CIEE in Amman, Jordan Course name: Islam in the Modern Context Course number: MEST 3001 AMJO Programs offering course: Middle East Studies Language of instruction: English U.S. Semester Credits: 3 Contact Hours: 45 Term: Spring 2019 Course description This course covers a number of areas of Islamic thought in the contemporary world. It sheds light on the development of theories, philosophies and debates shaping and influencing reformist movements, cultural transformations, and the Muslim way of life. The emphasis is on primary texts where major thinkers grapple with the existential matters of change and continuity, such as liberalization, politics and democratization, human rights, women's rights. On the practical side, some fiqh responses to challenges posed by modern applications of science and technology in the fields of ecology and biomedical ethics will be explored. Learning Objectives On completing this course, students are expected 1. to be able to discuss, define and compare the different trends in modern Islamic thought; 2. to recognize the contribution of major Islamic thinkers in the modern era, such as Iqbal, Qutb, Shari'ati, into their historical contexts; among others; 3. to explain the development in fiqh rulings concerning biomedical and ecological policies; and 4. to expound analytically some key concepts and paradigms in politics, relations with the West for instance, representative of the different schools of thought. Course Prerequisites: A basic knowledge of Islam, its sources, and a general idea about it history can be helpful. Methods of Instruction - The basic methods followed in this course are discussion and debate. 10% of the grade depends on students' participation in the discussion. - Guest speakers are invited to provide additional perspectives on some of the topics in the syllabus. - Films and documentaries are screened and discussed.
- Field trips to religious sites. - Participation in cultural and academic events (announced in due course) Class Requirements - Group work: students form groups of two or three to prepare and present a topic they choose from the syllabus; analyzing and discussing the relevant texts. (10 points) - A research paper (three thousand words; 20 points) is required. Individual students decide on relevant topics approved by the instructor. A 10-minute summary of the paper is presented in the last class meeting followed by 5 mins Q&A. - Late submissions will be marked down 1 point for each day after deadline. Assessment and Final Grade: 10% Class participation: participation in the general discussion, presentations 20% Research paper (written form and class presentation) 30% Mid term exam 40% Final exam Weekly Schedule: (A reader with texts of the reading assignments will be available at Ja far Bookshop next to UJ north gate.) Week Topic Reading Assignments 1 General introduction: Islam and Muslims, historical background, internal and external influences; representative figures: Afghani and Abduh - Afghani, An Islamic Response to Imperialism - Abduh, Islam, Reason, and Civilization, in Islam in Transition, pp. 13-23 2 The many voices of Islam - S. H. Nasr, Islam, Religion, History, pp. 153-186 - Hanafi, Reformist and Moderate Voices of Islam, in Reform Voices of Islam, pp. 98-128 3 Traditional art: A rediscovery - Critchlow, Islamic Patterns, pp. 1-8; - Film screening: A documentary on Saladin Minbar 4 Reconstruction of religious thought - Iqbal, The Spirit of Muslim Culture, in his Reconstruction, pp. 98-128 5 Pluralism, democracy and Muslim- "The Madinah Charter" Utopia - Hoffmann, Democracy or Shuracracy in The Islamic Impulse, pp. 226-243
6 Mid-Term Exam 7 Spring Break 8 Arab Spring and the Turkish Experience - A guest speaker - Also reading: Duman, Islam and Democracy: Arab Spring and the Turkish Experience, - Gozaydin, Ahmet Davutoglu: Role as an Islamic Scholar Shaping Turkey s Foreign Policy in International Relations, pp. 59-73, 91-110 9 A critique of Western thought - Qutb, Islam, Religion of the Future, pp. 49-68 - ---- "Introduction", In the Shades of the Qur'an 10 Sunni Islam, Shi i Islam Ra uf, What Is Sunni Islam? - Nanji and Daftary, What Is Shiite Islam? in Voices of Islam, pp. 185-248 11 Islam and global concerns: Ecology and environment issues 12 Islam and global concerns: Bioethics 13 Islam and global concerns: women's rights 14 Students presentations of research papers 15 Final Exam - Ali and Bruch, Maintaining Mizan: Protecting Biodiversity in Muslim Communities, pp. 20-37 - Hope and Young, Islam and Ecology Al-Bar and Chamsi-Pasha, Contemporary Bioethics Islamic Perspective, pp. 187-223 - Jamal Badawi, Gender Equity in Islam: Basic Principles - Mir-Hosseini, Classical Fiqh and Gender Justice pp. 77-105 References: 1. Abu Rabi', Ibrahim. The Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought. Malden, MA, USA: Blackwell, 2006. 2. Adiong, Nassef Manabilang. International Relations and Islam: Diverse Perspectives (1). Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013. 3. Ali, Ahmad and Bruch, John. Maintaining Mizan: Protecting Biodiversity in Muslim Communities. Washington, DC, USA: Environmental Law Institute, 2001. 4. Allawi, Ali A. The Crisis of Islamic Civilization. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009.
