Introduction to Islamic Civilization
INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM
About the Course:
The course Introduction
to Islam is for students with an interest in learning about
the Islamic civilization, the religious practices and beliefs, and/or the
history or the regions where Muslims are in the majority. We will examine the
traditions, history, and main social and legal institutions of Islam. Arguably,
Islam, as a major system of beliefs and practices in the world, affects both
Muslims and non-Muslims. Consequently, besides examining the basic tenets,
texts, and ideas of the Islamic civilization, this course focuses on the
variety of ways in which Muslims and non-Muslims have understood and
interpreted Islam. We will review the discussions surrounding the life of the
Prophet of Islam, Islamic pre-modern and modern history, the place and role of
individuals and society, the legal and economic status of women, and Islamic
governments and movements. As a survey course, we will examine these topics
through an interdisciplinary approach: we will apply textual, legal/normative,
anthropological, geographical, sociological, analytical, linguistic, and
historical methodologies.
One of the aims of this
course is to give voice to Islamic texts and provide a window into how Muslims,
in varying socio-historical contexts, view themselves and how they view others.
We will address specific topics such as Islamic doctrines and law, philosophy,
Sufi mysticism, Islamic science and arts, gender issues, politics, the ongoing
debate between modernism and traditionalism in contemporary Islamic societies,
and Islam in West. The course is ultimately an attempt to understand Islam as
an idea and as a process, never as a static and crystallized snapshot of the
world through the eyes of any specific group inside or outside the Muslim
community.
Minimally, students will
learn basic definitions of key terms and concepts, identify major social and
political trends, locate demographic and political centers within the Islamic
world, understand legal and philosophical norms, contextualize historical
events, expose hidden and public tensions within and without Muslim and/or
non-Muslim communities, and acquire a basic understanding of the origins,
developments, and limits of the Islamic civilization.
Required texts:
·
Islam, by Huston
Smith
·
Islam, by Seyyed Hossein
Nasr
·
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
·
Reading Packet (articles + chapters) available online (ICON)
·
The Qur’ān online
Resources:
Supplemental and Research
Materials:
·
Mystical
Dimensions of Islam; Author: Annemarie Schimmel
·
Islam
: A Short History (Modern Library Chronicles); Author: KAREN ARMSTRONG
·
Islam, Author: Neal Robinson
·
Thomas Cleary (Translator), The
Qur'an: A New Translation (Starlatch Press, 2004).
·
THOMAS CLEARY (Translator), The
Wisdom of the Prophet: The Sayings of Muhammad (Shambhala,
2001).
·
al-Nawawi's Forty hadith: An
Anthology of the Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, translated by
Ezzeddin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davies, (Cambridge, UK: Islamic Texts
Society, 1997).
·
Fazlur Rahman, Major
Themes of the Qur’an (Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1994).
·
Michael Sells, Approaching
the Qur’an: The Early Revelations (Ashland: White Cloud Press, 1999).
·
Muhammad Asad, The
Message of the Qur’an.
·
Sayyid Qutb, Social Justice in Islam
·
Souaiaia, Contesting
Justice: Women, Islam, Law & Society; (SUNY Press, 2009).
Requirements:
Students’ final assessment is neither based solely on the assigned
readings nor exclusively on the in-class lectures and quiz sections with
Teaching Assistants. Rather, it will be based on all activities associated with
the course. The reading materials are
intended to provide an adequate background for the lectures whereby one
complements the other. Subsequently, quizzes and tests’ questions will be more
or less equally distributed between the reading assignments and the lecture
materials. It is imperative that
students stay on schedule and do the readings as scheduled and before attending
lectures and discussion sections.
Generally, if a student were to not attend 50% of lectures and not read
the assigned materials, such a student will fail the course.
Evaluations:
Students’ final grades are
based on the accumulative grades in quizzes, tests, reactions to reading
materials, and group projects according to the following distributions:
·
Quizzes: Short quizzes covering
the lectures and the reading assignments. About 40% of final GPA.
·
Exams and test: A midterm and
final examinations the format and details of which will be decided by the TA
and Professor 2 week before they are proctored. 15% + 20% = 35%
·
Research paper (and/or group
projects) and participation: 15% + 10% = 25%
Instructor and Teaching
Assistants of this course will evaluate each student's work fairly and
without bias and will assign grades based on valid academic criteria.
Fairness to students also implies reasonably consistent grading among courses
of the same level, other things being equal. For this course, the grades distribution—based
on the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences historical data—will be roughly
as follows:
|
Course’s Level
|
A
|
B
|
C
|
D
|
F
|
Average
|
|
Elementary
|
15
|
34
|
40
|
8
|
3
|
2.50
|
|
Intermediate
|
18
|
36
|
39
|
5
|
2
|
2.63
|
|
Advanced
|
22
|
38
|
37
|
3
|
1
|
2.77
|
Students final grade will
reflect the plus/minus grading. You can follow your progress by checking your
grades on ICON: grades will update after each test/quiz/paper...
There will be no
make up quizzes offered unless with a valid reason for one’s absence.
However, students may miss or drop the lowest grades of 1 quiz.
Reminders and Resources:
For each semester hour
credit in this course, students are expected to spend 2 hours per week
preparing for class sessions (e.g., three-credit-hour course requires 6 hours
per week for preparation.
A tentative schedule and
assignments will be made available online, but changes may occur; students must
check regularly for updates that will be reflected in the online version.
The University of Iowa
relies on email system to disseminate information and reach students regarding
academic matters; it is the student’s responsibility to establish an email
account and check his/her email regularly for updates relevant to this course.
Please contact me during my office hours
if you are one who has a disability which may require some modification of
seating, testing, or other class requirements so that appropriate arrangements
may be made.
The Writing Center
is available to any U of Iowa student, faculty, or staff for help with any kind
of writing, academic, personal, or professional. All writers can use feedback on their writing
and someone to act as a sounding board for their ideas. Three programs are
available: the Enrollment (twice a week program), the Evening and Friday
appointment program, and E-mail tutoring through the web site at http://www.uiowa.edu/~writingc/
Tutors help you with any aspect of writing--from brainstorming an assignment to
comma placement.
Please be advised of the
university policy on plagiarism and
cheating, as any such act will be dealt with as outlined therein.
Students who wish to
complain about the course, the Teaching Assistants, and/or the Instructor may
follow the College’s
policy as summarized below:
§
The student should to
resolve the matter with the person of concern first.
§
If the complaint is
not resolved to the student's satisfaction, the student should discuss the
matter further with the course supervisor (A. Souaiaia), the departmental
executive officer, another faculty member designated to receive complaints if
available.
§
If the matter remains
unresolved, the student may submit a written complaint to the Associate Dean
for Academic Programs, 120 Schaeffer Hall (335-2633). (Graduate students should
be directed to the offices of the Graduate
College, 205 Gilmore
Hall, 335-2137.)
Disability Statement:
"I
would like to hear from anyone who has a disability which may require seating
modifications or testing accommodations or accommodations of other class
requirements, so that appropriate arrangements may be made. Please contact me
during my office hours."