School of Policy and International Affairs

SPIA Research Projects 2008-2009

- Shari`a Politics: A Comparative Project on the Cultural and Policy Implications of Movements for and Against Islamic Law

In the aftermath of the Islamic resurgence of the 1970s and 1980s, the question of the place of shari`a (Islamic law) in politics and public ethics became the subject of heated debate in many Muslim-majority societies.  Although the resurgence pushed the shari`a into public view, it did not create agreement on the meaning of the law, or on the question of just how Islamic law was to be accommodated in modern government or public culture.  Today most Muslim-majority societies are still experiencing animated public discussion of religious law.   
 
Project Director:
Robert Hefner, Associate Director
Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA)
Boston University

Country Director - Iran:
Bahman Baktiari, Director
Research & Academic Programs
School of Policy and International Affairs (SPIA)

 

Working Papers

The School of Policy and International Affairs (SPIA) Research Working Papers series is published online as a set of occasional papers dealing with important issues in policy and international studies. These wide ranging Research Working Papers are products of the scholarship taking place in SPIA, as well as among scholars of policy studies and international affairs. These publications are disseminated in this early form to encourage debate on the important issues of our time.

The views expressed in the SPIA Research Working Papers Series are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the School or the University of Maine.

Forthcoming Paper - Countdown: Europe After the American Adventure in Iraq

Nuclear Weapons and the Middle East Region: Conference Proceedings (also available as a PDF)