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1. Beyond Elections: Evolving Arab Public Opinion on Democracy and Human Rights

Author:
Catherine Cleveland and David Pollock
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
U.S. efforts in the region stand a better chance of success if they consider rising demand for accountable governance, skepticism about democratic institutions, and various nation-specific trends. Against the backdrop of simmering protests, endemic economic challenges, the continuing struggle to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, and fallout from the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, The Washington Institute launched a series of policy papers to help guide the Biden administration’s approach on democracy, reform, human rights, and political change across the Middle East and North Africa. The series addresses a range of questions: How do changes in the region over the last decade affect the new administration’s approach to these issues? How should the administration best prepare for the “new normal” of protests in the region? What are the policy tools at America’s disposal, and how might they be improved upon? How can Washington turn much-needed attention to new areas of focus, such as corruption and public-sector reform? What does public opinion research tell us about what the region’s publics want in their countries—and from the United States? And where might enhanced U.S.-EU coordination play a constructive role? The proposed answers will assist policymakers in advancing opportunities for reform, preserving U.S. interests, and navigating Middle East realities in the context of America’s global priorities. In the fourth essay in the series—covering public opinion on democracy and human rights in Arab states—Catherine Cleveland and David Pollock note a cooling toward democratic institutions, a trend undoubtedly driven by failures in Tunisia, Lebanon, and Iraq. They discuss corresponding distrust in legislative bodies and high frustration with corrupt governance. Islamist leaders, they observe, come in for increasingly sharp critique. All in all, the findings emphasize a strong public demand for better governance outcomes and, in turn, the benefits as well as limits of U.S. democracy and human rights promotion in the region.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Islam, Politics, Public Opinion, Reform, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Middle East and United States of America

2. Human Fraternity and Inclusive Citizenship: Interreligious Engagement in the Mediterranean

Author:
Fabio Petito, Fadi Daou, Michael Driessen, Elie Al-Hindy, Georges Fahmi, Nejja Al-Ourimi, Silvio Ferrari, Mohammed Hashas, Scott M. Thomas, Pasquale Ferrara, R. Scott Appleby, Miguel Angel Moratinos, Alberto Melloni, Azza Karam, Paul Gallagher, Nayla Tabbara, Mohamed Abdel-Salam, Andre Azoulay, and Jean-Marc Aveline
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
Abstract:
Polarization and discrimination linked to religion have been increasing in many parts of the world, including on the two shores of the Mediterranean. Against this background, however, seeds of hope have emerged from a number of religious leaders who have called for a new narrative of human fraternity and inclusive citizenship. This report analyzes the opportunities which human fraternity and inclusive citizenship offer for government-religious partnerships aimed at building more inclusive and peaceful societies across both shores of the Mediterranean and puts forward interreligious engagement as a new policy framework that recognizes and amplifies these novel dynamics. Can the interreligious narrative of human fraternity help to create new inclusive forms of citizenship? How can governments and international organizations better partner with religious leaders and communities to concretely build inclusive societies from the MENA region to Europe?
Topic:
Islam, Religion, Refugees, Citizenship, Pluralism, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Europe, North Africa, and Mediterranean

3. How the French Understand Immigrant Integration and Citizenship

Author:
Christophe Bertossi
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI)
Abstract:
On December 9, 2020 will be celebrated the 115th anniversary of the 1905 law on French secularism (laïcité). On the very same day, a new law project will be presented by the French government, with the objective of further strengthening the “republican values” in order to fight against so-called “Islamist separatism” within French society. This dramatic emphasis on France’s political tradition of universalism and secularism is difficult to understand outside France. Such misunderstanding created a situation unseen before whereby a sitting French president replied to an online column published in the Financial Times (which was eventually withdrawn from the FT website), and phoned Ben Smith, a NYTimes journalist, and complained about the US media coverage of the 2020 terrorist attacks in France. It seems that the French model of immigrant integration and citizenship is difficult to understand outside France, even more so at a time when France is once again the target of jihadist terrorism and responds to this challenge with a dramatic emphasis on its national political tradition of universalism and secularism – what the French refer to in terms of laïcité. In order to address this misunderstanding, this research proposes to analyze 10 terms that have been central to French debates on immigration and citizenship, namely: integration, communalism (communautarisme), secularism (laïcité), discrimination, Islam, citizenship, migrant, migration crisis, the nation-state, and Europe. The lexicographic application Ngram Viewer is used for each of these terms in order to show evolutions over time. These evolutions are part of what needs to be understood. Behind these evolutions, the analysis emphasizes ambiguities and a plurality of meanings surrounding the vocabulary of the French political tradition, and the subsequent misunderstandings these ambiguities and multiple meanings generate not only between French and international observers but also within French society. A related claim is that evolutions that can be identified in French political and public debates about immigrant integration are not specific to France but are part of a broader transformation that concerns all Western countries in their relation to immigration, ethnicity and Islam.
Topic:
Islam, Immigration, Secularism, and Integration
Political Geography:
Europe and France

