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This paper explores the distinction between "secular" and "Koranic" schooling and literacy in South Asia. It begins by tracing an archaeology of the distinction between secular "literacy" and religious "illiteracy". It locates the emergence of the distinction in the colonial census of the 19th century, in the development of "English" education, and the responses within madrasa schools. The second part locates these debates and their on-going importance within a contemporary ethnographic setting. It examines the relevance of the distinction in relation to women's literacy practices. The paper argues that both secular and religious literacy practices are significant for women's status and well-being, and illustrates the centrality of religious reading and learning in Bangladesh. The paper challenges the conventional distinction between religious and secular schooling and literacy, noting their complementary and overlapping nature.

This paper features a discussion of how educators can channel anthropological practices towards the enhancement of experiential learning (EL) teaching methods, particularly on the topic of religion across the Asia-Pacific. I argue that our capacity to achieve curricular objectives through EL calls for an attentiveness to the affinity between the empirical challenges confronted by ethnographers, who work to create rapport between researcher and subject, and classroom teachers who seek to cultivate a conducive learning environment beyond the classroom walls. I show the pedagogical implications of the ways anthropologists have operationalized their discipline's "critical turn" by highlighting two experiential domains: (1) through activities of "uncomfortable" stereotype self-inventory and (2) through a dialogic pedagogy that pursues meaningful learning outcomes through the "struggle" to recognize inter-cultural and religious agency among students.

The common understanding of Islam tends to consider religious conversion as a matter of individual and rational belief and consisting, first and foremost, of attesting to the oneness of God ("shahada"). In this paper I argue that divergences exist among schools of Islamic Law concerning the modes and types of conversion. Contrary to Muslim jurists in the first centuries of Islam, jurists from later epoques shifted the debate about Islamic conversion from a theoretical and individual attitude towards conversion to include more practical and collective considerations. I refer to this change in attitude as a change from "religious" to "social" conversion. Taking the Fatawa al-Hindiyya al-'Alamjiriyya, a compendium of Islamic law from seventeenth-century South Asia, as a case study, I argue that the structure of South Asian society impacted seventeenth-century Muslim jurists' perspective regarding conversion to Islam.

Urges that the search for origins of European exploration extend to Africa and East Asia and their international trade. Cites contributions of India and the Arabs, Chinese, and Malaysians. Emphasizes the importance of mathematics, navigation, and sailing technology. Argues that without these contributions the European voyages would not have been possible. (DK)

There is a growing body of research on family relationships and the nature of family violence in Muslim-majority countries of Asia. However, patterns and trends around family dynamics and violence do not remain static. Despite the diversity of South Asian societies, all are being influenced by a constellation of globalized social, economic, political and religious forces that manifest in unique ways in different contexts. To date, there is little written about the implications for women's rights and gendered violence when globalization remolds religious, cultural, geographic and other social realities. This critical review presents a review of feminist literature on gender, family and violence in Asian Muslim-majority countries - notably Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh - from a feminist globalization theoretical perspective. The article uses the Maldives as a case study to map how globalized socio-economic and political trends are changing the terrain of family and society in ways that both advance and retract women's rights and contribute to their increased risk of violence. This paper advances the literature on feminist perspectives on family relationships by demonstrating the importance of considering localized problems within a global sphere. This approach will allow researchers to systematically assess the influence of global processes on changing family relations and implications for family structures. The paper concludes with applications for feminist approaches to globalization, gender and violence. In particular, an increased focus on global processes and the shifting dynamics of family relationships will better inform global feminist activism, and feminist activism in Asian Islamic communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how growing conservatism among Muslims in Malaysia has been manifested in the architecture and urban design of Putrajaya, Malaysia’s new capital. Rather than drawing on vernacular design traditions or developing a design idiom that recognises a religiously and ethnically diverse population, the state has recently adopted a fantasy Middle Eastern style for secular national buildings in Putrajaya. In this paper, recent architectural change is examined as a manifestation of social, political and religious trends as well as a demonstration of how Putrajaya’s design can reinforce existing social hierarchies and legitimise the ideological agenda of the state. It is suggested that there are various reasons for the adoption of ‘High Islam’ that relate to broader transnational religious change, Malaysian identity politics and nation-building, and lingering influences of the colonial occupation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It has been suggested that cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) needs adaptation for it to be effective