Research On Religion » Egypt

Lawrence Rubin on Islam and Ideational Balancing

tonygill — Sun, 11 Dec 2016 09:00:38 +0000

Can the ideas proposed by one nation-state threaten another nation-state? If so, how do the threatened nations respond? We probe these questions with respect to Islam and the two Islamic political revolutions in Iran (1979) and Sudan (1989) with Prof. Lawrence Rubin, an associate professor of political science in Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. Prof. Rubin reminisces about how he came to study the role of ideas in foreign policy, and then reviews the two dominant schools of thought in international relations theory — realism and constructivism. The former perspective focuses on material resources and tangible threats made by various nations in the world order, whereas the latter brings the issue of ideas, ideologies, and (increasingly) theologies into the mix. We explore the idea of “soft power,” and how religious ideas can become potentially threatening to the domestic security of a regime, and what governments can do in response. To illustrate how this has played out in the Middle East over the past four decades, we use the cases of political revolutions in Iran and Sudan and how Saudi Arabia and Egypt responded. Larry explains that despite a noticeable decline the military prowess of Iran following its revolution (and subsequent war with Iraq), the Islamic Republic of Iran presents a new ideational threat to the hegemony of Saudi Arabia, not only on sectarian grounds (Shia versus Sunni), but also on Iran’s ability to inspire religious-based social movements that could undermine the ruling government. This was also of concern to Egypt, which had a more secular-based government but which had been seeking alliances with domestic religious actors throughout the 1970s and ’80s. Prof. Rubin provides a few examples of how Egypt and Saudi Arabia sought to “ideationally counter-balance” this international threat. We also bring up the similar challenge posed by the Sudanese Revolution of 1979, another example of a state that didn’t necessarily pose a significant military threat, but still had the potential of upsetting domestic politics in Egypt and Saudi Arabia with the spread of a radical theological message. We finish off our podcast with some of Larry’s thoughts on the threat of ISIS to the region and what he has learned over time by taking the role of ideas seriously in the field of international relations. Recorded: December 7, 2016.

Islam in the Balance: Ideational Threats in Arab Politics, by Lawrence Rubin.

Terrorist Rehabilitation and Counter-Radicalisation: New Approaches to Counter-Terrorism, edited by Lawrence Rubin and Jolene Anne Jerrard.

“Why the Islamic State Won’t Become a Normal State,” by Lawrence Rubin (over at WaPo Monkey Cage).

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Paul Kubicek on Islam, Political Islam, and Democracy.

Kevan Harris on Iran’s Islamic Revolution and Green Movement.

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Matthew Derrick on the Geography of the Umma

tonygill — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 09:00:36 +0000

Is the Islamic notion of “the umma” — i.e., the general community of Muslims — consistent with the modern concept of the nation-state and territorial sovereignty? We discuss this issue with Prof. Matthew Derrick, an assistant professor of geography at Humboldt State University, and author of “Containing the Umma?: Islam and the Territorial Question” that recently appeared in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion (see link below). Reacting to scholars such as Berenard Lewis, Samuel Huntington, and other scholars associated with the “cultural turn in geography,” Prof. Derrick argues that territory remains an important defining concept in how people organize their life even among religious believers who belong to a transnational faith. Our discussion starts out with a short detour to Tatarstan where Matthew has conducted extensive fieldwork and he lays out what is unusual about that area within Russia. He also corrects Tony on his misunderstanding of tartar sauce. We then move on to a definition of “the umma,” an essential theological concept within Islam that represents the community of all believers. This raises the question of whether a transnational faith can be squared with the territorial state that dominates our world system. Matthew takes us on a tour of the issue of territorialism and how it evolved, with the Peace of Westphalia marking an important milestone in how we conceive of nation states in the modern world. Tony presses Matthew on his more ideational notion of statehood that revolves around issues of sovereignty (e.g., cuius regio eius religio) as composed to a more political economic approach to defining territory based upon the ability to tax a population. This discussion takes us askance of the religious question for awhile, but it is very important in understanding how modern scholars view the compatability or incompatability of Islam with modern territorial states. Matthew reviews the thinking of Samuel Huntington and Bernard Lewis who do not see Islam as being compatible with our modern state system and then shares his critiques of these two scholars bringing us to a discussion of how European imperialism carved borders into the Islamic world. We investigate the rise of pan-Arabism and pan-Islamism, including the attempts by thinkers such as Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani and Sayyid Qutb to craft a general Islamic identity. Examples of how these attempts have fared are examined including work by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Pashtun movement within Pakistan, the nationalism that seems apparent in the Arab Spring and how Iran has supported Armenia in its conflict with Azerbaijan. We close by revisiting the area of Tatarstan that has appeared to be able to manage well its regional territory within Russia despite its ethnic and religious pluralism. Recorded: January 25, 2013.

