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The purpose of this study is to critically review the book Islamic Law and International Law by Emilila Powell.

The book review is undertaken from a comparative legal and political science perspective, including arguments and insights from international relations, international law, Islamic law, Islamic culture, religious studies, legal history and European as well as international political history.

While the empirical part of Powell’s work (chapters 5, 6 and 7) shows a methodologically veryc well done approach and at the same time highly interesting insights, both foundation and context show several critical points, in particular, a lack of differentiation with respect to the Western politico-legal tradition, its concepts and the resulting implications.

The book represents an excellent starting point that should inspire new, more intensive as well as exhaustive research on this topic.

The book generates valuable insights for practitioners such as judges at international courts dealing with issues involving so-called Islamic law states, as well as politicians or public service officials in the context of international law and international politics.

As the paper is a comprehensive review of the book based upon comparatively based insights from international relations, international law, Islamic law, Islamic culture, religious studies, legal history and European as well as international political history, the arguments of Powell are analyzed and commented upon in a comprehensive, well-founded and fair way. This should give potential readers a good understanding of Powell’s arguments, inspire a critical lecture of the book and contribute to the important discourse on the connex between international law and Islamic law.

The purpose of the paper is to showcase the significant achievements of Egypt's scientists in the 20th century across various fields of study such as medicine, physics, chemistry, biology, math, geology, astronomy and engineering. The paper highlights the struggles and successes of these scientists, as well as the cultural, social and political factors that influenced their lives and work. The aim is to inspire young people to pursue careers in science and make their own contributions to society by presenting these scientists as role models for hard work and dedication. Ultimately, the paper seeks to promote the importance of science and its impact on society.

The purpose of this review is to present the scientific biographies of Egypt's most distinguished scientists, primarily in the field of Natural Sciences, in a balanced and comprehensive manner. The work is objective, honest and abstract, avoiding any bias or exaggeration. The author provides a clear and concise methodology, including a brief introduction to the scientist and their field of study, an explanation of their major contributions, the impact of their work on society, any challenges or obstacles faced during their career and their lasting legacy. The aim is to showcase the important achievements of these scientists, their impact on their respective fields and to inspire future generations to pursue scientific careers.

The group of outstanding scientists in 20th century Egypt were shaped by various factors, including familial upbringing, education, society, political and cultural atmosphere and state support for scientific research. These scientists made significant contributions to various academic disciplines, including medicine, physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and engineering. Their impact on their communities and cultures has received international acclaim, making them role models for future generations of scientists and researchers. The history of these scientists highlights the importance of educational investments and supporting scientific research to foster innovation and social progress. The encyclopedia serves as a useful tool for students, instructors and education professionals, preserving Egypt's scientific heritage and honouring the scientists' outstanding accomplishments.

The encyclopedia preserves Egypt's scientific heritage, which has been overlooked for political or other reasons. It is a useful tool for a variety of readers, including students, instructors and education professionals, and it offers insights into universally relevant scientific success factors as well as scientific research methodologies. The encyclopedia honours the outstanding scientific accomplishments of Egyptian researchers and their contributions to the world's scientific community.

The practical implications of this paper are several. First, it highlights the importance of education, family upbringing and societal support for scientific research in fostering innovation and social progress. Second, it underscores the need for continued funding and support for scientific research to maintain and build upon the accomplishments of past generations of scientists. Third, it encourages young people to pursue scientific careers and make their own contributions to society. Fourth, it preserves the scientific heritage of Egypt and honors the contributions of its outstanding scientists. Finally, it serves as a useful tool for students, instructors and education professionals seeking to understand the factors underlying scientific success and research methodologies.

The social implications of the paper include promoting national pride and cultural identity, raising awareness of the importance of education and scientific research in driving social progress, inspiring future generations of scientists and researchers, reducing socioeconomic disparities and emphasizing the role of society, politics and culture in shaping scientific researchers' personalities and interests.

