Our guest is Professor Ahmet T. Kuru, USA, (PhD, University of Washington), Director of the Center for Islamic and Arabic Studies and Porteous Professor of Political Science at San Diego State University.

Professor Ahmet was a postdoctoral scholar at Columbia University and is the author of 'Secularism and State Policies toward Religion: The United States, France, and Turkey,' which received the book award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.

His most recent book, "Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison" (Cambridge University Press, 2019) became the co-winner of the American Political Science Association's International History and Politics Section Book Award. Professor Kuru’s works have been translated into Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese, French, Indonesian, Malay, Persian, and Turkish and he has sparked much debate in the Muslim and Western world.

We ask Prof. Ahmet about the underlying reasons that he believes are at the root of the decline of science, discovery and development in Muslim states.

#Islam #history #podcast

[00:00] Welcome

[01:39] Why Ahmet Kuru wrote his book

[04:47] The Golden Age of Islam

[06:39] The first multi-religious parliament in the world

[07:29] Religious homogeneity becomes the norm

[08:57] Islam vs Colonialism: What is to be blamed?

[14:18] Anti-West ideologies & Islamophobia

[15:06] The Ulema State Alliance

[20:40] Muslim scholars being persecuted

[22:57] 11th Century: The "Critical Juncture"

[24:22] Ghazali's views

[27:04] Modern Muslim states continue authoritarianism

[31:21] The idea of democracy in the Muslim world

[35:09] Sufi orders now support authoritarianism

[38:38] Muslims should learn from the West too

[45:52] More about Prof Ahmet Kuru

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🎙 The Al Hakam Inspire Podcast is hosted by Ataul Fatir Tahir and Dr Hasham Ahmad.

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