Author: Avital Livny
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108485529
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 271
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Book Description
This cutting-edge analysis of Islamic politics and economics shows how Islam builds trust in communities and serves as a collective identity.
Author: Avital Livny
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108618871
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 271
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Book Description
In much of the Muslim world, Islamic political and economic movements appear to have a comparative advantage. Relative to similar secular groups, they are better able to mobilize supporters and sustain their cooperation long-term. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Turkey, a historically secular country that has experienced a sharp rise in Islamic-based political and economic activity. Drawing on rich data sources and econometric methods, Avital Livny challenges existing explanations - such as personal faith - for the success of these movements. Instead, Livny shows that the Islamic advantage is rooted in feelings of trust among individuals with a shared, religious group-identity. This group-based trust serves as an effective substitute for more generalized feelings of interpersonal trust, which are largely absent in many Muslim-plurality countries. The book presents a new argument for conceptualizing religion as both a personal belief system and collective identity.
Author: Avital Livny
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Across the Muslim world, successful mobilization efforts -- both political and economic -- are increasingly Islamic-based. No where is this phenomenon more apparent than in Turkey, a historically secular country that has witnessed a recent rise in Islamic-based politics and economics. Whether galvanizing mass street demonstrations, campaigning on behalf of a political party, or encouraging particular patterns of trade and investment, calls to collective action that rely on religious language or symbols are proving more successful than similar but secular ones. As a result, where other political parties have faltered in the face of electoral instability, Islamic-based parties are enjoying repeated successes; Islamic business associations and savings clubs are thriving in otherwise underdeveloped market settings; and Islamic charitable organizations are proving best able to provide public goods to the region's urban poor. The aim of this dissertation is to identify Islam's advantage in supporting collective mobilization, in Turkey and across the Muslim world. Although this advantage is often attributed to the deeply held religious beliefs of pious individuals, I combine personal observations and large datasets -- leveraging variation across individuals, across space, and across time -- to challenge this traditional view of Islamic activism as faith-based. Instead, I argue that Islamic mobilization is better described as trust-based: using econometric methods and a variety of data sources, I show that Islam's advantage rests on its ability to solve critical trust problems for the practice of collective politics and economics, in Turkey and a large number of Muslim-majority countries. The chapters of Part I of the dissertation seek to adjudicate between the two competing theories of Islamic mobilization. Chapter 1 offers a discussion and evaluation of the existing faith-based view: I define its empirical implications and then leverage variation in mobilization -- both political and economic -- across space, across time, and across individuals to test them. Ultimately, I find little support for the expectation that Islamic mobilization is faith-based: in terms of Islam's ability to mobilize the masses, indicators of personal piety are associated with significantly lower levels of political participation across individuals in eighteen Muslim-majority countries; cross-temporal increases in support for Islamic political parties in Turkey do not map onto similar trends in underlying piety; and cross-national patterns of Islamic banking are not associated with or religiosity or religious obstacles to conventional investment. If personal faith cannot explain Islam's advantage in political and economic mobilization, how are Islamic-based groups able to outpace their secular rivals? Chapter 2 presents an alternative, trust-based theory of Islamic mobilization by focusing on the collective aspects of mobilization and religion. I discuss the interdependence of individual decisions to become mobilized and reveal how uncertainty about others' participation threatens any would-be mobilization effort. The combination of interdependence and uncertainty make interpersonal trust a necessary foundation for mobilization. Where more generic, generalized feelings of trust are absent, I suggest that other forms of broad-based trust -- especially trust conditioned on shared group membership -- can serve as a near-perfect substitute. Using cross-national survey data from 140 countries, I reveal the absence of generalized trust in much of the Muslim world; and in data from eighteen Muslim-majority countries, I distinguish between personal religiosity, on the one hand, and a religious identity, on the other, capable of bolstering expectations of trust and trustworthiness among those who share it. In the empirical chapters of Part II, I present evidence of the importance of group-based trust in the success of Islamic-based movements, both political and economic, within Turkey as well as cross-nationally. Chapter 3 considers how Islam might address