This course explores a range of Muslim responses to modernity, focussing on key Muslim thinkers from the 19th century to the present, representative particularly of modernist and Islamist tendencies but also of other schools of thought. A range of themes emerges for discussion, including: religious authority, scriptural interpretation, the state, human rights, the status of women, religious pluralism, and Islam as a minority faith in the West.
The course will enable you to engage in a critical dialogue about the continuing debate among Muslims on the relationship of Islam to modernity. You will gain an understanding of the significance of this debate both within the Muslim world and also in the West, and of the challenges faced by Muslims seeking to live out their faith as minority communities in the contemporary Western world.
Zoom sessions for this course are scheduled for the following Tuesdays in November and December.
- Tuesdays, November 14, 21, 28 and December 5 at 4pm Swiss time / 9am Central US / 10am Eastern US / 6pm Istanbul. Please check you local time! Class sessions will last two hours, including a 10 minute break.
For those unable to attend zoom sessions, recordings will be available asynchronously the morning following our Wednesday session. Readings and audio visual resources will be available one week prior to each zoom session. The first week’s readings will be available on Tuesday, November 7.
