Category Archives: Teaching Resources

Inventing Muslims: 1001 Inventions Exhibit now in New York

Film and Video, Islamic Sciences, Scholars, Teaching Resources

New York launch for 1001 Inventions

1001 Inventions at the New York Hall of Science Uncovers a Thousand Years of Science and Technology Developed Throughout Muslim Civilization.

Five-Year Global Tour Makes U.S. Debut Following Record Breaking Runs in London and Istanbul

17 November 2010, New York — After blockbuster runs in London and Istanbul, 1001 Inventions, an exhibition highlighting the scientific legacy of Muslim civilization in our modern age, will make its United States premiere at the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) on December 4, 2010.

The exhibition reveals the forgotten history of men and women from a variety of faiths and backgrounds whose contributions to the advancement of scholarship and technology during the Middle Ages helped pave the way for the European Renaissance. This period of history from the 7th through 17th centuries is commonly–though, often erroneously—referred to as the “Dark Ages.”

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a 20-foot replica of Al-Jazari’s “elephant clock,” which dates to the 13th century. Other signature elements include a model of a ninth century flying machine and a scale model of a Chinese junk ship built in the 15th century. Divided into seven zones, 1001 Inventions includes more than 60 interactive exhibits that delve into discoveries that shaped the home, school, market, hospital, town, world and universe. Visitors will learn when scientists first discovered how we see, how ancient approaches to health influence modern medicine, why East and West share so much architectural heritage, and the origins of everyday items like coffee, toothbrushes, soap, and much more. Continue reading Inventing Muslims: 1001 Inventions Exhibit now in New York →

Translating Arabic Literature

Islamic Texts, Literature, Scholars, Teaching Resources, United Arab Emirates


Cambridge Arabic expert made executive editor of five-year project, University of Cambridge, November 29, 2010

James Montgomery, Professor of Classical Arabic at Cambridge University, has been appointed as Executive Editor of a five-year project at the Library of Arabic Literature (LAL).

He will work in conjunction with Professor Philip Kennedy (General Editor and Faculty Director, NYUAD Institute) and Shawkat M. Toorawa, (Executive Editor and Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Cornell University).

The project, funded by a grant from NYUAD’s research centre, the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, will initially publish 35 English translations of the great works of classical Arabic literature. The translations, rendered in parallel-text format with Arabic and English on facing pages, will be undertaken by renowned scholars of Arabic literature and Islamic studies. The translations will include a full range of works, including poetry, poetics, fiction, religion, philosophy, law, science, history and historiography. Continue reading Translating Arabic Literature →

Art Territories

Contemporary Art, Egypt, Orientalist Art, Photography, Teaching Resources

Check out this new website, initiated by Ursula Biemann and Shuruq Harb, this month: “ArtTerritories is conceived as an independent platform for artists, thinkers, researchers and curators to reflect on their art practice and engage in critical exchange on matters of art and visual culture in the Middle East and the Arab World. Dedicated to the interview format, the initiative encourages discussion of artistic process with an emphasis on discursive art and media practices, collaborative initiatives, and cultural and institutional politics. ArtTerritories aims to define, connect and expand already existing art communities in the region as well as an ever-growing invested international arts community.”


Photograph by Ahmad Hosni, from his Go Down, Moses project

The following is a sample of an interview with photographer Ahmad Hosni.

Ursula: The book is the result of intense but somewhat undirected exposure to desert experience with its chance encounters, local stories and tourist ethnographies, tinted by a literary reading of an eclectic range of writers, some of whom are discussed in the book. Continue reading Art Territories →

The Meaning of Islam

Islam and Christianity, Islam in America, Islam: Introduction, Islamophobia 101, Teaching Resources, Terrorism Issue

by William Chittick, Huffington Post, September 22, 2010

A few years back, long before 9/11, one of our Religious Studies majors told me that she had taken my course to learn why she should hate Islam. As a normal young American growing up on Long Island, she had no doubt that she should hate Islam, but she still wanted to know what was so bad about it.

There are many historical, political, and cultural reasons for the negative stereotypes of Islam that permeate American society. One of the more obvious is that people confuse religion and ideology.

Scholars often distinguish between “Islam,” meaning the religion as taught and practiced over the centuries, and “Islamism,” meaning the various ideologies that have appeared over the past century claiming to speak on its behalf. As one of these scholars put it, “An ideology is a clear blueprint that requires only mechanical implementation. … It offers easy answers to the most difficult and fundamental questions. … [It] renders redundant the human processes of constantly thinking, evaluating, facing hard choices, and balancing” (Farhang Rajaee, Islamism and Modernism, p. 4). Continue reading The Meaning of Islam →

Questioning the Veil

Anthropology/Sociology, Books You Should Read, Ethics, Gender and Sexuality, Islam in America, Islam in Europe, Teaching Resources


[Editor’s note: Marnia Lazreg’s Questioning the Veil: Open Letters to Muslim Women (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009) is a refreshing unveiling of the long debated arguments on the use of some sort of “veil” in Muslim societies. These letters, concise and impassioned arguments in essay format, are for all to read. Modesty? Protection against sexual harassment? Newly formatted cultural identity? Conviction and Piety? Lazreg draws on her own upbringing in Algeria and research as a sociologist to frame her conviction of why Muslim women should not wear the veil. No one interested in the ongoing discussion should fail to read her important contribution. I provide here a brief excerpt from her Introduction.]

