Book List:
The Sublime Quran , tr. Laleh Bakhtiar
OR
The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary
Omid Safi, Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters
Stephen Shoemaker, The Death of a Prophet: The End of Muhammad’s Life and the Beginnings of Islam
John Renard, Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood
** Additional readings posted on Canvas.
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Syllabus
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Introduction to Islam
Winter 2016
Hybrid
Instructor: Dr. Sophia Arjana
E-mail: sarjana@iliff.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment Only
This is an introductory course on Islamic history, theology, and culture that provides a basic knowledge of the vast set of traditions known collectively as “Islam.” We will attempt to understand Islam not as a strict set of rituals or as a collective identity, but as a mosaic of practices and traditions shaped by 1,400 years of engagement with societies around the globe, from Arabia to Europe. It is through this attention to the diversity of beliefs and practices that exist among the 1.6 billion people who identify as Muslims that we will come to a more nuanced understanding of what Islam is and is not. This course places a special emphasis on personal piety, as expressed in religious narratives, dreams, visions, and other signs from Allah and those close to the Divine.
Learning Goals
In this course students will learn to:
Identify key themes and concepts in Islamic theology.
Identify the major figures in formative Islamic history.
Understand some of the ways in which Islam is connected to the Jewish and Christian traditions.
Identify the numerous sects and sub-traditions that fall under the umbrella of Islam.
Course Procedures and Evaluation
Online Posts: 20%
This course provides a comprehensive view of the Islamic tradition in ten weeks. It is imperative that students keep up with the lectures and the readings (including selections from the Qur’an). Weekly questions on the text are posted in this syllabus and all students should participate in the class discussions generated by these questions in weekly online forums (weeks one through nine). Participation counts for 20% of your grade and is based on your contributions online. This roughly works out to two points per week.
You are required to post a response to the question prompt by Tuesday noon and a second response to a classmate’s posting (called a “response-post”) by Thursday noon. Each post and response-post should be a minimum of 50 words and is worth a total of 2 points.
One Paper: 30%
Each student is required to write one paper, 5 pages each in length (Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, cited with Chicago Style).
** Assignments submitted late will result in a point deduction.
Gathering Days Group Projects: 30%
Each group must create a project for Gathering Days that looks at a particular topic. A list of suggested topics is provided below (but you can go beyond these – just check with me first). When we meet, you will spend time looking at these projects. These can be textual, visual, or auditory but should not be a “paper.” For example, you could create a diagram that shows the distribution of the Muslim population in the world. Or, you could construct a computer model of a masjid (mosque). Or, create a compilation of Islamic religious music (such as Maher Zain).
Topic Ideas:
Muslims and Arabs
Islamic Sacred Architecture
Muslim Pop Music
Islam in Asia
American Muslims
Malcolm X
The Veil
Geometry, Numbers, and Cosmology
Islam, Food, and Culture
The All-Female Mosque (in China, Indonesia, Iran, etc)
Islamic Fashion
Sandow Birk/American Qur’an
The 99 (comic)
Grading : Grading is very straightforward for this class. However, if you are ever worried email me. I am always happy to let you know how you are doing. This is a very large class, so large that it is in two sections so be patient with me as I return emails (but I am usually lightning fast!).
A Note on Online Materials
In addition to the readings posted online there will often be supplemental materials. Some of these will be more critical than others. For example, the terminology list I post at the beginning of the quarter is indispensable. Other materials such as YouTube clips and links to blogs will support your learning but are not as critical. Just try and utilize as many of these resources as you can.
The Sublime Quran , tr. Laleh Bakhtiar
OR
The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary
Omid Safi, Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters
Stephen Shoemaker, The Death of a Prophet: The End of Muhammad’s Life and the Beginnings of Islam
John Renard, Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood
** Additional readings posted on Canvas.
Note for Students with Disabilities:
Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs. Students are encouraged to contact their assigned adviser to initiate the process of requesting accommodations.
Week One (January 4-8): A Few Starting Points
Lecture: The Five Pillars (or Not)
Readings: Safi, 1-95, Shoemaker (Ch.1), Qur’an 1 (Al Fatiha)
Discussion Week #1 : Which of the following Islamic concepts do you find most interesting, surprising, or compelling: ‘ asabiyya , taqwa , Asma al - Husna , karim , ‘ irfan , salama / Islam , Tawhid ? How does it inform your understanding of Islam?
Week Two (January 11-15): Early Islamic History
Lecture: The Rashidun, The Sunni/Shi’a Split
Readings: Safi, 97-163, Shoemaker (Ch. 1- cont.), Qur’an 39:53
Discussion Week #2 : Focus on mercy and forgiveness. Look at Safi’s book and one other source. This second source could be the film, or you could look at Islamic music, art, or other artistic venture. A good source for Islamic art can be found at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s online collection. Or, perhaps you would like to look at the music of Maher Zain or Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Be prepared to have a conversation with others in class about why you found your example of mercy/forgiveness interesting.
