Introduction to Muslim Studies (MZ200)

Wilfrid Laurier University

Winter 2011

Wednesdays
4pm - 6:50 pm
BA111

Instructor Information:
Nadeem Memon, PhD
Email: nmemon@wlu.ca
Phone: x4612
Office Location: Alvin Woods 2-217
Office Hours: Wednesdays, 2pm – 4pm (or by appointment)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course provides an overview of the aims, methods, and central issues in the field of Muslim
Studies. In particular it will investigate the diversity of contemporary Muslims, ideational currents
that are influencing them, and the major debates about Islamic identity.

COURSE GRADING

Attendance/Participation 15%
Mid-term test 30%
Critical Response/Essay 25%
Final Group Essay 30%

DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENTS

Attendance/Participation 15%
Attendance and participation will be assessed on the basis of your presence, punctuality, and
engagement with the course. You are expected to attend all lectures, be on time, and notify me in
advance in case of an absence. To assess the above you will be expected to submit 2 typed critical
questions based on the readings for each week.1 The questions must be submitted prior to the
beginning of every lecture with your name on it. This will serve as both a record of your attendance
and engagement with the readings. They will also help in initiating classroom discussions.

1
Critical questions must be on the theme of the week and incorporate all readings for the week. Questions of
clarification should be kept to a minimum. The questions you develop should be critical, analytical, and/or
evaluative. We will discuss this further in class.
Mid-term test 30% Date: February 9, 2011
The in-class mid-term test will question the theories, concepts, and ideas presented in the first half
of the course. The exam will require you to define terms and answer short and long answer
questions.

Critical Response/Essay: Radicalism Interrogated 25% Due: March 2, 2011

For this essay, you will be asked to critically engage with and respond to the broader theme of
radicalism that permeates many of the sub-themes in this course. Broader questions such as what is
radicalism, how did the term become popularized, what are the roots of radicalism, is radicalism a
threat and to whom, how are young Muslim youth radicalized and by whom are some directions you
may want to consider. Using the readings, in-class discussions and multimedia sources, and possibly
guest/public lectures, your task will be to develop and take a position on a question/topic of your
interest within the broader theme mentioned.

Final Group Essay 30% Due: March 30, 2011

The final group essay has multiple parts and is designed to be equally distributed and yet dependent
on each group member. In a group of 3, you will need to first select a theme from the course.
Using that theme, each group member will need to find a movie (Hollywood or international) or
documentary that depicts Muslims within the theme you have chosen. Using course readings and
discussions, you will then need to develop a proposal that will include film summaries and guiding
questions for analysis. The proposal will be worth 10% due March 16, 2011. Each group
member will then write an analysis of one of the films, share it with group members, and then each
member will answer one of the analysis questions across all three films (based on the critical essays
of your two group members). The assignment: proposal, 3 separate critical essays, and 3 separate
critical responses will be handed in together for a 20% group grade.

READINGS

Readings for this course will be available in the form of a course pack which must be purchased
from the WLU Bookstore. For those of you interested in further study on any given topic this term,
recommended readings are listed after each reading assignment.
 COURSE SCHEDULE OUTLINE

Week 1: January 5, 2011

Introduction: Why Muslim Studies

Required Readings:
Wheeler, B. (Ed.). (2003). “Teaching about Muslims in America.” Chapter 10 in Teaching Islam. New
York: Oxford University Press.

Week 2: January 12, 2011

Who are Muslims: An Overview

Required Readings
Esposito, J., & Mogahed, D. (2007). “Who Are Muslims? In Who speaks for Islam? What a Billion
Muslims Really Think. (1-28). New York: Gallup Press.

Nasr, S.H. (2003). “Islam and the Islamic World,” In Islam: Religion, History, and Civilization. San
Francisco: Harper Collins.

Recommended Readings:
Murata, S., and Chittick, W. (1998). The Vision of Islam St. Paul: Paragon House.

