Research On Religion » Iran

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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Ron Hassner on Religion in the Military

tonygill — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 08:00:01 +0000

From issues as diverse as pacifism to rituals that require special garments that interfere with uniforms, militaries around the world often find themselves trying to accommodate the various religious beliefs and practices of their soldiers. How such issues are manage has largely gone unstudied by academics. However, Dr. Ron Hassner — associate professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley — has taken up the task to research this topic by assembling a group of scholars for an edited volume entitled Religion in the Military Worldwide. We discuss the specific findings presented in this work and Prof. Hassner’s general thoughts on the management of religion in the armed forces.

Our discussion begins, though, with a summary of Prof. Hassner’s previous work on “sacred space,” a topic that we have visited before on the podcast. In this line of research, Ron has argued that territory that is deemed sacred to religious adherents faces a problem of being “indivisible,” unlike land or loot, and makes many conflicts very intractable. Ron argues that the failure to understand the importance of “sacred space” has led to numerous diplomatic misunderstandings and policy errors, but he also presents ways to mitigate conflict, which includes involving clergy into policy discussions. We also raise the issue of the “sacred” Big Game between Stanford and Cal, and the iconographic ax that is awarded to the winner, and Ron presents us with a little known, but perhaps very revealing, correlative fact about that ongoing rivalry that involves him.

We revisited this earlier line of Ron’s research agenda because it provided him with a segue into his current interest in understanding how religion functions within militaries and how different countries manage potential conflicts between religious belief and ritual, and the necessary dictates of preparing for, and conducting, combat. And it was not just his previous research that prompted such an interest; Ron’s own experience of having to prepare plates and kitchen utensils for kosher meals led him to think about this topic. He also recounts second-hand stories wherein a Hindu soldier was reported to have risked his life on the battlefield to tend to a cow that was harmed by artillery fire. These and a few other stories helped to pique Ron’s interest into investigating whether or not there are any interesting empirical regularities around the world as to the management of religion in the military. Finding virtually no pre-existing literature on the topic, he decided to assemble a group of scholars who had some connection to the topic and he discusses how this came together in the edited volume noted above.

We then dive into the topic of religious demographics in the military, which one might think would be a relatively straightforward task for empirical research. However, many militaries, including the United States, do not keep and/or share religious demographics. Ron explains how some scholars have tried to get around this lack of data with unique collection strategies, including counting beards, the number and denomination of chaplains, and yarmulkes. Issues of mandatory conscription versus an all-volunteer force can have an interesting impact on the religious demographics. Ron further asked his scholars to probe the issue of the denominational composition of smaller units within the military. This leads to an interesting discussion on socialization and how even members of a platoon who do not initially share the religious beliefs and practices of the majority of the group will often conform to those preferences over time as an act of cohesion. Ron shares a few interesting stories to this effect.

We then talk about the manner in which military commanders have to accommodate very specific religious practices that might conflict with standard operating procedures with a large bureaucracy. Tony brings up the issue of Sikhs and protective helmets, given that the Sikh practice of long hair and turbans make it difficult to outfit soldiers with this basic piece of safety gear. Prof. Hassner then brings up the fascinating case of Japan, a nation that many people consider to be amongst the most secular in the world. Ron notes that although religion is significantly downplayed in the Japanese defense forces, a very large number of soldiers (including officers) will not drive vehicles or board ships that have not been blessed by Shinto clergy in a purification ritual to rid the object of evil spirits.

Our next topic is to look into the U.S. case and how religion is managed therein. Here Ron talks about how he had two different scholars with differing viewpoints — Martin Cook and Pauletta Otis — regarding the presence in the U.S. armed forces. The former shows a great deal of concern over the excesses of religious symbolism in military music and symbols/badges used on the battlefield. He sees these excesses as conflicting with general military goals of trying to win hearts and minds of populations in foreign lands, particularly in recent military campaigns in the Middle East. Otis, on the other hand, notes that while excesses do exist, there are procedures for addressing these problems and the system works fairly well, which leads her the con. We also chat a bit about how religious belief and practice play out in daily operations, including combat. This is the main topic of Ron’s next book but he gives us a flavor for some of his findings, as well as what some of the authors in his edited volume had to say. It is hear where we look both at the Iranian military and India’s armed forces. We discuss how there was an interesting selection bias in the Iranian military during the Iran-Iraq War that led many devout Muslims to join special units that engaged in suicide attacks out of a firm belief in martyrdom. We explore India’s experience in trying to integrate people of very different faith traditions that are often in conflict with one another into the same units. Interestingly, Ron notes that rather than creating religiously homogenous units that might be prone to mutiny if ordered to fight against co-religionists, combining individuals of different faiths actually helps to build unit cohesion as all the soldiers know they are dependent upon one another for survival on the battlefield irrespective of spiritual preferences.

