WM/AP 629 Radical Islam and Christian Responses

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "WM/AP 629 Radical Islam and Christian Responses"

Dana Murphy
5 years ago
Views:

1 WM/AP 629 Radical Islam and Christian Responses Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Fall 2018 Instructor: Paul T. Martindale, D.Min. I. Course Description: The resurgence of Islamic Fundamentalism has spawned a number of new versions of Radical Islam in modern times. Radical Muslims (Islamists) advocate a return to the primary sources of Islam as well as a literal interpretation of those texts. Islamic Fundamentalism includes a wide variety of these movements. For some it is a militant ideology and for others it is a peaceful revivalist movement. Most forms of Radical Islam maintain that a true Muslim state and society is essential for following Islamic religious law, and hold that there should be no distinction between religious and political life. However, these movements vary greatly regarding doctrine and social and political positions. Islamic fundamentalism is a primary source of much of the resistance to the West and secular modernism within Muslim countries and this will be one of the greatest challenges to the church in this century. This course will examine the genesis of Radical Islam from the early years of the Islamic community to the present. We will study the historical, theological and political contexts within which Radical Islamic movements have arisen. The role of the state, Islamic law, political ideology, and methods of interpretation will be investigated. This course will ask the question whether Radical Islam can function peacefully in modern, global, civil society. To give us a view from other Muslim perspectives we will also study contemporary hermeneutic theories of liberal Muslim scholars and other reformist movements. This will help us to understand how Radical Islamic movements have constructed their interpretations of Islam. Developing an accurate understanding of Radical Islam s theology and political ideology will be essential for developing an effective, thoughtful and biblical response to Muslims in the coming years. A. Course Topics: 1. The role of jihad in the justification of politicial rule. 2. The role of the religious institution in the Islamic political state. 3. The roots of Islamic political conceptions within the core theology of Islam. 4. Islamic leadership structure in pre-islamic times, during Mohammed s rule in Medina, and during the period of Muslim occupation of Spain. 5. The roots of Islamic fundamentalism during the Middle Ages 6. Classical Islam, moderates, and the invention of hermeneutical traditions. 7. Reform movements within Islam today. 8. Islam as an expression of state and community as well as religion. The nature of the state in Islam. 9. The origin of modern jihadism as irregular transnational warfare. 10. The redefinition of jihad into non-military fighting in the works of al-banna and Sayyid Qutub. 1

2 11. The transformation of classical jihad into the contemporary view and practice of jihadism. 12. The doctrine of Islamic dominance (taghallub) and the idea of democratic peace and pluralism. 13. The reinterpretation of Islam s holy texts and the invention of new traditions by eisegesis in the attempt to construct a theology for radical Islam 14. The reinvention of classical Islamic concepts grafted to a new doctrine of jihadism becoming a mobilizing ideology in the service of jihadist Islamism. 15. Can jihadist regimes recognize and accept the existence of secular nation states? 16. Can the medieval Islamic rationalism of al-farabi, Ibn Rushd, and Ibn Khaduln offer a viable alternative to the modern jihadist reinterpretation of Islam? 17. How will modern Islamic states fit into the future world order? 18. The agenda of global jihad to topple the existing world order within a strategy of remaking the world. 19. Al-Farabi s ideal of the perfect state (madina fadila) and God s rule (hakimayyat Allah). 20. The alternate vision of modern Islamic liberal thinkers: al-jabri, Arkoun, al- Azim, An-Naim, Bassam Tibi, and al-fadl. 21. The analysis of exegetical methods of the Quran and the Hadith employed by modern jihadist and Islamists. 22. The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. 23. Shia Islam as a revolution rather than a nation state. 24. The rise of puritanical sects of Islam, from the Kharajites to ISIS. 25. The role of jihad in the justification, expansion, and unity of the Islamic political state 26. Apocalyptic views in Shia and Sunni Islam and the problem of Cosmic War 27. Civilizational bridging and models of dialogue 28. Christian responses to Radical Islam. II. Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to: 1. Understand the historical, theological and cultural context within which radical Islam has arisen. 2. Distinguish between the interpretations of traditional moderate Islam and those of radical Islamists. 3. Analyze the hermeneutical methods of Islamists. 4. Formulate a thoughtful Christian response to radical Islam in the world today. 5. Contemplate the implications for the future of ministry with Muslims as a result of changing complexities. 6. Articulate a response for the church in light of the challenge of radical Islam. III. Course Requirements: A. Required Reading: Text Books (1,529 pages): Delong-Bas, Natana Wahhabi Islam. From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad, Oxford U. Press. ISBN Pages