4. Pope Francis: Extending his “Culture of Encounter” into the Arab and Muslim Worlds

Author:
Scott M. Thomas and Anthony O'Mahony
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
In February 2019, Pope Francis became the first pope to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Like John-Paul II before him, he has also visited Egypt, and he went to Morocco in March 2019. The pope participated in a colloquium on “human fraternity” and interreligious dialogue sponsored by the UAE-based Muslim Council of Elders—the brain-child of Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the most important Sunni Muslim university in the world. The Council of Elders sponsors initiatives to engage young Muslims on Islamist ideology by promoting a more “authentic” interpretation of Islam. Islamist violence—with its beheadings and mass executions—has provoked disgust across the Muslim world and is causing young Muslims to become more distant from their imams and mosques. It is becoming clear to many Muslim intellectuals in Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon that, in order to defeat Islamism, there needs to be greater dialogue and coexistence with Christians. Pope Francis is attempting to lead the way, extending his “culture of encounter.”
Topic:
Islam, Religion, Culture, Violence, and Catholic Church
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, United Arab Emirates, and Vatican city

5. Palestine in Turkey’s Foreign Policy

Author:
Michał Wojnarowicz
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Turkey is strengthening its role in the Middle East as the main political patron of the Palestinians. Turkish policy towards Palestine is reinforced by the tensions in relations with Israel, the country’s desire to be a world leader of Islam, and the growing rift between the Palestinians and their Arab allies. Turkey will use its involvement in Palestinian affairs in its regional rivalries. Opposition to Israeli-Arab normalisation and close ties with Hamas will diminish Turkey’s relations with the U.S.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Islam, Regional Integration, and Hamas
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

6. Cultural erasure: Tracing the destruction of Uyghur and Islamic spaces in Xinjiang

Author:
Nathan Ruser, James Leibold, Kelsey Munro, and Tilla Hoja
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI)
Abstract:
The Chinese Government has embarked on a systematic and intentional campaign to rewrite the cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). It’s seeking to erode and redefine the culture of the Uyghurs and other Turkic-speaking communities—stripping away any Islamic, transnational or autonomous elements—in order to render those indigenous cultural traditions subservient to the ‘Chinese nation’. Using satellite imagery, we estimate that approximately 16,000 mosques in Xinjiang (65% of the total) have been destroyed or damaged as a result of government policies, mostly since 2017. An estimated 8,500 have been demolished outright, and, for the most part, the land on which those razed mosques once sat remains vacant. A further 30% of important Islamic sacred sites (shrines, cemeteries and pilgrimage routes, including many protected under Chinese law) have been demolished across Xinjiang, mostly since 2017, and an additional 28% have been damaged or altered in some way. Alongside other coercive efforts to re-engineer Uyghur social and cultural life by transforming or eliminating Uyghurs’ language, music, homes and even diets, the Chinese Government’s policies are actively erasing and altering key elements of their tangible cultural heritage. Many international organisations and foreign governments have turned a blind eye. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) have remained silent in the face of mounting evidence of cultural destruction in Xinjiang. Muslim-majority countries, in particular, have failed to challenge the Chinese Government over its efforts to domesticate, sinicise and separate Uyghur culture from the wider Islamic world.
Topic:
Islam, Culture, UNESCO, and Uyghurs
Political Geography:
China and Xinjiang

