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Background: Bowel cancer screening using faecal immunochemical testing is provided in the United Kingdom with the aim of reducing mortality from colorectal cancer. However, there are low participant rates among ethnic minorities across the United Kingdom. Faith‐placed interventions have the potential to improve screening rates among such populations, but studies examining their effectiveness are scarce. Methods: We delivered a presentation on bowel cancer screening to 204 Muslims in seven mosques in East London (intervention group). All participants completed a questionnaire regarding attitudes, perceptions and knowledge of bowel cancer screening before and after the presentation. Concurrently, we administered the questionnaire to 72 subjects attending a mosque that did not receive the presentation (comparison group). Results: The intervention group showed a greater willingness to do the test (90% vs. 67%, p < 0.001) and to recommend it to others (96% vs. 74%, p < 0.001), ability to complete the test by themselves (94% vs. 56%, p < 0.001) and confidence in noticing symptoms (78% vs. 32%, p < 0.001) after the presentation compared to before. There was a significant difference between the intervention group post‐presentation and the comparison group on intention to do the test (90% vs. 79%, p = 0.02), recommending it to others (96% vs. 83%, p < 0.001), and confidence in their ability to complete the test by themselves (94% vs. 63%, p < 0.001). Conclusion: A culture‐sensitive, faith‐placed health education intervention delivered in mosques can substantially improve knowledge of bowel cancer screening and increase the intention to participate in the screening programme. Patient or Public Contribution: The intervention presentation was developed using insights from four public involvement sessions with four to six members representative of the East London Muslim community. The sessions sought attendees' thoughts on appropriate ways to approach the intervention design for their community and asked for their views on the acceptability, appropriateness of messaging, format/design and likely impact of the presentation. Their views were then utilised to improve the presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Limited research concerning existing inequities in mental health care and support services in the United Kingdom captures perceptions and lived experiences of the significantly underrepresented Muslim population. Methods: Underpinned by social constructivist theory, we used consultation to facilitate public and patient involvement and engagement (PPIE) to identify inequities in mental health care and support experienced by Muslims from minoritised ethnic communities living in deprived areas in Liverpool, UK. The rationale was to (a) better inform standards and policies in healthcare and (b) provide a psychologically safe space to members of the Muslim community to share perceptions and experiences of mental health care and support services. To ensure trustworthiness of the data, member checking was adopted. This paper describes the procedure to achieving this consultation, including our recruitment strategy, data collection and analysis as well as key findings. Findings: Twenty‐seven consultees attended the women's consultation and eight consultees attended the men's consultation. Consultees were from Yemeni, Somali, Sudanese, Egyptian, Algerian, Pakistani and Moroccan communities and share the Islamic faith. Four key interlinked themes were identified from consultees' narratives: (1) broken cycle of trust; (2) an overmedicalised model of care; (3) community mental health prevention initiatives; and (4) culturally conscious training and education. Conclusions: The Muslim population has identified numerous barriers to accessing mental health support and there is a need to resource activities that would aid deeper understanding of mental health support needs through continuous and meaningful community initiatives. This would afford mental health practitioners and organisations opportunities for developing realistic anti‐racism strategies, effectively adopting social prescription, strengthening partnerships and collaborations aimed at supporting delivery of evidence‐based mental health care provisions to tackle mental health inequities. Patient and Public Involvement: This paper reports on the involvement and engagement of Muslims from minoritised ethnic communities living in the Liverpool city region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aimed to assess consumers' knowledge, perception, and practical understanding of food labels. A validated, structured questionnaire was employed for data collection. Data were collected from 1238 respondents covering all eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh using a nonrandomized convenience sampling method. Linear regression analyses were conducted to establish the relationship between demographic attributes and respondents' practical understanding of food labels. The majority of participants (52.5%) actively read food labels when purchasing a product for the first time. Food labels are regarded as “very important” by 56.2% of respondents and “important” by 35.7% of respondents. Label information is prioritized to highlight the importance of clear production and expiration dates (70%), followed by nutritional composition (56.7%) and source of raw material (52.5%). Despite this, over half of the participants demonstrated a limited practical understanding of the nutritional components on labels. The results of our linear regression analysis suggest that individuals within the age range of 18–28, belonging to Muslim communities, residing in the Dhaka and Khulna divisions, being higher educated, possessing a good understanding of nutrition, and being acquainted with the food safety agency of Bangladesh tend to exhibit a greater degree of practical knowledge regarding food labeling when compared to their counterparts. The study emphasizes the importance of clearer label information, particularly for nutritional