Best Islamic Studies Masters Programs in Illinois

Master of Arts in Islamic Studies Course Descriptions.

Prerequisite: Arabic 202, or equivalent course.

3 credits This course introduces advanced level students to major topics, resources, and figures in the academic study of Islam as a foun­dation for graduate study. It therefore engages both traditional Muslim and critical historical approaches to major sources and developments in the field. Prerequisite: IS130 IS131.

3 credits This course explores the construction of normative gender roles in classical Muslim sources as well as gendered practices in diverse Muslim societies. Muslim perspectives as interacting with the emerging field of Gender Studies and a wide array of feminist ap­proaches, from secular feminists to Muslim feminist authors and activists, will also be considered. Students will learn norma­tive Islamic values and legal rulings on gender and sexuality and come to understand and appreciate the historical development of social and cultural practices within Muslim societies with regard to gender roles.

3 credits This course examines some of the greatest theological debates in the history of Muslim theological reflection and interpretation.

3 credits This course examines interrelated topics in Muslim mystical traditions and other forms of spirituality, such as asceticism (zuhd) and supererogatory devotion. Specific attention will be given to the lives and teachings of major Muslim mystics in the Arabic and Persian traditions, their writings, and their impact on religion and society. Topics may include: mystical experience as a path to knowledge, remembrance (dhikr), the beautiful names of Allah, and the rise and respective methodologies of the Sufi orders.

3 credits This course explores issues and sources in early Islamic thought that pertain to human reason and the rational engagement with revelation.

3 credits This graduate level course assumes the foundation of IS202 or its equivalent. A wide array of contemporary Muslim and non-Muslim scholarship on hadith will be reviewed, evaluated, and critiqued.

3 credits This course focuses on Islamic juridical reasoning and rulings in the areas of both religious devotion and social transactions as inter­preted by the canonical schools of Islamic law. Students learn how human actions are legally considered and classified. Topics to be examined include the five pillars (obligatory religious practices) of Islam, Islamic finance and business law, inheritance law, and legal approaches specific to Muslim communities when they are religious minorities. The role of context and underlying intent of the law will also be covered. This area of study will provide students with a knowledge base to consider complicated legal questions.

3 credits This course considers the diversity of interpretations and the emergence and character of various sectarian divisions within Islam. Early theological debates and the classics of Islamic heresiography will be explored, as will contemporary polemics and ecumenical theological approaches. The importance of intra-Muslim cooperation and dialogue in a pluralistic world will also be discussed.

Alternatively, this course head­ing might also be used to accommodate study abroad options and or academic internship opportunities within approved cultural, governmental or non-governmental organizations.

3 credits This advanced graduate course focuses on a variety of methodological approaches to the study of religion students explore forms of religious expression, issues within religious worldviews, and challenges facing religion in the modern world. within the contemporary academic study of religion.

Enrollment is restricted to students who have completed all core requirement courses and who have completed two or classes in the specialized area of Islamic Theology. Registration may be extended for students who receive a grade report of In Progress (IP) at the end of a traditional semester.

3 credits This course is an introduction to the long and interactive history of Muslim-Christian relations, which will be traced from the Prophetic period until contemporary times. Representations of the other will be examined, as will related issues of violence, subjugation, and oppression historical moments and contexts of collaboration, reconciliation, and positive inter-religious engagement will also be explored.

3 credits Similar in theme and method to IS 560, this course traces Muslim-Jewish relations from the Prophetic period to the present day.

3 credits This course attempts to trace, examine, and discuss the ways in which Muslims have perceived the political life, beginning with the establishment of the first Islamic society or Ummah in Medina (622 CE) and culminating with contemporary movements and societ­ies based on Islamic ideals and Muslim political philosophies (for example Pakistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Taleban state in Afghanistan, and Islamist movements). Theories and debates the nature of the Islamic State, Islam and democracy and cognate socio-political themes and philosophies will be explored.

3 credits Students will study the representation of Islam in various media starting with a historical sense of anti-Muslim medieval polemic, Orientalism, and other sources of stereotyping and misconceptions. Students may also be trained in establish media rela­tions, compose press releases, and conduct interviews with the media.

3 credits This course is designed to introduce students to major figures, movements and developments in African American Muslim history. It will explore the intersection of race, religion, and ethnicity in the various ways African American Muslims have negotiated their identities and religious practices.

The region under study will vary each time this course is offered. For example, students may have the opportunity to study Islam and Muslim cultures in Africa, Central Asia, Iran, Turkey or South and Southeast Asia.

3 credits This course examines the contexts and ideas of Muslim thinkers and reformers since the late 19th century as well as their impact upon Muslim societies and Muslim minority communities in the fields of religion, politics, social theory, and economics. Students will learn the dynamics of Muslim social movements, specific Islamization movements (both national and transnational), and examples of the transformation of Muslim societies occurring through individual acts of self-discipline and piety rather than en­gaging state power. Movements such as Wahhabism, Salafism, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Jamaat-i Islami, Muslim modernism liberalism, and the Turkish Nur communities may be among the movements discussed.

3 credits This graduate seminar will explore key thinkers and historical moments that offer insights into the special question of what it means to live in a world of many faiths.

3 credits This course may cover varying content supporting the study (in English translation or in original languages) of literatures from specific languages such as Arabic, Persian, Turkish, or Urdu. It may also be taught thematically or as a survey covering themes in classical or contemporary literature produced by Muslims.

Alternatively, this course heading might also be used to accommodate study abroad options and or academic internship opportunities within approved cultural, governmental or non-governmental organizations.

Enrollment is restricted to students who have completed all core requirement courses and who have completed two or classes in the specialized area of Global Studies. Registration may be extended for students who receive a grade of report of In Progress (IP) at the end of a traditional semester.