Dr. Shadi Hamid: "Islamic Exceptionalism"

As one of the three Abrahamic religions, Islam is a religious, cultural, and political force. Like its brother religions, it has influenced civilizations throughout history. The last century in particular has seen the growth of what has been called “political Islam”, manifested in last 50 years with the rise of Islamic political parties such as the Muslim Brotherhood. Some came to power after the democratic movements in the Middle East since 2011, but most have sputtered. In Syria calls for reform have led to full-blown civil war, with the Islamic extremist group ISIS establishing control over a significant amount of territory. This has brought some to question what the role of Islam is in the modern political state system.

Join the World Affairs Council-Washington, DC as we welcome back Dr. Shadi Hamid, author of “Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping the World”, to discuss how Islam relates to politics and the implications for how we understand the future of the Middle East. Dr. Hamid Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institute’s Center for Middle East Policy and U.S. Relations with the Islamic World, and a contributing editor for The Atlantic.

6:00pm - 6:45pm Reception

6:45 - 8:00pm Program