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.

Exploring Perception and Practices of Deputy District Officers As Educational Leaders in the Context of Balochistan, Pakistan

This study is about exploring perceptions and practices of Deputy District Officers (DDO-Education) as educational leaders in the context of Balochistan. The study focuses on roles and responsibilities of DDOs as educational leaders. The study was completed through qualitative study approach; the data was gathered through semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis to ensure the validity of the data. Thematic analysis approach was used to understand the data. Two DDOs, one EDO and three Head Teachers participated in the study as primary and secondary respondents. To highlight DDOs' roles and responsibilities as education leaders, the study focused on exploring the key research question, "How do DDOs perceive and practice their roles and responsibilities as Educational Leaders in the context of Balochistan in Pakistan?" The subsidiary questions included: i) What value do DDOs give to their roles and responsibilities as Educational Leaders? ii) How do they enact their roles and responsibilities? iii) What opportunities and challenges do they face in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities? The study identified the roles and responsibilities of DDOs as educational leaders. It was found that DDOs perceived their role as supervisors instead of an educational leader. The findings of the study also showed that DDOs have opportunities of supporting staff, and in-service trainings. In addition to that, there are many challenges that DDOs face, like law and order situation, lack of human and material resources and political pressure. These factors hinder their role and responsibilities as educational leaders. The study recommends that this study of DDOs may be carried out in other districts also in order to have a comparative analysis.