Monday

Syllabus For Religion 328,
Experiencing Islam,
Fall 2004

Omid Safi
osafi@mail.colgate.edu

No paper version of the syllabus will be handed out, and I will count on you checking with this web page to get the readings. The web page will be continually changed, so don't print it up! (besides, that kinda defeats the whole saving trees thing anyway!)

Monday, August 30th: Half day. For today only, we will meet at 11:30.

Wednesday, September 1st:
*Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, Islamic Societies in Practice, second edition, "Introduction", plus Chapters 1, 2 from (pp. 1-59)
*Ahmet Karamustafa essay in Progressive Muslims

Monday, September 6th,
Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, Islamic Societies in Practice, second edition, chapters 3, 4, 5 (pp. 60-162)

Wednesday, September 8th:
Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, Islamic Societies in Practice, second edition, chapters 6, 7 (pp. 163-232)
*Narratives on Adam and Eve

The foundations
of Islamic thought and practice

Monday, September 13th:
*Chittick, The Vision of Islam, ix-84.
*Narratives on Abraham

Wednesday, September 15:
*Chittick, The Vision of Islam, 85-192.
*narratives on Jesus and Mary in Qur'an

Monday, September 20th:
*Chittick, The Vision of Islam, 193-294.
* Narratives on Moses

Wednesday, September 22nd:
Narratives on Prophet Muhammad
midterm handed out today,
due Friday October 1st.

Tasawwuf

The Sufi dimension of Islam:
To be at ease with God.

Monday, October 18th:
Helminski, Women of Sufism, 1-108.

Wednesday, October 20:
Helminski, Women of Sufism, 109-191

Monday, October 25th:
Helminski, Women of Sufism, 192-303

Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Islamic Discourse:

Wednesday, November 10th:
*Read essays by Sa'diyya Shaikh and Scott Kugle in Progressive Muslims
*Read essays by Zoharah Simmons and Kecia Ali in Progressive Muslims

Islam in the Contemporary World:
post-modern Muslims

Monday, November 15th:
The framing of the 9/11 atrocities in religious discourse, and Muslim responses
"Jihad against Jews and Crusaders"
Browse: "Al-Qa'idah and the Qur'an: The 'tafsir' of Usamah bin Laden"

For Muslim responses, explore http://groups.colgate.edu/aarislam/response.htm

Wednesday, November 17th: Read for today Essays by Omid Safi, Farid Esack, Ebrahim Moosa, and Farish Noor in Progressive Muslims

Monday, November 22nd:
Film in class; Islam, Empire of Faith
read: *Khaled Abou El Fadl, "Terrorism is at Odds with Islamic Tradition";
Explore: http://www.unc.edu/~kurzman/terror.htm

Wednesday, November 24th: No class, Thanksgiving.

Monday, November 29th:
Film in Class: Muhammad, Legacy of a Prophet
(no readings, catch up with what you've fallen behind on)

Wednesday, December 1st:
Essays by Tazim Kassam, Amir Hussain, Amina Wadud, and Marcia Hermansen in Progressive Muslims

Monday, December 6th:
Film in class: Frontline: Muslims.
Leila Ahmed, A Border Passage, 1-157

Wednesday, December 8th:
Leila Ahmed, A Border Passage (158-end)