module

Postgraduate Module Descriptor

ARAM102: Islam in Practice

This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.

Overview

There are many different ways of approaching Islamic Studies. These range from the theological and comparative through to the phenomenological, semiotic, orientalist, structuralist and post-structuralist. This class adopts a largely phenomenological approach, focusing on (a) elucidating Islamic practices according classical and traditional doctrinal sources, and (b) examining contemporary interpretations and application of these sources to the daily lives of modern Muslims. This module analyses a variety of topics relating the contemporary and classical practise of Islam, including:

• The Pillars and Rites of Islam
• Anthropological Theories of Islam
• The Philosophy and Practice of Prayer in Islam
• The Theology of Fasting, Ethics of Eating and Practise of Pilgrimage
• Islam’s Public and Private Sacred Spaces: Mosque and Khanaqah
• Charity and Almsgiving in the Qur’an and Classical Sufism
• Islamic Ethics according Al-Ghazali, Classical Ismailism and Sufism
• Spiritual Chivalry (Futuwwat)
• The Notion of Classical Adab in Islam and Sufism
• Islamic Musical Devotional Practices: Sama‘ in Sufism