5. Badawi, Jamal. Gender Equity in Islam: Basic Principles. American Trust Publications, 1995. 6. Al-Bar, Muhammad Ali, and Chamsi-Pasha, Hassan. Contemporary Bioethics: Islamic Perspective. Springer Open, 2015. 7. Belkeziz, Abdelilah. The State in Contemporary Islamic Thought: A Historical Survey of the Major Muslim Political Thinkers of the Modern Era. Translated by Abdullah Richard Lux. London: I.B. Tauris, 2009. 8. Cornell, Vincent J. Voices of Islam. Vol I. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Perspectives, 2007. 9. Critchlow, Keith. Islamic Patterns. London: Thames and Hudson, 1976. 10. Dabashi, Hamid. The Arab Spring. London: Zed Books, 2012. 11. Esposito, John. Islam in Transition: Muslim Perspectives. Oxford UP, 2006. 12. --------------- (ed.), Voices of Resurgent Islam. New York: Oxford UP, 1983. 13. ----------------. Islam: The Straight Path. Oxford UP, 2005. 14. ----------------. and John Obert Voll. Makers of Contemporary Islam. Oxford UP, 2001. 15. ---------------. Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21 st Century. Oxford UP, 2011. 16. Hanafi, Hassan. "Reformist and Moderate Voices of Islam in the Arab East", in Reformist Voices of Islam : Mediating Islam and Modernity, pp. 98-128. Hunter, Shireen T. Editor. Armonk, NY, USA : M.E. Sharpe, 2008. 17. Hathout, Hassan. Reading the Muslim Mind. American Trust Publications, 1995. 18. Hoffmann, Murad. Democracy or Shuracracy. Esposito, John, ed. Islam in Transition: Muslim Perspectives. Oxford UP, 2006. pp. 226-243. 19. Hope, Marjorie and Young, James. Islam and Ecology. Online, 2011. Accessed 3/6/2016. http://www.crosscurrents.org/islamecology.htm 20. Hosseini, Ziba Mir. Classical Fiqh, Contemporary Ethics and Gender Justice. New Directions in Islamic Thought: Exploring Reform and Muslim Tradition (1). Vogt, Kari, et al. eds. London: I. B. Tauris, 2011. 21. Iqbal, Muhammad. The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, online. Accessed 2/1/2017 kms1.isn.ethz.ch/.../isn/.../8006_iqbalreconstruction 22. Jung, Dietrich. Orientalists, Islamists and the Global Public Sphere. London: Equinox, 2011. 23. Khawaldeh, Samira. The One Raised in Ornament? Gendering Issues in the Qur an. Hawwa, Vol 13, Issue 1, pp. 1-24, 2015. 24. Leaman, Oliver. Controversies in Contemporary Islam. London: Routledge, 2014. 25. Nasr, Sayyed Hossein. Islam: Religion, History, and Civilization. NY: Harper-Collins e- Books, 2002. 26. Qutb, Sayyid. Islam, Religion of the Future. Markazi Maktaba Islami, 2007. 27. -----------. In the Shades of the Qur'an. Vol 1. Trans. M.A. Salahi. London: The Islamic Foundation, 2000. 28. Ramadan, Tariq. The Quest for Meaning: Developing a Philosophy of Pluralism, Penguin, 2010. 29. "The Madinah Charter"
https://www.academia.edu/2018309/the_constitution_of_medina_in_63_constitutional_articl es 30. Yahyaoui Krivenko, Ekaterina. Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies: women, Islam and International Law: Within the Context of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff, 2008.