for patients from collectivistic cultures, as currently CBT is underpinned by individualistic values. In prior studies we have demonstrated that CBT could be adapted for Pakistani patients in Southampton, UK, and for local populations in Pakistan. Findings from these studies suggest that CBT can be adapted for patients from collectivistic cultures using a series of steps. In this paper we focus on these steps, and the process of adapting CBT for specific groups. The adaptation process should focus on three major areas of therapy, rather than simple translation of therapy manuals. These include (1) awareness of relevant cultural issues and preparation for therapy, (2) assessment and engagement, and (3) adjustments in therapy. We also discuss the best practice guidelines that evolved from this work to help therapists working with this population. We reiterate that CBT can be adapted effectively for patients from traditional cultures. This is, however, an emerging area in psychotherapy, and further work is required to refine the methodology and to test adapted CBT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Gamete donation is one of the emerging issues, and different schools of thought have discussed its legitimation and consequences. This problem can be raised in Islamic countries in order to find an appropriate solution for it.This paper explains different aspects of the subject and attest the gamete donation legitimacy in Asian countries by valid religious reasons. Various views among Shiite and Sunni jurisprudents and accepted tenets in other religions will be examined as well. In addition, culture, as one of the major challenges facing this issue, will be studied. Materials and Methods: The present study uses documentary and library methodology. Gamete donation engages religious, and at times, social requisites. The paper tries to focus on monotheistic religions, given the variety of religions in Asian countries. Results: In many Asian countries, cultural and religious backgrounds have practical influence on implementation of this new technique. The truth is that most Islamic countries gamete donation is banned. Yet, very few Islamic countries have adopted this treatment method. Conclusions: Attitudes toward this modern method of treatment drastically vary among Islamic and non-Islamic countries. Laws governing these countries are definitely affected by religious diversity in this continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Interest in Asian business and management practices developed during the Japanese business emergence in the 1980s. The rise of the Asian tigers in the early 1990s and the emergence of China and India in global business affairs during the last decade have kept up the momentum of interest. This paper contemplates the question as to whether specific Asian paradigms of business and management actually exist. The author takes a look at Confucianism, Sun Tzu's military strategies, Buddhism, and Islam as possible paradigms. However upon a superficial look at these paradigms, there appears more influence on Western management thought than Asian management thinking, excepting Confucianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide attack has become a dangerous trend in the contemporary history of some Asian societies. While it has been used by some people as a means of protest, it has been largely rejected by humanity for its severe debilitating effects. Instances of suicide attack can be found in the contexts of the Israel-Palestine conflict, September 11 attacks, Bali bombing, Sunni-Shiite disagreement, struggle of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, as well as the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan by foreign powers. The recent contours of suicide attacks are basically largely related to various groups or organizations. The paper therefore examines the meaning, brief history, and the causes of suicide attack, and analyzes these within the purview of contemporary Islamic thought which is based on the textual arguments of the Qur'an and Sunnah. The paper concludes that though a tiny fraction of the whole Muslim spectrum tries to justify the suicide attack as a "weapon of the weak", the majority of the Muslim scholars has viewed it as a crime against humanity and therefore vehemently rejects this practice in any form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"This paper attempts to discuss the general trends in the incidence of divorce among the Muslim population in Singapore since 1921 and the patterns of divorce in the 1980s when detailed statistics were made available.... The Singapore Muslims experienced an extremely high and steady incidence of divorce during the period up to 1958 when the procedures for processing divorce petitions were not well organised. Following the introduction of new legislation and the creation of the Syariah Court to handle marital disputes in 1958, there occurred an immediate and dramatic downturn in the rate of Muslim divorce. By 1970 the decline appeared to have stalled and a slight upturn has even taken place in the 1980s." The impact of rapid social and economic development is assessed. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND ITA), (excerpt)