The paper's originality/value lies in its comprehensive documentation of the scientific biographies of Egypt's most prominent scientists in the 20th century, providing unique insights into the factors that contributed to their development and their impact across various academic disciplines. It preserves Egypt's scientific heritage and inspires future generations of scientists and researchers through the promotion of educational investments and scientific research. The encyclopedia serves as a useful tool for education professionals seeking to understand scientific success factors and research methodologies, emphasizing the importance of supportive and inclusive environments for scientific development.

The purpose of this paper is to seek to establish an effective governance framework for waqf (Islamic endowment) in the Republic of Guinea that would assist in enhancing socio-economic activities and eradicating poverty in the country.

It examines key governing features within the said country’s waqf legal framework and undertakes a comparison with other countries’ legal frameworks. This paper also examines waqf-related legal references of Guinea and other countries and analyses relevant online sources such as journal articles, research papers, webpages as well as informal discussions with persons informed on the subject matter within and outside the Republic of Guinea.

This paper identifies a number of prevailing issues affecting the development of the institution of waqf in the Republic of Guinea and, thereafter, proposes key reformatory measures. These include the passing of general codified legislation that comprehensively governs waqf affairs in the country and the setting up of a dedicated supervisory entity and competent managerial bodies to ensure the smooth and effective operation of the institution in the country.

This research proposes an innovative and befitting governance framework for waqf operations in the Republic of Guinea. These recommendations, if correctly adopted, would ensure the viability and efficacy of the institution of waqf in the Republic of Guinea and would lead to socio-economic development, as has been the case in other nations. Moreover, other countries with underdeveloped waqf governance systems could also model their waqf operations based on these recommendations, as they are most likely already encountering or going to encounter identical issues in this particular field.

The purpose of this paper is to supply basic insights into the principle of shūrā (consultation) in Islamic banking, the idea of a centralised approach to the corporate governance of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs), the roles of a centralised Sharīʿah board as the highest authority on Sharīʿah issues and its distinguishing features from a de-centralised system and the advantages and disadvantages of the two governance systems.

In analyzing these, the paper adopts the critical legal studies approach and refers to the provisions of the Qurʾan and Sunnah, ijmāʿ (consensus) of Sharīʿah scholars and recent Islamic banking reports.

Despite the fact that the double-digit growth of the current US$2tn Islamic banking industry is a promising sign for its further expansion – expecting to cross the US$6.5tn mark by 2020 – there remains concern over the lack of standardization or rather the diversified approaches to the corporate governance of IFIs across key Islamic banking regions.

There has been much debate surrounding the issue of whether the Islamic banking industry requires a centralised Sharīʿah board at the state level to complement the Sharīʿah boards at the IFIs’ individual level in providing better supervision of the Sharīʿah-compliance of IFIs. The fact that the industry is already equipped with two prominent standard-setting agencies in the form of the AAOIFI, the IFSB does little to suggest that best governance practices – which centre around the themes of consistency, harmony and uniformity – are on the horizon, at least not whilst their issued standards and guidelines remain voluntary for IFIs.

All in all, it is aspired that this paper may assist the reader in evaluating the pros and cons of the whole concept of Sharīʿah board centralisation.

This paper aims to analyse the concept of form over substance and introduces the term substance gap to the literature. The substance gap is defined as the difference between the way a concept is expressed and its intended result. Besides, the study investigates the issue from both classical and contemporary viewpoints.

The methodology adopted in this paper is descriptive research.

This paper has depicted the substance gap in contemporary contracts and found that form is equally important as substance in Islamic finance contracts. This paper offers a fresh outlook on form and substance to highlight the importance of the issue and its significance. The findings of the study will help researchers address the issue at its roots and help them to bridge the gap between the form and substance of Islamic finance contracts.

This paper investigates the substance gap in contemporary contracts that exists between the fiqh rules and conditions of an Islamic contract, and their development and construction. Further, the gap could also be attributed to the pressure to cope with a complicated modern finance environment.