Week Three (January 18-22): Al Qur’an and the Law
Lecture: Compilation/Dis-Organization, al Qur’an in Ritual/Identity, Law
Readings: Safi, 165-193, Shoemaker (Ch. 2), Qur’an 24:53
Optional Reading: Scott Lucas, “The Sahāba in Classical Muslim Theory and Practice”
Discussion Week #3 : Using this brief chapter and Surah 24:35, also known as The Light Verse, reflect on the Mi’raj. Comment on why this is such an important narrative in the Islamic tradition. What does it tell you about the Islamic concept of Divine knowledge?
Week Four (January 25-29): Varieties of Islamic Experience
Lecture: Sunnis and Shi’as, Ismailis, Alevis, Sufis, and Other Muslims
Readings: Safi, 195-215, “Ismā’īlī Contributions to Islamic Culture,” Qur’an 30:22, Qur’an 18:60 (on Khidr, the un-named companion to Musa/Moses)
Discussion Week #4 : Using three of the following—Safi’s text, the lecture, and the film or an outside source, be prepared to discuss either inter-religious differences (such as the Biblical and Qur’anic accounts of the crucifixion) or intra-religious differences (compare the Sunnis and the Alevis, for example).
Week Five (February 1-5): The Muhammadi Ethic/Sufism
Lecture: Sufism
Readings: Safi, 217-294, Shoemaker (Ch. 3), Qamar-ul Huda, “Memory, Performance, and Poetic Peacemaking in Qawwālī,” Qur’an 24:35
GATHERING DAYS
Week Six (February 8-12): Prophethood
Lecture: Prophethood in Islam
Reading: Renard, 235-257, 1-89, Shoemaker (Conclusion), CHOOSE ONE: Qur’an 10 (Jonah), 12 (Joseph), 14 (Ibrahim), or 19 (Maryam)
Discussion Week #6 : Reflect upon one of the following for class. Option One: Reflect upon the birth narrative of Yusuf (Joseph), Ibrahim (Abraham), Nuh (Noah), Isa (Jesus) in the Muslim tradition and in your own. What do you find similar and what are some key differences? Option Two: Asceticism is a feature of several Muslim figures (some of whom are also important in the Christian tradition), such as Yahya (John the Baptist). Reflect on John’s role in both traditions or on a Muslim saint such as Rabia or the more controversial Hallaj .
Week Seven (February 15-19): Personal Piety – Prayer
Lecture: Salat (Daily Supplications), Du’a and Supplementary Prayers
Reading: Renard, 91-163, Qur’an 54:1-2
Discussion Week #7 : Examine one of these two topics: (1) miracles or (2) death. If you choose to focus on miracles, keep in mind that the Qur’an is often presented as Islam’s one “miracle,” but here we have an assembly of miracles—the disappearing door, the three coins, the miraculous powers of animals (birds, dogs, donkeys). If you focus on the subject of death, you might reflect upon the meaning of “Die Before You Die,” or wish to discuss the miraculous events that are associated with the death of saints and their tombs.
Week Eight (February 22-26): Personal Piety – Poverty
Lecture: Zakat (Charity)
Reading: Renard, 165-250, Qur’an 2 (entire Surah)*
*Read Surah 2 over weeks eight and nine
Discussion Week #8 : Holy places, ranging from tombs and shrines to Jerusalem and Mecca, is the focus of this chapter. For this discussion, I would like you, as a class, to choose what aspect of this broad subject to discuss. For example, perhaps you want to discuss the tombs of saints and post some images of these sites. Or, maybe you are interested in Islamic martyrdom narratives and would like to compare these to stories of Christian martyrs.
Week Nine (February 29-March 4): Personal Piety – Pilgrimage
Lecture: Hajj and Pilgrimage in Islam
Images of Pilgrimage Sites in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey
Reading: Renard, 251-289, Shoemaker (Ch. 4), Khalid Sindawi, “Visit to the Tomb of Al-Husayn B. ‘Alī in Shiite Poetry: First to Fifth Century AH (8 th -11 th Centuries CE),” Qur’an 2 (entire surah)
Discussion Week #9 : Due to the fact that your papers are due next Friday, this week is reserved for your writing.
Week Ten (March 7-11): Student Paper Colloquium
Each student will write a paper on the following subject. The paper is due the Friday of this week, March 11 th , at 4 p.m.
During Gathering Days we will view the film by Bahman Ghobadi titled Half-Moon ( Niwemang ). For this paper, explore one of the following in relationship to the film and our course readings.
Pilgrimage
Sufism
Gender
Music
Death
Paper Due via email to sarjana@iliff.edu by 4 p.m. on Friday March 11 th , 2016
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