Conversations with History: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley

See the Conversations with History Blog See a webcast of this interview: Roy (2007) Hear a podcast of this interview: Roy (2007) See also the 2002 interview with Olivier Roy, "The Political Imagination of Islam"

This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the public Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.

Welcome to a Conversation with History. I'm Harry Kreisler of the Institute of International Studies. Our distinguished guest today is Olivier Roy, who is a professor at the School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris. He is one of the world's leading experts on Islam and his most recent book is Globalized Islam: The Search for a New Umma.

1. Globalization ... internationalization of fashion, food, debates ... technology ... dissociation from the local ... mobility and virtual mobility
2. Religion and Culture ... the new disconnect ... Muslim Macburgers and Mecca Cola ... acculturation of religions ... faith dissociated from traditional culture ... fundamentalism within modernity ... the personal nature of religiosity ... born again: an individual encounter ... the non-territorial community of faith
3. Islam and the Ummah ... true believers as non-territorial minority ... historical overview of Islamicists ... political movement overtaken by nationalism ... choice of some to globalize ... others go mainstream ... the apoliticism of the Taliban ... personal salvation ... the destruction of the Buddhas ... overview of neo-fundamentalists ... salvation via norms ... culture as essentially corrupt
4. France and the Veil ... choice of Westernized girls ... French reaction ... feminist idiom for the right to be veiled ... widespread public support for banning the veil
5. Profile of Islamic Terrorists ... Westernized and de-territorialized ... born again ... seeking high-profile, short-term impact ... modern global tourists ... jihad as a personal struggle ... disillusioned with Palestine as an important struggle ... no interest in state-building
6. Addressing Terrorism ... the mistake of fighting terrorism by occupying territory ... stuck in Iraq ... need for cooperative intelligence and political action to mobilize mainstream ... Islamic moderates have local concerns ... Western misunderstanding of Arab patriotism

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