With the increasing Muslim diaspora in post-modern Western societies, Sufism - intellectually as well as sociologically - may eventually become Islam itself due to its versatile potential. Although Sufism has always provoked considerable interest in the West, no volume has so far been written which discusses this aspect of Islam in terms of how it is practised in Western societies.

Bringing together leading international authorities to survey the history of Islamic mysticism in North America and Europe, this book elaborates the ideas and institutions which organize Sufism and...

With the increasing Muslim diaspora in post-modern Western societies, Sufism - intellectually as well as sociologically - may eventually become Islam itself due to its versatile potential. Although Sufism has always provoked considerable interest in the West, no volume has so far been written which discusses this aspect of Islam in terms of how it is practised in Western societies.

Bringing together leading international authorities to survey the history of Islamic mysticism in North America and Europe, this book elaborates the ideas and institutions which organize Sufism and...

This volume embodies an up-to-date and sensitive set of studies exploring the ongoing negotiation of European Muslim identities in Europe. The editor argues there has been hitherto a three-fold response on the part of Muslims in Europe (some of whom are now third generation Europeans): integration, isolation, and escapism. Today the latter two responses are giving way, it is argued, to an active shaping of Muslim European identities. The central issue remains: What degree of freedom and what potential for cultural and religious diversity can minorities have in an outwardly secular and plural...

This insightful volume treats the world of the learned classes in the region of Awadh, in Muslim North India, with its famous capital Lucknow, from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries. It focusses on those circles which carried, promoted, and reflected acculturation and interference in traditional as well as colonial settings. Part I examines the qasbahs where the seeds are laid for the efflorescence of scholarship, connecting South Asia with the Middle East and Europe. Part II deals with the accommodation of Islamic religious culture in the newly-established territorial states in the...

Relationships between colonialists and the colonised peoples are often ambivalent - but always fascinating. This edited volume explores the issues of cultural reciprocity between Europeans and South Asians during the crucial period from 1760 to 1860. In doing so, prevailing assumptions about these complex relationships are examined. Part I examines a variety of themes in reciprocal encounter, such as class structures, urban landscape, Anglo-Muslim cooperation and debates on indigenous values. Part II deals with the persons important to the process of reciprocity and discursive...

After 9/11, madrasas have been linked to international terrorism. They are suspected to foster anti-western, traditionalist or even fundamentalist views and to train al-Qaeda fighters. This has led to misconceptions on madrasa-education in general and its role in South Asia in particular. Government policies to modernize and 'pacify' madrasas have been precipitous and mostly inadequate.

This book discusses the educational system of madrasas in South Asia. It gives a contextual account of different facets of madrasa education from historical, anthropological, theological,...

Die Annahme vom Verfall der Religion und der zunehmenden Sakularisierung von Gesellschaften im Zuge der Modernisierung gilt vor dem Hintergrund einer gesellschaftlichen und wissenschaftlichen Offentlichkeit, die Probleme religioser Identitat und Abgrenzung in vielfaltiger Weise beschaftigt, als widerlegt. Die Frage, wie sakularisierte Staaten religiosen Traditionen zu begegnen haben, religiose Freiheit gewahrleisten und gleichzeitig mit deren Identifikations- und Konfliktpotential umgehen konnen, ist Thema dieses interdisziplinaren Sammelbandes. In einem ersten Block wird dabei der Bestand...

An essential resource for implementing and managing a cloud infrastructure in Azure

Serving as a critical resource for anyone responsible for strategizing, architecting, implementing or managing a cloud infrastructure, this book helps you understand what is hybrid IT and how it's applicable (and inevitable) in today's world of emerging cloud. The team of authors focus on the Microsoft concept of a private/public cloud, deploying a private cloud fabric, deploying services, and building a private cloud, as well as integrating it with Microsoft's public cloud to create a...