الأسس الفلسفية لأسلوب الحياة الإسلامية وغير الإسلامية وأثرها فى المجتمع: دراسة مقارنة

Philosophical Foundations of Islamic and Un-Islamic Pattern of Life and its Impact upon Society: A Comparative Study It is self-evident that human beliefs had great influence on character, actions, ethics, behavior and way of life. The possessors of correct belief produced positive effects and those who possessed incorrect belief promoted negative values in the community. Undoubtedly, the diversity in belief produced diverse ethics, actions, behaviour which gave birth to the different patterns of life in society. Regardless of subdivisions, by looking towards the philosophical foundations, these patterns of life could be divided into four categories in the light of the Qur’an and Sunnah. These lifestyles (also mentioned by Abū ’l-A‘lā Maudūdī in Tajdīd wa Iḥyā-i Dīn) are: Atheistic pattern of life, Polytheistic pattern of life, Monastic pattern of life and Islamic pattern of life. As each pattern had its particular tenets, therefore it formed a particular way of life by leaving its effects upon individual, social, political, economic, cultural and civilizational life. This research work aimed to explain the basic mechanism of these four patterns and their impact on human life. The method used for the collection and analysis of data was descriptive and analytical. The research concluded that three patterns of life (except Islamic pattern of life) produced harmful and negative effects into the society whereas the only Islamic pattern of life ensured the peace and prosperity. Moreover, Islamic pattern of life played a vital role in growth of all disciplines including political social, and economic system. It is therefore suggested that Islamic scholars should uncover the hollowness of Un-Islamic life style and present Islamic pattern of life in logical and systematic way. On one hand, this exercise will encounter the evils and on the other hand would promote good into the society.

Exploring Patterns in Conceptions and Enactment of Democracy by Secondary School Teachers in Karachi, Pakistan

The concept of democracy is a set of contestable yet elastic notions about human interaction in a diverse and ever changing socio-political set up. Like many other socio-political concepts democracy has also been used ambiguously by political as well as non-political elements to serve their own vested interest. However, there is a general agreement that the democratic practices of deliberation and participation by the people can be strengthened through education. In this study, I focus on the school as an institution that has been used as an instrument to promote certain ideologies and forms of regimes ranging from democratic ideals and participatory norms to orthodox military and religious ethos. The basic purpose of this study is a critical examination of teachers' conceptualisation of democracy and its enactment in secondary schools in the context of Pakistan. In other words the study attempts to unpack and explain the teachers' theoretical and practical positioning' about democracy and how such positioning is mediated by curriculum directions and pedagogical trends in government and private sector schools. The study involved a multi-method design of data collection and analysis, starting with a survey method and then to deepening understanding by using critical ethnographic methods. For the purpose of the survey a questionnaire was developed using a 5-point-Likert scale ranging from 'strongly disagree' through 'neutral' to 'strongly-agree' along with five open-ended questions. The survey study spread over a period of two months covering 80 secondary schools from government and private sector in the city of Karachi, Pakistan. The overall response rate was 80% as 320 teachers out of targeted 400 completed the questionnaire. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to extract 'factors', which were interpreted by computing factor loadings, mean score, and standard deviation values. In addition, responses to the open ended questions were analysed using frequency distribution and percentage scores to identify major trends. During the second phase of the study, critical ethnographic methods of semi-structured interviewing, observations, and document analysis were applied to generate data with the participation of four teachers from selected government and private sector schools. The study was completed in three stages; first compiling the primary records for preliminary reconstructive analysis and second a dialogical data generation and reconstruction of theories. At a third stage, results obtained from the survey and the ethnographic interviews and observation were synthesised to elicit findings and conclusions. The study demonstrates that the teachers' conceptualisation of democracy