Religions and Constitutional Transitions in the Muslim Mediterranean ― The Pluralistic Moment

This book investigates the role of Islam and religious freedom in the constitutional transitions of six North African and Middle Eastern countries, namely Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, and Palestine. In particular, the book, with an interdisciplinary approach, investigates the role of Islam as a political, institutional and societal force. Issues covered include: the role played by Islam as a constitutional reference – a "static force" able to strengthen and legitimize the entire constitutional order; Islam as a political reference used by some political parties in their struggle to acquire political power; and Islam as a specific religion that, like other religions in the area, embodies diverse perspectives on the nature and role of religious freedom in society. The volume provides insight about the political dimension of Islam, as used by political forces, as well as the religious dimension of Islam. This provides a new and wider perspective able to take into account the increasing social pluralism of the South-Mediterranean region. By analyzing three different topics – Islam and constitutionalism, religious political parties, and religious freedom – the book offers a dynamic picture of the role played by Islam and religious freedom in the process of state-building in a globalized age in which human rights and pluralism are crucial dimensions.

Alessandro Ferrari is Associate Professor at the Department of Law, Economy and Cultures of the University of Insubria where he teaches Law and Religion, Comparative Religious Laws and Mediterranean Islam. He is scientific director of the Research Centre "Religion, Law and Economy in Mediterranean Area" (REDESM) of the same University. He teaches at the Research Master "Islamologie, Droit et Gestion" at the University of Strasbourg and he has been Roberta Buffet Visiting Professor at the Northwestern University in 2014 (classes on Islam in Europe and Islam and Contemporary Constitutional Changes in Mena countries). He is member of the editorial Board of the journal Quaderni di Diritto e Politica Ecclesiastica. His most recent research interests and publications focus on secularism, laicite, citizenship and Mediterranean religious freedom and constitutional transitions in the MENA countries.

James Toronto is Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, and Senior Fellow in Islamic Studies at the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University, USA. He teaches courses in Islamic religion and humanities, and Arabic language and literature. He has served as the Director of BYU’s Center for Cultural and Educational Affairs in Amman, Jordan. His research and publications focus on issues of Islamic education, legal status of religious minorities in the Middle East, and Muslim immigration in Europe.