All I can really say is that, I’ve heard a bunch of reasons behind the rituals and practices muslims follow (although I’m sure what I’ve heard is little to what others here have heard) and I have to say, they’re always interesting, to say the least.

In the end, I would go with the decision of taking these courses, (I wish though, I have no space for electives) as they seem to offer valuable insight that you wouldn’t get reading blogs and just any other book.

Thanks for sharing :)

Questions on Fiqh? au’thobillah.

They need help. Bottom line, ppl need to be active in their Islamic education when taking these courses!

(Kamal-el-Mekki, is the shaykh!)

I am also taking this course currently and I love it. I think that everyone should be allowed to have their own opinion and this is what this course teaches, it doesn’t teach us about somethings mentioned in previous comments. In fact, I think that for non-Muslims it allows them to gain a deeper insight into what the Islamic religion is about and what being a Muslim entails. For Muslims, it allows them to maybe strengthen their Iman and maybe even teach them things they never knew before. I know that this course has taught me things I never expected to learn from anything else in my life. I think that this course is a blessing from Allah (S.W.T) and we should all try to learn a lesson or two from it because nobody is perfect and we never will be, except for the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W).

He makes claims of “prejudice scholars” who paint Islam in a negative light with connotations of power, wealth and sex. This is undoubtedly an unfortunate fact of history and a mark of Orientalism at its finest. If we look back at the course, we did manage to tip-toe around the Western worlds understanding of Islam and how that evolved over time. The historiographical approach used in 2815 was by no means sympathetic to the past injustices of colonial regimes and their oppressive curriculums; in fact the course denounced such paradigms. Yet we still learned about it. Why? Because as morally reprehensible as it was it was still an accurate occurrence of what happened and how Islam WAS viewed. The writer says that those blatant corrupt views of Islam have in some way permeated modern liberal paradigms of education. I scoffed at this concept; not because there may be truth to the statement but because he doesn’t suggest any specifics to the disease he feels is spreading like a “cancer” through the minds of Muslims; but he did manage to articulate them as “subtle.”

The writer gets deeper with the concepts of normative vs. non-normative approaches; probably the foundation of this course and many other religious studies courses. (Here is a worthwhile area one can critique). I can understand his thought process as he tries to discredit the scholarly approach however, in my opinion he ends up in a frustrated limited space. He does so by arguing against non-normative approaches while assuming a rigid and non-halting normative perspective. And to do so you end up in a subjective sphere where the course must adapt and conform to the adorned normative view point. Logically this is completely absurd; York University is a place of secularity. Take it a step further; the humanities department – in particular religious studies is a discipline which can be characterised as “outsider,” outsiders who look into practices, religions and even traditions. To allow a university or should I say a modern day Multiversity to indoctrinate students with religious beliefs and to claim ultimate truth in Islam over all other religions taught within the very same institution would be unjust (not in a normative Muslim mindset) but in a secular libertarian environment – the very environment York is situated in. Such a normative form of education is crucial and must be cultivated within Mudrasa’s appropriately.

The author wants the course to establish truth and falsehood within this course; again I feel that such normative necessities would be unnecessary. A person’s spirituality and level of belief should extend farther than a second year course on Islam; therefore seeking such frivolous approval in 2815 is a waste of time. Any historical facts which conflict with ones religious facts are merely a test of that individuals virtue and strength; possibly even struggle (Jihad) for belief.

Lastly, I feel this course is not intended to strengthen or weaken the resolve of Muslims. It is put simply an abstemious look into our faith devoid of judgement and the need to adopt its truths; while still observing the traditions of the Muslim Umah from origin until present. Therefore, this course can be seen to have been designed with the non-Muslim in mind; and we Muslims have the added difficulty of restraining our normative dogma.

I hope that Muslims reading the above article do not consume the ideas presented without criticism… 2815 is a valuable course although flawed; I still feel it is worth while.

- Thanx.

I think you all made some very excellent and interesting points, however I think that as Muslims we shouldnt see takign this course as a “waste” of time or money, if you learn one thing and put it into action becauseo f this course your time and money will be well spent. I’m currently enrolled in this course and I enjoy it very much, although second semester is becoming more interesting. I urge other Muslims to take this course esp. because you get to see diff. viewpoints and if for ex. someone says something wrong then you can correct them and speak up.

Although Marta has said things which i dont agree with, she is a very nice individual and we can learn from non muslims and have friendly dialogues with one another. Also, there are many things i dont agree with that are mentioned on Friday khutbas, but i still come to Jumah, or for ex i would still go to masjid regardless of the person speaking! We can always learn from one another, and this is a blessing of Allah s.w.t. so please don’t be discouraged from this course, if anyone wants, i can give them notes/slides etc, for them to get a jist of what its about. Have a great day everyone!

Jazakallah brother for posting this article, as I too was thinking about taking this course in the summer (if it was offered) but now that I’ve heard a bit about, I think I’d be more comfortable to not take it and avoid any type of ‘misguidance’ if I may say. I would however recommend that AP HIST 2790 Islamic Civilization isn’t actually that bad – and it’s taught by Professor Abdullah also, who Mashallah I must say is a very good prof. Just a comment if anyone’s interested lol. Jazaks again for the article :)

This was 2 years ago therefore perhaps things have changed somewhat from now when you are taking it now. However everything I have mentioned was definitely alluded to/ entertained as a possibility, in my personal opinion, which you are wholly entitled to disagree/ agree with.