POLITICAL ISLAM:ISLAMIST SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

PSIR470

Course Code: PSIR470
Semester: -
Theory+Practice: 3 + 0
ECTS: 5

Course Type

Elective Course

Course Level

Bachelor's Degree

Year of Study

Semester

ECTS

Name of Lecturer(s)

Professor Banu Eligür

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

Learn the main concepts in political Islamist thought, contemporary political Islam, and its relation with democracy.
Learn the social movement theory.
On a comparative basis analyze the political Islamist movement and apply it to the Middle East and North Africa countries (Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, and Yemen).
By applying the aforementioned comparative politics concepts in no. 1 and no. 2 (democracy and the social movement theory) to the countries of the Middle East and North Africa improve their analytical and critical thinking and discussion abilities.
Attain the necessary knowledge for pursuing an internship and a career planning in the field of the Middle East and North Africa.

Mode of Delivery

Face to face

Prerequisites

Recommended Optional Programme Components

There is no recommended optional programme component for this course.

Course Description

This course examines Islamist movements in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region through the lens of the social movement theory and the inclusion-moderation hypothesis. Although the Shiite Islamist movement will also be briefly examined within the Iranian context, the central focus of the course is Sunni Islamist movements. Despite its long-time presence, it was only since the 1990s that the Islamist movement (i.e., the Muslim Brotherhood [MB] movement) successfully mobilized itself by utilizing democratic means in the MENA region. Political Islamist parties, with diligent movement activists and strong organizational resources successfully seized upon existing political opportunity structures and at times created new ones, while pursuing framing efforts, which appealed to the electorate and the masses. By doing so, they successfully competed in elections and challenged authoritarian, semi-authoritarian, and semi-democratic political settings in Muslim populated countries. Besides the MB movement, the other long-standing Sunni Islamist movement in the MENA region is Salafism. This course shows that neither the MB movement nor Salafism is monolithic and static. On the contrary, both movements vary amongst themselves and change over time. The Arab uprisings in the winter of 2011 resulted in the mobilization of the MB and Salafism in the region. The course will examine both movements in selected cases (i.e., Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Tunisia) by applying the social movement theory and the inclusion-moderation hypothesis. This course has three primary goals: First, it introduces students to the main concepts in political Islamist thought, contemporary political Islam, and its relationship with democracy; second, it examines major theoretical approaches of the social movement literature; and finally, it analyzes cases of Islamist mobilization in the MENA region according to the social movement theory and the inclusion-moderation hypothesis.

Course Contents

WEEK	TOPICS
1^st Week	Part I: Political Islam - Origins of Political Islam and Political Islam Today I What is political Islam? An introduction to main concepts in Islamist thought. Introduction to the course and course requirements On criticism and respect How to study political Islam? What is political Islam? What was the early Muslim Brotherhood?s political thought?
2^nd Week	Origins of Political Islam and Political Islam Today II How did the Islamist movement evolve? What is an Islamist state? What are the types of Islamism? How does Sunni Islamism differ from Shiite Islamism? What is Salafism? What are the types of Salafism? Why do some Islamist movements resort to violence, while others do not? Are grievance-based explanations adequate in explaining Islamist mobilization in the Muslim world?
3^rd Week	Political Islam and Democracy: Inclusion-Moderation Hypothesis Is political Islam compatible with democracy? Do Islamists become moderate when they enter in electoral politics?
4^th Week	Part II: Social Movement Theory - Social Movement Theory I How does social movement theory explain Islamist mobilization in the Muslim world? What is a social movement? What are types of social movements? Evolution of Social Movement Theory: The Classical Model of Social Movements, the Resource Mobilization Theory, and the Political Process Model; the Arab Uprisings and the Social Movement Theory
5^th Week	Social Movement Theory II: The Political Process Model The Political Process Model: A Dynamic Analysis of Political Opportunity Structures, Organizational Resources, and Framing Processes in Examining a Social Movement Mobilization.
6^th Week	Social Movement Theory III: The Political Process Model II
7^th Week	Mid-term Exam
8^th Week	Part III: Social Movement Theory Applied to Selected Cases of Islamist Mobilization in the Middle East Egypt I
9^th Week	Egypt II
10^th Week	Jordan
11^th Week	Syria I
12^th Week	Syria II
13^th Week	Syria III
14^th Week	Tunisia

Recommended or Required Reading

Textbooks are on Reserve:
Oliver Roy, The Failure of Political Islam (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994).

Quintan Wiktorowicz, Islamic Activism: A Social Movement Theory Approach (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004). (Can also be accessed via Başkent University Library, Ebook Central Electronic Database)

Banu Eligür, The Mobilization of Political Islam in Turkey (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010).

Carrie Rosefsky Wickham, Mobilizing Islam: Religion, Activism, and Political Change in Egypt (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002). (Can also be accessed via Başkent University Library, Ebook Central Electronic Database)

Carrie Rosefsky Wickham, The Muslim Brotherhood: Evolution of an Islamist Movement (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2013). (Recommended reading) (Can also be accessed via Başkent University Library, Ebook Central Electronic Database)

Quintan Wiktorowicz, The Management of Islamic Activism: Salafis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and State in Jordan (New York: SUNY Press, 2001).

William Quandt, Between Ballots and Bullets: Algeria's Transition from Authoritarianism (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 1998).

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture
Discussion
Questions/Answers

Assessment Methods and Criteria

	Quantity	Percentage (%)
Mid-term	1	30
Assignment	1	5
Project	1	25
Total(%)		60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%)		60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%)		40
Total(%)		100

ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload

Activities	Quantity	Duration (Hour)	Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam	1	1.5	1.5
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work	14	2	28
Preparation for Final exam	1	30	30
Course hours	14	3	42
Preparation for Midterm exam	1	20	20
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam	1	1.5	1.5
Homework	1	7	7
Project	1	20	20
Total Work Load			150
Total Work Load / 30 (h)			5
ECTS Credit of the Course			5

Language of Instruction

Turkish

Work Placement(s)

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

	LO1	LO2	LO3	LO4	LO5
K1
K2
K3
K4					X
K5	X	X	X
K6	X	X	X
K7	X	X	X
K8
K9		X
K10
K11				X
K12			X	X
K13