The flavor du jour in discussions of Islamic terrorism features a de-emphasis on the ideological component, drawing instead upon epidemiological and criminological concepts; approaching Mexican drug gangs and Islamic extremists as being more similar than they are different. This aids a network scrutiny and suggests buy-out rather than ideological deradicalization. Such new abandonments of the i...

CAN VACCINATIONS HELP TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS AND NURTURE DIPLOMACY? LATER THIS MONTH, Indonesia, the world’s most populous Islamic country, will host U.S. President Obama, a visit that could establish important scientifi c ties between the United States and Indonesia and implement a potentially powerful piece of vaccine diplomacy. The oral polio vaccine is a substantive example of how vaccination...

Before 1987, iodine deficiency was not considered an issue of major importance in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). Progress began with a systematic national study of goitre and other iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1983. Following a major review of the prevalence of IDD in member states, Guidelines for national programmes for the cont...

This descriptive study determined the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity among 752 high-school girls aged 14-18 years in Sistan va Baluchistan province, Islamic Republic of Iran. Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention body mass index percentiles, the prevalences of underweight, overweight and obesity were 16.2%, 8.6% and 1.5% respectively. These rates were similar t...

Introduction It is submitted that accepting Islamic Banking within the western regulatory framework has encountered many impediments. A conventional bank is an institution that holds a banking license issued by banks' regulatory authorities which authorizes the chartered institution to conduct fundamental banking services such as receiving deposits, making loans, providing and saving account se...

One consequence of the current financial crisis is that many countries began to reevaluate their financial systems and recognize its flaws and drawbacks. They also began the search for alternative systems for their economies; one of the proposed systems is the current Islamic financial model. This model is still in its infancy and many modifications and additions are required. It also lacks the...

BACKGROUND School-based smoking prevention programs have been shown to increase knowledge of the negative effects of smoking and prevent tobacco smoking. The majority of evidence on effectiveness comes from Western countries. This study investigated the impact of school-based smoking prevention programs on adolescents' smoking knowledge, attitude, intentions and behaviors (KAIB) in Aceh, Indone...

In contrast to scientific research focussing on European paper, there is a significant gap in our knowledge of Islamic papermaking. This research surveys the evidence of techniques and materials typically used in Islamic papermaking, to deduce what might be considered as the most significant characteristics. A substantial collection of 228 Islamic papers (~18th–20th century) was characterized u...

The public sector in developing countries is increasingly contracting with the non-state sector to improve access, efficiency and quality of health services. We conducted a multicountry study to assess the range of health services contracted out, the process of contracting and its influencing factors in ten countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Islamic Repu...