The Islamic Studies in China:Research in the Field of History

A history of the Islamic studies in China,not only includes studies on world Islam,it also includes research on Islam and Muslims in China.Before the Reform and Opening Up,China did not achieve much in this field,since then,the research field of Islam and Muslim in China has been expanding and the results have been published,forming a new trend.In this field,scholars such as Jin Yijiu,Li Xinghua,Qin Huibin,Zhou Guoli,Sha Qiuzhen,Zhou Xiefan,Wu Yungui,and Yang Huaizhong have made the most outstanding achievements.Especially in the collation of reference books and historical materials,in the past 20 years,The Encyclopedia of the history of Islam,The Chinese Encyclopedia of Islam have emerged,and the Chinese and World Encyclopedia of Islamic Law and other important historical books have been published.This paper focuses on the field of historical research and divided into academic research history at home and abroad,which is discussed from several fields such as general history,special history,national history,and regional history.

The Islamic Religion in Course Curriculums of High School History Textbooks in the Republic of Macedonia

History textbooks can and primarily should contribute to the strengthening of students’awareness of universal human values.However,history textbooks can also deepen the divisions,prejudices,and uncritical attitudes,contrary to the goals of education.The youth population,which is still building and creating their point of view towards the world is the main group in the education process.The learning period,in the elementary,as well as in the secondary education is of utmost importance for the development of every human.To that end,history,through the contents of the past largely shapes our perceptions of every individual,ourselves,and the others.Since we are living in a multiethnic and multi-confessional society,I have decided to conduct an analysis of the teaching contents of high school textbooks related to religion.Another reason for the analysis is the role of religion in the formation of Balkan nations,which have made it one of the key elements of their national identities.It is often given the role of raising and strengthening the national awareness,patriotism,as well as the country homogeneity,which most often leads to forming prejudices,divisions,and discrimination towards people of minority religions.The large volume of content related to the religion,and also the mere fact that Muslims are the second largest religion group in the population,I have decided to analyze the contents which are related only to the Islamic religion.The goal is to look for both the positive and negative sides of those contents in history textbooks in secondary schools,which are backed by state institutions that are supposed to take care of the development of competitive,creative,progressive,and ethically formed human potential.The critical review will give an additional impulse to the efforts of eliminating those parts of the teaching contents that create divisions and prejudices,especially in history textbooks,so that its studying can become the key factor in the building of trust between people of different religions.

Islamic Finance in Theory and Practice

Perspectives of the early scholars of Islamic management of an account concurred that the arrangement of organization partnership in general and Murabah （benefit sharing） specifically is the fundamental technique on which Islamic banks must depend on contributing their money to related assets. Also, the research has found that financing under the Islamic management of an account has decreased intensely from the methodology created by the early scholars. In reality, these banks have received obligation based on financing techniques and underestimated the routines for financing taking into account benefit and loss sharing. This adjustment in financing technique has perversely influenced the bad name and the desire tied with the monetary part of these banks. The study focused on the reason behind the gap between theory and practice in Islamic finance. So, the study was divided in two parts： the first theoretical part of Islamic economy and Islamic banking system, the second practical part by analysing and evaluating the relative distribution of Islamic financing methods in four famous Islamic banks. The study selected a group of Asian Islamic banks as a model for analysis and evaluation through the period from 2012 to 2014. The study concluded that the gaps result from the misuse of the roles and norms of Maqasid Al-Shariah along with the diversion in the relatively allocation of the financing methods toward debt instruments rather than equity instnunents.

