Religion
The Wilson Center and Religion
U.S. Report on Religious Freedom in Middle East
May 20, 2013Blasphemy and apostasy laws were applied in a discriminatory manner in several Middle Eastern and North African countries in 2012, according to a new report by the U.S. State Department. “These laws are frequently used to repress dissent, to harass political opponents, and to settle personal vendettas,” Secretary of State Kerry said on May 20.
Lebanon’s Sheikhs Take on Assad and Hezbollah
May 10, 2013Salafis are shaking up the fragile political balance among Muslims in Lebanon. The ultraconservative Sunnis—whose religious and social models come from the 7th century—are now stealing the limelight from Sunni and Shiite movements that have dominated politics since Lebanon gained independence in 1943.
Pew: U.S. Attitudes on Islam Post-Boston
May 07, 2013The Boston Marathon bombings do not appear to have changed the public’s view of Islam. In a notable poll, about 42 percent of Americans say Islam is more likely to encourage violence than other religions, while 46 percent say Islam does not. Opinions reflected in the new survey are similar to those found in others from the past decade. But in March 2002 ― just six months after the 9/11 attacks ― only a quarter of respondents said Islam was more likely to encourage violence.
East European Studies Short-term Research Scholarships
May 02, 2013The Wilson Center's European Studies Program is now accepting applications for the EES Short-term Grant competition, which is open to academic experts and practitioners, including advanced graduate students, engaged in specialized research requiring access to Washington, DC and its research institutions. Grants are for one month and include residence at the Wilson Center. Candidates must be U.S. citizens, in order to be considered eligible for this grant opportunity. The deadline for this grant cycle is: June 1, 2013.
Between Turkish Sunnis and Iranian Shia Influences: Islamic Revival in Azerbaijan
April 22, 2013 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm
Bayram Balci, Visiting Scholar, Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment, analyzed the various aspects of Shia and Sunni revival, including the roles played by Turkey and Iran, and how Azerbaijan is reacting to these “new” religious cleavages. In his talk he contended that the Islamic influences from Iran (Shia) and from Turkey (Sunni) are recreating new dividing lines between Azerbaijani Shia and Sunni Muslims.
Memory, Commemoration, Memorialization: Moscow’s Western Battlefields
April 18, 2013 // 3:30pm — 5:30pm
William Brumfield, Professor of Slavic Languages and Germanic Languages, Tulane University, presents an exploration of evolving Russian attitudes toward commemorating the catastrophic sacrifices of the first year (1941-1942) of the Great Fatherland War. This presentation focused on the author's recent field research and photography in the Viazma region of Smolensk oblast'.
Believing in Russia - Religious Policy after Communism
April 15, 2013 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm
Geraldine Fagan presented her new book, “Believing in Russia—Religious Policy after Communism”, which brings together 12 years of research inside Russia on the role of religion in the nation’s politics. She argued that government policy grounded in religious freedom is the only viable option for consolidating Russia’s extraordinary diversity, and reveal that—far from being a Western import—religious freedom has a long tradition in Russia.
Ahmet Yukleyen
Croft Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Sociology and Anthropology Department, Croft Institute for International Studies, The University of Mississippi
Ahmet Yükleyen is a Wilson Center fellow, a non-residential Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace and the Croft Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Mississippi. He studied international relations at Bilkent University and completed his MA d...
Bettye Collier-Thomas
Professor, Department of History, Temple University
My research originally focused on African American community development in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. While researching my dissertation on "The Baltimore Black Community, 1865-1915" I uncovered a world where black women were deeply immersed in the social and politica...