value, and calls for targeted educational programs to improve consumer understanding of food labels, with a focus on older age groups and expanded educational efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This first article in the 2024 World Affairs special issue examines the Narendra Modi regime in India. Often acerbic political rhetoric is attached to official policies of the regime, creating fear and hopelessness within sections of the population. In this study, five sets of political activities of the government are evaluated. First, cultural authoritarianism became apparent with complicity toward "cow vigilantism," slapping sedition charges against those showing political dissent, banning the history books of selected progressives, and stereotyping sections of the left and liberals as antinationals. Second, the demonetization policy was implemented without adequately following the economic protocols of the state. Third, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill indicates the thwarting of democratic and federalist ideas. Fourth, the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens exercise in Assam demonstrate the communal‐fascist worldview of the regime in profiling population groups. Finally, the sloppy handling of the COVID‐19 pandemic and the new Information Technology rules show the government's callous approach toward science and privacy. By analyzing such political activities, the article points out that majoritarian religious nationalism, coupled with authoritarianism, has been the ideological expression of the Modi regime, coexisting with both state surveillance and electoral democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sri Lanka's postindependence history suggests that continuous efforts by the Sinhala‐Buddhist politicians to reject decentralization created anxiety and distrust among minorities. The state used both Sinhala language and Buddhism to accommodate Sinhala‐Buddhist interests and provide cultural security to Sinhala‐Buddhists who feared that the Sinhala race, Buddhism, and heritage would be threatened with destruction by the Tamil and Muslim separatists and extremists. The state forced the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which demanded a separate state for North and Eastern Tamils, to silence its guns in May 2009. The military defeat of the LTTE did not produce any democratization of the island. Sinhala‐Buddhist extremist forces turned their eyes on Sri Lankan Muslims, whose elites attached to major political parties supported the war against the LTTE. This study examines the politicization of the Sinhala language and Buddhism in Sri Lanka before and after the civil war between the LTTE and the state dominated by the Sinhala‐Buddhists. It argues that Sinhala political elites willingly took measures to centralize power. The major result of centralization is the birth of the state‐seeking, but authoritarian LTTE. It will also provide some useful analysis to examine post‐war tensions between the Muslims and the Sinhala‐Buddhist extremists. Finally, I discuss some solutions to fight the rising authoritarianism to help Sri Lanka enjoy the fruits of modernization and democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Involving people with lived experience is fundamental to healthcare development and delivery. This is especially true for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) services, where holistic and personalised models of care are becoming increasingly important. There is, however, a significant lack of representation of underserved and diverse groups in IBD research, and there are significant barriers to healthcare access and utilisation among minority groups in IBD. IBD centres need to be aware of these experiences to address barriers via service changes, improve interactions with local communities and promote meaningful engagement for improved health outcomes. Methods: A pragmatic community‐based approach was taken to engage with leaders and members of underserved groups across 11 workshops representing Roma, Afro‐Caribbean, people of African descent and the wider black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, Muslim women, refugee community members, deprived areas of South Yorkshire, LGBTQ+ and deaf populations. Thematic analysis of field notes identified patterns of attention across the community groups and where improvements to services were most frequently suggested. Results: Findings demonstrated several barriers experienced to healthcare access and utilisation, including language accessibility, staff attitudes and awareness, mental health and stigma, continuity of support, and practical factors such as ease of service use and safe spaces. These barriers acted as a lever to co‐producing service changes that are responsive to the health and social care needs of these groups. Conclusions: Engaging with people from a range of communities is imperative for ensuring that service improvements in IBD are accessible and representative of individual needs and values. Patient or Public Contribution: Local community leaders and members of community groups actively participated in the co‐design and development of improvements to the IBD service for a local hospital. Their contributions further informed a pilot process for quality improvement programmes in IBD centres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last article of this three‐part series on the Qurʾān and science discusses the creation and development of the scientific miraculousness of the Qurʾān, which claims that the Qurʾān contains scientific findings and has particular scientific features, such as harmonious numerical analogies and formulae, that confirm the divine origin of the text. It became a political‐theological tool used by Muslim preachers and activists across the globe. Unlike scientific interpreters of the Qurʾān, advocates of scientific miraculousness were concerned with not only uniting Muslims and proving God's authority over the universe but also promoting the Qurʾān as a mine of modern science, archaeology, and history, the