KING S COLLEGE LONDON DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES Basic Information ACADEMIC YEAR 2015-16 MODULE SYLLABUS 5AAT2003 Modern Islam I: History & Politics Module Level 5 Credit Value 15 credits Lecturer Dr Kazuyo Murata (kazuyo.murata@kcl.ac.uk) Semester Semester 1 Day and Time Monday 12.00-14.00 Room S3.30 Office Hours Monday 14.10-15.10 & Wednesday 10.30-11.30 Room 3.35 Virginia Woolf Building 1. Introduction This module presents major currents of Muslim thought from the eighteenth century to the twentieth. It explores the emergence and development of Muslim reformism, modernism, secularism and Islamism in different regions, while examining the specific political-historical contexts in which they emerged. It will also familiarize students with the different ways in which various parts of the Muslim world reacted to the challenges of modernisation, colonization and westernisation, and how modern nation states emerged in the Muslim world. Each two-hour session alternates between mini lectures and topical group discussions on the basis of the week s assigned material. Students must have read both the assigned lecture and seminar texts before coming to class each week in order to be able not only to follow the lecture but also to contribute to the discussion, which forms an integral part of this module. Module educational aims To introduce students to key historical and political developments that shaped the modern Muslim world To familiarise students with the different ways in which various parts of the Muslim world reacted to the challenges of modernisation, westernisation, colonisation, etc. To familiarise students with how modern nation states emerged in the Muslim world To help students think through various factors that have led to issues and conflicts in the modern Muslim world Module learning outcomes Generic skills: Ability to engage critically with primary and secondary materials Ability to summarise and present arguments Ability to research, plan and present essays to specified deadlines Module-specific skills: Familiarity with the political and intellectual history of the modern Muslim world Understanding of the main concerns and themes of political thought in the Muslim world Understanding of trends and issues affecting the modern Muslim world Lectures, seminars and participation Apart from this module syllabus and materials that will enable you to take notes, it is absolutely essential that you bring the printouts of the seminar texts to the respective class (unless you absolutely prefer to bring the electronic files on a tablet/laptop, in which case you must bring downloaded files because ebooks often have a limit on the number of people who can simultaneously access them). Close textual 1
analysis and group discussion are key components in this module, so you must read the texts in advance and bring the annotated texts to each class. You will not wish to be the only member of the group who cannot follow a text that is being discussed. Coming to class without the seminar text will inconvenience all. For each week s session, there are lecture reading (which provide background to the lecture topic) and seminar reading, which serve as the basis for group discussions in the seminar. For some weeks there are also films or short clips that you must watch at home before coming to class. For some weeks, recommended reading is listed on this syllabus, which complement the assigned texts to help you deepen your understanding of weekly topics. KEATS & Maughan Library: Module resources This module uses the following textbooks: Mohammed Ayoob, The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim World (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2008). Available online via King s library catalogue and Online Reading List though with limited simultaneous access Charles Kurzman, ed., Modernist Islam 1840-1940: A Sourcebook (Oxford: OUP, 2002). Available online via King s library catalogue and Online Reading List though with limited simultaneous access William Shepard, Introducing Islam (London/New York: Routledge, 2009). Multiple copies are available in Maughan Library; only the latter part of this book is assigned for this module, so you may wish to scan/photocopy the relevant pages at the beginning of the semester. The module revolves around Ayoob s The Many Faces of Political Islam, and you will be reading the whole book. Therefore it is recommended that you secure a hardcopy of this book. If you are taking 5AAT2015 Modern Islam II alongside this module, you may wish to purchase Kurzman s Modernist Islam 1840-1940 now, as it is heavily used in both modules (also note that 5AAT2015 has an open book exam). For essay writing, you should consult the Online Reading List (https://kcl.rl.talis.com/lists/251767f7-2b04-0cdd-8b86-b4350eb1215a.html) and the library s TRS subject guide (http://libguides.kcl.ac.uk/trs), which lists various databases for your use. Additional online resources are listed on the KEATS module webpage. Please contact Maughan Library or the module tutor if relevant sources are missing from the library. 