A
s Muslims we believe in living our lives based on principles that our Creator
has given to us through the Prophet, peace be upon him. At the same time there
is a very strong tradition in both teachings of Quran and Sunnah and in the
historical practice of relating to the world around us based on principles of respect,
Justice, and fairness. There is a rich heritage of great societies from Madinah
to Baghdad, Timbuktu to Andalus, Khurasan to Delhi to Istanbul in which people of all faith participated. Therein lays a
highly developed ethical framework for a pluralistic society.
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Course Objectives
- Developing a deeper understanding of Quranic verses regarding relations with non-Muslims. Some of these verses are abused by Muslim and non-Muslim extremists
- Develop a basic understanding of many formal agreements and treaties that Prophet, peace be upon him, entered with non-Muslim in Makkah and Madinah. Understanding multiple Muslim perspectives and debates around several critical issues in Muslim-non-Muslim relations
- Learning the basic features and brief history of Christianity and Judaism
- Comprehend the etiquettes and rules of engagement in interfaith dialogue
Course Outline
1.
Quran’s
guidance about relationship with people of other faith. The course will do tafseer of the Quranic verses which deals with critical
issues regarding Muslim-non-Muslim relations. It will also address the current
controversies on this topic as well.
a.
Here
are topics and some of the relevant verses of the Quran:
i.
Quran’s
concept of humanity being one entity and it’s emphasis on Muslims
responsibilities
ii.
The
Quranic methodology of respectful narration of the prophets and founders of
other faiths,
iii.
God’s
criticism of others’ faith
iv.
Verses
of war (qital) with non-Muslims
v.
Serving
creation and worshiping God as twin pillars of faith
vi.
Working
on common cause
vii.
Respectable
relationship with the other
b. Instructor: Dr. Ahmed Murad
2.
Prophet’s
guidance in relations with other faith: Early Muslim texts regarding
relationship with the people of other faiths in Makkah and Habashah as minority and in Madinah as majority. This class will
read the text of the constitution of the city of Prophet Muhammad, Medina,
which was contractually agreed upon 1,400 years ago by different tribes to
establish co-existence between adherents of different religions. It offered
full autonomy in religious and civil matters to each of the city's religious
groups by declaring all signatories as one people, while agreeing to defend the
city-state together.
a.
Here is the texts which will be read:
i.
Wasiqatun Nabi (constitution of
Madinah),
ii.
Hadith and historical narration of the Muslim experience of Habashah
iii.
Hadith of the dialog and relationship with the
Christian delegation of Najran,
Yeman.
iv.
hilful Fudool (social justice
coalition to protect strangers)
b.
Instructor: Abdul Malik Mujahid
3.
Islamic
terminology regarding relationship with people of other faith: Understanding
the meaning and context of Islamic terminology regarding in relations to
non-Muslims and contemporary discussions surrounding these terms:
a.
The
following terms will be studied
i.
Kafir:
How Quran uses this term
ii.
Wali:
shades of meaning between friend to a protector
iii.
Jizya:
tax on non-Muslims in Islamic state
iv.
Khalifa:
stewardship to leadership
v.
Darul Islam, Darul Harb, Darul Kufr, Darul Ahd
vi.
Ahlul kitab and mushrikeen: what
is the difference
b. Instructor: Imam Professor Muhammad Shafiq
4.
Apostasy
debate and freedom of religion in Islam. This class will study the issue of irtidād or ridda. Although Quran clearly states the
principle of freedom of religion, today seven out of 50 plus Muslim countries
have a death penalty in their books of law for a Muslim who converts to another
faith.
a.
This
class will study the following regarding this topic:
i.
Quranic
verses about freedom of religion: Quran 2:256, 18:29, 88:21-22, 3:20, 4:137,
39:41
ii.
Quranic
verses change of religion: 3:72, 3:90, 16:106, 4:137, 5:54
iii.
Sunnah
of the Prophet regarding people leaving Islam
iv.
Fiqh
(classic Islamic legal position and debates) on apostasy
v.
Contemporary fatwas regarding apostasy
b. Instructor: Professor Inamul Haq
5.
Study
of the text of “A Common Word Between Us and You.” 138 Muslim
scholars, Imams and intellectuals issued this document on October 13th 2007 declare
the common ground between Christianity and Islam through this document. The
signatories to this message come from every denomination and school of thought
in Islam. Every major Islamic country or region in the world is represented in
this message, which is addressed to the leaders of all the world’s churches,
and indeed to all Christians everywhere.
a.
