This illustrated tale introduces children to the wondrous teachings from the Muslim theologian and mystic al-Ghazali (1058–1111CE) This enchanting tale illustrates how that the human heart is like a rusty mirror which, when polished through beautiful doings, is able to reflect the real essence of all things. In addition to this story is a poem by the renowned poet, Coleman Barks. Both draw on the same account found in Ghazali's The Marvels of the Heart, Book XXI, of his magnum opus,The (...) Revival of Religious Sciences. (shrink)

Two major social science perspectives on wife abuse have emerged in the last decade. One is a family violence perspective; the other is a feminist perspective. The purpose of this article is to compare the basic premises, methodology, and conclusions of these two perspectives with respect to their views of women and gender. The perspectives differ in the priority that they assign to gender as a factor in the abuse of women by husbands and male intimates, and these differences have (...) implications for research and policy on wife abuse. I argue that the feminist perspective portrays the realities of battering more accurately, and I conclude with directions for future research. (shrink)

High-quality doctor-patient communication in end-of-life care results in better quality of life for patients. In linguistically and culturally diverse societies, language discordant consultations become daily practice, leading to difficulties in eliciting patient preferences toward end-of-life care. Although family members invariably act as informal interpreters, this may cause some ethical dilemmas. We present a case of a palliative patient whose son acted as an interpreter. This case generated a triple- layered ethical dilemma: how to safeguard patient autonomy against paternalistic interventions by (...) family members, how to respect the relational context in which patient autonomy can be realized, and how to respect the ethno-cultural values of the patient and his family. These issues are being discussed and reflected upon within the framework shared decision making involving informal- and professional interpreters. The complementary use of professional interpreters next to family members acting as informal interpreters is recommended. (shrink)

When viewed the history of Islamic thought, it is seen that the scholars have made an effort to understand the nature of the speech of God and make sense of it. Essentially, understanding and grasping of the words of God are an effort to look from the physical realm to the metaphysical one. In spite of this fact, the scholars as the indomitable seekers of truth are in search of finding some clues to say about it. While some of them (...) consider the “divine speech” as an attribute of God, many others view it as a divine act. It is also admitted by all of them that whether being attributive or act of God, the reflection of the divine speech is the Qur’ân. In this sense, three views have been put forward on the question of the belonging of the Qur’ânic words. According to the dominant and preferred point of view among these views, Qur’ân belongs to God in terms of wording and meaning. Accordingly, the revelation of the Qur’ân, which was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed consists of both wording and meaning. Therefore, there is no intervention or contribution of Gabriel or Muhammad in constituting of Qur’ân. According to the second approach, the meaning of Qur’ânic text belongs to God, however, its words pertain to Mohammed. This view signals that Gabriel revealed nothing more than the meanings of Qur’ân. Mohammed understands the meanings conveyed to him and then said them in Arabic expression patterns and phrases. According to the third approach, the meanings of Qur’ânic text belongs to God, however, its words pertain to Gabriel. In other words, only meanings of text were given to Gabriel, and its words are formed by him. In the present study, the mentioned approaches which are put forward by scholars about the belonging of Qur’ânic words will be examined in terms of the integrity of the Qur’ân and Tafsir rumors (riwâyât) of the classical period. In a nutshell, it can be said that there is no disagreement among scholars in the field of the belonging of the meanings of Qur’ânic text to God. The main disagreement is whether the Qur’ânic words belong to God, Gabriel or Muhammad. Considering the integrity of Qur’ân and Tafsir rumors regarding to the circumstances of sending down of the Qur’ânic revelation, it has been determined that the prevailing view is more consistent than the other two views. (shrink)

The mutakallimūn, who began to take care of nature as a result of their metaphysical concerns from the early period and with the influence of the dualist and materialist groups, suggested various theories that attempt to explain the structure and functioning of the universe. Over time, many subjects of physics became an indispensable part of Kalām and were used in the proof of the fundamental principles. Thus, in addition to the definition of body (jism), Kalām books began to contain detailed (...) topics such as time, space, movement and distance. After summarizing the definitions of body, which were made by the mutakallimūn, this article will examine the contents of Ibn Kamāl's epistle on ṭafra (leaping), which has many copies with various titles in the Turkish Libraries. In the beginning of the epistle, Ibn Kamāl mentions the descriptions of body suggested by the prominent mutakallimūn, and then, he compares the views of al-Naẓẓām, who believes in the finite division, with atomist mutakallimūn who accept the infinite division. He criticizes the idea of ṭafra with regard to the notion of body in Kalām. After explaining the arguments of both groups with their justifications, he points out the weaknesses of the arguments of each group, as well. In this connection, he revisits the theory of ṭafra, which is, he argues, a mandatory consequence of al-Naẓẓām’s definition of object, as he also reviews the opinions of Quṭb al-Din al-Rāzī in this direction. (shrink)