2. Module plan & readings 1) 21 Sept Introduction: module overview & myths about modern Islam Lecture Reading: Esposito, Chapter 1: Religion, Politics, and Society, in Islam and Politics (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1991), pp. 3-32; Ayoob, Ch. 1 & 2; Ruthven, The Muslim World under Colonial Domination c. 1920, in Historical Atlas of Islam (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008), pp. 116-117 Recommended Background Reading (for those without prior knowledge of Islam): Esposito, What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam (available online via the Online Reading List) Seminar Activity: What do we know about Islam in the modern world? anonymous survey and group discussion 2) 28 Sept 18 th century Islamic reformism /revivalism Lecture Reading: Ayoob Ch. 3, pp. 42-6; Shepard, Ch. 15, pp. 195-211 Ahmad Dallal, The Origins and Objectives of Islamic Revivalist Thought, 1750-1850, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 113.3 (1993), pp. 341-359 Mu inuddin Ahmad Khan, A Diplomat s Report on Wahhabism of Arabia, Islamic Studies, 7.1 (1968), pp. 33-46 Recommended Reading: Ruthven, Nineteenth-Century Reform Movements, in Historical Atlas of Islam, pp. 110-111; Campo, Salafism, Encyclopedia of Islam, pp. 601-602; Jonathan A. C. Brown, Salafism <oxfordbibliographies.com>; Voll, Renewal and Reform in Islamic History: Tajdid and Islah, in Voices of Resurgent Islam, ed. by J. Esposito (NY: OUP, 1983), pp. 32-47 2
3) 5 Oct Early Islamic modernism in South Asia Lecture Reading: Shepard, Ch. 15, pp. 202-206; watch the three YouTube clips via KEATS Sayyid Ahmed Khan, Lecture on Islam, in Modernist Islam, ed. by Kurzman (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002) pp. 291-303 Muhammad Iqbal, Islam as a Moral and Political Ideal, in Modernist Islam, pp. 304-313 Recommended Reading: Ruthven, India 711-1971, in Historical Atlas of Islam, pp. 96-101 4) 12 Oct Early Islamic modernism in the Arab world Lecture Reading: Shepard, Ch. 17, pp. 227-33 Muhammad Abduh, Laws Should Change in Accordance with the Conditions of Nations and Theology of Unity, in Modernist Islam, pp. 50-60 Rashid Rida, Renewal, Renewing and Renewers, in Modernist Islam, pp. 77-85 Recommended Reading: Ruthven, Britain in Egypt and Sudan in the 19th Century, in Historical Atlas of Islam, pp. 132-135 5) 19 Oct Islamism in Egypt and Pakistan Lecture Reading: Ayoob, Ch. 4; Shepard, Ch. 15, pp. 208-211; Ch.17, pp. 233-41 William Shepard, Sayyid Qutb s Doctrine of Jahiliyya International Journal of Middle East Studies, 35.4 (2003), pp. 521-545 Euben & Zaman, eds, Chapter 3: Sayyid Abu l-a la Mawdudi, in Princeton Readings in Islamist Thought (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009), pp. 79-106 26 Oct READING WEEK 6) 2 Nov Reformism in the Ottoman Empire/Turkish Republic and Iran until 1979 Lecture Reading: Ayoob, Ch. 3, pp. 46-47; Shepard, Ch. 16, pp. 216-222; Ch. 4, pp. 47-48; Ch.18, pp. 242-248 Serif Mardin, Turkish Islamic Exceptionalism Yesterday and Today: Continuity, Rapture and Reconstruction in Operational Codes, Turkish Studies, 6.2 (2005), pp. 145-165 Saeed Barzin, Constitutionalism and Democracy in the Religious Ideology of Mehdi Bazargan, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 21.1 (1994), pp. 85-101 Recommended Reading: Namik Kemal, And Seek Their Council in the Matter, in Modernist Islam, pp. 144-48; Zia Gökalp, Islam and Modern Civilization, in Modernist Islam, pp. 192-97; Muhammad Husayn Na ini, Government in the Islamic Perspective, in Modernist Islam, pp. 116-125; Heper and Sayan, ed., The Routledge Handbook of Modern Turkey (NY: Routledge, 2012), pp. 1-64 7) 9 Nov Islamic States: Comparing Saudi Arabia and Iran Lecture Reading: Ayoob, Ch. 3, pp. 46-63; Shepard, Ch. 18, pp. 248-255 Watch at home: Persepolis (a French cartoon about an Iranian girl going through the 1979 revolution) via link on KEATS William Ochsenwald, Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Revival, International Journal of Middle East Studies, 13.3 (1981), pp. 271-286 Ruhollah Khomeini, Necessity for Islamic Government, in Islamic Government: Governance of the Jurist, trans. By H. Algar (Tehran: Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini s Works, 2002), pp. 19-35 Recommended Reading: Daniel Price (1999) Islamic Political Culture, Democracy, and Human Rights, pp. 124-134 8) 16 Nov Muslim reformism and modernism in Southeast Asia; Islam and Democracy in Indonesia Lecture Reading: Shepard, Ch. 19, pp. 256-268 Watch at home (for seminar discussion): Sang Pencerah (a film about Ahmad Dahlan) via KEATS 3
