Muslims in West

Course content

Islam and Muslims in Europe have come to play a significant part of the European public and political life - if not by their own volition, then by the circumstances and contexts that inform us all. Media is full of discussions on veiling, radicalization, sharia law, parallel communities, terrorism - just to name a few - but how do these phenomena work in real social and religions lives of Muslims and non-Muslims (!) alike? Religions are dynamic phenomena, and within only a few generations of Muslim presence in Europe, we have seen the development of various European discourses within Islam. These are evident in both Islamic extremisms and in the women's struggle within Islam. In this course, you will learn to analyze a broad spectrum of Islamic discourses from Salafism to Islamic feminism with methods from political science and sociology of religion.

The course material consists of a combination of historical, ethnographic and anthropological studies, reports with quantitative and qualitative data, and sociological, political and religious theory. The historical, ethnographic and anthropological studies will give an understanding of the field and answers questions such as why women don the face-veil and go into Salafism and why some Muslims adhere to parallel juridical institutions rather than the state’s legal system. We will contextualize this knowledge with quantitative studies and utilize sociological theory to analyze both qualitative and quantitative data.

This course is designed around the dialectic concepts of learning by doing and critical analysis. The mantra is 'those who do, are those who learn.' Therefore, we change perspective several times during the semester and apply different theories to our material. This means that you will develop a familiarity and confidence with the material while practicing the application of theory at every stage. Towards the end of the semester, you are highly encouraged to go beyond the application of theory and start making independent inquiries, evaluations and be creative with what you've learned. 

Education

The course is planned with physical attendance.

Bachelor students enrol: TTEASK035U

Master's students enrol: TTEKASK35U

Learning outcome

You will gain a good overview of Islamic discourses in the West and develop methodological skills that enable you to analyze Islam as a minority religion in a western context. The course is based upon, political science as well as anthropological and sociological theory, which we will train through papers. This means that you have a wide-ranging freedom to choose your own topics - as long as you apply the theory and add some independent critical thinking. At the end of the course, you will be well equipped to analyze the current situation and developments in European Islam and utilize the theory from class in other spheres than Islamic studies.

The course is planned with physical attendance.

Readings

  • Ackfeldt, Anders (2020): The semiotics of Malcolm X from Harlem to Tahrir. In: Svensk Teologisk Kvartalskrift (1)
  • Ahmed, Afia (2019): The clothes of my faith. In: Mariam Khan (ed.): It's not about the Burqa. Picador.
  • Ali, Ayaan Hirsi (2004): The caged virgin: A Muslim woman's cry for reason. Pocket Books. Pp. ix-xviii and 139-150.
  • Cesari, Jocelyne (2010): Securitization of Islam in Europe. In: Jocelyne Cesari (ed.): Muslims in the West after 9/11: Religion, politics, and law. Routledge.
  • Eltahawy, Mona (2012): Why do they hate us? In: Foreign Policy.
  • Henkel, Heiko (2006): The journalists of Jyllands-Posten are a bunch of reactionary provocateurs. In: Radical Philosophy (137). Pp. 2-7.
  • Huntington, Samuel P (1993): The clash of civilizations? In: Foreign Affairs (3). Pp. 22-49
  • Klausen, Jytte (2007): The Islamic challenge: Politics and religion in Western Europe. Oxford University Press.
  • Lughod, Lila (2013): Do Muslim women need saving? Harvard University Press. pp. 81-112.
  • Nielsen, Jørgen S. and Jonas Otterbeck (2016): Muslim in western Europe. Edinburgh University Press. Pp. 1-66
  • Otterbeck, Jonas (2020: Finding the object of study: Islamic studies in practice. International Journal of Religion 2(1).
  • Petersen, Jesper (2022): The making of a mosque with female imams: Serendipities in the production of Danish Islams. Brill. Pp. 1-21 and 66-176.
  • Rifaat, Alifa (1983): Distant view of a minaret. Heinemann Ibadan Nairobi, pp. 1-4.
  • Rose, Flemming (2006): Why I published those cartoons. In: Washington Post (19 February 2006).
  • Soper, J. Christopher and Joel S. Fetzer (2009): The practice of their faith: Muslims and the state in Britain, France, and Germany. In: Abdulkader H. Sinno (ed.): Muslim in Western Politics. Indiana University Press.
  • Vinding, Niels Valdemar (2018): "Churchification of Islam in Europe", In: Vinding, Racius, & Thielmann, Exploring the Multitude of Muslims in Europe. Essays in Honour of Jørgen S. Nielsen. Brill Publishers 2018
  • Vinding, Niels Valdemar (forthcoming): "French Islam. If not Muslim, then what?", in: Ackfeldt, A., & Petersen, J., Non-Muslim Islam., Edinburgh University Press, (hopefully) 2024
Written
Oral
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester
ECTS
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Type of assessment details
Undergraduate requirements (bachelor students):

Requirement to pass the course for undergraduate students (bachelor students) are: a) A syllabus of 1,200-1,500 pages. The syllabus includes both the course literature covered in connection with the course and the assignment literature on which the written homework assignment is based, which the student finds and has approved by the teacher. The syllabus (course and assignment literature combined) may not exceed 1,500 pages. b) Active participation (at least 75% of the hours attended documented by protocol) and preparation of a written home assignment with a scope of 24,000-28,800 characters, i.e., 10-12 pages, based on 600-800 pages of literature as agreed with the course teacher. The assignment is assessed by the teacher. The assessment is based on the 7-point grading scale.

Graduate requirements (candidate/master students):

Requirement to pass the course for graduate students (candidate/master students) are: a) A syllabus of 1,200-1,500 pages. The syllabus includes both the course literature covered in connection with the teaching and the assignment literature on which the written homework assignment is based, which the student finds and has approved by the teacher. The syllabus (course and assignment literature combined) may not exceed 1,500 pages. b) Active participation (at least 75% of the hours attended documented by protocol) and preparation of a written home assignment with a scope of 36,000-48,000 characters, i.e., 15-20 pages, based on 800-1,000 pages of literature as agreed with the teacher. The assignment is assessed by the teacher. The assessment is based on the 7-point grading scale.
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Exam period

Winter and Summer Exam

Single subject courses (day)

  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 28
  • Preparation
  • 122
  • Exam Preparation
  • 150
  • Exam
  • 120
  • English
  • 420

Kursusinformation

Language
English
Course number
TTEASK035U
ECTS
15 ECTS
Programme level
Bachelor
Bachelor choice
Full Degree Master choice
Part Time Master
Duration

1 semester

Placement
Spring
Price

Deltagergebyret er på: 3.750 kr. for et 7,5 ECTS kursus og 7.500 kr. for et 15 ECTS kursus.

Schedulegroup
Mondays 15:00-17:45;
Spring 2025: First day is Monday 20 January
Studyboard
Study board of Theology
Contracting department
  • Theology
Contracting faculty
  • Faculty of Theology
Course Coordinator
  • Niels Valdemar Vinding   (3-707878427667716e306d7730666d)
Teacher

Niels Valdemar Vinding

Saved on the 14-10-2024

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