This course examines the multifaceted relationship between religion and politics, with a particular focus on the Muslim world. It explores how religious beliefs, ideologies, institutions, and movements shape political behavior, governance, and state-society relations. The course engages with contemporary debates on secularization, democracy, authoritarianism, nationalism, social movements, and conflict, analyzed through both theoretical frameworks and empirical case studies. The first half of the semester adopts a comparative perspective on religion and politics across different regions, religious traditions, and thematic issues, covering topics such as secularism, nationalism, state-building, and religion’s role in democratic and authoritarian settings. The second half shifts focus to religion and politics in the Muslim World, examining the historical evolution of political Islam, its interaction with democracy and authoritarianism, and contemporary debates on Islamist movements, governance, and post-Islamism. By combining theoretical discussions with empirical case studies, the course equips students with analytical tools to understand the dynamic interplay between religion and political systems.