Siddiqui, H. (2006). Being Muslim. (140-148). Toronto: Groundwood Books.

Armstrong, K. (2006). Muhammad: A Prophet of Our Time.New York: HarperOne.

Ernst, C. (2003). The Sacred Sources of Islam. In Carl Ernst. Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World. (71-106).
Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.

Nasr, S. H. (2002). The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity. New York: Harper Collins.

Week 3: January 19, 2011

Muslims in North America: Between Conversion and Immigration

Required Readings:
Smith, J. (2010). Chapter 2: Islam in America. (28-42). In Jocelyne Cesari. Muslims in the West After
9/11: Religion, Politics and Law. New York: Routledge.

Karim, J. (2009) “African Americans and Immigrant Relations: Between Inequality and Global
Flows,” in American Muslim Women: Negotiating Race, Class, and Gender within the Ummah. New York:
New York University Press.

Moghissi, H., Rahnema, S., & Goodman, M. (Eds.), (2009). Chapter 2: Community Profiles, Social
Paths, and Origins. In Diaspora by Design: Muslim Immigrants in Canada and Beyond. (25-56). Toronto:
University of Toronto Press.

Recommended Readings:
Kambiz, G.B. (2010). “Introduction” In A history of Islam in America: from the new world to the new world order. New York: Cambridge University
Press.

Jackson, S. (2004). “Preliminary Reflections on Islam and Black Religion” In Bukhari, Nyang, Ahmad, and Esposito (Eds.). Muslims Place in
the America Public Sphere. Walnut Creek CA: Altamira Press.

McGown, R.B. (1999). Muslims in the Diaspora: The Somali Communities of London and Toronto. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Ramadan, T. (2004). Western Muslims and the Future of Islam. New York: Oxford University Press.
Week 4: January 26, 2011
Western Muslims before 9/11

Required Readings:
Kambiz, G.B. (2010). “Between experience and politics: American Muslims and the New World
Order 1989-2008” In A history of Islam in America: from the new world to the new world order. New York:
Cambridge University Press.

Kepel, G. (1997). “Britishness and Identity” in Allah in the West: Islamic Movements in America and
Europe. Cambridge UK: Polity Press.

Recommended Readings:
Kepel, G. (1997). “The Rushdie Affair.” in Allah in the West: Islamic Movements in America and Europe. Cambridge UK: Polity Press.

Haddad, Y. (Ed.). (2002). Muslims in the West: From Sojourners to Citizens. New York: Oxford University Press.

Week 5: February 2, 2011

The Roots of Radical Islam

Required Readings:
Mandaville, P. (2007). “State formation and the making of Islamism” In Global Political Islam. New
York: Routledge.

Mandaville, P. (2007). “Radical Islamism and jihad beyond the nation-state” In Global Political Islam.
New York: Routledge.

Marranci, G. (2009). “Reading Islamic Fundamentalism: Theories, Theorems and Kernels of Truth,”
In Understanding Muslim Identity: Rethinking Fundamentalism. Basingstoke, England: New York: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Recommended Readings:
Benjamin, D. & Simon, S. (2002). “Ibn Taymiyya and his Children.” In The Age of Sacred Terror. New York: Random House.

Meijer, R. (Ed.). (2009). Global Salafism: Islam’s New Religious Movement. London: Hurst & Co.

Week 6: February 9, 2011

Contemporary Cases of Radical Islam

Required Readings:
Monshipouri, M. (2009).“The war on terror and Muslims in the West,” In Cesari, J. (Ed) Muslims in
the West after 9/11: Religion, Politics, and Law. London: Routledge.

Khosrokhavar, F. (2009) “Islamic radicalism in Europe,” In Cesari, J. (Ed) Muslims in the West after
9/11: Religion, Politics, and Law. London: Routledge.
Recommended Readings:
Charles, A. (2006). God’s Terrorists: the Wahhabi Cult and the Hidden Roots of Modern Jihad. London: Little Brown.