“Containing the Umma? Islam and the Territorial Question,” by Matthew Derrick in the Interndisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion (free with registation).

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William Inboden on Religious Liberty, Foreign Policy, & the Arab Spring

tonygill — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 09:00:23 +0000

With political events rapidly unfolding in Egypt, Syria, and other parts of the Middle East, we visit with Prof. William Inboden, distinguished scholar at the Strauss Center for International Security at the University of Texas and an associate scholar with Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Prof. Inboden not only brings his extensive scholarship to bear on the issue of religious freedom and the Arab Spring, but his many years serving as a policy advisor in the US State Department and National Security Council provides him with another unique perspective on how the issue of religious liberty can and should shape US foreign policy. We begin with a discussion of what the Arab Spring is, how it started, and where it might be headed. Prof. Inboden notes that scholars are starting to rename the Arab “Spring,” the Arab “Awakening” as there is some growing concern that what appeared to initially be popular uprisings in support of liberal democratic forms of government may now be moving in a more autocratic direction. We discuss why this might be. Our attention then turns to the topic of religious liberty, which Will considers to be an important bellwether for liberal democracy in general. Prof. Inboden explains how religious freedom can help neutralize extremism and notes that religious liberty is not just important for religious minorities such as the Christian Copts, but is a vital civil liberty for Muslims as well. Far from being a monolithic religious bloc, Islam actually has many different “flavors” and Muslims who hold more moderate views on a number of topics would also benefit immensely from greater religious freedom and toleration in their societies. We also discuss the state of non-Muslim religious minorities now in such countries as Egypt, Tunisia, and Syria. Much of this discussion is informed by Will’s participation in a Berkley Center symposium “Religious Freedom and Religious Extremism: Lessons from the Arab Spring” (see link below), involving past and current policymakers such as Elliott Abrams, Stephen Hadley, and Dennis Ross. Our conversation shifts towards foreign policy and Will makes an argument that the promotion of religious freedom needs to be a key component of US relations with the Middle East. Using examples from Afghanistan, he points out how religious freedom is necessarily an issue of national security and not just some lofty goal that is desired unto itself. Tony pushes back with counter-arguments that promoting religious liberty can be seen as cultural imperialism, to which Will notes that while national leaders in autocratic regimes often make this argument, average citizens around the world have been shown to embrace the rights of conscience and worship when it is offered to them. Recorded: November 28, 2012.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. William Inboden’s biography at the Strauss Center for International Security at the University of Texas.

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University.

“Religious Freedom and Religious Extremism: Lessons from the Arab Spring,” proceedings from the Berkley Center’s symposium mentioned in the interview.

“Religious Freedom and National Security: Why the US Should Make the Connection,” by William Inboden in Policy Review.

Religion and American Foreign Policy, 1945-60: The Soul of Containment, by William Inboden.

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Mark Glickman on the Cairo Genizah

