In the aftermath of the Ottoman defeat in the Russo-Ottoman War (1876-77) and the subsequent Congress of Berlin (1878), an autonomous Bulgarian Kingdom was established. Although initially, most of present-day Bulgaria was still under Ottoman…
“Traditional Islam is not the replication of the positions of the ancients; it is to seek what they sought”.[1] Introduction During my doctoral research, an ethnography of a Dār al-‘Ulūm (madrasa) in Britain, the notion…
The ink of scholars is holier than the blood of martyrs. -Attributed to the Prophet Muhammad Beneath the rule of men entirely great, the pen is mightier than the sword. -Edward Bulwer-Lytton Peace cannot…
In the contemporary understanding, the word madrasa connotes various meanings and interpretations. For Muslims, however, this word has its historical significance as an institution for learning; in the modern world, it was set up as…