Esposito, J., & Mogahed, D. (2007). Chapter 3: What Makes a Radical? In Who speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think. (65-98).
New York: Gallup Press.

Ginsburg, M., & Mogahed, N. (2009). What should we tell educators about terrorism and Islam? Some considerations in the global context
after September 11, 2001. Educational Studies, Special Issue Education after 9/11, 288-309
Week 7: February 16, 2011
Reclaiming Islam in the West

Required
Sonn, T. (2009). “Voices of reformist Islam in the United States,” In Hunter, S. (Ed) Reformist Voices
of Islam: Mediating Islam and Modernity. New York: Sharpe Inc.

Dalrymple, W. (2005). “Foreward.” In MacLean, G. (Ed). Re-orienting the Renaissance: cultural exchanges
with the East. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Recommended
Lawrence, B. (1998). Shattering the Myth: Islam Beyond Violence. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Abou El Fadl, K. (2005). The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from Extremists. San Francisco: Harper Collins.

Kamrava, M. (2006). The New Voices of Islam: Rethinking Politics and Modernity: A Reader. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Week 8: February 23, 2011

READING WEEK

Week 9: March 2, 2011

Contextualizing Islamophobia

Required
Sheridan, L. (2004). Islamophobia before and after September 11th 2001. In Van Driel, B. (Ed.),
Confronting Islamophobia in educational practice (163-176). Stoke on Trent: Trentham Books.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=TgBzHEQl8oAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=confronting+islamophobia+in+educational+practice&so
urce=bl&ots=5VZwlTWZU_&sig=YpdknabzeQp5bsCeo6ZKmkX02Mw&hl=en&ei=g-
rWTPeCIJD8nge9kuzACQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Gottschalk, P. & Greenberg, G. (2008). “Stereotyping Muslims and Establishing the American
Norm” in Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Nacos and Torres-Reyna, “Muslim Americans in the News before and after 9/11.” In Fueling Our
Fears: Stereotyping, Media Coverage, and Public Opinion of Muslim Americans. Toronto: Rowman and
Littlefield.

Recommended
Nacos, B. & Torres-Reyna, O. (2009). “The first 9/11 Anniversary and Beyond” in Fueling Our Fears: Stereotyping, Media Coverage, and Public
Opinion of Muslim Americans. Toronto: Rowman and Littlefield.

Kalin, I. (2011). "Islamophobia and the Limits of Multiculturalism." In John L. Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin (Eds). Islamophobia: The
Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century. Oxford University Press.

Cesari, J. (2011) "Islamophobia" in the West: A Comparison Between Europe and America". In John L. Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin
(Eds). Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century. Oxford University Press.

Bakht, N. (2008). Belonging and Banishment: Being Muslim in Canada. Toronto: TSAR.

Sensoy, Ö. (2010). “Mad man Hassan will buy your carpets!”: The bearded curricula of evil Muslims. In C.D. Stonebanks, J.L. Kincheloe, &
S.R. Steinberg (Eds.), Teaching Against Islamophobia (pp. 111-134). New York: Peter Lang.

Sensoy, Ö. (2010). Ickity ackity open sesame: Learning about the Middle East in Images. In B. Subedi (Ed.), Rethinking Curricular Knowledge
on Global Societies (pp. 39-55). Information Age Publishing.
Canadian Federation of Students, (2007). “Task Force on the Needs of Muslim Students”
http://fileserver.cfsadmin.org/file/noracism/887d00ff4fa1d43b1daa56b33cb5de2ef949d404.pdf
Week 10: March 9, 2011
Gender and Islam

Required
Bullock, K. (2002). “Introduction,” in Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil: Challenging Historical and
Modern Stereotypes. Herdon, VA: International Institute of Islamic Thought.
Mahmood, S. (2005). Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject. Princeton: Princeton
University Press. Pp. 118-152

Stowasser, B. F. (1994). Women in the Quran, Traditions, and Interpretations. New York: Oxford
University Press.
BP134 .W6 S76 1994