7. A Geopolitical Crossfire: Al-Azhar Struggles to Balance Politics and Tradition

Author:
James M Dorsey
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies (BESA)
Abstract:
When Pope Francis I visited Egypt in 2017 to stimulate interfaith dialogue he walked into a religious and geopolitical minefield at the heart of which was Al-Azhar, one of the world’s oldest and foremost seats of Islamic learning. The pope’s visit took on added significance with Al-Azhar standing accused of promoting the kind of ultra-conservative Sunni Muslim Islam that potentially creates an environment conducive to breeding extremism.
Topic:
Islam, Politics, Religion, Violent Extremism, and Geopolitics
Political Geography:
Middle East, North Africa, and Egypt

8. Civic Engagement in the Middle East and North Africa

Author:
Kathrin Thomas
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Arab Barometer
Abstract:
Eight years after the Arab Spring, MENA publics believe that the degree to which their freedoms are guaranteed has declined. Arab Barometer observes a drop in perceived freedom of expression, right to protest peacefully, and to join associations since 2012-14. • While electoral participation is low in many contexts, it appears that many MENA publics frequently take political issues to the streets. Youth are especially likely to protest, but few say they also used force for a political cause. • The principle of charity is core to many religions, including Islam. Even though Arab Barometer has observed declining rates of charitable giving, overall a high percentage donate to the less fortunate across most countries.
Topic:
Islam, Religion, Public Opinion, Freedom of Expression, Protests, Civil Liberties, and Civic Engagement
Political Geography:
Middle East and North Africa

9. When Islamophobia Turns Violent: The 2016 U.S Presidential Elections

Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
This report highlights trends and patterns surrounding Islamophobia since the start of the 2016 U.S. presidential election cycle. It does so in the broader context of hatred, violence and social hostilities confronting Muslims as a minority faith group in contemporary America and with a particular focus on acts and threats of violence. Since 2015, the Bridge Initiative has been chronicling Islamophobic political rhetoric by each presidential candidate irrespective of his or her party affiliation while finding Republican candidates to be the worst offenders to date. In this publication, however, we aim to contextualize such statements nationally and internationally while also exploring potentially violent effects. To that end, we examined two distinct but overlapping time periods: January 2015 through December 2015 (entire duration of 2015) and March 2015 through March 2016 (2016 presidential election season).
Topic:
Political Violence, Islam, Public Opinion, Elections, Islamophobia, Violence, and Voting
Political Geography:
United States

10. Iraqi security forces and popular mobilization forces

Author:
Jessa Rose Dury-Agri, Omer Kassim, and Patrick Martin
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for the Study of War
Abstract:
The liberation of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sh­am’s (ISIS) urban holdings in Iraq was necessary but not sufficient to secure America’s vital national interests. ISIS has lost neither the will nor the capability to fight, even as it withdraws into desert hideouts and sleeper cell formations in November 2017. Rather, dispersed ISIS militants have begun an insurgent campaign in northern and western Iraq as some of its foreign fighters have returned to their home countries to serve in ISIS’s external operations network.
Topic:
Islam, War, and International Security
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East

11. Danger & Dialogue: American Catholic Public Opinion and Portrayals of Islam

Author:
Jordan Denari Duffner
Publication Date:
09-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
What do American Catholics think about Islam, Muslims, and interreligious dialogue? And how do Catholic publications portray the faith of Muslims? These are some of the questions addressed in our latest report, “Danger & Dialogue: American Catholic Public Opinion and Portrayals of Islam.”
Topic:
Islam, Religion, Public Opinion, Islamophobia, and Catholic Church
Political Geography:
United States

12. How Sectarian Conflicts Overtook the Arab Spring

Author:
Alexander Henley
Publication Date:
04-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS)
Abstract:
Reflections on the problem of sectarianism in the wake of the Arab Revolutions from CCAS’ inaugural American Druze Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. Why has Sunni-Shi’i sectarianism become the leading issue of debate in Middle East politics over the last few years? Led by rival Sunni and Shi’i theocracies, Saudi Arabia and Iran respectively, the region seems to have fallen into opposing camps in a sectarian cold war. Along the fault-lines in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain, Sunnis and Shi’is are fighting for supremacy, backed and incited by coreligionists across the region. The Middle East is in a lamentable state, but this is not— despite what we are increasingly told by news media and political leaders—its natural state. The Middle East’s problems are not “rooted in conflicts that date back millennia,” the excuse President Obama used to explain away foreign policy failures in his final State of the Union address. Phrases like “ancient conflict” or “deep-rooted hatreds”—heard more and more commonly—do not explain the actions of our contemporaries in the Middle East any more than they do yours or mine. And they certainly don’t explain why sectarianism, which emerged as a central feature of regional politics only in the past decade, is so new.
Topic:
Islam, Sectarianism, Authoritarianism, Ethnicity, Arab Spring, and Protests
Political Geography:
Middle East, Arab Countries, and North America