3 Nawaz, Majid Radical. My Journey out of Islamist Extremism, Lyon s Press, Guilford, CT. ISBN Pages Tibi, Bassam Political Islam, World Politics and Europe. From Jihadists to Institutional Islamism. Routeldge,London & NY. ISBN Pages Tibi, Bassam Islamism and Islam. Yale U. Press, New Haven. ISBN Pages Zaman, Muhammed Qasim Modern Islamic Thought in a Radical Age. Religious Authority and Internal Criticism, Cambridge U. Press, ISBN Pages Zeidan, David Sword of Allah. Islamic Fundamentalism from an Evangelical Perspective, Gabriel Publishing, Waynesboro, GA. ISBN Pages Articles: Amalebonra Kingomabe, Jean-Marie. The Qur an and Contemporary Hermeneutic Theories, Encounter, Pontifico Istituto di Studi Arabi e d Islamistica. Fen 2011, N Cook, D. Muslim Apocalyptic and Jihad. Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 20 (1996): Wood, Graeme. What ISIS Really Wants, Atlantic Monthly, March Videos: Obsession. Radical Islam s War Against the West Jihad, The men and the Ideas behind Al Qaeda. America at a Crossroads series, PBS Home Video The Rise of ISIS. Frontline PBS Home Video B. Research Paper: You are to submit a research paper on a topic of your choosing, although it must meet the following standards to be acceptable: 1. It must be on a subject matter related to the course material. Ideally, you should select a topic covered in the course that you can develop in more depth. This could be a topic such as the basis for political thought in Islam, the support for Jihad in the Qur an, whether classical moderate versions of Islam are more in keeping with Islamist interpretations, etc. A paper could also be focused upon the Almoravid or Almohad dynasties, the Kharajite movement in early Islam, Wahabbi Islam in Saudi Arabia, the Ayatollah Khomeni s Shia revolution in Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Sayid Qutub, Hassan al-banna, ISIS, or how Christians have responded to Radical Islamic movements. The bibliography lists texts that are available in the Hamilton campus library. Many of these will be an excellent starting point for honing in on a paper topic. 2. A proposed topic title and thesis statement should be submitted by the end of the first reading week. Include an outline of the topics you will treat in your paper. The thesis statement should also list at least five potential sources. This will enable the professor to give you constructive input before you start your research. 3

4 3. The paper must be a minimum of twelve typed pages (double space, 12 pt. type) long, following acceptable standards of form and style (Th.M papers should be pages). Include a title page, outline, footnotes, and bibliography. There is no maximum limit for research papers in this course. 4. After the outline your paper should have an abstract of 100 words or less that summarizes the main ideas in your paper. C. Final Exam: During the last week of the semester a final exam will be scheduled by the registration office. It will be a 3 hour exam and will be comprehensive. D. Grading: Required Reading 25% Research Paper 40% Final Exam 35% E. Grading Scale: A ; A 94-96; A ; B ; B 84-86; B ; C+77-79; C 74-76; C ; D ; D 64-66; D ; F IV. Bibliography: Abbas, Hassan Pakistan s Drift into Extremism. Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe. Abou El Fadl, Khaled The Great Theft. Wrestling Islam from the Extremists, HarperCollins, Harper San Francisco, CA. Pages ISBN: Speaking in God s Name. Islamic Law, Authority, and Women, OneWorld Publications, Oxford, ISBN Abu-Rabi, Ibrahim Contemporary Islamic Thought, Blackwell Publishing. ISBN Abdul Rauf, Imam Feisal What s Right with Islam. A New Vision for Muslims and the West. HarperCollins Publishers, HarperSanfrancisco, CA. Akbar, M.J The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity, Routledge, London. Algar, Hamid The Roots of the Islamic Revolution, The Open Press, Ontario, Canada. ISBN X Ali, Ayaan Hirsi Infidel. Free Press, New York. Anderson, Mark Robert The Quran in Context. A Christian Exploration, IVP Academic, ISBN An-Naim, Abdullahi Ahmed Islam and the Secular State. Negotiating the Future of Shari a, Harvard U Press, ISBN Arberry, A.J The Koran Interpreted. Simon & Schuster. N.Y., N.Y. ISBN Armstrong, Karen The Battle for God, Knofp-Borzoi Random House, NY. ISBN Aslan, Reza How to win a Cosmic War. God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror, Random House, NY. ISBN

