Controversy over the concept ‘freedom’ during the Iranian constitutional revolution (1906– 09)

The Iranian constitutional revolution of 1906–09 paved the way for the establishment of new administrative institutions, adopting modern ideas and the hegemony of new political discourse over the archaic political reasoning. One of the most important aspects of the new discourse was the definition and internalization of modern concepts. This paper holds the view that the concept ‘freedom’ brought about a complicated problem for the socio-political sphere in the course of the Iranian revolution and, as such, deserves a thorough examination. Previous studies on the subject have usually neglected this aspect. Yet, this was exactly the main domain of the clash between traditionalism and modernity during the revolutionary years and brought about far-reaching results for Iranian society. This article attempts to contribute to this field by examining a number of Iranian journals of the period in order to evaluate their understanding of the concept ‘freedom’ and show the discrepancy between the constitutionalist and non-constitutionalist discourses.     

Internal validation of reduced PCR reaction volume of the Qiagen Investigator® Argus X-12 QS Kit from blood samples on FTA cards

The onus of proof in criminal cases is beyond any reasonable doubt, and the issue on the lack of complete internal validation data can be manipulated when it comes to justifying the validity and reliability of the X-chromosomal short tandem repeats analysis for court representation. Therefore, this research evaluated the efficiency of the optimized 60% reduced volumes for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification using the Qiagen Investigator® Argus X-12 QS Kit, as well as the capillary electrophoresis (CE) sample preparation for blood samples on Flinder's Technology Associates (FTA) cards. Good-quality DNA profile (3000–12,000 RFU) from the purified blood sample on FTA card (1.2 mm) were obtained using the optimized PCR (10.0 μL of PCR reaction volume and 21 cycles) and CE (9.0 μL Hi-Di™ Formamide and 0.3 μL DNA Size Standard 550 [BTO] and 27 s injection time) conditions. The analytical and stochastic thresholds were 100 and 200 RFU, respectively. Hence, the internal validation data supported the use of the optimized 60% reduced PCR amplification reaction volume of the Qiagen Investigator® Argus X-12 QS Kit as well as the CE sample preparation for producing reliable DNA profiles that comply with the quality assurance standards for forensic DNA testing laboratories, while optimizing the analytical cost.     

Evaluation of Skin Surface as an Alternative Source of Reference DNA Samples: A Pilot Study

An acceptable area for collecting DNA reference sample is a part of the forensic DNA analysis development. The aim of this study was to evaluate skin surface cells (SSC) as an alternate source of reference DNA sample. From each volunteer (n = 10), six samples from skin surface areas (forearm and fingertips) and two traditional samples (blood and buccal cells) were collected. Genomic DNA was extracted and quantified then genotyped using standard techniques. The highest DNA concentration of SSC samples was collected using the tape/forearm method of collection (2.1 ng/μL). Cotton swabs moistened with ethanol yielded higher quantities of DNA than swabs moistened with salicylic acid, and it gave the highest percentage of full STR profiles (97%). This study supports the use of SSC as a noninvasive sampling technique and as a extremely useful source of DNA reference samples among certain cultures where the use of buccal swabs can be considered socially unacceptable.     

Oil price changes and stock market returns: cointegration evidence from emerging market

The aim of this paper is to examine whether changes in nominal oil prices (Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI)) affect the stock market returns in the context of an emerging market framework. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds testing approach of cointegration is used to test for the long run relation between the two variables, where the daily stock market index return is calculated using the first difference in the natural logarithms of stock market index. Further, we test for the stability of the cointegration relationship by examining the sensitivity analysis where diagnostic tests for serial correlation (namely the Breusch–Godfrey serial correlations LM test) and cumulative sum of recursive residuals (CUSUM) are employed. Using daily data from January 3, 2000 to December 9, 2015, the findings suggest that there is long run integration between oil prices and stock returns series in which the daily oil price shocks have a negative impact on stock returns. The highly significant error correction coefficient indicates high rate of convergence to equilibrium. In addition, the Toda and Yamamoto (J Econom 66(2):225–250, 1995) Granger non‐causality test indicates significant bidirectional causality between stock market returns and Brent nominal oil price, meanwhile there is unidirectional causality running from WTI oil price to stock market returns. These findings are, up to some extent, meaningful for investors, portfolio managers and policy makers.     

Book reviews

Sphinx and Commissar: the rise and fall of Soviet influence in the Arab world. Mohamed Heikal, London: Collins. 1978. 303 pp. £6.95.

Soviet Involvement in the Middle East: policy formulation 1966–1973. Ilana Kass, Folkestone, England: Dawson. 1978. 273 pp. £11.00.

The Limits to Power: Soviet policy in the Middle East. Edited by Yaacov Ro'i, London: Croom Helm. 1979. 376 pp. £10.95.

In the Direction of the Persian Gulf: the Soviet Union and the Persian Gulf. A Yodfat and M Abir, London: Frank Cass. 1977. 167 pp. £8.95.

Moral Claims in World Affairs. Edited by Ralph Pettman, London: Croom Helm. 1979. 199 pp. £8.50.

The United Nations: how it works and what it does. Evan Luard, London: Macmillan. 1979. 187 pp. £8.95.

The International Politics of the Nigerian Civil War, 1967–1970. John J Stremlau, Princeton University Press. 1977. 425 pp. £16.70. £6.25 pb.