We finish our interview with some of Ron’s reflections on what he has learned throughout the years of studying this topic. One of his main takeaways was that there really are no pat solutions to dealing with the issue of religion in the armed forces, but rather leaders are often learning and adjusting to changing circumstances. Recorded: October 7, 2015.

Religion in the Military Worldwide, edited by Ron Hassner.

War on Sacred Ground, by Ron Hassner.

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John Owen IV on Confronting Political Islam, Historical Lessons

tonygill — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 09:00:22 +0000

Can 16th century rebellions in Scotland, France, and the Netherlands be useful in helping us understand the international politics of ISIS, the Arab Spring, and other popular movements surrounding the rise of political Islam? What about how the US reacted to various socialists during the Cold War? Prof. John Owen IV, professor of politics at the University of Virginia, explores these unique historical comparisons and more as a means of understanding how the United States and Europe engage the ideological phenomenon known broadly as Islamism. This intriguing interview is sure to be an eye-opener!

Despite discussing a book entitled Confronting Political Islam (see link below), we begin with an examination of three Calvinist rebellions in 16th century Europe involving Scotland, France, and the Netherlands. Prof. Owen points out that the title of his book is “Six Lessons from the West’s Past” and notes how these old conflicts had several things in common that are important for understanding contemporary challenges in the world. These three revolts all involved ideologically-committed partisans that had transnational alliances and provoked foreign interventions into the domestic landscape of where these battles were fought, much like the situations we see today in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.

Tony quickly takes to challenging Dr. Owen on such an odd comparison, which might be likened to comparing apples and oranges. This leads to a discussion on the important role of understanding the past and how history may not repeat itself, but often rhymes (with John citing Mark Twain’s quote to this effect). We also spend a short segment on discussing the important role of ideas in motivating human behavior and international intrigue. Tony admits he is highly partial to “interest-based” explanations and downplays the role that ideology plays in fostering human action, often seeing ideologies as ex post facto justifications for behavior. John counters with some excellent examples where ideas motivated important change even against the interest of the individuals promoting that change, including Martin Luther. Tony yields this point but notes how some individuals, such as Henry IV who accepted Catholicism so he could conquer Paris, have very malleable belief systems. John agrees and we both note that there is a spectrum of individuals from those who hold fast to their ideologies and act vociferously upon them to others who willingly jettison their convictions at moment’s notice (and everything in between).

Following this theoretical and methodological discussion, we turn attention to the comparison between political Islam and various ideological conflicts in the West’s past, including the aforementioned Calvinist rebellions as well as the struggle between democratic capitalism and communism. John spells out what he means by Islamism and denotes why he focused his book largely on the Middle East and North Africa, where the heart of a new contemporary ideological battle between Islamism and secularism is taking place. He provides a nice history of this ideological tension dating back to the 19th century, covering the push towards secular modernization that occurred first with Mutafa Kemal Ataturk in Turkey and then the more religiously-based pushback following the failure of many of these secular regimes.

The remaining part of the interview is devoted to several of Prof. Owen’s six lessons from history. While we do not cover all six, we do spend significant time on four of them. First, John reminds us not to sell Islamism short in that ideologies that seem “out of place and time” often have significant staying power and are very salient to individuals who hold them. While those in the West may see Islamism as a throwback to a “medieval time,” partisans of this political theology see themselves as moving history forward. He likens this to the battle for liberal democracy in the face of monarchism during the 18th and1th centuries. Second, John points out that ideological struggles frequently involve foreign intervention so that the interveners can gain foreign allies in international struggles and so that those same intervening governments can quell domestic threats. Here we see comparisons between the civil war in Syria with England’s action of the Calvinist rebellions in the 1560s.

