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Muslim Histories & Cultures

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Seminar Seven: Rise & Reach of Muslim Civilization

Summary

The religion that the Prophet Muhammad preached provided his followers an ethical and moral vision for leading a life of righteousness. By the time of his death in 632, loyalty to Muhammad and Islam also provided an important means for forging solidarity among various Arab tribes who had previously …

Seminar Ten: Case Studies – Islam in National(ist) Contexts

The second half of the twentieth century witnessed the end of European imperial rule over many parts of the world. In the aftermath of World War II, the network of institutions that had enabled European control over Asian and African societies became increasingly weak and unstable. As a result, movements …

Seminar Nine: Islamic Modernism

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The onset of European imperialism created a crisis of monumental proportions in the Muslim world. For Muslim intellectuals and religious scholars, it became abundantly clear that the nations of Europe had been able to conquer and subdue Muslim societies due to superior weaponry and machinery. The crisis, however, …

Seminar Eight: Religion, Politics, & Modernity: Competing Visions of Muslim Societies From the 18th & 19th Centuries

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During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, European economies began to expand as the need for raw materials increased. Political and economic competition forced the establishment of worldwide territorial empires. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the European powers, including Russia (and China) had completed their conquest of …

Seminar Six: Communities of Interpretation

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The centuries leading up to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century saw a culmination of Muslim spiritual and intellectual traditions, with masterpieces of literature, metaphysics, and theology. Sufi mystics, seeking a personal, subjective experience of God, gradually came to form networks of fraternal orders spanning the Muslim world. …

Seminar Five: Communities of Interpretation

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We can trace much of the diversity in the Muslim world to religious, philosophical, and political tensions that arose in the centuries after the Prophet Muhammad’s death.  Sunni and Shi’a communities, for example, were divided by disagreements on the succession of leadership after Muhammad, while the rise of a …

Seminar Four: The Qur’an: Major Themes

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Session Four readings consider the Qur’an as a written literary text, that is, in its physical form as a compiled book. Discussion of the Qur’an’s style, structure and contents, its terminology and world-view and the diverse ways in which Muslim communities interpret it, help the reader understand the “mechanics” of …

Seminar Three: The Qur’an: Context & Recitation

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The readings selected for Session Three illustrate the role that the Qur’an plays in the lives of Muslims as an oral/aural scripture. While Jews and Christians view their holy books as narratives of divine inspiration that are accessible through the written word, many Muslims interact with and encounter their …

Seminar Two: Muhammad through History

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Muhammad, Prophet of Islam, ranks amongst the most influential figures in human history. For millions of Muslims around the world, the Prophet Muhammad has become the paradigm, or role model, who is worthy of being emulated. As God’s chosen prophet and messenger, he best embodied how to live a life …