authenticity of which is unchallengeable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The second installment in a three‐part series on the Qurʾān and science, this article provides a systematic discussion of the scientific interpretation of the Qurʾān both inside and outside the Muslim world. This discussion reveals how Muslims' interactions with Euro‐Americans have kept discourse on the Qurʾān and science alive. It also demonstrates how Muslims promoted this exegetical genre transregionally from the Middle East to Southeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the first installment in a three‐part series on the Qurʾān and science, this article begins with the author's personal and scholarly experiences to demonstrate the importance of the twin trends of Qurʾānic scientific interpretation and Qurʾānic scientific miraculousness, including how both serve as Muslims theological tools. It then touches upon the close relationship between theology and scientific knowledge in the history of Islam. The main focus concerns how science is situated and defined in Islamic literature, with particular references to traditional Muslim commentaries and treatises. It also concerns the way Muslim exegetical figures and traditionalists are encouraged or discouraged from taking science into account based on the Qurʾān and prophetic traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess Muslim physician experiences with religious discrimination and identify strategies for better accommodating Muslim identity in health care. Data Sources and Study Setting: Interviews were conducted with Muslim physicians from three US‐based Muslim clinician organizations between June and August 2021. Study Design: In‐depth, semi‐structured qualitative interviews used a phenomenological approach to describe experiences of religious discrimination and accommodation. A team‐based framework approach to coding was used to inductively generate themes from interview data. Data Collection/Extraction Methods: Physicians from the Islamic Medical Association of North America, American Muslim Health Professionals, and the US Muslim Physicians group were invited to participate using closed organizational listservs. Inclusion criteria sought English‐speaking, self‐identifying Muslims with current or past affiliation with a university hospital in the United States. Potential participants were segmented into groups based on responses to questions about perceived religious discrimination and accommodation. Purposive sampling was used to iteratively approach participants within these groups in order to capture a diverse respondent pool. Interviews stopped after thematic saturation was reached. Principal Findings: Eighteen physicians (11 women and 7 men; mean age: 41.5 [standard deviation = 12.91] years) were interviewed. Nearly all (n = 16) held Islam to be important in their lives. Three overarching themes, with several subthemes, emerged. Participants (1) struggled to maintain religious practices and observances due to unaccommodating organizational structures; (2) experienced religious discrimination, which, in turn, impacted their professional trajectories and, at times, their personal well‐being; and (3) believed that institutions could implement specific educational and policy interventions to advance the religious accommodation of Muslims in health care. Conclusions: Muslim physicians frequently encounter religious discrimination, yet there are concrete ways in which health care workplaces can better accommodate their religious needs and combat discrimination. To improve workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion, educational forums and policies that support the religious practices of physicians need to be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Muslims fast every year during the month of Ramadan from dawn until dusk. This study examined mental well‐being and correlating factors among Nigerian adults who observed Ramadan intermittent fasting (RIF). Methods: A validated generalized anxiety disorder‐2 and Patient Health Questionnaire‐2, the four‐item spiritual well‐being index, and the Islamic intrinsic religiosity questionnaire were used to collect data about mental well‐being (depression, anxiety), spirituality, and intrinsic religiosity through a web‐based survey between the May 9, 2021 (27th of Ramadan, 1442) and the June 4, 2021 (29th of Shawwal, 1442). We studied the mental well‐being of respondents over a period of 4 weeks before Ramadan (BR) and during the 4 weeks of Ramadan between the April 12, 2021 and the May 12, 2021(DR). Multinomial regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with depression and anxiety. This research did not receive any grant or funding. Results: A total of 770 adult Nigerians who observed RIF study were included in this cross‐sectional study. When compared to mental well‐being BR, observing RIF by Nigerian adult respondents was associated with a significant improvement in their mental well‐being. A higher proportion of respondents felt less depressed DR (61.3% vs. 56.5%. <.001). Interest and pleasure in doing things improved DR than BR (p= 0.007) and respondents felt less nervous and anxious (60.7% vs. 57.1%, respectively; p <.001). Mental well‐being was independently associated with sociodemographic characteristics, physical activity, and perceived relationships. Conclusions: This study found significant improvement in mental well‐being DR compared to BR despite the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic. The effect of RIF on mental well‐being needs further research with multicentric studies among different sets of ethnic populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study presented here seeks to determine whether Kuwaiti Christians feel politically and socially integrated, isolated, or even threatened in Kuwait society, as well as to explore their political attitudes and primary social demands. At the same time, the study examines the attitudes and tolerance of Kuwaiti Muslims toward the Christian minority. To that end, two questionnaires were