By: Sara Elhadi
The Ijtihad Center for Studies and Training in Belgium proudly announces the release of the second issue of “Ijtihad Journal for Islamic and Arabic Studies in Europe” for July 2024. This biannual, peer-reviewed academic journal is published in both Arabic and English and is officially registered with the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) and the National Scientific Library under the international serial numbers ISSN: 2983-9939 and ISSNe: 3041-4679. It adheres to international academic standards, emphasizing principles of scholarly integrity, blind peer review, and research quality.
The journal’s vision focuses on examining Islam in Europe and the West from an internal Islamic perspective, contrasting with the external Orientalist approach. This distinction is particularly significant in the European and Western contexts, where Muslims are an integral part of society. The growing need among both Muslims and non-Muslims for an accurate understanding of Islam, rooted in authentic Islamic sources while benefiting from contemporary academic and methodological advancements, underscores the journal’s mission. At the same time, it boldly deconstructs external, reductionist, revisionist, and ideologically-driven approaches with scientific rigor.
The second issue of Ijtihad Journal for Islamic and Arabic Studies features an opening article and eleven scholarly papers, including three in English and eight in Arabic. Additionally, the issue contains three reviews in English, French, and Arabic, along with a translation of an article from Arabic to English from the first issue. This edition introduces new sections: Ijtihad Center News, New Publications, and Miscellaneous, aiming to highlight scientific, intellectual, and academic activities that align with or intersect the journal’s editorial, epistemological, and methodological vision.
This issue has been enriched with valuable academic contributions from researchers of various generations, disciplines, contexts, and languages. These contributions address a range of Islamic topics relevant to Europe and the West, such as symbolic divorce and the jurisprudence of the Friday sermon in the European context, the pagan reading of Islam, adultery in Judaism and Islam, the intellectual capital of participatory banks in the knowledge economy, and more.
The opening article, authored by the Editor-in-Chief and head of the journal, Dr. Tijani Boulaouali, addresses the significance of adopting an internal approach to Islam in Europe and the West, as opposed to the external Orientalist approach that often strips Islam of its religious, jurisprudential, and historical particularities. Dr. Tijani Boulaouali emphasizes that an objective understanding of the essence of Islam can only be achieved through a study of its original sources and an observation of the lived religiosity of Muslims.
The first article is authored by Dr. Abdelhak Elkouani, a member of the Scientific Council of the European Council of Muslims in Germany. It examines the phenomenon of “fictitious divorce” prevalent among Muslims living in European countries. The second article, titled “The pantheistic Reading of Islam: Conflating the Normative Islamic with The Historical Islam”, is by Professor Ahmed Amir Mohamed Fares from the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. The third article, “The Jurisprudence of the Friday Sermon in the European Context”, is written by Professor Selaiman Wagueg Idrissi from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra, Morocco. The fourth article, titled “Applying the Principle of Considering Differences and Clarifying Legal Ruling on Jurisprudential Issues in the European Context”, is authored by Professor Hamza Boubekri from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Mohammed I University in Oujda, Morocco. The fifth article, “The Obscenity of Adultery in Judaism and Islam: A Comparative Critical Analytical Study”, is written by Professor Abdelmalek Ayad from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University, Fes-Sais, Morocco. The sixth article, written in English, is a joint work by Dr. Abdelali Moutaki from the Faculty of Sharia at Ibn Zohr University in Agadir, Morocco, and Dr. Mustafa Ait Kharouach from the Faculty of Arts and Education at Lusail University in Qatar. It is titled “The Religious Approach to Combating Radicalism in Morocco.” The seventh article, “The Impact of Arab-Islamic Thought and Culture on Jewish Philosophers: Ibn Kammuna as a Model”, is co-authored by Professors Youssef Chater and Charif Elgliti from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University in Fes, Morocco. The eighth article, “Does the First Latin Quran Translation Mark a Shift from Ignorance to Understanding? In Criticizing Richard Southern’s Thesis”, is by Dr. Al-Hassan Assouik from the Multidisciplinary Faculty in Nador, affiliated with Mohammed I University in Oujda, Morocco. The ninth article, “The Claim of the Absence of Values in Islamic Jurisprudence: The Issue of Lineage for a Child Born Out of Wedlock as a Model”, is authored by Dr. Mohammed Abajtit, President of the Manahel Center for Studies, Research, and Heritage Revival in Morocco. The tenth article, “Intellectual Capital of Participatory Banks in the Knowledge Economy: Reality and Prospects”, is written by Dr. Mohammed Garmat, President of the Moroccan Center for Linguistic and Historical Saharan Studies in Laayoune, Morocco. The eleventh article, written in English, is by Dr. Mabrook Saleh Al-Soudi from the Faculty of Education at Amran University in Yemen. It is titled “The Mediating Role of Economic Security in the Conflict Between Family Requirements and Professional Duties Among Teachers in Yemen”.
In addition to the academic articles, the second issue of Ijtihad Journal includes three book reviews. The first review, written in French, examines the book “Le Coran des historiens Histoire du texte, historiographie, historicité Ali Amir-Moezzi and Guillaume Dye”, published in 2019 in Paris in three volumes. The review is authored by Dr. Luc Barbolescu from the University of Côte d’Azur in Nice, France. The second review, in English, is contributed by Professor Youssef El Assiji from Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco. It analyzes the book “Islam, Secularism, and the Muslim Dilemma” by Syed Mohammed Naquib al-Attas, published in 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The third review, in Arabic, discusses the book “Ahora, Feminismo: Cuestiones Candentes y frentes abiertos Amelia Valcarcel”, by Spanish philosopher Amelia Valcárcel, published by Cátedra Publications in Madrid in 2019. This review is written by Dr. Kelthoum Boutaleb from the Comparative Studies Laboratory at Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco.
In addition, the second issue of Ijtihad Journal includes a translation of Dr. Nouraddin karrat’s article: “The Objectives of Sharia and Their Relationship with Legal Evidence”, This translation is part of the journal’s initiative to select one article from each issue, translate it into English, and publish it in the following issue. The translation was done by Sarah El Hadi from Mohammed V University in Rabat, a prominent member of the Ijtihad Center for Studies and Training.
The second issue also introduces new sections, including a section dedicated to publications, particularly those focused on issues of Islam in Europe and the West, or those that intersect with these themes. Additionally, the journal features updates on the activities and projects of the Ijtihad Center for Studies and Training, documenting its initiatives. Moreover, a new section titled “Miscellaneous” highlights a range of research, intellectual, and academic events related to Islam in the West.
Through the publication of the second issue of Ijtihad Journal of Islamic and Arab Studies, the Ijtihad Center for Studies and Training in Belgium contributes a unique approach to the study of Islam in Europe. The journal focuses on an internal, scientific, and objective perspective, as opposed to the external Orientalist approaches, which are often characterized by projection, ideological bias, and prejudice. In doing so, the center enriches the academic and intellectual dialogue, offering alternative insights to those commonly found in certain Western intellectual circles.
The journal can be browsed and downloaded from its official website at the following link: https://journal-ijtihadcenter.com/index.php/ijias/index.