School health promotion:A cross-sectional study on Clean and Healthy Living Program Behavior(CHLB)among Islamic Boarding Schools in Indonesia

Objective:This study aims to identify the knowledge,attitude,and behavior of students using eight indicators of Clean and Healthy Living Behavior(CHLB)in relation to the health education and grade levels in Islamic Boarding Schools(IBS)in Jember regency,East Java Province,Indonesia.Methods:A cross-sectional school-based survey design was used.About 114 students(mean age of 13.17 years old)selected through a multi-stage random sampling completed a selfadministered questionnaire to measure the eight indicators of CHLB,such as washing hands with running water and soap,eating healthy snacks,using clean and healthy latrines,exercising regularly and measurably,eradicating mosquito larvae,not smoking at school,weighing and height measurement every 6 months,and disposing garbage properly.The data analyses included descriptive and comparative analyses of the difference in knowledge,attitude,and behavior toward CHLB by health education and grade level.Results:About 66.7% students received health education.Significant knowledge in CHLB in relation to health education and grade was observed(P<.05),including in-depth knowledge of exercises,measurable weight and height,smoking,and healthy latrines.Meanwhile,no significant difference was observed between the attitude toward CHLB and health education in different grade levels.Furthermore,CHLB was associated with health education,including habitual exercise and using of clean and healthy latrines.

Islamic Banks Impaired Financing： Relationship Between Shariah Committee Meetings Frequency and Shariah Risks Compliance on Assets Quality

This study made a pioneering attempt to econometrically examine what factors determining impaired financing using shariah committee meetings frequency from data on Islamic banks in Malaysia and how does it affects on the quality of assets. The objective of the study is to improve assessment of their assets quality so as to increase the reliability of the financial statements. The European Central Bank may find the findings from this study useful in their exercise to assess risks and assets quality of their commercial banks, a move to tackle the ailing banks in centralizing oversight supervision in late 2014. The major components of the Islamic banks＇ assets quality are impaired financing and provisions for financing impairment. In the Islamic banks, shariah committee principally manages the shariah risks non-compliance with other risks; however because their management is not straightforward, the study uses the shariah committee meetings frequency as an indicator of the assets quality. The study found the less-than-full frequency of shariah committee meetings resulted in less guidance and conformation of shariah principles, and consequentially the quality of the assets.

Influence of Social Life on Islamic City＇s Planning and Arabic House＇s Design

The originating point of this study on the social life of the Arab world and its influence on architecture and city planning lays in the simple observation of true facts of daily life which are characteristic to the Arabic Society. So the author analyses

The Evolution of Botanical and Herbal Medicine in Islamic Civilization

Botanical science and medicinal plants are shaped by the translation movement in Islamic civilization and in the fifth century (AH), through the development of specialized media and the commencement of scientific and research trips, its foundations are strengthened. In the sixth and seventh centuries (AH), the development of the first botanical encyclopedias, the introduction of objective observations and practical experiences on theoretical issues, the prosperity of this science was provided by writing comprehensive books on medicinal plants and in the eighth century (AH). Like other intellectual and transcendental sciences, the loss of the past lost due to the decline of the writings and led to a recession. The Muslims played a role in preserving and building the body of knowledge of the Greek, Roman times. In fact, they gained this science from the distant paths. In the history of medicine, Islamic medicine is the science of medicine developed in the Islamic Golden Age, and written in Arabic, the lingua franca of Islamic civilization. In this article, we try to investigate the effect of Islamic scholars on the dynamics of medicinal herbs and the continuation of Muslim researches and innovations in the field of botany and medicinal herbs.

Student capacity building of dengue prevention and control: A study of an Islamic school, Southern Thailand

