European perceptions of the Islamic Ottoman Empire in the eighteenth century have often been read through the prism of Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws (1748). His ‘moral geography’ depicted a despotic and decayed Islamic Ottoman polity in contrast to the dynamism displayed in European states. Montesquieu’s comparisons and contrasts between the Ottoman East and Europe appear to support Edwa...

The anaesthetic agent halothane is still widely used in developing countries including the Islamic Republic of Iran because of its low price. Because of halothane-induced hepatitis, a rare complication, it has been replaced by other inhalation anaesthetics in Western countries; it has been suggested by some Iranian professionals that the Islamic Republic of Iran should do the same. We evaluated...

The core principles of Islam lay great emphasis on social justice, inclusion, and sharing of resources between the haves and the have nots. Islamic finance addresses the issue of “financial inclusion” or “access to finance” from two directions — one through promoting risk-sharing contracts that provide a viable alternative to conventional debt-based financing, and the other through specific ins...

How do women fare under rule by Islamists? Whereas some scholarly work suggests that Islamists are effective at providing the type of social services that benefit women most, other studies contend that Islamic groups support “pro-male” policies and cultural interventions that disadvantage the well-being of women. In order to adjudicate between these views, I compare two neighborhoods in Greater...

Almost every traditional personality theorist had something to say about religion, but the topic of how religious beliefs might affect individuals’ views of human nature remains largely unstudied. All religions, however, contain certain implicit ideas regarding personality that are likely to impact individual behavior. This article draws on Islamic sources to consider what a practicing Muslim m...

This paper examined and discussed the sundry controv the nature, sources and interpretations of Islamic law. The study was engendered by the fact that differences in views and attitudes to these variables have contributed in no mean way to political and religious unrests in many parts of t Middle East where Islam has much stronghold. This paper considered it expedient to engage in the study so ...

since the start of modern banking in islamic countries, some scholars have tried to provide a certain interpretation of riba prohibition in islam which does not cover the interest-based banking system. hence, it is completely possible to use conventional banking in islamic countries. on the other hand, some others have tried to come up with a more comprehensive understanding of riba and critici...