Celebrity Manufacture Theory postulates that both the emergence of celebrities and our fascination with them are shaped by the media. Another premise of the theory is that a person’s fame does not necessarily correlate with the talent or achievements of that person. Rather, it often depends on the way the media manufacture that person as a celebrity. Today’s celebrity culture extols a particular type of fame ‐ one created and sustained by media production. Hence, there is a painstaking method of (...) personification and commodification at work. The pursuit for authenticity is not the objective of Celebrity Manufacture Theory. For this reason, the theory is an example of a ‘manipulation theory’. It describes how media industries manipulate audiences through mass-mediated celebrity production. To best understand Celebrity Manufacture Theory, four major tenets are thoroughly described in this article: media mirage, democratization of spotlight, commodity and cultural mutation. (shrink)

Theism, which means the existence of a transcendent being beyond the material world and accepting its sanctity, often defend the idea that God has an eternal, conscious, universe-knowing and strong personality. In this paper, I outline and discuss how theism is treated and assessed by English Philosopher Frederick Robert Tennant (1866-1957) and which differences and superiority it can provide against other philosophical movements. In addition, it will be emphasized how Tennant attempts to harmonize positive sciences with philosophy and theology.

Diplomatic relations carried out between the states are fulfilled under the protocol ruled out by the actors within the international system, which prevents any possible problems that might affect the course of bilateral relations from coming out. However, work and actions in the public arena are carried out under the protocol rules, some of which are in written form, and some of which are based on traditions used for a long period of time. Conducting the mentioned work and actions under (...) the protocol rules not only creates a discipline prevailing work environment, but also encourages employees to perform their duties in a more relaxed, peaceful, happier and more productive manner. Therefore, it is an absolute necessity to act with the attitudes and behaviors under the protocol rules both in the fulfillment of diplomatic relations and in the fulfillment of public activities. But as the protocol rules are not known well enough in Turkey, the necessity mentioned above is not obeyed. This case leads to occurance of significant defects during the implemention of services provided by public institutions in Turkey and the implementation of diplomatic relations. As a matter of fact; when examining the proceduces concerning public work and functions, and diplomatic relations in detail; one can obviously see that numerous problems are encountered which result from not implementing or mis-implementing protocol rules. This study aims to prove that more importance must be given to education on protocol rules in Turkey. (shrink)

