HIST 270 - Modern Islamic Political Thought

(POL 270) FDR: HU
Planned Offering: Fall 2017 and alternate years.
Credits: 3

This course investigates Islamic political thought and action from the 18th century to the present. The course begins with an examination of the commentaries, treatises, and debates among Muslim political thinkers in light of their historical context and the writings on Islamic politics from the classical and middle ages. Then, students compare historical case studies of modern Islamic political movements in practice in Pakistan, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, France and the U.S. Throughout the course, we contemplate a variety of themes: the relationship of Islamic law to the state, the meaning of “lslamism” and fundamentalism, the relationship of democracy and constitutionalism to the Islamic tradition, the influence of women’s changing participation in the public sphere, the impact of colonialism, technology and new media. and the limits placed on political speech. the place of non-Muslims and Muslim minorities in the West. and the changing role of religious education and traditional authority. Blecher.