Term paper
moly89
ReadingsandLecture-20181218.zipDenny_Faith_Pillars_Quran_Sunnah_Theology_Law.pdf
Esposito_Chapter 1_ Muhammad and the Quran_Messagenger and Message.pdf
Lecture_Week 1_Women in Islam.pptx
Welcome!
Make sure to click on the audio icon!
Make sure to read ALL CLASS readings.
The lectures will focus on some aspects of the readings and information from outside your reading assignment.
Hence, it is important to read the readings for the week and listen to lectures as well as watch any videos for that week. You will be quizzed and tested on all materials assigned even if I do not lecture on it!
By the end of the first day of each week, usually Monday afternoon (unless otherwise noted), you will have all materials needed for that week’s quizzes and Discussion Board assignments.
Please read the syllabus carefully and make sure you have taken note of all due dates for our class assignments and exams.
Our class will consist of 10 Discussion Board Forums, 10 Weekly Quizzes, a Midterm Exam, a Media Report, and a Final Take Home Exam.
If you have any questions, please email me or use the titanium message on our class titanium page. My email is [email protected]
RLST 373-50, Women in Islam
This class is a reading intensive class and uses many key texts that are highly relevant to the subject of women in Islam. For this reason we have a number of books that will be very important for you to secure. Fortunately, most of the books you need can be found at the Pollak library, online. Also, there will be a number of articles and single chapters for you to read. I will have the link to all online material under the “Lecture and Readings” file for each week. You should be able to access the majority of the reading through this file. Please make sure to secure the Leila Ahmed book, Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate, as soon as possible. You will need it in the third week of class. It is NOT found at the Pollak library. You will have to purchase it by the 3rd week of class. It is a fundamental book in our class and you will need it for the midterm and final exams, as well as quizzes and Discussion Board assignments.
The emphasis of our class, as stated by the class title, will be on women in Islam. This means that we will examine the role of women in Islam in the multiple facets or elements of the religion of Islam and the multiple factors that interact within Islam and with Muslims. These elements include the Quran, sunnah, history (traditional history, colonial history and post-colonial history), people (Muslim and non-Muslim), geography (both east and west), law (Islamic law and state law), pop-culture, and many more areas. The topics we will discuss are:
Women in Tradition, Prophets and their Wives and Women Around the Prophet
Status of Women in Early Islam
Women in Dynasties and Empires
Colonialism and Post-Colonialism
Sufi Women and Female Muslim Scholars
Islam and Feminism: Rereading the Sacred Text
Western Re-Presentations of Muslim Women
In this class, and in almost all classes that are held under the topic of Islamic Studies, it is important to understand the life of the Prophet Muhammad and His relationship to the Quran. You cannot begin to study women in Islam without knowing the history of and the role of the Prophet Muhammad and the Quran to Muslims.
Starting from the most basic and earliest points of Islam:
Muhammad born in 570 CE
Muhammad received the first revelation of the Quran in 610CE
The Quran would be revealed to the Prophet piece meal for 23 years.
Muhammad dies in 632 CE.
The Quran is believed by Muslims to be the literal word of God.
A Question for consideration:
What does this relationship between the Quran and Muhammad mean in terms of power, authority, and importance for how we begin can think of women in Islam?
The Prophet Muhammad was an Exemplar of Muslim Life and Piety
Muslims look to the Prophet Muhammad’s example for guidance in all aspects of life. This includes anything ranging from:
How and what to eat
How to pray and come close to God
Raising Children
How to be a good husband and father
How to hold elections
What to do in a cases of conflict with family, neighbor, school or in the case of political negotiations and diplomacy
How to live among non-Muslims
How to respond to modern day science and technology
The list is immense….
It is important to read the short summary of the Prophet Muhammad’s life, particularly if you are not familiar with his life and his role in Islam and his authority and influence on Muslims!!
Fundamental concepts taught by Muhammad and maintained by Muslims in all of their thought and writings, theological or not.
Tawhid, Absolute Monotheism
Nabuwa, Prophethood
Al-Hayat Ba’d al Mawt, Life After Death
Although not new to Judaism and Christianity, these three concepts were absent in tribal belief systems. Muhammad began to preach to his tribe of Quraysh. Such teachings would challenge and shake up Arabian tribes and their ideas of God and justice.
The Two Sources of Islamic Thought whether it is theology, Islamic law or practice.
