The first research group will conduct an analysis of the relationship between Islamism, social activism, and popular activism, factors that play a key role in democratization, as well as the outbreaks of religious violence in Islamic countries. The group will also study how these factors are linked to economic and social development.
Besides utilizing conventional research methods that apply democratization and civil society theories to the study of the Islamic world, the group aims to establish a new research framework by testing the application of theories such as the public sphere theory, which has recently drawn attention in the United States. On a practical note, we believe it most beneficial to speculate as to how the terminal stage of the Islamist movement will come about and what form it will take, as well as to consider the future of Islam in an era of 'post-fundamentalism.'
The research will involve interregional comparisons by means of cooperative field studies and similar activities, based on a combination of empirical research by sociologists and political scientists and documental research by historians. Cooperative studies that have continued through projects initiated after the Critical Study of the Modern Islamic World will be continued and expanded among the activities of the group. Projects the group will draw from will include the Composite and Relative Study of Religious and Popular Movements in Modern Islamic Areas. This was represented by Masatoshi Kisaichi, conducted from 2002 to 2004, and funded by the Grant-In-Aid for Scientific Research program B. The group will also draw from the Study of Religious and Regional Conflicts, and Social Movements Pertaining to Islam-With a view towards the Resolution of Dichotomies, where the project coordinator was Masatoshi Kisaichi, and which was conducted from 2002 to 2006, under the auspices of the Towards Area-Based Global Studies (AGLOS) Sophia University COE program.
Principal research topics will be decided annually and cooperative field studies conducted each summer, while quarterly seminars will form the core of the regular research activities. International workshops may also be organized depending on the accumulation of research.