distributed to Christians and Muslims. The results suggest that Christians feel integrated into Kuwaiti society rather than isolated or persecuted. Other results suggest that they are also interested in participating in parliamentary elections and think they should have a quota of seats in the Kuwaiti parliament and a Christian minister in the government. The study also reveals that Kuwaiti Muslims harbor a high level of intolerance toward the Christian minority, which should be a red flag for Kuwaiti government and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wisdom‐based arguments recognize that God has the power to act or refrain from acting in a certain way, but His wisdom dictates a particular course of action. Such arguments have been applied on both sides of the creation/evolution debate among Muslims. This article analyzes a number of contemporary wisdom‐based arguments for and against evolution in light of how God's wisdom is understood by classical Muslim theologians of the three canonical Sunnī schools of Ashʿarism, Māturīdism, and Atharism/Salafism. It finds that there is a considerable disconnect between these contemporary arguments and how God's wisdom has been traditionally understood. It also examines the high level of subjectivity exhibited by these arguments and the potential negative impact this subjectivity could have on the broader debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Minarets on the Horizon: Muslim Pioneers in Canada" is a book by Murray Hogben that explores the history and experiences of Muslim immigrants in Canada. The book is based on interviews with Muslim elders and covers various regions of Canada, including British Columbia, the Maritimes, Alberta, and Ontario. It highlights the contributions and interrelationships between different Muslim communities, including Fijian Muslims, Trinidadians, and post-Ottoman Muslims. While the book emphasizes gratitude and positivity among the interviewees, it also acknowledges setbacks and discrimination faced by the Muslim community, such as Quebec's Bill 21. The book provides valuable primary sources for research and offers a comprehensive perspective on Muslim history in Canada. [Extracted from the article]

Several autosomal recessive disorders that are found among Arabs in Israel were also reported in Saudi Arabia. In a sytematic review of all the variants responsible for autosomal recessive disorders among Muslim Arabs Israel and in Saudi Arabia, 47 shared variants were found, many being known founder variants in both populations. Among the 21 shared variants that were reported among Bedouins 14 were founder variants representing 14% founder/assumed founder variants known in the Bedouins. Many of the common variants are ancient having a Bedouin origin probably linked to the migration from the Saudi Peninsula. It is probable that a similar phenomenon occurred along the route of the Bedouin migrations and indeed some of these variants are present in the corresponding populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, there are a number of popular movies released every year in which Muslims are exemplified as negative characters such as dons, villains, or terrorists. This type of propaganda harms the image of an entire community. Only modern education has enabled Muslims to gain an accepted place with other communities living in India. Hence, Bollywood movies tend to present a peculiar image of Muslims, in their everyday struggles and aspirations, seeking to prove that they are patriotic nationalists. This article draws on two famous movies—Mulk and Shahid—and on my own fieldwork with Muslim communities, which is exemplified by the narratives of a Muslim man named Saleem who hails from Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh and currently lives in Mumbai. Based on those sources, this article sheds light on the humiliations of being a Muslim in India today, the struggles they face, and their aspirations to prove themselves patriots so they might be allowed to live a dignified life. The experiences of Saleem and the characters in the movies reveal that education is an influential instrument in bringing positive change in the life of Muslims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article offers information on the Islamic banking in Oman. Topics discussed include Oman's moderate attitudes, Islamic banking had not previously been allowed in the country; Oman was the only country in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and the only country in the world with a Muslim majority, that did not allow Islamic banking; and the demands of the protesters centered on concerns that particularly troubled the large youth population of Oman.

In 2006, the Turkish Harun Yahya Enterprise published and distributed thousands of copies of its anti‐evolutionary text Atlas of Creation to educational institutes in the West. Although this was little more than a publicity stunt, it resulted in Harun Yahya becoming a mainstay in discussions about creationism in Europe. Although Yahya is often presented as the "go to" representative of European Muslim perceptions of evolution, one would be hard pressed to find the literature about Islamic creationism in Europe that does not engage in a discussion of Harun Yahya. However, little evidence exists to support the notion that Harun Yahya warrants such extensive attention, or that Harun Yahya has a substantive influence among European Muslims. This article will explore existing claims about the popularity of Harun Yahya, before drawing on recent research into Muslim perceptions of evolution to argue that Harun Yahya is relatively unknown among Muslims, at least in the British context, and is not influential even among those who are familiar with his work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder in the Middle East. Topics discussed include anti-Americanism among the world's Muslims, the impact of the Khashoggi affair on the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia and adoption of politico-military polices independent of the U.S. by Saudi Arabia.

