Political Islam in a Tumultuous Era INTL 290-1

Transcription

1 Political Islam in a Tumultuous Era INTL Instructor: Dr. Ali Demirdas Class Schedule: Monday- Wednesday; 4:00 pm-6:45 pm. Location: Robert Scott Small Building 103. Office Hours: Monday-Wednesday 1:30pm-2:30pm Contact information: demirdasa@cofc.edu Course description and objectives: The course is concerned with understanding why and how Islam, a monotheistic religion has transformed into Islamism thus a political movement, whether this is an exception when compared to other religions and whether the relationship between religions and politics is a contemporary phenomenon. In order to explore these topics in depth, participants will be offered a basic knowledge of Islam, its historical trajectory and a historical overview of politics in the Muslim world where political Islam has become an active political force. The course will also scrutinize the diversity of contemporary political Islamist thinking and practice and the symbolic scope of Islamism for its followers. In addition, it will shed light on the transnational aspect of Political Islam, its presence in the Western countries, notably the United States (US) and various EU ones, its interaction with predominantly non-muslim societies and the challenges that this interaction brings. Finally, it will be the aim of this course to try to find answers to three main questions about Political Islam today: 1) has it emerged as a reaction to the perceived Westernization and/or forced modernization of Muslim societies? And/Or 2) has it developed as a strategy in response to the shifting terrain of internal politics and external geopolitics And/Or 3) is it just another by-product of the modern era like any other isms. Learning outcomes: At the end of the course students should be able to: - have a clear understanding of the origins of the political dimension of Islam. - be familiar with links between modernity, post-modernity and the rise of political Islam - be able to make a distinction between Islamism from above, Islamism from bottom-up and radical Islam and also identify their interaction - analyze and evaluate political Islam within the context of globalization and its interaction with the West

2 - demonstrate critical independent and reflective thought in discussions about political Islam - drawing upon their knowledge about political Islam, search ways for a more fruitful theoretical analysis about the topic. Assessment: Attendance/ participation (%20): Any undocumented absence will result in a 2 point deduction from the year-end grade. Therefore, it is vital that you come to class prepared. It is impossible to get an A from this class without an active and meaningful participation! Research Paper (%20): You are to write a research paper on a topic involving the political Islam. It will be page long, single space and in the APA style. Please consult with me in regards to the topic before starting your paper. Academic integrity: The learning community at the College of Charleston depends on mutual respect between instructors and students. Your attention is drawn to the College of Charleston s Honor Code ( especially the sections that forbid cheating, attempted cheating, plagiarism and disruptive classroom behavior. A student found guilty of any of these offenses will face penalties in accordance with CofC regulations. Compliance with these policies is an important part of your learning process in this introductory course and, hence, is your responsibility. If you have special learning needs and require accommodations, e.g. regarding exams (SNAP related), please let me know well in advance and contact the Center for Disability Services to find suitable ways to accommodate your individual needs. Presentation of Research Paper (10%): Using power point or overhead projection, you will present the outline of your research paper. Each of you will have minutes, 10 of which ideally will be devoted to the actual presentation and the remaining 5 min. for Q&A. Some of the questions in the final exams may come from the presentations, so I recommend taking notes during the presentations. Midterm Exam (%20): Final Exam (%30) December 8 Friday, 4-7pm. The Final exam will be cumulative.

3 Course Content Introduction to Course/ What is Islam? Ismail, S. (2004) Being Muslim: Islam, Islamism and Identity Politics, Government and Opposition, 39 (4). pp Further readings will be posted on OAKS. Origins of Political Islam Berkey, J. (2003) The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp: and Jung, D. (2007) Islam and Politics: A Fixed Relationship?, Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies, 16: 1, pp: Lapidus, I.M. (1975) The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of Early Islamic Society, International Journal of Middle East Studies, 6: 4 pp: Katsikas, S. (2009) European Modernity and Islamic Reformism among Muslims of the Balkans in the Late-Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Period (1830s and 1945), Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, (29)4, December, pp: Modern-State Formation and Political Islam Altinordu, A. (2010) The Politicization of Religion: Political Catholicism and Political Islam in Comparative Perspective, Politics & Society, 38 (4): Kuru, A. (2007) Passive and Assertive Secularisms- Historical Conditions, Ideological Struggles and State Policies Towards Religion, World Politics, 59:4. Özdalga, E. (2009) Islamism and Nationalism as Sister Ideologies: Reflections on the Politicization of Islam in a Longue Durée Perspective, Middle Eastern Studies, 45: 3, pp: Political Islam from above Brown, N.J. (1997) Sharia and State in the Modern Muslim Middle East, International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 29, no.3, pp: Piscatori, J. (1983) Ideological Politics in Sa udi Arabia, in J. Piscatori (ed.) Islam in the Political Process, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp:

