Authoritarianism

by Siyasa

The Changing Landscape of Political Islam in Indonesia: A Backgrounder | Alexander R. Arifianto

ALEXANDER R. ARIFIANTO, 26 APRIL 2021 Indonesia, the largest Muslim majority country in the world, is considered a prime example of a successful democracy with a Muslim majority society. Leading Indonesian Muslim organizations and intellectuals have promoted its brand of moderate Islam. Recently, such a reputation had come under serious challenge. New and more theologically […]

by Siyasa

The Crisis in Xinjiang—A Historical Perspective on Muslims in China | Kelly Hammond

KELLY HAMMOND, 05 APRIL 2021 China’s Uyghurs have rightly been the center of news coverage recently. In China, the ongoing efforts to suppress Islam and Uyghur culture have led to the terrible and illegal incarceration of over one million Uyghurs and forced labor conditions. Recently governments in Canada, the United States and the EU have […]

by Siyasa

Dealing with Dictatorships: The Paradox of Great Power Support | Sean Yom

SEAN YOM, 15 MARCH 2021 During President Biden’s first month in office, the US raised the possibility that relations with Saudi Arabia would need “recalibration,” given its harrowing record of recent human rights violations. This move signaled a familiar scene that plays out in Washington whenever a non-democratic American ally commits egregious human rights abuses. […]

by Siyasa

Islam Was Not the Solution: The False Promises of the Islamic Revival | Ahmet T. Kuru

AHMET T. KURU, 4 NOVEMBER 2019 “Are Arabs Turning Their Backs on Religion?” was the title of BBC’s 2019 coverage of a survey conducted in 11 countries with 25,000 interviewees. In 2018, BBC had reported the decline of religiosity in Turkey, too: “The Young Turks Rejecting Islam.” Other sources also documented declining Islamic religiosity in […]

by Siyasa

The Perils of Religious Politics in Turkey | Ramazan Kılınç

RAMAZAN KILINÇ, 7 MAY 2019 On May 6, Turkey’s Higher Electoral Council canceled the mayoral elections in Istanbul and ordered the rerun of the race on June 23. This decision wiped away the humiliating defeat of the governing Justice and Development Party in Istanbul. Turkey had already been in the path to authoritarianism under the presidency […]

by Siyasa

Muslims Should Reclaim Religion from the State | Ramazan Kılınç

RAMAZAN KILINÇ 23 NOVEMBER 2018 On October 19, Sheikh Abdulrahman al-Sudais, the imam of the Grand Mosque of Mecca and the highest religious authority in Saudi Arabia, delivered a sermon and declared the Saudi crown prince Muhammad bin Salman as a renewer of religion whom all Muslims should obey. This move was in reaction to the […]

by Siyasa

Why Do Former Victims Become New Oppressors?

RAMAZAN KILINÇ 14 NOVEMBER 2018 On 12 November 2018, the Amnesty International withdrew its most prestigious human rights prize from Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s chief of government, accusing her of perpetuating human rights abuses against the Rohingya Muslim minority. In the past, Suu Kyi was put on house arrest for several years by the military regime […]