REL 371 POLITICAL ISLAM

Throughout the human history, the relationship between religion and politics has been one of the most complex subjects that has shaped the world order. Since the creation of human being, people have tried to combine their religions with their political ideologies in order to give meanings to life. Religion has been used as a political tool for many centuries, to such an extent that religion and politics have become different parts of the same puzzle. Besides both religion and politics have been a crucial part of human history, they have shaped to the world and in the meantime both have been shaped by the world. In the contemporary world, religion is on the rise once again; particularly Islam has been visible both domestically/regionally (Hamas and Hezbollah) and internationally (Al-Qaeda, ISIS). Therefore, the course will focus on the emerging and developing time periods of political Islam. It will deal with the causes, consequences, differences, and similarities of the term in different geographical locations in the world. The goal of the course is to discuss and provoke insightful debates about what political Islam is or what it is not by giving historical development of it. Moreover, it will aim to show what kind dissimilarities or commonalities the use of Islam could have under different government types.