SULWĀN SCHOOL
(مدرسةُ السلوان)

A Cluster of Hot Topics in Islam

Instructor: Ahmad ‘Alī al-‘Adanī
Course Format: 12 downloadable sessions; 3 live sessions
Starts On: 4 March 2013
Length: 12 weeks (= 1 term)
Course ID: GS1b-1/2013
Faculty: General Studies

Summary

“A unique course which deals with a basket of fiercely debated topics among contemporary Muslims”

In this course, participants will explore a number of topics which have attracted a lot of argumentation and controversy within present-day Muslim circles.
It will be done in a coolly detached and scholarly objective way as opposed to the usual emotional one.
Extracts from authoritative and reliable texts (Qur’ān, hadīth-literature, juristic writings, works on usūl al-fiqh) will be utilized, as well as contributions on the subjects by modern polemics.
The classical legacy will be linked to contemporary contextualization, and workable solutions for the here and now will be put forward on an interactive basis wherever possible.

Details

The details of this course, an alternative to the option coded GS1a-1/2013 and called “Islamic Sciences – An Overview” are self-explanatory.

Lesson 1

•    Music

Lesson 2

•    Armed warfare in Islam: Scope and conditions  

Lesson 3

•    The thorny issue of the niqāb  

Lesson 4

•    Meat slaughtered by non-Muslims, including Ahl al-Kitāb

Lesson 5

•    Apostasy

Lesson 6

•    Sports and professional sport competitions
 
Lesson 7

•    The social contract and the birth of the State: Is that sanctioned by Islam?

Lesson 8

•    Group dhikr and the sacred dance (hadrah)

Lesson 9

•    Demonstrations against a Muslim authority

Lesson 10

•    The approach to the Shī`ah

Lesson 11

•    Slavery in Islam

Lesson 12

•    Taking by a single madhhab

Requirements & Prerequisites

Be calm and collected.

NB:

The 3 live sessions are held after the 4th, 8th and 12th lessons respectively.