Al Maktoum Institute courses

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr Dawoud El Alami

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Notes

Overview

This course will examine historical, social, and political developments within the Muslim world, from the rise of Islam to the present day. Making use of critical historical and social scientific approaches, the diversity of Muslim societies will be placed within general theoretical frameworks for analysing specific trends and periods.
Students will be introduced to Muslim concepts such as ummah, khilafah, and sydah, which will be examined within the context of the diverse understandings and applications of the concepts within history. Key issues, theories, and methods in the course will be highlighted and explored through the use of specific historical and social case studies.

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week

Assessment

100% coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr Luqman Zakariyah

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Notes

Overview

This course will introduce students to approaches to and critical scholarship in the core sources in the study of Islam and Muslims, particularly the Qur'an and Hadith.
The course will look in particular at the history, context, structure, theology, and interpretations of these texts, with a key goal of placing these issues within a scholarly framework. The course will also examine academic methodologies of the application of these texts including tafsir (Qur'anic interpretations), the processes of authentication of hadith (isnad and matn), and the principles of jurisprudence (usul ul-fiqh)

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week

Assessment

100% Courseworkk:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr Hossein Godazgar

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Notes

Overview

The course will introduce contemporary academic debates on the complex interactions between what is broadly labelled 'Islam and the West'. Looking at these issues mainly from a social scientific view point, the course will emphasise the contemporary factors of multiculturalism and globalisation which frame these transnational relations and networks.
Students will be expected to reflect on the history of encounters between Muslim and 'the West' (in particular European nations and cultures), exploring concepts such as the 'clash'/'dialogue' of civilisations. This will be related to sociological literature on globalisation and multiculturalism, particularly with reference to specific case examples of Muslim cultures and societies in contemporary contexts.

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week.

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr Hossein Godazgar

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

The course examines social, historical and philosophical foundations underpinning modern conceptions of education and explores major contemporary perspectives on defining educational process and its central aspects: nature of learning and teaching. Exploring the relationship between education, culture and identity formation will be given a special attention. The other content areas are: role of education in multicultural/ multifaith social polities, education and social inclusion, education and social change.

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Prof. Malory Nye

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

This course will examine theoretical issues within academic debates on multiculturalism. Thus we will be looking at perspectives on the ‘politics of recognition’, the construction of ethnic identities, the creative interface between national, ethnic, and religious boundaries, and the political implications of multicultural diversity. Students taking the course will be expected to engage not only with the theoretical concepts that shape these academic debates – such as concepts of ethnicity, nationality, identity, integration, and assimilation – they will also be encouraged to explore and examine the practicalities of specific contexts of multicultural practice, using mostly examples from European countries.

The course will recognise that the term multiculturalism is one widely used in popular as well as academic debates, and which has a number of meanings. The main understanding of the term multiculturalism for this course is as a means to describe contemporary contexts of cultural and religious diversity, and the processes by which such diversity are experienced (by individuals, societies, and countries) and managed (by nation-states). Students will therefore be expected to reflect on the ways in which the term multiculturalism is used in the wider public debate, in a variety of contexts.

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Prof Malory Nye

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

This course will examine the experiences of multiculturalism within specific national, cultural, and geographical contexts. Through looking at different contexts of cultural and religious diversity – with a particular emphasis on state efforts to manage such diversity – the course will aim to explore a range of experiences from across the world, highlighting in particular the contextuality of multiculturalism to specific places.

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Mataz Kazmouz

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Notes

Overview

This course will examine the theoretical and conceptual framework within which Muslims approach the Bayt al-Maqdis (Islamic Jerusalem) region. It will address the key social, religious, historical, geographical and political aspects of Islamic Jerusalem. Several questions will be key to the study of this course: What are the reasons for Muslims' having close links and concern with Islamic Jerusalem? What is the significance of Islamic Jerusalem to Islam and Muslims? Does Islamic Jerusalem have any special status compared with any other region? Particular attention will be paid to the vision of Islamic Jerusalem, its boundaries, and the Circle Theory of Islamic Jerusalem.

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr Maher Abu-Munshar

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Notes

Overview

This course will examine the first phase of the physical manifestation of the theoretical and conceptual framework of Islamic Jerusalem from the time of 'Umar to the time of Salah al-Din. It discusses the historical developments and perspectives on Islamic Jerusalem with in-depth studies on particular aspects. It will examine how Muslims have ruled that region during this early period. Particular attention will be paid to the first and second Muslim conquests of the region, the re-construction of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first brief interruption and the transformation of Islamic Jerusalem (1099-1198)

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week.