Shaykh Kishk's pulpit sermons dominated the political scene in Egypt and beyond. For 20 years (1961-1981) when he held sway at the 'Ayn al- Hayāt Mosque in Cairo as the Imam, Kishk's fearless sermons were a reference point to his admirers and the less privileged. He was actively involved in the campaigns for socio-political justice in Egypt. This blind Egyptian scholar was imprisoned twice because of his powerful Friday sermons that often led to public outrage against the despotic governments throughout the Middle East. Though the Egyptian Government appointed him as an employee Imam, he refused to be silenced by the government-prepared sermons until he was sacked in 1981. The significance of his khutbah (sermon) lies in their relevance to the socio-political situations in most Gulf countries. This paper navigates the content and style of Kishk's khubah presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Immigrants tend to have lower rates of cancer screening than non-immigrants in Canada. Inequity in screening rates may stem from religious factors, which religious leaders can influence. This study aimed to explore the knowledge and attitudes held by Muslim religious leaders about cancer screening, as well as the role religious leaders perceive they can play in improving cancer screening health literacy among South Asian Muslim immigrant women. Methods: We conducted interviews with 8 Muslim religious leaders in Calgary, Canada. Participants' knowledge and attitudes were inductively summarized using descriptive analysis, while practices were deductively thematically analyzed using the Socioecological Model and the Communication for Development approaches. Results: We found participants mostly had some knowledge of cancer, but lesser knowledge of different screening tests and of low screening rates among immigrants. Participants proposed that their role as a speaker, access to facilities and community networks, and collaboration with universities and healthcare professionals could help overcome religious misinterpretations and promote cancer screening among South Asian Muslim immigrant women. Conclusion : Religious leaders were highly supportive of incorporating health messaging into faith-based messaging. Future work should focus on implementing the practices recommended in this study with South Asian Muslim immigrant women's voices at their center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers some demographic aspects of the world's Moslem population. Main sources of information are evaluated, and a definition is laid down for a Moslem country. Proportions of Moslem population are given for some 20 Asiatic and 30 African countries. Geographical distribution of Moslem countries as well as of the total world population are studied in some detail with due attention being devoted to Moslem minorities in non-Moslem countries such as China and the USSR. Population density, annual growth rate, life expectancy, age and language distributions are among the demographic features discussed comparatively at country and continent levels. Special attention is given to urbanization in the Moslem world. Finally future trends are discussed by using the usual statistical methods. It is thus established that by the year 2000 the proportion of world's Moslem population will rise to 22.4% as compared with 18.3% in 1975 and that the pressure on natural resources of the Moslem countries will be more than twice that in 1975 which is an alarming fact. It is hoped that the study will assist Moslem leaders in adopting sound population policies in their respectivie countries.

The author examines population size, distribution, and growth in Iran using data for 1966, 1976 census data, and some historical data for the nineteenth century. "This paper discusses changes in the size of population through time, population distribution, and regional patterns of population growth of the 23 provinces. It has been argued in this paper that because of a large family size norm as a religious duty to increase the numbers of the Islamic faith, early age at marriage, especially among females, common practice of polygamy, and the war with Iraq, population will grow even faster. It is concluded that population policy must be integrated into the national development plans.", (excerpt)

This article surveys the arrivals of Muslim refugees from countries in Southeast Asia who have not only come to Malaysia for political refuge, but who have also stayed on, in many instances integrating into the local Muslim community. The author concludes that Burmese, Thai, and Filipino Muslim refugee-cum-migrants, and the estimated 500,000 illegal Indonesian migrant workers in East and Peninsular Malaysia make the presence of economic migrants in Malaysia's towns and rural sectors a far more pressing concern to Malaysians than that posed by the arrival of genuine political refugees. Only the Indonesians present in Malaysia are consistently termed by all parties as illegal migrants and some of them have been subjected to well-publicized deportation by the Malaysian immigration authorities. Sympathy for fellow-Muslims in distress explains Malaysia's open-door policy to Muslim refugees. The Koran specifically enjoins Muslims to assist Muslim refugees who have been persecuted by others. However, the necessity to maintain regional political and military alliances, principally as a bulwark against Communism, and the Malay--Non-Malay, Muslim--Non-Muslim dichotomy in Malaysia which almost evenly divides Malaysia's 16 million population into mutually antagonistic halves, results in any overt public policy in favor of Malays and Muslims to be immediately denounced by the other half of the population as a move against the Non-Malays and Non-Muslims. Without political and media attention, the refugees live wherever they can find work, as do hundreds of thousands of mainly Indonesian illegal migrant workers. They surreptitiously get their children admitted to public schools, and through bribery, can even get Malaysian identification papers. Malaysia is a relatively tranquil haven for Malaysia's Muslim refugees compared to their homelands, but their continued stay remains dependent on the ever-present struggle for more equitable sharing of political and economic power between the different ethnic groups in Malaysia. At present, it is deemed inopportune to discuss publicly the issue of Muslim refugees in Malaysia. To do so would be to invite strong emotional responses from Malaysian Muslim groups objecting to refugee repatriation to what they see as continued persecution in Southeast Asia's non-Muslim countries, and from non-Muslim Malaysians who see in their continued presence a possible long-term demographic threat. Furthermore, the presence of Muslim evacuees granted refugee status brings painful memories as to why non-Muslim refugees principally from Indochina were denied such a similar privilege.

