Modern Islamic Political Thought

This course examines the origins and evolution of modern Islamic political thought, from the nineteenth century to the present day. The focus will be on the complex phenomenon of modern political Islam, often known as Islamism, in both its Sunni and Shi'ite forms. We will begin by covering the emergence of Islam in the seventh century and the subsequent development of early Islamic history, as well as the development of traditional legal and political thought. The course will consider how Muslim states and thinkers have negotiated the encounter with modernity, how certain facets of the premodern tradition were transformed and radicalized in the modern era, and more broadly how to think about the relationship between traditional and modern forms of Islamic political thought. We will cover a wide spectrum of thinkers and movements, from the modernist Islamic movement of the nineteenth century to the revolutionary ideology of Imam Khomeini and the militant doctrines of al-Qaida and the Islamic State (aka ISIS). The course assumes no prior knowledge of Islamic or Middle Eastern history.