Islam and the Modern State

The Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies invites to a Carsten Niebuhr Honorary Lecture at the David Collection by Professor Nathan J. Brown from The Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University.

Abstract

This lecture will provide a broad view of religion-state relations from the viewpoint of Muslim societies and communities.

Modern states have broad reach - taxing, educating, counting, conscripting, and regulating in areas where religions often offer guidance; religion and state cannot avoid each other. However, patterns vary; each society's particular arrangements show traces of past controversies and contests. Are there any distinctive patterns and issues that arise when the religion encountered by the state is Islam?

Space is limited, and reservations are therefore on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please RSVP your attendance no later than 28 February to Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen.

About Nathan J. Brown

Professor Nathan J. Brown is a professor of Political Science and International Affairs at The Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, where he teaches courses on Middle Eastern politics, comparative politics and international relations. He is a fellow at the Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study, in Germany.

Brown also serves on the board of trustees at the American University in Cairo and is a nonresident senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He has previously served as an advisor for the committee drafting the Palestinian constitution, USAID, the United Nations Development Program, and several NGOs.