Third, Prof. Owen notes that ideologies are not monolithic and foreign policy should not be made on that basis. He introduces a new word into Tony’s vocabulary — polylithic. Here, the historical lesson of the West comes from the Cold War era when Harry Truman pursued a policy that differentiated between various flavors of socialism in Europe and communism, finding allies amongst some of the more anti-Soviet variants. He cautions policymakers from seeing Islamism as a single monolithic entity and notes how cooperation with Iran may be worthwhile in some instances. Finally, John urges us to watch the exemplar cases of Turkey and Iran to see how various ideologies play out over time as there is always a disconnect between promoting an ideology and having to “pick up the garbage” (i.e., rule on a daily basis). John pulls from his studies of The Netherlands in the 17th and 18th centuries to show how religious conflict was finally moderated and how the lessons of Dutch toleration were adopted by others including Britain and the US.

Prof. Owen finishes the discussion with his musings about what he learned throughout the process of researching and writing his book, including some reflections on his own biases going into the study. Recorded: December 29, 2014.

Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture.

Confronting Political Islam: Six Lessons from the West’s Past, by John Owen.

The Clash of Ideas in World Politics: Transnational Networks, States, and Regime Change, by John Owen.

Liberal Peace, Liberal War: American Politics and International Security, by John Owen.

Philip Jenkins on Religion & World War I.

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

Matthew Derrick on the Geography of the Umma.

William Inboden on Religious Liberty, Foreign Policy, and the Arab Spring.

Jared Rubin on Christian and Islamic Economic History.

Daniel Philpott on Religious Resurgence and Democratization.

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Kevan Harris on Iran’s Islamic Revolution and Green Movement

tonygill — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 08:00:04 +0000

With Iran in the news a lot as of late, we take a look at this nation’s recent history dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the regime’s consolidation, and the recent Green “Revolution” or, perhaps more appropriately, “movement” with Kevan Harris, associate director of Princeton University’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies.

The conversation begins with Tony asking Prof. Harris about Iran’s current influence in the Middle East region and whether the country’s Islamic revolution has cast a long shadow over contemporary events. Kevan’s answer is nuanced and surprising. Comparing the events in Iran with earlier revolutions, such as the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, he talks about how after efforts to export revolution were frustrated the regime instead sought to build “political Islam in one country” and that Iranian realpolitik is not simply about political Islam. He also highlights how there are two competing schools of thought existing within Iran’s diplomatic corps: (1) the best offense is a good defense; and (2) the best defense is a good offense. He notes how the current president, Hassan Rouhani, tends to fall in the former camp and how his policies have a great deal of continuity with the secular Pahlavi regime prior to the ’79 revolution. Our discussion throughout the entire interview is not only informed by a historical understanding of a single nation, but is a tour de force of social scientific theories of politics and social mobilization.

We then take our social science microscope to look at the causes of the 1979 revolution. Kevan retains a fairly skeptical view of structural theories of revolution and places emphasis instead on day-to-day events and how they matter in terms of social mobilization. Interestingly, Iran witnessed significantly more grassroots social mobilization than any other prior 20th century revolution (and even the French Revolution). Prof. Harris covers the prior state-building experience of Iran, and notes that 1979 was not so much a case of state breakdown (as many classic revolutions were), but was an effect of a massive social mobilization. He discusses the role of the “bazaar-mosque” alliance and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The stabilization and consolidation of the revolutionary regime becomes our next topic. Our discussion covers the role of the military, religious legitimacy, and the need to absorb the massive mobilization of the revolutionary era. Kevan’s own research covers the importance of the state’s ability to build a rather extensive welfare system that affected all levels of Iranian society, especially the middle class. In doing so, he casts doubt upon alternative explanations for regime stabilization that rely upon religious legitimacy and/or oil. Kevan points to how both the state “pushed down” into elements of society that the shah’s regime had previously ignored, but also how different social groups “pushed up” to create a “social contract” that promised social mobility at both the individual and national level — a vision wherein people would see their own lives improve as the Iranian nation would become a more modern state on the world stage. The typical vision of an authoritarian clerisy lording over a passive population is challenged significantly by Prof. Harris.

