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Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA)

Forums, think tanks & standards · A think tank on the Muslim world's global standing

The Center for Islam and Global Affairs is an Istanbul-based academic think tank that researches the geopolitics and international relations of the Muslim world.

At a glance

Based atIstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Turkey
Typeindependent academic think tank
Focusgeopolitics, international relations, the Ummah

Based at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, CIGA conducts and publishes research on the systemic challenges facing the Muslim-majority world — questions of geopolitics, decolonisation, international order and the collective standing of the global Muslim community (the Ummah). It convenes conferences, hosts scholars and produces analyses aimed at both academic and policy audiences.

As an independent, university-based centre it approaches these subjects from a distinct intellectual standpoint rather than as an arm of any government, and it is one of a number of research institutions that have made Istanbul a hub for the study of Muslim-world affairs. Its work engages debates on international relations theory as well as current events.

CIGA is representative of a wider ecosystem of think tanks — some official, some independent — that analyse the politics and future of the Muslim world; Chronicle lists several of the most prominent in this section.

Related in Chronicle

Curated reference on Islamic belief and thought. On matters where traditions differ, positions are attributed rather than adjudicated; verify points of doctrine with qualified scholars.