The class will study the following:
i.
The text of this document
ii.
the contexts of the
document; and
iii.
the text of the major Christian responses
b. Instructor: Professor Ahmadullah Siddiqi
6.
Study
of historic realities: Christian minorities under Muslim rule and Muslim
minorities under Christian rule.
a.
The
following topics will be covered
i.
Jerusalem
contracts of Caliph Omar & Sultan Salahuddin
ii.
Crusades
and Jihads
iii.
Muslim
and Christian experience in Spain
iv.
Christian
experience under Ottoman
v.
Christian
minorities in the Muslim world today
b.
Instructor:
Prof. Aminah McCloud
7.
Christianity
101:
a.
This
course will introduce the following topics:
i.
Brief Introduction to Christian history
ii.
Theology of different denominations
iii.
Structures of Christian denominations
b. Instructors Rev. Robert Thompson
8.
Judaism
101:
a.
The
class will serve as an introduction to Judaism and will address the following
topics:
i.
Jewish
contemporary beliefs
ii.
Jewish
worship and other practices
iii.
Understanding
differences and similarities between Orthodox, Conservative, Reform & Reconstructionism
b.
Instructor:
Rabbi Brant Rosen
c.
Date
& Time: Sunday, November 15
9.
Interfaith dialogue & engagement:
Etiquettes, norms and rules
a.
Instructor:
Imam Professor Muhammad Shafiq
Academic Profile of Instructors
Dr. Muhammad
Shafiq is professor of Islamic and religious studies at Nazareth College as well as
the Imam of the Islamic Center of Rochester, NY. Dr. Shafiq is a graduate
of Darul Uloom Taleemul Quran Kohat, Pakistan and holds a Ph.D. from Temple University. Dr. Shafiq has
written over 40 articles and several books, including Interfaith Dialogue: A Guide for Muslims (International Institute
of Islamic Thought: 2007).
Professor Inamul Haq has three degrees in traditional Islamic
knowledge as graduate of Madrasah: Maulavi, Maulavi Alim and Maulavi Fazil from
the Sindh Board Pakistan. He is an Imam at Muslim Education Center. He is also
a Professor of Islamic Studies at Elmhurst College, IL. He is also an adjunct
professor at Loyola University, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and
Chicago Theological Union (CTU).
Professor
Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi is Imam of Islamic
Center, Macomb, IL. He is also the Chair of Journalism and English department
of the Western Illinois University. He
teaches public relations, international communication, and research
methods courses. He is author of Islam,
Muslims and Media: Myths and Realities (1997); Islam:
A Contemporary Perspective (ed) 1993.
Dr. Aminah McCloud is
professor of Islamic Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at DePaul
University and the Director of the Islamic World Studies Program. She is the
author of African American Islam, Questions of Faith, Transnational
Muslims in American Society and Silks: The Textures of American Muslim
Women's Lives. She is currently editor of The Journal of Islamic Law and
Culture.
Dr. Ahmed Murad is Khateeb at
the Muslim Community Center Chicago and Islamic Center Naperville, IL. He is
thoroughly read in the Quran and Sunnah and has been teaching Quran for the
last 30 years. He has also produced the most popular Quran learning tool
Al-Qari.
Rabbi Brant Rosen will do Judaism 101 class. He is rabbi at Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston,
IL. He is also a founding leader of
FastForGaza.net which invites Jews to fast in solidarity with the blockaded
Palestinians in Gaza. Under Rabbi Rosen’s leadership, his synagogue
has received the first Platinum rating ever awarded to a house of worship by
the US Green Building Council. He is Past President of the Reconstructionist
Rabbinical Association. In 2008, Rabbi Rosen was honored by Newsweek magazine
as one of the Top 25 Pulpit Rabbis in America.
The
Reverend Robert V. Thompson will
do Christianity 101 class. He is the minister of Lake Street Church
since 1980. Rev. Thompson is former Chair
of the Council for a World Parliament of Religions. As a peace
justice leader of Chicago area he is involved with the Third Side project of
the Global Negotiation Program at Harvard University. The Third Side is a way
of looking at conflict by involving whole communities as “social immune
systems,” in order to prevent and resolve destructive conflict. He has written
a number of articles on diverse topics for publications like The Christian Century and The Chicago Tribune.
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