POLITICAL THOUGHT OF ISLAMIC COUNTRIES

Within the framework of the course in Language, Politics and Economics of Arab Countries, the teaching module aims at providing a general picture of the political thought of Islamic countries, from classical theories of power to modern ideologies, developing the student's critical ability in the interpretation of the main contemporary political theories and their most recent developments. The main currents and the major doctrines and ideologists will be treated, with particular attention to the twentieth century. In particular we will consider nationalisms, Salafism, secular political doctrines and jihadist Islamism.

1. Knowledge and understanding:
Knowledge of the evolution of the political thought in Islamic context contextualized in the contemporary political, cultural and institutional dimensions; understanding of the dynamics and the endogenous and exogenous influences that determine the evolution of political doctrines up to the most current trends.

2. Applying knowledge and understanding:
Ability to apply the tools of cultural geography in evaluating the different aspects of the landscape and the complex dynamics that underpin inter-community relations in order to interact with people of different cultures.

3. Making judgements:
ability to critically and consciously evaluate the most current political ideologies and currents in the Arab countries.

4. Communication skills:
Ability to illustrate the different aspects dealt with in the course in a clear and analytical way.

5. Learning skills:
Ability to critically integrate the documents provided by the teacher and the notes taken in class.

Knowledge of contemporary history of the Middle East and basic Islamology notions

Classical theories of power (al-Mawardi, al-Ghazali); Ibn Taymiyyah; Ibn Khaldun; Wahhabism; Pan-Islamic nationalism, neo-ijtihad (Al-Afghani, Abduh), the Islamic socialism (Gaddafi), Arab socialism (Ba'th) pan-Arabism (Nasser); Political Islam (Rashid Rida, al-Banna, Qutb), the theoreticians of the Islamic state (al-Mawdudi, Khomeini), the jihadist Salafism (Azzam, Bin Laden), ISIS, secular thinkers (Abd al-Raziq).

Bibliography and handouts will be provided during the classes and uploaded on the moodle platform.

Preparatory readings
DE POLI, B., I musulmani nel Terzo Millennio, Carocci, Roma 2007.
BAUSANI, A., L'Islam, MIlano, Garzanti, 1999.

One of the following:
EMILIANI, M., Medio Oriente, 2 voll., Laterza, Bari 2012.
GUAZZONE, L., Storia contemporanea del mondo arabo, Mondadori, Milano 2016

The exam will consist of a paper of max 30,000 characters to be agreed with the teacher. More details on the paper will be provided during the course.
The paper will be aimed at verifying the learning of the topics dealt with during the course, as well as verifying the student's critical and autonomous analysis skills.
Students must study the documents uploaded on the moodle page of the course and the chapters of the textbook indicated both in the handouts and in the course summary (see moodle).

Lectures supported by power point, commenting readings and video material.

Italian

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