Politics and Governance in Contemporary Islamic Thought

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SKIDMORE COLLEGE

Politics and Governance in Contemporary Islamic Thought

Dr. Muhammad Al-Atawneh

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Office: Ladd 315, the Government Department

Course Description and Goals

This course focuses on the development of politics and governance in contemporary Islamic thought. Emphasis will be placed on the questions: What is an Islamic state or How should an Islamic state look in our times? Issues to be discussed include: religion & politics, Islam & democracy, international relationships, human rights, non-Muslims in a Muslim state. Finally, two case studies, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, will be discussed and compared in order to deepen our understanding of the various contemporary Islamic trends in politics and governance.

CourseRequirements

(1) Class attendance and participation (20%)

(2) Final research paper (80%)

Course Classes and Readings

Sept. 10: Islam and Muslims in Modern Times: Overview

Readings: Said AbdulAziz, Mohammed Abu-Nimer and Meena Sharify-Funk

(eds.), Contemporary Islam: Dynamic, Not Static. London &New York:

Rutledge, 2006, pp.1-14.

Muhammad Arkoun, “Present-Day Islam between its Tradition and Globalization". In Farhad Daftary (ed.),Intellectual Traditions in Islam (London &New-York: I. B. Tauris, 2000), pp. 179-221.

John Esposito, The Future of Islam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), ch. 1.

Sept. 15: State and Government in Medieval Islam

Readings: Ann Lambton, State and Government in Medieval Islam: AnIntroduction to

the Study of Islamic Political Theory (Oxford:Oxford University Press,1981), pp. 138-200.

Ira M. Lapidus, “State and Religion in Islamic Societies” Past and Present, No. 151 (May, 1996), 3-27.

Fred M. Donner, “The Formation of the Islamic State.” Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 106, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1986), pp. 283- 296.

Sept. 22: The Caliphate: Rashid Rida vis-à-vis ʿAli ʿAbd Al-Razig

Readings: J. J. Donohue and J. L. Esposito (eds.), Islam in Transition: Muslim Perspectives (New York: Oxford University Press, 1982), pp. 29-37.

Erwin I. J. Rosenthal, Islam in the Modern National State (Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 1965), pp. 64-102.

Sept. 24: Debating Politics and Governance in Contemporary Islamic

Writings

Readings:Belkeziz, Abdelilah,The State in Contemporary Islamic Thought: a

Historical Survey of the Major Muslim Political Thinkers of the Modern Era (London:I.B. Tauris, in association with the Centre for Arab Unity Studies,2009), pp. 119-142.

Charles J. Adams, “Mawdudi and the Islamic State” in John Esposito (ed.), Voices of Resurgent Islam (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983), pp. 99-133.

Sept. 29: Islam and Democracy

Readings: John Esposito and James Piscatori, "Democratization and Islam". Middle East Journal, vol. 45, no. 3 (Summer, 1991), pp. 427-440.

Raghid El-Solh, “Islamists Attitudes Towards Democracy” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1 (1988), pp. 57-63.

Oct. 1: War, Peace and International Relationships

Readings:A. G. Noorani, Islam& Jihad (London: Zed Books, 2002), pp. 45-61.

Manoucher Parvin and Maurie Sommer, “Dar al-Islam: The Evolution of Muslim Territoriality and Its Implications for Conflict Resolution in the Middle East”. International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Feb., 1980), pp. 1-21.

Oct. 6:Islam and Human Rights

Readings: Ann Elizabeth Mayer, Islam and Human Rights: Tradition and Politics

(Boulder, Colo.:Westview Press,1999), pp. 23-42.

Mahmood Monshipouri, Islamism, Secularism, and Human Rights in the

Middle East (London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998), pp. 1-36; 63-

103.

Oct. 8: Case Study 1: Saudi Arabia

Readings: Ayman Al Yassini, Religion and State in the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia (Boulder and London: Westview Press, 1985), ch. 2.

Muhammad al-Atawneh, “Is Saudi Arabia a Theocracy? Religion and Governance in Contemporary Saudi Arabia.” Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 45, No. 5 (Sept. 2009): 721-737.

Oct. 13: Case Study 2: Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood

Readings: M. Brotherhood's Political Platforms, 2011

Nathan J. Brown and Amr Hamzawy, “Islamist Movements and the Democratic Process in the Arab World: Exploring the Gray Zones” Middle East Series Carnegie Papers, No. 89 (January 2008), pp. 1-24.