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AMIDEAST EducationABroad Progam RELG 335: Women in Syllabus Program Location: Amman, Jordan

Course Description: This course aims to examine the position of . Using a mixture of historical and textual material, this course begins by investigating how the foundational texts of the Islamic faith (the Qur’an and the Hadith) have impacted the lives of women. The course will examine the impact ontologically, legally, and socially. We will touch upon how these texts were interpreted and applied in different historical epochs, with a focus on the modern context and how these texts are used to understand contemporary women’s issues such as identity, family, education, and public roles.

Learning outcomes for the course By the completion of this course, students will be able to:  critically analyze the different interpretations of the foundational texts and their bearing on women’s position  explain the development of Muslim women’s roles and identities  recognize and compare the various views on women’s roles both in culture and religion  discuss the difference in rights accorded to men and women in Islamic law

Knowledge This course is designed to assist students to acquire and demonstrate knowledge about:  the Islamic foundational texts dealing with women  the various interpretations of those texts  the historical development of Muslim women’s roles and identity  key issues facing Muslim women today and how they are debated

Skills This course is designed to assist students in acquiring or enhancing the following skills:  to thoroughly research a topic  to critically analyze texts  to compare and contrast different view points  to write an explicatory essay on a relevant topic  to present topics and research work Attitudes This course is designed to encourage development of the following attitudes:  to distinguish between fact and fiction about women in Islam  to develop an understanding of how Muslims see themselves

Required Readings

**This is a real syllabus for this course, but please note that there may be changes for each semester. 2

(parts or chapters from the following sources assigned for reading will be provided in a course pack)

 Abdel Latif, Omayma, In the shadow of the Brothers, Carnegie Papers, 2008  Ahmed, Leila, Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate, Yale UP, 1992  The Quiet Revolution, Yale UP, 2011  Al-Khawaldeh, Samira, “The One Raised in Ornament? Gender Issues in the Qur’an”, Hawwa, Brill, 2015  Aslan, Ednan, et al., Muslima Theology, Wiener Islamstudien 3, Peter Lang, 2014  Barlas, Asma, Believing Women in Islam, University of , 2002  Clinton Bennett, Muslim Women of Power : Gender, Politics and Culture in Islam, London, GB: Continuum, 2010.  Ende, Werner et al., Islam in the World Today, Cornell UP, 2010  Esposito, John, What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, , USA, 2011  Haddad, Yvonne, Women, Religion, and Social Change, NYSUP, 1985  Haniyeh, Hassan Abu, Women and Politics, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2008  Qutb, Sayyid, In the Shade of the Qur’an, III, 34-51 https://www.kalamullah.com/shade-of-the-quran.html  Ramadan, Tariq, videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yo6RsGouzM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz98enBnUd8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do--YdH-888

 Roald, Anne Sofie, Women in Islam, Routledge, 2001  Rosen, Lawrence, The Culture of Islam : Changing Aspects of Contemporary Muslim Life, University of Chicago Press, 2004  Stowasser, Barbara Freyer, Women In the Qur’an, Traditions, and Interpretation, Oxford UP, 1998.  Tessler, Mark, Islam and Politics in the Middle East : Explaining the Views of Ordinary Citizens, Indiana University Press, 2015  Turabi, Hassan, Women between Islam and the customs of Muslim society http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/turabi-essay.pdf  Vogt, Kari, New Directions in Islamic Thought, I.B.Tauris, 2011

Other Readings  Badawi, Jamal, Gender Equity in Islam: Basic Principles, http://www.islamicweb.com/begin/gender.pdf  Esposito, John, Islam, Gender, and Social Change, Oxford UP, 1998  Jones-Pauly, Christina, et al., Library of Islamic Law: Women Under Islam, I. B. Tauris, 2011  Kecia, Ali, Sexual Ethics & Islam: Feminist Reflections on Qur’an, Hadith & Jurisprudence, One World Publications, 2007  Keddie, Nikki, and Beth Baron, Women in Middle Eastern History, Yale UP, 2008  Krivenko, Ekaterina Yahyaoui, Women, Islam and International Law, Brill, 200  Lazreg, Marnia, Questioning the Veil, Princeton UP, 2009