After the September 11th attacks on New York city, the American public became acutely aware of Islam and different variations of islam including extremist and radical perspectives. On the contrary, the common man hardly knows anything about Buddhism and Hinduism. Buddhism and Hinduism appear to be totally off the media's radar except when Tibet is on the news or when some scandal surfaces at the Hare Krishna temple and Hollywood parodies the Indian gurus in their movies. Yet, Hinduism and Buddhism are practiced by a large number of people in Asia and growing exponentially in Europe and in the Americas. The exodus of Tibetans to other parts of the world has contributed to the growing popularity of Tibetan culture and Buddhism. In Taiwan there are more than 200 Buddhist centers and in France more people call themselves Buddhist than Protestant or Jew. The two religions share the same core concepts that include 'dharma' (duty), 'karma' (one's actions and consequences) and 'ahimsa' (non-violence). Buddhism claims to be the world's first 'universal' philosophy. The teachings of Buddha are understood by Buddhists to be valid and applicable to all mankind regardless of their different historical and social backgrounds. The concept of 'ahimsa' is more pronounced in Buddhism and along with the concept of inter-connectedness, Hindu and Buddhist principles have significant potential environmental and ecological implications. The media by nature is biased towards controversial, violent and conflicting events and situations, thus giving more prominence to Islam than to any other religion. Hinduism and Buddhism being pacifist in outlook hardly get the same exposure as Islam and that too rarely, only if some conflict arises between religious and communal factions as in Hindu-Muslim riots in India and Chinese-Tibetans confrontations in Tibet. This paper dentifies and analyzes the content of recent news stories dealing with various religions and see the frequency and 'bias' of the stories covered by the U.S. cable and TV networks. It is anticipated that the mainstream media would cover the two religions more comprehensively because of the underlying 'connectedness' of the two religions to nature and global environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By the late 1950s many countries in Asia had become politically independent and actively sought the development of their nations. Decision makers in these countries became more involved with promoting policies which would stabilize and protect their political systems and improve the living standards of their citizens. Contrary to the above statements, Islam does not give full political participation to women because of old, traditional, religious reasons. Religious interpretations with traditional values have given what seem to be convincing justification for the limited role of women in politics and involvement in decision making. This paper examines the compatibility of Islam with the extension of women's rights. The latter is an element of democratization. Attention is paid to social complexities within Muslim societies and religious distinctions within Islam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Missionaries have flocked to the Kyrgyz Republic ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Evangelical-Pentecostal and Tablighi missions have been particularly active on what they conceive of as a fertile post-atheist frontier. But as these missions project their message of truth onto the frontier, the dangers of the frontier may overwhelm them. Based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork amongst foreign and local Tablighis and evangelical-Pentecostals, this article formulates an analytic of the frontier that highlights the affective and relational characteristics of missionary activities and their effects. This analytic explains why and how missionaries are attracted to the frontier, as well as some of the successes and failures of their expansionist efforts. In doing so, the article reveals the potency of instability, a feature that is particularly evident in missionary work, but also resonates with other frontier situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the International Seminar on Islamic Thought. The conference attracted a sizeable number of participants from within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region and beyond. The large contingent of presenters was placed on thematic panels designed to cover the following topics: ethics, psychology, education, the environment and technology, theology, philosophy, gender, social development, economics, civilization, and Quranic studies. The organizers divided the panels into specific time-slots. The languages of presentation were Bahasa Melayu, English, and Arabic. Given the large number of presenters, it is difficult to highlight all aspects of this conference. Therefore, interested readers are advised to get hold of the CD that contains all of the papers that were presented or sent for inclusion.