This fascinating discussion of how the Islamic regime has managed to negotiate its power over society then informs our examination of what has been called the “Green Revolution” following the 2009 elections. Kevan points out that it is hard to call it a “revolution” given that it really has not had a transformative effect on the polity and thus would best be considered a “movement.” Tony asks about why the color green is prominent in this imagery and learns a thing or two about Islam. We also take a more personal turn as Kevan shares his own experiences of being plopped down in the middle of this popular uprising only two days after the election. A discussion of how sociologists approach fieldwork follows. We then explore why the Green movement dissipates rather quickly as compared to the 1979 mobilization. The explanation proffered by Prof. Harris relies on newer understandings of social movements and their micro-mobilizing nature. He talks of “brokered exuberance” and that the failure of the protests to persist were not solely a matter of selective state repression.

Our conversation finishes with some speculation on the future of Iran and the Middle East region as a whole. He notes the interesting irony that Iran has been the most stable of countries in the Middle East at a time when many regimes seem to be unraveling. Recorded: June 18, 2014.

“How to Reform a Theocracy: A Domestic Playbook for Iran’s Moderate President,” by Kevan Harris in Foreign Affairs.

“An Election Uprising in Iran,” by Kevan Harris.

The Cup, the Gun, and the Crescent: Social Welfare and Civil Unrest in Muslim Societies, edited by Crabtree, Parker, and Azman. (Contains a chapter by Kevan Harris.)

Neither Gods nor Emperors, by Craig Calhoun (mentioned in interview).

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Religious Liberty & Economic Prosperity: A Panel Discussion

tonygill — Sun, 22 Dec 2013 09:00:18 +0000

Does religious freedom promote religious liberty? This was the question posed to a distinguished panel of scholars at Georgetown University in early October 2013. Sponsored by the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs, this panel was moderated by William Inboden (University of Texas) and included (in order of appearance) Ilan Alon (Rollins College), Timur Kuran (Duke University), Ian Linden (Tony Blair Faith Foundation), and Rebecca Shah (Berkley Center).

The panelists were given a set of questions exploring the causal connections between religious liberty and economic prosperity. Prof. Alon emphasizes the important role that institutions, the allocation of labor resources, and trade & investment occur in an environment of greater religious liberties. Institutionally, religious liberty is often embedded in a broader set of civic freedoms that re-inforce one another and enhance optimal use of resources and encourage investment. Prof. Kuran echoes a similar theme and emphasizes the importance of fostering new ideas (innovations) in society. He illustrates how this plays out with examples from Turkey and other parts of the Middle East, with a focus on Islamic law and how religious minorities often had access to other forms of legal systems.

Dr. Linden turns the conversation away from causality and towards a big think approach emphasizing the role of dialogue, empowerment, building capacity, and ways to think about development. He poses an intriguing question as to who has emerged from the total destruction of the world economy – Western or Islamic banking? In discussing whether there is a causal linkage between religious liberty and economic prosperity, he raises the intriguing point about the sacralization of violence and how this creates binary choices for young people who just want hope and opportunity. Finally, the discussion turns to Dr. Shah who moves us back to the micro-level and shares stories about her research in the slums of India wherein religion, particularly evangelical Christianity, has been helpful in alleviating the dire circumstances of women in these communities. She ties this together with research on microfinance to demonstrate how greater religious toleration is creating an environment that is conduvice to improving living standards among the poorest of the poor.

The podcast concludes with a series of audience questions and responses by the various panelists. Recorded at Georgetown University: October 10, 2013.

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The panel discussion in video format available at YouTube.

Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs (Georgetown University).

William Inboden’s bio at Religious Freedom Project and University of Texas.

Ilan Alon’s bio at Rollins College.

Timur Kuran’s bio at Duke University.

Ian Linden’s bio at the Religious Freedom Project.

Rebecca Shah’s bio at the Religious Freedom Project.

