The requirements for the course are:
1) A midterm exam will be given to test students in basic
concepts and terms in Islamic law 2) One book and one article report of one-two pages must be
handed in to the professor and presented orally to the class.
The book and article must be chosen from the readings for
April 22 and 29. 3)
A research paper. You will present this paper in draft form to the class at the
end of the semester.
The
final grade will be calculated as follows
1) Midterm Exam
30%
2) Book Reports
20%
3) Draft/Presentation of Research Paper
10%
4) Final research
Paper
40%
Required Texts:
Wael Hallaq, A History of Islamic Legal Theories:
an introduction to Sunni usul al-fiqh, Cambridge
University Press, 1997.
Lawrence Rosen, The Justice of Islam:
comparative perspectives on Islamic law and society,
Oxford University Press, 2000.
Schedule
Feb.
4: Hallaq, Chapter One.
Feb. 11: Hallaq,
Chapter Two.
Feb. 18: Hallaq, Chapter Three.
Feb. 25: Hallaq, Chapter Four.
March 4: Hallaq, Chapter Five.
March 11: Hallaq,
Chapter Six and Conclusion.
March 18: **Midterm Exam
March 25: Rosen,
Part One
**Choose paper topics
**Select book and article to review for end of semester.
April 1: Rosen, Part Two
April 8: Rosen, Part Three
April 15:
Spring Break
April 22: Current Debates I: (see
readings on next page)
**Book Report I
April 29: Current Debates II:
(see readings on next page)
**Book Report II
May 6: Presentations
**May 27: Latest
date to hand in papers
Political
Participation/Political Oppression
Abou
El Fadl, Khaled. “Islam
and the Theology of Power,” Middle East Report 221,
Winter 2001.
Al
Alwani, Taha Jabir. Fatwa
on “The Participation of Muslims in the American Political
Process.” (from www.amconline.org;
2000).
Halawi,
Jailan. “A
forbidden alliance?” Al-Ahram Weekly Online, Sept. 20-26,
2001, Issue no. 552.
Saad,
Rasha. “Weapons of
the Weak.” [Qaradawi on suicide bombing.]
Al-Ahram Weekly Online, Dec. 13-19, 2001;
Issue No. 564.
Women
Fadel,
Mohammad. “Reinterpreting
the Guardian’s Role in the Islamic Contract of Marriage: the Case of the Maliki School,”
Journal of Islamic
Law 3/1 (1998): 1-26.
Qaradawi,
Yusuf and the Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Fatawa:
Fatwas on the Hajj of a Woman without a Mahrem (from the
internet).
Quick,
Abdul Hakim. “Al-Mu’allaqa: The
Muslim Woman Between Divorce and Real Marriage,”
Journal of Islamic
Law v. 3 (Spring/Summer 1998):
27-40.
Quraishi,
Asifa. “Her Honor:
An Islamic Critique of the Rape Laws of Pakistan from a
woman-sensitive perspective,” Michigan Jounal of International Law v. 18 (Winter 1997): 287-320. [Followed by UPI story on
Pakistani court ruling on rape in 2002].
Shehadeh,
Lamia Rustum. “The
Legal Status of Married Women in Lebanon,”
International Journal
of Middle East Studies 30/4 (1998):
501-519.
Competing
World Views?
Laylish,
Aharon. “The
Contribution of the
Modernists to the Secularization of Islamic Law,”
Middle Eastern Studies, 14 (1978):
263-277.
Fahmy,
Khaled. “The
Anatomy of Justice: Forensic
Medicine and Criminal Law in Nineteenth-Century Egypt,” Islamic
Law and Society, 6/2 (June, 1999): 224-271.
Shaham,
Ron. “Custom,
Islamic Law, and Statutory Legislation:
Marriage Registration and Minimum Age at Marriage in the
Egyptian Shari`a Court,” Islamic
Law and Society, 2,3 (1995):
258-281.
Guidelines
for Drafts, Papers, and Presentations
Drafts
I require a draft of your paper because it can prevent some
nasty surprises for both of us.
The draft must include a complete bibliography of the
sources you are using, an outline of the structure of the paper
and at least ten pages of written text—although it is better to
have a draft of the complete paper.
You may hand in the draft anytime before the date given on
the Course Schedule.
Papers
Approximately 20 pages (no big margins, large fonts or triple
spacing to fill the paper). For
the structure, style and content of the paper, consult the
“Hartford Seminary General Guidelines for a Research Paper.”
Presentations
The purpose of the presentation is twofold:
first, to share your research for the benefit of the other
students and second, to give you feedback on your paper before you
finalize it and hand in to the professor. The presentation should be focused and organized, as there
will not be too much time available to each presenter. There is no need to be overly formal or elaborate in your
presentation.
Some
Suggestions for Paper Topics:
Professor Ingrid
Mattson