4 Vahdat, F. (2003) Islamic Discourses on Modernity in Iran: Expansion and Contraction of Human Subjectivity, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 35, No. 4 pp Haqqani, H. (2005) Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military, Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Islamism from bottom-up Al-Anani, K. (2012) Islamist Parties Post Arab Spring, Mediterranean Politics, 17(3), pp: Butko, T.J. (2004) Revelation or Revolution: A Gramscian Approach to the Rise of Political Islam, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 31, no. 1, pp: Tibi, B. (2009) Islamism and Democracy: On the Compatibility of Institutional Islamism and the Political Culture of Democracy, Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp Atabaki, T. (ed.) (2007) The state and the subaltern. Modernization, society and state in Turkey and Iran, London and New York: I.B. Tauris Publishers (in association with The International Institute of Social History). The Milli Gorus Movement El-Affendi, A. (2011) The Islamism Debate Revisited: In Search of Islamist Democrats in Pace, M. (ed.) Europe, the USA and Political Islam: Strategies for engagement, Palgrave Macmillan, pp: El-Ghobashy, M. (2005) The Metamorphosis of the Egyptian Muslim Brothers, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 37, No. 3: Yavuz, M.H and Esposito, J. (eds.) (2003) Turkish Islam and the Secular State: The Gulen Movement, Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. Islamism for a lack of a strong political system Boroumand, L. and Boroumand, R. (2002) Terror, Islam and Democracy, Journal of Democracy, 13-2, pp: Hansen, H. and Kainz, P. (2007) Radical Islamism and Totalitarian Ideology: a Comparison of Sayyid Qutb s Islamism with Marxism and National Socialism, Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions, 8: 1, pp: Shepard, W. (2003) Sayyid Qutb's Doctrine of Jāhiliyya, International Journal of Middle East Studies, 35: 4, pp

5 Globalized and Transnational Political Islam Bialasiewicz, L. (2006) The death of the West: Samuel Huntington, Oriana Fallaci and a New Moral Geopolitics of Births and Bodies, Geopolitics, 11; 701: 724. Gilliat-Ray, S. (1998) Multiculturalism and Identity: their relationship for British Muslims, Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, 18 (2): Political Islam and the West Aijaz, A. (2008) Islam, Islamism and the West, The Socialist Register, pp: El Fadl, K.A. (2001) Islam and the Theology of Power, Middle East Report, No. 221 pp Kuru, A.T. (2008) Secularism, State Policies, and Muslims in Europe: Analyzing French Exceptionalism, Comparative Politics, 41: 1, pp: Ramadan, T. (1999) Who are We? in To Be a European Muslim, The Islamic Foundation, Leicester, pp: Modernity, Post-modernity and Political Islam 10b. Required Reading: Ahmed, A.S. and Donnan, H. Islam in the Age of Postmodernity, in Islam, Globalization and Post-Modernity, (eds.) Akbar S. Ahmed and Hastings Donnan, London: Routledge, pp: Alaam, A. (2009) Islam and Post-modernism. Locating the Rise of Islamism in Turkey, Journal of Islamic Studies, 20:3: pp Wittes, T. C (2008) Islamist Parties, Three Kinds of Movements, Journal of Democracy, 19: 3, pp: Vahdat, F. (2003) Post-Revolutionary Islamic Discourses on Modernity in Iran: Expansion and Contraction of Human Subjectivity, International Journal of Middle East Studies, 35: 4, pp:

6 What future for Political Islam? Bayat, A. (2005) What is Post-Islamism?, ISIM Review, 16. (1 p.). Ismail, S. (2001) The Paradox of Islamist Politics, The Middle East Report, 22, pp: Fuller, G. (2004) The future of Political Islam, New York: Palgrave McMillan. NOTA: The instructor reserves the right to change the course content at any time during the semester, depending on the needs of the specific students taking the course.