Achmad Dahlan, The Unity of Human Life, in Modernist Islam, pp. 344-348 Hadji Agus Salim, Asian Dawn, in Modernist Islam, pp. 355-359 Muhammad Hasyim Asy ari, Some Advice, in Modernist Islam, pp. 365-67 William Liddle, Indonesia in 1999: Democracy Restored, Asian Survey, 40.1 (2000), pp. 32-42 Recommended: Anthony Milton, Agus Salim, Haji (1884-1954), in Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, ed. By Ooi Keat Gin, vol. 1 (Santa Barbara: ABC Clio, 2004), pp. 133-134 (see GoogleBook); Julia Day Howell, Sufism and the Indonesian Islamic Revival, Journal of Asian Studies, 60.3 (2001), pp. 701-729 9) 23 Nov Islam and Resistance (Hamas & Hezbollah), Lecture Reading: Ayoob, Ch. 5 & 6; Ruthven, Flashpoint Israel Palestine, Historical Atlas of Islam, pp. 162-163 Jean-Pierre Filiu, The Origins of Hamas: Militant Legacy or Israeli Tool?, Journal of Palestine Studies, 41.3 (2012), pp. 54-70 Rola el-husseini, Resistance, Jihad, and Martyrdom in Contemporary Lebanese Shi a Discourse, Middle East Journal, 62.3 (2008), pp. 399-414 Hamas Covenant 1988 <http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp> Recommended Reading: Keefeld, Palestine/Israel, in The Brill Dictionary of Religion <references.brillonline.com>; CIA, Intelligence Report, The 1973 Arab-Israeli War: Overview and Analysis of the Conflict <primarysources.brillonline.com> 10) 30 Nov Resurgent Islam & Transnational Jihad Lecture Reading: Ayoob, Ch. 7 & 8; Shepard, pp. 211-214 & Ch. 20 Thomas Hegghammer, Global Jihadism after the Iraq War, Middle East Journal, 60.1 (2006), pp. 11-32 Barbara Metcalf, Travelers Tales in the Tablighi Jama at, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 588 (2003), pp. 136-148. Recommended Reading: Kemal Faruki, 16. The Islamic Resurgence: Prospects and Implications, in Voices of Resurgent Islam, ed. by J. Esposito (NY: OUP, 1983), pp. 277-291 Seminar Activity: Revisiting the first-day anonymous survey What have we learned in this module? Revision Class: Tuesday 3 May 2016, 11.00-12.00, S-2.23 3. Assessment (If you are a Study Abroad student at King s in Semester 1 only, please also see Section 4 below.) Coursework essay (2500 words, contributing 40% to your module mark) on an essay question listed at the end of this syllabus. Due: Monday 23 November 2015, BEFORE 4pm, on KEATS Feedback will be available on KEATS no later than Monday 21 December 2015. Feedback tutorials will offer further guidance on improving your work. Unseen written exam (2 hours, contributing 60% to your module mark): 2 out of 5 questions must be answered. The examination will take place in Period II (May-June 2016). Scope of assessment Coursework essay questions generally relate to some topics covered in the earlier part of the module. Examination questions would normally include the remaining topics, and care is taken to avoid overlap across both sets of questions. However, some examination questions may be formulated so as to encourage analysis, in the same answer, of topics that were investigated in different sessions, including those that fell early in the module. 4
What is a good essay/exam answer? Good essays and examination answers will demonstrate a nuanced grasp of any topic, an awareness of its religious/political/social/historical contexts and a capacity to develop a well-reasoned argument that is convincingly supported by reference to suitable evidence and is presented in a structured manner using clear English. For more details please see the link to marking criteria below ( Essential Information ). Best approaches to essay writing will be discussed as part of the teaching programme in the module. Students should seek advice if they are unsure of anything.] Essential information: How do I submit my essay? The Faculty of Arts & Humanities cover-sheet needs to be the first page of the submitted essays; please follow this link: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/trs/study/handbook/assessment/taught/submission.aspx The candidate number (e.g. W01234) on the cover-sheet needs to be accurate and of the present academic year. Your work cannot be attributed to you on the College systems, if this information is incomplete or wrong. The word limit includes all footnotes/endnotes, but excludes the bibliography, which you should provide. There is a 5% tolerance: no penalty will be incurred for essays that are up to 5% over the word limit. Beyond that tolerance band, two marks will be deducted for every 5% of excess words until 50% is reached. After 50%, three