comparative studies on Awqaf

Dear Colleagues,
 If anyone can suggest citations that would help answer the following
reference question, it would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,
Andras Riedlmayer

-----------------------------
I have a question regarding regarding waqf administration in various
Muslim countries.  I am interested in a comparative study between Muslim
awqaf and, for example, the ways in which the Vatican or Church of England
administer and maintain their cultural (built)  assets.  I am wondering if
a study on waqfs may have been undertaken by any scholar that you may know
of. Any insight you can provide is well appreciated.
-----------------------------

Bir Task Force proposal for approval

Dear MELA colleagues,
As mentioned in my earlier posting to MELANET I have been working on the 
Bir Task Force.  What follows is my simple appeal to drop the Turkish "bir" 
form the list of articles to be ignored.  To date I have had no MELA member 
support the retention of "bir" on the list of articles to be ignored. I 
propose to introduce this as an item of new business at the MELA meeting 
for a vote of the membership.  If approved, it will be forwarded, with any 
additional comments, to the CC:AAM of ALA for their January meeting.

John

TO: Editorial Board AACR

Quoting from AACR2:
"E.1A.
	Omit the initial article(s) listed below as instructed in 22.11D, 24.5A, 
25.2C, and 26.1A. Consider only those definite and indefinite articles for 
headings in the languages included in the list. The list does not cover 
articles in all languages; it covers only those in the languages most 
frequently encountered by cataloguers. An asterisk (*) before an indefinite 
article indicates that the same form is also used for the cardinal numeral 
one; therefore, care must be taken to distinguish the meaning.
...
*bir         Turkish"

Consulting recent Turkish grammars one finds that they do not use the term 
"indefinite article" when introducing the word "bir" to their 
readers.  Although the word can sometimes be translated into the equivalent 
of the English "a/an" the word does not strictly perform that function in 
Turkish.  Additionally, current cataloging practice in the US/UK and in 

Comparative studies on awqaf

A friend of mine, Prof. Miriam Hoexter, who did a lot of work on the
awqaf, wrote to me:

There is a lot of literature about waqf administration.  For starters I
would suggest my article on "Waqf Studies in the Twentieth Century: The
State of the Art," JESHO 41,4 (1998).  There is also quite an extensive
bibliography there.

--

-- 
Rachel

Collection Building, 1999, vol. 18, issue 1, internet editorial

RE: Bir Task Force proposal for approval

Dear John
For your information: I have always ignored "bir" for filing purposes except
where it was clearly intended as a numeral. But I do see the force of the
opposing argument, and will change now to conform with your recommendations
in the interest of "birlik" and anti-ethnocentricity.
Sincerely
Muhammad Isa Waley
British Library

-----Original Message-----
From: John Eilts [mailto:jeilts@...]
Sent: 01 November 2002 14:50
To: Middle East Librarians Association
Subject: Bir Task Force proposal for approval

Dear MELA colleagues,
As mentioned in my earlier posting to MELANET I have been working on the 
Bir Task Force.  What follows is my simple appeal to drop the Turkish "bir" 
form the list of articles to be ignored.  To date I have had no MELA member 
support the retention of "bir" on the list of articles to be ignored. I 
propose to introduce this as an item of new business at the MELA meeting 
for a vote of the membership.  If approved, it will be forwarded, with any 
additional comments, to the CC:AAM of ALA for their January meeting.

John

TO: Editorial Board AACR

Quoting from AACR2:
"E.1A.
	Omit the initial article(s) listed below as instructed in 22.11D,
24.5A, 
25.2C, and 26.1A. Consider only those definite and indefinite articles for 
headings in the languages included in the list. The list does not cover 
articles in all languages; it covers only those in the languages most 
frequently encountered by cataloguers. An asterisk (*) before an indefinite 
article indicates that the same form is also used for the cardinal numeral 
one; therefore, care must be taken to distinguish the meaning.
...
*bir         Turkish"

Consulting recent Turkish grammars one finds that they do not use the term 
"indefinite article" when introducing the word "bir" to their 
readers.  Although the word can sometimes be translated into the equivalent 
of the English "a/an" the word does not strictly perform that function in 
Turkish.  Additionally, current cataloging practice in the US/UK and in 
Turkey does not ignore the word.

Therefore we request that the Turkish "bir" be dropped from the list in 
Appendix E.  

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BBC News E-mail: Call for Arabic lessons in schools

Dona Straley saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you should see it.

------------
Message:

------------

*Call for Arabic lessons in schools*
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/education/2394471.stm>

Muslim children would feel less isolated if Arabic was taught in UK
schools, according to a report.

BBC Daily E-mail
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all in one daily e-mail
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/>

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Enhanced Border Security/Visa Reform Act of 2002 (fwd)

Date: Mon, 04 Nov 2002 13:08:24 -0800
From: Mark Lowder <mlowder <at> u.arizona.edu>

Dear Colleagues,

The MESA meeting is quickly approaching.  Registration figures are strong,
and the program is packed full of exciting panels and special sessions.
Important issues beg to be discussed–from recent infringements to academic
freedom to keeping the avenues of academic exchange open. We look forward
to seeing you at the meeting in a few short weeks. BUT, WE NEED YOUR HELP.

