الرهبانية المسيحية والتصوف الإسلامي و تاثيرهما على الجوانب المختلفة للحياة الإنسانية: دراسة تحليلية من منظور إسلامي

 Impact of Christian Monasticism and Islamic Mysticism on Various Aspects of Human Life: An Analysis from Islamic Perspective The science of Islamic belief "علم العقيدة" has been considered as most significant disciplines among different branches of knowledge as it played an essential, rather cardinal role in human life. This scholarly work intends to look into development of Monasticism in Christianity and Mysticism in Islam in different phases and its impact upon human life. Qualitative and descriptive research methodology has been applied for analysis of data. The research has particularly addressed four noteworthy aspects of the theme: firstly, Historical development of Monasticism in Christianity, secondly; Development of monastic tendencies in Islamic mysticism thirdly; Reflections of Monasticism upon various aspects of human life, and finally; Analysis of Monasticism in the light of Quran and Sunnah. The review of literature disclosed that monasticism is one of the main contributions of Christianity which later on influenced Islamic mysticism. Through centuries of contact it has left an immense influence upon Muslim societies which has changed the real picture of Islam. In the beginning, it was considered the source of self-purification but unfortunately lately it has developed into more mundane phenomenon. Recently it has been utilized as a source of income for spiritual masters and has produced complex mixture of superstitions for the community. Despite of that it has been argued that the real form of Mysticism could not be overlooked thus the Islamic mysticism has been divided into three categories by Muslim scholars: legislated (شرعي), heresy (بدعي), and infidelity (كفري). In this short paper the main focus will be on the impact of Christian monasticism on Islamic Sufism in general and that of Islamic Sufism on social life in particular.

Reflective Conversation for Teacher Development

Reflective practice is emphasized for teachers as it improves teaching and learning practices that result in high levels of students' achievements. Reflection has the potential to transform thinking and practice. Research done on reflective practice in Pakistan suggests that as teachers' teaching repertoire is limited here, teachers must reflect upon their practice. My experience of working with teachers informs me that teachers are not willing to write about their practices, rather it is more an oral culture. Reflective conversation is more an oral reflective practice mode, and it builds on what teachers already do informally in the context of Pakistani schools. The ultimate purpose of reflective conversation is to inquire teachers' classroom practices and to bring forward improvement in their practices. This study was conducted to explore the process and consequences of reflective conversation for teacher development in Pakistan. Shared classroom observation experiences provided a base for reflective conversation sessions with two secondary school English teachers in a private English medium school in Karachi, Pakistan. The aim was to explore reflective conversations as a strategy for school-based teacher development. The study indicates that reflective conversations can be a viable teacher development strategy in Pakistan. Study findings showed that through reflective conversations, teachers were able to enhance their professional knowledge and skills, by extending their range of teaching strategies, developing an urge to implement new strategies, and consequently, becoming more confident teachers. However, there are some essential requisites i.e. teachers' personal capacity and school structures for making reflective conversation an effective teacher development strategy. Reflective conversation also requires effective facilitation, which can be done by a reflective coach. The study also indicated that teacher learning becomes a complex and dynamic process through reflective conversation sessions. The study is significant for teacher educators, researchers, and teachers. It highlights for them some contextual issues that are challenging for teacher educators for using this strategy successfully. Study findings indicate that reflective conversations, if implemented effectively, move from individual teacher's learning to collective learning.