• Studies

    Academic works on the Risale-i Nur Collection
  • 1

AHMET T. KURU

 

San Diego State University, Department of Political Science

5500 Campanile Dr., Nasatir Hall 103; San Diego, CA 92182

Ph. (619) 594-8643; (206) 788-6292; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

APPOINTMENTS        

Associate Professor, Department of Political Science (and Center for Islamic and Arabic 

Studies), San Diego State University, 2011-present

Visiting Fellow, Brookings Doha Center, Qatar, September 2012-May 2013

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, San Diego State University, 2006-2011

Postdoctoral Scholar and Assistant Director, Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration, and   Religion (Director: Alfred Stepan), SIPA, Columbia University, January 2008-June 2009

 

EDUCATION

Ph. D., Political Science, University of Washington, Seattle, 2006

Committee: Joel Migdal (co-chair), Anthony Gill (co-chair), Reşat Kasaba, Stephen Hanson

M.A., Political Science, University of Washington, Seattle, 2002 M.A., Political Science, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, 2001 M.A., International Relations, Fatih University, Istanbul, 1999

B.S., Business Administration, Bilkent University, Ankara, 1997 

AWARDS AND GRANTS (Post-PhD)

2012. Research Fellowship, Brookings Doha Center ($50,000)

2011. Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion 

(Secularism and State Policies toward Religion: The United States, France, and Turkey

2010. Critical Thinking Grant, College of Arts and Letters, San Diego State University ($4,000) 

2009. University Grants Program, San Diego State University ($9,800) 

2008. Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, Columbia University ($2,700)

2007. Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration, and 

Religion, SIPA, Columbia University ($100,000)

2007. American Political Science Association Religion and Politics Section’s Aaron 

Wildavsky Award for the best dissertation (“Dynamics of Secularism: State-Religion 

Relations in the United States, France, and Turkey”)

 

BOOKS

2012. Democracy, Islam, and Secularism in Turkey (New York: Columbia University Press), 

edited by Ahmet T. Kuru and Alfred Stepan.

 

Turkish translation: Forthcoming. Türkiye’de Demokrasi, İslam ve Laiklik (Istanbul: Bilgi 

Üniversitesi).

 

2009. Secularism and State Policies toward Religion: The United States, France, and Turkey 

(New York: Cambridge University Press) 

(reviewed in Journal of Politics, Politics and Religion, Contemporary Sociology, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,

Journal of Church and State, Contemporary Islam, Middle East Journal, Middle East Policy, Insight Turkey, New Perspectives on Turkey, SE European and Black Sea Studies, Studies in Religion, and Revue d’Histoire et de Philosophie Religieuses)

 

Turkish translation: 2011. Pasif ve Dışlayıcı Laiklik: A.B.D., Fransa ve Türkiye (Istanbul: Bilgi 

Üniversitesi).

 

Arabic translation: 2012. (Beirut: Arab Network for Research & Publication). 

 

REFEREED ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS

2012. “The Rise and Fall of Military Tutelage in Turkey: Fears of Islamism, Kurdism, and 

Communism,” Insight Turkey, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 37-57.

Turkish translation in Türkiye’de Demokrasi, İslam ve Laiklik (Bilgi, forthcoming).

 

 

2012. (with Alfred Stepan), “Introduction,” pp. 1-11; and “Laïcité as an Ideal Type and a 

Continuum: Comparing Turkey, France, and Senegal,” pp. 95-121 in Kuru and Stepan

eds. Democracy, Islam, and Secularism in Turkey.

Turkish translation in Türkiye’de Demokrasi, İslam ve Laiklik (Bilgi, forthcoming).

 

 

2009. Guest editor of the special issue on Muslim Democracies, Insight Turkey, Vol. 11, No. 4; 

“Guest Editor’s Note,” pp. iii-iv; and “A Research Note on Islam, Democracy, and 

Secularism,” pp. 29-40.

 

2008. “Secularism, State Policies, and Muslims in Europe: Analyzing French Exceptionalism,” Comparative Politics, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 1-19 (reviewed in Wilson Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 1, 2009, p. 88).

 

2008. (with Zeynep Akbulut-Kuru) “Apolitical Interpretation of Islam: Said Nursi's Faith-Based 

Activism in Comparison with Political Islamism and Sufism,” Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 99-111.

