Publication

This publication examines empirically whether majority-Muslim societies suffer higher levels of human rights violations and political terror relative to others. The results show that countries with larger shares of Catholics fare far worse than all others. A discrete variable measuring membership in the Organization of the Islamic Conference predicts lower levels of political terror. The authors argue that the claims about the unique features of Islam in accounting for political repression seem to be highly exaggerated. They find that it is the Arab region, not religion, that matters, and that political and economic factors matter more than cultural ones.