Dengue has been a critical problem for an Islamic School, Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Southern Thailand. Objectives: 1) to build student capacity;and 2) to evaluate the results of student capacity building. Method: Participatory Action Research: PAR was applied in three phases: 1) the school-based preparation phase;2) the process of building student capacity phase, and 3) evaluation of the results of the student capacity building. Independent T-Test statistical method was used to analyze student capacity both before and after the intervention. Larval Indices were determined through ratio analysis. Results: Prior to the intervention, there was no clear strategy for combating dengue. In this study, three groups were formed to build student capacity: a leader group, a non-leader group, and a support group. The leader group (48 student leaders), critical to the study, was set as a dengue club named “Eliminate Ades Aegypti, the culprit of dengue” which focused on eight sets of activities: “Dengue or Death”, “Seniors educating juniors”, “Reward for good answers”, “Dengue monitoring team”, “Youth to expel mosquetoes”, “Mosquito or busy”, “Garbage elimination of Pondok”, and “Essential doctors”. The level of student capacity for the prevention and control of dengue of a sampling of 308 student representatives of the Pondok (Islamic school) showed an increase after intervention ( (SD);56.78 (17.06);65.33(15.36) and different statistic significant (P < 0.001). The Larval indices ratio levels had decreased from the original levels (BI = 244, HI = 45, and CI = 26) after intervention (BI = 137, HI = 39, and CI = 19). Dengue morbidity and mortality rates were not found during the study. Discussion: Although there had been an increase in student capacity, a decrease in the larval indices ratio, and the absence of a dengue epidemiology index, the high risk of a dengue epidemic might still be found in the school because the ratio of larval indices were higher than the standard index. Then, the committed participation of students, school, and communities around the school vicinity is needed in building student capacity of dengue prevention and control.

Fight Against Poverty From the Islamic Point of View： The Wealth Distribution and Share

Today, poverty is one of the most important problems in the world. This is not only the problem of poor people living in specific regions but also the problem of all people in general. Poverty is expected to decrease as the welfare level increases. The World Bank predicts that extreme poverty will disappear until 2030 but mentions significant hesitations in achieving this objective. Even though extreme poverty will have actually disappeared in 2030, the deep gap between the richest 20% and the poorest 20% will continue to maintain its presence. There are many reasons for poverty arising from individuals such as illiteracy, inexperience, and laziness. However, there are many reasons for poverty beyond the individual such as the management of the capital by a small group of people. While the capital continuously increases under the control of a narrow group, poor community deprived of increasing welfare benefits from it slightly and too late. In this case, the solutions that individuals striving to live below the poverty line can find on their own in order to keep alive remain quite limited. Islam has a shorter term solution for welfare share： Transferring a small amount of high-income group’s wealth to the low-income group. Through this worship called zakat, it is aimed to rid poor people of desperation. It is not theoretically impossible todevelop a method to reduce income inequality by taking the worship of zakat as a model.

Islamic Financing of the Small Projects Palestinian Case

This study aims to expose the available finance by both traditional and Islamic banks in Palestine, determine and identify the most used Islamic tools of finance for the Palestinian economy through small enterprises, in addition, the study aims to assess if there is any contribution of the Islamic banks to the Palestinian economy. In order to reach these goals the researcher used the descriptive analysis method in order to illustrate credit facilities through the Palestinian Banking system, then, enclosing the Islamic banks in Palestine and its credit facilities and used tools. The study identified through the recent experiences of Palestinian Islamic financing and Islamic financing mechanisms practiced in Palestinian Islamic banks, murabaha, ijarah, Musharaka, and mudaraba occupied the same important level as in the neighboring countries. The study found that frequent constraints, Israeli hindrances, and heavy restrictions on goods movement, services and people through internal and international crossings increase the suffering of the small projects, as well as other productive economic sectors at all levels, administrative, financial, and technical, with no Palestinian strategy to enhance the contributing share of small projects to the Palestinian national economy. In addition, the study concluded that the inability of traditional banks to provide the required finance to the Palestinian productive sectors led to Islamic banks entering into the financing market in Palestine to open new funding sources for Palestinian small projects, so the small projects could raise their contribution to GDP. The new Palestinian Islamic financing experience is unable to create financing mechanisms suitable to the Palestinian situation, which has sign for Islamic banks to deal with cases similar to the traditional finance, this comes in the absence of a strategy by Islamic banking or monetary authority or the Palestinian government to activate the role of Islamic banks in financing small projects. For these problems, there must be a strategy to support the activities of these projects and provide appropriate funding for small projects to transcend all these constraints, to support small-sized enterprises in Palestine financially and technically. In this study, the researchers expose the available funding and financing by both Islamic and traditional banks. The study recommends that a comprehensive strategy needs to bring together all financing bodies to have joined efforts towards the formulation of a funding strategy for small projects. Both conventional and Islamic banks are required to provide various types of supports specifically financing for small projects, to enable small projects to play their role in enhancing the national economy. The study also urged the need of Islamic banking to broaden the base of Islamic banking to create a financing base appropriate with the nature of the projects.

