Most contemporary scholarship affirms that the Christian and Islamic medieval political imperative was about the preservation of order and stability. We considered this characterization insufficient, given the treatment of the concept of religious and political justice by mediev…
This thesis presents a critical analysis of the contemporary Islamic discourse of interfaith dialogue (IFD) founded on normative examinations of the Qur'an and hadith. Expanding from this baseline, theories of religious universalism and particularism are engaged as well as under…
My thesis argues that in 1982-2008, "state Islam" created a pluralistic Indonesia and an anti-pluralistic Malaysia. The rubric of "state Islam" is a political alliance of secular politicians, religious bureaucrats, and Islamic socio-religious organizations. During these twenty-f…
This dissertation focuses on the work of Muslim cultural producers in the United States, paying particular attention to the ways in which they interact with the three processes of 1) relating to the Islamic tradition, 2) building new networks, and 3) representing Muslim communit…
Since the early 1970s, when the third major historical wave of democratization began, the Muslim world has seen little evidence of improvements in reaching for this new wave of political reform. As more and more countries around the world are embracing openness, transparency and…
This dissertation aims to evaluate the utility of democracy promotion in the Middle East to U.S. foreign policy; in particular, it asks why the Arab-Islamic world has proven uniquely resistant to liberal democracy. The overall argument is that an inadequate theoretical understan…
Since the departure of the UN Transitional Authority (UNTAC) in 1993, the Cambodian Muslim community has undergone a rapid transformation from being an Islamic minority on the periphery of the Muslim world to being the object of intense proselytization by foreign Islamic organiz…
This dissertation explores how and why parliamentarian Islamists, both in Morocco and in Turkey, moderated their beliefs and behaviors over time. From a heavily identity-based discourse, both parties became more policy-oriented and pro-systemic over time, albeit with differing d…
This dissertation explores the ways Muslim bloggers writing in English use social media site Tumblr. Muslims have historically been framed as scary others who threaten the ideals which are said to structure life in the western world. This framing dates back to Europe's colonial …
Violence and discrimination against Muslims and immigrants from countries with a Muslim majority is a pervasive problem that is becoming entrenched in Western societies. Sweden, often considered a bastion of peace and tolerance, is experiencing the escalation of violence against…
This master's thesis is a rhetorical analysis of eight fatwas issued by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, intended to legitimate the actions taken by the Saudi Government in regards to the first Persian Gulf War. Using Burke's redemptive cycle of rhetoric, this thesis analyzes th…
This study attempts to clarify the role of religious values in the rise of new pious Muslim entrepreneurs in Turkey, based on field study carried out in Kayseri from 1980 to the present. It particularly attempts to account for the influence of religion on the work ethic of these…
This dissertation explores how Spanish Moroccans are negotiating their identities in post 3-11 Madrid. In doing so, I explore and capture the lived discourses that reveal the underlying processes that are shaping their identities at the micro, meso, and macro level. The data for…
This study investigates aspects of the history and doctrine of the Z[dotbelow] ahiri madhhab . Due to the lack of primary sources from any Z[dotbelow]ahir i scholar other than Ibn H[dotbelow]azm al-Andalusi, it seeks to identify what is knowable about the madhhab and Dawud ibn '…
This dissertation is about the layers of meaning across the text, sound, and experience of the recited Qur'an. In my research, I draw on hermeneutic methods, interviews with reciters and appreciators of recitation, and the tools and literatures of several disciplines-Islamic stu…
Since colonial times, religious groups in the United States have strengthened their religious identity and expression through education. As America has grown, so have the educational needs and options of its increasingly diverse religious groups. The growth of Islamic schools in…
This portfolio follows the development, from conception to completion, of the original stage play The Disguise of Honor. The script subtly explores several questions including: What is honor? What is shame? Who is God? What is the core conflict between Islam and Christianity? Wh…
This study argues that mysticism, as found in representations of sanctity (walaya ) in Sufi philosophy and practice formed the basis of schema of leadership among the Egyptian elite and politics through a case study of Abu al-Anwar al-Sadat, head of the Wafa'i brotherhood in Egy…