Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History Volume 6: Western Europe (1500-1600)

Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History, volume 6 (CMR 6), covering the years 1500-1600, is a continuing volume in a history of relations between followers of the two faiths as it is recorded in their written works. Together with introductory essays, it comprises detailed entries on all the works known from this century. This volume traces the attitudes of Western Europeans to Islam, particularly in light of continuing Ottoman expansion, and early despatches sent from Portuguese colonies around the Indian Ocean. The result of collaboration between numerous leading scholars, CMR 6, along with the other volumes in this series, is intended as a fundamental tool for research in Christian-Muslim relations.

Testing "saintly" authenticity - Investigations on two catacomb saints

The goal of this study was to examine two catacomb saints from Switzerland with conventional radiographic imaging and minimally invasive techniques to test their authenticity.

The Character of Christian-Muslim Encounter: Essays in Honour of David Thomas

The Character of Christian-Muslim Encounter is a Festschrift in honour of David Thomas, Professor of Christianity and Islam, and Nadir Dinshaw Professor of Inter Religious Relations, at the University of Birmingham, UK. The Editors have put together a collection of over 30 contributions from colleagues of Professor Thomas that commences with a biographical sketch and representative tribute provided by a former doctoral student, and comprises a series of wide-ranging academic papers arranged to broadly reflect three dimensions of David Thomas’ academic and professional work – studies in and of Islam; Christian-Muslim relations; the Church and interreligious engagement. These are set in the context of a focussed theme – the character of Christian-Muslim encounters – and cast within a broad chronological framework.

Theory after Dialogue: Christian-Muslim Engagement Today and Tomorrow

The phenomenon of Christian–Muslim dialogue has had a very chequered history. At varying times, three broad modes of engagement can be said to have operated: antipathy, affinity and inquiry, and these three modes can be found still in today's world. In some places, hostility and antipathy abound. In others, voices and actions express cordial friendship, détente and affinity. In this latter climate, the prospect of engagement in mutual inquiry and cooperative ventures is not only theoretically possible, but actively pursued, and in the first decade of the twenty-first century, a number of notable initiatives in the arena of mutual inquiry have taken place. This article addresses aspects of the context and development of Christian–Muslim dialogue as a modern phenomenon, and then turns to a review of three twenty-first century developments – the Building Bridges seminar series; the Stuttgart-based Christian–Muslim Theological Forum and the “Common Word” letter. It also reflects on the models and theology of dialogue, including not only theology for dialogue, but also theology in and – importantly – after dialogue.

Coherence and Historical understanding in children's Biography and Historical Nonfiction Literature: A Content Analysis of Selected Orbis Pictus Books

The purpose of this study was to investigate a selection of children's historical nonfiction literature for evidence of coherence. Although research has been conducted on coherence of textbook material and its influences on comprehension there has been limited study on coherence in children's nonfiction literature. Generally, textual coherence has been seen as critical in the comprehensibility of content area textbooks because it concerns the unity of connections among ideas and information. Disciplinary coherence concerns the extent to which authors of historical text show readers how historians think and write. Since young readers are apprentices in learning historical content and conventions of historical thinking, evidence of disciplinary coherence is significant in nonfiction literature for young readers. The sample of the study contained 32 books published between 1989 and 2000 ranging in length from less than 90 pages to more than 150 pages. Content analysis was the quantitative research technique used to measure 84 variables of textual and disciplinary coherence in three passages of each book, as proportions of the total number of words for each book. Reliability analyses and an examination of 750 correlations showed the extent to which variables were related in the books. Three important findings emerged from the study that should be considered in the selection and use of children's historical nonfiction literature in classrooms. First, characteristics of coherence are significantly related together in high quality nonfiction literature. Second, shorter books have a higher proportion of textual coherence than longer books as measured in three passages. Third, presence of the author is related to characteristics of coherence throughout the books. The findings show that nonfiction literature offers students content that researchers have found textbooks lack. Both younger and older students have the opportunity to learn the conventions of historical thinking as they learn content through nonfiction literature. Further, the children's literature, represented in the Orbis Pictus list, shows students that authors select, interpret, and question information, and give other interpretations. The implications of the study for teaching history, teacher preparation in content and literacy, school practices, children's librarians, and publishers of children's nonfiction are discussed.

Feminism, gender equity and sexual/reproductive health in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region

Sexual/reproductive/health and rights are crucial public health concerns that have been specifically integrated into the Millennium Development Goals to be accomplished by 2015. These issues are related to several health outcomes, including HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence (GBV) among women. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region comprises Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), West Bank and Gaza (WBG), and Yemen. This region is primarily Arabic speaking (except for Israel and Iran), and primarily Muslim (except for Israel). Some traditional and cultural views and practices in this region engender gender inequalities, which manifest themselves in the economic, political and social spheres. HIV and gender-based violence in the region may be interlinked with gender inequalities which breed justification for partner violence and honour killings, and increase the chance that HIV will transform into an epidemic in the region if not addressed. A feminist framework, focused on economic, political and social empowerment for women would be useful to consider applying to sexual/reproductive health in the region.^

Mid-Cretaceous planktonic foraminifera off central Morocco

Sites 545 and 547 collectively penetrated 629 m of mid-Cretaceous strata (upper Aptian to upper Cenomanian) off central Morocco during Leg 79 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project. Site 545, at the base of the steep Mazagan Escarpment, records a virtually complete succession of hemipelagic sediments of early late Aptian to middle Cenomanian age. Minor faunal recycling occurred throughout much of the upper Aptian to middle Albian part of the sequence (Cores 55 through 41), reflecting bottom currents along the Mazagan Escarpment. This may be related to the strong upwelling regime and high surface water productivity over Site 545 during the latest Aptian through middle Albian. The upwelling system ceased rather abruptly in this area in late middle Albian time. Recycling of older strata by bottom currents also ceased in the late middle Albian and resulted in a slower average accumulation rate in the upper Albian to middle Cenomanian section of Site 545 (Cores 40 through 28). However, intervals of pebbly claystone conglomerates in Cores 40 and 34 record sporadic instability in the slope adjacent to Site 545. Site 547, located only about 15 km seaward, is situated in a small sub-basin adjacent to the basement block drilled by Site 544. It contains an expanded upper Albian to upper Cenomanian sequence as a result of the numerous conglomeratic intervals throughout much of the section. In contrast to Site 545, the conglomerates were not derived from older strata cropping out on the Mazagan Escarpment; rather, they originated penecontemporaneously from a local unstable slope. A detailed biostratigraphic framework based on planktonic foraminifers is established for the mid-Cretaceous sections of Sites 545 and 547 and a new composite zonal scheme is proposed for the early late Aptian through early late Cenomanian interval. Fifty-five species are recognized and illustrated