Systemic Risk of Conventional and Islamic Banks: Comparison with Graphical Network Models

The main aim of this paper is to compare the stability, in terms of systemic risk, of conventional and Islamic banking systems. To this aim, we propose correlation network models for stock market returns based on graphical Gaussian distributions, which allows us to capture the contagion effects that move along countries. We also consider Bayesian graphical models, to account for model uncertainty in the measurement of financial systems interconnectedness. Our proposed model is applied to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region banking sector, characterized by the presence of both conventional and Islamic banks, for the period from 2007 to the beginning of 2014. Our empirical findings show that there are differences in the systemic risk and stability of the two banking systems during crisis times. In addition, the differences are subject to country specific effects that are amplified during crisis period.

An Idyllic Vista of Islamic Banking Enhancement Knowledge Towards Triumph of Knowledge Delivery Process

Definition—Banking or another word of financial institution is taking a role as succor for today’s society as a fast generated processor in handling money flows.Inclusively,Islamic Banking(IB)means the detailed and comprehensive processor in handling money flows according to Shariah principle or Islamic regulation.This approach seems particularly well suited for an individual aims for marketing executives in which the approach is presumably according to the real purposes.Purpose—The purpose of this paper is to develop a heightened framework for process delivery of Islamic Banking(IB)knowledge thru the mediation of Islamic social finance attributes.The framework consists of three define variables:accomplishment of knowledge delivery process in IB,IB enhancement knowledge,and Islamic social finance attributes.Design/methodology/approach—The paper used a triangulation study.The quantitative approach consists of the collection of primary data through a self‐administered questionnaire distributed to 405 Islamic banks’players in Peninsular Malaysia.The partial least squares structural equation modelling(PLS-SEM)method was the main statistical technique employed in this study.In parallel,qualitative approach was used,in forms of semi structured interviews with four Islamic banks’experts.The data also gathered from Quran and Hadith.Originality/value—The study has shown that IB enhancement knowledge is discovered to have a significant effect on knowledge delivery process in IB and a partial mediating effect on the relationship between independent variable and dependent variable.Overall the results indicate the model provides good illustration of the emerging shape of knowledge delivery process in IB.

The Impact of Social Professional Category Consumer＇s on Acceptance Level Towards Islamic Banking Window

Recently, Islamic banks have been presented as an alternative to conventional banks. Indeed, Islamic banks have proved their worth during the 2009 crisis. They are known like an ethical bank. In Tunisia, only three Islamic banks exist. Even the conventional banks are interested to offer Islamic banking products and services; they are called Islamic banking window. This paper aims to determine the level of acceptance of Islamic banking window on Tunisian consumers and the impact of the social professional category on it. The research questions as follows： Are the consumers familiar with the financial Islamic products？ Did they perceive any differences between conventional and Islamic financial products？ What are the levels of acceptance of an Islamic banking product offered by a conventional bank？ In this respect, a questionnaire was administrated to a sample size of 120 people constituted of 54% men and 46% women from Tunis City. Three types of social professional category are found： 62% employee, 32% senior, and 6% profession. The data were processed by SPSS 21. The results showed that the majority of the respondents have a lack of knowledge of the Islamic banking products. The majority of the respondents don＇t see any differences between the product name of conventional and Islamic banking products. The acceptance level of an Islamic banking product offered by a conventional bank is very satisfying, 53% of the respondents are certain to purchase an Islamic banking product from a conventional bank and 42% are not sure. Only 5% refused.