This paper estimates the returns to English‐speaking fluency on the socioeconomic outcomes of childhood immigrants. We further investigate whether Muslim childhood immigrants face additional hurdles in economic and social integration into the host country. Motivated by the critical age hypothesis, we identify the causal effects of English skills on socioeconomic outcomes by exploring the differences in the country of origin and age at arrival across childhood immigrants. We first document that all childhood immigrants who migrate from non‐English‐speaking countries at a younger age attain higher levels of English skills. We also find that acquiring better English‐language skills improves the educational attainment and labour and marriage market prospects of non‐Muslim childhood immigrants significantly and increases their participation in volunteer work. However, our results show that while a good command of English enhances the educational attainments of Muslim childhood immigrants, it shows no positive return in either the labour or marriage markets. Our results also show that progress in English fails to improve Muslim childhood immigrants' engagement in voluntary work, meaning that the opportunity for social cohesion is missed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing interest in Islam and evolution, some Islamic thinkers have vehemently rejected evolution, while others have eagerly embraced it. However, those seeking to embrace evolution sometimes err in their interpretation of historical writings. Indeed, there are texts written by famous historical scholars of Islam who seem to suggest that humans have evolved from lower forms of species. These include Ibn Khaldūn, Jalāl ad‐Dīn Rūmī, al‐Jāhiz, and The Brethren of Purity (Ikhwān al Safā). Although this may be true, such readings are a mistaken interpretation of the aforementioned authors who are actually referring to some form of the scalae naturae (the Great Chain of Being). This reference to the Great Chain of Being is unknown to some contemporary readers who mistakenly believe these writers to be discussing an evolutionary or a proto‐evolutionary theory. This article demonstrates how and why these historical records do not actually represent any notion of evolution as it is currently understood, in the hope of avoiding any further erroneous claims that seem to be proliferating among modern thinkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers author's opinion on how Mauritania's authorities have joined leaders of several other Arab states in accusing Qatar of fueling regional instability. It is mentioned that Mauritanian officials' anti-Qatar animus has been evidenced not only in rhetoric but in some concrete actions. The article also discusses the closure of two Muslim Brotherhood-linked Islamic universities and a gradual shift in the direction of prohibiting the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Islamic psychology (IP) community in Europe has recently witnessed a heated debate about the credentials required to participate in the theoretical substantiation of IP and Islamically integrated psychotherapy and counseling. This debate has provided convenient circumstances for Muslim psychologists and Islamic scholars alike to rethink their roles within the flourishing movement. Specifically, the discussions hint toward the importance of adopting a collaborative research methodology for IP, in particular for basic research. The methodology of choice will need to define the necessary qualifications and responsibilities of scholars and psychologists in a collaborative research process (personal collaboration) and evince its capability to appropriately marry knowledge and data, diverging research methods, and perspectives, concepts, and theories from Islamic studies and contemporary psychology (content‐related collaboration). Here, we devise and offer a case illustration of an Islamic Psychology Basic Research Framework (coined the SALAAM Framework). This framework uses the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies (IIS) Model of Interdisciplinary Research, developed by the IIS at the University of Amsterdam. Our first aim is to appropriate the IIS model for the IP literature by applying the model's research process phases and technique for the integration of disparate bodies of knowledge—that is, the identification of common ground—to methodological approaches in the contemporary IP literature. Our second aim is to exemplify the devised SALAAM Framework using the relatively unexplored area of Islamic cognitive theories (ICTs), which remain underdeveloped in contemporary psychological literature, primarily because of a lack of commensurability with the nomenclature of contemporary psychology. We thus provide a primer on the potential scope of ICTs. Toward the end of this article, we discuss the potential of the project of interdisciplinary construction of Islamic psychological theory, and the ability of the SALAAM Framework to establish a research program in IP that centers on cognition. We finally offer our reflections on the distinctiveness of Islamic psychologies in comparison to mainstream and Christian psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are approximately 2.7 million Muslims in the UK, constituting 4.8% of the population. It is estimated that 325 000 UK Muslims have diabetes. Whilst dietary practices of Muslims with diabetes have been explored, little work has described the beliefs and decisions to fast during Ramadan, whereby Muslims with diabetes refrain from eating, drinking and taking medication between sunrise and sunset. Objective: To explore beliefs and experiences of fasting during Ramadan of Muslim respondents with diabetes and their perceptions of the role played by their general practitioner (GP) and/or practice nurse (PN) in supporting them. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: General practices and community groups located in Greater Manchester. Participants: 23 South Asian Muslims. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews were conducted as part of the Collaboration of Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) programme, Greater Manchester. Respondents were recruited using random and purposive sampling techniques. Interviews were analysed thematically using a constant comparison approach. Results: Thirteen respondents reported they fasted and altered diabetes medication and diet during Ramadan. The decision to fast was influenced by pressures from the family and the collective social aspect of fasting, and respondents made limited contact with primary care during fasting. Conclusion: Tensions exist between the respondent's personal desire to fast or not fast and their family's opinion on the matter, with a strong reluctance to disclose fasting to GP and/or PN. Future research needs to explore whether GPs or PNs feel competent enough to support patients who wish to fast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses European anti-semitism and the social conditions of Jews in Europe, including the threats to European Jews from jihadists returning from Middle East conflicts. The role that Israel plays in Muslim attitudes towards European Jews, including in regard to the Israel and Gaza War of 2014, is discussed. An overview of violence against European Jews, including attacks on Jews in Copenhagen, Denmark and Paris, France, is provided. The author maintains that threats to the Jewish community of Europe derives from a minority of the population in Europe, commenting that it is the task of Europe's political leaders to give Jews confidence in their safety.

