Islam – the eBook by William Shepard

Islam Online:
Essay Questions

Essay Questions and Topics require research beyond what is in the chapter and sometimes beyond the references listed at the end of the chapter.

Chapter:

  1. Chapter 1. Introduction
    1. Apply the concept of empathetic understanding to something, other than Islam, about which you know and have strong negative feelings. (e.g Hitler?)
    2. What questions does the introductory overview of Islam in this chapter raise in your mind? Why? How might you go about seeking answers (besides reading this book)?
  2. ↑
  3. Chapter 2. On the Eve of Islam
    1. Compare and contrast the religious understanding of the ruler and/or the state in Sasasid Iran and Christian Byzantium.
    2. Discuss the concept of the Axial Age and its application (or otherwise) to the Hellenistic-Iranian World.
    3. Discuss the main features of Greek philosophy and its relation to religion.
    4. Discuss one or more Gnostic movements (including Manicheism) and its relation to (some) other forms of religion.
    5. Discuss the role of Jewish religion in the Hellenistic-Iranian World.
  4. ↑
  5. Chapter 3. The Beginnings of Islam
    1. How did Islam reject or transform the values and attitudes of the Jahili Arabs?
    2. What are the most important accomplishments of Muhammad?
    3. What were the main factors in the spread of Islam after Muhammad’s death?
    4. How good is the evidence for revisionist accounts of early Islam and what is the actual or potential significance of these?
  6. ↑
  7. Chapter 4. Expansion and Flowering of Islam
    1. Why did the Muslim empire spread so quickly.
    2. The effect of the Crusades on Muslims and on Europe.
    3. Should we speak of an Islamic civilization or Islamic civilizations?
    4. Jihad in Islamic history.
    5. The role of dhimmis in Islamic civilization.
  8. ↑
  9. Chapter 5. The Qur'an
    1. Choose a passage of the Qur’an and discuss its interpretation.
    2. How does the Qur’anic teaching about God, Abraham or Jesus differ from that of the Bible and what does this tell us about Islam?
    3. Make up a short story in which the Qur’an features in a major way.
    4. The recitation of the Qur’an.
    5. Images of women and gender relations in the Qur’an.
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  11. Chapter 6. The Prophet Muhammad
    1. Compare the treatment of one important event or issue in Muhammad’s life in Ibn Hisham’s sira, and one of the modern biographies available in translation.
    2. Bearing in mind the material of the last two chapters, does it make more sense to compare the role of Jesus for Christians with the role of Muhammad or the role of the Qur’an for Muslims?
    3. What would be the implications for Muslim faith if Western historical skepticism of the hadith were true?
    4. What guidance might Muhammad’s sunna offer on one particular social or political issue?
    5. “Say what you will about God, but be careful with Muhammad” Why might this be so?
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  13. Chapter 7. Key Practices: Pillars, Rituals and Celebrations
    1. How does practice of the Pillars affect Muslims who live in Western societies?
    2. The Mawlid of the Prophet: its history and the debates concerning it.
    3. What does the ritual and ceremonial life of Muslim tell us about gender relations?
    4. Construct a dialogue or interview between a non-Muslim and a Muslim about one or two of the Pillars.
    5. Compare and contrast marriage practices in two different Muslim societies.
  14. ↑
  15. Chapter 8. Divisions in the Umma and Political Thought
    1. Discuss the (supposed) events surrounding ‘Ali and others that led division between Sunni and Shi‘is. How important are these? Are there other important factors?
    2. Defend the Isma‘ili position against the Sunnis as of about 1100 ce.
    3. Compare the view of political leadership held by al-Mawardi, al-Ghazali or Ibn Taymiyya with that held by al-Farabi or Ibn Khaldun.
    4. How well did the Muslims solve the problem of the gap between the ideal and the real in polical life. Which group or thinking, if any, solved it the best?
    5. Discuss the role of the Twelver Imams in Shi‘i political life before and after the Occultation.
  16. ↑
  17. Chapter 9. Scholars and Learning
    1. Compare the development of madrasas with the development of Western universities in the Middle Ages.
    2. To what extent and how did the teaching in the kuttabs and the madrasas met the needs of their times?
    3. What does the statement, “He who accepts the office of qadi is like someone who is slaughtered without a knife” tell us about the relationship between ‘ulama’ and rulers?
    4. Contrast the relation of Sunni and Twelver Shi‘i ‘ulama’ to government.
    5. Read some modern accounts of kuttabs. Do you think they give a fair judgment? (See, e.g., autobiographies of Taha Husayn, Ahmad Amin and Sayyid Qutb, on the Supplementary Reading List, below).
  18. ↑
  19. Chapter 10. To Know God's Will: Islamic Law
    1. What has been the role of maslaha in Islamic law?
    2. Discuss the life and career of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and his significance for law, politics and theology.
    3. Discuss the contribution of al-Shafi‘i to the development of Islamic law.
    4. Discuss the rulings on divorce.
    5. Does Islamic law favor males over females?
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  21. Chapter 11. Theology and Philosophy
    1. What is the relationship between kalam and the Shari‘a?
    2. The relationship between human freedom and divine will in Muslim theology.
    3. Al-Ash‘ari and his importance for Muslim theology.
    4. Can the good be known apart from Revelation? Muslim discussions of this.
    5. Philosophy, religion and the common people in Ibn Rushd and/or Ibn Tufayl.
    6. The Philosophers’ conception of revelation.
  22. ↑
  23. Chapter 12. The Sufi Path to God