 

2007. “Passive and Assertive Secularism: Historical Conditions, Ideological Struggles, and State Policies toward Religion,” World Politics, Vol. 59, No. 4, pp. 568-94.

 

2006. “Reinterpretation of Secularism in Turkey: The Case of the Justice and Development 

Party,” in M. Hakan Yavuz, ed., The Emergence of a New Turkey: Democracy and the AK Parti (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press), pp. 136-59.

Turkish translation in AK Parti: Toplumsal Değişimin Yeni Aktörleri (Istanbul: Kitap, 2010). 

 

 

2005. “Globalization and Diversification of Islamic Movements: Three Turkish Cases,” Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 120, No. 2, pp. 253-74.

Reprinted in Frederic Volpi, ed., Political Islam: A Critical Reader (London: Routledge, 2010).

 

 

2003. “Fethullah Gülen’s Search for a Middle Way between Modernity and Muslim Tradition,” in M. Hakan Yavuz and John L. Esposito, eds., Turkish Islam and the Secular State: The Gülen Movement (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press), pp. 115-30. 

Turkish translation in Laik Devlet ve Fethullah Gülen Hareketi (Istanbul: Gelenek, 2004). 

 

 

2002. “Between the State and Cultural Zones: Nation-Building in Turkmenistan,” Central Asian Survey, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 71-90.

French translation in Outre-Terre: Revue française de géopolitique, No. 16, 2006.

Turkish translation in Ertan Efegil and Pınar Akçalı, eds., Orta Asya’nın Sosyo-Kültürel Sorunları: Kimlik, İslam, Milliyet ve Etnisite (Istanbul: Gündoğan, 2003).

 

 

WORKS IN PROGRESS

“Assertive and Passive Secularism: State Neutrality, Religious Demography, and Muslim 

Minority in the United States,” in Allen Hertzke, ed., The Future of Religious Freedom (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).

 

“State-Society Relations and Religious Freedom: The United States, France, and Turkey” 

in Adam White, ed., Policy from Grassroots (University of 

Washington Press, forthcoming).

 

“Assertive Secularism, Islam, and Democracy: The Myth of Turkish Exceptionalism” in Jeffrey 

Kenny and Ebrahim Moosa, eds., Islam in the Modern World (Routledge, forthcoming

).

“Ideologies, Institutions, and Laws: Religious Freedom in Secular States,” in André 

Laliberté, Rajeev Bhargava, and Bruce Ackerman, eds., The State and Religious 

Diversity: Secularism, Toleration, and Accommodation (University of 

British Columbia Press, forthcoming).

 

“Authoritarianism and Democracy in Muslim-majority Countries: Rentier States and Regional 

Diffusion,” Under review in a journal.

 

“Muslims in France and the United States: Comparing Secular State Policies.” In Ousmane 

Kane, ed., The Challenge of Integration: Muslims in the United States and France 

(to be submitted to Columbia University Press).

 

“Secularism(s), Islam, and Education in Turkey: Toward E Pluribus Unum?” In Robert Hefner 

and Adam Saligman, eds., “Bridging, Bonding, or Dividing: The Role of Religious and 

Ethical Education in Mediating Deeply Divided Societies,”  (to be submitted to Indiana 

University Press).

 

OTHER ESSAYS

2010. “Afterword: Education, Islam, and the Secular State in Turkey,” in Michael Merry and Jeff 

Milligan, eds., Citizenship, Identity, and Education in Muslim Communities: 

Essays on Attachment and Obligation (New York: Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 189-93. 

 

2008. “Secularism in Turkey: Myths and Realities,” Insight Turkey, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 101-10.

 

2007. “Changing Perspectives on Islamism and Secularism in Turkey: The Gülen Movement and 

the AK Party,” in Ihsan Yilmaz, ed., Muslim World in Transition: Contributions of the 

Gülen Movement (London: Leeds Metropolitan University Press), pp. 140-51.

 

2006. (with Ahmet Yükleyen) Islam, Democracy, and Secularism in Europe: France, Germany, and the Netherlands (Istanbul: TESEV) (in Turkish) (a booklet.).