I do not approach veiling from the perspective of the struggle between “tradition” and “modernity,” which purportedly women resolve by opting for the veil, as a number of studies have claimed. New styles of veiling are less confining to a woman’s ability to move about than old ones, and a number of veiled women throughout the Muslim world have been carrying out their professional activities side by side with men in their workplaces. Nor do I consider wearing a veil at work as ushering in a new form of “modernity.” Furthermore, I do not intend to characterize veiling as representing women’s “alienation,” “enslavement,” or “subjugation” to cultural norms. Such characterizations are unhelpful as they can easily be applied to our postmodern condition, marked as it is by a retreat from a meaningfully shared human experience and the flaunting of privatized forms of consciousness, which result in conceptions of women that are as detrimental to women’s integrity as the veil might be. Continue reading Questioning the Veil →

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

Saudi Arabia, Teaching Resources, Terrorism Issue, Yemen


The Amir [leader] of al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula, Abu Basir Nasir al-Wuhayshi (also transliterated, “Abu Baseer Nasir al-Wahayshi”), in front of a photograph of the al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam’s holiest shrines, in Jerusalem. The text reads, “At al-Aqsa We Meet.”

Exploiting Grievances: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

Executive Summary
THE PAPER IN A NUTSHELL

• Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been remarkably adept at exploiting the grievances of ordinary Yemenis. The group’s rhetoric, however, only goes so far and has not yet translated into a widespread base of support. In order to prevent AQAP from becoming more deeply entrenched, the Yemeni government must move swiftly to increase governmental visibility and improve the delivery of services at the local level. Failure to do so risks a growing al-Qaeda presence on the Arabian Peninsula with grave consequences for regional and international security.

VITAL STATISTICS
• Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is the product of a merger between al-Qaeda’s Saudi and Yemeni branches.
• Estimates of the size of AQAP in Yemen vary from 300 to several thousand. The lower figure likely represents the number of active militants within the organization, while the larger figure includes supporters not actively involved in the group’s day-to-day operations.
• AQAP employs targeted messaging that is consistent with the core tenets of al-Qaeda’s ideology but infused with themes that resonate locally within Yemen.
• According to AQAP, Muslims are suffering at the hands of foreign powers that prop up illegitimate and corrupt local regimes that have failed to provide for their citizens. Continue reading Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula →

New M.A. In Islamic Studies at GTU

Islam and Christianity, Islam in America, Islam: Introduction, Teaching Resources


Dr. Munir Jiwa, Graduate Theological Union

Announcing a new area of concentration in Islamic Studies for fall 2010

We are pleased to announce this new concentration with a primary focus on the study of contemporary Islam within its theological, historical, and cultural contexts. The application deadline for this program has been extended until May 21. To apply, follow the instructions on this webpage.

Islamic Studies
A specialized program offered by the Graduate Theological Union faculty at the Center for Islamic Studies and Associate Faculty

The primary focus of this area is on the study of contemporary Islam within its theological, historical, and cultural contexts. In addition to the core courses in classical Islamic scholarship, students have the opportunity to develop expertise in specific topics such as Muslim Cultures (especially Muslims in America), Islamic Education, or Islam and Media. Interdisciplinary and interreligious approaches to the study of Islam in which Muslims are understood in their diversity and in dialogue with other religious traditions are an implicit part of the program, fostered by the unique environment of the GTU.

For more information, contact
Munir Jiwa, Ph.D.
Director and Assistant Professor
Center for Islamic Studies
Graduate Theological Union
2400 Ridge Road
Berkeley, CA 94709
Office: 510 649 2562

Muslim Cinema: The List

Film and Video, Islam: Introduction, Teaching Resources

Muslim Cinema: an introduction
With 101 must-see Muslim-themed films
Javed Mohammed, Culture Wars, March 11

The Muslim World and Cinema

Every culture promotes its history, beliefs, heroes, values, norms, and attitude. The African-American director Spike Lee said about his films, ‘I’m just trying to tell a good story and make thought-provoking, entertaining films. I just try and draw upon the great culture we have as a people, from music, novels, the streets’. Is there a parallel to African-American, Asian, or Latin cinema, called ‘Muslim Cinema’? Does it exist, and if so, how can it be understood? Before one can understand the cinema of a people, a little more light needs to be shed on the actual people.

The Muslim world, with approximately one fifth of the world population and in turn its politics, economics, and culture, plays a very important role on the world stage. Headline news is the most popular venue promoting what is known about Muslims, so it becomes imperative for Muslims to be seen and heard from other vantage points. One of these vistas is art, and in the present world Cinema, due its mass appeal and significant availability. An introduction to Muslim Cinema allows Muslims to take a critical reflection about their own beliefs and culture, as well as providing a window for those who are of other faiths to see who Muslims are. Where does one start? Continue reading Muslim Cinema: The List →