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ISLAMIC STUDIES

School

Boston University Graduate Program in Religion

CASRN 532

Literacy and Islam in Africa

BTI Category

Semester

Islamic Studies

FA26

Examines the Islamization of Africa and literary traditions. Students learn about African texts written in the Arabic script (Ajami) and the spread of Islam and its Africanization throughout the continent. Texts written by enslaved Africans in the Americas are examined. 

Professor

Class Day & Time

Ngom, Fallou

TR

2:00-3:15pm

Grading Option

Letter, P/F, Audit

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3175

Indian Ocean Islam: African-Asian Connected Histories

BTI Category

Semester

Islamic Studies

FA26

Does thinking oceanically influence the study of Islam? Can we remember a people’s history of the Indian Ocean world? This course considers these questions and others as it focuses on religious worlds within port cities and the networks of Indian Ocean Islam. The course examines how religion in port cities and islands was centered upon a plethora of saints, missionaries, divinities and other agents of Islam, who have been marginalized in academic literature on the Indian Ocean. It simultaneously examines how oceanic religion was intimately connected to economic, political and technological developments. Students will be introduced to scholarship on oceanic Islam and monsoon Islam, before they are introduced to a variety of sources on transregional Islamic networks and agents of Islam, including biographies, hagiographies, travelogues, novels, poems and ethnographic accounts. Students will, moreover, be encouraged to consider ways in which approaches to studying Islam could be enhanced by a focus on religious economies and networks, as well as the lives of ‘subalterns’ who crossed the porous borders of the Indian Ocean world and shaped its religious worlds. Jointly offered in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Religion 1821 and Islamic Civilizations 136.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Sevea

F

09:00am-11:45am

Grading Option

Letter

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Hartford International

TH-553, Sect 1

Introduction to Islamic Theology

BTI Category

Semester

Islamic Studies

FA26

This course provides an introduction to the breadth and depth of Islamic theology, through a close reading of primary texts, supplemented by secondary literature for historical context and further analysis. The foundational Islamic beliefs and concepts (God, Prophets, Life after Death, the nature of faith, theodicy) are discussed with reference to the role of reason and scriptural texts (Qur'an and Hadith), as well as the competing methodologies of different Islamic theological schools. We also examine theology's interaction with and impact on Sufism, philosophy, law, and society, including the concept of orthodoxy, and theological developments in the modern world. Course fulfills the following curricular requirements:
MAIRS - Interreligious Studies Elective
MAIRS - Islamic Studies Elective
MAIRS - Islamic Studies: Beliefs and Practices
MAIRS - Islamic Studies: Foundational Fields
MAC - Islamic Chaplaincy Elective

Professor

Class Day & Time

TBD

W

7:00-9:00pm

Grading Option

Letter

Credits

3

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Harvard Divinity School

HDS 3057

Intro to Islam through Prophetic Traditions

BTI Category

Semester

Islamic Studies

FA26

This course will engage in a critical reading and analysis of well-known Muslim prophetic traditions and a study of the practices of the Prophet Muhammad. Through analysis of Muslim prophetic traditions, such as “Hadith Jibril,” we will develop an understanding of the Islamic value systems, Islamic manners/etiquette and Prophetic Character. The fundamental building blocks such as Islam (the physical surrender of the body), Iman (internal truth), and Ihsan (excellence and beauty) will be closely examined. We will focus on Muslim spiritual care through these building blocks during the semester. We will also develop a framework for understanding core Islamic sciences, such as: Jurisprudence, creed/theology, and spiritual purification. Throughout various modalities and exercises, we will study how this framework can enable a deeper understanding of the practical issues affecting the lives of Muslims. We will have expert guest speakers from different disciplines such as pastoral care/chaplaincy (ministry), poetry & literature, counseling, psychology, education, social work, and medicine throughout the semester. These specialists will give us perspectives and practical tips on how prophetic traditions are applied in a Muslim’s life. This course will provide a basic understanding of the Islamic religion through the eyes of Muslims, while providing an in-depth understanding of the various dimensions of Islamic practices. Students from different backgrounds, with or without prior experience with Islam, will find much enrichment in this course diving into the practice through the lenses of prophetic traditions.

Professor

Class Day & Time

Kumek

M

12:00pm-01:59pm

Grading Option

HDS Student Option (LG/SUS/AUD)

Credits

4

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

N

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Hartford International

AM-550

Qur'an Recitation/Tajweed I

BTI Category

Semester

Islamic Studies

FA26

This course is designed for Muslim leaders and chaplains and anyone who is interested in learning and improving their Quranic recitation. Students will gain important knowledge on recitation of the Quran. In this course, the instructor will focus on correct pronunciation of Arabic letters and words with consistent application of tajweed rules.

Class time will be divided between teaching a tajweed lesson and group Tilawah, an exercise during which the teacher reads aloud and the students repeat after the teacher. There will be time for listening to the students’ recitations, as well.

Once each student understands and is comfortable with the application of the tajweed rules, s/he can complete recitation of the entire mushaf at a better and faster pace and more independently, in sha Allah.

This course may be accompanied by the spring semester course AM-551: Quran Recitation/Tajweed II. Course fulfills the following curricular requirements:
MAIRS - Interreligious Studies: Elective
MAIRS - Islamic Studies: Elective
MAC - Islamic Chaplaincy Elective

Professor

Class Day & Time

Dogan/Ghassal

M

7:00-9:00pm

Grading Option

Letter

Credits

3

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

Y

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

N

School

Hartford International

TH-553, Sect 2

Introduction to Islamic Theology

BTI Category

Semester

Islamic Studies

FA26

This course provides an introduction to the breadth and depth of Islamic theology, through a close reading of primary texts, supplemented by secondary literature for historical context and further analysis. The foundational Islamic beliefs and concepts (God, Prophets, Life after Death, the nature of faith, theodicy) are discussed with reference to the role of reason and scriptural texts (Qur'an and Hadith), as well as the competing methodologies of different Islamic theological schools. We also examine theology's interaction with and impact on Sufism, philosophy, law, and society, including the concept of orthodoxy, and theological developments in the modern world. Course fulfills the following curricular requirements:
MAIRS - Interreligious Studies Elective
MAIRS - Islamic Studies Elective
MAIRS - Islamic Studies: Beliefs and Practices
MAIRS - Islamic Studies: Foundational Fields
MAC - Islamic Chaplaincy Elective

Professor

Class Day & Time

TBD

W

7:00-9:00pm

Grading Option

Letter

Credits

3

Professor Approval Req'd?

N

Online?

Y

Prerequisites?

N

Notes

ONLINE SECTION

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