Ulema-State Alliances in Crisis: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Indonesia

ACGIS Guest Lecture with Dr. Ahmet Kuru

Wednesday, April 1, 2026 12:00 PM EDT
Horizon Hall, 3225

Ahmet Kuru’s talk will explore the transformation of relations between religious and political authorities across the Muslim world. Kuru developed the concept of the ulema-state alliance in his 2019 book "Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment." His talk will engage with the following questions: Are ulema-state alliances robust or fragile in various Muslim-majority countries? Do recent protests suggest that the alliance is in decline in Iran? Is MBS challenging the alliance in Saudi Arabia? Does Indonesia represent a model of a soft ulema-state alliance, or is it moving toward a harder version?

About The Author 
Ahmet T. Kuru is the director of Center for Islamic and Arabic Studies and a professor of Political Science at San Diego State University. He is the author of "Secularism and State Policies toward Religion: The United States, France, and Turkey" (Cambridge, 2009). His recent book, Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison (Cambridge 2019) won three awards, was included in the Times Literary Supplement’s Books of the Year, and has been translated into sixteen languages.