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Timothy Shah on the Case for Religious Liberty

tonygill — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:00:19 +0000

What case can be made for promoting religious liberty worldwide? Why is religious freedom often considered the “first freedom”? And should religious liberty really be a strategic objective for US foreign policymakers? Prof. Timothy Shah — associate director of the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and an a visiting assistant professor at Georgetown University — joins us to discuss the recent monograph he authored under the auspices of the Witherspoon Institute’s Task Force on International Religious Freedom. Tim starts the program by explaining what the Witherspoon Task Force saught to accomplish and also details how his own interests in religious freedom grew from a tragic incident in Gujarat, India. We then dip into a variety of justifications for why religious liberty should be a major concern for both policymakers and civilians around the world, starting with the anthropological reasons behind religious freedom. Justin Barrett’s research, recently discussed on a separate podcast, serves as our anchor here as Tim argues that the innate tendency for humans to seek out the transcendent provides an important justification for promoting religious liberty and the human dignity it requires. Dr. Shah then covers the moral case for religious freedom and summarizes how three religious traditions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — view the subject. The topic of apostasy figures into this discussion, particularly as it pertains to the recent case of Youcef Nadarkhani in Iran. Following the moral case for religious freedom, Tony brings up the issue of political and strategic justifications, noting that political rulers often dislike religious freedom since they fear it may promote conflict within their borders, as it did in India. Tim answers these concerns arguing that religious freedom is certainly better than other political options and we engage in a thought experiment based on a scenario where everyone in a population had the same beliefs. That exercise proves enlightening. Along the way, we also ruminate about why so many secular elites — be they policymakers or academics — tend to downplay the vital importance of what is often called “the first freedom.” A few stories about Tony’s visit to the Witherspoon Institute and a 2011 colloquium on religious liberty at Princeton Theological Seminary are sprinkled throughout the interview. Recorded: March 13, 2012.

Religious Freedom: Why Now? Defending an Embattled Human Right, by Timothy Shah.

Berkley Center Conference on Religious Freedom & Health Care Reform (March 22, 2012) mentioned in podcast.

God’s Century: Resurgent Religion and Global Politics, by Monida Duffy Toft, Daniel Philpott, and Timothy Shah.

Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam, by Abdullah Saeed and Hassan Saeed (mentioned in interview).

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Roger Finke on Religious Persecution

tonygill — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 09:00:52 +0000

Roger Finke — professor of sociology and religious studies at Penn State University and director of The Association of Religion Data Archives — takes us on a journey around the globe to discover how and why religious persecution arises in some nations but not others. Based on his book The Price of Freedom Denied (co-authored with Brian Grim), Prof. Finke makes the argument that religious liberty is a vital component of all civil liberties in society. He makes the case that small violations of religious freedom (often in the form of seemingly innocuous regulations) can open the door to an erosion of other freedoms and invite various forms of religious persecution. We detail some of these regulations focusing on the importance of registration requirements for religious groups. Also, Roger challenges an interpretation of Samuel Huntington’s “clash of civilizations” theses, claiming that it is not the presence of two different religious cultures within a nation that automatically gives rise to conflict, but rather the various laws that regulate different faith traditions that sets the table for whether or not conflict (and persecution) will arise. We pepper our discussion with examples from France, Russia, China, Japan, Iran, Nigeria and the United States. In closing, we discuss one of Roger’s most valuable contributions to academia — The ARDA. Far from being just a clearinghouse for religious databases, this website offers the public the opportunity to explore religion around the world in a remarkably user-friendly interface. Listeners are encouraged to give it a try! Recorded: December 16, 2010.

Listeners are asked to contact the host to let him know you are listening and to share your comments and suggestions about the podcast. tgill (at) uw (dot) edu

RELATED LINKS

Roger Finke’s website at Penn State University.

The Price of Freedom Denied: Religious Persecution and Conflict in the Twenty-First Century by Brian J. Grim and Roger Finke.

The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) at Penn State University. Try it out!

International Religious Freedom Reports (at the U.S. Department of State).

A World Survey of Religion and the State by Jonathan Fox.

The Political Origins of Religious Liberty by Anthony Gill.

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