POLS 150 Midterm (Religion and Sectarianism)

Sunni

wants vatican type elder council picking the caliph(pope)

Shi’i

wants direct descendants of Muhammed to be caliph

Mideast Religious similarities / differences

churchgoing rate / religious % similar, more prayer and higher personal importance there though

Israel tiers of orthodoxy

Haredim, Dati, Masorti, Hiloni

Full Sharia States where Government regulates Religion

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan (almost)

Medium Sharia States where Government regulates Religion

Gulf States, Egypt

States where Religion regulates Goverment

Israel, Lebanon (weird quota system)

Secular Mideast Countries

Turkey, Tunisia

Fall of the 70s authoritarians

Nasser (egypt), Ataturk, Shah, Bourguiba(tunisia) - tried to modernize, seen as corrupt and repressive

Geopolitical Factors for the islamic revolution

Iranian Revolution provides template, Arab nationalism gets BTFOd by Israel (6 day war), Collapse of Soviet Union

80s - 2000s Mideast Politics

Islamist institutionalization funded by gulf states oil money, schools, charities, political parties

2010 mideast politics

Arab spring, pro-democracy - but gives opportunity for islamic parties to take control (Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hizbullah + in Turkey, Tunisia, Morrocco)

3 kinds of islamic militants

National (Hamas, Hizbullah), Revolutionary (Algerian, Egyptian, often lose public support), Transnational Jihadism, (ISIS, Al Qaida)

Countries with MB Group Parties

Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon

Algerian Islamism v Democracy Example

Military stopped Islamic party from winning to “save democracy“ - total BS

Why Islamic parties are better understood as authoritarian than islamic

undemocratic leadership structure, linked to militias (activities common among all weak-institution mideast parties)

Ottomans vs Safavid

Sunni Turks vs Shiia Persians

Ottoman ruling style

millet system, religious differences allowed but not with same rights

Safavid Ruling style

forcible conversion to shiia

Mandate Powers

France and Britain (created Lebanon as a sectarian state)

Birth of Arab Nationalism

Fall of Ottoman Empire

Salafism

desire to return to model of early muslims

jihadism

armed struggle as religious duty

salafi-jihadism

militant salafi politics

Sayyid Qutb

Muslim Brotherhood leader, anti-west, believed state must be totally based on Islam, Executed by Nasser in 1966

What stimulated the Muslim Brotherhood membership

Literacy, non-rural populations, weak government, railroads

Ismailia

wrong narrative of tension between locals and Europeans; Europeans actually decrease MB

Syria and Bahrain / Sectarianism

Postcolonial Authoritarian Regimes have Minority-led governments that accuse agitators of sectarianism, present selves as defending national unity

Constructivist Sect approach

Identities constructed by colonialism, capitalism, states - people seek distinction

Instrumentalism Sect approach

Sect leaders mobilize networks for political / economic goals

Institutionalism Sect approach

Institutions change how salient sects are

Tanzimat

Ottoman reforms, sectarianized things a little

Consociaational Power Sharing

Lebanese System

Lebanon Sect History

1942 setup to privilege Christians, 1975 civil war made 1989 Ta’if agreement for more Muslim representation

Lebanese Christian Sect Strategy

Lots of christian parties, none can dominate entire sect: Kataeb, Lebanese Forces, and Free Patriotic Movement. Targeted welfare based on party

Lebanese Sunni Sect Strategy

Hariri (future Movement) dominates, Distributing resources universally through state

Lebanese Shiia Sect Strategy

Amal (political) and Hezbollah (military / welfare), Bypass/substitutes State, get money from Iran / Syria

Lebanese Cross Sect Clientelism

Parties negotiate electoral lists (slates) that include candidates from multiple sects.

Why did Colonial Powers politicize religious/ethnic identities

Ability to divide/rule, easier to interface with local elites

Thinkers of islamism (all egyptian)

Ali Abd Al-Raziq, Sayd Qutb (MB Leader), Khalid Mohammad Khalid, Hassan al-Banna (founder of MB)