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December 10, 2008
| Author: | Noah Feldman, Adjunct Senior Fellow |
|---|
This module features teaching notes by Noah Feldman, author of The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State, along with other resources to supplement the text. This CFR book provides a sweeping history of the traditional Islamic constitution—its noble beginnings, its downfall, and the renewed promise it could hold for Muslims and Westerners alike.
What is a CFR Academic Module?
Academic Modules—featuring teaching notes by the authors of CFR publications—are designed to assist educators in creating or supplementing a course syllabus. The modules are customized packages built around a primary CFR text, such as a book or report, and include teaching notes; additional readings; video, audio, and transcripts of CFR meetings; Foreign Affairs articles; and other online resources. Use of these modules is free of charge. They may be used in part or in their entirety.
April 2008
In this penetrating book, Noah Feldman tells the story behind the increasingly popular call for the establishment of the sharia—the law of the traditional Islamic state—in the modern Muslim world.
CFR.org Backgrounders are succinct explanations of current political and economic issues.
June 19, 2008
Religion's place in the Iranian political system has long been debated among scholars, but a president who blurs the line has refocused attention on the topic
June 8, 2007
A Malaysian court’s ruling against a Muslim convert to Christianity highlights the difficulties of blending sharia law with modern legal frameworks.
April 17, 2008
In February, Tamara Cofman Wittes and Isobel Coleman met with business leaders, academics, journalists, and civic activists in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Among Wittes and Coleman's key findings are that many Saudis welcomed the emergence of a more open atmosphere, pointing to King Abdullah's ascension to the throne, dynamism in neighboring Gulf states, and a new "post-post-9/11" environment as key catalysts for the change. Yet, there was frustration at the unpredictability and arbitrariness of the newly expanded social and political space. The next U.S. administration may have a new, but narrow, window of opportunity to reintroduce itself to Saudi Arabia. Many Saudis argued for the creation of a deeper, multi-dimensional relationship between both countries that engages civil society, not just the government and business sectors.
August 2006
As nations around the world struggle with the threat of militant Islam, Vali Nasr, one of the leading scholars on the Middle East, provides us with the rare opportunity to understand the political and theological antagonisms within Islam itself.
June 2005
Task Force Report No. 54
A Council-sponsored Task Force argues that the United States should support the evolutionary development of democracy consistently throughout the Middle East. It points out that a strategy to promote democracy entails inherent risks, but that “the denial of freedom carries much more significant long-term dangers.” This report is also available in Arabic.
November/December
Summary
The real decision-maker in Iran is Supreme Leader Khamenei not President Ahmedinejad. Blaming Iran's problems on President Ahmadinejad inaccurately suggests that Iran's problems will go away when Ahmadinejad does.
July/August 2008
Summary
Washington can promote political reform best by backing off.
March/April 2007
Summary
Even as Western commentators condemn the Muslim Brotherhood for its Islamism, radicals in the Middle East condemn it for rejecting jihad and embracing democracy. Such relative moderation offers Washington a notable opportunity for engagement -- as long as policymakers recognize the considerable variation between the group's different branches and tendencies.
June 22, 2008
Some degree of anti-immigrant sentiment can usually be found all over the world; but in Western Europe this sentiment is turning into something much more dangerous, says Noah Feldman.
April 7, 2008
Noah Feldman discusses what crackdowns and elections in Iraq never quite achieve.
March 17, 2008
Millions of Muslims think Shariah means the rule of law. Noah Feldman examines whether they could be right.
February 8, 2008
Noah Feldman explains that “if Turkey is to continue its integration into European and Western civilization, it needs to show that liberal values and Islam are not only compatible but complementary.”
June 18, 2008
Listen to Noah Feldman, adjunct senior fellow at CFR and professor of law at Harvard Law School, discuss his new book, The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call Series.
June 8, 2007
Jawad I. Ali, a lawyer who helps corporations structure sharia-compliant finance deals, discusses the boom in Islamic banking and the industry’s future.
December 2005
Book
Author: Knut S. Vikor
September 2005
Book
Author: Patricia Crone
August 2000
Book
Author: Roy Mottahedeh
June 1992
Book
Author: Akbar S. Ahmed
February 1977
Book
Author: Marshal G. S. Hodgson
Religion and the Open Society
This symposium will examine how the different forms of Christianity and Islam may have helped, and sometimes hindered, the development of free and open societies - not just in the narrow sense of democratic government but in the broader sense of openness to progress, innovation, an entrepreneurial spirit in economics, and a competitive marketplace of ideas.
Session One: Religion, Pluralism, and Freedom of Inquiry
Peter L. Berger, Professor Emeritus of Religion, Sociology and Theology, and Director,
The Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs, Boston University
Mustafa Akyol, Deputy Editor, Turkish Daily News
Dalia Mogahed, Senior Analyst and Executive Director, The Center for Muslim Studies,
The Gallup Organization
Presider: George E. Rupp, President, International Rescue Committee
8:30 to 9:00 a.m. Breakfast Reception
9:00 to 10:15 a.m. Meeting
Session Two: Religion-State Relations
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory University Law School
Noah Feldman, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; Adjunct Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Philip Hamburger, Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law, Columbia University Law School
Presider: Walter Russell Mead, Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations
10:30 to 11:45 a.m. Meeting
Session Three: Religion, Innovation, and Economic Progress
Timur Kuran, Professor of Economics and Political Science, and Gorter Family Professor in Islam
and the Social Sciences, Duke University
Robert D. Woodberry, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin
Third Speaker to be Announced
Presider: Peter Steinfels, Co-Director, Fordham Center on Religion and Culture
12:00 to 12:45 p.m. Buffet Lunch
12:45 to 2:00 p.m. Meeting
Transcripts: Religion and the Open Society Symposium: Session One: Religion, Pluralism, and Freedom of Inquiry [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service], Religion and the Open Society Symposium: Session Two: Religion-State Relations [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service], Religion and the Open Society Symposium: Session Three: Religion, Innovation And Economic Progress [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service]
Audios: Religion and the Open Society Symposium: Session One: Religion, Pluralism, and Freedom of Inquiry (Audio), Religion and the Open Society Symposium: Session Two: Religion-State Relations (Audio), Religion and the Open Society Symposium: Session Three: Religion, Innovation, and Economic Progress (Audio)
Videos: Religion and the Open Society Symposium: Session One: Religion, Pluralism, and Freedom of Inquiry (Video), Religion and the Open Society Symposium: Session Two: Religion-State Relations (Video), Religion and the Open Society Symposium: Session Three: Religion, Innovation, and Economic Progress (Video)
This meeting is on the record.
The Future of Radical Islam in Europe
| Speaker: | Olivier Roy, Research Director, French National Center for Scientific Research |
|---|---|
| Presider: | Vali R. Nasr, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations |
Transcript: Roundtable Series on Global Islamic Politics: The Future of Radical Islam in Europe [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service]
Audio: The Future of Radical Islam in Europe (Audio)
Videos: Video Highlight: The Future of Radical Islam in Europe, The Future of Radical Islam in Europe (Video)
This meeting is on the record.
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