The Emergence of Islamic Economics and Finance Education in Indonesia

Islamic banks and finance have appeared over the last two decades in Indonesia and been viewed as having significant growth in terms of numbers of new Islamic banks established in Indonesia. This enlargement is in line with high growth in Islamic economics and finance education. There exist various institutes and universities offering courses related to Islamic economics and finance including Islamic banks. This paper explains the growth and development of Islamic banking and financial industries from 1992 to the 21 st century in Indonesia in terms of education, trends, and challenges. However, the rapid development in the global financial markets poses various challenges to Islamic banking particularly in education of Islamic economics and finance in the present era. These issues and challenges need to be addressed very carefully in order to offer ideal human resources in Islamic banks and financial industries and sustain the rapid growth it experienced before. This paper highlights various developments, issues, and challenges confronting the Islamic banking and finance education system to offer recommendation for further improvement.

Factors Influencing Information Disclosure by Malaysian State Islamic Religious Councils: Evidence from Interviews

This paper aims to identify factors that influence the expectations of a wide range of stakeholders on the information disclosure in the Malaysian State Islamic Religious Councils(SIRC)annual reports,employing semi-structured interviews.The majority of interviewees perceived accounting standards as the main factor contributing to their expectations and further influenced the reporting practices among accountants in SIRC.Others are state fatwa(Islamic rulings),audit expectations,and individual perceptions.The result of the interviews revealed that on the top of accounting standards and government guidelines on the reporting for all government agencies,SIRC should take into account their greater accountability,which should be reflected in their reporting practices.Therefore,Islamic accountability through fatwa,audit expectations,and public demands could be considered.Such awareness is important in SIRC,to differentiate them from other government agencies.The existence of governance is similar to the board of members in a company,in SIRC through the fatwa committee.Therefore,this study suggests that the extent and quality of disclosure depends on the demand from the regulators,auditors,and funders.The findings suggest that SIRC should have an incentive to provide more information to satisfy various stakeholders’needs.Future studies can be carried out to suggest a set of disclosure items that should be disclosed in the SIRC annual reports in order to increase the level of disclosure,discharging their accountability.

A Concise History of Islamic Medicine: An Introduction to the Origins of Medicine in Islamic Civilization, Its Impact on the Evolution of Global Medicine, and Its Place in the Medical World Today

The practice of medicine in Muslim nations dates to the millennia before the advent of the religion of Islam. As far as the pre-Islamic period is concerned, what evidence is available indicates the medical evolution began nearly 6000 years ago in Mesopotamia, where medicine for the first time in history became a recognised profession. In ancient Egypt, it was practised by priest-physicians who demonstrated astonishing knowledge in various medical subjects. The origins of medicine in ancient Persia (Afghanistan, Iran, and parts of Central Asia) span the 6th century B.C. and to the Zoroastrian religious book of Avesta, which delved into such topics as preventive and clinical medicine. In reference to the account of medicine in the Arab peninsula, limited information exists. In terms of post-Islamic ages, the foundations of Islamic science were laid during the reign of the second Abbasid Caliph, al-Mansur, and the establishment of Baghdad as its capital in 762 A.D., when the Arabic translation movement commenced. During the next six centuries, medicine and other fields of science flourished, and prominent physicians such as the Bukht Yishu family, Razī, Majūsī, Avicenna, Jorjanī, Al-Zahrāwī, and other scientists emerged. In both the pre- and post-Islamic ages, Islamic medicine was heavily influenced by Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Persian, Indian, and, predominantly, Greek medicine. Nevertheless, the advancements and innovations in medical science and healthcare systems that were achieved during the early and medieval Islamic ages have indubitably made an invaluable contribution to the evolution of medicine throughout the world, and to the invention of numerous procedures and practices which are still widely performed today. Hence, the value of comprehending the pivotal role Islamic medicine played (and indeed still plays) in the progression of medical practice across the globe cannot be overstated.

