Fall 2023

CMCU-1020: The Islamic World

Taught by Nader Hashemi
From humble beginnings nearly 1500 years ago, to enormous power and prestige in the Middle Ages, to political decline and foreign occupation in the modern era, Islam has developed into a highly diverse, global tradition representing nearly one quarter of the world’s population. Yet it is most widely known through caricatures of terrorists and despots. This course examines that phenomenon. It focuses on the historical development of Muslim communities and their interactions with European and other powers. It emphasizes the impact of those interactions on Islam’s ideological and political developments. The interaction between religion and politics is a major sub-theme of the course.

INAF-1010: American Muslims 

Taught by Shenila Khoja-Moolji
There are about 1.8 billion Muslims globally. Yet, in America, they are defined through rather narrow tropes. This course introduces students to the heterogeneity and diversity of American Muslims through the case study of Shia Ismaili Muslims. We consider writings and media produced by Ismaili Muslims to contemplate larger questions around representation, anticoloniality, feminism, racism, and migrant and refugee resettlement. Accordingly, we discover how Muslims in America hope to dismantle exploitative hierarchies and the role that religious ethics play in this project.