Islamophobia as Reactive Co-Radicalization

Since 9/11, 2001, a new form of religious extremism has arguably emerged, one which paradoxically portrays itself as a counter to another perceived extremism regarded as a real and imminent threat. Within North America and Western Europe, as elsewhere, there is an upsurge of various forms of reactionary rhetoric and opposition expressed towards Islam and Muslims. An increase in extremist behaviour, even violence, is appearing from quarters opposed to, or varyingly fearful of, Islamic extremism if not Islam or Muslims. Islamophobia, as a manifestation of fear of an exclusionary Islam, manifests as exclusionary or negatively reactive behaviours with Muslims and Islam as the target. This article explores the idea that Islamophobia can be regarded as a manifestation of religious extremism and, further, that such extremism is construable as “reactive co-radicalization.” It focuses on two European cases – the 2009 Swiss ban on the building of minarets and the 2011 Norwegian massacre carried out by Anders Breivik – as examples of this “reactive co-radicalization.” This term, I suggest, is an apt denominator for the exclusionary reaction to the rising presence of Islam within otherwise secular, albeit nominally Christian, Western European and North American societies, among others.

Interpretation services for immigrants in federally qualified health centers: Barriers, best practices, and suggestions for the future

This paper examines the provision of interpretation services to immigrants with limited English proficiency in Federally Qualified Health Centers, through examination of barriers and best practices. The United States is a nation of immigrants; currently, more than 38 million, or 12.5 percent of the total population, is foreign-born. A substantial portion of this population does not have health insurance or speak English fluently: barriers that reduce the likelihood that they will access traditional health care organizations. This service void is filled by FQHCs, which are non-profit, community-directed providers that remove common barriers to care by serving communities who otherwise confront financial, geographic, language, and cultural barriers. By examining the importance and the implementation of medical interpretation services in FQHCs, suggestions for the future are presented.^

Ejército y Nación : Un estudio sobre las estrategias de inscripción de lo/as oficiales del Ejército Argentino en la comunidad nacional

Figuras tales como "reserva moral de la nación" o "salvadores de la patria" dan cuenta no sólo del lugar privilegiado que el ejército mantuvo en su vínculo con la nación sino también de un tipo legítimo de agencia que debía ejercer. Luego del terrorismo de Estado y de la derrota de guerra de Malvinas, en un contexto de pérdida de prestigio y declinación de la elite militar, lo/as oficiales se ven obligados a gestionar las relaciones de reconocimiento mutuo que establecen con la sociedad y la nación de las que son parte. A partir del análisis e interpretación de las representaciones, creencias y valores que lo/as oficiales actualizan en el ejercicio cotidiano de su profesión, el propósito de este trabajo es dar cuenta de los sentidos que, provenientes del pasado pero también sujetos a los cambios y necesidades del presente, enmarcan, alimentan y sostienen un tipo de inscripción de la agencia histórica de la fuerza en la comunidad nacional.

Ejército y Nación : Un estudio sobre las estrategias de inscripción de lo/as oficiales del Ejército Argentino en la comunidad nacional

Figuras tales como "reserva moral de la nación" o "salvadores de la patria" dan cuenta no sólo del lugar privilegiado que el ejército mantuvo en su vínculo con la nación sino también de un tipo legítimo de agencia que debía ejercer. Luego del terrorismo de Estado y de la derrota de guerra de Malvinas, en un contexto de pérdida de prestigio y declinación de la elite militar, lo/as oficiales se ven obligados a gestionar las relaciones de reconocimiento mutuo que establecen con la sociedad y la nación de las que son parte. A partir del análisis e interpretación de las representaciones, creencias y valores que lo/as oficiales actualizan en el ejercicio cotidiano de su profesión, el propósito de este trabajo es dar cuenta de los sentidos que, provenientes del pasado pero también sujetos a los cambios y necesidades del presente, enmarcan, alimentan y sostienen un tipo de inscripción de la agencia histórica de la fuerza en la comunidad nacional.

Ejército y Nación : Un estudio sobre las estrategias de inscripción de lo/as oficiales del Ejército Argentino en la comunidad nacional

Figuras tales como "reserva moral de la nación" o "salvadores de la patria" dan cuenta no sólo del lugar privilegiado que el ejército mantuvo en su vínculo con la nación sino también de un tipo legítimo de agencia que debía ejercer. Luego del terrorismo de Estado y de la derrota de guerra de Malvinas, en un contexto de pérdida de prestigio y declinación de la elite militar, lo/as oficiales se ven obligados a gestionar las relaciones de reconocimiento mutuo que establecen con la sociedad y la nación de las que son parte. A partir del análisis e interpretación de las representaciones, creencias y valores que lo/as oficiales actualizan en el ejercicio cotidiano de su profesión, el propósito de este trabajo es dar cuenta de los sentidos que, provenientes del pasado pero también sujetos a los cambios y necesidades del presente, enmarcan, alimentan y sostienen un tipo de inscripción de la agencia histórica de la fuerza en la comunidad nacional.

