Muslim-Christian Relation

Given the prominence of Muslim veils – in particular the hijab and full-face veil – in public discourse concerning the place of Muslims in Western society, we examined their impact on non-Muslims’ responses at both explicit and implicit levels. Results revealed that responses were more negative toward any veil compared to no veil, and more negative toward the full-face veil relative to the hijab: for emotions felt towards veiled women (Study 1), for non-affective attitudinal responses (Study 2), and for implicit negative attitudes revealed through response latency measures (Studies 3a and 3b). Finally, we manipulated the perceived reasons for wearing a veil, finding that exposure to positive reasons for wearing a veil led to better predicted and imagined contact (Study 4). Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

A short 16 page history that details the development,  between 1995 and 2013, of a small mosque community residing in a small Southern English seaside town (Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK). (The full 40 page short book is available on Amazon.co.uk.)

This paper offers the editio princeps of two Latin hagiographical works of mediaeval Spain: the Legenda Cesaraugustana (BHL 4774) and the tale Quando fuit liberata Cesaraugusta a Sarracenis (Díaz 1079) as well as a new edition of the De reuelacione b. Braulii ep. Cesaraugustani (BHL 1448m).  All these works came from Zaragoza and were written in honour of the bishops of the city and of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar.  The Legenda Cesaraugustana and the De reuelacione b. Braulii ep. Cesaraugustani are of the 13th cent.  The first one recounts the history of the bishops of Zaragoza from the third century until the reconquest of the city in 1118, and the second describes the invention of the relics of St. Braulio at the time of Bishop Pedro de Librana (1118-1128).  Quando fuit liberata Cesaraugusta a Sarracenis is a work of the 15th cent. about the reconquest of Zaragoza and its most important source is the Legenda Cesaraugustana.

In history, Judaism, Christianity and Islam have been both partners and rivals. The well-known parable of the three rings argues in a beautiful paradox how the religion most beloved by the other two will turn out to be in possession of the true ring. This book collects a number of texts in which not just bilateral religious dialogues but the relations between one's own religion and the two others are documented. The texts translated and studied here, date from the medieval period, both from the East and from the West. It brings together in one volume esteemed writers such as the Jews Judah Halevi, Abraham Ibn Daud, Moses Maimonides, and Ibn Kammuna; the Christians John of Damascus, Paul of Antioch, Peter Abelard, Thomas Aquinas and Nicholas of Cusa; and the Muslims 'Abd al-Jabbar, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, and Nur-al-Din al-Raniri. The shared knowledge of different religious traditions as testified to in some of these texts, may come as a surprise.

This article aims to explore emerging trends for the Sunni religious elite and the Islamic legal tradition in the new context of the Arab Uprisings by focusing on Yusuf al-Qaradawi, arguably the most prominent of these ʿulamāʾ alive today. The article will follow al-Qaradawi’s articulation, transmission and reconstruction of the Islamic legal tradition in his own discourse as he has attempted to negotiate the politically fraught contexts of the Arab Uprisings while also maintaining his horizontal commitments to a diverse base of supporters be they the wider Arab Muslim public, the Muslim Brotherhood or indeed the Qatari royal family. The article will focus on al-Qaradawi’s highly publicised interventions and fatwas in relation to Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, and Syria from the perspective of Islamic studies, and also draw on personal interviews with al-Qaradawi, his personal staff, as well as supplementary media. In so doing, the article will elucidate al-Qaradawi and his colleagues’ attempts, ranging from the highly creative to the markedly conservative, to respond to unfolding events through the legal tradition and play an increasingly active role in the public sphere while their own status simultaneously becomes ever more vulnerable and unstable.

The misinterpretation of the hadiths of our beloved Prophet – peace be upon him – is very common in today’s society, especially when many of the people criticizing these hadiths are not well-informed about the Arabic language. In fact, some of them do not even speak it or understand more than a few words of it! When the situation is as stated, many turn to the English translation to understand some small piece of Islam, but they look at it through the wrong eyes and come to conclusions that no one who was familiar with the Arabic language would do. One such hadith that allegedly calls women ‘devils’ will be examined in this article. We will look at the actual wording of the hadith, what the scholars have said about this use of the word, what the word means in other hadiths and finally we will come to a conclusion about the topic at-hand.