Mohammad Salih Mustafa

• Doctor of Philosophy
• HoD at Tishk International University

Student enrolment in Political Science, International Relations and Diplomacy (IRD) is alarmingly low. In order to tackle this problem, this research aims to first determine the causes behind the decline in student enrollment in Political Science, International Relations, and Diplomacy programmes. Secondly, to explore the cultural, economic, and ed...

This article explores the ideological motivations for ISIS's prejudice against the Kurds. From the group's inception, ISIS has rejected any kind of understanding of Islam but its own. However, its animosity toward Kurds has its own purpose and foundations, separate from its religious dogmas. The aim of this article is to study the reasons behind it...

The plight of Kurdish refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom is highlighted in this paper, focussing especially on those whose asylum applications have been refused by the Home Office. Possible solutions are suggested that satisfy the asylum seekers themselves, the UK Home Office, and the Kurdistan Region and Iraq-their home country. The...

This study aimed to explore the concept of religious nationalism as a new trend among the Islamic political parties of the Middle East, with a focus on their emergence into nation states. The importance of this issue stems from the fact that, over the last century, the establishment of territorial nation states in the Middle East has faced many cha...

This chapter looks at the role of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) in Kurdish nationalism. Nationalism, for many Islamists, especially those in non-political parties, is a non-Islamic ideology, and is labelled the product of western imperialists attempting to cause fragmentation and differences in the Islamic umma (community). However, by looking...

This chapter is dedicated to the general affairs of the Kurds, from first embracing Islam to the dawn of religious nationalism. It will cover the introduction of Islam into Kurdistan and the Kurds’ reaction to the new religion and threats to their existence during that time, under occupation by the Sassanid Empire. A main theme of this chapter is t...

This chapter will focus on the conclusion of political strife and revolution in Southern Kurdistan and its de facto self-rule, which transpired after the 1991 uprising. The rise of religious nationalism, from preaching to politics, will also be discussed, as will religious nationalism and the phases witnessed during this phenomenon. The chapter is...

This chapter will argue that the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) has evolved from a traditional Islamic pattern, caring about Islamic feelings more than anything else, to the level of a political party that concentrates on regional needs, with reference to Islam. This argument will be based on the themes presented in the introduction to this volume.1...

Exploring a new political phenomenon in the Middle East, this book studies the reconciliation of nationalism and Islamism by Islamic political parties in the context of nation states. Islamism in Kurdistan has become significantly framed by the politics of nationalism. Although the concept of religious nationalism has been discussed substantially b...

This report attempts to highlight the role of Iran in the Kurdistan region, and examines its influence in the region over the period preceding and following the establishment of the Islamic republic in 1979. Iran has political interests in this region, unlike its ideological interest elsewhere. These interests will no doubt change as Iran’s politic...