Allah’ın ilk insanı, ilk peygamber yapmak suretiyle, insanoğlu ile iletişim kurmayı ve ona hitap eden vahiyler göndermeyi amaçladığı anlaşılmaktadır. Söz gelimi Tevrât’ı İbranice, İncîl’i Süryanice ve Kur’ân’ı Arapça göndermek suretiyle insanlar tarafından anlaşılmak istemiştir. Bununla birlikte onun İbranice kelâmı, Süryanice sözünden ve Arapça kelâmı da diğer dillerdeki sözünden farklı bir tabiata sahiptir. Bu gerçeklikten hareketle İslâm düşünce-fikir tarihine bakıldığında ilim adamlarının ilâhî kelâmın mâhiyetini, tabiatını anlamak ve bunu anlamlandırmak konusunda bir çabanın içerisine girdikleri görülmektedir. Esasen Allah’ın nasıl bir kelâma sahip (...) olduğunu anlamak ve kavramak, cismanî/fizik âleminden gayrı cismanî/fizikötesine doğru bir bakış çabasıdır. Buna rağmen hakikatin yılmaz arayıcısı insan, bu konuda söyleyecek bir söz bulabilme çabası içindedir. “İlâhî kelâmı”, Allah’ın bir sıfatı olarak değerlendirenler olduğu gibi bunu “ilâhî bir fiil” olarak telakki edenler de bulunmaktadır. İlâhî kelâm sıfatının veya fiilinin tecellîsinin Kur’ân olduğu da ehlince müsellemdir. Kur’ân lafızlarının aidiyeti konusunda başlıca üç görüş ortaya konulmuştur. Bu görüşler içerisinde hâkim ve râcih bakış açısına göre Kur’ân metni, lafız ve mana itibariyle Allah’a aittir. Buna göre Hz. Muhammed’e nâzil olan Kur’ân vahyi hem lafız hem de manadan oluşmaktadır. Bu telakkîyi savunan müelliflere göre vahyin oluşumu ve iletimi konusunda ne Cebrâil’in ne de Hz. Muhammed’in herhangi bir müdahale veya katkısı olmuştur. Dolayısıyla peygamberin vahiy nüzûl sürecinde rolünün tamamen pasif olduğu söylenebilir. Cibrîl, Kur’ân’ı önceden yazılı olarak bulunan bir mekândan, yani levh-i mahfûzdan ezberleyerek veya Allah’tan işiterek ya da Allah’ın lafızları ona vahyetmesiyle Hz. Peygamber’e indirmiştir. İkinci yaklaşıma göre Kur’ân metninin manası Allah’a, lafızları Hz. Peygamber’e aittir. Bu yaklaşıma göre Cebrâil, sadece manaları Hz. Peygamber’e indirmiştir. Hz. Peygamber de kendisine bildirilen manaları kavramış ve onları Arapça ifade kalıplarında söylemiştir. Üçüncü yaklaşıma göre ise Kur’ân’ın manası Allah’a, lafızları Cebrâil’e ait olmaktadır. Yani Cebrâil’e yalnız mana ilkâ edildi ve o lafızları oluşturdu. Bu çalışmada İslâm düşünce tarihinde ilim adamlarının kelâmullâhın tabiatını anlamak ve bunu anlamlandırmak konusunda lafızların aidiyeti konusunda ortaya koydukları söz konusu yaklaşımlar öncelikle deskriptif (tasvîrî/betimleyici) bir üslupla incelenmektedir. Akabinde bu doğrultuda serdedilen yaklaşımlar Kur’ân’ın bütünlüğü ve klasik dönem tefsir merviyyâtı açısından analitik (tahlîlî/istidlâlî) bir bakış açısıyla irdelenmektedir. Denilebilir ki Kur’ân’ın mana yönüyle Allah’a aidiyeti konusunda ilim ehli arasında herhangi bir ihtilâf yoktur. Temel ihtilâf Kur’ân lafızlarının Allah’a mı Cebrâil’e mi yoksa Hz. Muhammed’e mi ait olduğu hususudur. Kur’ân’ın bütünlüğü ve vahyin nüzûl keyfiyetine dair klasik dönem tefsir rivayetleri dikkate alındığında hâkim görüşün diğer iki görüşe göre daha tutarlı olduğu kanaatine ulaşılmaktadır. (shrink)

Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm al-Zāhid al-Ṣaffār is one of the important representatives of the Kalām thought of the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī School. He was born in A.H. 450/ C.E. 1058 in Bukhara that is one of the city of Transoxiana/Mawara al-nahr where Maturidi School has emerged around this socio-cultural environment. He completed his education and served as a leader (rais/ ṣadr) of the Hanafite scholars there until he was exiled to the city of Marv. Upon his return from exile, he passed away in (...) Bukhara in A.H. 534/ C.E. 1139. The present study aims to determine his method in Kalām. The introduction outlines the subject, significance, purpose, method, and sources of the research. In this study, it was employed a method that focuses on a person in which he/she is examined with his/her views and thoughts by taking into account his/her socio-cultural factors. By doing this, the first chapter of this study deals with the political, socio-economic, and scientific situation in Transoxiana, and the activities of diverse religions, sects, and philosophical schools in this region in A.H. V-VI/C.E. XI-XII. In the second chapter, it studies al-Ṣaffār’s life, scientific personality, works as well as the sources that he made references to in his works in detail. In the third chapter, the kalām method of al-Ṣaffār has been tried to be determined. For this purpose, it analyzes his extant works, Talkhīṣ al-adilla li-qawāʿid al-tawḥīd and Risālah fī al-kalām and elaborates first on his defense of the Kalām that gives great importance to reason (ʿaql) and to intellectual debates, if necessary, in theological issues. Then it explores his theory of knowledge with his ideas on the definition, possibility, sources, and types of knowledge, and the epistemological understandings he defensed or criticised. Furthermore, to determine his Kalām method, it evaluates his approach towards the value of ‘aql and naql (Qurʾān-Ḥadīth) as sources of knowledge. Since this issue is a distinctive tool for unveiling the kalām methods of different mutakallims and Muslim sects. Finally, it finds out the types of istidlāl, meaning inference of one thing from the other that he used when he argues and defends his views, and illustrates with examples. (shrink)

