Note that everything on this syllabus is tentative and is subject to change at the instructor's discretion. Updates will be put on the WebCT website for the class, which you should regularly check.

Requirements: 1) Junior or Senior standing or consent of instructor. 2) an arches email address by the Wednesday of the first week of classes.

The study the beliefs of Muslims in the Modern World as seen through the lenses of the following areas of inquiry and questions:

1)Epistemology: What do the people in question believe the basis of valid knowledge should be?

2)Ontology: What do they believe is really real? How does what is more real relate to what is less real?

3) Anthropology: What do they believe human nature is? Who are we as human beings? What do they belief their identities are?

4)Psychology: What do they believe human consciousness consists of?

5)Teleology: What do they believe the purpose(s) of life is?

6) Methodology: What do they believe should be the various methods of achieve the purpose(s)?

The course will also survey various issues dealing with Islam in the Modern world such as violence, relations with Judaism and Christianity, women, and spirituality, and will deal with Islam and Islamic music and art (especially architecture) in the various areas of the world today.

Note that this is a writing intensive course.

1. To learn a methodology for the scholarly study of religion and apply it a) most importantly to the study of Islamic beliefs in the modern world, and b) to a lesser extent to the study of your own beliefs (for the sake of better understanding conflicts between Islam and the West); and
2. To gain a broad knowlegde of the major issues, regions, important historical movements, and religio-cultural dimensions of Islam in the Modern world.

Junior or Senior standing or permission of the department.

This is a writing intensive course. This means you must work closely with the TA, Ms. Bramblett, on your writing assignments. She will come in on Friday to discuss them. In general, the writing assignments will involve writing and posting (on WebCT) your responses to the readings, posting your responses to your fellow students responses.

1) 20% a midterm, covering the main terms and concepts in the article "Islam" by Nanji and in the website "Understanding Islam and Muslims" at the top of the page http://www.arches.uga.edu/~godlas/complinkisl.html, which you can also find by clicking on "Basic Questions on Islam" from my homepage. A study guide will be available on the WebCT.

5) 5% class participation and attendance

Graduate students will be required to do additional readings, submit a well-documented fifteen page analytical and research paper, and facilitate online discussions, among other responsibilities. It is required of Honors option students to do a hermeneutically objective analyses (10 pages) dealing with two contrasting Islamic positions on jihad, Islam's relations with other religions, women, and spirituality. This method of analysis will be discussed in class.

The instructor reserves the right to make any changes to this syllabus. Changes will be posted on WebCT.

Week 2 (Mon) The movie, 'Ali at Beechwood 5 pm; (Wed.) Religiology, an overview; (Fri.) Dr. Marcia's Hermansen lecture of Muslim women tody. Assignment: do Religiology Interviews (due Wednesday of week 3)

Week 3. Monday: MLK day, Wed: Discussion of Hermansen lecture, and if time, take questions on articles; Fri: Discussion of religiological interviews, in small groups; if time, take questions on articles

Week 4. Monday, Religiology, its rationale, and Religiology of Modernity and Islam, pt. 1. Read: CP 55-75 Modernity articles, CP 77-107 Islam (Nasr); Wednesday, Quiz on the four introductory articles with term sheets (not including the articles listed for Monday's reading); Friday: Religiology of Modernity and Islam, pt. 2;

Week 5 Covering Islam (Said) CP 109-128; TIMW (Traditional Islam in the Modern World- by Nasr), prologue 11-25, events of 9/11

Week 6 Modern Muslim Movements CP 129-149, TIMW ch. 6; jihad, terrorism articles and websites

Week 7. Contemporary Islam CP 151-168; TIMW, ch. 5; Ben Ladin

Week 8. Women, CP 263-68; 269-74; 275-87; 298-95; TIMW 47-58 (ch. 3)

Week 9. Central Asia and Caucasus CP 169-175, Afghanistan and Taliban

Week 10. Southeast Asia CP 235-68; Bosnia CP 245-46

Week 11 Islam and Other Religions, espcially Judaism and Christianity CP 247-54; Christian View of Islam CP 255-61

Week 12 Sub-Saharan Africa CP 221-224; South Asia CP 225-233

Week 13 African American Islam CP 297-310; CP 311-314; American Islam

Week 14 Sufism CP 321-329; CP 330-36; 337-344; 346-354

Week 15 Sufism II CP 355-69; CP 371-80

Week 16 Music and Dance CP 381-403; Art CP 405-424; Islamic Pluralism CP 425-429