Introduction to Islam

This course of 4 hours per week, has been planned to introduce the student to the knowledge of the Islamic world  through an outline of its origins, important aspects, historical development. The professors will give the students a summary of their course with the appropriate bibliography.The course will be in Italian.

Timetable: Mondays and Wednesdays 15.30-17.30

Professors: Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, Valentino Cottini,  Celeste Intartaglia, Michel Lagarde,  Adnane Mokrani, Andrea Pacini, Felix Phiri, Michel Saghbiny, Francesco Zannini

Programme 2011-2012:

• Introduction : An outline of Islam 2 h. (M. Á. Ayuso Guixot)
• Historical and geographic context of the origins of Islam 4 h. (C. Intartaglia)
• Life of Muhammad 4 h. (F. Phiri)
• The Koran [I]: presentation, content, story of the text, commentaries 6 h. (V. Cottini)
• The Koran [II]: selected koranic texts 6 h. (M. Lagarde)
• The Sunna : origins, meaning, collections, structures 4 h. (V. Cottini)
• The Rightly Guided Caliphs 4 h. (C. Intartaglia)
• The Umayyads 4 h. (C. Intartaglia)
• The ‘Abbasids 4 h. (V. Cottini)
• The Shiites: history and doctrine 6 h. (F. Phiri)
• The crusades 4 h. (C. Intartaglia )
• The pillars of Islam 4 h. (C. Intartaglia)
• The Muslim Creed 4 h. (C. Intartaglia)
• Introduction to the Islamic Law 6 h. (M. Saghbiny)
• The Ottomans 4 h.(C. Intartaglia)
• Origins of the modern Turkey and death of the Caliphate [1924] 2 h. (C. Intartaglia)
• Introduction to Islamic theology 4 h. (M. Á. Ayuso Guixot)
• Islamic reformism and fundamentalism 4 h.  (C. Intartaglia)
• Introduction to Islamic mysticism 6 h. (A. Mokrani)
• Islamic international organizations 2 h. (A. Pacini)
• Islam in Europe 2 h. (A. Pacini)
• Human rights in Islam 2 h. (M. Á. Ayuso Guixot)
• Islam in Africa 4 h. (F. Phiri)
• Islam in Asia 4 h. (F. Zannini)
• Situation in the Near East 2 h. (F. Phiri)
• Introduction to interreligious dialogue 8 h. History and documents (M. Á. Ayuso Guixot) - Muslim point of view (A. Mokrani)

Introduction to the Arabic language

This course is a first step to encourage the students to learn the Arabic language, starting from the script, the reading and the structure of the language. Acquisition of a basic, current vocabulary.

Timetable: Mondays and Wednesdays 17.30-19.30

Period: from 17 October 2011 to 23 May 2012

Hours in total: 106

Professor: Celeste Intartaglia