The Makers of the Muslim World

4.0 credits

This course explores key texts and Muslim thinkers across Islamic history. Through careful reading and analysis we will examine the major religious, philosophical, and political ideas of influential Islamic philosophers and theologians from the 16th-20th century. Readings include works by Muslim scholars such as Mulla Sadra (1635), Shah Waliullah (1762), ʿUthmān b. Muḥammad Fūḍī (1817), Muhammad Abduh (1905), Muhammad Iqbal (1938), Said Nursi (1960), Sayyid Qutb (1966), Abu l-Ala Maududi (1979), Ali Shariati (1977), and others. We will analyze early modern and modern theological debates in Muslim theological reflection and interpretation, drawing on the writings of these selected thinkers.