Muslim Population (muslim + population)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Ramadan Education and Awareness in Diabetes (READ) programme for Muslims with Type 2 diabetes who fast during Ramadan

DIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 3 2010
V. Bravis
Diabet. Med. 27, 327,331 (2010) Abstract Background and Aims, During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk for one lunar month. The majority of Muslim diabetic patients are unaware of complications such as hypoglycaemia during fasting. The safety of fasting has not been assessed in the UK Muslim population with diabetes. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of Ramadan-focused education on weight and hypoglycaemic episodes during Ramadan in a Type 2 diabetic Muslim population taking oral glucose-lowering agents. Methods, We retrospectively analysed two groups. Group A attended a structured education programme about physical activity, meal planning, glucose monitoring, hypoglycaemia, dosage and timing of medications. Group B did not. Hypoglycaemia was defined as home blood glucose < 3.5 mmol/l. Results, There was a mean weight loss of 0.7 kg after Ramadan in group A, compared with a 0.6-kg mean weight gain in group B (P < 0.001). The weight changes observed were independent of the class of glucose-lowering agents used. There was a significant decrease in the total number of hypoglycaemic events in group A, from nine to five, compared with an increase in group B from nine to 36 (P < 0.001). The majority were in patients treated with short-acting sulphonylureas (group A,100%, group B,94%). At 12 months after attending the programme, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) reduction were sustained in group A. Conclusions, Ramadan-focused education in diabetes can empower patients to change their lifestyle during Ramadan. It minimizes the risk of hypoglycaemic events and prevents weight gain during this festive period for Muslims, which potentially benefits metabolic control. [source]


Muslim-Christian Relations in Medieval Southern Italy

THE MUSLIM WORLD, Issue 2 2007
Julie Anne Taylor
In response to uprisings in Sicily, the emperor Frederick II transferred an estimated 20,000 Muslims to the city of Lucera in Apulia. Outside the Iberian Peninsula, Lucera came to have the largest Muslim population of any city in western Europe. Although the formation of the colony led to competition for resources between its inhabitants and the local Christian population, the members of the two religious communities often traded and collaborated. Social mobility was possible for the Lucerine Muslims, particularly through military service. Like Christians and Jews living in the dar al-Islam, the Muslims of Lucera had a protected status, and they paid a tax called the jizya. They remained free to practice their religion. The heavy taxes paid by the Muslim colony at Lucera during its almost eighty-year existence made it a valuable asset to the Hohenstaufen and Angevin crowns. Nevertheless, the settlement was dismantled in 1300 on the order of the Angevin king, Charles II, who gave a religious justification. The colony's history provides insight into the complex relations between Muslims and Christians in medieval Mediterranean Europe. [source]


British Muslims and the UK government's ,war on terror' within: evidence of a clash of civilizations or emergent de-civilizing processes?

THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Stephen Vertigans
Abstract In the immediate aftermath of the September 2001 attacks on America, defending civilization was quickly established at the core of the ,war on terror'. Unintentionally or otherwise this incorporation of civilization connected with Samuel Huntington's ,Clash of Civilizations' thesis. Within the ,war on terror' the dark side of counterterrorism has become apparent through international practices like extrajudicial killing, extraordinary rendition and torture. The impact of Western governments' policies upon their indigenous Muslim populations has also been problematic but social and political analysis has been relatively limited. This paper seeks to help address the scarcity of sociological contributions. Hidden costs of the UK government's attempts to utilize violence and enhance social constraints within the nation-state are identified. It is argued that although counterterrorism strategies are contributing to a self-fulfilling spiral of hatred that could be considered evidence in support of the ,Clash of Civilizations', the thesis is unhelpful when trying to grasp the underlying processes. Instead the paper draws upon Norbert Elias's application of the concepts of ,civilizing' and ,de-civilizing' to help improve levels of understanding about the processes and consequences of particular Muslim communities being targeted by security forces. The paper concludes with an exploration of the majority of the population's acquiescence and willingness to accept restraints upon Muslims in order to safeguard their own security. [source]


The Kosher and Halal Food Laws

COMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD SAFETY, Issue 3 2003
J.M. Regenstein
Knowledge of the kosher and halal dietary laws is important to the Jewish and Muslim populations who observe these laws and to food companies that wish to market to these populations and to interested consumers who do not observe these laws. The kosher dietary laws determine which foods are "fit or proper" for Jews and deal predominantly with 3 issues: allowed animals, the prohibition of blood, and the prohibition of mixing milk and meat. These laws are derived from the Torah and the oral law received by Moses on Mount Sinai (Talmud). Additional laws cover other areas such as grape products, cheese, baking, cooking, tithing, and foods that may not be eaten during the Jewish festival of Passover. Halal laws are derived from the Quran and the Hadith, the traditions of the prophet Muhammad. As with Kosher laws, there are specific allowed animals and a prohibition of the consumption of blood. Additionally, alcohol is prohibited. [source]