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"The revival of religion in many parts of the world and the migration of religious cultures as part of the process of globalization have posed a serious challenge to traditional constitutional secularism. This challenge comes in the form of a political and institutional struggle against secular constitutionalism, and a two pronged assault on the very legitimacy and viability of the concept. On the one hand, constitutional secularism has been attacked as inherently hostile rather than neutral toward religion; and, on the other hand, constitutional secularism has been criticized as inevitably favouring one religion (or set of religions) over others."

"This article considers the general points relating to the application of Sharia law which challenges legislators in the political instability of a number of Middle Eastern countries. The question explored is how governments of these countries who are facing discontent can work towards constitutional governance. As an example comparison is made between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Indonesia with the largest Muslim populations. In Pakistan an inherited Westminster Parliamentary system with a common law codified dated at the time of the British rule is supplemented by criminal penalties as present in the Hudood ordinances. These codes enforce punishments for some crimes and these were promulgated in the early 1980s during the reign of the Pakistani conservative military government. These different layers of jurisprudence do not accord with a uniform legal precedence and creates a clash between liberals and the fundamentalists who want an all pervasive Sharia law. The Pakistani legal canon of Islamic law has been restricted by the secular ideology of the state which has parallels in other Asian countries with a Muslim majority. However, there is an issue of compatibility of a secular ideology and the application of Sharia. It needs an exposition of thought that takes account of the enlightenment in Europe which led to the social contract theory in the 18th century. This theory rejects the narrow interpretation of divine authority and presents the jurist with a challenge to make modernize the laws. In recent times Muslim academics have adopted a critical approach against the tenets of conservatism in temporal Islam and called them unrepresentative of the true spirit of the Sharia. The present turmoil in the Arab countries has raised the question of legitimacy and the need arises to evaluate the principles of the Compact of Medina, which was proclaimed by the first Islamic state, and secondly, to enquire if the adoption of Sharia can be made contingent upon a consensus of popular sovereignty in order to make it binding in a contract between the ruler and the governed."

"Confucianism has been revived in many spheres of social life in mainland China. In this age of globalization, Confucianism has to face several challenges including global issues that all states have to deal with together such as global justice, environmental issues, and peace as well as domestic issues such as economic development and social justice. A framework of "left-Confucianism" which may cope with these challenges in a more promising way will be proposed in this paper. It tries to combine the core value of the "original Confucianism" with the socialist values that have had a great impact on China's development over the past century or so. This combination does not merely take socialism as the standard but also takes it equally seriously. In this paper we show how the core value of "Left Confucianism" can help us to think about domestic and global challenge in innovative way."

"In a small New England town over half a century ago, a boy is playing with his new toy soldiers in the dirt in front of his house when a shadow falls over him. He looks up to see a striking man, the new minister, Jamie learns later, who with his beautiful wife, will transform the church and the town. The men and boys are a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls, with the Reverend Jacobs--including Jamie's sisters and mother. Then tragedy strikes, and this charismatic preacher curses God, and is banished from the shocked town. Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from age 13, he plays in bands across the country, running from his own family tragedies, losing one job after another when his addictions get the better of him. Decades later, sober and living a decent life, he and Reverend Charles Jacobs meet again in a pact beyond even the Devil's devising, and the many terrifying meanings of Revival are revealed. King imbues this spectacularly rich and dark novel with everything he knows about music, addiction, and religious fanaticism, and every nightmare we ever had about death. This is a masterpiece from King, in the great American tradition of Frank Norris, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe."

"Kemal Ataturk's Republic of Turkey was set up in 1923 as a secular state, sweeping political, social, and religious reforms followed. This study sets out the struggle between religion and secularism, and shows how Ataturk laboured for an idealised 'Turkish Islam' stripped of superstition and linked to modern science and positivist philosophy."

"The areas of conflict relating to the freedom of religion and women’s rights do not affect the majority of Muslims who practice their religion in Germany and, in the process, they do not clash with the constitutional state. This is also not a matter having to do with those theologians who take their justification for comprehensive religious freedom and equal rights for women from the Koran and, respectively, other normative sources of Islam. Rather, it has to do with those influential scholars who interpret the norms and commands of Islam in such a way that conflicts arise with the laws of a secular constitutional state. These scholars defend the view that the laws of the Sharia are prior to the norms of the secular constitutional state and are obligatory for all Muslims. At the present moment, the question of freedom of religion could be virtually understood as a topic which, in largely secularized Europe and for the religiously neutral state, possesses little relevance. To what extent do inner-Islamic standpoints interest the constitutional state on the question of religious freedom? For the constitutional state, it does not concern itself with the question of evaluating a religion and its doctrinal content. This also applies with respect to Islam. There, however, where actions are justified by religious convictions, or where they follow from them or are declared to be mandatory by influential religious opinion leaders, and where these actions infringe upon established law or limit the basic rights of individuals, the state and its representatives have to concern themselves with these convictions, independent of whether these convictions are of a religious, political, or of a religious and political nature."

"Revival in the square demonstrates the way in which local leaders have devised strategies guiding investment decisions. The book is a practical guide to create safe, vibrant and attractive city spaces. A better quality public realm is a key part of delivering any urban renaissance."

"The planet is in deep trouble because of capitalism, and Karl Marx, freed from the chains of “real socialism”, is being rediscovered all around the world as the thinker who provided us with its most insightful critique. The Marx Revival is the best, most complete and most modern guide to Marx's ideas that has appeared since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Written by highly reputed international experts, in a clear form accessible to a wider public, it brings together the liveliest and most thought-provoking contemporary interpretations of Marx's work. It presents what he actually wrote in respect of 22 key concepts, the areas that require updating as a result of changes since the late-nineteenth century, and the reasons why it is still of such relevance in today's world. The result is a collection that will prove indispensable both for specialists and for a new generation approaching Marx's work for the first time."