Mar
22
Week 3: Joseph and Prophethood
March 22, 2016 | Comments Off on Week 3: Joseph and Prophethood
In this week’s readings, I was particularly struck by the story of the prophet Joseph within the Qur’an and its relation to other religious scriptures. Joseph’s story is also present in Jewish and Christian traditions, although it is particularly emphasized within the Qur’an and in Muslim culture. This provides insight into the close relation of […]
Mar
21
Week 2: Sacred Sound
March 21, 2016 | Comments Off on Week 2: Sacred Sound
This week, we discussed the role that sound plays in Muslim worship. Sound and aural elements are at the very roots of Islam, beginning with the initial spread of Muhammad’s revelations. In “Reading the Qur’an”, Ziauddin Sardar writes, “Sound plays a very important part in the structure of the Qur’an. Before it was a written text, the Qur’an […]
Mar
21
Week 5: Communities of Interpretation
March 21, 2016 | Comments Off on Week 5: Communities of Interpretation
This week, we discussed communities of interpretation within the Muslim world. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the issue of succession became a major point of contention among his followers. This led to the first and largest split in Islam: the division between those who endorsed the historical caliphate, subsequently named the Sunni, and those […]