Quran: Primary and Highest Source of Authority. Believed by Muslims to be the literal word of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel piecemeal over a period of 23 years. All verses were collected together in what is known as the Quran.
Sunnah: The Second Highest Source of Authority. It is the sayings, actions, and tacit approvals of the Prophet Muhammad captured in what is a body of collections called the hadith or oral and written traditions of the Prophet Muhammad. Each hadith contains a message, matn, and a chain of transmitters, isnad, capturing what the prophet either said, did, or tacitly approved of.
Doctrines of Islamic Faith
Belief in the Absolute Unity of God
Belief in the Books or Scriptures of previous messengers sent by God. Torah, Gospel, etc.
Belief in the Previous Messengers and Prophets of God. Abraham, Moses, Jesus (not divine), David, Adam, Isaac, Ishmael, etc.
Belief in Angels sent as messengers between God and humanity. Angel Gabriel, Angel Michael
Belief in the Final Judgement. All humans will be brought back to life and will be judged on their actions and belief in God. Individual accountability.
Divine Decree and Predestination. God’s power over everything, although humans have freewill, they don’t have the power to act upon their free will without the power of God.
Five Pillars of Islam, Five acts of worship that every Muslim does whether from the Sunni or Shiite school of thought. .
Shahadah, Witness that there is no god but the one true God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.
Salah, Pray 5 times a day.
Sawm, Fast from sunrise to sunset during the entire month of Ramadan
Zakat, Alms which 2.5% of one’s wealth that has been not been used for one year.
Hajj, Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a life time if financially, physically able to go.
Shariah: A Path to a water source.
Shariah literally means a path to a water source.
Shariah also originally meant the Quran and Sunnah.
However, it now popularly means Islamic Law.
Islamic Law or Shariah Law is the big umbrella term that covers the complex system of deriving rulings from the Quran and Sunnah.
Shariah has also been classified as the “Art of Living Together”
Fiqh: Islamic Jurisprudence
Fiqh, means Islamic Jurisprudence. The legal method of deriving law from authoritative text. In our case, Quran and Sunnah.
Fiqh is under the umbrella of Islamic Law or Shariah Law.
Islamic Jurisprudence is highly pluralistic and scholars agree on a number of clear principles but don’t agree on what falls under the 5 categories of acts: 1. obligatory, 2. recommended, 3. neutral, 4. discouraged and 5. forbidden.
The Four sources for the Methodology of Islamic Jurisprudence is:
1. Quran
2. Sunnah
3. Qiyas or Analogy
4. Ijma’ or Consensus among the scholars of Islamic law.
Two Main Branches of Islam
Sunnis make up about 85% of Muslims around the world.
Shi’is make up about 15% of Muslims around the world.
Sunnis and Shi’is agree on the main aspects of Islam, the doctrines of faith, the pillars of Islam, and the authority of the Quran and Sunnah.
The disagree on who should have led the Muslim community after the death of the prophet. Shi’is believe that Ali, the cousin of the Prophet, should have led the Muslims as Caliph because they claimed the Prophet Muhammad had ordered this before he died.
Sunnis don’t believe that was the order of the Prophet. Sunnis won out on this one and the first three Caliphs were not from the bloodline of the Prophet.
Shi’is and Sunnis basically disagree on the leadership of the Muslim community and the way in which God will protect the Muslims from error.
In our class, we will read texts by both Sunnis and Shi’is.
Final Thought!
When doing your readings later this semester, the concepts you have learned this week will be very helpful because they are at the center of all discussions!
These are the basic sources that Muslims will continuously refer back to in relating to women, the role of women and gender guidelines, etc. Often times, these sources are analyzed and interpreted depending on the analyzer or the interpreter. Important questions to ask are: Who is doing the interpreting? Are the sources being used appropriately or fairly? Are the sources being used in their entirety? How authoritative are these sources? Do Muslims all agree on these same guidelines? Are there differences among Muslims on these guidelines? (Often there is a multiplicity of opinions)?
The story of the Prophet is very important in order to understand who he was as a messenger and the way Muslims refer to him. This means when the question of gender comes up, the prophetic example and the teachings of the Quran will be key to understanding the who, what, and why of the relationship between women and Islam. Make sure to spend time reading about the Prophet Muhammad in the Esposito and Denny pdf uploaded to week 1.
2018
Voice Recorder
Recording 1_Welcome and Intro
2018
Voice Recorder
Week 1_Muhammad_Page 5
