Doelstelling
Description
The phenomenon of conversion, to, from or within Islam, tops the list of the contemporary front-page issues with direct relevance to the current presence of Islam in the West. This phenomenon has been attracting the attention of the politicians, the journalists and recently the academic researchers as well.
The well-known intellectuals and public figures in the West who converted to Islam such as Leopold Weiss (later known as Muhammad Asad) and the pop singer Cat Stevens (later known as Yusuf Islam) represent the example of conversion to Islam. On the other hand, the group known recently as the ex-Muslims represent the other side of conversion, namely, conversion from Islam or “apostasy” as known in Islamic legal texts. Between these two sides, the fluctuating degree of religiosity among young Muslims in the West and the importance of Islam as part of their “identity” represent the third type of conversion, viz., conversion within Islam.
Keeping in mind the available academic research on this phenomenon, studies on conversion to Islam will represent the main body of literature used for this seminar. Theories and typologies of religious conversion developed by scholars of comparative religion and the social sciences (sociology, psychology, anthropology) have rarely taken into account conversions to Islam. This situation has changed in recent years, when the increasing presence of Islam in the West has stimulated researchers to test the applicability of available theories and typologies to the phenomenon of conversions to Islam in Europe and the United States. In line with these developments, the main questions of the seminar will be: (1) What can we learn from the available theories and typologies (usually designed on the basis of evidence related to conversions to other religions than Islam) for a better understanding of the contemporary phenomenon of conversions to Islam in the West? (2) To what extent might the available evidence on conversions to Islam in the West lead us to improve upon these theories and typologies? (3) What is the role of Sufism in the West and mixed marriages in the conversion process?
Onderwijsvorm
The Seminar will convene 12 times. During each session, a number of presentations based on the reading assignments (see below) will be given. These presentations will be criticized and discussed by staff and participants. The reading assignments which will be central during the first 9 sessions will handle the phenomenon of conversion from different perspectives. We start with a study conducted in the field of Islamic studies on the Western intellectuals who converted to Islam. Secondly, a study conducted in the United States on the applicability of available theories on conversion to the case of those who convert to Islam is in order. The third study has been conducted in the field of psychology about converts to Islam in the United Kingdom. The fourth study has been conducted by a historian of religion about the converts to Islam in the Scandinavian countries. Finally, a study on the phenomenon of conversion from Islam “apostasy” in the West will be handled.
The last 3 sessions will pay attention to the outlines of the research papers to be prepared by the participants who are willing to upgrade their participation in the seminar to 10 ECTS.
Research paper
Students participating in this seminar are strongly recommended to write a concise research paper on a subject falling within the broad scope of the seminar. They will present a 1 page outline of their paper during the last three meetings of the seminar.
Acceptable subjects of the research papers might handle any of the aforementioned three types of conversion, namely to Islam, from Islam, or within Islam. Examples of these subjects include, (1) a critical testing of the typologies of conversions to Islam in Europe available in recent research publications; (2) a critical study of the social and cultural consequences of the event of conversion; (3) a study of the religious, cultural and/or political views developed by the Western converts to Islam following their conversion; (4) a critical analysis of the movement of Ex-Muslims in the West; (5) gender and conversion to Islam in the West; (6) the religiosity among young Muslim generations in the West.
Examination
Active participation in class, presentation and end-term paper
Literatuur
ABDELRAZAQ, Salah: Neo-Muslim Intellectuals and their Contribution to Islamic Thought and the Formation of European Islam. Leiden, 2005 (Ph.D.-dissertation)
POSTON, Larry: Islamic Da’wah in the West. Muslim Missionary Activity and the Dynamics of Conversion to Islam. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992, pp. 145-181
KOSE, Ali Conversion to Islam. A Study of Native British Converts. London and New York: Kegan Paul International, 1996.
ROALD, Anne Sofie: New Muslims in the European Context. The Experience of Scandinavian Converts. Leiden: Brill, 2004.
GHALY, Mohammed: Apostasy in Islam, Public or Private: Early and Modern Discussions of Muslim scholars and their relevance for Muslims in the West, in Hofstee, Wim & Arie van der Kooij (Eds.), Religion, Public or Private? Papers presented to the Fourth International Conference of the Leiden Institute for the Study of Religions (LISOR) held at Leiden, 27-28 March 2008 Leiden: Brill, forthcoming.
Time table
See time table Master Religious Studies
Remarks
For further information or questions, prospective students or those interested in any of the topics of this seminar are advised to contact Dr. Mohammed Ghaly, e-mail: m.ghaly@religion.leidenuniv.nl.