Some of the most pressing questions in the Middle East and North Africa today revolve around the proper place of Islamic institutions and authorities in governance and political affairs. Drawing on data from 42 surveys carried out in fifteen countries between 1988 and 2011, representing the opinions of more than 60,000 men and women, this study investigates the reasons that some individuals support a central role for Islam in government while others favor a separation of religion and politics. Utilizing his newly constructed Carnegie Middle East Governance and Islam Dataset, which has been placed in the public domain for use by other researchers, Mark Tessler formulates and tests hypotheses about the views held by ordinary citizens, offering insights into the individual and country-level factors that shape attitudes toward political Islam.

About the Author

Mark Tessler is Samuel J. Eldersveld Collegiate Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan. He is author of Public Opinion in the Middle East: Survey Research and the Political Orientations of Ordinary Citizens (IUP, 2011), A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Second Edition (IUP, 2009), and editor (with Jodi Nachtwey and Anne Banda) of Area Studies and Social Science: Strategies for Understanding Middle East Politics (IUP, 1999).

Reviews

Although the book does not change the state of our knowledge of the trends in opinion among Muslims on social and political issues, it is still different from surveys conducted by think thanks and institutes in that it provides a great deal of nuance, explanation and caution in reading the findings.

* Journal of Islamic Studies *

Tessler (Univ. of Michigan) analyzes the Carnegie data set surveys conducted in 15 Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa from 1988 to 2011. . . Recommended.

* Choice *



Book Information
ISBN 9780253016430
Author Mark Tessler
Format Hardback
Page Count 264
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press
Weight(grams) 513g