Modern Islamic Movements

 

Religious Studies 140 F                                                                                    Prof. Juan E. Campo               
Office Hours: W 10:30-12:30                                                                           Phone: 893-3945

Email: jcampo@religion.ucsb.edu                                                                      Office: HSSB 3054

 

Description

            Radical Islamic ideologies and movements have attained global influence among Muslims, and they are having a profound impact on international politics and the domestic and foreign policies of the US and European countries.  Aside from the 9/11 attacks and the present US-Iraq War, they have been involved in the Iranian revolution, the Palestinian intifada against Israeli occupation, guerilla movements and insurgencies from North Africa to the Philippines, and the resurgence of religion in Muslim communities around the world (including those in the U.S. and Europe).  Their impact on the US and the world is likely to be felt for decades to come.

            This course examines contemporary radical Islamic ideologies and movements in relation to the historical, political, and social contexts that have produced and shaped them.  It pursues such questions as:  What are the key Islamic movements and their leaders?  How much do they rely on traditional Islamic doctrines and concepts of authority?  To what extent are they interconnected?  What kinds of visions motivate them?  Who joins them?  Against whom do they fight and why?  How are women involved with and affected by such movements?  What makes them both religious and modern (or postmodern)?  The course will incorporate both theoretical and comparative perspectives.  Particular attention will be given to key ideologists and to Islamist movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots, Palestinian Hamas, the Iranian Revolution, Lebanese Hizbullah, al-Qa`ida, and Iraqi Islamic groups and movements.

 

MATERIALS

Required

            Campo, Davidson Library Electronic Reserve Postings

            Eickelman & Piscatori, Muslim Politics

Ernst, Following Muhammad:  Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World

Gerges, Journey of the Jihadist:  Inside Muslim Militancy

            Qutb, Milestones

            Rahnema, Pioneers of Islamic Revival

           

            The books are on library reserve, along with other recommended readings and resources sources.

 

REQUIREMENTS

            1.  Class discussion.  General & small group discussions, attendance at 3 Mideast/Islamic Studies
                        events.

            2.  Map Assignment.  Due:  10/23

            3.  Midterm Exam.   11/3

            4.  Radical Islamic Group Project Presentation

            5.  Final Exam.   12/14

 

Percent of Final Grade: 1-15%, 2-10%, 3-25%, 4-25%, 5-25%.

Religious Studies 140 F                                                                                                Prof. J. E. Campo

 

Outline of Lectures & Reading Assignments

 

Note: All readings marked (*) will be posted on the Davidson Electronic Reserve.  Password TBA.

 

I.   Introduction:  Thinking about Islam (Sept. 28 to Oct. 2)

                        Reading:  Ernst, Preface & chs. 1-2

                                       Rahnema, pp. ix-xxv (in Introduction to 2d Edition)

 

II.  Islamic Modernities in Historical Perspective (Oct. 4 to Oct. 9)

                        Reading:  *Campo, “Islam in the Middle East”

                                          Ernst, chs. 3-4; pp. 127-135

                                          Rahnema, pp. xxv-xlv (in Introduction to 2d Edition)

                                          Eickelman & Piscatori, ch. 2

                                        *Voll, “The Revivalist Heritage”

           

III.  Who Speaks for Islam?  Radical Islamist Ideologies and the Question of Authority (Oct. 9 to Oct. 23)

                        Reading:   Eickelman & Piscatori, ch. 3

           

            A.  Founders:  Al-Afghani, Abduh, and Banna

                        Reading:   Rahnema, chs. 2, 3, 6

 

            B.  Sayyid Qutb of Egypt

                        Reading:   Rahnema, ch. 7

                                         Gerges, pp. 143-163

                                         Qutb, Intro, chaps. 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12

 

            C.  Abu Ala Mawdudi of India and Pakistan

                        Reading:    Rahnema, pp. 98-111

                                        *Mawdudi, “Nationalism and Islam” and “Political Theory of Islam”

 

            D.  Iranian Revolutionaries:  Ayatullah Khomeini and Ali Shariati

                        Reading:   Rahnema, chs. 4 & 9

                                       *Khomeini, “Islamic Government” (selection)

                                       *Shariati, “Intizar:  The Religion of Protest” and “On Martyrdom (Shahadat)”

 

            E. The New Jihadists:  Usama bin Ladin & Ayman al-Zawahiri

                        Reading:  *Steve Coll, “Young Osama”

                                        *Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bin_Laden#_note-8

                                        *Al-Azzam:  “Join the Caravan”

                                        *Bin Ladin, “Declaration of Jihad,” “A Muslim Bomb,” “Winds of Faith”

 

III.  Regional Radical Islamist Movements I (Oct. 23 to Nov. 1)

                        Reading:   Eickelman & Piscatori, chs. 1 & 5

                                         Gerges, Prologue

 

            A.  Egypt:  The Muslim Brotherhood & the Jihad Organization

                        Reading:   Gerges, ch. 1

                                   

 

B.  India/Pakistan:  Jamaat-i Islami

            Reading:   Rahnema, 111-121

           

            C:  The Islamic Revolution in Iran 1978-79

                        Reading:   Rahnema, pp. lvii-lxii

                                        *Henry Munson, Islam and Revolution in the Middle East (selection)

 

           

IV.  Regional Radical Islamist Movements II (Nov. 6 to Nov. 15)

                        Reading:  *Robert Pape, Dying to Win (selection)

 

            A.  Lebanon:  Hizbullah

                        Reading:   Rahnema, pp. lxxi-lxxiv & ch. 8

                                         Gerges, ch 2

                                        *Kfoury, “Hizb Allah and the Lebanese State”

 

            B.  Palestine:  Hamas

                        Reading:  *Ziad Abu-Amr, “Hamas:  A Historical and Political Background”

                                        *Hamas Covenant http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Hamas_Covenant

 

]  November 10:  Veterans Day Holiday

           

            C.  Afghanistan:  The Taliban

                        Reading:   *Ahmed Rashid, The Taliban (selection)

 

V.  Gender, Women & Radical Islamic Movements (Nov. 17 to Nov. 20)

                        Reading:    Eickelman & Piscatori, ch. 4

                                          Ernst, pp. 142-151

                                        *Ahmed Rashid, “A Vanished Gender”

           

VI.  Transregional Radical Islamic Movements & Networks:  Al-Qa`ida (Nov. 22 to Dec. 1)

                        Reading:  Eickelman & Piscatori, ch. 6

                                       Gerges, ch. 3 & pp. 164-181, ch. 5

 

VII.  Fiasco in Iraq (Dec 1 to Dec. 4)

                        Reading:  *Shanahan, “Shi`a Political Development in Iraq”

                                          Gerges, ch. 6 and Afterward

                                          Additional readings TBA                               

 

VIII.  Conclusion & Review (Dec. 6 to Dec. 8)       

                        Reading:  Ernst, Postscript                       

 

 

Final Exam:  Thursday, 14 December, 8-11 am