International Humanities Studies

Number 3, 2014

1-35
Construction of the Islamic religious narratives: toward a new theoretical lens

Authors: Mohammed A. M. Arjan

Abstract

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Number of views: 503

The study is a prelude to our understanding of the religious Islamic narratives, and the plausibility of application the sociological idea of the Islamic narratives in everyday lives of Muslim realities. However, this study offers a new definition of the Islamic religious narrative and its sources and provides three major elements to the study of religious narratives among Muslim actors, including religious experiences, religious embodiments and construction of religious identity. Studying these elements in empirical and archaeological levels of the Islamic narrative sources bridges the gap between ideal beliefs and daily lived Islam. In this regard, further studies should pay attention to the relationship between Islamic narrative sources, social reality of religious actors and other narratives that could play important roles in producing religious agency. Keywords: Islamic narratives, religious experiences, religious embodiments, religious identity.

36-48
Human Rights and Olympic Games in Beijing: A Study of 20 Prestigious Newspapers from Different Continents

Authors: Radosław Sajna

Abstract

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Number of views: 503

This article deals with the problem of the human rights in the context of the Olympic Games in Beijing. The goal of this media study is to show how different newspapers from different countries, representing different cultures, languages and political backgrounds, presented and commented this problem at the moment of the opening of the Olympic Games that politically were considered controversial, because of the human rights abuses of the Chinese regime. 20 prestigious newspapers from different continents were analysed, demonstrating a global perspective and global pluralism. This article is based on a paper presented at the conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research dedicated to the problem of the human rights and communication, held in 2009 at UNAM in Mexico City. Key words: China, human rights, newspapers, Olympic Games, press freedom.

49-62
Early Islamic methodology comparative study of Hadith literature through al-Bukhari

Authors: Hasan A. Qader Yahya

Abstract

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Number of views: 561

There is almost a consensus among Muslim and non-Muslim scholars that the third century of Al-Hijrah, was the most active century for searching and investigating Islamic tradition. A large number of Muslim Ulama’ and Hadith Imams were driven by a deep sense of religious and social obligations to collect and preserve the Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him-PBUH) Hadith in a written form. Some of them have spent most of their lives traveling, interviewing, studying, and searching the truth about Hadith and its narrators. They applied several methods and available possible means to achieve that goal. An early landmark in this process was al-Imam al-Bukhari (d. 256/870). His book (Sahih) the genuine was the first systematic book in the field. The Islamic rules of life have been reserved in every particular in that book. This paper is an attempt to discuss and analyze Hadith literature development through the early Islamic methodology in general and al-Bukhari in particular, and tries to answer the question whether or not that methodology was scientific in the sense of contemporary research measures. Keywords: Islamic methodology, Hadith, al-Bukhari.

63-70
Palestinian Suicide Martyrs (Istishhadiyin): Facts and Figures

Authors: Bassam Yousef Ibrahim Banat

Abstract

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Number of views: 507

The current thesis explores the Palestinian suicide martyrs (Istishhadiyin) and the martyrdom operations from the point of view of their families and relatives. The study has tackled the issue of martyrdom operations as a multi dimensional phenomenon addressed by both theoretical and applied researches. The thesis addressed a new social phenomenon which spread in the Palestinian society in all its groups, youth and social classes. The Palestinian suicide martyrs (Istishhadiyin) were able to implement two hundred qualitative martyrdom operations that rocked Israel and raised a large scale wave of reactions locally and internationally; they constituted a turning point in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; it is rare to find a similar phenomenon to this one with this huge number of Palestinian suicide martyrs in any other place in the world. They have their own psychological, social, religious and national features which qualified them to do this strategic action. Besides, the thesis focuses on identifying the main motives which drove the Palestinian youth to carry out such operations and the relationship between the emergence of these operations and Israeli crimes committed against the rights of the unarmed Palestinian people. Key words: Martyr, Martyrdom, Palestine, Conflict, Motivations, Suicide, Istishhadiyin.

71-72
The role of small enterprises in economic development in the southern part of West Bank

Authors: Khaled T. M. Arjan

Abstract

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Number of views: 517

The present study aimed to identify the role of small enterprises in economic development in the southern part of West Bank – Palestine which are supposed to achieve a number of economic and developmental outcomes. The study has tackled the subject as a multidimensional phenomenon; addressed by both theoretical and applied studies. Therefore, the subject of the study was measured procedurally through the following indicators: the motives of the establishment of small enterprises, the role of small projects in the creating jobs and reducing unemployment, the role of small businesses in raising income and improving living standards and reducing poverty, the role of small projects in the reduction of imports, and access to self-sufficiency in some commodities, the role of small projects in allowing female to participate in the process of economic development. Key words: Small enterprises, economic, development, participation