Research Library

In a study for the British Journal of Political Science, the authors found that Muslim religious leaders weaken their perceived religious authority when they engage with politics.

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.

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.

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

Treating intestinal worm infections leads to improved human development and childhood education, shows a study by Center for Health & Biosciences postdoctoral fellow SuJin Kang and fellows Peter Hotez and Farhan Majid.

On September 22, 1980, Saddam Hussein initiated what became one of the longest wars of the twentieth century — a war of attrition between Iran and Iraq that finally ended in August 1988. Fellow Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar examines the domestic causes of the Iran–Iraq War, delving into secret discussions among Iranian political and military elites during the conflict, their analyses of their own performance on the battlefield, and their revealing public disputes and blame game decades later.

Using the work of the women’s caucus in Iran’s Sixth Parliament as a case study, the authors examine women’s struggles to obtain a voice and influence within an authoritarian polity and a male-dominated political body.

Islamist parties throughout the world have routinely disregarded environmental concerns in their discourse and actions. However, Islam as a religion places strong emphasis on environmental protection. Thus, it is puzzling that environmental policy is all but absent from most Islamist platforms, writes Middle East Center research scholar A.Kadir Yildirim.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) play a critical role in hindering the advancement of the world's Muslim-majority countries. This paper examines the impact of NTDs on human development in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

This journal article examines the spread of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Middle East countries occupied by the Islamic State and discusses ways to treat and prevent them.