Brilliant professor, with an intellectually rigorous, subtle, in-depth and wide ranging approach to unfolding a complex and at times controversial subject. I appreciate the numerous references to history, philosophy and economics, which balance the discussions of the place of religion in state institutions and policy. The legal framework was a treasure trove. Many thanks to Professor Afsah. I look forward to future courses you offer.

This course is the best online course I have taken. I loved how it was structured, the Professor spoke well and clearly and was extremely knowledgeable, and the readings were well chosen. I highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in learning more about the Middle East, whether you are new, or intermediate. There are a lot of insights you can learn from.

The course was good. But the real situation has been changing drastically. A supplement or extension of course is required to cover the up to date situation about IS activities, syria Iraq etc.

An excellent introduction to the social realities and politics of the Muslim World for inquisitive learners, not only for law students.

Extremely useful and rewarding. The content is really worth the effort to listen and understand.

Excellent course. :)

I must say that this is one of the most inspiring, eye-opening and lucid courses I've ever taken at Coursera. While the emphasis is placed on the social and economic factors that shaped the Muslim societies, thus rendering the religious factor secondary, this course provides an alternative lense in understanding the region. I particularly like the way the instructor challenges the well-established narratives about the region and gives us the empirical/historical facts behind the real causes that shaped the Muslim world as we know it! I have already recommended it to all of my politically-minded friends and would do so the same for everyone else interested in the region or who wants to better understand the news at least :D

Excellent overview on the problem of mixed success in the development of Muslim world under the lens of the development of institutions.

Very rich background in terms of recent history, economy and local culture: colonial past is taken into due consideration.

Due to the fragmentation of the area taken into account, more than remarkable outcome: a must if you want to understand more of a culture and of regions of the worlds tragically on the forefront in many cases.

In addition, the "iranian" (non european) perspective of the instructor brings even more interest into the course.

An excellent companion of the Tel Aviv University Course The Emergence of the Modern Middle East, also available on the platform.

Para poder entender la complejidad del mundo musulmán, necesitamos recibir información sobre su historia, sus sistemas de organización, invasiones de poderes externos y los enfrentamientos internos que a lo largo de los años han sufrido estos países. Es imposible entender la actualidad si no nos damos un tiempo para entender el pasado, y creo que este curso es esencial para empezar a vislumbrar el porqué de tantas luchas y conflictos en la actualidad. Además el curso viene acompañado de una buena selección de libros que nos permiten ahondar en el tema. Todo esto nos ayuda a entender mejor la situación de nuestro mundo, eliminar prejuicios, que buena falta nos hace.

A very thought-engaging and enjoyable course. I learned a lot about the history and contexts of various Muslim countries, the challenges faced by them as well as the practical challenges that Islamic-based political thought have not demonstrably addressed so far. The instructor is very knowledgeable and well-meaning. I like the course's approach of not so much attempting to answer the questions as just a 'tour guide' and an entry point to the much more complex discussion about the topic. I might not agree with everything in the course, and some of his statements might have made me a bit uncomfortable, but overall this is an engaging and insightful course.

I enjoyed this (as my first) coursera course from Ebrahim Afsah. I feel now to have a comprehensive overview about Arabic history and colonial past. I've learned to understand the struggles of the Arab world to be dissatisfied by capitalism and communism. The course also allowed a critical point of view on the missing self-criticism of the Arab World. All in all, although this was a lot of information to take in, i can say that I would love to take other courses by this Professor and his team. It was professional but also entertaining, with good materials and personal insights. Thank you and I believe we will see us again.

It has been an excellent course, really very useful, I am very interesting the way to face the same on the part of the teacher, with a diagram that was very clear and didactic. The development of a theme as complex as this, especially for Westerners who really have little access to reliable sources in the face of the issue, given that we always find political and religious interests hidden behind. Really very good, I am currently attending the course on the failure of democracies after the Arab Spring. A pleasure greetings and I would like to continue investigating on this subject that I am passionate about.

For a survey course, this module does a fantastic job of presenting the various struggles and discourses in the Muslim world, as well as contextualizing its inherent problems both historically and within present-day. It does so objectively, without sacrificing important reflection in the name of political correctness. I recommend this course as a jump-off point for anyone who wants to better understand this topic on an introductory level, or would like to later pursue independent study into more complex or narrow topics. Thank you Professor Afsah!

