Charles Kurzman, Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina

The Sociology of Islam and Muslim Societies website is an important resource for anyone interest in the study of Islam from a sociological perspective. The current summer issue is available online at the main website. In the current edition, Charles Kurzman has an introduction well worth reading. He observes,

The sociology of Islam and Muslim societies is “hot,” for all the wrong reasons. It is not because globalization has drawn the world closer together, or because sociology is internationalizing its focus beyond its historical interest in Western Europe and North America. No, the sociology of Islam is “hot” because of the common but inaccurate association of Islam with terrorism and international conflict. The world wants to know why we are seeing such violence in the name of Islam, and sociologists — along with other social scientists — are expected to have answers. Violence and stereotypes related to Muslims are, sadly, good for business in the sociology of Islam.

These days, many sociology departments now want experts on Islam — job listings related to Muslim societies have increased significantly from a decade ago, when no department ever advertised a position in this area. Articles on Islam and Muslims are now appearing at a greater rate in sociology journals. The American Sociological Review, for instance, has run approximately six articles on Muslim societies in the past three years, compared with none in the nine years before that and only 19 in the previous 38 years. The annual meeting of the American Sociological Association now features at least one panel every year on the “Middle East and Muslim Societies” — a compromise rubric that bridges both the older area-studies tradition and newer cross-regional approaches to the study of Islam.

We are a small band, those of us who study these subjects, but we are beginning to get organized. This newsletter is one of the mechanisms for our organization, along with the list-serve and the forthcoming website. I thank Tuğrul Keskin for his work in getting all of this set up and running! A related effort, designed to fit into the area-studies categories that so many universities and funding agencies use, is the Mideast Sociology Working Group, whose information can be found at http://www.unc.edu/~kurzman/MideastSociology. Both groups meet informally each year at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association and the Middle East Studies Association, where scholars can get to know each other and brainstorm collaborations. The next of these get-togethers is scheduled for the ASA meeting in San Francisco: Sunday, August 9, 2009, at 12:15-1:45 p.m., including free lunch for graduate students (we plan to meet at the Hilton registration desk and move en masse to a local café).

Call for Papers: Fall 2009 The Sociology of Islam and Muslim Societies Newsletter

Contemporary Iran: Politics, Society and Economy

The next issue of The Sociology of Islam and Muslim Societies Newsletter will be published at the beginning of October and we would like to publish your short articles, abstracts of your dissertation or scholarly research, or a book review on Iranian politics, society and economy.

Those who would like to contribute, can send their short articles or book review submissions (1500-2000 words) by October 1st to:

Najm al-Din Yousefi: nyousefi@vt.edu
Tugrul Keskin: tugrulkeskin@pdx.edu