This dissertation contends that religious conversion in modern India is a multi-faceted phenomenon that reflects a flowering of diverse interests and concerns. It argues that conversion in India is inadequately understood if it is construed merely as a shift from one "ism," or r…
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The theoretical perspectives that this dissertation is based on draw primarily from Sahlin's (1976) criticisms of Marxism, Hays' (1994) explanation of the relationship between culture and structure, Weber's (1993) concept of elective affinity, Thomas' (1989) theory of social cha…
In this dissertation I explore the puzzle of why Egyptian secularists, many of whom were in positions of great power both inside and outside the state, have historically moved in an increasingly Islamic direction and failed to legitimize secularism as a discourse on its own term…
In the last two decades, we have seen a significant surge in the number of Islamic fundamentalist movements, and there has not been a concise reason as to why. The main objective of this research is to determine the causes of Islamic fundamentalism, and, in so showing that an Is…
Young women who participate in Dakar's burgeoning, cross-class Islamist movement shape participant identities based on a desire for moral change, and not on a specific set of political or economic grievances. The Sunnite movement, which has proliferated since the mid-1990's larg…
"A political, social, and cultural battle is currently raging in the Middle East. On one side are the Islamists, those who believe Islam should be the region's primary identity. In opposition are nationalists, secularists, royal families, military establishments, and others who …
One of the most powerful Islamic militant groups in Africa, Al-Shabaab exerts Taliban-like rule over millions in Somalia and poses a growing threat to stability in the Horn of Africa. Somalis risk retaliation or death if they oppose or fail to comply with Al-Shabaab-imposed rest…