 

2002. “The Rentier State Model and Central Asian Studies: The Turkmen Case,” Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 51-71.

 

1999. “The Analysis of a Turkic Union through the Lens of Regional Integration Theories and International Conditions,” in Mim Kemal Öke, ed., Central Asian Republics in Transition (Istanbul: Alfa), pp. 152-210 (in Turkish).

 

1998. “Turkey’s Orientation toward Central Asia: Policy Change after Nine Centuries,” 

Türkiye Günlüğü, No. 51, pp. 78-88 (in Turkish).  

 

1998. “Clash of Civilizations: Scientific Fact or Conspiracy Theory?” Türkiye Günlüğü, No. 49, pp. 71-9 (in Turkish).

 

BOOK REVIEWS

Forthcoming. The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations by 

Michael L. Ross. Middle East Policy.

Forthcoming. The Cartoons that Shook the World by Jytte Klausen. Review of Middle East 

Studies.

Forthcoming. The Mobilization of Political Islam in Turkey by Banu Eligür. Contemporary 

Islam.

2011. Are Muslims Distinctive? A Look at the Evidence by M. Steven Fish. Insight 

Turkey, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 214-7.

2011. The Price of Freedom Denied by Brian J. Grim and Roger Finke. Middle East Policy, Vol. 

18, No. 2, pp. 172-5.

2011. Islam and Secularism in Turkey: Kemalism, Religion, and the Nation State by Umut Azak

Middle East Journal, Vol. 65, No. 1, pp. 161-2.

2011. Democratic Values in the Muslim World by Moataz A. Fattah. Contemporary Islam, Vol. 

5, No. 1, pp. 93-4.

2010. Laïcité en débat: Principes et représentations en France et en Turquie edited by Samim 

Akgönül. Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Vol. 2, pp. n.a.

2010. Radical Reform:  Islamic Ethics and Liberation by Tariq Ramadan. Politics and Religion

Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 659-61.

2010. Islamism, Democracy, and Liberalism in Turkey: The Case of the AKP by William Hale 

and Ergun Özbudun. and Democratization and the Politics of Constitution Making in 

Turkey by Ergun Özbudun and Ömer Faruk Gençkaya. Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 

125, No. 2, pp. 349-51.

2010. Redeploying the State: Corporatism, Neoliberalism, and Coalition Politicsby Hishaam D. Aidi. Insight Turkey, Vol. 12, No. 3, p. 266.

2009. Party Building in the Modern Middle East by Michele Penner Angrist. International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 706-8. 

2008. Contemporary Islamic Conversations: M. Fethullah Gülen on Islam, Turkey, and the West ed. by Nevval Sevindi. Middle East Journal, Vol. 62, No. 3, pp. 529-30.

2008. Integrating Islam: Political and Religious Challenges in Contemporary France by 

Jonathan Lawrence and Justin Vaisse. Contemporary Islam, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 91-2.

2007. Between Islam and the State: Politics of Engagement by Berna Turam. Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 1560-2.

2007. L'autre Turquie: Le mouvement aléviste et ses territoires by Élise Massicard. New 

Perspectives on Turkey, No. 36, pp. 174-5.

2005. Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide by Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart. Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 38, No. 10, pp. 1300-4.

2001. La Nouvelle Asie centrale ou la fabrication des nations by Oliver Roy. Cahiers d’études sur la Mediterranée orientale et le monde turco-iranien, No. 32, pp. 347-51 (in French). 

2001. Türk Dininin Sosyolojik İmkanı by Yasin Aktay. Turkish Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 154-6.

2001. Islam and Modernity: Muslim Intellectuals Respond by John Cooper, et. al., eds. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 174-7. 

2001. The Forbidden Modern: Civilization and Veiling by Nilüfer Göle. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 181-3.

 

Short Reviews for Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries

Forthcoming. The Emancipation of Europe’s Muslims by Jonathan Laurence.

March 2012. Shari‘a Politics: Islamic Law and Society by Robert Hefner.

February 2012. Turkish Foreign Policy by Hasan Kösebalaban.

July 2011. Muslims and Global Justice by Abdullahi An-Na’im.

March 2010. Muslims in Global Politics by Mahmood Monshipouri.