the trust problem in the case of mass political mobilization. Using the results of an original, nationally-representative survey from Turkey, as well as World Values Survey data from eighteen Muslim-majority countries, I illustrate the negative impact of generalized distrust on individuals' propensity to participate in mass politics. Further, I reveal a positive relationship between markers of religious identity and political participation, driven by an interaction effect of identity on trust and the propensity to participate. This has an unexpected impact on the ability of state repression to undermine Islamic-based political movements: by increasing the importance of trust for participation, repression also serves to increase the value of Islam as a foundation for mobilization. In Chapter 4, I turn my attention to explaining the success of Islamic-based political parties in Turkey and their potential for success elsewhere. Specifically, I seek to explain how a long history of coordination failure among voters was reversed with the success of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi). In panel data of electoral results beginning in the early 1970s, I reveal how low levels of interpersonal trust have made it difficult for voters in Turkey to coordinate on a winner, giving religious voters -- with their feelings of group-based trust -- an important coordination advantage. Further, I show how these voters' ability to consistently support Islamic-based parties over time has attracted the support of distrusting but secular voters, who would otherwise struggle to make their votes count, giving the AKP a significant advantage in distrusting, ill-coordinated electoral districts. To define the scope of Islam's economic advantage, in Chapter 5, I argue that feelings of trust among members of an Islamic-oriented business association are important in supporting long-term, flexible partnerships that mimic the benefits of vertical integration. This is particularly the case during periods of economic volatility, when future market conditions are uncertain and integration is most valuable. Using firm-level panel data from Turkey, I trace how members of the Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (Müstakil Sanayici ve İşadamları Derneği) have fared during periods of volatility and compare this performance to similar but integrated firms, confirming that associational membership and integration are most important under conditions of uncertainty. Finally, in the chapters of Part III, I consider the source(s) of generalized distrust in the Muslim world. In Chapter 6, I explore a number of existing explanations -- social distance, social contact, economic development, political institutions; religion; and culture -- and find that none are able to account for the trust deficit in Muslim-majority countries. When I consider whether low levels of trust in the region are rational, reflecting the fact that most people really cannot be trusted, I find the exact opposite: levels of honesty in Muslim-majority countries tend to be robust, revealing a mismatch between levels of trust, on the one hand, and levels of trustworthiness, on the other. In Chapter 7, I suggest that this mismatch points to an information problem underlying the low levels of trust in the Muslim world. Using data from 128 countries, I illustrate how state institutions that often help to inform citizens about who should be trusted, when too intrusive, undermine this same process. The abundance of such institutions across the Muslim world finally serves to explain why trust is so limited in the region.
Author: Paul L. Heck
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN: 0268207348
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 293
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Book Description
Paul L. Heck’s Political Theology and Islam offers a sophisticated and comprehensive analysis of sovereignty in Islamic society, beginning with the origins of Islam and extending to the present. This wide-ranging study sets out to answer an unassumingly tricky question: What is politics in Islam? Paul L. Heck’s answer takes the form of a close analysis of sovereignty across Islamic history, approaching this concept from the perspective of political theology. As he illustrates, the history of politics in Islam is best understood as an ongoing struggle for a moral order between those who occupy positions of rulership and religious voices that communicate the ethics of Islam and educate the public in their religious and moral devotions. In this sense, sovereignty in Islam is split between ruling powers and pious communities, whose interactions range from close cooperation to outright competition. Heck shows that it is precisely through these interactions that Islamic conceptions of sovereignty are constructed and negotiated. Political Theology and Islam’s first section spells out the concepts and methods for the study of politics in Islam as a struggle for a moral order, one not only involving varied claims to sovereignty but also a general determination to realize the righteousness of Islam that stands at the heart of the message that the Prophet Muhammad conveyed to his society in seventh-century Arabia. The following sections demonstrate, through examples from both the past and today’s worldwide Muslim community, the diverse ways in which the umma, the community of Muslims, has struggled for a moral order that recalls its prophetic message. Deftly moving in various political theaters and through a wide range of intellectual traditions, Heck’s book will emerge as a touchstone of scholarship in the field of Muslim politics and intellectual thought.
