Shadi Hamid (born 1983) is an American author and political scientist, who is currently a columnist at the Washington Post.[1] From 2023 to 2024, he was a member of the Editorial Board of the Post. Previously, he was a longtime senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing writer at the Atlantic.[2] He also holds the position of research professor of Islamic studies at Fuller Seminary. This appointment is the first time a Muslim scholar has been hired in the school's history.[3] He has been called a "prominent thinker on religion and politics" in the New York Times[4] and was named as one of "The world's top 50 thinkers" in 2019 by Prospect Magazine.[5] He is known for coining the phrase "Islamic exceptionalism" to describe Islam's resistance to secularization and outsized role in public life. The phrase has come under some criticism.[6][7]
Felbab-Brown, Vanda; Trinkunas, Harold; Hamid, Shadi (2018). Militants, Criminals and Warlords: The Challenge of Local Governance in an Age of Disorder. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. ISBN978-0-8157-3189-4.[13]
Hamid, Shadi (2016). Islamic Exceptionalism: How the struggle over Islam is reshaping the world. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. ISBN978-1-250-06101-0. OCLC933446666.[15]
Hamid, Shadi (2014). Temptations of Power: Islamists and illiberal democracy in a new Middle East. New York: Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN978-0-19-931405-8. OCLC870994390.[16]
Hamid, Shadi (2023). The problem of democracy: America, the Middle East, and the rise and fall of an idea. Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-757946-6.
Wisdom of Crowds (podcast)
The Wisdom of Crowds podcast started in 2019, with Hamid as a co-host.[17][18]
Reception
Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping the World was shortlisted for the 2017 Lionel Gelber Prize.[19]Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East was named a Foreign Affairs "Best Book of 2014."[20]
Quamar, Md. Muddassir. "Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping the World by Shadi Hamid (review)". Strategic Analysis. 41 (6): 599–601. doi:10.1080/09700161.2017.1377898. S2CID158572545.
Ruthven, Malise (September–October 2016). "Mosque and State: The Future of Political Islam". Foreign Affairs. 95 (5): 142–148. JSTOR43946965.
Johnston, David L. (July 5, 2016). "Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East, written by Shadi Hamid (review)". Sociology of Islam. 4 (3). Brill: 303–306. doi:10.1163/22131418-00403007. ISSN2213-140X.
Brown, Nathan J. (Summer 2015). "A Struggle for Power: Islamism and Democracy". Middle East Journal. 69 (3): 463–467. JSTOR43698263.