This paper aims to develop the best practices of Islamic estate planning for Muslims. Islamic estate planning is a fixed proposal for the management and outlook of an individual’s assets throughout their life and upon their passing, created by means of existing Islamic estate planning tools, for instance, farāʾiḍ (inheritance), waṣiyyah (will), hibah (gift) and waqf (endowment).

The paper used an interview method to obtain information on the best practices of Islamic estate planning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the respondents and estate planning providers in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia. The data gathered was analysed using thematic analysis which involved five phases to construct the best practices of Islamic estate planning.

The paper identifies important elements in Islamic estate planning. The elements were outlined as the crucial things that Muslims should do to plan for intergenerational transfer and earning a good share in the hereafter.

The first limitation of the paper is that the best practices were developed based on a qualitative method. There is no evidence of its validity, which is a gap that can be explored in the future. Second, it involves the perceptions of two types of respondents (individuals and Islamic estate planning providers), which may be broadened to other related stakeholders such as regulators, in future studies.

This paper presents a framework of best practices of Islamic estate planning, it being one of the first studies to do so, which is not only useful and relevant for Malaysian Muslims but also for Muslims in other countries.

Purpose – This study aimed to explore what the Islamic boarding school does to protect their students from radicalism, violence, and fundamentalism.

Approach – For this research, both a qualitative approach and a phenomenological method were used to get the accurate results.

Findings – The study was conducted from April 2016 to December 2016. The Islamic Boarding School of Jabal Nur was taken up as a case for this study. The school has a lot of strategies to protect its students from radicalism, violence, and fundamentalism ideology. Those ideologies might damage their health mental and behavior. This research found that the strategies are: (1) applying the curriculum of the study according to the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kementerian Agama); (2) religious education based on the salafi method (al kitab alasfar) which contains the deradicalization concept, and by this method, the students were trained to be a obedient; (3) foster care system or parenting done for 24 hours. The tutor was responsible for paying attention to their development, listening to their complaints, taking care of their mental and physical health, and guiding them at all times; and (4) the student (santri) was occupied by various extracurricular activities, such as Arabic caligraphy learning, language department center, sport activities, etc. Prevention efforts should also be based on the agreement between the students and their teacher. With these efforts, this study concludes that the radical ideology potential for santri (student) will not occur.

Originality/Value – The study of radicalism becomes an important discussion today, given the rise of terrorist threats in almost all countries.

Waqf (Islamic endowment) in the form of cash is important to address the problem of developing idle waqf lands. Although there are various existing models of cash waqf, there is still a need for innovative cash waqf models. This paper aims to offer an alternative mode of financing for developing idle waqf lands using the concepts of cooperatives and waqf.

The present study first evaluates relevant literature on financing issues faced by waqf institutions in developing idle waqf lands as well as existing models of cash waqf. Based on the prevailing gap in cash waqf models, the study proposes a hybrid model of cooperative-waqf to finance idle waqf lands in Malaysia.

The proposed model is unique owing to the new dimension of membership being embedded into the waqf project. It considers donors as members of the waqf project, which is funded through the cash waqf collected, and thus, donors are given the privilege to receive benefits from the commercialised projects that are developed on the waqf lands. The existing models of cash waqf use traditional methods in which donors merely contribute cash waqf without any awareness of how the contributions are utilised. Usually, this problem occurs due to the lack of reciprocal communication between cash waqf donors and waqf institutions.

The present study examines the case of waqf land development in the context of Malaysia only. Secondly, the paper does not contain any empirical analysis, and the development of the paper is based on existing literature that discusses various models of cash waqf practised in Muslim-majority and -minority countries. Future research can conduct surveys of donors and other stakeholders on the practicality of the model.

It is expected that the proposed cooperative-waqf model will be able to create a synchronised relationship between cash waqf donors and waqf institutions and hence boost participation in developing waqf lands.

The present study adds to the existing literature in the area of waqf and cash waqf models, especially the application of this instrument in the context of Malaysia. It also offers a new hybrid model to the State Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCs) – Malaysia’s sole trustee of waqf assets management – such that the implementation of the proposed model could boost the collection of cash waqf in developing commercial projects on idle waqf lands.