**This is a real syllabus for this course, but please note that there may be changes for each semester. 3

 Marranci, Gabriele, The of Islam (1), Berg, 2008  Mir-Hosseini, Ziba, et al., Gender and Equality in Muslim Family Law, I. B. Tauris, 2013  Sharify-Funk, Meena, et al., Gender in a Global/Local World: Encountering the Transnational: Women, Islam and the Politics of Interpretation, Routledge, 2008  Syed, Mohammad Ali, Position of Women in Islam, SUNY, 2004  Torab, Azam, Women and Gender: The Middle East and the Islamic world, Brill, 2006  Voorhoeve, Maaike, Library of Islamic Law: Family Law in Islam: Divorce, Marriage and Women in the Muslim World, I. B. Tauris, 2012  Wadud, Amina, Qur’an and Woman, Oxford UP, 1999

Assessment Overview

Description Weight Due Date Engagement 10% Continuous Mid-Term Exam 30% Week 3 Written Assignment 10% Week 11

Research Paper 20%  Proposed Research Topics Due: Week 5  Final Paper Due: Week 12  Presentation of Final Papers: Week 14 Final Exam 30% Finals Week

Assessment Tasks Attendance and Engagement Students are expected to attend all regularly scheduled classes and come prepared to participate fully in class activities. Students are further expected to be on time for all classes. Arriving late for class is disrespectful of both the instructor and fellow students.

Overview of Attendance Policy In courses that meet once a week students are permitted one unexcused absence; in courses that meet twice a week students are permitted two unexcused absences; in courses that meet three or more times a week students are permitted three unexcused absences. If a student has more than the permitted number of unexcused absences his/her grade for the course will be lowered by one “mark” for each additional unexcused absence. In other words,  in a course that meets once a week only one unexcused absence is allowed. After two unexcused absences an A becomes an A-; after three an A becomes a B+; after four an A becomes a B, etc.  in a course that meets twice a week, only two unexcused absences are allowed. After three unexcused absences an A becomes an A-; after four an A becomes a B+; after five an A becomes a B, etc.  in courses that meet three or more times a week, only three unexcused absences are allowed. After four unexcused absences an A becomes an A-; after five an A becomes a B+; after six an A becomes a B, etc.

**This is a real syllabus for this course, but please note that there may be changes for each semester. 4

An unexcused absence is one not caused by illness or otherwise not approved by AMIDEAST staff. An excused absence means written approval from the Program Manager (and sometimes a doctor) justifying the absence. Arriving late to class may also count towards an absence. The engagement grade will depend on both the quality and the quantity of student’s comments and questions and shall account for a portion of the total course grade.

Summary of Attendance Policy 1. Three occurrences of tardiness are equivalent to one unexcused absence; each subsequent instance of tardiness is considered an additional unexcused absence. 2. Students are expected to do the required reading before class, volunteer for presentations and participate actively in class discussions. 3. Excused absences are determined by the lead AMIDEAST staff member; in some instances a doctor’s certification may be required. 4. Deadlines must be respected, even in cases of excused absences. 5. Students are responsible for getting homework assignments they miss and submitting it in a timely manner. Assignments turned in after the due date will result in a penalty to be determined by the instructor. 6. Any assignments not submitted will result in that assignment being given a grade of 0 (zero). 7. The Attendance Policy is applied until the last day of the program.

Written Assignment: A report of 1000 words comparing Tariq Ramadan’s views on women’s rights with those of Qutb.

Mid-Term Exam: The Mid-Term exam will include the material covered up to the date of the exam. Students will write essays which are informative and analytical, narrating an issue or comparing two sets of ideas/attitudes, etc. These items will have been previously discussed in class.

Research Paper: The research paper will consist of at least 3500 words on a topic approved by the instructor. The research paper will constitute 20% of the semester grade for this course. Students should make appointments to meet with the instructor prior to March 10 to discuss proposed paper topics. Prior to the meeting, students should submit at least two proposed topics described in approximately 100 words and an indication of the sources available. Papers must have at least 5 sources outside the assigned reading. Papers that are less than 3500 words will be penalized 10 points. Papers that are late will be penalized 2 points for each day that they are turned in after the announced deadline.

