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Schedule
Notes:
Parallel public events and performances
are
in green
For a complete list, see this
link.
Deadlines and important dates are in red
* = Instructor out of town for lectures
1. Aug.
24 Introduction
In-class writing and small group discussion:
- what
are the top five things you want to know about this subject?
- what are
the three most significant things you can think of about Islam
right now? What are your sources for these items?
- what are
your expectations from this course?
I. Islam in the Eyes of the West
2. Aug.
26 Clash of Civilizations?
Reading: Ernst, Following Muhammad, Preface
(available online here),
and Chapter 1, "Islam in the Eyes of the West." (online version here
requires username/password). Notes.
Assignment: pick one item from the online dossier of news
stories about the UNC
Qur'an controversy and discuss its implications.
3. Aug.
31 The study of Islam and the nature
of religion
Reading: Ernst, Following Muhammad, Chapter
2. (online
version here
requires username/password). Notes.
II. The Sacred Sources of Islam
4. Sept.
2 The Prophet Muhammad
Reading: Following Muhammad, pp. 71-93, 108-119
"The Hilya,
or
the Adornment of the Prophet", from the website of Pakistani
calligrapher
Rashid Butt
Study
questions: What kind of devotional attitude toward Muhammad is
indicated by the Hilya? What is the impact of hadith sayings from the
Prophet for Muslim ethics?
5. Sept.
7 Introduction
to the Qur'an
Reading: Following Muhammad, pp. 93-105; Notes
Ken Woodward's Newsweek article, "In the
Beginning, There Were the Holy Books"
Study questions: why does Woodward argue that Muslims are violent for
religious reasons, but that Christians and Jews are violent for other
reasons? Does this mean that, in his view, all Muslims are
fundamentalists, but that Christians and Jews are not?
Sells, pp. 1-70
6. Sept.
9 Surahs
1, 53, 82-93
Reading: Sells, pp. 71-141
7. Sept.
14 Surahs 93-114
Reading: Sells, pp. 142-168
Listen to all of the different recordings of one particular surah on
the CD that comes with the Sells book, either surah 1 (tracks 2, 23,
33), surah 82 (tracks 3, 8, 16, 24), surah 91 (4, 9, 17, 25), surah 97
(tracks 5, 10, 13, 18, 26, 29), surah 99 (tracks 6, 11, 14, 19, 22, 27,
30), or surah 101 (tracks 7, 12, 15, 20, 21, 28, 31).
Study questions: What are the different qualities of the different
reciters (see biographies on pp. 218-9), and how do they bring out the
text?
8. Sept.
16 Interpretations of the
Qur'an, 1
Reading: Bruce B. Lawrence, The Book of Signs: The Qur'an over Time,
Overview,
Preface,
and Part
1 (username/password required)
9. Sept.
21 Interpretations of the
Qur'an, 2
Reading: Bruce
B. Lawrence, The Book of Signs: The Qur'an over Time, Part
2 , Part
3 (username/password required)
10.
Sept. 23 Interpretations of the
Qur'an, 3. Guest speaker: Prof. Bruce Lawrence (Duke
University)
Reading:
Bruce B. Lawrence, The Book of Signs: The Qur'an over Time, Part
4 (username/password required)
11.
Sept. 28 Interpreting a difficult
text
The Sura
of the Cave (Qur. 18), trans. W. N. Crest
(username/password required); See "Questions to Consider" in
the prefatory remarks to this reading for suggested study questions.
Also try reading this translation out loud. Are there any
passages that sound awkward or difficult?
IV.
Religious Practice
12.
Sept. 30 Ritual Prayer
Reading: Sells, pp. 145-155. Listen to tracks 1 and 32, the Sunni and
Shi`i calls to prayer
Web source: Prof. Alan Godlas's "The
Practice and Faith of Islam" page -- read section on Prayer, and
read
the links on A
Beginner's
Guide to Performing Islamic Prayers and then check out Islamicity's
Prescribed Prayers page.
Study questions: The Shi`i call to prayer adds a phrase to the
profession
of faith: "There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God,
and
`Ali is the friend of God." What are the implications of adding this
third
phrase? How does the Muslim ritual prayer compare with prayers
practiced
by Protestant Christians, or other religious groups you may be familiar
with?
13. Oct.
5 Religious Doctrine
Reading: al-Fiqh
al-Akbar, by Abu Hanifa
Study questions: What are some distinct doctrines of Islam? Compare
the traditions and customs of Islam to those of other religions.
14. Oct.
7 Texts as the basis of
authority
Reading: Mernissi, The Veil, pp. vi-ix, 1-48
Study questions: why would feminist Mernissi find it necessary to go
into biographical criticism of hadith regarding the political role of
women?
for what purposes can sacred texts like the hadith be used? what are
the
issues that govern the estimation of hadith as authentic or fabricated?
Bring draft of midterm
essay to class for peer editing.
V. Islamic Art
*15.
Oct. 12. No
Class -- University Day
Drafts of midterm essays should
be exchanged with other students by today; please confirm hand-off with
peer editors.
Fall
Break
16. Oct.
19 Calligraphy, the art
of the word
Film: ART AND THE ISLAMIC WORLD 1993
(V-4475)
Reading: The Grove Dictionary
of Art Online, "Islamic Art," I.
