Teaching the Politics of Islamic Fundamentalism

Orientalism is not my opinion: Decolonial teaching and the problem of credibility in IR courses with a MENA focus

“…To tackle similar problems, Tétrault (1996) and El Shakry (2020) propose teaching styles that stress similarities between Middle East and Western states and peoples. Analytical pluralism is the principle that guides Kazemzadeh's (1998) teaching of Islamic fundamentalism. This scholar defends paradigmatic pluralism as guarantee of nuanced academic discussion.…”

“…Student imagination is ridden with stereotypes and distorted beliefs about the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This imagination and its effects are the object of inquiry in a few works that also evaluate strategies to deal with the interference of prejudice about Middle Easterners in the classroom (Abboud, 2015;Caplan et al, 2012;Çavdar et al, 2019;Kazemzadeh, 1998;Stover, 2007;Tétrault, 1996). This stream of work shares the concern that the learning process does not fall prey to simple opinion in lieu of evidence-based argumentation.…”

Turkish Hizballah: A Case Study of Radical Terrorism

“…Overall, the activities and ideologies of these groups have been met with much resistance by the mainstream society. Major issues have been revived and cause growing concern throughout the country, including radicalism, integrism, separatism, and terrorism (see Cakar, 1996;Esposito, 2002;Flores, 1993;Juergensmeyer, 2000;Kazemzadeh, 1998;Kramer, 2000;Sayari & Hoffman, 1991).…”

Communitarianism vs. Individual Rights In the West and the Islamic World

“…Most Western scholars who regard Islam as a unique phenomenon adhere to this viewpoint. 17 The classical Orientalist portrayed Islamic states as antidemocratic because of the authoritarian nature of Muslim culture and political structures. Neo-Orientalism portrays these societies as anti-democratic because of an essential core, with its obstreperous assertive civil organizations, that renders the state paralyzed and weak.…”