Research Library

King Mohammed VI of Morocco has cultivated the country’s image as a bastion of moderate Islam and of himself as a strategic partner, but to what extent does his international reputation correspond to public opinion in Morocco? In this paper, the author evaluates the king’s domestic standing as part of a larger Baker Institute study on religious authority in the Middle East.

Who speaks for Islam and who holds religious authority in the Middle East? These questions strike at the heart of the relationship between religion and politics in the Muslim world, for whoever can legitimately claim religious authority has an opportunity to shape the extent to which religion is politicized in the region. Our study examines this issue by identifying the channels of influence between religious leaders who claim to hold Islamic authority and individual Muslims across the region. The findings depict a complex religious space in the Middle East that reflects its citizens’ nuanced approach toward religion and the religion-politics relationship.

The author shows that mosque construction in Islamic states increased after 1979, when political elites adopted a strategy of Islamic nation-building. Mosques visually manifested a regime’s religious authority. The findings have implications for understanding the use of symbolic religious structures as tools for nation-building — a goal that is often overlooked due to the tendency to associate nationalism with secular visions of modernity.

Saudi Arabia’s massive hydrocarbon endowment and ownership of Islamic holy sites have created a unique political economy. In this research paper, energy fellow Jim Krane explores established policy practices and assesses Saudi Arabia’s emerging strategy for future participation in the oil business.

By tracking the math scores and earnings of adults who were in-utero during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, the authors were able to identify some of the consequences of prenatal malnutrition and stress.

On Sept. 13, 2018, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and George Washington University’s Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) co-hosted the conference “Building Inclusive and Pluralistic States Post-Arab Spring.” The conference was the culmination of a two-year project funded by the Carnegie Corporation and showcased research by leading scholars of the Middle East on political, economic and socio-religious inclusion in Arab states since 2011. This report addresses some of the conference’s key conclusions and policy recommendations for U.S. policymakers concerned with the future stability of the Middle East.

The authors discuss Pakistan’s challenges with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and their impact on poverty, child development and overall health in the country.

How can Egypt become a more inclusive state for the different ethnic and religious groups in the country? This student brief examines the status of Egypt’s different ethnic and religious communities and intercommunal divisions, with an emphasis on the policy implications of entrenching pluralism.

Given the current dearth of women exercising Islamic authority, it may be assumed that for most of Islamic history, questions of religion and religious law were the near-exclusive domain of men. This brief discusses the various roles and contributions of women in Islam and religious scholarship and outlines recommendations for improving attitudes towards women in religious leadership in Muslim countries. This is one of 10 briefs in a series on pluralism and inclusion in the Middle East after the Arab Spring. The project is generously supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The author explores consociational democracy as it has played out in Lebanon, and its possible use as a heuristic tool to rethink the relationship between communal groups, political organizations, and the state in the contemporary Middle East.