Learn About Islam for Free: This January, I'm Teaching At All Souls

For the third year in a row, I'll be returning to the warm and welcoming community of Manhattan's All Souls Church.  I'll be offering a course titled, "Is Islam A Religion?: Making Sense of 1400 Years."  

The classes are free and open to the public, and will take place in Reidy Friendship Hall, in the basement of All Souls Church every Sunday morning from January 8-29th, 2012.

When: Sunday, January 8, 15, 22, 29.  Classes run from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Where: Reidy Friendship Hall (basement level), All Souls Church. Located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan on 1175 Lexington Avenue (79th Street).  It's Sunday, so parking is free on most area streets.  The 6 train stops at 77th street, and it's just a couple of blocks up Lexington from there.  Nice and easy.

Who: Everyone and anyone who's interested, regardless of faith or background, age or profession.  In the last two year's courses, we've had an incredible range of folks.

Below is an outline of the course by week.  I'll be preparing some simple materials for students to use during the course, but you don't need a background in Islam to attend and benefit.

Course Overview

Week 1 (January 8): Is Islam a Religion?

Although there are numerous similarities between and across religious traditions, religions are born in unique circumstances, and their foundational texts reflect these circumstances.  Moreover, the early history of religions often shapes how they come to develop institutions of authority, meaning, and reach, for which reason this first week will be devoted to understanding Islam’s view of the universe and humanity’s place within that universe.  I’ll include how Islam relates itself to Judaism, Christianity, and other faiths.

Week 2 (January 15): You Should Look Like Him

Although his name is increasingly mentioned, the Prophet Muhammad remains a mystery to many Americans.  Who was Islam's Prophet?  How did he relate himself to prior religious figures, such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus?  What was his impact on Arabia at the time, and what is his legacy today?  What is Muhammad’s role in Islamic practice and Muslim identity?  And how do we make sense of Muhammad’s social and political roles, considering the implications of those for many contemporary conversations around Islam, secularity, and democracy.

Week 3 (January 22): What Does Shari’ah Want?

What is Shari’ah?  Is it Islamic law? (Well, technically, no.)  Is it really about the things it’s most often associated with?  Where did it come from, how does it work, and what is its relationship to Muslim minority- and majority-communities today? You'll learn about the surprising similarities between Islamic law and the American Declaration of Independence, and some possible convergences between the Christian West and Muslim West’s legal traditions.  Because, as we are sometimes reluctant to admit, Islam’s intellectual edifice built itself, like Christendom’s, on the Hellenic heritage.  No self-respecting Islamic scholar ignored Plato or Aristotle.

Week 4 (January 29): The Arab Spring: Islam or Democracy?

Many pundits casually assumed that Islam and democracy were incompatible.  Yet the eruption of revolutions across the Middle East suggests many spoke too soon.  But while people are struggling for democracy, this emerges through the experience of colonial rule and after the articulation of secularism.  (Don’t worry, I’ll explain what I mean by all this.)  And, finally, what do we make of the electoral success of explicitly Islamist parties?

 

Comments

[Joza]

Sounds very interesting, is it possible to post the classes online via YouTube for example? So that people who can't attend get to watch?

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Sounds very interesting, is it possible to post the classes online via YouTube for example? So that people who can't attend get to watch?

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Great initiative. Looking forward to hearing more from you as a voice of reason in the wilderness of partisan views.

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[Hina Shah]

If I was in NYC I would have tried my utmost to attend but I am in Houston so please please consider posting an audio or video version of your lecture. I so want to hear, correction: I so need to hear about "How do we make sense of the many realities of Prophet Muhammad's(pbuh)life-politics, war, marriages, diplomacy--which we don't expect of religious leaders?"

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