January 2010. Islam, Secularism, and Liberal Democracy by Nader Hashemi.

August 2009. Muslims in Western Politics by Abdulkader H. Sinno, ed.

March 2009. Political Participation in the Middle East by E. Lust-Okar and S. Zerhouni, eds

August 2008. Race and Arab Americans before and after 9/11 by A. Jamal and N. Naber, eds.

 

Encyclopedia Article

2009. “Laiklik,” Oxford Encyclopedia of the M. Islamic World, ed. by John Esposito, pp. 375-6.

 

ACADEMIC SERVICE 

APSA Religion and Politics Section

Chair: 2010-2012.

Executive Committee: 2008-2010.

Best Book Award Committee: 2012

Best Dissertation Award Committee: 2008, 2009

Politics and Religion, Editorial Board: 2012-2015.

Middle East Studies Association Conference Program Committee: 2010.

Central Eurasian Studies Society, Book Award Committee: 2009

 

 

 

PROJECT REVIEWS

National Science Foundation

Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research

Swiss National Science Foundation

 

MANUSCRIPT REVIEWS (Selected)

Cambridge University Press

Oxford University Press

Syracuse University Press

New York University Press

University of Toronto Press

University of Utah Press

Routledge

Palgrave Macmillan

Ashgate

CQ Press

United Nations University Press

 

American Political Science Review

World Politics 

Comparative Politics 

Comparative Political Studies 

Political Science Quarterly

Perspectives on Politics

American Journal of Political Science

Political Research Quarterly 

Review of International Studies

Politics & Religion 

Democratization

Nationalism & Ethnic Politics 

Comp. Studies on Society & History

Law & Society Review 

British Journal of Sociology

Current Sociology 

Mobilization

International Political Sociology 

Research in Social Movements, C & C

American Ethnologist

Contemporary Islam

Insight Turkey 

Comp. Std. of S. Asia, Africa, and MidEast

Comparative Islamic Studies

European Journal of Political Research

 

AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS (Pre-PhD)

2005. Humane Studies Fellowship, Institute for Humane Studies

2005. Calihan Academic Fellowship, Acton Inst. for the Study of Religion and Liberty 

2004. Chester Fritz Fellowship, Graduate School, University of Washington, Seattle

2001. Best Graduate Student Paper Awards, Department of Political Science and the Middle 

East Center, University of Utah 

1990. Ranked 18 in Turkey’s University Entrance Examination among around 1 million students 

 

LANGUAGES

Turkish (native), English (fluent), French (proficient), Arabic (intermediate)

 

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

2010 (June), 2008 (July). Arabic Language Study, University of Damascus. 

2006. Institute on Qualitative Research Methods, Arizona State University, January 3-13.   

2004. Researcher, L'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, October-December.

2004. IHS Workshop, “Rationality and Institutions,” University of Virginia, June 19-25.

1999. MA Field Research, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, February-June.

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

San Diego State University (Fall 2006-present)

“MA Seminar in Comparative Politics”

“Religion and Politics in Comparative Perspective”

“Governments and Politics in the Middle East” 

 

Columbia University (Spring 2008 and 2009)

(co-taught with Alfred Stepan): “Issues on Comparative Secularisms and Democracy”

 

University of Washington, Seattle

Summer 2006: “Theories of the State”

Summer 2005: “Introduction to Comparative Politics”

Summer 2003: “State-Society Relations in the Third World”

2001-2006: Teaching Assistant, Department of Political Science

 

University of Utah 

1999-2001: Teaching Assistant, Department of Political Science

 

International Turkmen Turk University

Spring 1999: “Introduction to International Relations”

 

ANNUAL CONFERENCES

2012. “Authoritarianism and Democratization in Muslim-Majority Countries: Regional Effects,” 

and “The Military’s Political Tutelage and Ideological Allies: Post-2007 Transformations in Turkey,” International Studies Association, San Diego, April 1-4 (also a roundtable).

2011. “Rentier States and Regional Effects: Authoritarianism in Muslim-majority Countries,” 

American Political Science Association, Seattle, WA, September 1-4.

2010. “Neighborhood Effect, Oil Revenue, and Authoritarianism in the Muslim World,” Middle 

East Studies Association, San Diego, November 18-21. 