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr Hossein Godazgar

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

This course will focus on the analysis of the broad frame of globalisation, its history, ramifications and impact on relations between peoples, nations and states. It will specifically look into the different models of responses that different Muslim states and ideologues have taken to face up to the challenges of globalisation and the opportunities it has provided. Thus, the historical contexts of globalisation will also be examined. On one hand the course will review issues relating to dialogue of civilisations and its foundations in Islam, it will also examine the competing thesis of whether there is an inevitable ‘clash of civilisations’ on the other. Thus, students will be introduced not only to the theses of Clash of Civilisation and End of History Huntington and Fukuyama respectively but also to proponents of cyclical patterns of civilisation like Ibn Khaldun, Toynbee and Spengler. The course will examine the debates about the so-called political Islam and the background to its emergence, and the different Muslim responses to globalisation and civilisational dialogue

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week.

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr Hossein Godazgar

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

This course will examine politics and international relations with particular reference to how Muslim international relations have developed both in the light of Islamic political and legal frameworks and also contemporary issues and challenges of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries It will look at the dialectics of ideal and application by exploring the concepts and ideals of justice, humanity and equality within Islamic sources in relation to particular case studies and theories of international relations. The course will also examine and critically evaluate relationships between Muslim and non-Muslim states and the political concepts of shūra (consultation), caliphate and hakimiyyah/siyadah (sovereignty) along with the Madinah wathīqah (document/agreement/constitution) and its application within contemporary political contexts. The course will also look into implications of 9/11 tragedy for respective foreign policy and international politics. The course will allow students to learn and critically review the different theories in politics and international relations from both Muslim and ‘Western’ perspectives.

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week.

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr Hossein Godazgar

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

The course will introduce the concept of Islamic Education through critically examining different perceptions and academic approaches developed to define the subject. The course explores main traditional and contemporary Muslim educational thought, educational institutions and discusses the possibility of developing a learner-centred approach in Islamic Education. The emphasis will be on the importance of contemporary educational research into Islamic Education, especially research springing from Social Sciences directed towards pedagogy and curriculum. The course will look at the theory and practice of Islamic Education in Modern Muslim world and across the Muslim collectivities in the west.

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week.

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Mataz Kazmouz

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

This course addresses various research methods in the humanities and social sciences, such as analytical, comparative, historical, and social, introducing an in-depth critical analysis of contemporary research methods. In particular the students will engage with methodologies in the following disciplines: historical, textual, anthropological (ethnographic), and social scientific (both qualitative and quantitative).Students taking this course will be expected to reflect on different methodologies and select appropriate methodological approaches for their own research.

Structure

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Prof Malory Nye

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

This course will be taught on a distance learning basis. It will examine the historical and demographic development of the Muslim presence in the UK, placing this in the context of the emergence of a politics of multiculturalism in the past fifty years, along with the processes of settlement and integration of diverse ethnic, religious, and cultural minority communities from South Asia. It will consider social, economic, political, legal and institutional developments within the Muslim communities and in their relations with the wider society. A major theme of the course will be the diversity of British Muslim identities and communities, and the social, cultural, and political contexts within which these have developed.

Structure

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Mataz Kazmouz

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Notes

Overview

This course will examine the second phase of the physical manifestation of the theoretical and conceptual framework of Islamic Jerusalem. It discusses the historical and political developments and perspectives on Islamic Jerusalem with in-depth studies on particular aspects. It covers the history and politics of Islamic Jerusalem from the late Crusades to the contemporary era. It will examine how Muslims have ruled that region during this late period and the key political and demographic issues involved. Particular attention will be paid to specific subjects at the socio-political, demographical, legal, and academic levels in the late and contemporary period.

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dina Hadad

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

This module will examine the debate on women in Islam within feminist framework evaluating the relationship between Islamic feminism and secular feminism in the Arab and Islamic world. It will discuss gender relations and dynamics in Muslim societies highlighting the historical aspect of these dynamics and the contemporary challenges facing Muslim women in the West. The Module will cover some legal and political issues with regard to women rights in different national contexts such as marriage, divorce , dress and women’s political participation.

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr Luqman Zakariyah

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

This course introduces an in depth critical analysis of the traditional and modern approaches to principles of Islamic Jurisprudence. The course will address all aspects of the principles of Islamic Jurisprudence including the primary and secondary sources of Islamic Shari’ah.

Structure

1 two hour seminar per week

Assessment

100% Coursework:
* 10% seminar presentation
* 30% critical review - 2,000 words
* 60% essay - 3,500 - 4,000 words

Credit Points

Course Coordinator

Dr Hossein Godazgar

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

The dissertation is an independent piece of work and should be regarded as an exercise in the analysis, interpretation and presentation of information and ideas to the standards of current scholarly practice. It will comprise a study of around 15-18,000 words on a topic relevant to the personal/professional development of the course member. The dissertation is supported by individual and group tutorials. There is a research-planning workshop at the beginning of the spring semester, leading to the presentation of a research proposal. All dissertations are supervised by one member of staff.

Structure

Assessment

Dissertation - 15-18,000 words