modern Islamic thought
Group Online Tuition
12 weeks
sTART DATE: 28 NOVember
every monday evening (gmt)*
This course explores philosophical thought in the Islamic world following the military conquests of Constantinople, Iberia, and the Americas. Rather than giving an introductory overview, it expands on classical material by exploring important topics, including morality, racism, science, legalism, the diverse “mahdi” tradition, feminism, and anti-colonial warfare.
Classes will take an explicitly queer, feminist, anti-capitalist, and anti-racist approach, particularly as it relates to Marxism, sectarian identity, and debates on gender, utopia, and the nature of piety and sin. Readings will be supplied on Google Drive and thinkers like Zakia Daradjat, Ubaidullah Singh, Sheikh Abdillahi Nasir, Dan Tafa, Sabah Mahmood, Bint Al-Shati, Cesar Adib Madjul, Nasr Abu Zayd, Sayyid Qutb, Muhammad Abduh, Osman Bakkar, Wael Hallaq, Sayyid Ahmad Khan, Al Kashnawi, Ali Shariati, Maulana Bhashani, Jamal Al-Din Al-Afghani, Naquib Al-Attas, and finally, Mirza Ali Khan (the “Faqir of Ipi”) and the Khudai Khitmatgar will both be translated into and discussed in English. Students will complete the course with a learned discussion of jihad and the merits of violence and non-violence.
Classes will generally be an hour with several 90 minute sessions and structured in a loose discussion format with summaries of the readings sent out a week prior. Students are not expected to do all the readings, but they are expected to discuss at least one of the readings in depth.
The teacher is currently a PhD student in Islamic philosophy of law and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Rutgers University, and a Masters of Science in Comparative Political Thought from SOAS, University of London. She is Pakistani-Canadian and grew up in a devoutly religious family of Sunni Wahhabi Muslims. She has been teaching various subjects for ten years.
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*A specific time will be established taking into consideration everyone's preferences. After your booking the teacher will be in touch to discuss the best options.