By Patrick T. Brown | Correspondent 

The rising tide of Islamic fundamentalism has raised many questions about democracy and the rule of law in the Middle East.

What does it mean to live in a country or region ruled by Sharia law? What makes a nation more or less likely to develop a theocratic regime? What impact might a nation ruled by a totalitarian Islamist government have on U. S. foreign policy? 

A member of the U.S. Armed Forces might have one set of answers to those questions, a graduate student in the Princeton University sociology department might have a different perspective. Attendees and parishioners at a faith formation talk held in St. Paul Parish, Princeton, had the opportunity to hear from both of those perspectives Oct. 12.

Cdr. Andrew Ledford, a former member of the U.S. Navy who is studying for his doctorate in sociology at Princeton, spoke on “Political Islam: ISIS, Iran, and the Spectrum of Islamist Moderation.” His talk focused on the growth of Sharia law – that is, a legal system based on the Koran – and fundamentalism in the Middle East. When it comes to the Middle East, he said, “There is an ongoing struggle in Islam as to how much Sharia law should be incorporated in the state.

“When you think about ISIS, that is one far end of the spectrum [of theocratic authoritarianism]…There’s no way you can confuse that with the diversity of the faith in different countries,” Ledford said.

The lecture was part of St. Paul’s ongoing adult faith enrichment speaker series, which offers parishioners a chance to intellectually engage with a number of subjects intersecting with and influenced by faith. Claire Gmachl, who organizes lectio divina at the parish and helped facilitate the series, said that the topic was specifically chosen because of interest in the issue of Islamic extremism and the rise of ISIS.

“The series casts a broad net, from spirituality and Church teachings to history and politics and more,” Gmachl said. “In selecting topics, we listen to our parishioners. Something that repeatedly came up was a desire to better understand the origins of violence in some parts of the Middle East, including violence toward Christians.”

In his lecture, Ledford focused on the forms of government in the Middle East, and the relative levels of Sharia law in various countries. He presented a matrix that measured different nations’ level of Islam in the state and the level of puritanical belief in Sharia law.

At one extreme of the graph was ISIS, at the other was Turkey – a situation Ledford said is in danger of changing in the near future.

Ledford “gave us a sober-minded explanations of how nations become radicalized,” Gmachl said. “I was specifically moved by his concerns for Turkey and its recent failed military coup.”

Michael Conway and his wife, KellyAnn, used to attend St. Paul’s before moving to South Brunswick. Conway said he appreciated the fact that the parish was offering a chance to grow both spiritually and intellectually.

“The warnings he gave about Turkey were really relevant,” he said.

“[Ledford] was really informative, I thought he really knew his stuff and I’m glad I had the chance to learn more,” KellyAnn Conway said. “We are facing unprecedented threats these days, and it’s important to learn about these different nations and ISIS.”

The lecture was followed by a question-and-answer session and a reception that allowed attendees to continue the discussion. That opportunity to participate in an ongoing conversation is a key component of the speaker series, which runs monthly through June 2017.

Future talks in the adult faith enrichment speaker series include “Tools for the Spiritual Journey,” by Sister of St. Joseph Trudy Ahern, co-director of the Upper Room, in November; “Religious Liberty: Development of Church Teaching at Vatican II,”by Prof. Robert George of Princeton University, February, 2017, and “Trinity and Human Transformation,” by Order of Friars Minor Father Richard Rohr, which will be in May 2017.

For more information, visit www.stpaulsofprinceton.org.