The relationship between ṣūfīs and salafīs is complicated. On the one hand, salafīs criticize taṣawwuf for deviating from Islam, while ṣūfīs assert their own authenticity in contrast with the salafīs. On the other hand, there is a possibility that the division of ideas can be bridged. This article focuses on the doctrinal shape of al-Ṭarīqa al-Rukaynīya, which emerged in southeastern Sudan in the early twentieth century. Al-Ṭarīqa al-Rukaynīya identifies itself as al-ṭarīqa al-ṣūfīya al-salafīya, and adopts taṣawwuf al-Salaf as its doctrine. Criticizing both contemporary ṣūfīs and salafīs in Sudan, and accusing them of misunderstanding Islam and taṣawwuf, the ṭarīqa emphasizes the common ground and joint purpose shared by ṣūfīs and salafīs. Therefore, it provides an instructive case study for assessing the possibility of articulating the thoughts of ṣūfīs and salafīs. By clarifying the historical background, religious practices and doctrinal features of al-Ṭarīqa al-Rukaynīya, this article reveals the way in which it reinterprets taṣawwuf and the Salaf in manner which purportedly brings into the question the confrontational gulf between ṣūfīs and salafīs.

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A diversity of new polities generated after the Arab Spring can be useful for analyzing party politics in the period of interim governments. Consultative processes between the interim rulers and the opposition parties can play several important roles both for establishing patterns of party systems and for forming interim governments. Thus, during a fierce tug-of-war over institutional building between two main political actors after the collapse of established authoritarian regimes, how do interim rulers attempt to maintain their vested interests, how does the largest opposition party intend to maximize its political power, and how do both behaviors interact with other political forces to form patterns of division and coalition among political parties in the new context of interim governments? To answer these questions, this article focuses on the effects of a series of consultative processes, including the constitution drafting, on intensifying ideological polarization between political forces. Strictly, it sees the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF)-led caretaker government in Egypt from mid-February 2011 until late June 2012 as a case of interim governments and argues that a series of consultative processes offered by interim rulers revealed and intensified ideological differences between Islamists and secularists and that their disagreement over the political issues of the new constitution made them difficult to unite each other against the SCAF and thus led to the continuation of the military-led caretaker government.

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The purpose of this article is to examine the concept of “Just despot”, which was mentioned in 1899 by an Egyptian thinker Muhammad ‘Abduh. Although he was said to be an Islamic idealist, he was deeply aware of the harsh realities of the Egyptian society. Therefore, he emphasized the importance of a national leadership, whereas he understood the people who have internalized the oppression under the hierarchical system of despotism. In fact, his ideas were, to a great extent, influenced by the preceding ideas. First, the terminology of istibdād signified literally “decisiveness” it only began to be used in the sense of “despotism” in the mid-19th century. Second, the first generation of Nahda considered the despotism as a problem of the abuse of power until the 1860s. Third, in the late 1870s, Afghānī emphasized the necessity of a leader’s ability, whereas Isḥāq began to describe the despotism as a mechanism of reproduction of power. In short, the concept of “Just despot”, employed by ‘Abduh, was, in general, a product of his adaptation and development of these two points of view. He reached the meaning of a modern political concept following the efforts of their predecessors.

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This paper examines a new type of dispute resolution system for Islamic finance in Dubai. It is divided into three parts. The first part shows the whole picture of the new dispute resolution system by referring to cases dealt with in 2009. The second part explains why this system arose when it did. The third part identifies the distinctive characteristics of the new system by comparing it to the conventional system. Although there were special laws for Islamic finance under the Islamic jurisdiction separate from the conventional one, there is an inconsistency in legal jurisdiction when it comes to disputes. Cases were usually brought to the conventional court or ADR system. However, the special judicial committee and the special court established by the Dubai decrees have changed things. As this new dispute resolution system has similar characteristics to those of the ‘London approach’ but also has new features, this paper has named this new dispute resolution system for Islamic finance the ‘Dubai approach’.

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This article presents some new findings relating to the Ertuğrul Frigate dispatched to Japan by the Ottoman Sultan in 1889-90 based on the documents found among the collection of the Archives of the Istanbul Mufti’s Office. These documents show that Sultan Abdülhamid II intended to send several ulema to Japan by the Ertuğrul to promote Islam in that country. Although this attempt was never materialized, it shed light on the Sultan’s Islamist policy and his knowledge on Japan. Dispatch of the Ertuğrul is now interpreted as a means of the pan-Islamic propaganda towards the Muslim population in India and Southeast Asia. Also, it has been widely accepted that the Islamization of Japan was not at issue. However, our documents indicate that the Sultan did have an idea of promoting Islam in Japan, which shows an expansionist dimension of his Islamist policy. Discussion about the Islamization of Japan gained wide currency in the Ottoman journalism after the Russo-Japanese War. The findings of this article suggest that this idea was much more rooted among the Ottomans, and that Abdülhamid II was one of its earliest proponents. Finally, the Sultan never actually dispatched an Islamic mission to Japan. He was, however, successful in spreading the idea through the foreign press that he did so.

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The recent few decades have seen a growing number of studies on Māturīdism. At the same time, revision and publication of writings of Māturīdītes are proceeding apace. This study reconsiders past and present studies regarding Māturīdism and measures their scope and possible applications. Māturīdism can be helpful in four categories of applied research. First, Māturīdism should be reconsidered as a representative of the rationalistic tide in Sunnī theology. Therefore, it could lead to the societal cultivation of common ethics that can be shared with non-Muslims who do not accept the same revelatory values that Muslims do. Second, studies in Māturīdism may be applied to examine the internal and theoretical correlations between a legal madhhab and theological school, because Māturīdism is strongly connected to the Ḥanafī school of law. Third, studies on Māturīdism would be useful for reconsideration of the expansion process of Islam and development of thoughts in respective areas. Finally, Māturīdism may be an undeniable factor in contemporary activities and issues, e.g., in da‘wah activities in non-Muslim countries, and in the theological disputes between Salafism and traditional Sunnī regime, i.e., Ash‘arī-Māturīdism. Studies of Māturīdism may enrich the research perspectives of Islamic thought and Sunnī speculative theology, adding a new element to the ongoing discussion of contemporary issues.

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