Islam in the American Classroom

A growing American-born Muslim population warrants the attention of educators in schools across the U.S. Educating teachers about Islam will prepare them to address the needs of Muslim students. This paper discusses the rationale for improving awareness of Islam and provides basic concepts necessary for education of the Islamic culture.

Russia's Islam: Discourse on Identity, Politics, and Security

Despite the long history of Muslims in Russia, most scholarly and political literatures on Russia’s Islam still narrowly interpret Muslim-Slavs relations in an ethnic-religious oppositional framework. In my work, I examine Russia’s discourse on Islam to argue that, in fact, the role of Islam in post-Soviet Russia is complex. Drawing from direct sources from academic, state, journalistic, and underground circles, often neglected by Western commentators, I identify ideational patterns in conceptualizations of Islam and reconstruct relational networks among authors. To explain complex intertextual relations within specific contexts, I utilize an analytically eclectic method that appropriately combines theories from different paradigms and/or disciplines. Thanks to my multi-dimensional approach, I show that, contrary to traditional views, Russia’s Muslims participate in processes of post-Soviet Russia’s identity formation. Starting from textual contents, avoiding pre-formed analytical frames, I argue that many Muslims in Russia perceive themselves as part of Russian civilization – even when they challenge the status-quo. Building on my initial findings, I state that a key element in Russia’s conceptualization of Islam is the definition, elaborated in the 1990s, of traditional Islam as part of Russian civilizational history, as opposed to extremist Islam as extraneous, hostile phenomenon. The differentiation creates an unprecedently safe, if confined, space for Islamic propositions, of which Muslims are taking advantage. Embedded in debates on Russian civilization, conceptualizations of Islam, then, influence Russia’s (geo)political self-perceptions and, consequently, its domestic and international policies. In particular, Russian so-far neglected Islamic doctrine supports views of Islamic terrorism as a political and not religious phenomenon. Hence, Russia interprets both terrorism and counterterrorism within its own historical tradition, causing its strategy to be at odds with Western views. Less apparently, these divergences affect Russian-U.S. broader relations. Finally, in revealing the civilizational value of Russia’s Islam, I expose intellectual relations among influential subjects who share the aim to devise a new civilizational model that should combine Slavic and non-Slavic, Orthodox and Islamic, Western, and Asian components. In this old Russian dilemma, the novelty is Muslims’ participation.

Islam and Arabs in Cuba: A Historical and Contemporary Overview

This flyer promotes the event "Islam and Arabs in Cuba: A Historical and Contemporary Overview", a lecture by Daniel F. Rivera, Research Fellow, Florida International University. Dr. Rivera holds a PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, and has focused his research on Arab modern history and the presence of Islam in Latin America. The event was held on November 12, 2015 at FIU Modesto A. Maidique Campus CP 145.

Reliability of the Clinical Application of a Mechanical Inclinometer in Measuring Glenohumeral Motion

Objective: Establish intra- and inter-examiner reliability of glenohumeral range of motion (ROM) measures taken by a single-clinician using a mechanical inclinometer. Design: A single-session, repeated-measure, randomized, counterbalanced design. Setting: Athletic Training laboratory. Participants: Ten college-aged volunteers (9 right-hand dominant; 4 males, 6 females; age=23.2±2.4y, mass=73±16kg, height=170±8cm) without shoulder or neck injuries within one year. Interventions: Two Certified Athletic Trainers separately assessed passive glenohumeral (GH) internal (IR) and external (ER) rotation bilaterally. Each clinician secured the inclinometer to each subject’s distal forearm using elastic straps. Clinicians followed standard procedures for assessing ROM, with the participants supine on a standard treatment table with 90° of elbow flexion. A second investigator recorded the angle. Clinicians measured all shoulders once to assess inter-clinician reliability and eight shoulders twice to assess intra-clinician reliability. We used SPSS 14.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) to calculate standard error of measure (SEM) and Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) to evaluate intra- and inter-clinician reliability. Main Outcome Measures: Dependent variables were degrees of IR, ER, glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD) and total arc of rotation. We calculated GIRD as the bilateral difference in IR (nondominant–dominant) and total arc for each shoulder (IR+ER). Results: Intra-clinician reliability for each examiner was excellent (ICC[1,1] range=0.90-0.96; SEM=2.2°-2.5°) for all measures. Examiners displayed excellent inter-clinician reliability (ICC[2,1] range=0.79-0.97; SEM=1.7°-3.0°) for all measures except nondominant IR which had good reliability(0.72). Conclusions: Results suggest that clinicians can achieve reliable measures of GH rotation and GIRD using a single-clinician technique and an inexpensive, readily available mechanical inclinometer.

