5/9/2025 4:19:52 AM	RELS 15 Course Outline as of Fall 2026	Changed Course
CATALOG INFORMATION
Discipline and Nbr:  RELS 15	Title:  ISLAM
Full Title:  Islam
Last Reviewed:4/28/2025

Units		Course Hours per Week			Nbr of Weeks	Course Hours Total
Maximum	3.00	Lecture Scheduled	3.00		17.5 max.	Lecture Scheduled	52.50
Minimum	3.00	Lab Scheduled	0		6 min.	Lab Scheduled	0
		Contact DHR	0			Contact DHR	0
		Contact Total	3.00			Contact Total	52.50
		Non-contact DHR	0			Non-contact DHR Total	0

Total Out of Class Hours:  105.00

Total Student Learning Hours: 157.50

Title 5 Category:  AA Degree Applicable
Grading:  Grade or P/NP
Repeatability:  00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Also Listed As: 
Formerly:  HUMAN 10.5

Catalog Description:

Students will explore the origins, spread, and history of Islam, as well as its diversity and presence in the modern world. This course will give students a thorough introduction to the life of Muhammad, the Qur'an, the Hadith, Sunni/Shiite differences, Sufism, and Islamic law, philosophy, politics, and art. Students will discuss Western perceptions, portrayals, and encounters with Islam, past and present.

Prerequisites/Corequisites:

Recommended Preparation:
Eligibility for ENGL C1000 (formerly ENGL 1A) or EMLS 10 (formerly ESL 10) or equivalent or appropriate placement based on AB705 mandates

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description:

Students will explore the origins, spread, and history of Islam, as well as its diversity and presence in the modern world. This course will give students a thorough introduction to the life of Muhammad, the Qur'an, the Hadith, Sunni/Shiite differences, Sufism, and Islamic law, philosophy, politics, and art. Students will discuss Western perceptions, portrayals, and encounters with Islam, past and present.

(Grade or P/NP)
Prerequisites:
Recommended:Eligibility for ENGL C1000 (formerly ENGL 1A) or EMLS 10 (formerly ESL 10) or equivalent or appropriate placement based on AB705 mandates
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:CSU;UC.
Repeatability:00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:		Effective:	Fall 2011	Inactive:
Area:	E H	Humanities Global Perspective and Environmental Literacy
CSU GE:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	C2	Humanities		Fall 2011
IGETC:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	3B	Humanities		Fall 2011
CSU Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 2011	Inactive:
UC Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 2011	Inactive:
C-ID:

Certificate/Major Applicable: Major Applicable Course

COURSE CONTENT

Student Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Describe the main sacred texts, diverse schools of thought, tenets, rituals and practices of Islam, and major religious offshoots of Islam

2. Describe the diverse global distribution of Muslims in the contemporary world

3. Examine references in contemporary media about Muslims and place these references into their historical-cultural context

 

Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

 

1. List the major tenets and practices of Islam that are common to all sects and variants

2. Summarize and describe the persona, the career, and the historical sources for Muhammad

3. Outline the major features of the history of Islam

4. Name and describe the diverse theological and political movements and sects within Islam

5. Describe Islam's sectarian geographical distribution and trace its history

6. Give examples of and analyze Islam's portrayal in Western media

7. Describe examples of inner-Islamic conflict involving ethnic, national, linguistic and gender issues

8. Describe Islam's relationship with other World Religions, especially Judaism and Christianity

9. Give examples and assess contemporary conflicts in which Islam plays a role

Topics and Scope

I. Religious Culture of Pre-Islamic Arabia

II. Muhammad's Profile Before 610

III. Muhammad's Meccan Prophetic Career, 610-622

IV. Muhammad's Successors--the Rashidun

V. The Qur'an

VI. The Hadith

VII. Sharia

VIII. The Five Pillars

IX. Shiite/Sunni Disputes

X. Development of Islamic Civilizations: Political and Religious

     A. Umayyads

    B. Abbasids

    C. Esoteric Movements--Sufis, etc.

XI. The Crusades

XII. The Mongols

XIII. The Pinnacle of Imperial Power

     A. The Safavid Empire

    B. The Moghul Empire

     C. The Ottoman Empire

XIV. The Arrival of the West and the Decline of Islamic Imperial Power

XV. Fundamentalist Movements such as:

    A. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab

    B. Sayyid Qutb

    C. The Iranian Revolution

    D. Taliban

XVI. Muslims as minority immigrants

XVII. Orientalism

XVIII. Women in Islam

Assignments:

1. Weekly reading assignments of between (20-50 pages)

2. Writing assignments (2000-4000 words)

    a. Essays

    b. research projects

3. Written quizzes and/or exams (2 - 7)

4.  Final examination

    a. Objective

    b. Essay

    c. Combination of objective and essay

5. Additional assignments as determined by instructor may include:  

     a. Interview

    b. Museum visit(s)

    c. Field trip reports

    d. Oral presentations

6. Additional in-class assignments as determined by instructor may include:

     a. Analytical interpretations

    b. Presentations

    d. Discussions or debates

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.

Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.		Writing 40 - 80%
Writing assignments, essays, research projects
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.		Problem Solving 0 - 0%
None
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.		Skill Demonstrations 0 - 0%
None
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.		Exams 20 - 50%
Quizzes, exams, final
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.		Other Category 0 - 20%
Participation, additional assignments (if assigned)

Representative Textbooks and Materials:

Islam: The Straight Path. Esposito, John. 5th ed. Oxford University Press. 2016. (classic).

Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue. Harris, Sam and Nawaz, Maajid. Harvard University Press. 2015. (classic).

Classical Islam: Collected Papers. Hillenbrand, Carole. Edinburgh University Press, 2021

The Historical Muhammad. Zeitlin, Irving. Polity Press. 2007. (classic).

A Manual of Hadith. 2nd Ed. Ali, Maulana Muhammad. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Lahore. 2001. (classic).

The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah. Guillaume, Alfred. Oxford University. 1955. (classic).

The Qur'an: A Historical-Critical Introduction. Sinai, Nicolai. Edinburgh University Press, 2017. (classic).

Covering Islam: How The Media and the Experts Determine How We See The Rest of the World. Said, Edward W. New York: Pantheon, 1981. (classic).

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. Yousafzai, Malala and Lamb, Christian. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2013. (classic).

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