Religion and Politics in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa

Religion and Politics in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: Jeffrey Haynes
Publisher:
ISBN: 0415477131
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
This book examines the political activities of selected religious actors in Christian, Muslim and Judaist contexts in Europe and the Middle East. It explores the challenges these religious actors face in terms of citizenship, democracy, and secularisation

Religion, Democracy, and Politics in the Middle East

Religion, Democracy, and Politics in the Middle East PDF Author: Daniel Byman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781884853098
Category : Democratization
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
"Discusses religion, democracy, and politics in the Middle East in the early 21st century and highlights dilemmas and challenges for the future of the region"--Provided by publisher.

Religion and Politics in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa

Religion and Politics in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: Jeffrey Haynes
Publisher:
ISBN: 0415477131
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book examines the political activities of selected religious actors in Christian, Muslim and Judaist contexts in Europe and the Middle East. It explores the challenges these religious actors face in terms of citizenship, democracy, and secularisation

Making Islam Democratic

Making Islam Democratic PDF Author: Asef Bayat
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804755955
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
This book looks anew at the vexing question of whether Islam is compatible with democracy, examining histories of Islamic politics and social movements in the Middle East since the 1970s.

Faith in Numbers

Faith in Numbers PDF Author: Michael Hoffman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197538037
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
Why does religion sometimes increase support for democracy and sometimes do just the opposite? In Faith in Numbers, political scientist Michael Hoffman presents a theory of religion, group interest, and democracy. Focusing on communal religion, he demonstrates that the effect of communal prayer on support for democracy depends on the interests of the religious group in question. For members of groups who would benefit from democracy, communal prayer increases support for democratic institutions; for citizens whose groups would lose privileges in the event of democratic reforms, the opposite effect is present. Using a variety of data sources, Hoffman illustrates these claims in multiple contexts. He places particular emphasis on his study of Lebanon and Iraq, two countries in which sectarian divisions have played a major role in political development, by utilizing both existing and original surveys. By examining religious and political preferences among both Muslims and non-Muslims in several religiously diverse settings, Faith in Numbers shows that theological explanations of religion and democracy are inadequate. Rather, it demonstrates that religious identities and sectarian interests play a major part in determining regime preferences and illustrates how Islam in particular can be mobilized for both pro- and anti-democratic purposes. It finds that Muslim religious practice is not necessarily anti-democratic; in fact, in a number of settings, practicing Muslims are considerably more supportive of democracy than their secular counterparts. Theological differences alone do not determine whether members of religious groups tend to support or oppose democracy; rather, their participation in communal worship motivates them to view democracy through a sectarian lens.

Hamas in Politics

Hamas in Politics PDF Author: Jeroen Gunning
Publisher: Hurst Publishers
ISBN: 1805261533
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
In January 2006, Hamas, an organisation classified by Western governments as terrorist, was democratically elected to govern the Palestinian territories. The inherent contradictions in this situation have left many analysts at a loss. Hamas uses terror tactics against Israel, yet runs on a law and order ticket in Palestinian elections; it pursues an Islamic state, yet holds internal elections; it campaigns for shar'iah law, yet its leaders are predominantly secular professionals; it calls for the destruction of Israel, yet has reluctantly agreed to honour previous peace agreements. In "Hamas in Politics", Jeroen Gunning challenges the assumption that religion, violence and democracy are inherently incompatible and shows how many of these apparent contradictions flow from the interaction between Hamas' ideology, its local constituency and the nature of politics in Israel/Palestine. Drawing on interviews with members of Hamas and its critics, and a decade of close observation of the group, he offers a penetrating analysis of Hamas' own understanding of its ideology and in particular the tension between its dual commitment to 'God' and 'the people'. The book explores what Hamas' political practice says about its attitude towards democracy, religion and violence, providing a unique examination of the movement's internal organisation, how its leaders are selected and how decisions are made.

Islam and Democracy in the Middle East

Islam and Democracy in the Middle East PDF Author: Larry Diamond
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
A comprehensive assessment of the origins and staying power of Middle East autocracies, as well as a sober account of the struggles of state reformers and opposition forces to promote civil liberties, competitive elections and a pluralistic vision of Islam. Drawing on the insights of some 25 leading Western and Middle Eastern scholars, the book highlights the dualistic and often contradictory nature of political liberalization. Yemen suggest, political liberalization - as managed by the state - not only opens new spaces for debate and criticism, but is also used as a deliberate tactic to avoid genuine democratization. In several chapters on Iran, the authors analyze the benefits and costs of limited reform. There, the electoral successes of President Mohammad Khatami and his reformist allies inspired a new generation but have not as yet undermined the clerical establishment's power. By contrast, in Turkey a party with Islamist roots is moving a discredited system beyond decades of conflict and paralysis, following a stunning election victory in 2002. force for change. While acknowledging the enduring attraction of radical Islam throughout the Arab world, the concluding chapters carefully assess the recent efforts of Muslim civil society activists and intellectuals to promote a liberal Islamic alternative. Their struggles to affirm the compatibility of Islam and pluralistic democracy face daunting challenges, not least of which is the persistent efforts of many Arab rulers to limit the influence of all advocates of democracy, secular or religious.

The Awakening of Muslim Democracy

The Awakening of Muslim Democracy PDF Author: Jocelyne Cesari
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107513294
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 441

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Book Description
Why and how did Islam become such a political force in so many Muslim-majority countries? In this book, Jocelyne Cesari investigates the relationship between modernization, politics, and Islam in Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Tunisia, and Turkey - countries that were founded by secular rulers and have since undergone secularized politics. Cesari argues that nation-building processes in these states have not created liberal democracies in the Western mold, but have instead spurred the politicization of Islam by turning it into a modern national ideology. Looking closely at examples of Islamic dominance in political modernization, this study provides a unique overview of the historical and political developments from the end of World War II to the Arab Spring that have made Islam the dominant force in the construction of the modern states, and discusses Islam's impact on emerging democracies in the contemporary Middle East.

The Islamic Paradox

The Islamic Paradox PDF Author: Reuel Marc Gerecht
Publisher: A E I Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description
This monograph concludes that, paradoxically, those who have hated the United States the most now hold the keys to spreading democracy in the Muslim Middle East.

Rulers, Religion, and Riches

Rulers, Religion, and Riches PDF Author: Jared Rubin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110703681X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
This book seeks to explain the political and religious factors leading to the economic reversal of fortunes between Europe and the Middle East.

Islam and Democracy

Islam and Democracy PDF Author: Timothy D. Sisk
Publisher: US Institute of Peace Press
ISBN: 9781878379214
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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Book Description
This volume explores the relationship between religion and politics generally, as well as the global wave of democratization in the late twentieth century, as background to different interpretations of political Islam. It analyzes the role of these movements in Iran, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, the Persian Gulf (especially Saudi Arabia), and the Palestinian community.