This is one of the best courses I have ever studied. It gives extensive insight in the political, cultural, historical and institutional backgrond of contemporary muslim countries. It provides sociological and interpretative threads to understand the main challenges met by these peoples in their "clash" with modernity, in a heartful and deeply researched attempt to find a way out of backwardness and radicalization, an attempt that defies radicalized and istitutionalized Islamic views, but also profoundly respects Islam itself.

Really good course, I recommend it to anyone working in the MENA region as a journalist, or business person.

Great presentation of the subject. Professor Afsah's teaching style, insights and critical theory approach combined with pragmatic reflections is very enlightening and useful for me as a journalist working in Islamic nations.

I like the recap checks mid lesson, that's useful, as I'm working and get tired, so it's a good check on my own concentration levels.

Truly excellent course content that really serves as an excellent entry for people new to this field.

My one crib is with the testing methods employed in the course. The quizzes were far too easy and the peer review system does not really give comprehensive feedback. I understand that grading is a huge problem for online education, and I wont claim to have the answers to this, but this really needs to be fixed to help the students learn more.

An absolute masterpiece. Excellent and a very thorough analysis. Very high quality, informative course which might have changed my personal preference in terms of pursuing a doctorate in Law / Islamic Law. Simply, respect and more respect for the Instructor for his oustanding scholarship, especially, for such a controversial and a sensitive subject. But sometimes, what needs to said, just needs to be said without sugar coating!

Taking CSMW is like watching an addictive Netflix series: you cannot let go. The teacher, the content, the delivery, the readings, comments of other students are all exceptional. A better future of the region can and will be built, I am sure. It will mean a better future for Humanity. Whether you are from the region or not, you will benefit from a better understanding of how the past has played its role to shape the present.

I felt this course was fantastic - and it is my opinion that the course should be a requirement for all members of the US Senate and House of Representatives - as they might make less dumb decisions when pedalling democracy in Muslim countries. And I took the course because I felt I could learn a lot. And I did. Thanks to the University, Dr Afsah and Dr Afsah's team for a very pertinent and well done course.

The course is absolutely fantastic. The instructor and the team are well read, approaching topics from a variety of perspectives. The course uses all kinds of texts and materials. If you are into public law, history and social science, this will be great for you. Even if you are a reasonably advanced student, you will learn a lot, and if you are not - it's easy enough for a beginner to understand. Well done.

Dr. Ebrahim Afsah通过这门课程想阐明的一个重要立场是：中东地区目前面临的各种困境不能以“伊斯兰教”这一单一原因来解释，也不能过分归因于外部势力干涉。我们要提防这种最容易得出但过分简化了事实的解释。 每个国家都有其独特的历史，过去的历史，如果没有决定，至少限定了它们未来的走向；每个国家又都有不同的特点，这些特点对其社会、政治体制的影响常常远甚于伊斯兰教对其的影响。这也是为什么十周里教授要一个国家一个国家地梳理，尽可能地向我们展示这一地区的复杂性与多样性。真的是非常棒的一门课，信息量超大，课程负荷也比较重，但真的很有收获。

而且Dr. Ebrahim Afsah是一个在德国长大、在美国接受学术训练而在丹麦用英语授课的伊朗穆斯林，光是这一点就已经足够吸引我想要来听听他有什么要说的了。

这门课在我心中奠定了哥本哈根大学世界一流名校的地位。

This is an outstanding piece of intellectual works that has opened my mind to understand Muslim's world systematically, removed my misconception and enabled me to connect with Muslim in greater openness and love. This is enlightening not only to Muslim worldview, but is relevant to every worldview that in process to harmonize the rationality and reality for better living.

It's been a magnific journey through a very interesting region, in which I have come to better understand the underlying dynamics of the Muslim society. I want to thank wholeheartedly Ebrahim Afsah and his team for their endeavours and their work, I truly appreciate them. Ebrahim and team, you can be proud of your work, a total success. Many, many thanks!!

I recommend this course to anyone interested in the historic background of the current situation in the Middle East. The course gave me an enlightening insight into the origins of many problems in this troubled region. Instead of merely describing historic facts Dr Afsah systematically analyses the historic and political structure of the Middle East.

One of the best self-paced courses I've taken in a while. I would highly recommend to everyone interested in the history of Muslim countries. The course looks not only at the constitutional aspects of development of the Muslim countries, but to their development on the whole! Sign up and prepare yourself for a long, but a very interesting journey!!!