2010. “State-Society Relations and the Military Politics in Turkey,” American Political Science 

Association, Washington, DC, September 2-5.

2009. “Panel: Power of Neighborhood in Turkey: Piety in A Secular State,” Middle East 

Studies Association, Boston, November 21-24 (discussant).

2009. “Democracy and Authoritarianism in the Muslim World,” American Political Science 

Association, Toronto, September 2-6 (also organizer and discussant of another panel)

2009. “Panel: Religion, Ethnicity, and Identity Politics in Turkey,” Association for the 

Study of Nationalities, Columbia University, April 23-25 (organizer and discussant).

2009. “Panel: Islam and Politics in Turkey,” International Studies Association, New York, 

February 15-18 (discussant). 

2008. “Panel: Islam and Politics in Turkey,” Middle East Studies Association, Washington, 

DC, November 22-25 (organizer and discussant).

2008. “State Policies toward Muslims in Europe: the French Exceptionalism,” American 

Political Science Association, Boston, August 30-Sept 2 (also organizer of the panel).

2008. “Secularism and State-Religion Relations in the United States, France, and Turkey,” 

International Stud. Assoc.,” San Francisco, March 26-9 (also discussant of two panels).

2007. “Muslim Society and the Secular State: Turkey between the French and American 

Models,” Middle East and Central Asia Conference, University of Utah, September 

6-8 (also discussant of a panel).

2007. “State-Religion Relations in the United States: Christian Right, Accommodationists

Separationists, and Secularists,” American Political Science Association, Chicago, 

August 30-September 2 (also discussant of a panel).

2006. “From Islamism to Conservative Democracy: The Justice and Development Party in 

Turkey,” American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, August 31-September 3

2006. “Dynamics of Secularism: State Policies towards Religion in the United States, France, 

and Turkey,” Institute on Qualitative Research Methods, Arizona State U., Jan. 3-13.   

2005. “Between the French and American Models: Turkish Secularism in Comparative 

Perspective,” Middle East Studies Association, Washington, DC, November 19-22.

2005. “Secularism in Comparative Perspective: State Policies toward Religion in the United 

States, France, and Turkey,” Social Science History Assoc., Portland, November 3-6. 

2005. “The Justice and Development Party and Reinterpretation of Secularism in Turkey,” 

Middle East and Central Asia Conference, University of Utah, Sept. 8-10 

(also the discussant of a panel).

2005. “Secularism in the United States, France, and Turkey: An Historical Perspective,” Poster 

Presentation, American Political Science Association, Washington, DC, September 1-4. 

2005. “Politics and Religion in Secular States: The United States, France, and Turkey,” Midwest 

Political Science Association, Chicago, April 7-10.

2001. “The Impact of Globalization on Islamic Movements in Turkey,” Middle East Studies 

Association, San Francisco, November 17-20. 

2001. “Nation-Building and its Impact on Foreign Policy in Turkmenistan,” Association for the 

Study of Nationalism, Columbia University, April 5-7.

 

CONFERENCES BY INVITATION

2012. “Turkey 2012: Internal Dynamics,” U.S. Department of State, Foreign Service Institute

Washington, DC, June 14.

2012. Workshop on the Character of Military Obedience to Civilian Control, UCSD, May 4.

2012. “Democratization in Muslim-majority Countries,” Conference entitled “Islam and 

Democracy,” University of Wisconsin-Madison, April 13-14.

2012. Conference entitled “Islam and Democracy in Turkey,” Boston College, March 16, 2012.

2011. “The Secular State and Islamic Instruction in Turkey: E Pluribus Unum?” Workshop 

entitled “Bridging, Bonding, or Dividing: The Role of Religious and Ethical Education in 

Mediating Deeply Divided Societies,” Boston University, April 29-30.

2010. “Secularism in Turkey: From History to Present,” Workshop entitled “Secularism and 

Islam in Contemporary Islam,” Stanford University, November 15-16.

2010. “Secularism in Comparative Perspectives,” Panel entitled “Faith and Politics: 

Religion and the Secular State,” University of Toronto, November 4.

