Admission requirements
None. The course is open to all students.
Description
This lecture course is designed as an introduction to Islam, in both its pre-modern and modern manifestations. The semester begins with an overview of the historical beginnings and emergence of religious foundations of Islam. We will especially consider the Qur’an and accounts of the life of the Prophet Muhammad, and trace how they were understood and drawn on in different parts of the Islamic world and as distinct parts of Islamic life, including ritual, jurisprudence, philosophy, and Sufism. We then take a look at transitions from pre-modern to modern Islam, focusing on the ruptures caused by colonialism and Western modernity, and trace how they resulted in the diversity of political Islamic movements in the 20th and 21st centuries, ranging from liberal Islam to Islamic Third-Worldism and Jihadism. This course is a prerequisite for anyone who wants to take more advanced Islam courses at Leiden University.
Course objectives
In this class, students will gain
Knowledge:
- Basic knowledge of Islam in its different expressions across time and around the world
Insight:
A critical understanding of mutual influences between socio-political contexts and religious views
An awareness of differences and interactions between normative prescriptions and everyday religious experience
Skills:
Competence in reading, viewing, and interpreting a wide range of primary and secondary sources
Optional: Experience in collaborating effectively with others in weekly multiple-choice exams
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
The course consists of lectures. Attendance is not obligatory and the lecturer does not need to be informed in case of missed classes. The lectures will not be recorded, but the powerpoints will be made available on Brightspace. Since the lectures are partof the required materials for the exams, students are strongly advised to attend all lectures.
Assessment method
Assessment
Two forms of assessment will be used:
a) weekly Multiple Choice test: each week, a multiple choice test about the assigned literature and lecture of that week is to be made online (on Brightspace). The student can make that test anywhere during that week, but the test is to be made within half hour. The student can make the test only once and receive a score between 0 and 10; the average of all scores will be the grade. If the student misses a test, for whatever (justifiable) reason, the test result will be zero: there is no option to re-do a test. However, of all the 11 tests, only 10 with the highest grades will count.
b) Final Exam: open ('essay') questions about ALL literature and lectures.
NB: There will be no Midterm Exam
Weighing
MC tests: 40% (10 tests of 4% each)
Final Exam: 60%
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Resit
The Resit Exam replaces the grade of the Final Exam. Resit can only be taken if a) the Final Exam grade is less than 5.5, OR b) if the final calculated exam is less than 5.5.
No Resit is possible for the MC tests.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Basic reading:
Bashir, Shahzad. 2022. A New Vision for Islamic Pasts and Futures. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
A detailed list of all other course materials (including articles, films, podcasts, websites, etc.) will be made available through Brightspace before the beginning of the course.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration À la carte education, Contract teaching and Exchange
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of À la carte education (without taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of Contract teaching (with taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office Herta Mohr
Remarks
None.