tonygill — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 08:00:40 +0000

What do you get when you combine Indiana Jones with The Da Vinci Code in an old Egyptian synagogue? Rabbi Mark Glickman, lead rabbi at Kol Ami (Woodinville, WA) and Kol Shalom (Bainbridge Island, WA), reveals the answer to this that he wrote about in his book Sacred Treasure, The Cairo Genizah. We begin with a discussion of just what a genizah is and why Jews consider writing to be so sacred that it must either be buried in a cemetery or collected in a special “attic” or antechamber known as a genizah. Rabbi Glickman then discusses a very special genizah that is located in the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, Egypt. He recounts his own visit there in 2010 to describe what he saw, and then takes us back on a historical journey to the late 19th century when Rabbi Solomon Schechter stumbles upon fragments of an ancient and valuable manuscript known as the Ben Sirah document. This discovery came to Schechter’s attention via his association with two adventuring sisters. We review the life of Solomon Schechter and then detail his journey to Cairo to “re-discover” the voluminous contents of the Cairo Genizah and bring them back to Cambridge University, where they have been the center of investigation for over a century at the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit. Our discussion then moves on to some of the mundane (e.g., wedding certificates) and incredible discoveries that were contained within the nearly 200,000 documents shipped to England. The latter finds include the Damascus manuscript, heretofore unknown writings of Maimonides, and some Jewish hymns. Along this journey we also reflect upon the vibrancy of Judeo-Arabic culture, the significance of historical documents, and why religious pluralism can often be a good thing. Recorded: November 4, 2011.

RELATED LINKS

Sacred Treasure, The Cairo Genizah: The Amazing Discoveries of Forgotten Jewish History in an Egyptian Attic, by Rabbi Mark Glickman (Jewish Lights Publishing). Also available in audio format.

Rabbi Mark Glickman’s columns at The Seattle Times.

Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit at Cambridge University.

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Allen Hertzke on Religious Liberty

tonygill — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:00:37 +0000

One of the recurring themes of the Research on Religion podcast series is religious liberty — including the causes for, consequences of, and threats to such freedom. Prof. Allen Hertzke — Presidential Professor of Political Science at the University of Oklahoma — joins us to give his overview of this topic based on his research conducted both in the United States and globally. Prof. Hertzke recounts how his interest in religion and politics developed, and how he became increasingly involved in studying religious freedom on a global scale. We talk about what impact academic scholarship might have on promoting religious freedom as well as offer some speculations as to why intellectual and policy elites have often been dismissive, or outright hostile, to this basic civil liberty. We then dissect the importance of religious freedom examining it on the theoretical dimensions of equal worth, dignity, reason and community. We then move on to some of the more empirical examples of how religious freedom has promoted positive developments in the world, and how and why we’ve seen some backtracking on its spread over the past decade. Recorded: November 3, 2011.

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Prof. Allen Hertzke’s bio at the University of Oklahoma.

Freeing God’s Children: The Unlikely Alliance for Global Human Rights, by Allen Hertzke.

Representing God in Washington: The Role of Religious Lobbies in the American Polity, by Allen Hertzke.

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

John Templeton Foundation.

Institute for Global Engagement.

Echoes of Discontent: Jesse Jackson, Pat Robertson and the REsurgence of Populism, by Allen Hertzke.

“Septics, Sewers, and Secularization: How Government Flushes Religious Liberty Down the Drain,” a guiding paper by Anthony Gill mentioned on the podcast.

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Daniel Philpott on Religious Resurgence & Democratization

tonygill — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:00:21 +0000

Over the past four decades, there have been two global trends that have caught the attention of social scientists — the public resurgence of global religiosity and the increasing movement towards democratic governance. Daniel Philpott — associate professor of political science at Notre Dame and fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies — discusses both of these trends and his latest book, God’s Century (co-authored with Monica Duffy Toft and Timothy Samuel Shah). We begin the interview with a historical survey of how church-state relations have changed over the past two or three millenia, a broad sweep of history indeed, but one that is crucial to understanding why religion has made such a strong comeback in recent decades. Prof. Philpott shows how early in human history religious and secular authority split apart and how both types of leadership existed in a situation of mutual dependence — secular leaders required the legitimating endorsement of religious leaders, whereas religious leaders relied upon the material support of secular rulers. During the early modern period (c. 1450-1750) this mutual balance began to tip in favor of secular rulers who exercised greater control over religious groups in a paternalistic manner. Interestingly, this was a global trend. Beginning in the late 1700s, particularly with the French Revolution, we witness a global trend where religion is subjugated (and sometimes decimated) by secular rulers, particular in communist and socialist nations. Ironically, this subjugation gave religious organizations a greater degree of independence from secular government in some parts of the world that allowed new political theologies to develop and the institutional ability to organize against secular rulers. We discuss the formation, nature and influence of these political theologies, from the ideas promoted at Vatican Council II to Hindu and Buddhist nationalism to Islamic fundamentalism. In some areas such as Latin America, Indonesia, and parts of Asia these new political theologies and resurgent religious organizations helped to promote democracy, whereas in other parts of the world (e.g., the Middle East) it has led to less sanguine outcomes. Our discussion also touches upon the role of ideas in motivating human events, and we finish the discussion with some thoughts on the 2011 “Arab Spring” and whether or not that this will result in more democratic nations. This is the first part of a discussion of the book God’s Century: Resurgent Religion and Global Politics. We will be focusing on the issue of religious violence with one of the other authors of the book in an upcoming episode. Stay tuned. Recorded: July 7, 2011.

