MIN 402 – Islamic Theology
Syllabus
• History of kalam
• Theological Schools and Sects
• Mu`tazilism
• Ash’arism
• Shi`ism
• Early Peripatetics
• Philosophical theology
• Existence of God; approaches by Abrahamic Faiths
• Islam’s Theological encounter with Judasim and Christianity
• Liberation Theology
• Modern and contemporary theological debates.
Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy
Assessment Modes
Individual coursework (4000 words), class presentation on a selected topic demonstrating ability to debate and explore ideas; a print-out of the slides needs to be submitted, two critical review activities to be graded on topics agreed with the lecturer during class requiring students to enhance their understanding of the facts and concepts presented to them in class (1500 words each).
Assessment Weighting
Individual coursework: 60%
Study presented in the class 20%
Review Activity: 20%
Learning materials
Core readings
Abrahamov, B. (1988) Islamic Theology: Traditionalism and Rationalism. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Ess, Josef van. (2006) The Flowering of Muslim Theology, trans. by Jane Marie Todd, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England.
Fakhry, Majid, (1997) Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Mysticism, A Short Introduction, Oxford University Press.
Madelung, W. (1997) The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate, Cambridge University Press
Mutahhari, M. (2011). The Theory of Knowledge: An Islamic Perspective. London: ICAS Press.
Nagel, T. (2000) The History of Islamic Theology: From Muhammad to the Present, T. Thornton (trans.), Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers
Rabbani Gulpaygani, A. (2013) Discursive Theology. Qum: Al-Mustafa International University
Schmidtke, S. (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Theology (Oxford Handbooks in Religion and Theology). London: OUP Oxford
Watt, W. M. (1985) Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Watt, M. (1998) The Formative Period of Islamic Thought, UK: Oneworld Publications
Winter, T. (2008) The Cambridge Companion to Classical Islamic Theology, Cambridge University Press
Wolfson, H. A. (1976) The Philosophy of the Kalam, Cambridge: Harvard University Press
Yazdi, M. T. M. (2009) Theological Instructions, London: Institute of Islamic Studies
