RLA08 Islam

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2017
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s) (plus 1 credit for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Attila Kovács, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. David Zbíral, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Šárka Londa Vondráčková
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each even Thursday 10:50–14:05 G24
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 80 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/80, only registered: 0/80, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/80
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Annotation
The course offers a complex introduction to Islam as the third and youngest monotheistic religion genuinely rooted in the milieu of the Semitic civilization. Following a paradigmatic scheme of periodization it provides a general survey of its historical development and crucial transformations – from its very beginnings in the 7th century over its somewhat complex change into the relatively homogenous and syncretic state organism in the course of the Middle Ages, the ambivalent era of stagnation, the clash with the European colonialism until the recent differentiation on traditional, reformist, mystical and fundamentalist streams, including Islam's impact on both local and international politics as a specific and indigenous ideological and juridical concept.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
  • demonstrate the basic factual knowledge of the history of Islam, including main features of its teachings, religious law and ritual practices;
  • identify the principal historical transformations in the development of Islam;
  • use the basic terminology of Islam and its academic study;
  • interpret the selected Islamic source material in Czech translation (the Qur'an, Sayyid Qutb’s Signposts on the Road etc.);
  • compare Islam with other monotheistic systems (Judaism, Christianity).
  • Syllabus
    • (0) Introduction to the course. (1) The Qur'an – structure, textual development, canonization, translations. (2) Social situation in the Arab peninsula prior to the advent of Islam. (3) Situation in the Arab peninsula in the beginning of the 7th century. Mecca and the foundation of the "community of Muslims". (4) The Prophet Muhammad and a formative period of the Islamic state. (5) The first period of the Islamic impact, foundation of the Islamic caliphate. (6) Social, ethnical and cultural consequences of the development of the syncretic Islamic caliphate. (7) The era of the "Golden Ages" and the first signs of the decline. (8) The development and stagnation of the Islamic juridical and theological thought. (9) The development of alternative streams of the Islamic thought and everyday life – mystics and variations of the so–called "popular Islam". (10) Reformist trends of the Modern Islam all over the 18th and 19th century. (11) Intellectual reformism at the end of the 19th century and in the 20th century. (12) Recent trends in the Islamic thought and the forms of political activism.
    Literature
      required literature
    • KROPÁČEK, Luboš. Duchovní cesty islámu. 3., dopl. vyd. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2003, 292 s. ISBN 8070216131. info
      recommended literature
    • HILLENBRAND, Carole. Islám : historie, současnost a perspektivy. Translated by Jitka Jeníková. Vydání první. V Praze: Paseka, 2017, 301 stran. ISBN 9788074326851. info
    • PAVLINCOVÁ, Helena. Judaismus, křesťanství, islám. Vyd. 2. přeprac. a rozš.,. Olomouc: Nakladatelství Olomouc, 2003, 661 s. ISBN 80-7182-165-9. info
    • MENDEL, Miloš, Bronislav OSTŘANSKÝ and Tomáš RATAJ. Islám v srdci Evropy : vlivy islámské civilizace na dějiny a současnost českých zemí. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 2007, 499 s. ISBN 9788020015549. info
    • MENDEL, Miloš. Islám jako nepřítel? Eseje a poznámky k dějinám a současnosti islámu. 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2014, 110 pp. ISBN 978-80-210-7031-8. Digitální knihovna FF MU info
    Teaching methods
    Lectures; home readings; three semestral commentaries on given texts with a written feedback by teacher; two semestral written tests.
    Assessment methods
    Requirements for the colloquium
  • written test in the knowledge of the Quran, basic juridical and dogmatic terminology and the historical developments of classical Islam (at least 60%);
  • written test in the history and basic ideological, juridical and dogmatic features of modern and contemporary Islam (at least 60%);
    Requirements for the examination
    Prerequisite for the examination:
  • written test in the knowledge of the, basic juridical and dogmatic terminology and the historical developments of Islam (at least 60%);
  • written test in the history and basic ideological, juridical and dogmatic features of modern and contemporary Islam (at least 60%);
  • three accepted commentaries (altogether at least 60%).
    Requirements for the oral examination:
  • to prove the basic factual knowledge of Islam according to the given list of themes;
  • to prove the interpretative ability in a given field.
    The final grade includes assessment of: two semestral tests (40%), three commentaries (20%), and oral examination (40%).
  • Language of instruction
    Czech
    Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
    Study Materials
    Information on completion of the course: Posluchači religionistiky povinně ukončují zkouškou.
    The course is taught annually.
    Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
    Information about innovation of course.
    This course has been innovated under the project "Faculty of Arts as Centre of Excellence in Education: Complex Innovation of Study Programmes and Fields at FF MU with Regard to the Requirements of the Knowledge Economy“ – Reg. No. CZ.1.07/2.2.00/28.0228, which is cofinanced by the European Social Fond and the national budget of the Czech Republic.

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    Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
    The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2002, Spring 2003, Spring 2004, Spring 2005, Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Autumn 2017, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022.
    • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2017, recent)
    • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2017/RLA08