Shady H. Nasser

Course

Publication

Ousmane Oumar Kane. 4/8/2011. Religion, Transnationalism, and the Integration of Senegalese Immigrants in America. Oxford University Press. Publisher's VersionAbstract
As Senegal prepares to celebrate fifty years of independence from French colonial rule, academic and policy circles are engaged in a vigorous debate about its experience in nation building. An important aspect of this debate is the impact of globalization on Senegal, particularly the massive labor migration that began directly after independence. From Tokyo to Melbourne, from Turin to Buenos Aires, from to Paris to New York, 300,000 Senegalese immigrants are simultaneously negotiating their integration into their host society and seriously impacting the development of their homeland. This book addresses the modes of organization of transnational societies in the globalized context, and specifically the role of religion in the experience of migrant communities in Western societies. Abundant literature is available on immigrants from Latin America and Asia, but very little on Africans, especially those from French speaking countries in the United States. The book offers a case study of the growing Senegalese community in New York City. By pulling together numerous aspects (religious, ethnic, occupational, gender, generational, socio-economic, and political) of the experience of the Senegalese migrant community into an integrated analysis, linking discussion of both the homeland and host community, this book contributes to the debate about postcolonial Senegal, Muslim globalization and diaspora studies in the United States.
Tarek Masoud. 6/2014. Counting Islam: Religion, Class, and Elections in Egypt. Cambridge University Press. Publisher's VersionAbstract
Why does Islam seem to dominate Egyptian politics, especially when the country's endemic poverty and deep economic inequality would seem to render it promising terrain for a politics of radical redistribution rather than one of religious conservativism? This book argues that the answer lies not in the political unsophistication of voters, the subordination of economic interests to spiritual ones, or the ineptitude of secular and leftist politicians, but in organizational and social factors that shape the opportunities of parties in authoritarian and democratizing systems to reach potential voters. Tracing the performance of Islamists and their rivals in Egyptian elections over the course of almost forty years, this book not only explains why Islamists win elections, but illuminates the possibilities for the emergence in Egypt of the kind of political pluralism that is at the heart of what we expect from democracy.
Tarek Masoud. 1/2015. “Has The Door Closed on Arab Democracy?” Journal of Democracy, 26, 1, Pp. 74-87. Publisher's VersionAbstract
In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, democracy in the Arab world seems farther away today than at any point in the last 25 years, leaving one to conclude that the answer to the question posed in this special anniversary issue of the Journal—“Is Democracy in Decline?”—is, at least in the case of the Arab world, a resounding, even deafening, yes. If democracy is to ever arrive in the region, it will likely be through an evolutionary and elite-driven process.

Events

2018 Sep 28

CONFERENCE: Thinking Islam within Religious Studies: Methods, Histories and Futures

9:00am to 5:00pm

Location: 

Sperry Room, Harvard Divinity School, 45 Francis Avenue

On September 28, 2018, the Alwaleed Program hosted a day-long conference in honor of Professor William A. Graham's career and scholarship.  Professor Graham retired in July 2018 after a long and distinguished career at Harvard that included serving as the Faculty Director of the Alwaleed Program, Dean of Harvard Divinity School, Faculty Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and Chair of the Department of Near Eastern...

Read more about CONFERENCE: Thinking Islam within Religious Studies: Methods, Histories and Futures
2018 Oct 09

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN XINJIANG

4:00pm to 6:00pm

Location: 

CGIS South S020, Belfer Case Study Room, 1730 Cambridge Street
On October 9, 2018, the Alwaleed Program co-spnsored a timely event on China's current detention of members of its Uighur Muslim minority in "re-education camps" in the northwest province of Xinjiang with the alleged aim of de-radicalization. Adrian Zenz, lecturer in social research methods at the European School of Culture and Theology in Germany, presented his research on the situation that included satellite images of the camps, estimates of how many people are being held and under what kind of conditions and the psychological and social impact of detention on both individuals...
Read more about RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN XINJIANG
2018 Dec 06

Seminar: Arabic Studies Beyond Arabic: Integrating the Western Humanities Canon

1:00pm to 3:00pm

Location: 

Boylston Hall, Room 105

On December 6, 2018, the Alwaleed Program held the inaugural event in the Alwaleed bin Talal Seminar in Islamic Studies. In room packed with students, faculty and visiting fellows, world-renowned philologist and scholar of Islamic intellectual history, Dimitri Gutas, presented his new research on the translation of Aristotle's Poetics into Arabic and the transmission of its various manuscripts in the Arabic-speaking world. 

 

"Arabic Studies Beyond Arabic: Integrating the Western Humanities Canon"
...

Read more about Seminar: Arabic Studies Beyond Arabic: Integrating the Western Humanities Canon
2019 Feb 06

Program in Islamic Law: BOOK TALK ON AFGHANISTAN RISING: ISLAMIC LAW AND STATECRAFT BETWEEN THE OTTOMAN AND BRITISH EMPIRES

12:00pm to 1:00pm

Location: 

Austin 102
LUNCH TALK :: BOOK TALK ON AFGHANISTAN RISING: ISLAMIC LAW AND STATECRAFT BETWEEN THE
OTTOMAN AND BRITISH EMPIRES (HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2017)
Feb 6 | 12.00-1.00p | Austin 102
Author: FAIZ AHMED, Associate Professor of History, Brown University
Moderator: Mariam Sheibani, Visiting Fellow, Program in Islamic Law (PIL), Harvard Law
School
Respondent: Malika Zeghal, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Professor in Contemporary Islamic
Thought and Life
In Afghanistan Rising, Faiz Ahmed presents a vibrant account of Afghanistan, the first Muslimmajority
country to gain... Read more about Program in Islamic Law: BOOK TALK ON AFGHANISTAN RISING: ISLAMIC LAW AND STATECRAFT BETWEEN THE OTTOMAN AND BRITISH EMPIRES
2019 Feb 11

Middle East Beyond Borders Session I

6:00pm to 7:30pm

Location: 

Kresge Room (114) of the Barker Center

Speaker: Youssef Ben Ismail (PhD Student, NELC)
Dissertation chapter: "Tunus Meselesi: The "Tunisian question" in imperial context (1881-1923)"

The MEBB workshop meets 6:00pm - 7:30pm at the Kresge Room (114) of the Barker Center (Dinner is served). We circulate papers one week before their workshop session.