One of the divine quotations narrated from the timeline of Qur’ānic revelation is seen as a word of Prophet Mohammad in the 30th verse of the surah of al-Furqān. It’s observed that the speaker of this verse is Prophet Mohammad and he complains to God about his tribe which neglects the Qur’ān. In the present study, semantic structure and the meaning area of the phrase “mahjūr”, which is the key word in this verse, the meaning of it in the timeline (...) of Qur’ānic revelation and the interpretations attributed to it in the following centuries are traced. Likewise by examining Qur’ānic exegesis chronologically and investigating the interpretations of the exegetes on the relevant verse, it’s tried to see the semantic breaking points, changes and transformations regarding this verse in the historical process. Finally, the approaches of the exegetes who interpreted this verse in terms of the method of maqāsidī tafsir or the principle of teleological interpretation are determined. The approaches detected in this respect are first explained in a descriptive style, and then they’re evaluated in an analytical point of view. The findings and conclusions we reached in this study are as follows: As stated by the majority of exegetes, especially Qatāda, al-Zamakhsharī, Ibn Atiyya, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī and al-Sa‘ālibī, the aforementioned verse belongs to the Prophet Mohammed in terms of both wording and meaning. It hasn’t been determined that there’s a conflict about the pertaining of this word to him. According to this hadith quoted in surah al-Furqān, the Qurayshi polytheists made unwarranted objections to the Prophet and the divine instructions that he brought, his heart was narrowed in the face of their attitude towards the Qur’ān, and for these reasons he complained about his tribe to God. It can be said that this meaning seen in Mecca in the tenth year of his prophethood, namely, insulting the Qur’ān, abandoning it, and denying the themes in it, also includes Muslims after the revelation period. Accordingly, it can be thought that the aspect and situation of not acting on the provisions of the Qur’ān and not thinking about its verses are also valid for the interlocutors of the next period. In this direction, when we look at the history of tafsir, it has been determined that the exegetes who interpreted this verse in terms of teleological interpretation asserted different approaches. It was seen that al-Zamakhsharī, al-Rāzī, Abū al-Barakāt al-Nasafī, al-Bikā‘ī, Kamālpasazāde, Sayhzāda and Ibn ʻĀshūr interpreted this complaint of the Prophet by associating it with the coming of punishment. Therefore, in compliance with them, this verse aimed to threaten all the interlocutors, especially the Quraysh. On the other hand, it has recognized that Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyah, Ibn Kathir, Bursavī and Sayyid Qutb evaluated this verse in the context of the types and ways to abandon the Qur’ān. Thus, they interpreted the relevant verse in terms of maqāsidī tafsir in a way that would cover both the first addressees of Qur’ānic revelation and other interlocutors in the following periods. In a nutshell, it can be considered that not endeavoring to understand and interpret the Qur’ān, or keeping it away from family and social life, law, understanding of earning and spending, not referring to it in such matters, or giving up living a life pursuant to it, are some of the routes and sorts of abandonment of it for Muslims. (shrink)

In this article, Iqbal's unique interpretation of the modern theory of evolution, the effects of this theory on his system of thought, how belief and moral values are tried to be reconciled with this theory, and whether Iqbal can provide consistency among all these will be discussed. Iqbal's theory of creative evolution is critically examined. The extent to which Iqbal was influenced by the Muslim thinkers of the past and the Western thinkers of the modern period is discussed comparatively, again (...) based on her works. Attention is drawn to Iqbal's choices and the synthesist thought he tried to make on the theory of evolution, in which the crisis of religion-science is clearly seen, new interpretations of Iqbal's belief in the context of this theory are emphasized, and how Iqbal's moral philosophy was shaped in the context of this theory is being displayed. The effects of Iqbal's unique interpretation of the modern theory of evolution with a metaphysical content permeated all her thoughts.The philosopher is criticized for these thoughts stemming from the theory of evolution. His views are influenced by the scientific and philosophical developments of his time, as well as the situation in the Muslim geography. He sees practical benefits in adapting the theory of creative evolution to life and believes that this theory has a stimulating effect on Muslim societies. The theory of evolution in question must have caught Iqbal's attention with its strong emphasis on power and a combative philosophy of life. Since life is seen as a struggle for Iqbal, the success and happiness of man is also tied to his hardness in this struggle for life, and this emphasis is constantly repeated on different occasions and in different contexts. According to his point of view, life is fight and those who are successful in this fight for life are those who follow these rules. He thinks in accordance with the theory of evolution, distinguishes between right and wrong considering power and sees power and rightness as equal. Considering the evolutionary process as a law that is also valid for eternal life, a metaphysical meaning is attributed to this theory and scientific debates are not got to the point. The theory of evolution forms the scientific and philosophical basis of Iqbal's ego philosophy and his view of God-realm-human. Many theological issues such as life in the hereafter, prophecy, freedom of will are tried to be interpreted in the context of this theory. In order to reconcile the theory of evolution with religion, Iqbal sometimes interprets religious texts and sometimes reinterprets the theory of evolution by giving it a metaphysical meaning. One of the most important reasons for the inconsistency of the philosopher, who put the theory of evolution as a scientific basis for his thoughts, is this synthesist effort he attempted to create. Iqbal He was influenced by former Muslim scholars Ibn Maskeveyh and Mevlana on the theory of evolution as well as modern Western scholars, especially Bergson and Nietzsche. His basic objection to the modern theory of evolution is that the provision of this theory is limited to life and does not reflect on after death. (shrink)

