Course Description
An examination of Islam and Islamic culture in Morocco. The course covers basic Islamic beliefs and practices and the most significant aspects of Islamic culture in Morocco, such as music, art, and architecture.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will conduct "religiological" interviews,
largely in English (aided by bilingual Moroccan assistants),
with a minimum of three Moroccan Muslims. The interviews are
designed to bring out the major dimensions of their world
views. In a 12-page minimum comparative analytical paper,
graduate students will compile and analyze the interviews using
the religiological method (taught in the first week of the
program) and will compare them with what is stated in the
secondary literature on Moroccan Islam (using classroom
materials and resources at the library of our Moroccan center).
Athena Title
ISLAM IN MOROCCO
Non-Traditional Format
This is a maymester summer abroad program and will thus entail, with the course work, extensive travel throughout Morocco and homestays with Moroccan families. The educational experience of this course will be of an on-going "immersion" type.
Prerequisite
Third-year student standing or permission of department
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The aim of the course is to introduce students to an in-depth and first-hand understanding of Islam and Islamic culture, to present a broad view of the socio-religious and socio-political issues that are shaping the Islamic world of today, and to give students a framework for understanding the complex relationship between Islam and the West in modernity. Communicate Effectively through Writing To strengthen skills in written composition, analysis, and presentation by means of projects such as essays, papers, reports, and examinations. Computer Literacy To enhance and facilitate computer literacy by the use of word processing, the web, email, and OASIS through research, preparation, and presentation of work such as oral class reports and completion of written assignments. Critical Thinking To foster critical thinking by engaging in activities such as classroom discussion and debate, essay examinations, and oral presentations. Moral Reasoning (Ethics) To assist in the continued development of moral and ethical reasoning and reflection by encouraging creative thinking regarding individual and community concerns and needs, the challenging of prejudices and stereotypes, and examining rational and ethical bases of constructive social interactions.
Topical Outline
Part 1: Orientation and Introduction to the Islamic cultural world, Overview - Marrakesh: Where city and country meet - The Basin (al-Haouz) - Orientation: Walk around town, banks, Post Office, ALC and computer and e-mail sites; social mores and basic etiquette - Brief overview of the history of Islam in Morocco, emphasizing from the Colonial period until today - Introduction to Religiology, comparative worldviews, modernity; significance of reactions to culture shock. Part 2: In Depth Survey of the Core Islamic Worldview - Epistemology: Sources of knowledge in Islam - Ontology : Muslim beliefs about Reality, God, the Hereafter - Anthropology : Muslim beliefs about the nature of humans and human relationships in the world and afterlife - Psychology : Muslim beliefs about the nature and faculties of consciousness - Guided historical visit of the Old City and its monuments - Teleology : the purpose of life in Islam - Methodology of Islam - Overview of Islamic institutions for implementing methodology: The Mosque, madrasa, palace, qadi, home, souq (agriculture), bazaar (crafts/trade), fortified city (jihad), zawiya (brotherhoods) and tomb Part 3: The Expression of Islam in Morocco - Depart for trip to the far South of Morocco: Tamagrout, Dra Valley, Nasiri Zawiya - brief road talks: Moroccan geography, agriculture, Berbers and Arabs - Sunnah, Zuhd, Genesis of Sufism and Sufi Orders - Zawiya/Sufi Pedagogy and means of transmission/Sufi ritual, Saint’s Tomb - Day trip to Tinmil fortified mosque - brief road talk on the Muwahhidine and Ibn Toumert - Quran, a Moroccan Institution - The Mosque: its Social and Religious roles - Madrassa system of Morocco (rural and urban) - Sufism in Morocco: Yesterday and Today - Feedback session over tea and Moroccan cakes - Concert in the evening: Moroccan music - Visit Casablanca and Rabat - Lecture : Fes: a city founded by a saint - delivered from the Merinide Tombs - Doorways to Islamic Art - The Islamic City and Civil Society - Andalusian influences in Morocco - Lecture : Fatima Saddiqi : The Situation of Women in Morocco - Traditional Crafts and Social Values - Saint as Exemplar : Ibn Abbad, scholar and shaykh - Saints of Marrakech : a pilgrimage to the Old City - The bazaar, lifeblood of the Islamic City - guided tour of local crafts - Classical Islamic Values and the Islamic City - Student presentations / discussions : Moroccan realities/American responses/religiological synthesis - brief summary : Islam, coherence and modernity - brief summary : Islam and Equilibrium