The rise of Islamism amongst Muslim youth in the UK

The purpose of this study was to examine the possible reasons why Muslim youth are increasingly becoming attracted to radical Islam in the UK. Recent studies involving focus groups of Muslim youth across the UK and opinion surveys were used to measure youth's level of religious guidance, integration in society and feelings of hostility or of an enemy image of Islam. It was found that alienation from traditional methods of religious education, parents/ imams, is the possible first step that makes youth more vulnerable to outside Islamist groups. The second step is the lack of integration due to discrimination and feeling as an enemy within society. The enemy image includes the government's decision to invade Iraq and the perception that Muslims and Islam are under attack. There is a strong need for youth to reconcile their national and religious identities in order to be active citizens in the future.

Marxists into Muslims: The Iranian irony

This dissertation examines the influence of Islamic ideology on Iranian Marxists during the 1979 revolution. The purpose of this study is to extricate the influence of Islamic culture, ideology, and terminology on Marxist organizations and on individuals who identified themselves as Marxists in Iran. This is especially of interest since in many ways Marxism and Islam are ideologically in conflict. Were Marxists aware of the influences of Islam in their behavior and ideology? To investigate the irony publications put forth by several Marxist organizations before and after the 1979 revolution were examined. A history of such influence both ideologically and contextually is depicted to demonstrate their political and cultural significance. Through the study of Marxist political organs, theoretical publication and political flyers distributed during and after the revolution, the phenomenon of Marxists converting to an Islamic ideology became clearer. Many Marxist organizations were demonstrably utilizing Islamic political ideology to organize and mobilize masses of Iranians. This study shows a historical precedence of Marxists’ usage of Islam in the political history of Iran dating back to early twentieth-century. Primary and secondary Marxist literature showed that Islam was an inescapable social and political reality for Iranian Marxists. Not only was there a common upbringing but a common enemy fostered provisional collusion between the two. The internalizing the idea of martyrdom—of Shi’a Islam—was a shared belied that united Marxists with Muslins in their attempt to effect sociopolitical change in Iran. Studying Marxist publications shows evidence that many Iranian Marxists were not conscious of using Islamic ethics and terminology since Islamic beliefs are part of the taken-for-granted world of Iranian culture. This contextual belief system, pervasive within the culture and a change of political ideology is what created the conditions for the possibility of Marxists becoming Muslims.

Marxists into Muslims: An Iranian Irony

This dissertation examines the influence of Islamic ideology on Iranian Marxists during the 1979 revolution. The purpose of this study is to extricate the influence of Islamic culture, ideology, and terminology on Marxist organizations and on individuals who identified themselves as Marxists in Iran. This is especially of interest since in many ways Marxism and Islam are ideologically in conflict. Were Marxists aware of the influences of Islam in their behavior and ideology? To investigate the irony publications put forth by several Marxist organizations before and after the 1979 revolution were examined. A history of such influence both ideologically and contextually is depicted to demonstrate their political and cultural significance. Through the study of Marxist political organs, theoretical publication and political flyers distributed during and after the revolution, the phenomenon of Marxists converting to an Islamic ideology became clearer. Many Marxist organizations were demonstrably utilizing Islamic political ideology to organize and mobilize masses of Iranians. This study shows a historical precedence of Marxists’ usage of Islam in the political history of Iran dating back to early twentieth-century. Primary and secondary Marxist literature showed that Islam was an inescapable social and political reality for Iranian Marxists. Not only was there a common upbringing but a common enemy fostered provisional collusion between the two. The internalizing the idea of martyrdom—of Shi’a Islam—was a shared belied that united Marxists with Muslins in their attempt to effect sociopolitical change in Iran. Studying Marxist publications shows evidence that many Iranian Marxists were not conscious of using Islamic ethics and terminology since Islamic beliefs are part of the taken-for-granted world of Iranian culture. This contextual belief system, pervasive within the culture and a change of political ideology is what created the conditions for the possibility of Marxists becoming Muslims.