The increase in global migration means more immigrants are ageing in host countries with unique experiences and needs. Muslim immigrants in Canada are from diverse ethnocultural communities and experience unmet health and social needs in older age. A community‐based participatory research project was conducted in Alberta, Canada, in 2017–2018 to understand the experiences and needs of healthy ageing in this population. A community advisory committee participated in all phases of the research project including initial framing of the research focus, recruitment, data collection and data analysis. In total, 67 older adults and stakeholders from South Asian, Arab and African Muslim communities participated in one of 23 individual interviews or seven focus group discussions over a 1‐year period. Participants were asked about their experiences of growing old in Canada, unmet health and social needs, and community perspectives on healthy ageing. All data were audio‐taped and transcribed verbatim. Interpreters were used for non‐English speaking participants. Data were thematically analysed with a focus on social isolation and loneliness. Using an exclusion lens two major themes were identified: (a) intersections of exclusion: ageism, sexism, racism, and; (b) strategies for inclusion: local, national, transnational. Findings highlight both the vulnerability of Muslim immigrant older adults and their capacity for agency. The study findings point to the intersecting influences of exclusionary practices on social isolation and loneliness in immigrant older adults and the need to incorporate an exclusion lens in developing social policies and programs for healthy ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia is building a child protection system where primary preventions aim to support families and intervention is based on community-based care options rather than the current reliance on institutional care. Social work has been identified as the lead profession in this structural change. This requires social work to be better recognized as a profession in Indonesian society. This article outlines exploratory research in establishing a role for social work in child protection in Indonesia. Key learning outlines the need for global collaboration and the need for an indigenous Indonesian approach to the identity of social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the project represented in the articles of this special section of South Asian History and Culture, as well as the articles that will appear in a subsequent issue this year. The editors of this project reconstruct a conversation on surprising resonances in subaltern sources in Pashto and Bengali of early twentieth-century grassroots indigenous traditions of radical Muslim egalitarianism. What should we make of these resonances? Building on Latin American decolonization theory in the wake of Subaltern Studies, we introduce a series of articles that together illustrate what Ramon Grosfoguel calls a ‘pluriverse’ of perspectives on the ethical self: some rooted in the local lifeworlds of Bengal and some in the Afghan borderland; all interlinked through a series of ‘middle actors’. In so doing, we excavate some dense but hidden two-way traffic between subaltern worlds of Muslim piety and devotion on two distant ends of South Asia, and all-India, international or cosmopolitan politics. These together helped constitute a surprising amount of what we know as the South Asian left, from what are usually seen as its geographical, social, and especially intellectual peripheries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Colorectal cancer screening uptake within the South Asian population in England is approximately half that of the general population (33 % vs 61 %), and varies by Muslim (31.9 %), Sikh (34.6 %) and Hindu (43.7 %) faith background. This study sought to explore reasons for low uptake of CRC screening in South Asian communities and for the variability of low uptake between three faith communities; and to identify strategies by which uptake might be improved.Methods: We interviewed 16 'key informants' representing communities from the three largest South Asian faith backgrounds (Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism) in London, England.Results: Reasons for low colorectal cancer screening uptake were overwhelmingly shared across South Asian faith groups. These were: limitations posed by written English; limitations posed by any written language; reliance on younger family members; low awareness of colorectal cancer and screening; and difficulties associated with faeces. Non-written information delivered verbally and interactively within faith or community settings was preferred across faith communities.Conclusions: Efforts to increase accessibility to colorectal cancer screening in South Asian communities should use local language broadcasts on ethnic media and face-to-face approaches within community and faith settings to increase awareness of colorectal cancer and screening, and address challenges posed by written materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isna ‘Ashari and Isma‘ili Shi‘ism: from South Asia to the Indian Ocean, edited by Dr Justin Jones of Oxford University and Dr Ali Usman Qasmi of the Lahore University of Management Sciences, is our fifth special issue in recent years. Its articles, by scholars from a range of disciplines - history, religious studies, anthropology, political science - explore the historical and contemporary dynamics of various South Asian Shi’i communities living in, and moving between, places that border the Indian Ocean. Indeed, taken en masse, they demonstrate the enduring vitality of these communities, whose members have responded in a range of ways to the opportunities and challenges of the complex religious, social and political context of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reflects on a study conducted to explore the therapeutic impact of including culturally and religiously adapted ceremonies within testimonial therapy with torture survivors. It discusses on the development of testimonial therapy, Asian healing practice and interception, embodied spirituality and healing. It suggests a need to study the potential benefit of including mindfulness, an embodied approach facilitating interception, and other spiritual practices into trauma treatment.

