Islam & Political Regimes
The study of Islam and Politics in recent times divides itself, for the most part, between (a) inquiries into the compatibility of Islam and democracy and (b) inquiries into the relationship between Islam and terrorism. In both cases, emphasis rests upon doctrinal, ideological and legal aspects of Islam rather than upon an empirical examination of the role of Islam in the politics of particular countries. That is to say that our understanding of political Islam is shaped by conceptions of an ideal Islamic polity on the one hand, and/or on the other, Islamic norms of conflict, conquest, coercion, rebellion, resistance, martyrdom and terror.
The almost exclusive focus on the Islamic ideal, and the unwillingness of both the regime and the exponents of Islamic interests to work out a political contract, have often left the day-to-day political role of religious elites and of the exponents of religious social movements in the shadow of ignorance or distortion. Much of the literature on Muslim civil society seems to argue that there is an informal social organization which functions in defiance or simply independently of the corporatist systems maintained by the regimes that imagine themselves to wield actual power. Similarly, the growing literature that purports to examine the indirect influence of the Neo-Salafi movements on the religious culture and mores of Muslim societies suggests the emergence of parallel and independent social and political structures.
The alternate perspective is to try to understand how these structures and other forces interact in a single political arena. From this alternate perspective, we should expect to turn our attention increasingly to the strategic considerations of the various participants in the regime, and to the ideological and coalitional constraints limiting their tactical choices. We can inquire into the number of diverse voices speaking for Islam and for the state; and we can inquire into the cases where cooperative arrangements were worked out and where they were not. We can compare the situations in which transnational influences were decisive and those in which state-based allocation or policy considerations were paramount. Most important of all, we can trace the way in which religious forces and state forces have influenced their mutual adaptation, resulting in the structuring of political regimes in the Middle East and the Muslim world.
It is this alternative worldly perspective which inspires our proposed Colloquium on Islam and the Political Regime, in conjunction with the graduate seminar on Islam and Politics taught by Leonard Binder, Professor of Political Science. The colloquium meets weekly in conjunction with the seminar every Wednesday during the Spring academic quarter. It is open to members of the university community and of the institutions of higher education affiliated with the Southern California Consortium on International Studies. At each of the ten weekly meetings, the political regime of one Muslim country will be discussed by a specialist well-versed in the Islamic politics of the country concerned. For a complete list of speakers, dates and times please refer to the schedule below.
Schedule
Official Islam vs. Popular Islam and the Struggle for Legitimacy in Morocco
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
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The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and the Mubarak Regime: Strategies Amid a New Moment of Confrontation
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
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Authoritarian Elections and Elite Management: Theory and Evidence from Egypt
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
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The Turkish Party System and Political Islam: A Challenge to the Inclusion-Moderation Hypothesis?
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
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Iran and the New Middle East
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
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Piety in Time: Contemporary Islamic Political Practices in the Middle East
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
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Islam and Politics in Contemporary Iraq: Sectarianism or Democracy?
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
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The Politics of Elections in the Arab World
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
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Hizbullah 2000-2007: An Identity Crisis or a Crisis of Legitimacy?
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
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