2020 Book Review Colloquium Archives

[Book Review] The Making of the Medieval Middle East: Religion, Society, and Simple Believers (Princeton University Press, 2018) by Jack Tannous | Reviewed by Abdullah Ridvan Gokbel

By Abdullah Ridvan Gokbel // October 23, 2021October 25, 2021

The history of relations between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East -particularly in Bilād al-Shām– is older than that in almost any other part of the Islamic World.[1] So it should come as no…

[Book Review] Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison, by Ahmet T. Kuru (Cambridge University Press, 2019)| Reviewed by Rana Osman

By Rana Osman // April 29, 2021September 7, 2021

Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison is an ambitious project that offers a closer look to a frequently asked question: why does authoritarianism reign supreme in most Muslim-majority countries today? In a…

[Book Review] Inside Tunisia’s Al-Nahda: Between Politics and Preaching (Cambridge University Press, 2018) by Rory McCarthy | Reviewed by Ibrahim Enes Aksu

By Ibrahim Enes Aksu // April 21, 2021September 7, 2021

Rachid Ghannouchi, the charismatic leader of al-Nahda Party, declared that they no longer pursue “political Islam” but rather “Muslim democracy” at his party’s 10th Congress in May 2016. At that time, many people were curious…