REL 108: Introduction to Islam T, R 1:00-2:30 p.m. 111 Richdonor Hall

Spring 2006 Brian Moynihan, Instructor Office Hours M, W 2:00-3:00 p.m. and by appointment Email: [email protected]

Course Description

This course will provide an introduction to the diversity of Muslim traditions and expressions. We will explore the continuities and discontinuities between different forms of Islam in different places and times, emphasizing the ways in which similar figures and motifs are reinterpreted by different communities. We will also pay close attention to the complex relationship between Islamic concepts, practices, and experiences, and parse them from Islamicate- or less explicitly religious- elements in Muslim societies. The course begins by situating Islamic studies in its wider context, both in the present day and historically. It then develops by exploring the central concepts and practices of Islam and some of the different forms they have taken over time. The course will conclude with an inquiry into some of the ways in which Islam has been represented in the American context and some concerns of Muslims and Islamic scholars in the modern world. We will encounter Islam through various means (the use of primary sources, scholarly articles, art and material culture) cultivating an awareness of our own position as interpreters of these texts, and asking ourselves how we shape and are shaped by our encounter with Islamic literature and Muslim communities.

Objectives 1. Understanding both continuities of principles and practices central to Islam and the vast diversity of Islamic and Islamicate expression around the world and over time. 2. Exploring terminology and concepts basic to the academic study of Religion. 3. Fulfilling the University's liberal arts requirements by developing the capacity for critical readings of texts, strong academic writing, and the development of well-supported arguments. Prerequisites There are no prerequisites for this class.

Grading Grading will be based on: 1. A geography quiz (3 points) 2. A series of short response papers to be posted on Blackboard (10 responses, 1 point each) 3. A 6 to 8 page paper on a relevant topic of interest to each student (35 points) 4. A 5 page ethnographic survey of a site visit to a local Muslim group (10 points) 5. Regular class participation (10 points) 6. A final exam (32 points)

1. Geography Quiz (3 points): Given during the second week of class to test geographic knowledge of some key sites in both the Middle East and the principal countries of the modern world where Islam has spread.

2. Response to weekly readings (10 points): As part of preparation for class discussions, students will be required to write a 200-word response to the week’s reading. The response should be thoughtful, and include at least one quotation with its page number. Each student is required to respond 10 times over the 14 weeks. Responses are worth one point each, up to a total of 10. Responses are due by 11 a.m. each Thursday. Late responses will not be accepted.

3. Topic Paper (35 points): Each student will be required to complete a 6 to 8 page paper based on a topic relevant to Islam that interests them. The paper will be graded on a variety of points, including strength of argumentation and structure, use of evidence, and the clarity of the writing, with an additional focus on grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Acceptable topics include: Enlightenment in the Poetry of Rumi, Egypt: Islam and Political Action, Women in Early Islam, Anthropological representations of Islam, Islamic Calligraphy, Changes in Muslim Sacred Architecture During Its Development in Northern Africa, Imam as Spiritual Authority, Islamic Ethics, Islam in American Slave Narratives, Islamic/Jewish Relations in Medieval Spain, etc.

However, students are encouraged to talk with the professor to find a relevant topic that would suit their personal interests.

Some online guides to writing academic papers: 1. “Writing Resources”: http://www.english.uga.edu/writingcenter/writing/index.html 2. “Writing the Religion Paper”: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/humanities/religion.html

4. Site Visit Paper (10 points): Students will visit a local Muslim group, either as a class on a trip planned for Saturday, February 2 or at another time organized by and for each individual student. In response to their visit, students will be required to write a 5 page response paper. Each paper needs to address a theme (music, ritual, space, movement, etc) and construct a thesis around that theme. Students will draw upon their experience and their knowledge of Islamic history and practice to support their thesis.

5. Participation (10 points): In order to get full credit for participation, a student must regularly attend class, come prepared with the text and reading notes, and participate in the class discussions.

6. Final Exam (32 points): The final exam will consist of a mix of multiple- choice questions (12 points), identification of terms (10 points) and a short essay (10 points). A sheet of terms and topics for review will be given towards the end of the term, and students will have the chance to ask review questions during the final class session.

______Required Texts Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X ($7.99 new or $0.75 used) ***to be read by April 11*** An Introduction to Islam by Frederick Mathewson Denny, ($79.80 new, $18.80 used) Approaching the Quran by Michael Sells ($22.95 new, $7.00 used)

Standard Reference Works in the Library The Encyclopedia of Islam Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam Encyclopedia of Religion

Websites Islamic Studies Resources, from Alan Godlas: http://www.uga.edu/islam/home.html Islamic Studies Resources, Carl Ernst: http://www.unc.edu/%7Ecernst/resources.htm ______

Course Syllabus

Week 1 Initial Orientation

T Jan. 15 Introduction

R Jan 17 Perceptions of Muslims -Ernst, Following Muhammad, Ch. 1 (BB) -Maududi, “Purdah and the Status of Women in Islam” selection (BB) Check out these Web sites: -Evangelical anti-Islamic material: http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/islam.htm -Jack Chick conversion comic: http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0042/0042_01.asp. -Muslim responses to 9/11/01: http://groups.colgate.edu/aarislam/response.htm

Week 2 Preliminaries to The Study of Islam

T Jan 22 Orientalism? Clash of Civilizations? **Geography Quiz** -Said, Orientalism, Ch. 1 (BB) -Huntington, “Clash of Civilizations,” p. 22-49 (BB)