This contribution analyzes the public discourse on foreigners and Muslims in Switzerland between 2000 and 2009. In Switzerland, as elsewhere in Europe, the Muslim minority has emerged as the main concern for integration in public discourse. What makes Muslims special in the debate on immigration and integration? How does the public discourse on Muslims differ from the portrayal of foreigners in general? A quantitative content analysis of four Swiss newspapers was conducted covering three direct democratic campaigns. While the demographic composition of the Muslim minority has not changed substantially, the way Muslims are perceived in public discourse did. Certain ethnic groups, which are still categorized as foreigners in 2000, are mainly assigned to the Muslim minority in 2009. The latter is seen as a relatively homogeneous group raising other issues than foreigners. These results should lead to question the current academic and political debate on integration in Switzerland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the militant Islamist movement in Southeastern Europe, noting the possible future impact of jihadi fighters who are engaged in the Syrian civil war on the Balkan Peninsula. Topics include the involvement of Islamist fighters in the Bosnian War, the propagation of Wahhabi Islam among Muslims in the former Yugoslavia, and the promotion of terrorism among Balkan Muslims. Also addressed are the social media efforts of Balkan Islamists, the impact of Islamist propaganda on young Bosnians, and the education of Muslim clerics from the Balkans in the Middle East.

The field of medicine provides an important window through which to examine the encounters between religion and science, and between modernity and tradition. While both religion and science consider health to be a 'good' that is to be preserved, and promoted, religious and science-based teachings may differ in their conception of what constitutes good health, and how that health is to be achieved. This paper analyzes the way the Islamic ethico-legal tradition assesses the permissibility of using vaccines that contain porcine-derived components by referencing opinions of several Islamic authorities. In the Islamic ethico-legal tradition controversy surrounds the use of proteins from an animal (pig) that is considered to be impure by Islamic law. As we discuss the Islamic ethico-legal constructs used to argue for or against the use of porcine-based vaccines we will call attention to areas where modern medical data may make the arguments more precise. By highlighting areas where science can buttress and clarify the ethico-legal arguments we hope to spur an enhanced applied Islamic bioethics discourse where religious scholars and medical experts use modern science in a way that remains faithful to the epistemology of Islamic ethics to clarify what Islam requires of Muslim patients and healthcare workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioethics and health researchers often turn to Islamic jurisconsults ( fuqahā') and their verdicts ( fatāwā) to understand how Islam and health intersect. Yet when using fatwā to promote health behavior change, researchers have often found less than ideal results. In this article we examine several health behavior change interventions that partnered with Muslim religious leaders aiming at promoting organ donation. As these efforts have generally met with limited success, we reanalyze these efforts through the lens of the theory of planned behavior, and in light of two distinct scholarly imperatives of Muslim religious leaders, the ʿilmī and the islāhī. We argue for a new approach to health behavior change interventions within the Muslim community that are grounded in theoretical frameworks from the science of behavior change, as well the religious leadership paradigms innate to the Islamic tradition. We conclude by exploring the implications of our proposed model for applied Islamic bioethics and health research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Iran's efforts in Lebanon in 1979, with the fall of the revolutionary unity in the country. It says that the concerns regarding the ideology of the new regime divided factions against the shah under Ayatollah Khomeini. It says that the radicals and moderates have formed approaches to issues while optimizing their influence to promote agendas over Syria and Lebanon. It adds that the Islamic aspect of the 1979 revolution offered a resistance model for Muslims in Lebanon.