13. The Super Survey: Two Decades of Americans’ Views on Islam & Muslims

Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
In a climate of increased suspicion and skepticism towards Islam and Muslims, polling data collected over the years reveals how Americans have come to view their country’s third-largest religious group. This Super Survey, which compiles and analyzes polling questions collected by over a dozen polling organizations from 1993 to 2014, finds that Americans remain unfamiliar with Islam; feel more coldly towards Muslims than any other religious group; and tend to see Islam as “more violent” than other religions during national debates about military action in the Middle East. Additionally, while they have been supportive of mosques in their communities, a sizeable portion has favored various measures of religious profiling. In the twenty-first century, on average, six in 10 Americans has reported that they don’t know a Muslim personally. And while a plurality of Americans has reported having favorable views of Muslims since 2000, unfavorable views have persisted, with relatively little fluctuation over time.
Topic:
Islam, Religion, Public Opinion, Ideology, and Islamophobia
Political Geography:
United States

14. Islamic State Primer

Author:
Robert Sedgwick
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Columbia International Affairs Online
Abstract:
A brief overview and timeline examining the origins and trajectory of the little known terror group that was initially shunned and finally disowned by al-Qaeda as it developed into the world's most feared militant Muslim organization.
Topic:
Islam, Post Colonialism, Terrorism, War, Counterinsurgency, ISIS, and Islamic State
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, and Syria

15. Reflections on Turkey: Islamic Middle Classes at a Glance

Author:
Etyen Mahçupyan
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
This report focuses on the rising prosperity of the Islamic middle class since 2002 and the diversification of the religiosity concept within a pluralist structure in Turkey. Written by TESEV consultant Etyen Mahcupyan in February 2014, this report explains the importance of the rising middle class and the new generation of Anatolian entrepreneurs for the political and sociological transformation of Turkey. The findings of the surveys and focus groups are evaluated under four categories: 1) Political Institutions and Rights, 2) Family, Women, Sexuality, 3) Group Affiliations, Individualism, Tolerance, 4) Openions about Market Economy, Class Differences and Western World.
Topic:
Islam, Religion, Women, Economy, Political structure, Class, Family, and Sexuality
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

16. Peace and Religion

Author:
Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP)
Abstract:
This report presents empirical research conducted by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in conjunction with the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation1 that aims to get beyond ideology to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how religion interacts with peace. Quantitative analysis has revealed that many of the commonly made statements surrounding the relationship between peace and religion are not supported by the analysis contained in this study. This report answers five common questions relating to religion and violence. To determine the list of questions the most common themes of discussion and opinions expressed in the media were identified. The scope of the research highlights key relationships between peace and religion and provides a platform and opportunities for further research. The five questions addressed in this report are: Question 1 — Is religion the main cause of conflict today? Question 2 — Does the proportion of religious belief or atheism in a country determine the peace of the country? Question 3 — In Muslim countries, does the demographic spread of Sunni and Shia determine peace? Question 4 — Is religion key to understanding what drives peace? Question 5 — Can religion play a positive role in peacebuilding?
Topic:
Islam, Religion, Conflict, Peace, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:
Global Focus

17. Spring 2013

Author:
Vivek Chilukuri
Publication Date:
05-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Journal:
Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
The third year of the Arab revolts has presented several domestic and foreign challenges for the nations involved. Each nation has reflected the specificities of their local conditions, citizen grievances, and regime legitimacies and responses. At the same time, several common themes have emerged, such as the core underlying demand for a life of integrity, civility, and dignity, while also enjoying a basic set of universal human and citizen rights. Constitutional votes and the reorganization of state structures in Tunisia and Egypt will serve as the guiding lights for other nations still making their way toward reforms, though these remain hotly debated topics throughout each nation in the region. Though Islamists have risen to power, we have seen that their popularity is not infallible and is now fluctuating in response to their performances after assuming power. In the end, questions of "social justice" return as the main and enduring motivator for protesters in the Arab world, particularly when it comes to many of these countries' socioeconomic disparities.
Topic:
Islam and Reform
Political Geography:
Egypt and Tunisia