R Jan. 24 Pre-Islamic Scene -Denny 1-56

Week 3 Muhammad T Jan. 29 -Denny 59-82

R Jan. 31 -Denny 83-104 -(skim) Peters, “Quest for the Historical Muhammad,” p. 291-315 (BB)

**Saturday, Feb. 2- Class Site Visit To Local Islamic Center**

Week 4 Central Tenets of Islam

T Feb. 15 Film: The Five Pillars -Denny,107-136 -Khurshid Ahmad, 44-58 (BB)

R Feb. 17 -Renard, 74-78, 85-92, 65-74 (BB)

Week 5 The Qu'ran

T Feb. 5 **Site Visit Paper Due** -Denny 138-171 -Renard, 55-59 (BB) -Listen to at least 20 minutes of the Sells CD

R Feb. 7 -Sells, 1-40,150-151,156-157, 165-173 -Qur’an 3:33-73 and 19:1-40 and Luke, Ch. 1-4 at: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ and: http://www.blueletterbible.org/ After reading, make parallel columns and write down the differences between the qur’anic and biblical versions of the Mary and Jesus story and bring it to class.

Week 6 Islamic Law

T Feb. 19 -Denny 195-215 -Wurth, 320-340 (BB)

R Feb. 21 -In-class debate -Powers, “Kadijustiz or Qadi-justice?” 332-366 (BB) -Messick, The Calligraphic State, 167-186 (BB)

Week 7 Shi'ism

T Feb. 26 Film: Waiting for the Hidden Imam -Denny 313-316 -Pinault, 3-46 (BB) -Qur'anic interpretation: http://alislam1.org/encyclopedia/chapter1b/9.html

R Feb. 28 -Betteridge, “Women and Shrines in Shiraz,” 239-247 (BB) -Pinault, 29-55 (BB)

Week 8 Sufism

T Mar. 5 Film: I am Sufi I am Muslim -Denny, Ch. 10, 11

R Mar. 7 -Ernst, Following Muhammad, 164-181 (BB) - http://www.rumi.net/rumi_by_shiva.htm (Read Quatrains, Odes, Whirling, Rumi in Persian. You can download MP3s from http://www.lovedrunk.com/ to hear a modern interpretation.)

Week 9 Spring Break

Week 10 Women in Islam T Mar. 19 Video: Islamic Conversations: Women and Islam -Bynum, “Gender and Religion,” (BB) -Ahmed, “Women and the Rise of Islam,” (BB)

R Mar. 21 -Ahmed, “The Mediterranean Middle East,” (BB) -Read position papers on female genital mutilation and gender equality at the Muslim Women’s League Web site: http://www.mwlusa.org/welcome.html

Week 11 Islam and Anthropology I

T Mar. 26 ***Topic Paper Draft Submitted for Peer Review*** Film: The Backward Civilization -el-Zein, “Beyond Ideology and Theology,” 227-254 (BB)

R Mar. 28 ***Topic Paper Draft Returned*** -Asad, “The Idea of an Anthropology of Islam,” (BB)

Week 12 Islam and Anthropology II

T Apr. 2 -Geertz, Islam Observed, Ch. 1 (BB)

R Apr. 4 ***Topic Paper Due*** -Varisco, Islam Obscured, Ch. 1, 2, 5 (BB)

Week 13 Muslims in America I

T Apr. 9 Slavery and Immigration Film: Islam in America -Nyang, 7-53 (BB)

R Apr. 11 -Panel discussion with the campus Muslim Student's Organization -Nyang, 55-147 (BB)

Week 14 Muslims in America II

T Apr. 14 Islam in the African-American Experience

R Apr. 16 Discussion of The Autobiography of Malcolm X ***Autobiography of Malcolm X to be read by this date*** -Final exam review sheets passed out during class

Week 15 (Post-)Modern Muslim Movements

T Apr. 23 -Film: Control Room (Excerpt) -Denny, Ch. 14 -Safi, Ch. 1 (BB)

R Apr. 25 -Review for Exam -Safi, Ch. 2, 13 (BB)

Week 16

T Apr. 30 ***Final Exam***

______Format The format of the class will consist of two sessions per week that will include a mix of lecture and discussion, with occasional snippets from movies. I am envisioning a class of mixed grades with a class size of around 20 students. The class could also be adapted for a larger seminar by modifying the format to push discussion sections to a classes held on Fridays run by teaching assistants.

My Goals in this course In addition to my earlier-stated objectives, I would also like to do the following: 1. Incorporating visual (maps, photos, paintings), audio (sound recordings) touchable (objects, etc.) and multimedia resources to round out the experience of lectures and discussions. 2. Facilitating a critical understanding of the way that Muslims are perceived and mis-perceived, fostering a critical understanding of texts and a sense of self-reflexivity. 3. Exposing students to a diversity of scholarly approaches to Religion: lived religion, doctrine, art, material culture, etc. 4. Showing the interconnectivity that ties Religious Studies to other disciplines and the importance of this field of study to a liberal arts education. 5. Having the material play multiple roles, so that themes discussed in one part of the class (role of women, continuity and cultural change, conflicting discourses, etc.) resonate and continue to be rediscovered in other parts of the class.

Repeating themes Insider/outsider debate, role of women, change over time, repetition of religious symbols, contested ideas, ties with historical context, personal reflexivity

Preparation In Preparation for this course, I plan to: 1. Have a crash course of reading, including a review of Hodgson 2. Join the Islam Listserv (or multiple), posing some questions and keeping up to date on some current issues. 3. Talk to my friends in the field. Networking is your greatest information ally.