Postgraduate Module Descriptor

ARAM102: Islam in Practice

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.

Overview

NQF Level	7
Credits	30	ECTS Value	15
Term(s) and duration	This module ran during term 2 (11 weeks)
Academic staff	(Convenor)
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	ARAM103
Available via distance learning	No

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

Module created	01/10/2005	Last revised	10/09/2013