Egypt, Possible Conflict and Cooperation Areas in the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran

A country’s foreign policy process is also a decision-making process. Foreign policy is a rational, multifaceted, and balanced area that needs to be thought and executed. States operate within the framework of the decisions of governments. The decision-making process can change its direction with reflections and influences from national, regional, and international politics. While some theories think that governments/decision-makers are rational actors, there are other theories. Decision-makers/governments are able to make decisions in accordance with national interests. Who or which institution will determine what a country’s national interest is and whether its foreign policy is in the national interest. Claiming that a foreign policy carried out by political will is in line with national interest and gives it a certain degree of legitimacy and authority. The main problem here is the identification of national interest with the discourse/policies of those officially responsible for the conduct of foreign policy. National interest can best be determined if it has become a verifiable expression of the priorities of a nation. Heads of state trust their advisors in their immediate surroundings when making foreign policy decisions, so it is important to recognize the composition of the immediate environment. In authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, such as Iran, ideology and leader are vital in foreign policy. The Iranian geopolitics, the ideological structure of the political regime, and the constitutional structure, which is constitutionally effective and superior, should be analyzed in order to examine Iran’s foreign policy. This comprehensive assay will naturally exceed the purpose and scope of this study.

Disintegration and Remodeling of the Islamic World by Western International Order

Irreparable consequences to Middle East geopolitics ensued as the political systems in the Islamic world declined in a process that began under the persistent infiltration and influence of the Western ideal of nation-state.Three progressive stages in this conceptual transformation show how longstanding multinational imperial systems in the Islamic world disintegrated after the introduction of uone nation,one staten forced upon Middle East states an unrealistic model and eroded the principle of supremacy of sovereignty that had just been established.Interventionist theories that took hold meant that the Islamic world's self-transformation has never caught up with the demand of Western strategies.The Islamic realm has failed to achieve what it set out to do because political systems that would have been adaptive to the reality of the Islamic world had collapsed.

Bankers＇ Views Towards Islamic Banking and Islamic Marketing： The Case of Libyan Main Wahda Bank in Benghazi City

The research topic of this paper is about the transformation process of Libyan Main Wahda Bank to Islamic Banking, and how Islamic Marketing has been practiced in this bank. The study aims to investigate bankers＇ views towards Islamic Banking and Islamic Marketing practices in Benghazi City. Few interviews with bankers were conducted to design the research instrument, which validated and circulated to bankers responsible for Islamic Banking affairs at Wahda Bank. Data were collected and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences （SPSS）. Tests of normality mean scores, T-test, Anova, Correlations and Reliability Analysis were all used in this research paper. The key finding is that there is a consensus among participants that the bank faces numerous challenges including： cultural obstacles, insufficient regulations, increasing environmental challenges, weaknesses of higher authorities responsible for banking affairs, weakness of technology, and poor administrative performances. The study exhibited low level of customer satisfaction on Islamic banking products marketed. The study urges the need to develop a governmental Islamic banking strategy to focus on spreading Islamic Banking and Islamic Marketing culture. Learning from leading Islamic countries＇ experiences would be a critical future step to develop Libyan banks＇ practices. It also advises reconsidering the current banking legislations, and explaining their implications properly. Islamic Marketing and customer satisfaction measurement should be given a priority in bank＇s future strategies. Finally, the paper concludes with research limitations, implications and suggests future research.

The Reconcilability Between Islamic and the Conventional Banking

Tensions between Western and Islamic traditions are very fierce in evidence currently. Many see the two systems as irreconcilable and the conflict between the two as inevitable （Huntingdon ＆ Berger, 2002）. This paper argues if reconcilability between Islam and the West exists in the field of finance and if the two systems can co-evolve in a mutually productive way, then, the author can be optimistic about the ability of the two systems to co-exist. Clearly, they involve different attitudes, but this paper argues on the basis of significant compatibility issues that these are resolvable under the tradition of tolerance that has existed in Western and Islamic societies. The context chosen for this analysis is finance which is central to global capitalism and is an area in which key differences of principle and practice exist between Islam and the West.