The Hittites who were origin of Indo-European and came to Anatolia occupied the region of Halys in central Anatolian around 1650 BC building Hattusa as a capital city. Expanding their territories into an empire they founded one of the most powerful states in their times and world. Including different ethnic groups Hittites called themselves by the expression of “1000 Gods of Hatti”. Incorporating several local gods existed in the lands they conquered they have had a lot of gods or divines. (...) Among these gods are gods of Hatti, Luwi, Pala, Sumer, Hurri, Assyro- Babilonian and ancient Indian. Many temples discovered in the Hattusa excavations are an important clue for their paying great respect to the gods. In this article benefiting from the evidences of archaeological and philological sources Hittite beliefs as a state religion and general aspects of this religion, gods in the pantheon, temples built for these gods, festivals devoted to these gods, the place of gods and humans, magic rituals, oracles, omens, prayers and mythological stories will be evaluated. (shrink)

Textual criticism (examination) seeks to generate the most accurate version of an author's manuscript based on available copies. Textual criticism became prominent in the contemporary sense during the 19th and 20th centuries. Textual criticism studies, which were conducted extensively first in the West and then in the Islamic world, resulted in the development of several approaches aiming to identify the best version of the text under examination. Among the most prominent examples of these are the genealogical (stemmatic) method in the (...) West and the best text method in the Islamic world. In the best text method, which is known as the most widespread examination method in textual criticism activities, which gained momentum from the mid-19th century in the Islamic world, the examiner identifies a master copy which he thinks is the closest to the text of the author and exhibits the most solid text by taking certain criteria into consideration. Apart from obvious mistakes, the examiner does not make any changes in the master (umm) copy he selects, and does not include other copies in the text, only referring to different variants of the text. The principle of "adherence to the master copy" adopted in the method aims to limit interference in the text and prevent unnecessary and erroneous processes by the examiner. (shrink)

Selected articles from the Naval War College Press on ethics and the twenty-first-century military professional."--Provided by publisher.

Textual criticism seeks to generate the most accurate version of an author's manuscript based on available copies. Textual criticism became prominent in the contemporary sense during the 19th and 20th centuries. Textual criticism studies, which were conducted extensively first in the West and then in the Islamic world, resulted in the development of several approaches aiming to identify the best version of the text under examination. Among the most prominent examples of these are the genealogical method in the West and (...) the best text method in the Islamic world. In the best text method, which is known as the most widespread examination method in textual criticism activities, which gained momentum from the mid-19th century in the Islamic world, the examiner identifies a master copy which he thinks is the closest to the text of the author and exhibits the most solid text by taking certain criteria into consideration. Apart from obvious mistakes, the examiner does not make any changes in the master copy he selects, and does not include other copies in the text, only referring to different variants of the text. The principle of "adherence to the master copy" adopted in the method aims to limit interference in the text and prevent unnecessary and erroneous processes by the examiner. (shrink)

This paper examines the causes of pupil mobility and good practice in schools to address mobility issues. Pupil mobility is defined as ?a child joining or leaving school at a point other than the normal age at which children start or finish their education at that school?. The first part draws upon evidence of a survey, which explores the views of headteachers on the nature and causes of pupil mobility in schools and the priority they give to addressing pupil mobility (...) issues in their schools. It examines the cause of mobility in schools in the context of mobile groups. This is followed by the challenges for managing mobility and strategies to address pupil mobility in schools. The second part of the paper outlines successful strategies that minimize the effects of mobility in schools. Evidence is drawn from case?study research and focuses on the school systems, pastoral care and access to learning which combine to support the induction, assessment and monitoring of newly arrived pupils in school and effective use of data for self?evaluation. Examples of flexible curriculum organization, innovative approaches to additional support and effective administrative procedures are drawn upon. Evidence reflects the views of a range of school staff, parents/carers and pupils in the case?study school, as well as the judgements of senior researchers. Policy implications for government and for all concerned with school performance are highlighted, as well as many practical suggestions for raising achievement of mobile pupils. (shrink)