Recommended
Barlas, A. (2002). “The Qur’an, Sex/Gender and Sexuality: Sameness, Difference, Equality” In Believing Women In Islam: Unreading Patriarchal
Interpretations of the Quran. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Schimmel, A. (1997). My Soul is a Woman: The Feminine in Islam. New York: Continuum.
Bouhdiba, A. (1985). Sexuality in Islam. Boston: Routledge.
Sensoy, Ö. & Marshall, E. (2009/2010). Save the Muslim girls! Rethinking Schools, 24(2), 14-19.

Karim, J. (2009) “Introduction” in American Muslim Women: Negotiating Race, Class, and Gender within the Ummah. New York: New York
University Press.

Week 11: March 16, 2011

Muslim youth identity

Required
Muhammad-Arif, A. (2002) “Second Generation: A masala identity” in Salaam America: South Asian
Muslims in New York. London: Anthem Press.
Recommended
Sarroub, L. (2005). All American Yemeni Girls: Being Muslim in a Public School. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Collet, B. (2007) “Islam, national identity and public secondary education: perspectives from the Somali diaspora in Toronto, Canada” Race,
ethnicity and education Race Ethnicity and Education, 10: 2 (July), pp. 131–153.

Zine, J. (2008). Canadian Islamic Schools: Unraveling the Politics of Faith, Gender, Knowledge, and Identity. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Maira, S.(2011). "Islamophobia and the War on Terror: Youth, Citizenship, and Dissent" In John L. Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin (Eds).
Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century. New York: Oxford University Press.

Week 12: March 23, 2011

A New Popular Islam

Required
Sensoy, Ö. (2008). TV Teacher: Is Little Mosque on the Prairie good for Canadian Muslims? Taboo: A
Journal of Education and Culture, 12(2), 43-54.

Recommended
Poplak, R. (2009) The Sheikh’s Batmobile: In Pursuit of American Pop Culture in the Muslim World. Toronto: Penguin Canada.

Ali, A.S. (2011) "Islamophobic Discourse Masquerading as Art and Literature: Combating Myth through Progressive Education" In John
L. Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin (Eds). Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century. Oxford University Press.

Gottschalk, P. & Gabriel, G. (2011). "From Muhammad to Obama: Caricatures, Cartoons, and Stereotypes of Muslims" In John L.
Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin (Eds). Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century. Oxford University Press.
Week 13: March 30, 2011
Islam in the Academy

Required
Ernst, C.W. & Martin, R.C. (Eds.) (2010). “Introduction.” In Rethinking Islamic studies: from Orientalism
to cosmopolitanism. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press.

Wheeler, B. (Ed.). (2003). “What can’t be left out: Teaching about Islam as a Religion.” Chapter 1 in
Teaching Islam. New York: Oxford University Press.

Recommended
Wheeler, B. (Ed.). (2003). “Teaching about Muslims in America.” Chapter 10 in Teaching Islam. New York: Oxford University Press.
 COURSE NOTES

1. Remember! The University is a place for open intellectual exploration and examination within a
supportive communal ethos. This gives students both rights and responsibilities towards our academic
community. Students have the right to a supportive educational environment that is free of bias, preferential
treatment, discrimination, and harassment. Students are entitled to the fair and impartial evaluation and
assessment of all their work and activities by instructors, professors, and administrators; including the right to
challenge or appeal all evaluations and assessments. Students, as such, have a responsibility to foster this
environment within the classroom by treating fellow university colleagues with respect (including the freedom
for students to hold and communicate opinions that run contrary to others in the class), coming to each class
fully prepared (since failure to do so affects the quality of learning for the entire class), complete all
assignments on time, and maintain academic integrity at all times. This is your course and your learning
experience. Try not to leave a session without having your questions answered. Feel free to contact me via
email or during office hours with your questions.

2. Grading: Please note that fulfilling the given expectations for any assignment in this course will give you
an average grade between C and B (the University average grade is C+). Aspirations for a higher grade will
involve exceeding expectations.

3. Writing and Study Assistance: Students with special needs are advised to contact Laurier’s Accessible
Learning Office for information regarding its services and resources. They are also encouraged to review the
Calendar for information regarding all services available on campus.

3. Attendance Policy: The University expects students to attend all classes, tutorials and labs in which they
are enrolled. Participation in these may, at the professor’s discretion, count in determining the final grade.

4. Late Assignments: All assignments / examinations are considered late if they are not handed in at the
beginning of class (unless told differently by instructor) or if the student misses class. Students who miss any
quiz, midterm or examination without a University-approved reason, will be given a zero grade. Students who
miss a midterm for an approved reason will have to arrange to write their exam within one week. Unless
otherwise noted, all late assignments and papers will be penalized 2 marks (i.e. two full percent) every 24 hour period.
Students, who are unable to hand in assignments on time in class, are advised to drop their papers off to my
office and immediately send me the assignment attached to an email. Do not submit any assignment to any
administrative office! Students should keep a copy of ALL assignments.

5. Plagiarism: Plagiarism or intellectual theft (i.e. the claiming of another person’s ideas as your own) is a
serious academic offence and may carry severe academic penalties. If you discover, gather, borrow or refer to
any idea, notion or theory from any source you are required to cite that source. Examples of proper citations
can be found at MLA or APA websites. Wilfrid Laurier University uses software that can check for
plagiarism, and students may be required to submit their written work in electronic form and have it checked
for plagiarism.

6. Laptops & Audio-Video-Digital Devices: Unless given express written permission by the professor, all
recording devices are prohibited within the classroom and no recording of the course material or its
participants may be made. Please turn-off all cell-phones, PDAs and wireless Internet connections during
class time. Laptop / Notebook computers are permitted in class only for purposes relating to the course (e.g.
note-taking). Students may be denied use of any electronic device if it is distracts them or others from the
class (e.g. Facebook, Messenger, etc.).

8. Foot-Patrol: Call 519-751-7875 for a walk or drive home. No walk is Too Short or Too Long!!!
WLU Fall 2010 Additional Information

Student Awareness of the Accessible Learning Centre:

Students with disabilities or special needs are advised to contact Laurier's Accessible Learning Office for
information regarding its services and resources. Students are encouraged to review the Calendar for
information regarding all services available on campus.

For night classes:

"After class call 886-FOOT for a walk or drive home - No Walk is Too Short or Too Long!!!"

Academic and Research Misconduct: Wilfrid Laurier University uses software that can check for
plagiarism. Students may be required to submit their written work in electronic form and have it checked for
plagiarism. Students are expected to be aware of and abide by University regulations and policies, as outlined
in the current on-line Calendar (see http://www.wlu.ca/calendars). The University has an established policy
with respect to cheating on assignments and examinations, which the student is required to know. Students
are cautioned that in addition to a failure in the course, a student may be suspended or expelled from the
University for cheating and the offence may appear on one’s transcript, in which event the offence can have
serious consequences for one’s business or professional career. For more information refer to the current
Undergraduate calendar (University Undergraduate Regulations). Students are to adhere to the Principles in the
Use of Information Technology. These Principles and resulting actions for breaches are stated in the current
Undergraduate Calendar.

Last Words

Note: It is your responsibility to keep a hard copy of all written work submitted for this class. Please back up
your electronic copies in the event that you lose your hard copy, or are asked to reproduce it.

Hi Everyone,

My name is Sheryl Remedios. I am in my third year of Nursing at Ryerson. I would consider

myself to be a feminist therefore I would love to learn more about Women in Islam. Especially
due to the president that has been elected in the United States and his viewpoints; I believe
that due to Canada’s relationship with the United States, the Islamic faith will be put on the
spotlight.

I am looking forward to a great semester.

Thank you for reading,

Sheryl Remedios