18. The Story of an Alien(ation): Real Estate Ownership Problems of Non-Muslim Foundations and Communities in Turkey

Author:
Dilek Kurban and Kezban Hatemi
Publication Date:
03-2009
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
The purpose of this report is to tell the story of the real estate ownership problem experienced by non-Muslim foundations since the Ottoman period, and to discuss to what extent laws enacted during the EU accession process have been effective in solving this problem. The second section of this report, following this introduction, explains the historical background of the ownership problems of non-Muslim foundations. Following brief information about the foundation system of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of non-Muslim foundations, which constituted a part of this system, the minority regime created under the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 are discussed, and rights and freedoms of non-Muslim foundations arising from this Treaty are evaluated. In the third section, the impact of minority policies adopted by Turkey since the Treaty of Lausanne regarding the property rights of non-Muslim foundations are considered, and various laws and practices such as the 1926 Civil Code, the 1930 Municipalities Law, the 1935 Law on Foundations, the 1936 Declaration, and the inclusion of non-Muslim foundations among seized foundations are analyzed. Policies of taking over the immovables of non-Muslim foundations implemented since the 1960s pursuant to the so-called the 1936 Declaration and the ‘seized foundation’ practice are discussed, by giving concrete examples. The legislation developed to solve the problems of non-Muslim foundations during Turkey’s accession to the EU is evaluated in the fourth section, and lawsuits referred to the ECtHR because of the inadequacy of these reforms are reviewed in the fifth section. After discussing, in the sixth section, the reasons of the inadequacy of the reforms made within the context of harmonization with the EU in solving problems of non-Muslim foundations, concrete proposals are made for solving continuing real estate ownership problems of non-Muslim foundations in the seventh and last section. The list of immovables taken from non-Muslim foundations and the list of non-Muslim foundations included among ‘seized foundations’ are given in the annexes
Topic:
Islam, History, Minorities, European Union, Property, Ottoman Empire, and Real Estate
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

19. Aspirations and Reality: British Muslims and the Labour Market

Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
British Muslims face severe obstacles in the United Kingdom's labor market and have a disproportionately high rate of unemployment, according to this report from OSI's EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP). Aspirations and Reality: British Muslims and the Labour Market calls for more effort to meet the employment aspirations and needs of Muslims in the UK, especially Muslim women and young Muslims. "Government, the private sector, and Muslims themselves must ensure that British Muslims are not left out of the workforce," said the report's author, Zamila Bunglawala, who co-authored the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit report on Ethnic Minorities and the Labour Market. British Muslims seeking employment face multiple obstacles, ranging from gaps in mainstream labor market policy and employer practices, poor service delivery and a lack of faith-friendly work environments. The extent to which Muslims face religious discrimination in the labor market is unknown; the report stressed that further analysis is needed to improve the understanding of the British Muslim group as a whole. Muslim youths are at particular risk of social exclusion. With Muslims set to comprise almost a quarter of the growth in the working age population in Britain between 1999 and 2009, integrating British Muslims into the mainstream labor market must now be a priority for the government, the report concludes.
Topic:
Islam, Religion, Labor Issues, Minorities, and European Union
Political Geography:
United Kingdom

20. Monitoring Minority Protection in EU Member States

Publication Date:
07-2003
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
These documents, prepared by the EU Accession Monitoring Program of the Open Society Institute, assess the state of minority protection in 10 Central and Eastern European states seeking full membership in the European Union and in five current member states. The reports examine candidate states' implementation of their minority protection or integration programmes, and each state's laws, institutions, and practices relating to minority protection of Roma or Muslims.
Topic:
Islam, Law, Minorities, European Union, Civil Rights, Institutions, Political Rights, and Freedom of Religion
Political Geography:
Europe and Eastern Europe