Political Theory

Islam and Liberty

ABSTRACT

This conference examined the relationship between Islam and Liberty by focusing on Islam’s attitudes towards Reason, Modernity, and Democracy. The conference asked how, and if, Muslims will be able to engage with these concepts without abandoning their religion and their culture.

READING LIST

Conference Readings

Ajami, Fouad. The Arab Predicament: Arab Political Thought and Practice Since 1967. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Cox, Caroline and John Marks. The West, Islam, and Islamism. London: Civitas, 2006.

Diamond, Larry. The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout The World. New York: Holt, 2009.

Esposito, John. Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Esposito, John and Dalia Mogahed. Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think. Washington, D.C.: Gallup Press, 2007.

Esposito, John and John Voll. Islam and Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Harris, Lee. The Suicide of Reason: Radical Islam's Threat to the West. New York: Basic Books, 2008.

Hunter, Shireen and Huma Malik. Modernization, Democracy, and Islam. New York: Praeger, 2005.

Ismaeilian, Mahmoud. Islam vs. Democracy. Bloomington: Trafford, 2006.

Lewis, Bernard. The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror. New York: Random House, 2004.

Lewis, Bernard. Islam and the West. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Mernissi, Fatema. Islam and Democracy: Fear of the Modern World. New York: Basic Books, 2002.

Pope Benedict XVI. "Papal Address at University of Regensburg (September 17, 2006)." Catholic Online. http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=3650 (October 15, 2009).

Sorenson, David. An Introduction to the Modern Middle East. Boulder: Westview, 2007.

Soroush, Abdolkarim. Reason, Freedom, and Democracy in Islam. Translated by Sadri, Mahmoud and Ahmad Sadri. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Waterbury, John, “Democracy without Democrats? The Potential for Political Liberalization in the Middle East” In Democracy without Democrats? The Renewal of Politics in the Muslim World, edited by Ghassan Salame, 23-47. London: I.B.Tauris, 1994.