Religion & Politics in Muslim-Majority Countries

Nearly every Muslim-majority country must contend with the power of religion in the public sphere. In this course we will explore the relationship between religion, specifically Islam, and politics in Muslim-majority countries and the form that it takes in different contexts. Specifically, we will examine the role of religion in the political sphere across four dimensions: identity, institutions, ideology, and political culture. We will study the causes and consequences of the relationship between religion and politics for political movements, economic development, political and religious actors, and religious regulation. We will survey the nature of this relationship across the following regions with country-specific case studies: the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia.