Comparing Muslim Cultures

This course explores the history of Islam in diverse regional and temporal settings. It explores the unity of Islam, through an examination of the early history of the religion and its founding texts and tenets. However, the main emphasis of this course will be Islam's remarkable heterogeneity over time and space; the foci will be case studies drawn from across the Muslim world - in Africa, the Middle East Asia and Europe. Through readings and discussions, the course examines the following ten topics: The foundation of Islam, the expansion of Islam and conversion processes, Muslim travelers and trade, religious tolerance, women and gender in Islam, Islamic Education, religious revivalism and reform, Muslim lands under European colonial rule, Islam in the West, and the challenge of modernity.