Intelligent and informative at a macro level. Effective for those with no historical background to the Middle East (ME). It's a good crash course to understanding why the ME is a liquid place (not stable).

Complete and excelent course... I recommended fully

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.

very good

Excellent. Thorough. Helps one see the bigger picture and the nature of the problems facing the Muslim world in regard to constitutional issues and governance.

One of the greatest courses I've ever meant. It expanded my sight more than I thought. I hope more courses like this will be available from now on... it helps the Ocident Civilization to be less prejudiced.

Very comprehensive, and well structured course.

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!

Awesome course! Highly informative, analytical and covering a huge span of contrioversial issues in atactful manner.

Great in depth course from Copenhagen University - This course is so good that it made me go back to the university to study a second master in risk and security management at University of Copehagen. Even that I left university with my M.Pa. 20 years ago.

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.

Amazing course.

Awesome course, very well presented and formative. I recommend this course to anyone that want to understand the situation in the middle east, very well done

thank you

A very interesting and inspiring course that I can recommend warmly.

I have attended 24 courses on Coursera and this one is the worst by far. It is such a pity. I was very much looking forward to attending it. The course is poorly designed (for example, the lecturer doesn't begin by explaining what Islam is, what distinguish shiites and sunnis...). The lecturer makes almost no use of the media (apart from him reading his notes we only see a picture and a title from time to time), he is unbearably slow, stumbles on words (why didn't they re-shoot some of these sequences???). His course is an almost uninterrupted flow of words, with very little effort to hierarchize the claims he makes (slides would have helped doing just that), and, what is worst, he repeats himself time and again. His ideas are half-backed, as if he lacked the time to think things through. I have attended two weeks of the course and am amazed by how little I have learned. Don't loose your time watching this. Check out the books in the collection "Very Short Introductions to" instead. I have found them very helpful. It's such a pity...

Cours excellent et passionnant.

Il aurait, néanmoins, gagné en clarté en synthétisant et en structurant. Il nécessite de disposer d'un temps d'apprentissage très conséquent.

As an International Relations student I must say this was an extremely useful course. I am very satisfied with the result and with the way that the Prof. Afsah approached each lesson. Congratulations!

Excellent 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.

Very broad yet detailed description of a crucial cultural, economic and diplomatic area.

Excellent and far reaching course

Very comprehensive overview about the topic. The instructor is clearly enthusiastic about the course and gives a wide overview. Intellectually very stimulating.

Great class, the instructor gave a nuances and constructive overview of the different patterns of governance in different Muslim majority countries.

I am studying International Relations and this course is an excellent option for me to learn more about the muslim world.