Action Française
A French political movement, founded in 1898 at the height of the Dreyfus affair. In 1926 it was condemned by Pius XI on the grounds of extreme nationalism and a cynical misappropriation of Catholic ...
atheism
The theory or belief that God does not exist. The word comes (in the late 16th century, via French) from Greek atheos, from a- ‘without’ + theos ‘god’.
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy has been a successful post‐war political movement in Western Europe and, to a lesser extent, Latin America. Its sociological and ideological origins, however, lie in the ...
clericalism
A term, often used in an opprobrious sense, for an excessively professional attitude of outlook, conversation, or conduct on the part of clergymen, or for the imitation of a supposedly ...
Côte d'Ivoire
A tropical West African country, bounded on the west by Liberia and Guinea, on the north by Mali and Burkina Faso, and on the east by Ghana.Physical.Its south-facing coastline is rocky in the west ...
Elections and Voting Behavior
Over the past two centuries, electoral institutions have come to play a role in the governmental structures and political processes of most nations. The forms that these institutions take, and ...
established Church
A religious organization is established if the State recognizes it as having a unique or superior claim to the allegiance of the population in religious matters. However, there is no precise line to ...
Gulf States
Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates stand at the confluence of several major currents in contemporary Islamic affairs. Political activism among the disadvantaged Shīʿī communities of ...
Horn of Africa
Associated with war and famine in recent years, the Horn of Africa is a strategically located and potentially rich region. Lying astride the northwest Indian Ocean and the Red Sea ...
Iranian Revolution of 1979
Revolution in which a coalition of forces opposed to the Western-oriented Pahlavi regime and dominated by Shii Muslim clerics overthrew the government of Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. The acknowledged ...
jihad
A holy war undertaken by Muslims against unbelievers. The name comes from Arabic jihād, literally ‘effort’, expressing, in Muslim thought, struggle on behalf of God and Islam.
liberation Theology
A theological movement that came to prominence in the Conference of Latin American bishops held at Medellín in Colombia in 1968. The term ‘liberation’ springs from dislike of ‘development’, which is ...
nationalism
[De]A set of beliefs and symbols expressing identification with a given national community.
Ruhollah Khomeini
(1900–89)Iranian Shiite Muslim leader. After 16 years in exile he returned to Iran in 1979 to lead an Islamic revolution which overthrew the shah. He established a fundamentalist Islamic republic, ...
secularization
The process by which sacred beliefs are weakened over time, religion becomes less influential in social life, and scientific and other rationalist worldviews come to dominate both the understanding ...
sharia
Islamic canonical law based on the teachings of the Koran and the traditions of the Prophet (Hadith and Sunna), prescribing both religious and secular duties and sometimes retributive penalties for ...