Arab-Muslim Civilisation 2.2 3600-8-AR1-CAM2.2
The course aims to provide students with knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the language, culture, literature, and history of Arab countries, as well as Islamic religion and philosophy. The subject matter is presented from an interdisciplinary perspective, with particular emphasis on the interrelationships between the natural environment, history, sociocultural transformations, and the major achievements of Arab-Islamic civilization.
The course consists of six modules, each lasting one or two semesters. Students achieve the intended learning outcomes upon completion of all six modules. Classes incorporate discussions designed to facilitate active engagement with the subject matter through collaborative text analysis and workshop-based activities. The course combines lectures with presentations, discussions, and independent student work.
As part of their extensive independent study, undertaken outside scheduled classes and in preparation for examinations, students are expected to systematically and independently analyse the teaching materials provided, explore assigned topics, broaden their knowledge through additional sources, and consolidate the material covered in lectures relating to the selected module. These activities involve both critical reading of texts and the independent organization, interpretation, and integration of acquired knowledge, constituting an essential component of achieving the intended learning outcomes of the course.
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Term 2026L:
An introduction to Islam as a religion and civilization. The course begins with an examination of the origins of Islam against the background of the political and religious situation in the Middle East in the sixth and seventh centuries, the life and mission of the Prophet Muhammad, and the Qur'anic revelation. The course then explores the fundamental beliefs and rituals of Islam, the principal sources of Islamic doctrine, Islamic law, theological and politico-religious movements, and Islamic mysticism (Sufism). The subsequent part of the course focuses on religions that emerged from Islam or developed within Muslim societies, as well as transformations in the contemporary Muslim world, with particular attention to fundamentalist and modernist movements. Special emphasis is placed on the concept of jihad, tracing its origins in the Qur'an and Islamic jurisprudential literature (fiqh), its subsequent development in the thought of Ibn Taymiyya and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, and its interpretations and transformations in the modern and contemporary periods. |
Course coordinators
Type of course
Mode
Learning outcomes
Knowledge: The graduate knows and understands:
K_W03 The major literary phenomena, movements, and texts of Arab-Islamic civilization.
K_W04 Key issues relating to Islamic religion and philosophy.
K_W05 Key issues relating to Islamic art.
K_W06 The impact of the natural and economic environment, international relations, and ethnic, demographic, and political conditions on social and cultural issues in Arab countries, from both historical and contemporary perspectives.
K_W07 At an advanced level, the structure of the Arabic language, its grammar, history, and writing system, as well as its significance in the cultural and historical context of the Arab region.
Skills: The graduate is able to:
K_U03 Accurately situate the Arab region within its natural, geopolitical, and economic contexts.
K_U04 Read and interpret literary texts and other forms of cultural expression (film, the press, and writings on social issues) from the Arab region, appropriately situating them within their cultural contexts, as well as analyse, compare, and identify relationships between these works and issues relating to tradition and modernity.
K_U05 Analyse the major phenomena and developments in Islamic art.
Social Competences: The graduate is prepared to:
K_K03 Reflect critically on the place and significance of Arab culture within world culture.
Assessment criteria
Oral assessment / written assessment / oral examination / written examination / test / project, depending on the topics covered in a given module. Information on assessment methods and criteria is provided in the course descriptions for each academic cycle.
Bibliography
Literatura:
Benjamin R. Barber, Fear’s Empire. War, Terrorism, and Democracy, New York 2003
L. Binder, Islamic liberalism, Chicago 1988
Jason Burke, Al-Qaeda. The True Story of Radical Islam, London 2003
Michael Cook, Muhammad, Cambridge 1983
John L. Esposito, Islam. The Straight Path, New York 1988.
John L. Esposito, Unholy War. Terror in the Name of Islam, Oxford 2002.
Fred Halliday, The Middle East in International Relations: Power, Politics and Ideology, Cambridge 2005.
Fred Halliday, Islam and the Myth of Confrontation. Religion and Politics in the Middle East, London 1996
A. Hourani, A History of the Arabs, London 1991
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, New York 1996.
Ed Husain, The Islamist, London 2007.
Gilles Kepel, The War for Muslim Minds. Islam and the West, Cambridge Mass. 2004.
Khalid Bin Sayeed, Western Dominance and Political Islam. Challenge and Response, New York 1995.
Bernard Lewis, What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response, Oxford 2002.
Bernard Lewis, Arabs in History, Oxford 2002.
Mahmood Mamdani, Good Muslim, Bad Muslim. America, the Cold War and the Roots of Terror, New York 2004
Malise Ruthven, Fundamentalism. The Search for Meaning, Oxford 2004
Edward Said, Orientalism, Oxford 1978
Jane Smith, Islam in America, New York 1999
Philipp W. Sutton and Stephen Vertigans, Resurgent Islam. A Sociological Approach, Cambridge 2005
W. M. Watt, Islam and the Integration of Society, London 1970
W.M. Montgomery Watt, Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Edinburgh 1962 and 1972.
W.M. Montgomery Watt, Islamic Political Thought, Edinburgh 1987
B. Lewis, The Middle East, Chicago 1995
The Cambridge History of Islam, vol.1-2, Cambridge 1970
Malise Ruthven, Islam in the World, London 199