5 Bawer, Bruce While Europe Slept. How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within. Doubleday, New York. ISBN Bergen, Peter L Holy War Inc. Inside the Secret World of Osma bin Laden, The Free Press, NY. ISBN Blankenship, Khalid The End of the Jihad State. The Reign of Hisham Ibn Abd al-malik and the Collapse of the Umauuads, State University of New York Press. ISBN Bonner, Michael Jihad in Islamic History, Doctrines and Practice. Princeton University Press, Princeton, ISBN Brown, L. Carol Religion and State. The Muslim Approach to Politics, Columbia U Press. ISBN Caner, Emir Fethi & Ergun Mehmet Caner More than a Prophet, An Insider s Response to Muslim Beliefs about Jesus and Christianity. Kregel Publications. Chapman, Colin Islam and the West. Conflict, Co-existence, or Conversion? Paternoster Press, Cumbria, UK. Commins, David Islamic Reform. Politics and Social Change in Late Ottoman Syria, Oxford U Press, NY. ISBN Cook, David Understanding Jihad. Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN Martyrdom in Islam, Cambridge U Press. ISBN Coulson, Noel A History of Islamic Law. Edinburgh University Press. Cragg, Kenneth Jesus and the Muslim, An Exploration. Oneworld, Oxford. Crone, Patricia God s Rule. Government and Islam. Six Centuries of Medieval Islamic Political Thought, Columbia University Press. ISBN Delong-Bas, Natana Wahhabi Islam. From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad, Oxford U. Press. ISBN Donner, Fred Muhammed and the Believers, Belknap Press/Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. ISBN Pages Donohue, John and John Esposito eds Islam in Transition, Muslims Perspectives, 2 nd edition. Oxford U Press. ISBN Emerson, Steven American Jihad. The Terrorists Living Among Us, The Free Press, NY. ISBN Esposito, John The Islamic Threat. Myth or Reality? 2 nd Edition. Oxford University Press, NY. ISBN Fakhry, Majid An Interpretation of the Quran. English Translation of the Meanings. A Bilingual Edition, New York University Press. ISBN Fawaz, Gerges Journey of the Jihadist. Inside Muslim Militancy, Harcourt Inc. Orlando. ISBN Fierro, Maribel. Ed The Almohad Revolution: Politics and Religion in the Islamic West during the Twelfth-Thirteenth Centuries, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Farnham, England. 5

6 Filiu, Jean-Pierre Apocalypse in Islam. U of California Press, Berkeley. ISBN Firestone, Reuven Jihad. The Origin of Holy War in Islam. Oxford U. Press. ISBN: Pages Gabriel, Mark A Islam and Terrorism. What the Qur an really teaches about Christianity, violence, and the goals of Islamic jihad, Charisma House, Lake Mary, Florida. Geisler, Norman L. and Abdul Saleeb Answering Islam. The Crescent in Light of the Cross. Baker Books, Grand Rapids. Grant, George The Blood of the Moon. The Roots of the Middle East Crisis, Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Brentwood, TN. ISBN Haddad, Yvonne and Wadi Haddad, eds., Christian-Muslim Encounters, Gainesville, University Press of Florida. Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck and John L. Esposito, eds Muslims on the Americanization Path. Atlanta: Scholars Press. Husain, Ed The Islamist. Why I joined radical Islam in Britain, what I saw inside and why I left, Penguin Books, London. ISBN Ibn Warraq Why I am Not a Muslim. Prometheus Books. Jabbour, Nabeel T The Rumbling Volcano. Islamic Fundamentalism in Egypt. Mandate Press, Pasadena, CA. Juergensmeyer, Mark ed Religion in Global Civil Society, Oxford U Press. ISBN Karsh, Efraim Islamic Imperialism, A History. Yale University Press, New Haven. Kennedy, Hugh The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates, The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century, 2 nd edition, Pearson Longman, London, New York, Boston. ISBN Kepel, Gilles Allah in the West. Islamic Movements in America and Europe. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA The War for Muslim Minds. Islam and the West. Belknap Press, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA The Roots of Radical Islam. SAQI, London. Pages ISBN: Khadduri, Majid War and Peace in the Law of Islam, John Hopkins Press. Kidd, Thomas S American Christians and Islam, Evangelical Culture and Muslims from Colonial Period to the Age of Terrorism, Princeton U. Press, Princeton. ISBN Lewis, Bernard The Crisis of Islam. Holy War and Unholy Terror. The Modern Library, New York What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle East Response, Oxford U Press. ISBN The Assasins. A Radical Sect in Islam, Basic Books Inc., NY. LeTourneau, R The Almohad Movement in North Africa in the 12th and 13th centuries, Princeton. Livingston, Robert Christianity and Islam: The Final Clash, Pleasant Word, WA. ISBN

