The Religion of Islam

Catalog description

This class will engage in a comprehensive study of the religion of Islam, beginning with the life and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Students will study the early history of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, its expansion in the seventh and eighth centuries, and have an overview of the history of the Caliphate, the various Islamic dynasties up to the end of the Ottoman Empire. Students will read the Quran in it’s entirely in a recent translation, and be introduced to the other major genres of Islamic religious literature, such as the Hadith. The class will also have an overview of Islamic art, since it is impossible to separate the great achievements of Islamic art from the religion itself, and since Islamic art has had such an enormous impact on the art of other civilizations.