Introduction, esp. sections 1 (Definition) and 8 (Subject-matter) Ernst,
"The
Spirit of Islamic Calligraphy"; Web Site on "The
Art of Arabic Calligraphy"
Questions: spiritual aspects of Islamic calligraphy; the relation
between
aesthetic experience and content in Islamic calligraphy
Final drafts of midterm essays due at 5 pm
in Saunders 101 mailbox.
17. Oct.
21 What is Islamic Art?
Ackland Art Museum visit
--> meet
inside Museum lobby at 9:30 a.m. sharp (Columbia St. entrance); click
here for a map.
Reading:
Following
Muhammad, Chapter 5, section on Islamic
art
Judith Ernst, "The
Artist and Globalization"
Read one section from Jazuli's
Dala'il al-Khayrat, one of the texts on display)
Study questions (turn in next time): aspects of religious practice
in prayer carpet, watch for prayer times and direction, mosque arch
with
inscription ("Prayer is the ascension of the believer") and decoration
(lamps). Formulas of blessings on the Prophet as a devotional exercise.
VI. Islamic Ethics and Society
18. Oct.
26 Introduction
to Islamic Law
Film: Remaking the World (this is
actually
about modern fundamentalism rather than the theory of Islamic law, but
it has some relevance)
Shari`ah
and Fiqh (a brief explanation of these terms with charts)
Ethics
(Moral
system in Islam) from Al-Azhar University (Cairo)
Web sites: http://www.npr.org/programs/watc/cyberislam/index.html
(click on " Part I: Building Islamic Communities Online.")
Study questions: authoritative texts as the source of law and ethics;
the effect of the Internet on religious community
Pick a fatwa from one of the following websites, and discuss it:
19. Oct. 28 Islamic Ethics
Reading: Islamic
Ethics, by Azim Nanji of the Ismaili Institute (London)
Ethics,
philosophy, and politics (an extract from Chapter 4, "Ethics and
Life in the World"), from Following Muhammad, by Carl W. Ernst
Study questions: pluralism in Islamic ethics vs. authority; religious
ethics and philosophical ethics.
20. Nov.
2 Rethinking women in
early Islamic society
Reading: Mernissi, The Veil, pp. 102-195
Web sites: THE
VEIL DEBATE IN FRANCE
Facilitators: Megan Hodgson, Lauren Ruthven, Lauren Ferguson
VII. Ascending into Paradise, and Returning to Earth:
Spirituality and Mysticism
21. Nov.
4 The nature of Islamic
mysticism
Reading: Ernst, Following Muhammad,
pp. 164-82
Islam:
Basic Beliefs and Mystical Interpretation (online PowerPoint
presentation)
Facilitators:
Heath Alexander, Dale Barefoot, Paul Robertson
22. Nov.
9 The Qur'an and
spirituality
Reading: Ernst, Teachings of Sufism, chapter
1 (password required)
Study questions: spiritual interpretation of an authoritative text
Facilitators:
Will West, Daniel Wilkes, Jessica Hanlin, Brandon Baird
*23.
Nov.
11 Lives of the saints.
Guest speaker: Zumrad Ahmedjanova
(Samarqand, Uzbekistan)
Reading: Ernst, Teachings of Sufism, "Lives
of Women Saints" (password required)
Annemarie Schimmel, "My
soul is a woman"
Study questions: What are the main images of ideal behavior in stories
of saintly women? How does the definition of these women saints differ
from the conventional, western view of saints? Do the biographies of
these
saints reinforce or break the stereotypes of islamic women? What are
some
common attributes of these saints?
24. Nov.
16 Modern Debates on
Women's Rights
Reading: Kurzman, Liberal Islam, pp. 101-142
Questions: liberal interpretations of Islamic tradition regarding women
LIBERAL
ISLAM WEB SITES
Facilitators:
Rachel Braden, Jennifer Velez, Sara Schooley
VIII.
Rethinking Islam in the 21st Century
25. Nov.
18 Questions on
Misogyny
Reading: Mernissi, The Veil, pp. 49-101
Gender
and Scripture in Islam: Some Thorny Issues (online PowerPoint
presentation)
MuslimWomen Lawyers Association, Karama
Study questions: the role of misogyny in different societies
Facilitators:
Kelly Istock, Casey Cline, Jesse Wooten
*26.
Nov. 23 Film on Hajj
Pilgrimage
to Mecca
MECCA, THE FORBIDDEN CITY c.1960. 52min. UNC catalog no. V1488 [Saudi
Arabia]. This is still the classic film of the Hajj, the pilgrimage to
Mecca, leading the viewer through the ritual step by step. The
involvement
of the individual as an individual, as well as the sense of Islamic
community
are implicit.
Reading: one of the following four web sites:
1.Two weeks
Deluxe Hajj From USA
2.Virtual
Hajj
3.Diagram
of Hajj sequence
Study questions: in what ways does the hajj pilgrimage create a sense
of religious community?
Draft final essays should be brought to
class
for peer editing
27.
Nov. 30 Islamic debates on
Democracy and Modernity
Reading: Kurzman, Liberal Islam, pp. 59-98
Study questions: adapting Islamic tradition to democratic
institutions
Facilitators:
David Greenslade, Arif Khan, Jackie Gilstrap, Zaina Mojtaba
28. Dec.
2 Conclusions
Study question (required for everyone): How has your attitude toward
Islam changed as a result of what you have learned in this course?
Final
essays should
be exchanged with other students by today; please confirm hand-off with
peer editors.
Dec. 10, 5 pm -- Final Essays due in
mailbox in Saunders
125
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