A Critical Examination of Joseph Kenny’s Views on the Origin, Miracle and Veracity of the Qur’an

Christian missionary scholarship on Islam and the Qur’an in Nigeria dates back to the advent of Christianity in the country. The reason was that Islam had become well established and indigenized in most parts of northern Nigeria and south Western Nigeria, and the Qur’an provides Muslims with information on Christianity and its doctrines. Thus, Islam became a serious obstacle to their endeavour. The early 20th century Christian Missionaries therefore, held that they could only get to the Muslims through the learning and research on the Qur’an.  This spurred them to produce works on the Qur’an. Joseph Kenny was a Christian Missionary who was sent to Nigeria in 1964 through the directive of the Holy See, to assist the Catholic Church in reaching the Muslims in Nigeria. He underwent trainings in the fields of Arabic and Islamic Studies, and was able to produce more than 170 works on different areas of Islamic Studies.  This paper critically examines some of his views on the Qur’an, as compared to the views of other Christian missionary scholars of Qur’an and thus elaborates on the misrepresentations contained in them.

Molecular and Physiological Evaluation of Maize Zea Mays After Chemical Pre-Treatment for Alleviation of Drought Stress

To investigate the effect of foliar application of Ca2+, K+ and H2O2 and subsequent water application on maize seedlings CV Azam, a pot experiment was arranged in completely randomized design at the Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, The University of Agriculture Peshawar from 2012 to 2014. Drought stress was enforced by withholding water from half of the pots for 20 days after foliar supplementation of 5, 10, 15mM CaCl2, 25, 50 and 75mM KNO3, 1, 3 and 6mM H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) and distilled water. The results of this experiment revealed that foliar application of Ca2+, K+ and low concentration of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) decreased the excised leaf water loss (ELWL), signifying better water relations and osmotic adjustment. Moreover, water deficit decreased fresh and dry biomass, shoot-root ratio, relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content, membrane stability, ascorbate content, catalase (Cat) activity, and protein content. Similarly, there was an increase in the H2O2 content, MDA (malondialdehyde) content, cell death, anthocyanin content, proline content, sugar content, thiol content, glutathione content and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity. Foliar application of 10mM CaCl2 and 75mM KNO3 improved all these traits under drought stress. Senescence during drought was also delayed in the supplemented seedlings as highlighted by a high RWC, leaf area, chlorophyll content and high antioxidant enzymes activity. The Ca2+ and K+ concentration resulted in a decrease in H2O2 content, MDA content, percentage electrolyte leakage. The Ca2+, K+ and H2O2 induced calcium dependent protein kinase (ZmCDPK1, 2, 3, 11), ZmCat3 and ZmCSD1 expression under irrigated and drought stress conditions. The improved water relations and maintenance of growth in the supplemented seedlings established the potential of CaCl2 and KNO3 to improve crop performance under restricted water regimes without diminution of yield and ensure food production from arid and semi-arid lands. Transcripts abundance offers a base for further crop improvement and enhanced understanding of signal transduction in plants.