MESA will be meeting with key officials from the U.S. Department of State
on November 22. Among the issues to be addressed is the new U.S. policy on
visas vis-a-vis the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2002.
If you or someone you know have had difficulty getting a visa or have
been denied a visa to travel to the U.S. (particularly to participate
in the MESA meeting) please let us know.  We need to share with the State
Department concrete information about how the Act and the new visa policies
have affected the ability of our members to engage in academic exchange.
We also need to know how the meeting program will be affected.  Thank you.

Mark Lowder at MESA

******************************************************
Mark J. Lowder
Assistant Director
Middle East Studies Association
University of Arizona
1643 E. Helen Street
Tucson, AZ 85721
520/621-5850
520/626-6290 direct
520/626-9095 fax
mlowder <at> u.arizona.edu
www.mesa.arizona.edu

New e-journal

don't know if this announcement got wide distribution.  No endorsement
implied.
Brenda

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Western Muslim Writers Launch New Web Magazine
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 21:31:47 +1100
From: "iroyer@..." <iroyer@...>
To: "none" <iroyer@...>

WESTERN MUSLIM WRITERS LAUNCH NEW WEB MAGAZINE
Journal to Promote Dialogue of Civilizations, Introspection

(Falls Church, Virginia - 10/28/2002) Asking themselves, "What went
wrong?" 
a group of Muslim writers living in America, Europe, and Australia today 
launched a Web-based publication they hope will be part of a solution to 
conflict between Islam and the West.

Editors of the new weekly publication, A True Word 
(http://www.atrueword.com), say they aim to promote honest dialogue and 
understanding between cultures and religions.

"As Muslims born and raised in the heart of the West, we are in a unique 
position to understand the fault lines between these two world 
civilizations," said Amir Butler, a member of A True Word's editorial
board 
based in Melbourne, Australia and a convert to Islam. "As part and
parcel of 
both worlds, this is our responsibility."

Co-editor Ismail Royer, a convert to Islam based in Washington, DC, and 
Bosnia, says both Muslims and non-Muslims need to change their behavior, 
their thinking, and their approach to their relationship with each
other, 
which he says has been compromised. "We've got to try to understand each 
other in a context free of the influence of extremists on both sides,
who 
believe their agendas will be served by promoting endless conflict,"
said 
Royer.

The publishers take a strong stand against the notion that non-hostile 
dialogue requires an endorsement of the other's views.   "Dialogue
doesn't 
mean that participants must distort or misrepresent their beliefs,"
Royer 
added. "A conversation not grounded in honesty is not real
communication."

The publication's mission statement states:

"A True Word was established to provide an authentic Islamic viewpoint
on 
contemporary issues, and to actively engage the non-Muslim world in a 
constructive and honest dialogue of ideas. We write for both Muslims and 
non-Muslims.

"This magazine was born of dissatisfaction with the level of dialogue in
the 
Muslim world. We recognized the need to bring a fresh and coherent voice
to 
respond to the challenges we face with reasoned and accessible
arguments.

"At the same time, we believe that the Muslim community needs to engage
in 
constructive self-criticism and introspection, and be open and frank as
we 
assess our successes and shortcomings.

"In supporting that aim, we will endeavor to bring to our readership
high 
quality, original and challenging articles that do not shy away from
asking 
tough questions and proposing innovative solutions."

--END--
Contact: Amir Butler (Australia) abutler@...
               Ismail Royer (Washington, DC) iroyer@...

Fwd: Rosetta Project

MELA -- OCLC Arabic Users Group Meeting

Hi everyone.  We will be holding an OCLC Arabic Users Group meeting at MELA
on Nov. 22, 1:30-3:00 pm, in Washington, DC.  This meeting is open to
everyone; you do not have to be using the OCLC Arabic Cataloging software to
attend.

Our agenda will include:

An update on OCLC Arabic cataloging, including WorldCat statistics.

An overview of OCLC Connexion, including a demo of the Windows client
interface that OCLC will introduce next year.  

An update on OCLC's plans to migrate WorldCat to the Oracle platform.

A discussion of how Arabic cataloging might be incorporated into the new
Connexion interface and how Arabic indexing might change with Oracle.

Sharing and questions on using the OCLC Arabic Cataloging software.

I hope to see you at the meeting!  Although an RSVP is not required, I would
appreciate it if you send me a message to let me know if you are planning to
attend.  Please send the message directly to me instead of to the list.
However, feel free to attend even if you do not RSVP.

I hope to see you in Washington DC!

Thanks,
 David

 David Whitehair
 david_whitehair@...
 OCLC Arabic Product Manager
 http://www.oclc.org/oclc/arabic/
 OCLC Cataloging and Metadata Services
 Voice -- 1-800-848-5878 x6483 or 1-614-764-6483
 Fax -- 1-614-718-7292