A robust literature on ingroup versus outgroup conflict suggests that perceived discrimination may be an important factor in intergroup aggression. Yet, to date, no studies have tested the hypothesis that the perception of being the victim of anti-Muslim discrimination might be associated with support for anti-Western political violence. We undertook an analysis of two Pew Global Attitudes Surveys: (1) a 2006 data set surveying 1,627 adult Muslim residents of Great Britain, France, Germany, and Spain and (2) a 2007 data surveying 1,050 adult Muslim residents of the United States. Our analyses support the conclusions that younger age and perceived discrimination are both associated with support of suicide bombing in these Muslim diaspora populations. Study 1 found that a bad experience of discrimination increased the odds of justifying suicide bombing among European Muslims by a factor of 3.4. Study 2 found that experienced discrimination was associated with justification of suicide bombing among American Muslims. If further investigations confirm that perceived discrimination is a risk factor for support for political violence, initiatives to reduce discrimination would theoretically reduce the risk of terrorism. We discuss the challenge of breaking the vicious cycle of intergroup prejudice and radicalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2001 there has been a steadily increasing awareness of discrimination against Muslims based on their religion. Despite the widespread use of the neologism Islamophobia to refer to this phenomenon, this term has been harshly criticized for confounding prejudiced views of Muslims with a legitimate critique of Muslim practices based on secular grounds. In the current research a scale was developed to differentiate Islamoprejudice (based on the influential Islamophobia definition of the British Runnymede Trust) and Secular Critique of Islam. Across two studies, Islamoprejudice was related to explicit and implicit prejudice, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation whereas Secular Critique was unrelated to any forms of prejudice but negatively related to religiosity and authoritarianism. The two scales were mostly independent or only moderately related. Importantly, the new Islamoprejudice scale outperformed all other scales in predicting actual opposition versus support for a heatedly debated, newly built mosque. These results demonstrate the necessity to differentiate between Islamoprejudice and Secular Critique in future research on attitudes towards Islam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Egyptian elections held on January 30, 2011, in which the Islamist political group the Muslim Brotherhood won the majority of seats in the Egyptian Parliament. Topics include assertions from non-Islamist Egyptians of voter fraud, the Egyptian electoral process, and the various political groups vying for power in Egypt which includes the democratic non-Muslim Salafists, the Wafd Party, and the Egyptian Bloc. Information is provided on the voting requirements that may have influenced the outcome.

ABSTRACT Medieval Muslim scholars unequivocally prohibited the torture of prisoners of war out of a concern for maintaining theoretical constructs about the boundaries of the Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Muslim scholars worried that the torturing prisoners of war would compromise values and ideals predicated on such constructs, and that the demands of citizenship trumped any benefit to the Muslim community that might accrue from torture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In early 2010, a series of reports appeared in the influential liberal-conservative Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten drawing attention to what appeared to reporters to be a self-appointed, de facto Muslim 'morality police' attempting to use harassment to exert social control over non-hijab-wearing women of immigrant background and gay men in the district of Grønland in the inner city of Oslo. What came to be known in Norway as the 'morality-police debate' demonstrated the extent to which the figure of the Muslim male as an embodied threat to Norway's presumed relative gender equality and lack of homophobia had come to be embedded in the country's media and political discourse. This article suggests that the debate can tell us much about why certain tropes central to Norway's anti-Muslim discourses have gained such currency across the Norwegian political board in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on terror management theory, previous research has shown that terrorism threat increases prejudice against Muslims and is mediated by death-related thoughts. Because this effect was found on a correlational level, it remains unclear whether terrorism threat increases prejudice against Muslims because of enhanced death-related thoughts or the opposite: terrorism threat increases death-related thoughts because of stronger prejudice against Muslims. To disentangle this shortcoming, we varied death-related thoughts by systematically manipulating the belief in literal immortality. Using two studies, we found that participants exposed to terrorism pictures (vs. controls) had increased prejudice against both Muslims (Study 1) and immigrants (Study 2) when they were led to believe that literal immortality does not exist but not when they were led to believe that it does exist. Mediation analysis indicated that this effect was mediated by death-related thoughts. This provides further evidence that terrorism threat increases prejudice because of death-related thoughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the political parties and tendencies typically labeled "right-wing" in Europe as of 2012. The author argues that the right-wing label is simplistic and inaccurate. He looks at parties including the French National Front (FN) headed by Marine Le Pen, the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) headed by Geert Wilders, and the Vlaams Belang in Belgium. He says these parties are often lumped together with neo-Nazi groups and points out that they are mostly pro-Israel and anti-Muslim. He says grouping them together obscures their varied economic views, which extend from right to left. Topics include views of Muslim immigrants, appeals to working-class voters, and "political correctness." Also discussed are the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and German politican Michael Sarrazin.

