Taught by Dr. Maria Dakake, Chair of the Department of Religious Studies, and Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina, IIIT Chair in Islamic Studies, the three newest courses on Islam at Mason explore the life of Muhammad as well as modern issues including democracy and human rights. Both undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to round out their degrees with these stimulating electives, for which registration is open until September 2.
Undergraduate Electives (Islamic Studies Minor)
RELI 365: Muhammad: Life and Legacy
Instructor: Maria Massi Dakake
MW 9:00am - 10:15am
This course examines the life, character, and legacy of the founder of Islam, as remembered and debated by Muslims, and explores the influence of his paradigmatic life and teachings on Islamic religious discourse and culture. The course also examines Western critical scholarship on the accounts of Muhammad’s life and some contemporary controversies regarding Muhammad.
RELI 387: Islam, Democracy, and Human Rights
Instructor: Abdulaziz Sachedina
TR 12:00pm - 1:15pm
This course explores the particular challenges facing those who seek to establish the secular and modern values of democracy and human rights in Islamic countries still suffering from the effects of postcolonialism. The course will acquaint students with the various approaches taken by major modern and contemporary Muslim thinkers as they seek to respond to these challenges and/or to promote democracy, pluralism, and human rights within the context of Islamic religious principles and values.
Graduate Elective (MA in Middle East & Islamic Studies)
RELI 646: Islam and Human Rights
Instructor: Abdulaziz Sachedina
T 4:30pm - 7:10pm
A graduate level study comparing of the conception of human rights in international human rights documents and accords with conceptions of human rights in classical Islamic theological, legal, and ethical texts. The course will examine various relevant issues, including but not limited to religious and gender discrimination, slavery, freedom of religion and belief and apostasy, and questions of punishment.
July 17, 2014
