Islam David Streight RSiSS co-director Course taught to juniors and seniors One semester Description This course was designed to introduce secondary school students to the world's fastest growing religion in such a way that they might see its relationship to Judaism and Christianity and become aware of both the beauties Islam has to offer and some of the problems our world faces today in its interaction with the youngest of the major religious traditions. The early part of the course is quite historical: an introduction to pre-Islamic Arabia, to Muhammad's revelations, and to the early years after the death of the Prophet. We then look at doctrinal issues and the Qur'an, before a study of divisions within Islam (primarily the development of Shi'ite Islam, and the development and expression of Islamic mysticism: Sufism. Resources: Texts: Caesar E. Farah Islam Farid ud-din Attar, Conference of the Birds (Penguin edition) Alfred Morabia, Jihad in Medieval Islam (in preparation, Notre Dame University Press) ( Videos: The Message (this film, not widely available but "findable" some places, does a great job presenting the culture of early Islam and Muhammad's difficulties establishing his mission. It is strange to be a film about the Prophet without ever showing either him or his closest "companions," but I consider it to be a valuable resource for this course). I also tend to show the beautiful video titled Ramadan, Fast of Faith (see review on our site). And, the CD from Michael Sells' book is a nice addition for the introduction to the Qur'an. General Outline and Major Assignments Part I Cultural and Historical Context Pre-Islamic Arabia The Quraysh tribe and Meccan economy Muhammad and the Message Early difficulties in establishing Islam The flight to Medina The early caliphs Paper I: The early caliphs Early splits: the "party of Ali" and the Sunnis The Kharijites Part II Doctrine The Five Pillars of Islam Islamic virtures The Quran and hadith (use the CD in Michael Sells’ book Approaching the Qur’an) Women in Islam the concept of jihad Marriage and divorce Part III Divisions within/Branches of Islam: The Shiite split: Twelvers Zaydis Ismailis Paper II: The Divisions of Shia and their development The Wahabbis Ahmadiyya Part IV Islamic Mysticism The shaykh and the student Music and Art Ibn al-’Arabi Rumi Rabia al-Ghazzali Paper III: The development of Sufism and its major figures Final Exam Important Questions What difficulties did Muhammad face in spreading his message? What criteria have Muslims traditionally used in making important decisions regarding their faith and how to act within its context? What changes did Islam bring about in Arabian culture? What social and other forces contributed to the split between Shi'ite and Sunni Islam? How does mysticism appear, and why does it appear in Islam? What cultural contributions did Sufism, with its base in Islam, make to the world? Major Assignments I have tended to keep assignments in this course quite factual. There are three papers assigned (4 to 5 pages in length), but none of them asks the same critical thinking skills or creativity I might ask in another course. The first paper is a summary: early Islam and the first caliphs (including difficulties raised in the ways they were selected and the ways they died). The second paper is about Shi'ism and how it developed. It should include differences between the major sects (Twelvers, Zaydis, and Ismailis, at least); and the third does something similar with the development of Sufism and the major figures of Sufism. What I really want is for students to leave this course with an appreciation for the richness within Islam and the ability to articulate this richness to their acquaintances who might know less about the religion. Schedule week 1: Introduction to pre-Islamic Arabia and Mecca week 2 Muhammad, the early revelations, difficulties with the Quraysh weeks 3-4: The hijra to Medina, and establishment of the early community weeks 3-5: Basic beliefs and practices; jihad; angels, devils and jinn; eschatology weeks 6-7: The early caliphate; Ali weeks 8-10: Shi'ite Islam and its development; Zaydis, Ismailis, and Twelvers weeks 11-13: Islamic mysticism, origins and development of Sufism week 14-16: Legal schools; Bahais, Ahmadiyya, Druzes; issues of modernity Evaluation the three papers described above two or three exams final exam Questions? contact me: David Streight Return to RSiSS Syllabi