Challenging Authority: Al-Balādhurī and al-Ṭabarī on Khārijism during the Reign of Muʿāwiya b. Abī Sufyān1

ABSTRACT

Khārijite resistance to Umayyad authority during the caliphate of Mu?āwiya b. Abī Sufyān (r. 661–680) is represented in detail in the works of the early Muslim scholars A?mad b. Ya?yā al-Balādhurī (d. c. 892) and Mu?ammad b. Jarīr al-?abarī (d. 923). While the Khārijites are overwhelmingly depicted by both authors as religious fanatics whose excessive piety caused widespread bloodshed and who thus should be condemned, a closer look reveals that Khārijites serve specific and distinct narrative purposes: al-Balādhurī uses them mainly to illustrate Umayyad tyranny, while al-?abarī addresses the consequences of Khārijite revolts for communal and imperial stability. The latter's work is also marked by a dichotomy between activist and quietist Khārijism, implying that al-?abarī is not so much opposed to Khārijism as a set of “heretic” religious ideas, but rather to its violent expression of politico-religious opposition.     

Factors favouring or impeding building a stronger higher education system in the United Arab Emirates

The paper examines the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the higher education system in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Using a literature review, three elements were examined: its development and structure, quality, and research capacity. The findings reveal that the UAE’s higher education sector has witnessed remarkable growth since 1997, guided by the state’s policy commitment, and few restrictions on foreign universities opening branches in the UAE. This situation has led to substantial growth in the supply of higher education opportunities for the Emirati and expatriate population. Despite the UAE having achieved a high ranking for ‘quality indicators’ on the global level in the World Economic Forum’s Competitiveness Reports, the quality of graduates, education, and research engagement is still debatable. Significant efforts are needed to ensure that these critical issues, as well as the understudied expansion of higher education institutions, are being addressed to erase the misalignment with the UAE’s strategic goals.     

主题学视角下《傲慢与偏见》与《小妇人》比较研究

《傲慢与偏见》与《小妇人》这两部产生于不同国度的享有世界声誉的文学名著都以19世纪英美中产阶级生活为题材,具有较大的可比性。从比较文学的主题学出发,运用平行研究的方法,分析两部作品的主题,发现两部作品的相同主题所表现出的不同地域人类文化的类同与规律性。     

United Arab Emirates University students’ attitudes towards the handicapped

ABSTRACT

The study aims to explore attitudes of the United Arab Emirates University students towards the handicapped. A sample of 313 students, conventionally drawn, took the College Students' Attitude Scale towards the Handicapped. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in favour of females vs males, single vs married, residents vs non‐residents, families with handicapped children, previous contact with handicapped and urban vs rural groups. Several recommendations are suggested at the end of the study.     

Yaffa: a school of their choice?

This article is a product of in‐depth research in Yaffa, The Arab Democratic School that was carried out in 2004/05, as part of a study on alternative Arab education in Israel. Its aim, beyond telling the story of Yaffa, is to explicate the motivations that underlay this initiative, and to examine parental choice amongst the disadvantaged. We ask how the Arabs’ parental choice is affected by their (marginalised) social location, by how far they are from the dominant culture, and by their (in)capacity to make a difference. Apparently, to make a choice is a multidimensional act, reflecting the Palestinian citizens’ resistance to their marginalisation and unwillingness to be subjugated through non‐democratic educational perceptions. Their positionality resonates in Yaffa, as an act of intervention, and their search for an alternative reality where democratic education is not and cannot be separated from the Palestinian citizens’ need to imagine themselves as Arabs.     

试论关汉卿杂剧《哭存孝》的主题意蕴

《哭存孝》写了一个因小人陷害而导致英雄遇难的故事,作者揭示的,不仅仅是宵小弄权的现实黑暗,更是人际往来中内外亲疏的世俗成见,以及这种成见下人们的善恶因缘。追究剧本对人物心态的细摹,以及戏剧结构的特殊处理,都可以发现作者的这种深意。     

《傲慢与偏见》的人物话语的礼貌原则分析

《傲慢与偏见》是英国小说家简.奥斯丁的代表作,具有很高的可读性和艺术性。采用语用学中礼貌原则对小说《傲慢与偏见》中的部分人物话语进行分析,通过一些违反礼貌原则的例子,说明礼貌得体的言语是交际中的润滑剂,并对交际的成败起着至关重要的作用。     

World War Z,The Zombie Apocalypse,and the Israeli state’s monstering of Palestinian “others”

ABSTRACT

The authors deploy a critical cultural critique that extends the work of monstrosity scholars and other researchers who are interested in the application of zombie apocalypse analyses to critiques of contemporary nationalistic and social controversies. World War Z sets in motion a series of cinematic dynamics that invite audiences to consider how Israeli securitization of Jerusalem might serve as the world's best hope for containing the zombie apocalypse. By decoding the “monstering” features World War Z, the authors note the heuristic value of understanding how the rhetoric of autoimmunity influences mediated perceptions of Israeli and Palestinian conflicts.     

从《傲慢与偏见》解读奥斯汀的女性视角

简·奥斯丁是享誉世界的英国现实主义女性小说家,本文以《傲慢与偏见》为例,解读其文本中具有前瞻性意义的女性叙述视角,以期挖掘蕴含的深刻意义。     

透过《傲慢与偏见》看简·奥斯汀的婚姻观

《傲慢与偏见》是英国著名女作家简·奥斯汀的一部经典的浪漫小说。它以男女主人公的爱情纠葛为主线,描写了四起不同的婚姻。文章旨在通过对四种不同婚姻类型的比较来探析简·奥斯汀的爱情婚姻观。