The Arms Trade and International Systems. Robert E Harkavy, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger (distributed in the UK by John Wiley).

1975. 288 pp. £11.60.

The Terrorism Reader. Edited by Walter Laqueur, London: Wildwood House. 1979. 291 pp. £7.50.

International Terrorism in the Contemporary World. Edited by Marius H. Livingston et al, London: Greenwood Press. 1978. 522 pp. £24.50.

Cities of Peasants: the political economy of urbanisation in the Third World. Bryan Roberts, London: Edward Arnold. 1978. 207 pp. £4.50pb.

Shelter Provision in the Developing Countries: the influence of standards and criteria. A L Mabogunje, J E Hardoy and R P Misra Chichester, England: John Wiley. 1978. 94 pp. £4.75 pb.

Independence Documents of the World. Edited by A P Blaustein et al. Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications/Leyden: A W Sijthoff. 1977. 2 Vols. 800 pp. $75.00.

Asia's Nuclear Future. Edited by William H Overholt, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. 1978. 285 pp. £11.75.

Commodity Agreements and Price Stabilisation. David McNicol, Lexington, Massachusetts: D C Heath. 1978. 335 pp. £10.00.

Stabilising World Commodity Markets. F Gerald Adams and Sonia A Klein, Lexington, Massachusetts: D C Heath. 1978. 335 pp. £17.50.

National Interests and Presidential Leadership: the setting of priorities. Donald E Nuechterlein, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press (Distributed in the UK by Ernest Benn). 1978. 246 pp. £12.50.

Economics: an introduction to traditional and radical views. E K Hunt and H J Sherman, New York: Harper & Row. 1978. 617 pp. £5.95 pb.

The Alternative in Eastern Europe. Rudolf Bahro (translated by David Fernbach) London: New Left Books. 1978. 463 pp. £9.50.

Africa's International Relations: the diplomacy of dependency and change. Ali A Mazrui, London: Heinemann. 1977. 324 pp. £8.50.

The Foreign Polices of African States.. Edited by Olajide Aluko. London: Hodder & Stoughton. 1977. 249 pp. £4.50.

Drought in Africa 2. Edited by David Dalby et al, London: International African Institute. 1977. 200 pp. £5.00.

Landuse and Development. Edited by Phil O'Keefe and Ben Wisner, London: International African Institute. 1977. 232 pp. £5.25.

The Cyprus Revolt. Nancy Crawshaw, London: Allen & Unwin. 1978. 396 pp. £12.50.

Southeast Asian Transitions: approaches through social history. Edited by Ruth T McVey, Yale University Press. 1978. 242 pp. £12.60.

Elite Politics in an Ideological State: the case of Pakistan. Asaf Hussain, London: Dawson. 1979. 212 pp. £9.00.

Politics and Government in Malaysia. R S Milne and Diane K Mauzy. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. 1978. 406 pp.

Towards Total Revolution: the writings and speeches of Jayaprakash Narayan. Edited by Brahmanand, Richmond, England: Richmond Publishing. 1978. Vols I‐IV. 1145 pp. £35.95.

India: population, economy, society. R H Cassen, London: Macmillan. 1978. 419 pp. £10.00.

Experiments in Family Planning: lessons from the developing world. R Cuca and C S Pierce, London: John Hopkins University Press. 1977. 261 pp. £2.50 pb.

Militarism in Modern China: the career of Wu P'ei‐fu, 1916–1939. Odoric Y K Wou. Canberra: Australian National University Press (distributed in the UK by Dawson). 1978. 346 pp. £12.50.

China's Economy: a basic guide. Christopher Howe, London: Paul Elek. 1978. 248 pp. £7.50.

China and Japan 1949–1976. R K Jain, New Delhi: Radiant Publishers (distributed in the UK by Martin Robertson). 1977. 336 pp. £10.50.

Finding a Voice: Asian women in Britain. Amrit Wilson, London: Virago. 1978. 179 pp. £2.50.

Role of Rural Women in Development. Report of an international seminar held at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, 5 January‐10 February 1977. Edited by Vira Mazumdar, Delhi: Indian Council of Social Science Research. 1978. 125 pp. £3.00.

International Perspectives in Rural Sociology. Edited by Howard Newby, Chichester, England: John Wiley. 1978. 220pp. £10.95.     

Islamic courts and corrections

This paper explores Islamic Criminal Law and Procedure. There are some differences among Islamic states but these differences are relatively minor. Muslims are tried in Sharia Courts for offenses found in the Quran. Non‐Muslims can not be held to the same standard (Apostasy). All people are subject to the jurisdiction of Mazalim Courts which handle taxation, traffic, and other administrative functions.

Islamic Law has three major divisions of crime: 1. Hadith Crimes (most serious); 2. Quesa Crimes and Diya (restitution); and 3. Tazir Crimes (least serious).

Islamic Law has many similar “defenses to crime” as the Common Law nations. They use puberty of a juvenile as the age of accountability. Police must obtain a search warrant for property. The punishment philosophies are similar to western views in theory, but they do apply these ideas in much different ways. Many punishments are public and done as a deterrent for others. Islamic judges have more freedom for sentencing options than western judges. They have mandatory sentences for only a few of the most serious Hadith Crimes. Some in the popular media point to the harshness of Islamic Law, and conclude that it must be wrong. They have very low crime rates and few social problems. We conclude that Islamic Law is not wrong, only different.