This essay makes an attempt to reconceptualise the construct of ethos, also termed as source credibility (Hovland et al., 1953), on the canvas of Bangladeshi cultural perspectives from an Asia-centric viewpoint. Taking Bangladeshi syncretistic cultural tradition as the conceptual foundation, the present authors sketch the configuration of ethos by extracting thoughts and ideas from the religious documents of both Islam and Hinduism, two juxtaposed, yet antithetical, religions of Bangladesh. It was found that Bangladeshi religious-philosophical discourses transcended the existing Western structural standpoint on the source credibility construct, and offered a comprehensive functional approach as to heralding a prospective arena of further inquiry. Implications of such findings in future research have been suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationships between Orthodoxy and Islam have been largely determined by the experience of the centuries-long subjugation of the Balkans to the Ottoman Turkish Empire, which made it difficult to weaken ethno-religious identification. The Balkan wars of the 1990s further poisoned the relationships as many Orthodox fear the advance of a militant Islam from Asia. First I survey the antagonistic views of two prominent Serbian anti-Muslim writers. Then I present attempts at dialogue and mutual understanding in terms of actual meetings that took place. There are only a few theoretical voices in the Orthodox and Muslim communities advocating dialogue and cooperation, such as those of a lay Orthodox theologian, Marko Djuric, and of a professional Muslim theologian, Ismail Bardhi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among ancient Islamic tombstones in the Malay world, the style known as batu Aceh is an unique source for the regional history of Islam because of its sophistication and wide distribution, from southern Thailand to south Sulawesi, as well as the richness of its epigraphical data. Systematic studies initiated a century ago have yielded several typologies, including one by the author based on five basic shapes. Several indications point seemingly to the appearance of this style at the beginning of the 15th century in the Lhokseumawe area, the former centre of the Pasai sultanate. Batu Aceh, which were made of sandstone, appear to represent a break with other contemporary or older traditions observed locally. Yet similarities have been identified with architectural features in Central Java dating to the 9th century, and with Siamese funerary monuments. Batu Aceh were intended mostly for sultans, high ranking individuals, their relatives, and probably high profile merchants. After a sharp decline and disappearance in some areas between the second quarter of the 18th century and mid-19th century, probably in connection with the emergence of orthodox movements, batu Aceh experienced a revival still visible in north Sumatra (Barus), Kedah, Pahang, and Penang. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the complex web of perceptions between the two worlds of Islam. Pakistani madrasahs are often depicted as nests breeding fanaticism while the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent are often perceived as problematic because of the inability of their regimes to contain terror. It also offers a look at how Asia and Southeast Asia are perceived in the Middle East. It surveys some research institutes in the Arab world that have developed an interest in Southeast Asia.

Most academic experts within the International Relations (IR) community and other, more specialized disciplines, failed to predict or warn government policymakers and the public of the possibility that events of 9/11 magnitude could take place on the U.S. homeland. Given that long-term investigation of trends in world affairs is one of the sources that has always informed policy analysis, this represents an interesting question to examine. The analysis contained in this assessment suggests that the ontological, methodological, and conceptual problems within and between the disciplines, combined with a skewed absorption with the prospect of developments in Asia, created a gap in the knowledge about Islamic terrorism and groups like Al Qaeda, which in turn caught most of the academic community unaware on 9/11. This article performs a quantitative study to determine the nature and scope of this apparent analytical failure on the part of academics in IR and other specialized disciplines to predict 9/11 and aims to address why this failure took place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of articles on the social and economic status of the Muslim population of Central and West Asia.