Without an empire: Muslim mobilization after the caliphate

The Caliphate was a fundamental part of Islamic society for nearly 1300 years. This paper seeks to uncover what effect the removal of this institution had on the mobilization of Muslims in several parts of the world; Turkey, Egypt, and British India. These countries had unique experiences with colonialism, secularism, nationalism, that in many ways conditioned the response of individuals to this momentous occasion. Each country’s reaction had a profound impact on the future trajectory of civil society, and the role of Islam in the lives of its citizens. The conclusions of this paper challenge the monolithic depiction of Islam in the world, and reveal the origins of conflict that these three centers of Muslim power face today. Much of the religious narrative now commonplace in Muslim organizations derive from this pivotal event in world history.

Rastafarianism and the Nation of Islam as institutions for group-identity formation among blacks in the United States: A case study comparing their approaches

This dissertation explores the Rastafari movement and the Nation of Islam as institutions that provide a group-identity for their adherents. The study seeks to determine the characteristics of the identity that is institutionalized by each movement, and the nature of the institutionalization process. The research was conducted primarily in South Florida where both movements exist. An extensive literature review in conjunction with in-depth field interviews were used as the primary research methodologies. What was of particular interest were the reasons that the members of the movements chose one movement over the other, also the similarities and dissimilarities between the movements in their role as institutions for group-identity formation. The research showed that both movements imbued their members with a sense of pride, high self-esteem and a strong sense of race consciousness. In addition, it showed that there was significant variation in identity orientation within the Rastafari Movement, which contrasted with the Nation of Islam where the identity variations within the movement were negligible. This was due largely to the difference in structure between the movements, the Nation of Islam being a centrally organized movement with one leader while the Rastafari movement is a decentralized polycephalous one. ^ Both movements were found to be millenarian in nature, essentially because of the significant utility of the concept that their members would rise to prominence through God's grace. Additionally, both movements were identified as expressive social movements, since they were determined as being primarily concerned with changing the attitudes of their members rather than effecting structural social change. ^

Rastafarianism and the Nation of Islam as institutions for group-identity formation among blacks in the United States : a case study comparing their approaches

This dissertation explores the Rastafari movement and the Nation of Islam as institutions that provide a group-identity for their adherents. The study seeks to determine the characteristics of the identity that is institutionalized by each movement, and the nature of the institutionalization process. The research was conducted primarily in South Florida where both movements exist. An extensive literature review in conjunction with in-depth field interviews were used as the primary research methodologies. What was of particular interest were the reasons that the members of the movements chose one movement over the other, also the similarities and dissimilarities between the movements in their role as institutions for group-identity formation. The research showed that both movements imbued their members with a sense of pride, high self-esteem and a strong sense of race consciousness. In addition, it showed that there was significant variation in identity orientation within the Rastafari Movement, which contrasted with the Nation of Islam where the identity variations within the movement were negligible. This was due largely to the difference in structure between the movements, the Nation of Islam being a centrally organized movement with one leader while the Rastafari movement is a decentralized polycephalous one. Both movements were found to be millenarian in nature, essentially because of the significant utility of the concept that their members would rise to prominence through God's grace. Additionally, both movements were identified as expressive social movements, since they were determined as being primarily concerned with changing the attitudes of their members rather than effecting structural social change.