Final Exam: The Final Exam will include the material covered up to the date of the exam. Students will write essays which are informative and analytical, narrating an issue or comparing two sets of ideas/attitudes, etc. These items will have been previously discussed in class.

**This is a real syllabus for this course, but please note that there may be changes for each semester. 5

Grading Scale

Numerical Grade Basic Grade Point Grade Range Corresponding German Grade 93‐100 A 4.0 3.86-4.00 1.0-1.3 (sehr gut) 90‐92 A‐ 3.7 3.46-3.85 1.7 87‐89 B+ 3.3 3.16-3.45 2.0 (gut) 83‐86 B 3.0 2.86-3.15 2.3 80‐82 B‐ 2.7 2.46-2.85 2.7 77‐79 C+ 2.3 2.16-2.45 3.0 (befriedigend) 73‐76 C 2.0 1.86-2.15 3.3 70‐72 C‐ 1.7 1.36-1.85 3.7 60‐69 D 1.0 0.51-1.35 4.0 (ausreichend) Below 60 F 0.0 0.00-0.50 5.0 (ungenügend)

Course Schedule Week Topic(s) to be covered Preparation/ Assignments/ Work Due Readings  Introduction 1  Pre-Islamic Arabia  Cultural and historical background Portraits of women in the  B. F. Stowasser, Women in 2 Qur’an: Prophets’ wives, etc. the Qur’an, Traditions, and Interpretation 13-84  71 pages 3 Portraits of women in the  Jane I. Smith, Assignment: a report of Qur’an: The social construct “Women, Religion and 1000 words on a female Social Change in Early figure from the Muslim Islam” in Haddad, Women, world (writer, politician, etc.), due in 2 weeks time Religion, and Social (10 points) Change, 19-37  B. F. Stowasser, Women in the Qur’an, 85-134  67 pages Women in the Qur’an: rules,  Stowasser, “Gender issues 4 laws, and descriptions and contemporary interpretation” in Haddad, Islam, Gender and social Change, 30-45  Stowasser, Women in the Qur’an, 119-134  Khawaldeh, “The One Raised in …” 1-24  54 pages Women in the Prophetic  Asma Barlas, Believing Students submit 2 5 Tradition Women, 31-93 proposed research topics  62 pages

**This is a real syllabus for this course, but please note that there may be changes for each semester. 6

Muslim women in today’s  Mark Tessler, “Islam in the Research topics assigned 6 Muslim-majority societies: An Lives of Ordinary overview Muslims”, 66-111  Werner Ende et al., Islam in the World Today, 620- 680  65 pages 7 Midterm Exam

Spring Break (No Classes) Spring Break (No Classes) Spring Break (No Classes) 8 Muslim women in public life  Ahmed, The Quiet 9 and the dress code Revolution, 117-130  John Esposito, What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam (2), 95-132  50 pages Marriage, divorce, and family  Anne Sofie Roald, Women 10 in Islam 201-236  Barlas, “The Family and Marriage: Retrieving the Qur’an’s Egalitarianism”, 167-202  70 pages  Political role of Muslim  Clinton Bennett, Muslim 11 Women Women of Power :  in principle Gender, Politics and  in history Culture in Islam (1), 1-48,  Anne Sofie Roald, Women in Islam, 185-200 63 pages Women in the Islamic  Omayma Abdel Latif, In Research papers due 12 movements the Shadow of the Brothers, 1-23,  Hassan Abu Haniyeh, Women and Politics, 77- 118  64 pages Culture versus religion  Hassan Turabi, Women 13 concerning women’s issues between Islam and Customs of Muslim Society, 1-33

 Lawrence Rosen, The Culture of Islam : Changing Aspects of Contemporary Muslim Life, 1-50

**This is a real syllabus for this course, but please note that there may be changes for each semester. 7

 81 pages

Students’ presentations of 14 their research topics 15 Final Exams Final Exams Final Exams 16 Reflection Week Reflection Week Reflection Week

**This is a real syllabus for this course, but please note that there may be changes for each semester.