Author: Melani Cammett
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190931051
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 913
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Book Description
Politics in Muslim societies : what's religion got to do with it? / Melani Cammett and Pauline Jones -- Islam and political structure in historical perspective / Eric Chaney -- State-formation, statist Islam, and regime instability : evidence from Turkey / Kristin E. Fabbe -- States, religion, and democracy in Southeast Asia : comparative religious regime formation / Kikue Hamayotsu -- Repression of Islamists and authoritarian survival in the Arab world : a case study of Egypt / Jean Lachapelle -- Regime types, regime transitions, and religion in Pakistan / Matthew J. Nelson -- Regime change under the Party of Justice and Development (AKP) in Turkey / Feryaz Ocaklı -- Islam, nationalism, and democracy in Asia : nations under gods or gods under nations? / Maya Tudor -- Military politics in Muslim societies / Nicholas J. Lotito -- Voting for Islamists : mapping the role of religion / Ellen Lust, Kristen Kao, and Gibran Okar -- Party systems in Muslim societies / Elizabeth R. Nugent -- Ideologies, brands, and demographics in Muslim Southeast Asia : "voting for Islam" / Thomas Pepinsky -- Religion and party politics in India and Pakistan / Steven I. Wilkinson -- Religion and electoral competition in Senegal / Dominika Koter -- Clientelism, constituency services, and elections in Muslim societies / Daniel Corstange and Erin York -- Religiosity and political attitudes in Turkey during the AKP era / S. Erdem Aytaç -- Religious practice and political attitudes among Shiites in Iran and Iraq / Fotini Christia, Elizabeth Dekeyser, and Dean Knox -- Repressive religious regulation and political mobilization in Central Asia : why Muslims (don't) rebel / Dustin Gamza and Pauline Jones -- How extraordinary was the Arab Spring? Examining "protest potential" in the Muslim world / Avital Livny -- Illicit economies and political violence in Central Asia / Lawrence P. Markowitz, and Mariya Y. Omelicheva -- Piety, devotion, and support for Shari'a : examining the link between religiosity and political attitudes in Pakistan / Niloufer A. Siddiqui -- Mapping and explaining Arab attitudes toward the Islamic State : findings from an Arab barometer survey and embedded experiment / Mark Tessler, Michael Robbins, and Amaney Jamal -- Social movements, parties, and political cleavages in Morocco : a religious divide? / Adria Lawrence -- The rise and impact of Muslim women preaching online / Richard A. Nielsen -- Religion and mobilization in the Syrian uprising and war / Wendy Pearlman -- Christian-Muslim relations in the shadow of conflict : insights from Kaduna, Nigeria / Alexandra Scacco and Shana S. Warren -- New media and Islamist mobilization in Egypt / Alexandra A. Siegel -- Islamically framed mobilization in Tunisia : Ansar al-Sharia in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings / Frédéric Volpi -- Islamist mobilization during the Arab uprisings / Chantal Berman -- Religious legitimacy and long run economic growth in the Middle East / Jared Rubin -- Islam and economic development : the case of non-Muslim minorities in the Middle East and North Africa / Mohamed Saleh -- State institutions and economic performance in 19th century Egypt / Lisa Blaydes and Safinaz El Tarouty -- Colonial legacies and welfare provision in the Middle East and North Africa / Melani Cammett, Allison Spencer Hartnett, and Gabriel Koehler-Derrick -- Islam and the politics of development : shrines and literacy in Pakistan / Adeel Malik and Rinchan Mirza -- Islam and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa / Melina R. Platas -- Islamic finance and development in Malaysia / Fulya Apaydin -- Welfare states in the Middle East / Ferdinand Eibl -- Islamist organizations and the provision of social services / Steven Thomas Brooke -- Exploring the role of Islam in Mali : service provision, citizenship, and governance / Jaimie Bleck and Alex Thurston -- Islamist parties and women's representation in Morocco : taking one for the team / Lindsay J. Benstead -- The Islamic State as a revolutionary rebel group : IS' governance and violence in historical context / Megan A. Stewart.
Author: Timur Kuran
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009320017
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 449
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Book Description
Islamic institutions have turned the Middle East into an extraordinarily repressive region. Their legacies preclude a speedy liberalization.