Pollen analysis, particle size analysis, end-member modelling and x-ray fluorescence measurements from sediment cores off Cape Ghir, Morocco

Understanding past human-climate-environment interactions is essential for assessing the vulnerability of landscapes and ecosystems to future climate change. This is particularly important in southern Morocco where the current vegetation is impacted by pastoralism, and the region is highly sensitive to climate variability. Here, we present a 2000-year record of vegetation, sedimentation rate, XRF chemical element intensities, and particle size from two decadal-resolved, marine sediment cores, raised from offshore Cape Ghir, southern Morocco. The results show that between 650 and 850 AD the sedimentation rate increased dramatically from 100 cm/1000 years to 300 cm/1000 years, and the Fe/Ca and pollen flux doubled, together indicating higher inputs of terrestrial sediment. Particle size measurements and end-member modelling suggest increased fluvial transport of the sediment. Beginning at 650 AD pollen levels from Cichorioideae species show a sharp rise from 10% to 20%. Pollen from Atemisia and Plantago, also increase from this time. Deciduous oak pollen percentages show a decline, whereas those of evergreen oak barely change. The abrupt increase in terrestrial/fluvial input from 650 to 850 AD occurs, within the age uncertainty, of the arrival of Islam (Islamisation) in Morocco at around 700 AD. Historical evidence suggests Islamisation led to population increase and development of southern Morocco, including expanded pastoralism, deforestation and agriculture. Livestock pressure may have changed the vegetation structure, accounting for the increase in pollen from Cichorioideae, Plantago, and Artemisia, which include many weedy species. Goats in particular may have played a dominant role as agents of erosion, and intense browsing may have led to the decline in deciduous oak; evergreen oak is more likely to survive as it re-sprouts more vigorously after browsing. From 850 AD to present sedimentation rates, Fe/Ca ratios and fluvial discharge remain stable, whereas pollen results suggest continued degradation. Pollen results from the past 150 years suggest expanded cultivation of olives and the native argan tree, and the introduction of Australian eucalyptus trees. The rapidly increasing population in southern Morocco is causing continued pressure to expand pastoralism and agriculture. The history of land degradation presented here suggests that the vegetation in southern Morocco may have been degraded for a longer period than previously thought and may be particularly sensitive to further land use changes. These results should be included in land management strategies for southern Morocco.

Electricity price forecasting accounting for renewable energies: optimal combined forecasts

Electricity price forecasting is an interesting problem for all the agents involved in electricity market operation. For instance, every profit maximisation strategy is based on the computation of accurate one-day-ahead forecasts, which is why electricity price forecasting has been a growing field of research in recent years. In addition, the increasing concern about environmental issues has led to a high penetration of renewable energies, particularly wind. In some European countries such as Spain, Germany and Denmark, renewable energy is having a deep impact on the local power markets. In this paper, we propose an optimal model from the perspective of forecasting accuracy, and it consists of a combination of several univariate and multivariate time series methods that account for the amount of energy produced with clean energies, particularly wind and hydro, which are the most relevant renewable energy sources in the Iberian Market. This market is used to illustrate the proposed methodology, as it is one of those markets in which wind power production is more relevant in terms of its percentage of the total demand, but of course our method can be applied to any other liberalised power market. As far as our contribution is concerned, first, the methodology proposed by García-Martos et al(2007 and 2012) is generalised twofold: we allow the incorporation of wind power production and hydro reservoirs, and we do not impose the restriction of using the same model for 24h. A computational experiment and a Design of Experiments (DOE) are performed for this purpose. Then, for those hours in which there are two or more models without statistically significant differences in terms of their forecasting accuracy, a combination of forecasts is proposed by weighting the best models(according to the DOE) and minimising the Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE). The MAPE is the most popular accuracy metric for comparing electricity price forecasting models. We construct the combi nation of forecasts by solving several nonlinear optimisation problems that allow computation of the optimal weights for building the combination of forecasts. The results are obtained by a large computational experiment that entails calculating out-of-sample forecasts for every hour in every day in the period from January 2007 to Decem ber 2009. In addition, to reinforce the value of our methodology, we compare our results with those that appear in recent published works in the field. This comparison shows the superiority of our methodology in terms of forecasting accuracy.

A SENSIBILIDADE CULTURAL DO ADVENTISMO COMO MODELO MISSIOLÓGICO EM GRANDES CENTROS URBANOS: UMA ANÁLISE DE IGREJAS ADVENTISTAS ÉTNICAS NA CIDADE DE SÃO PAULO

Esta pesquisa objetiva analisar o desenvolvimento da missão adventista na cidade de São Paulo em busca de um modelo missiológico para centros urbanos. São Paulo, uma das maiores metrópoles do mundo tem uma formação cultural plural, não apenas pelas forças atuantes da modernização, secularização, globalização e pós-modernidade. A composição da população da cidade possui uma gênese étnica plural. Além da matriz autóctone indígena, do colonizador branco europeu e dos escravos africanos, desde o início do século XIX chegaram outros imigrantes, europeus e asiáticos. Nas primeiras décadas do século XX, o Brasil foi o país que mais recebeu imigrantes em todo o mundo. Estima-se que nos anos de 1920, apenas um terço da população na cidade de São Paulo fosse de brasileiros, o restante era composto por imigrantes. A inserção do adventismo em São Paulo se deu por missionários imigrantes que trabalharam primeiro com outros imigrantes antes de evangelizar e desenvolver a missão adventista com os brasileiros nacionais. De alguma forma, esse início deixou marcas na missão adventista paulistana. São Paulo é hoje a cidade com o maior número total de adventistas no mundo e a única com Igrejas Adventistas étnicas que atendem cinco grupos étnicos distintos: japoneses, coreanos, judeus, árabes e bolivianos/peruanos. Esta pesquisa busca investigar a formação de uma sensibilidade cultural no adventismo paulistano que lhe permitiu dialogar com a pluralidade cultural da metrópole paulistana.

Secularism, Sharia, and the Turkish Financial Markets

The financial markets in Turkey provide a laboratory to help resolve these competing views. Islamic law or Sharia contains a number of proscriptions that directly affect financial practices. The payment and receipt of interest is prohibited; so are most kinds of commercial insurance. These interpretations provided the impetus in the Islamic world for the creation of a class of banks that sought to offer Sharia compliant services. The first Islamic Banks in Turkey began operations in the 1980s. Their entry was initially tepid, in no small part because of secularist principles. Islamic financial institutions could not overtly advertise their religious orientation. The country had no “Islamic” banks, only finance houses. They were not Sharia compliant but “interest-free.” Moreover, the government left them in an uncertain regulatory status and subjected them to restrictions on growth. In this environment, the Islamic banks remained a peripheral part of the financial system. With the election of the AKP in 2002, however, the environment for Islamic banks in Turkey changed. Limitations on branch networks and capital raising were lifted. The government removed restrictions on the issuance of Sharia compliant bonds. Officials from the Islamic banks were appointed to the highest levels of government. This Article does several things. First, it examines principles of Islam that affect banking practices, with a particular emphasis on deposit insurance and credit cards. Second, the Article discusses the emergence of secularism in Turkey and the introduction of Islamic banks into the Turkish financial markets. The Article then examine their evolution, with particular emphasis on the changes implemented by the AKP. Finally, the Article examines the impact of these reforms, and what that impact says about Islamic influence in Turkey.

Espiritualidad y defensa al servicio de la comunidad musulmana de al-Andalus: las rábitas en Portugal

Se analizan los conceptos de guerra y paz en los orígenes del islam, y se repasan los acontecimientos y justificación inicial de la guerra como necesaria para el sustento de la nueva comunidad de fieles y cómo se llega a institucionalizar el ŷihād como precepto. Cuando no es posible realizar este, como sustituto del ŷihād se desarrolla el espíritu del ribāṭ. Se explica la evolución hacia una espiritualización de este precepto, desarrollada inicialmente en «lugares de ribāṭ» y luego en las rábitas. Finalmente, se resumen los datos toponímicos y arqueológicos que conocemos sobre las rábitas en Portugal.

Hādhā Rūznāmah-ʼī maʻahu mīqāt layl wa-nahār wa-sāʼir al-awqāt al-maʻlūmah / naqalahu Shaykh Wafā : manuscript, undated

Calendar with times for the five daily prayers of Islam for each month of the year.

[al-Qurʼān, 9th or 10th century].

Fragment from an Early ʿAbbāsid Qur’ān carrying final words of Sūrat al-Mulk (67) verse 23 through opening word of Sūrat al-Qalam (68) verse 19.

Qad taḍammana mā bayna al-daffatayn ʻalá al-Wajīzatayn.

" ... awwalhumā li-Shaykhnā al-Jalīl Bahāʾ al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʻAbd al-Ṣamad al-Ḥārithī al-ʻĀmilī al-Jubaʻī ... fī ʻilm al-dirāyah wa-thānīhumā li-mawlānānā al-ʻallāmah al-Majlisī Muḥammad Bāqir ibn Muḥammad Taqī ..."

كتاب منهاج الفقراء.

"Based largely on the Manāzil al-sāʹirīn of ʻAbd Allah Anṣarī." Encyclopedia of Islam, new ed., v. 4 (1978), p. 190.

El-muhtasarat fi mesail it-tahare veʾl-ibadat.

Title from Özege.