2010. “Secularism and State Policies toward Religion: The US in Comparison to France and 

Turkey,” Workshop entitled “Gündelik Hayatta Laiklik. Başka Coğrafyalardan 

Deneyimler,” Helsinky Citizenship Assembly, Istanbul, May 21-22.

2010. “Secularism, State Policies, and Muslims: Comparing France and the United States,” 

Conference entitled “The Challenge of Integration in the 21st Century: Muslim Immigrants in the   United States and France” Columbia University, April 2-3.

2010. “Assertive Secularism, Islamophobia, and State Policies toward Muslims: The French 

Exceptionalism in Europe,” Conference “Jews and Muslims in France: The Challenge 

of Multiculturalism in Contemporary Europe,” Georgetown University, March 17-18.

2010. “Muslims in the French Public Sphere,” Conference entitled “Islam, Muslims, and the 

Media,” Michigan State University, February 25-26.

2010. “The Roles of Islamic Actors in Turkish Democratization,” Workshop entitled “Religious 

Actors in Democratization Processes: Evidence from the five Muslim Democracies”

Princeton University, February 5.

2009. Organizer of the “Religion, Ethnicity, and Politics Lecture Series,” CDTR, SIPA, 

Columbia University, Fall 2008 and Spring.

2009. Panelist in “Migration Policy, Response and Reaction,” Conference entitled “Islam in 

Europe,” New York Public Library, June 9-11.

2009. “The Secular State and Islam: The Turkish Experience,” Conference entitled “State 

Management of Islam,” Northwestern University, April 30-May 2.

2009. “Passive and Assertive Secularisms: Comparing the United States, France, and Turkey,” 

“Symposium on Religious Liberty,” Templeton Foundation, Istanbul, April 20-22.

2009. “The Myth of Turkish Exceptionalism in the Political Science Literature,” Workshop 

“Turkish Modernity and the Social Sciences” Princeton University, March 20-21.

2009. “Politicized Military and Democratic Consolidation in Turkey,” Conference entitled 

“Democracy, Islam, and Secularism: Turkey in Comparative Perspective,” Columbia 

University, March 6-7, 2009 (also co-organizer of the conference).

2009. “Religious Education and the Secular State: The Turkish Experience,” Conference entitled 

“Alliance of Civilizations: Turkey at the Crossroads of Cultures,” Kennesaw State 

University, January 29-31.

2008. “Comparing Secularisms: The U.S., France, and Turkey,” Conference “Secularism, the 

Secular State, and Religious Diversity,” University of Ottawa, November 1-2. 

2008. Organizer of the Lecture Series entitled “Transforming Secularism, Democracy, and 

Nationalism in Turkey,” Spring and co-organizer of the Conference entitled “The New 

Draft Constitution of Turkey,” CDTR, SIPA, Columbia University, March 2-3.

2008. “Secularism and Modernization in the United States, France, and Turkey,” Conference 

entitled “Turkey in Motion,” Princeton University, February 29-March 1.

2008. “Islam and Secularism: Turkey between the French and American Models,” Conference 

entitled “Islam, Secularism and Democracy in Turkey Today,” University of Illinois at 

Urbana Champaign, February 28. 

2007. “Islam and Secularism: The Turkish Experience,” Conference entitled “Islam in Turkey 

Today,” Columbia University, November 2-3.

2007. “Changing Perspectives on Islamism and Secularism in Turkey: The Gülen Movement and 

the AK Party,” Conference entitled “Muslim World in Transition: Contributions of the 

Gülen Movement,” SOAS, University of London, October 25-27.

2007. “A Comparative Perspective: Religion and Politics in the United States, France, and 

Turkey,” Conference entitled “The American Experience: Religious Freedom,” 

University of Portland, April 12-14. 

2007. “State-Society Relations in Turkey through the Lens of Kemalist vs. Conservative 

Debate,” Conference entitled “Policy from the Grassroots,” University of Washington, Seattle, February 25-26.

2006. (with Zeynep Akbulut-Kuru) “Apolitical Interpretation of Islam: Said Nursi’s Faith-Based 

Activism in Comparison to Political Islamism and Sufism,” Conference entitled “Islam in 

Contemporary Turkey: Perspectives of B. Said Nursi,” John Carroll University, Nov. 6.  

