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In this article the author delves beneath the surface of Shiite higher education in Britain to discover whether it constitutes a case for ‘European Islam’. Juxtaposing the theorisation of Islam in Europe with a commonly unrelated body of scholarship on education and citizenship, it examines a paradox of integrative blending and foreign frames. Understanding Western Shiite education requires recognition of both local identity and transnational ties, as well as the relationships between them. The author focuses on the Shiite Al-Mahdi Institute and the Islamic College in Britain, analysing on the one hand their local profiles, defined by efforts to engage with their Western environment, and on the other hand their organic foreign embedding, whether through state ties or links to educational and religious establishments. Dumont’s concept of hierarchy as ‘encompassment of the contrary’ is invoked to account for this paradoxical relationship, from which emerges a scale of differences between the two institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cet article examine le moda de fonctionnement de l'Etat théocratique safavide iranien à partir du 16ème siècle et les manifestations de la vie culturelle en son sein. Car pour comprendre l'Iran contemporain et la genèse de l'Etat iranien moderne, il importe autant de s'informer au sujet des formes du pouvoir safavide, fanatique et dogmatique, que du chiisme. La brutalité culturelle et l'intolérance religieuse d'hier sont de tragiques inclinations toujours présentes dans Iran d'aujourd'hui. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents international bibliography of sociology of religions 2003. This bibliography is a systematic indexing only of specialized reviews and not of books. Some of the articles mentioned here in this article are: "Pragmatic Consumers and Practical Products: The Success of Pneumacentric Religion Among Women in Latin America's New Religious Economy," by R. Andrew Chestnut; "Religious Protest and Economic Conflict: Possibilities and Constraints on Religious Resource Mobilization and Coalitions in Detroit's Newspaper Strike," by William A. Mirola; "Catholic, Priests and the Political Order: The Political Behavior Catholic Pastors," by Ted G. Jelen; "Constitutional Privilege and Constituting Pluralism: Religious Freedom in National, Global, and Legal Context," by Peter Beyer; "The Re-Emergence of the Church in the Finnish Public Life? Christian Social Work As an Indicator of the Public Status of the Church," by Anne Birgitta Yeung; "The September 11 Tragedy and the Muslim World: Living With Memory and Myth," by Mahmood Monshipouri.

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This paper focuses on the religious communities of Lebanon and the social, economic and political implications of the conflicts in which they are involved. The Maronite Church refers itself back to Saint Maron. An object of persecutions, the Maronites are concentrated in Lebanon and form there the largest Christian community. Since the XIXth century, the Greek Orthodox Church has expended remarkable effort in the direction of a better integration into the Arab world. Of weak numerical importance, the Melkite Catholic community as such does not occupy the forefront of the political scene in Lebanon, with the exception of a few personalities. Thy Syriac Orthodox Church, often called Jacobite, from the name of one of its bishops Jacques Bacadaï, or monophysite, it collaborates actively in the reconciliation going on between the non-chalcedonian Churches and the Orthodox Church. Whether of Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant confession, the Armenians strive to remain in the background of the Lebanese conflict. Other Christians such as Roman Catholics, Chaldeans, Assyrians are relatively few in number. The Sunnis are orthodox Moslems forming an essentially city-dwelling community. Certain fringes of the Sunni community are marked by politico-religious integrism.

The article examines the structural and institutional basis of the ulama and their authority between 1972 and 1973 in the Garut district of Priangan, West Java, Indonesia. Muslim political culture, in particular the powerful role of the Islamic clergy has attracted much attention from students of Islamic culture and society while it continues to challenge the puzzle the west. Islam owes its centuries of existence as an organized religion to the succession of a body of ulama through which the religious orthodoxy has been transmitted. As religious experts, the Indonesian ulama officiate rites of passage ceremonies, lead mosque prayers, educate the masses and offer counsel to individuals in need of help. Despite these multiple services, majority of Indonesian ulama are not paid officials supported by the state of Islamic agencies. They lack a coherent organization of their own. The institutional framework of the ulama which inhibits the development of a broader basis of sociopolitical and religious cooperation is the parochial nature of each ulama's authority and position in Islamic communities depend on their being the sole holders of esoteric but valued religious knowledge, the ulama are compelled to jealousy guard this position against attempts of outside authorities to impinge upon the ulama's moral and social authority in the community. In the absence of state backing, each ulama family seeks the legitimacy of its authority over the community by offering valued services in the form of religious programs and social services to the community. Offering these services free of charge is not only costly and time-consuming but requires an organizational backing from the family itself.