Listen to Dr. Simons' lecture.

The Islam in Russia lecture was the first installment of the Islam in Context speaking series, a joint production of the Outreach Program at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Outreach Center at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. The talk was given by Dr. Thomas Simons, Visiting Scholar at the Davis Center, on the Harvard campus on Wednesday 14 November 2007. Dr. Simons is a former US Ambassador to Poland and Pakistan and is the author of Islam in a Globalizing World (2003).

The lecture addressed two subjects. The first was the rise of political Islam and the second, Islam in Russia. Dr. Simons argued that the most plausible understanding for the rise of political Islam in the world was the failure of post-colonial governments in mainly Muslim countries to live up to the aspirations of their citizens. Moving to the topic of Islam in Russia, he gave an overview of the diverse Muslim community in Russia and its historical roots. Dr. Simons then discussed some of the ways that the Russian empire and later manifestations of political power and control interacted with and ultimately governed Muslims in Russia. Finally, he ended his talk with some comments on the historical importance of the urban or rural setting of Muslims in Russia to their practice of Islam and their relationship with the central government.