marks will normally be deducted for each further 5% of excess words. The MHRA/Harvard reference style has been adopted for this module. Please find the Quick Guide to Reference Styles in TRS in the TRS Handbook online. The presentation of your work, including the insertion of page numbers, quality of referencing and bibliographical information and the standard of English, has a strong bearing on the mark given for it. Submission BEFORE 4pm: Your work must be submitted via the assessment submission section of the KEATS area for the module, by the published deadline, i.e. before 4pm on the relevant day. Work with a TurnitIn time stamp of 4.00pm counts as a late submission (see next point). Late submissions will be treated as follows: Unless an extension has been granted by the Chair of the UG Programme Board of Examiners on the basis of a Mitigating Circumstances Form (MCF), supplied with supporting evidence, or comes to be granted retrospectively: - Work submitted within 24 hours after the original deadline will be marked, but the mark for this element will be capped at the pass mark of 40%. - Work submitted more than 24 hours after the original deadline will not be marked, and the submission will receive a mark of zero. Mitigating Circumstances Forms: MCFs can be downloaded from the Policy Zone of the College website. Extensions retrospectively: An extension may be granted retrospectively, providing the MCF with supporting documentation is submitted no later than 7 days after the missed assessment and supporting documentation has been received no later than 21 days after the missed assessment. Please note that extensions are granted by the TRS Assessment Board Chair and NOT by individual module tutors. Plagiarism: Please make sure that you understand the College rules on plagiarism. Information is available at: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/library/help/plagiarism/index.aspx, and you should also have been enrolled on a KEATS plagiarism module. Oral presentations and plagiarism: The College s rules on plagiarism apply to oral presentations, handouts and Powerpoint presentations just as they do to written work submitted for assessment. You must acknowledge any and all sources used in presentations and accompanying material, and must present all material in your own words except for explicitly acknowledged quotations from others. Collusion also counts as misconduct. Think twice before circulating your work to other students. Marking: Your essays for this module will be assessed according to Model 3: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/trs/study/handbook/assessment/taught/markmodels.aspx Essays: First and second markers will apply the Faculty s Undergraduate Marking Criteria: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/study/handbook/sguides/assessment/ugmarkcrit.pdf 5
Classroom presentation and participation are assessed in line with these Marking Criteria: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/trs/modules/level6/files/trs-marking-criteria-for-presentations.pdf 4. Study Abroad Students: Semester 1 only If you are studying at King s in Semester 1 only, then you must submit a final essay in lieu of the summer examination as follows: Final essay in lieu of exam (3000 words in place of a 2 hour exam, contributing 60% to the module mark). Please choose a second essay question from the list given at the end of this syllabus. Due: Monday 7 December 2015 BEFORE 4pm in hardcopy to the TRS Office. 5 Essay Questions *Consult the Online Reading List for the most pertinent sources for each essay question. Please choose ONE question: 1) Discuss key characteristics of eighteenth-century Muslim reformism. Select two figures and discuss their similarities and differences in approach, while taking into account their respective regional/historical contexts. 2) Take two modern Muslim thinkers who criticized Sufism in one way or another. Present and analyse the content of their accusations against Sufism and explain what they consider to be authentic Islamic practices/beliefs. 3) Compare early Islamic modernism in South Asia and the Arab Middle East. What are the similarities and differences in terms of their respective historical circumstances and the resultant forms of modernism? 4) Compare Islamism in Egypt and Pakistan. Choose one thinker from each country and compare their thought on the basis of their own writings. What commonalities and differences exist between the two Islamist thinkers? 5) Explain the shift from quietism to revolution in Iranian Shi ism. Explain its historical precedent in the early centuries of Islam and examine Khomeini s theological justification for this shift by consulting his own writing(s). 6 Updated 5 November 2015