Books by Ahmet T. (San Diego State University) Kuru

Why do contemporary Muslim societies have problems of authoritarianism and socio-economic underdevelopment, despite their early history of intellectual creativity and economic progress? Kuru provides a comparative analysis of Muslim and Western European countries, focusing on the roles of religious, political, intellectual, and economic classes.

Why do secular states pursue different policies toward religion? This book examines the impact of ideological struggles on public policy making. Specifically, it analyzes why American state policies are largely tolerant of religion ('passive secularism'), whereas French and Turkish policies generally prohibit its public visibility ('assertive secularism').