The article profiles two men who were active participants in extremist Islamist groups in Great Britain and then reversed course, leaving the groups and speaking out publicly against Islamism. The author argues that such individuals have important insights to the development of U.S. and Western anti-terrorism policy. Pakistani-British Shiraz Maher joined the group Hizb ut Tahrir (HT) after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the U.S. Reasons cited for his turning against it include study of Islamic texts and the 2005 terror attacks in London, England. Indian-British Rashad Ali followed a similar trajectory. Comments from him are presented on the psychological power of Islamist acculturation. The author critiques multiculturalist government policies aimed at countering extremism.

The article looks at the cultural dimension of the fraught and conflictual relationship between the U.S. and many Muslims and Muslim countries as of 2011. The author identifies elements of American culture, including material acquisitiveness, individualism, and hedonism, which he says Muslims find contrary to Islamic values of thrift and self-restraint. He notes that U.S. analysts typically discount the cultural dimension of U.S.-Muslim relations and says this leads to erroneous interpretations of events, citing the scandal over U.S. soldiers' treatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.

The meaning of traditional and alternative measures of religiosity in a majority Muslim context is examined using the Islamic Social Attitudes Survey (ISAS). Specifically, this article reports a test of whether traditional religiosity measures are useful in a majority Muslim context. Differences between men and women are explored as well as the extent to which demographics, schools of thought, and religious socialization are significantly correlated to religious salience and religious experience. Results suggest the need to use alternative measures of Islamic religiosity and to take gender difference into account. Islamist political affiliation and religious socialization are positively associated with religious salience and experience for women, while more traditional measures such as mosque attendance and Qur'anic reading are associated with religious salience and experience for men, even after controlling for religious sect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minorities may define themselves at a superordinate (e.g., national) level and also at a subgroup (minority) level. However, others' recognition of such dual identifications cannot be guaranteed. This paper investigates how members of a minority (Muslims in the UK) constructed their superordinate and subgroup identities in such a way as to assert a commonality with British non-Muslims whilst asserting their religious subgroup's distinctiveness. Reporting qualitative data obtained through interviews ( N = 28), the analysis explores how British Muslims negotiated concerns over commonality and distinctiveness through describing themselves as being British in a Muslim way. The implications of these self-definitions for the theorization of dual identities, their recognition, and intergroup relations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a case study of a graveyard dispute in Numuyel, a Serahuli village in eastern Gambia, this article argues that conflicts between local Muslim communities are not so much a matter of how differently they bury their dead but of how differently they 'live' Islam in daily practice. It illustrates that graveyards are more than burial sites; they are spatial representations of the ways social order, religious authority, and political legitimacy are constructed. Although focusing on a dispute in a small West African village, the case has far wider applications in that it offers a window onto the impact of reformist Islam on local Islamic traditions and is linked to questions of how space is related to the formation of Muslim identity, how Muslim identities are (re)negotiated in daily life, how Islamic knowledge is defined, and who holds the power and authority to determine 'true Islam'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I use the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia to examine whether the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 (9/11) led to changes in perceptions of discrimination among Muslim immigrants and immigrants who fit the Muslim-Arab stereotype. I adopt a difference in differences approach and exploit the timing of interviews to identify the causal effect of 9/11 on perceptions. I find that consequent to 9/11, Muslim men and those who look like Muslims increasingly reported religious and racial intolerance and discrimination relative to other immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the study of nonfiction texts in education to help American middle school and high school students learn about Islam and Muslim culture in light of what the author views as stereotypes and misinformation that became common after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The author discusses several texts including "Islam: Worship, Festivals, and Ceremonies From Around the World" by T. Barnes, "Islam Explained" by Tahar Ben Jelloun, and "Islam: Opposing Viewpoints" by W. Dudley and suggests that they can help educators teach about critical literacy, cultural diversity, and marginalized groups. Other topics include addressing the role of women in Muslim culture, teaching students about worldviews, and addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with students.