The purpose of this study is to document how a central bank can perform its primary and secondary functions in a Sharīʿah-compliant manner. It also seeks to investigate the outcomes of the experiments of Muslim-majority countries in this regard.

As a first step, a detailed review of existing literature is conducted, which discusses the views of scholars and practitioners on the central banking mechanism in a fully Sharīʿah-compliant financial system. Moving further, the case studies of Iran, Sudan and Pakistan are presented to highlight experiences of regulators from three Muslim-majority countries, which aimed to achieve full compliance with Sharīʿah (Islamic law) principles related to Islamic finance. To evaluate their models, an assessment of their practices is performed in the light of Sharīʿah rules and principles based on existing literature. Finally, the issues involved in establishing a Sharīʿah-compliant central bank (SCCB) are discussed and improvements are suggested.

It is found that Iran played an effective role in pursuing broader objectives of monetary policy by setting priorities for credit allocation and assisting the government in reducing expenses; however, with respect to instruments, its experience is limited to the rebranding of conventional products. Sudan has not only used monetary policy to effectively curb inflation but also it has introduced various indirect instruments to perform monetary operations. Pakistan succeeded in formulating a theoretical roadmap to establish a SCCB but the desired objectives could not be achieved because of multiple factors.

This study has important policy implications for regulators and policymakers from Muslim countries, who can use the findings in shaping effective Sharīʿah-compliant central banking practices in their respective countries.

This study discusses the salient features of an important Islamic financial institution, the central bank and evaluates the experiments of three Muslim-majority countries in implementing Sharīʿah-compliant central banking practices. To the best of the knowledge, this evaluation has not been performed in the existing literature and the present study fills in this gap.

This study argues that in order to address the problems associated with the modern market economy at their core, such as persistent poverty, growing inequality and environmental degradation, it is imperative to re-assess the well-being and moral philosophy underpinning economic thinking. The author attempts to offer a preliminary way forward with reference to the Islamic intellectual tradition.

This study employs content analysis of classical and contemporary Islamic texts on human well-being and economic ethics to derive a conceptual well-being model. The paper is structured in four sections: section one provides an overview of relevant secondary literature on moral economic approaches; section two outlines the main well-being frameworks; section three discusses the concept of human well-being in Islam informed by the Islamic worldview of tawḥīd, the Islamic philosophy of saʿādah, and the higher objectives of Islamic Law (maqās_.id al-Sharīʿah); and finally, section four discusses policy implications and next steps forward.

A conceptual model of human well-being from an Islamic perspective is developed by integrating philosophical insights of happiness (saʿādah) with an objective list of five essential goods: religion (Dīn), self (Nafs), intellect ('Aql), progeny (Nasl) and wealth (Māl) that correspond to spiritual, physical and psychological, intellectual, familial and social, and material well-being, respectively.

Further research is needed to translate this conceptual model into a composite well-being index to inform policy and practice.

This model can be used to review the performance of the Islamic finance sector, not solely in terms of growth and profitability, but in terms of realising human necessities, needs and refinements. It can also provide the basis for the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) countries to jointly develop a well-being index to guide national and regional co-operation. More generally, this study highlights the need for research in Islamic economics to be more firmly rooted within Islamic ontology and epistemology, while simultaneously engaging in productive dialogue with other moral schools of economic thought to offer practical solutions to contemporary challenges.

This study offers three aspects of originality. First, by outlining well-being frameworks, it highlights key differences between the utilitarian understanding of well-being underpinning modern economic theory and virtue-based understandings, such as the Aristotelian, Christian and Islamic approaches. Second, it provides a well-being model from an Islamic perspective by integrating the Islamic worldview of tawḥīd, the Islamic philosophy of saʿādah, and the higher objectives of Islamic Law (maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah). Third, it proposes an ethical framework for informing economic policy and practice.