2006. "Islamic Movements and Globalization: Dialogue vs. Conflict in Turkey," International 

Conference on Islam, University of Wisconsin-Madison, March 24-25.

2006. "Muslims and the Secular State in France," Conference entitled "Islam in the European 

Public Sphere," Brigham Young University, January 27-28.

2005. “Muslim Society and the Secular State: Turkey between the French and American 

Models,” Institute for Humane Studies Workshop, Arlington, VA, September 17.

2005. “Between Two Types of Secularism: State-Religion Relations in the United States, France, 

and Turkey,” Humane Studies Research Colloquium, Arlington, VA, May 20-22.

2005. “Muslim Societies and Secularisms: The Case of Turkey,” International Conference on

Islam, University of Wisconsin-Madison, April 29-30.

2004. « Deux types de laïcité : Turquie, France, Etats-Unis, » « Recherches et travaux sur le 

monde turco-iranien, » AFEMOTI / Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches 

Internationales, Paris, November 19. 

2004. “Two Types of Secularism: State-Religion Relations in the US, France, and Turkey,” 

Society of Comparative Research, Graduate Student Retreat, UCSD, May 14-15.

2001. “Searching for a Middle Way between Modernity and Tradition: The Case of Fethullah 

Gülen,” Conference entitled “Islamic Modernities: Fethullah Gülen and Contemporary Islam,” Georgetown University, Washington, DC, April 26-27.

 

LECTURES BY INVITATION

2012. San Diego State University, Center of Islamic and Arabic Studies, April 24.

2012. San Diego World Affairs Council, March 29.

2012. New Hampshire Institute of Politics, February 20.

2011. Rollins College, October 6.

2011. Boston University, September 27.

2011. TOBB University, Ankara, July 28.

2011. University of Texas, Austin, March 28.

2011. University of California, San Diego, January 13.

2010. John Carroll University, September 1. 

2010. SETA Foundation, Ankara, June 3.

2010. Bilim ve Sanat Foundation, Istanbul, May 27.

2010. San Diego State University, Center of Islamic and Arabic Studies, May 3.

2010. University of California at Los Angeles, April 28.

2010. Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs, April 1.

2010. Michigan State University, James Madison College, February 24.

2010. University of Tokyo, Islamic Area Studies Center, January 19.

2010. Japan External Trade Organization, Institute for Developing Economies, January 18, 20.

2009. Georgetown University, School of Foreign Services, December 8.

2009. Harvard University, Center for European Studies, November 24.

2009. Northeastern University, November 24.

2009. Princeton University, Institute for International and Regional Studies, October 26.

2009. Marywood University, Department of Social Studies, March 16.

2009. New York University, Tisch School, March 10

2009. Florida International University, Middle East Center, March 3.

2009. University of Mississippi, Croft Institute, February 23.

2008. New School for Social Research, December 1.

2008. Yale University, Council on Middle East Studies, September 10.

2008. Gordon College, Center for Christian Studies, August 28.

2008. San Diego State University, Hansen–Hostler Series, April 26.

2008. Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs, April 17.

2005. Cornell University, Department of Political Science, November 21.

2005. University of Arizona, Department of Political Science, November 4.

2005. San Diego State University, Department of Political Science, December 14.

2005. Villanova University, Department of Political Science, November 28.

2005. Dickinson College, Department of Political Science, November 29.

2005. Iowa State University, Department of Political Science, December 5.

2005. University of Washington, Department of Political Science, October 28.

2005. Southern Methodist University and the University of Texas at Dallas, February 4.

2002. Stanford University, November 15.

2001. University of Utah, Department of Political Science, March 30.

 

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP

American Political Science Association

Middle East Studies Association

International Studies Association

Society for the Scientific Study of Religion

 

MEDIA APPEARANCES

Interviews in Turkish: Habertürk TV, TRT (Turkey’s Public TV) Haber, TRT 1; Voice of 

America Radio; Zaman, Yeni Şafak, Bugün; Mostar

Interviews in English: Ebru TV; WBUR (Boston’s NPR), China Radio International; Today’s 

Zaman, Corriere della Sera (Italian), Life Week (Chinese); CNN Online, Changing 

Turkey Blog

Op-Eds: Zaman, Sabah, Star, Radikal; Today’s Zaman