Content | Required readings |Course Schedule

Content

This course will deal with selected themes in the history of Islamic societies in the modern era. It presents an overview of the modern Islamic world, and attempts to provide the historical context for understanding challenges facing Islam and Muslims today. The course also provides an occasion for looking at issues of representation and bias in the way the "West" views the Islamic peoples and cultures, and tries to trace the historical background of these views.
The course covers a range of historical moments, including the 18th century religious reform and revival movements, the decline of the Ottoman Empire, European colonialism in Muslim lands, the rise of nationalism and nation-states, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the breaking up of India, the Islamic revolution in Iran, and the more recent Gulf and Iraq wars. It also covers a range of issues present in Islamic societies including the tension between militancy and quietism, women's empowerment, religion and politics, and the evolution of traditional Islamic society over time.

Given the highly complex nature of the subject matter, the course is structured on very condensed lectures. But in addition to this traditional component the course will also have a non-traditional and active-learning constituent - the conversatorium. The lectures will thus provide the background on the histories of Islamic societies from the 18th to the 20th centuries.

All reading is required. The final examination will cover the totality of the material covered and will count for 100% of the grade.

Required readings

Lapidus, I.: History of Islamic Societies, Second Edition (2002)
Fawaz Tarazi F. and Bayly C.A. (eds.): Modernity and Culture- From the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean
Omid Safi (ed.): Progressive Muslims: On Gender, Justice, and Pluralism

Course Schedule

Week 1: Introduction to the course
Lecture: Western Orientalism and Liberal Islam

Week 2: Overview of the Islamic Civilization
Lapidus, 10-111; 112-196

Week 3: Diffusion of Islamic Civilization
Lapidus, 197- 225

Week 4: Islam in Europe and Europeans in the Islamicate
Brotton J., “A global Renaissance” in Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic trade and Italian Art, p.31-61
Maalouf Amin, Leo Africanus (novel)

Week 5: Early Modern Age – The Eighteenth Century Reform and Revival
Lapidus, 453-468

Week 6: Western Domination and Modern Transformation of Islamic Societies
Hodgson, Mashall, “The Impact of the Great Western Transmutation” in The Venture of Islam, vol.3, p. 134-161 and 176-205.
Bayly, S. “Racial Readings of Emipire: Britian, France and Colonial Modernity in the Mediterranean and Asia”, in Modernity and Culture, ed. by Fawaz and Baylyl, p. 285-313

Week 7: Islam and the Modern State – Nationalism, Socialism and the Secular State
Lapidus, 469-731

Week 8: Islamic Self-Criticism and Islamic Feniminism
Abou el Fadl, Khaled. “Speaking, killing and loving in God’s Name”, and “Islam and the Challenge of Democracy”, in of a conference (http://www.scholarofthehouse.org/arrep.html)
Abou el Fadl, Khaled. “Islam and the Theology of Power”, in The Middle East Report online (http://www.merip.org/mer/mer221_abu_el_fadl.html)
Hasan Zeeshan, “Islam from Patriarchy to Feminism”, in (http://www.liberalislam.net)

Week 9: Islamic Revolution and the Rise of Political Islam
Esposito, John, “Political Islam: Beyond the Green Menace”, in (http://www.uga.edu/islam/espo.html)
Emran Qureshi and Michael Sells (eds.). The New Crusades: Constructing the Muslim Enemy, “Introduction”.

Week 10: Progressive and Liberal Islam
Kurzman, “liberal Islam;Prospects and Challenges”, in (http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/meria/journal/1999/issue3/jv3n3a2.html)
Omid Safi, “What is Progressive Islam?” in the articles of the Progressive Muslim Union (http://www.pmuna.org/)
Essack, Farid. “In Search of Progressive Islam Beyond 9/11” in Progressive Muslims
Abu-Nimer, Mohamed. Nonviolence and PeaceBuilding in Islam: Theory and Practice, “Introduction”.

Week 11: Final Examination