- Ahl al-Bayt: the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad
- Awqaf (singular: waqf): Islamic endowments, such as financial or property assets, which are typically maintained by a ministry (wizara), administration (idara), or authority (haiya) that is sometimes responsible for regulating mosques and overseeing religious charity
- Dar al-Ifta: a government institution responsible for issuing fatwas in a given country
- Dawa: Islamic proselytization
- Fatwa (plural: ifta): a legal opinion on a point of Islamic law issued by a qualified jurist
- Fiqh: human attempts to understand and apply jurisprudence of sharia
- Hadith: the narrative record of the sayings and customs of the Prophet Muhammed
- Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca, which is a religious duty for all able Muslims
- Ijtihad: the practice of independent reasoning in jurisprudence
- Khatib: the person who leads Friday and holiday prayers and who typically delivers a sermon
- Mawlid: in Sunni Islam, a minor holiday marking the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad or a saint
- Mufti: a jurist who interprets Islamic law
- Sharia: Islamic law based on the Quran
- Sunna: the words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad, which are used as a source of law
- Tafsir: the critical explanation or interpretation of scripture
- Ulema: community of religious scholars
- Umma: the collective global community of Muslims
- Wali al-amr: the ruler or leader of a community
- Zakat: the mandatory annual charitable donations made by Muslims
- Zawaya (singular: zawiya): religious schools, lodges, or orders, which are most common in North Africa and play an important social role in their surrounding communities
Table of Contents
Saudi Arabia’s Religious Reforms Are Touching Nothing but Changing Everything
Religious Governance in Syria Amid Territorial Fragmentation
Libya’s Factional Struggle for the Authority of the Islamic Endowments
Algeria’s Sufis Balance State Patronage and Political Entanglement
The Moroccan Monarchy’s Political Agenda for Reviving Sufi Orders
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