Polemic Views about the Source of Qur’ān in Medieval Christian Writings with a Reflection upon Contemporary Orientalists: A Critical Review

Before the advent of Islam, there was a strong tradition of polemic writings both among the Jews and the Christians to prove the errors of adversary. But, after the advent of Islam in general, and the conquering of Roman / Byzantine empire by the Muslims in the era of Righteous Califate in specific, due to embracing Islam by a large number of local populace, the flux of Christian polemic writing was directed towards Islam. A number of polemic writings surfaced as a resort to keep their religion alive. These writings tried to belittle all basic concepts, beliefs, and creeds of Islam, and even the personality of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and the Holy Qur’ān. The contemporary orientalist polemic writers have claimed that there are several accounts originating from Jewish and Christian sources which tried to allegedly prove that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was instructed by Jewish or Christian scholars in the composition of Holy Qur’ān, and to support this claim, they not only point out to certain Jewish or Christian sources, but have parroted their arguments as well, with the similar motives. With this, they have attempted to discredit Islam by raising doubts about the origin of Qur’ān. But despite of their efforts the fact remains firm that the Qur’ān has a Divine origin and was revealed by Allah Ta‘ālā unto Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). In this regard, the purpose of this article is to analyze the medieval polemic writings, their motives, and their rumination by the orientalists of the contemporary age. A critical approach is adopted in this analytical, and historical study, using published authentic data and literature including academic books, research papers, periodicals, dictionaries and reliable web sites also.

Exploring the Co-Relation of a Headteachers Decision Making and Her Prior Professional Experiences in Dealing With Challenges in Intial Years of Headship

This study explores the co-relationship of decision-making and prior professional experiences of a headteacher in dealing with challenges in the initial years of headship in a Government Secondary School in Karachi. The purpose of the study was to get insights into the process of how headteacher's decisions were informed by her prior professional experiences in coping with the challenges in the initial years of headship; and to understand the factors, other than professional experiences which tend to influence a headteacher's decisions in dealing with challenges. It is a case-study of a newly promoted female headteacher with twenty-nine years of teaching experience, posted in the same Government Secondary School. Multiple repertoire of data collection tools (interviews, observations, document analysis and reflective memos) were being used to collect informations about the inquiry. The findings of the study explored the assumption of the study that headteacher's prior professional experiences do influence her decision-making in dealing with the challenges in the initial years of headship. Moreover, it was found that decision-making processes and her prior professional experiences were co-related in teaching and learning, leading and managing the staff, efficient and effective deployment of the staff, strategic direction and development of the school, and resources and accountability. The intensity of the influence, however, varied was found very intense in three major areas of school leadership and management; in teaching and learning, leading and managing the staff and, in effective and efficient deployment of the staff. The findings depicted that a headteacher's decisions were highly dependent on her prior experiences. In the rest of the two areas, strategic direction and development of the school and, resources and accountability data showed that headteacher was dependent on others' professional expertise also. Other factors, which tend to influence the headteacher's decisions in dealing with challenges in the initial years, were found to be: pressure from high management and community, accountability, personal values and priorities, and relationships with stakeholders. The study has proposed recommendations and questions for further exploration.