    1. “Except for drunkenness and revelry I have no tale to tell”: love and wine in Sufi poetry.
    2. The career and teachings of one or two of the following: Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiya, al-Hallaj, Rumi, Farid al-Din Attar.
    3. The history, teachings and significance of one or two tariqas.
    4. Sufism and Shari‘a.
    5. Sufism in the West.
  24. ↑
  25. Chapter 13. A Philosopher, a Scholar-mystic and a Reformer
    1. Was Ibn Sina successful in “Islamizing” Greek philosophy?
    2. To what extent did al-Ghazali successfully integrate or reconcile kalam, fiqh, Sufism and philosophy?
    3. What were the challenges to Islamic thought and practice that each man addressed and how well did they succeed in meeting them?
    4. Create an imaginary dialogue among Ibn Sina, al-Ghazali and Ibn Taymiyya on one or more issues.
    5. Al-Ghazali said the philosophers’ belief in the eternity of the world, rejection of bodily resurrection and claim that God does not know particulars made them kafirs. Do you agree?
    6. Discuss the relation between the activities and the ideas of each man.
  26. ↑
  27. Chapter 14. Culture and Counter-Culture
    1. To what extent is it true that Islam has opposed music and the depiction of living beings?
    2. What is the significance of wine in Muslim literature, sacred and secular?
    3. The role of writng and calligraphy in Islamic religion and culture.
    4. The main features of mosque architecture and their variation over time?
    5. Compare the poetry of Rumi and Omar Khayyam.
    6. The role and significance of Arabesque.
    7. Some say that the main roots and significance of “Islamic”art and architecture are to be found elsewhere than in Islamic religion. Do you agree?
  28. ↑
  29. Chapter 15. Western Imperialism and Muslim Response
    1. The “resurgence” of Islam? What is it? What are some of its causes? What are likely to be its long term effects?
    2. Discuss the response of Indian/Pakistani Muslims to the Western challenge.
    3. Compare and contrast the original Wahhabi movement and the movement(s) connected with Shah Waliullah of Delhi.
    4. Compare and contrast Muslim secularism and Islamism as responses to the Western challenge.
    5. The career and significance of one of the following: Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Iqbal, Abul ‘Ala’ Mawdudi.
  30. ↑
  31. Chapter 16. Turkey: Secularist Reform
    1. What does the experience of Turkey tell us about the compatibility or otherwise of nationalism and Islam?
    2. What does the Turkish experience tell us about Sufism?
    3. How did the reforms in the Ottoman Empire beginning in the nineteenth century prepare the way for Atatürk’s reforms?
    4. In what ways has there been a revival of Islamic religion in Turkey since 1950?
    5. What role(s) have the Sufi tariqas played in modern Turkey?
    6. The Nurcus and the Gülen movement, what do they offer Turkey? What might they offer people outside Turkey?
  32. ↑
  33. Chapter 17. Egypt: Between Secularism and Islamism
    1. Compare the ideas of Muhammad ‘Abduh, ‘Ali ‘Abd al-Raziq, and Sayyid Qutb.
    2. Discuss the ideas of Sayyid Qutb and those who claim (or are said) to be his followers and successors.
    3. To what extent has law become secularized in Egypt?
    4. Discuss the ideas and influence in Egypt of Muhammad ‘Abduh.
    5. Discuss the history and significance of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt.
    6. Discuss the significance of Islam for women as it has played out in modern Egypt.
    7. Al-Azhar in Egyptian society and politics?
    8. The Sufi movement in Egypt: Marginalization or continued relevance?
  34. ↑
  35. Chapter 18. Iran: From Secularism to Islamic Revolution
    1. How have the political power and role of the ‘ulama’ in Iran developed since the beginning of the nineteenth century?
    2. What roles have Shi‘i ideas and symbols played in Iranian political history since the beginning of the nineteenth century?
    3. How has Islamic modernism manifested itself in Iran and how successful has it been?
    4. Compare the role of Islam in the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, the Mossadegh period of 1951–1953 and the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
    5. Compare and contrast the ideals of government propounded by Naini, Shariati and Khomeini.
  36. ↑
  37. Chapter 19. Indonesia: Islamic Society or Islamic State?
    1. Compare Indonesian secularism with Turkish secularism.
    2. Compare the Muhammadiya and Persatuan Islam with the Muslim Brothers in Egypt.
    3. Why have “liberal” or “secular” forms of Islam arisen from among NU members?
    4. Discuss in depth one of the following movements: Muhammadiya, Persatuan Islam, Nahdlatul Ulama, Jemaah Islamiya.
    5. Pancasila: its history and significance.
  38. ↑
  39. Chapter 20. Globalization: Challenge and Opportunity
    1. To what sort of people does the global jihad appeal?
    2. Is global jihad essentially something created by the West?
    3. What, if anything, do the Muslim diaspora communities have to offer the umma as a whole?
    4. Islam in America: history, characteristics and challenges.
    5. Discuss the liberal/progressive interpretations of Islam by one or two of the thinkers mentioned in this chapter or of the “neo-modernists” of Indonesia. What are their key views. How much do they appeal to Muslims.
    6. Some of the intellectuals who present radical reinterpretations of Islam associated themselves with the Mu‘tazilis. How close are they, in fact, to the Mu‘tazila?
    7. Indicate some non-political aspects of the “resurgence” of Islam since about 1970.
    8. At the beginning of chapter fifteen it is stated that the fundamental problem of modern Muslims is how to rehabilitate Islamic history. Which of the countries or movements discussed in Chapters 15–20 has in your view done the most toward accomplishing this? Why do you choose this one?
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