examines the complex relationship between the Islamic and Western worlds. The primary focus looks at the extent to which Islam and the West pose a threat to one another in terms of geo-political conflict. The overall assumption is that the threat posed by Islam to the West, and vice versa is grossly exaggerated. In order to accurately account for this exaggeration the complicated nature of the relationship is examined in detail. In addition, the role of extremist actions on both sides is revealed to show the manner in which threat perception is exaggerated by those with a vested political interest in the perpetuation of such sentiment. The writer notes that it is impossible to view the Islamic and Western worlds as homogeneous political entities. The writer maintains that attempting to offer an assessment based on a "clash of civilisations" is equally misguided.

From the Paper
"In analytical terms this presents a distinct problem. Nonetheless, for the purposes of consistency and clarity the writer continues to refer to the two specific areas of the globe being discussed here as the Muslim and Western worlds. It is vitally important however to remember that these labels are extremely generalised and cannot be used or considered to represent two mass geometrically opposing blocs. To suggest they do is a flagrant exaggeration. Given therefore the fragmented political and social natures of the two global areas in question, it is incorrect to envisage that they represent an amalgamated threat to one another.
"The perception of a unified threat from Islam to the West is nonetheless an extremely potent one. Often it has led to the belief in some quarters, that being Islamic in an obscure general sense can immediately be correlated with a wish to impose a political system based on a fundamentalist Islamic doctrine, something that transcends national boundaries."

Tags:racial, tension, terrorist, Muslim

Abstract
This paper analyses five local hermeneutics from the Sudan and their relationship with Islam. It argues that to understand Islamic practice in North East Africa, it must be understood as a way of life (or rather, as a series of ways of life, the practice(s) drawn from a cultural heteroglossia), not as a religion. It looks at how in the Sudan, the relationship of communities to Islam is intricately entangled with a change in material culture and it examines the changes that Arabicisation brings. It also explores how this relationship to the outsider brings up a whole set of considerations about exteriority: interiority in these communities that helps one to see one of the characterising features of Islamic practice in the Sudan in the 20th century.

From the Paper
"The contours of the centre have often been thought to be hegemonic in Islam. Indeed, Islam may be said to be hegemonic in the sense that the sacred quality of the central texts and the necessity or correctness of reciting them in critical contexts are unquestioned. However, these enunciations, as noted in the introduction, are situated in social practice. That said, Islam does have a tendency to encapsulate or explicitly devalue other forms of thought and practice so they will be legitimated by reference to Islam. In the case studies we will analyse we will observe a tension between the necessity for other forms of thought to be legitimated by Islam, and the equally compelling need for them to remain apart."

Tags:anthropology, global, hegemony, religion, resistance, sudan

Abstract
A detailed critical analysis of "Zaynab" and the social and political situation of Egypt at the time of its publication. This study draws on the criticism of Alle, Hafez and Jad to explore the literary merits of Haykal's text. The paper answers the question: Does a critical analysis of Haykal's Zaynab justify critics' assertion that it was "the first real Arabic novel?" This study is not intended as an historical overview of the literature available to readers of Arabic in the early decades of the twentieth century.

From the Paper
"Zaynab has often been referred to as the "first real Arabic novel", a title which rarely seems to be called into question. Allen suggests, however, that it is more useful to see Zaynab as a stage in a continuing process of literary evolution, and it is therefore of interest to see how the text stands up to critical analysis of its quality as a novel in general rather than the "first" Arabic novel in particular. The quality of Haykal's writing cannot be denied and his ability to elicit his readers' empathy is highly effective. His story is engaging and it has resonance for readers today just as it must have for Haykal's contemporaries. He treats the themes of love, death and unhappy marriages, themes which are timeless in their relevance despite being sited in this instance in a very particular historical and geographical setting."

Tags:arabic, east, egypt, literature, middle

Abstract
This paper provides an account of how Islam came into being and how it manifests itself in the lives of its adherents today. Contrasts are made with other belief systems with a focus on Christianity.

Outline
Muhammad's Calling
Revelation of the Qur?an
The Three Sources of Teaching and Guidance
Islamic Expansion
Muhammad's Death Leads to Division
The Five Pillars of Islam
The Teaching of Islam and Daily Conduct of Muslims
Soul, Resurrection, Paradise, and Hellfire
Monogamy or Polygamy?
Islam and Daily Life
Conflict With and Within Christendom

From the Paper
"Muhammad's call to be a prophet took place when he was about 40 years of age. He had the custom of going alone to a nearby mountain cave, called Ghar Hira, for meditation, and he claimed that it was on one of these occasions that he received the call to be a prophet. Muslim tradition relates that while he was there, an angel, later identified as Gabriel, commanded him to recite in the name of Allah. Muhammad failed to respond, so the angel 'caught him forcefully and pressed him so hard that he could not bear it anymore.' Then the angel repeated the command. Again, Muhammad failed to react, so the angel 'choked him' again. This occurred three times before Muhammad started to recite what came to be viewed as the first of a series of revelations that constitute the Qur?an. Another tradition relates that divine inspiration was revealed to Muhammad like the ringing of a bell."

Tags:allah, arabic, koran, mecca, muhammad, muslim, qur, shar

Abstract
The paper examines how Salman Rushdie combines dramatic story telling with serious underlying issues in the form of a simple, fairytale-style parable, "The Prophet's Hair". The paper analyzes the genre of the story, the use of icons, the pace and style of the writing and the use of metaphors. The paper highlights Rushdie's message that the human need for motivation can be destructive, whether it is a selfish lust for wealth or a seemingly honest but blind devotion to religious practices.

From the Paper
"'The Prophet's Hair' by Salman Rushdie combines dramatic story telling with serious underlying issues in a very poignant short story presented in the form of a simple, fairytale-style parable. This allows the author to deal with some very important as well as highly controversial issues in a light-hearted and playful fashion. Rushdie's philosophy is that everybody should be able to freely express their opinion in writing, "A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return." (O Magazine, April 2003) (1). The story deals with the two main issues at the forefront of modern human consciousness, wealth and religion."

Tags:religion, wealth, Islam, metaphors, icons, Hashim

Abstract
This paper explains that the understanding of the growing prevalence of Islamic fundamentalism is greatly hindered by the tendency of historians to fuse the reasons for its growth with its perceived 'threat', which is often defined more by the political calculations of governments than the objectives of fundamentalist movements. The author points out that this growth is the manifestation of regional politics, social and economic inequalities and reaction against political authoritarianism and that the manifestations of Islamic fundamentalist movements are differentiated by virtue of specific local political structures and the colonial experiences of the individual North African countries. The paper relates that the gulf between the government in Egypt and society is so great that it depends on Al-Azhar to create an impression of religious legitimacy; while the government attempts to respond to concerns about foreign influences in the media, it has given Al-Azhar primary role over censorship of electronic media so that the government can shift the blame if need be.

From the Paper
"Given these simultaneous - and contradictory - impulses, of extension and fragmentation, one could argue that the movement's growth is defined from Western eyes by the implicit threat perceived in its spread. With some justification, the ideas of Hassan al-Banna or Sayyid Qutb, have such a wide currency across North Africa because of their ability to be transferred to different contexts. Hostility against Western notions of the secular state or nationalization is enunciated by 'Abd al-Slam Yasin, for example. In this way, therefore, is the spread of Islamic fundamentalist movements accentuated in Western perspectives by its ideological 'threat'. And yet, in fact, such a threat materializes generally only when these ideas are mobilized to suit the political needs or objectives of the ruler."

Tags:egypt, libya, morocco, tunisia, al-azhar