7 Manji, Irshad The Trouble with Islam Today, A Muslim s Call for Reform in Her Faith, St. Martin s Griffin, New York. Marty, Martin E and R. Scott Appleby The Fundamentalism Project. Fundamentalisms Comprehended, vol V., U of Chiacgo Press, Chicago. ISBN Miller, Darrow Emancipating the World. A Christian Response to Radical Islam and Fundamentalist Atheism, YWAM Publishing, Seattle. ISBN Naumkin, Vitaly Radical Islam in Central Asia. Betweeen Pen and Rifle, Rowman & Littlefield, NY. ISBN Nawaz, Majid Radical. My Journey out of Islamist Extremism, Lyon s Press, Guilford, CT. ISBN Pipes, Daniel In the Path of God. Islam and Political Power, Basic Books Inc., NY. ISBN Qureshi, Nabeel Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, ISBN Pages Qutb, Sayyid. No date. Milestones, The Mother Mosque Foundation, Cedar Rapids, MI. ISBN Rahman, Fazlur Major Themes of the Quran, U. Chicago Press, Chicago. ISBN Ramadan, Tariq Western Muslims and the Future of Islam, Oxford U. Press. ISBN Riddell, Peter G. and Peter Cotterell Islam in Conflict, Past Present, and Future. InterVarsity Press, Leicester, UK Roy, Oliver Secularism Confronts Islam, Columbia U. Press, New York, ISBN Pages vii-115 Roy, Oliver The Failure of Political Islam, Harvard Press. ISBN Saha, Santosh ed Religious Fundamentalism in the Contemoporary World. Critical, Social and Political Issues, Lexington Books, Oxford. ISBN Smith, Paul J., ed Terrorism and Violence in Southeast Asia. Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe. Tal, Nachman Radical Islam in Egypt and Jordan, Sussex Academic Press, Brighton, UK. ISBN Tibi, Bassam Political Islam, World Politics and Europe. From Jihadists to Institutional Islamism. Routeldge,London & NY. ISBN Islamism and Islam. Yale U. Press, New Haven. ISBN Pages Islam in Global Politics, Conflict and Cross-Civilizational Bridging, Routeledge, London and Ney York. ISBN The Crisis of Modern Islam, U of Utah Press. ISBN VanGorder, Christian A No God but God: A Path to Muslim-Christian Dialogue on God s Nature. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books. 7

8 Volf, Miroslav Allah, A Christian Response. Harper One, NY. ISBN Wagner, William How Islam Plans to Change the World. Kregel Publications. Watt, W.M Islamic Political Thought, Edinburgh U. Press. ISBN and Pierre Cachia A History of Islamic Spain, Aldine Transaction Islam and the Integration of Society, London Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Edinburgh Islamic Fundamentalism and Modernity, vol. 8, Routledge Library Editions, NY. ISBN Wood, Graeme. What ISIS Really Wants, Atlantic Monthly, March Wolfe, Michael ed Taking Back Islam. American Muslims Reclaim their Faith, Rodale and Beliefnet Inc, USA. Zaman, Muhammed Qasim Modern Islamic Thought in a Radical Age. Religious Authority and Internal Criticism, Cambridge U. Press, ISBN Zeidan, David Sword of Allah. Islamic Fundamentalism from an Evangelical Perspective, Gabriel Publishing, Waynesboro, GA. ISBN

Introduction to Islam WM/AP 647

Introduction to Islam WM/AP 647 Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Spring 2018 Paul T. Martindale Tuesdays 2 to 5 PM Course Description: The purpose of this course is to provide a comprehensive introduction