Religious Dimensions of Democratization Processes in Muslim-Majority Nations

Abstract

The 41st AMSS annual conference, held on 29 September 2012 at Yale Divinity School, brought together scholars and activists to address “Religious Dimensions of Democratization Processes in Muslim-Majority Nations.” The event, consisting of four panels and Juan R. I. Cole’s (University of Michigan) very anticipated keynote luncheon address, was co-sponsored by the Yale Divinity School and the Council on Middle East Studies at The MacMillian Center at Yale. Several luminaries in the field, including Ambassador Sallama Shaker (conference program chair, Yale Divinity School), also attended. Gregory E. Sterling (dean, Yale Divinity School) opened the conference, and Ali A.Mazrui (former AMSS president, State University of New York) made welcoming remarks. The first panel, “The Arab Spring: A Revolution towards Democracy,” was chaired by Narges Erami (Yale University). In his opening paper, “The Arab Spring and Democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa: Which Is Cause and Which Is Effect?,” Mazuri examined political processes, recent uprisings, and longer-term democratic trends in South Africa, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, and Yemen. He raised questions of chronology and causality, as well as how processes of colonialism and decolonization shaped contemporary political landscapes. After examining the concept of democratic contagion, he observed how democratic processes that occurred in many African nations during the twentieth century could serve as models for how to enshrine human rights and an independent judiciary in new constitutions. His paper ended with a detailed discussion of women’s contributions to shaping and buttressing a vibrant public sphere, the positive effects of which can be seen particularly strongly in Tunisia ...