Chinese-speaking Muslims, called Dungans in Central Asia and Huizu in China, were forced to migrate to present-day Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan at the end of the nineteenth century. They reconstructed their identity through interrelations with local populations and the soviet categorisation of nationality. But after 1991, their status has being gradually destabilised owing to the changes in economic, social and political rules as well as citizenship regulations in these countries. They have to readapt to the new situation created by the independence of the three former Soviet Republics, which has challenged their unity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to provide a revisionist perspective of Southeast Asia's historical icon by examining in detail Sir Thomas Raffles' discursive strategies that sought to justify the study and preservation of Hinduism and Buddhism in the Malay World. Foremost within such strategies was by way of portraying Hinduism and Buddhism as practised by the Malays as a binary opposite of Islam. Secondly, Raffles sought to demonstrate the affinities of Hinduism and Buddhism with European Traditions. Last but not least, he argued that the legacies of Hinduism and Buddhism in the Malay World were suffering from a climate of decline. Most importantly, the article demonstrates ways in which Raffles' discourse is revealing of the influence of dominant methodologies and ideologies amongst Europeans during his milieu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three years into the US-led "War on Terror," the international coalition against terrorism remains fragmented. Despite the killings of many key al Qaeda leaders as well as worldwide disruption of its bases, financial infrastructures and networks, al Qaeda has demonstrated remarkable regenerative and adoptive capabilities. Al Qaeda remains resilient enough--mutating into new forms and adapting to the changing operational environment--to continue with its campaign of terror, targeting not only the interests of the United States, but its allies and supporters worldwide. At the strategic level, the spirit of cooperation has been undermined by some of the policies of the United States. At a tactical level, the failure can be attributed to two major factors. One is the failure to understand the nature of the threat, especially the "al Qaeda phenomenon" in its entirety, including the vision, sense of mission, capabilities, acumen and the organizational skills of Osama bin Laden. Second, and most important, is the failure to address the core issues and the ideology that underlie the militant Islamist threat. With Iraq emerging as the new epicenter of global terrorism, the center of gravity of terrorism seems to have shifted back to the Middle East. However, this does not make the threat less salient in the Asia Pacific region. In the region, the threat lies in the ideological challenge posed by an alternative vision of the state represented by a pan-Islamic caliphate or by the ideal of an Islamic state governed by Shar'ia law. It is therefore incumbent upon Asia Pacific countries to manage the threat of radical Islamic terrorism by preventing transnational groups such as al Qaeda from utilizing separatist and ethnic or religious conflicts in the region for their broader global revolutionary agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greater Central Asia - the region consisting of the five Central Asian states, plus Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Xinjiang, and Afghanistan - has been strategically transformed. American strategic interests in Central Asia, marginal before the 11 September terrorist attacks, have suddenly become substantial. To continue the campaign against terrorism, the United States retained the Central Asian bases it acquired to destroy the Taliban. Central Asia's authoritarian governments are determined to deepen American involvement - as a safeguard against militant Islam and Russian hegemony. Russia is understandably anxious about the deployment of American troops on its southern periphery. Newly ensconced in a turbulent region, the United States faces the perennial problem of the powerful: preventing engagement from culminating in entrapment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of British born Asian and English populations of children with congenital cardiac anomalies showed an increased incidence in the Muslim Asian population of complex lesions with visceral heterotaxia. There is a very high incidence of parental consanguinity among Muslim Asian children with complex congenital cardiac anomalies that is even higher than in the general Muslim Asian population of the area studied. The evidence suggests an important recessive genetic component in complex cardiac lesions with visceral heterotaxia, but segregation analysis does not support pure recessive inheritance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an introduction to articles related to Islamic law. Appointment of judges in the Arab world; Codified provisions relating to security.