FF:RLBcA008 Islam - Course Information

RLBcA008 Islam

Extent and Intensity

2/0/0. 4 credit(s) (plus 1 credit for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching

Teacher(s)

doc. Mgr. Attila Kovács, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Jana Valtrová, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

Mgr. Jana Valtrová, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Kristýna Čižmářová
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts

Prerequisites (in Czech)

! RLA08 Islam

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 80 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/80, only registered: 0/80, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/80

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

The course offers a complex introduction to Islam as the third and youngest monotheistic religion genuinely rooted in the milieu of the Semitic civilization. Following a scheme based on the periodization of the history of Islam, it provides a general survey of its historical development and crucial transformations – from its very beginnings in the 7th century through its somewhat complex change into the relatively homogenous and syncretic state organism in the course of the Middle Ages, the ambivalent era of stagnation, the clash with European colonialism until the recent differentiation on traditional, reformist, mystical and fundamentalist streams, including the impact of Islam as a specific ideological and juridical concept on both local and international politics.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, students will be able to:

demonstrate the basic factual knowledge of the history of Islam, including the main features of its teachings, religious law and ritual practices;

identify the principal historical transformations in the development of Islam;

use the basic terminology of Islam and its academic study;

interpret the selected Islamic source material in Czech translation;

compare Islam with other monotheistic systems (Judaism and Christianity).

Syllabus

• Introduction to the course.
• Jahiliyya and pre-Islamic Arabia.
• Prophet Muhammadand the rise of Islam.
• Islamic groups and factions I.
• Islamic groups and factions II.
• The Quran.
• Islamic religious and legal tradition.
• The Five pillars of Islam.
• Islamic cosmology and eschatology.
• Islamic philosophy and science.
• Islamic mysticism, folk Islam and and Islamic realities.
• Islamic reformism and Islamism.
• Islam in the West, Islamophobia.

Literature

required literature
• PAVLINCOVÁ, Helena. Judaismus, křesťanství, islám. Vyd. 2. přeprac. a rozš.,. Olomouc: Nakladatelství Olomouc, 2003, 661 s. ISBN 80-7182-165-9. info
• HILLENBRAND, Carole. Islám : historie, současnost a perspektivy. Translated by Jitka Jeníková. Vydání první. V Praze: Paseka, 2017, 301 stran. ISBN 9788074326851. info

recommended literature
• KROPÁČEK, Luboš. Duchovní cesty islámu. 3., dopl. vyd. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2003, 292 s. ISBN 8070216131. info
• KROPÁČEK, Luboš. Islám a Západ : historická paměť a současná krize. Vyd. 1. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2002, 197 s. ISBN 8070215402. info
• MENDEL, Miloš, Bronislav OSTŘANSKÝ and Tomáš RATAJ. Islám v srdci Evropy : vlivy islámské civilizace na dějiny a současnost českých zemí. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 2007, 499 s. ISBN 9788020015549. info

Teaching methods

Lectures; home reading of sources and literature.

Assessment methods

Requirements for the colloquium (recommended for students of other fields than the Study of Religion) and prerequisites for the oral examination

written test in the knowledge of the Qur'an, basic juridical and dogmatic terminology and the historical developments of classical Islam (at least 60 points out of 100);

written test in the history and basic ideological, juridical and dogmatic features of modern and contemporary Islam (at least points out of 100);
Requirements for the examination

to prove the basic factual knowledge of Islam according to the given list of themes;

to prove the interpretative ability in a given field.
The final grade includes assessment of: two semestral tests that constitute also the prerequisite for oral examination (50  %), and oral examination (50 %).

Language of instruction

Czech

Follow-Up Courses

• RLB388 Visual Representations of Islam

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

Information on completion of the course: Posluchači religionistiky povinně ukončují zkouškou.
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.

• Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  
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