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Great World Religions: Islam

Gain an introduction to the history and practice of the world's fastest growing religion in this course taught by an award-winning professor from Georgetown University.
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Overview

How familiar are you with the world's second-largest and fastest-growing religion? Many people in the West know little about Islam and are familiar only with the actions of a minority of radical extremists. Great World Religions: Islam helps you better understand Islam as both a religion and a way of life. In these illuminating lectures, expert Islamic scholar and Professor John L. Esposito takes you through Islamic history from the 7th century through today. Along the way you explore Muslim beliefs and practices in the context of their impact on Muslim life and society throughout the ages; how and why Muslims came to Europe and America; the issues of faith, identity, and integration that face them in their homelands; and other fascinating aspects of this great world faith.

About

John L. Esposito

Once I began to study Islam, I discovered a religious tradition with close affinities to Judaism and Christianity, with a rich religious, historical, and civilizational legacy that I had never been told about before.

INSTITUTION

Georgetown University

Dr. John L. Esposito is University Professor, Professor of Religion and International Affairs, and Professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. He earned his B.A. at St. Anthony College, his M.A. at St. John's University, and his Ph.D. at Temple University. Professor Esposito is Founding Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding: History and International Affairs in the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. He has served as President of the Middle East Studies Association of North America, and the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies. A specialist in Islam, political Islam, and the impact of Islamic movements from North Africa to Southeast Asia, Dr. Esposito serves as a consultant to the Department of State as well as multinational corporations, governments, universities, and the media worldwide. In 2005, Professor Esposito won the American Academy of Religion's prestigious Martin E. Marty Award for the Public Understanding of Religion. This award honors a scholar who has been exemplary in promoting the public understanding of religion. A prolific writer, Professor Esposito is the author of over 25 books, including What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?, and Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, The Oxford History of Islam, and The Oxford Dictionary of Islam.

By This Professor

Great World Religions: Islam
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Great World Religions: Islam

Trailer

Islam Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

01: Islam Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

The diversity of cultural and religious practices of Islam is reflected by the geographic expanse of the Muslim world. Islam's more than 1 billion followers live in 56 countries around the world, yet many in the West know little about it and are familiar only with the actions of a minority of radical extremists. This lecture outlines the second-largest and fastest-growing of the world's religions,...

32 min
The Five Pillars of Islam

02: The Five Pillars of Islam

All Muslims accept and follow the Five Pillars of Islam, the core beliefs that unite all Muslims across time and space and are the hallmarks that distinguish Islam from other faiths. This lecture describes them....

30 min
Muhammad-Prophet and Statesman

03: Muhammad-Prophet and Statesman

Muhammad's significance is the result of his dual roles as God's messenger and as the perfect living model of the Quran's teachings. After 10 years of persecution and resistance in Mecca, Muhammad and the early Muslims moved to Medina, where Muhammad served as prophet, political ruler, military commander, chief judge, and lawgiver....

31 min
God's Word-the Quranic Worldview

04: God's Word-the Quranic Worldview

Muslims believe that the Quran represents both the original and final revelation of God to humankind, making Islam the oldest, rather than the newest, of the monotheistic faiths. The Quran reveals the compassion and justice of God, the role and responsibilities of human beings, and relations between men and women....

30 min
The Muslim Community-Faith and Politics

05: The Muslim Community-Faith and Politics

The development of Islam and Muslim history enables us to appreciate the remarkable political and cultural achievements of the Golden Age of Islamic civilization and to understand the sources of sectarianism, religious extremism, and conflict between Islam and Christianity, epitomized by the Crusades....

30 min
Paths to God-Islamic Law and Mysticism

06: Paths to God-Islamic Law and Mysticism

Piety and the desire for reform resulted in the development of Islamic law (the Shariah) and Islamic mysticism (Sufism). Islamic law reflects Islam's emphasis on orthopraxy (correct practice), rather than orthodoxy (correct belief). Sufism emphasizes personal spirituality and devotion and has aided the spread of Islam through missionary activities....

31 min
Islamic Revivalism-Renewal and Reform

07: Islamic Revivalism-Renewal and Reform

From the 17th to the 20th centuries, the Muslim world experienced both internal disintegration and upheaval and the external aggression of the European colonial era. Muslim responses to these challenges varied from jihad against European colonialism to acceptance and blind adoption of the West. Islamic modernists called for a synthesis of Islam and Western thought in order to achieve legal, educat...

30 min
The Contemporary Resurgence of Islam

08: The Contemporary Resurgence of Islam

In the last decades of the 20th century, a series of political events and economic realities led to the desire of many Muslims to achieve greater authenticity and self-definition through a revival of Islam. Reformist movements have worked within mainstream society for change, but extremists have resorted to violence and terrorism to achieve their goals....

30 min
Islam at the Crossroads

09: Islam at the Crossroads

Like members of other faith communities, contemporary Muslims face the challenge of defining the role, meaning, and relevance of Islam. At the heart of the "struggle for the soul of Islam" between conservatives and reformers, mainstream Muslims and extremists, is the question of who should interpret Islam and how reform should be achieved. Major issues include the relationship of religio...

30 min
Women and Change in Islam

10: Women and Change in Islam

The status of women in Islam is a hotly contested issue, both in the Muslim world and in the West. Muslim women are often viewed through Western stereotypes or the policies of extremists, such as the Taliban. Although some critics claim that Islam oppresses women, others view Islam as a source of women's empowerment. Even the wearing of the veil has diverse meanings for wearers and observers....

30 min
Islam in the West

11: Islam in the West

Islam is now the third largest religion in the United States and the second largest in Europe. Muslims in Europe and America represent a cross-section of national, ethnic, and racial backgrounds and socioeconomic classes. They, like religious minorities before them, face issues of faith and identity, integration and assimilation....

31 min
The Future of Islam

12: The Future of Islam

At the close of the 20th century, it appeared that the future of Islam could be one of new opportunities for peace, democracy, expanded human and women's rights; political, social, and economic empowerment; and an increasing acceptance in Western societies of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition. The September 11, 2001, hijacking of Islam by militant extremists shattered the hopes and dreams of m...

31 min