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Prof. Daniel Philpott’s website at the University of Notre Dame.

Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame.

God’s Century: Resurgent Religion and Global Politics, by Monica Duffy Toft, Daniel Philpott, and Timoth Samuel Shah.

Revolutions in Sovereignty: How Ideas Shaped Modern International Relations, by Daniel Philpott.

Just and Unjust Peace: An Ethic of Political Reconciliation, by Daniel Philpott (forthcoming).

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Thomas Farr on Religion, Religious Liberty & US Diplomacy

tonygill — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 08:00:27 +0000

To what extent should religion and the promotion of religious liberty abroad be part of the United States’ foreign policy? Prof. Thomas Farr — visiting associate professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs — brings 21 years of experience in foreign policymaking circles to bear on these questions. (Thomas Farr is also the director of the Task Force on Religious Freedom at the Witherspoon Institute’s Center on Religion and the Constitution.) Prof. Farr details his personal experiences working within the foreign policy bureaucracy, including a four-year stint as the director of the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom. Our discussion notes how diplomacy is often made from a “realist” perspective of the world and why US diplomats have often neglected the important role of religion, often intentionally turning a blind eye to this important aspect of life despite evidence that religion is increasingly important throughout the world (including the US). We then talk about how the promotion of religious freedom can actually promote stable governance and why promoting religious liberty is in the national security interests of America (as well as other states). Egypt, Afghanistan and a few other nations are used to illustrate the importance of religious freedom abroad. Tony plays the skeptic and wonders whether or not our diplomatic corps is capable of bringing about significant changes in other nations, but Tom lays out a convincing argument that things can, and are, changing for the better but it will take more public dialogue to change the way our top political leaders and career diplomats think about these issues. We close by noting some recent changes being proposed to the International Religious Freedom Act by Congressmen Frank Wolf. Recorded: May 25, 2011.

Prof. Farr’s website at Georgetown University and at The Witherspoon Institute.

Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs.

Witherspoon Institute — Center on Religion & the Constitution.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress (May 24, 2011) referenced in the podcast. Part I and Part II.

US State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom (includes most recent IRF Reports).

Congressman Frank Wolf’s proposed amendments to the International Religious Freedom Act.

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Nathan Brown on the Muslim Brotherhood

tonygill — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:00:01 +0000

In order to provide greater historical context to the protests occuring in contemporary Egypt (January/February 2011), Prof. Nathan J. Brown of The George Washington University and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace discusses the origins and impact of the Muslim Brotherhood. We trace the origins of the organization to the 1920s when Hassan al-Banna, a middle-class school teacher, created the organization in partial response to Christian missionaries and perceived social needs in Egyptian society. We then trace the history of the Brotherhood through the Egyptian monarchy in the 1930s and 40s, the assasination of al-Banna, the rise of Gamal Abdel Nasser, and the presidency of Anwar Sadat. Prof. Brown shows how the relations between these various political regimes waxed and waned over time. We continue our historical discussion with an examination of how the Muslim Brotherhood became an international organization, and how each of its different branches around the world retain some degree of national autonomy. Our podcast concludes by examining the Muslim Brotherhood under the rule of Hosni Mubarak and what role the Brotherhood has been playing during the recent series of protests in Egypt. Recorded: February 7, 2011.

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Prof. Nathan Brown’s website at George Washington University (including links to various articles and op-eds).

Prof. Nathan Brown’s biography at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Between Religion and Politics by Nathan J. Brown and Amr Hamzawy.

The Rule of Law in the Arab World: Courts in Egypt and the Gulf by Nathan J. Brown.

Palestinian Politics after the Oslo Accords by Nathan J. Brown.

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