Author: Samira Idllalène
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108488781
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 189
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Book Description
For the first time, Sharia' and common law are compared from the perspective of environmental law to delve into their common grounds.
Author: S. Nazim Ali
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136671293
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 317
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Book Description
In the recent past, Islamic finance has made an impressive case on the banking scene by becoming an alternative to the popular conventional financial systems, spurring a lively academic debate on how the Islamic finance industry can expand its services to cover the poor. Several propositions have been aired which suggest that the Islamic finance industry should consider developing an efficient Shari‘a compliant microfinance model. This book brings together original contributions from leading authorities on the subject of Shari‘a Compliant Microfinance (Islamic Microfinance) to propose innovative solutions and models by carefully studying experiments conducted in various countries. Where critiques of the current microfinance concepts, methods, regulatory measures and practices have often revolved around its practice of charging very high interest, this book discusses the several models that draw on both theory and case studies to provide a sustainable Shari‘a compliant alternative. Arguing that while Islamic finance might have made a remarkable contribution in the financial markets, there remains a big question with regards to its social relevance, the book provides new perspectives and innovative solutions to issues facing the Islamic microfinance industry. A comprehensive reference book for anyone wanting to learn more about Shari‘a Compliant Microfinance, this book will also be of use to students and scholars of microfinance, Islamic finance, and to anyone interested in learning about ethical and socially responsible businesses.
Author: Timur Kuran
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400837359
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 215
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Book Description
The doctrine of "Islamic economics" entered debates over the social role of Islam in the mid-twentieth century. Since then it has pursued the goal of restructuring economies according to perceived Islamic teachings. Beyond its most visible practical achievement--the establishment of Islamic banks meant to avoid interest--it has promoted Islamic norms of economic behavior and founded redistribution systems modeled after early Islamic fiscal practices. In this bold and timely critique, Timur Kuran argues that the doctrine of Islamic economics is simplistic, incoherent, and largely irrelevant to present economic challenges. Observing that few Muslims take it seriously, he also finds that its practical applications have had no discernible effects on efficiency, growth, or poverty reduction. Why, then, has Islamic economics enjoyed any appeal at all? Kuran's answer is that the real purpose of Islamic economics has not been economic improvement but cultivation of a distinct Islamic identity to resist cultural globalization. The Islamic subeconomies that have sprung up across the Islamic world are commonly viewed as manifestations of Islamic economics. In reality, Kuran demonstrates, they emerged to meet the economic aspirations of socially marginalized groups. The Islamic enterprises that form these subeconomies provide advancement opportunities to the disadvantaged. By enhancing interpersonal trust, they also facilitate intragroup transactions. These findings raise the question of whether there exist links between Islam and economic performance. Exploring these links in relation to the long-unsettled question of why the Islamic world became underdeveloped, Kuran identifies several pertinent social mechanisms, some beneficial to economic development, others harmful.
Author: Marcel Boisard
Publisher: American Trust Publications
ISBN: 0892590351
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 344
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Book Description
Humanism in Islam - The West's generalized fear and lack of intellectual honesty toward Islam prevent it from recognizing the wealth of benefits Islam bestows on mankind. Demonstrates that Islam and Islamic law can make a vital contribution to the protection of human rights worldwide. Freed from European colonial tutelage and representing almost a billion souls, grouped in approximately forty states, the Muslims have entered the international scene without really having any other choice but to imitate the existing institutions, or to accept provisions in which they, historically speaking, have had no participation. Nevertheless, the process of modernization has not lured the Muslims away from the remembrance of a glorious heritage. On the contrary, wherever the movement of Westernization has been too brutal, it has run into a religious challenge. Islam thus reappeared as one of the grand moral and political forces of the contemporary world. Humanism in Islam has not been drafted only out of sympathy for the Muslims but also on account of historical evidence: Islamic civilization was the first to outline clear and mandatory provisions for protecting the destiny of man and society, and for creating order in the ties between peoples. As to its general character, this work attempts to encourage a certain Western public to abandon its ethnocentrism in order to better understand the legitimate aspirations - expressing themselves sometimes in chaos - of the present-day Muslims.
