INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

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:

·         The Autobiography of Malcolm X

·         Reading Packet (articles + chapters) available online (ICON)

·         The Qur’ān online; Download Kindle, Droid, or iPad editions; order print edition of, The Quran: A Translation

Resources:

• Films, Documentaries, Interviews, Images....
• Teaching Resources on YouTube

Supplemental and Research Materials:

·          Islam, by Huston Smith

·         Islam, by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

· 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."