The Islamic Traditions
The Islamic Traditions What is Islam? Is it a religion, a way of life, a civilization, or a political ideology? Was Muhammad a political leader, a warrior, or an ascetic? What is the Qur’an? How did it develop as a sacred text and how does it compare to the Bible? This course is designed to provide a platform for us to explore such questions by focusing on historical, social, and intellectual developments in the wide swath of land known as the Muslim world. Special attention will be given to early developments of the Islamic community as well as the later response of different Muslim communities to modernity.
This was a very engaging course for me. I took this course because I was interested in learning more about Islam after studying Arabic for a number of years. The readings are doable in about an hour about 70% of the time and never take more than 2 hours. The class itself is super enjoyable and the discussions are interesting. Definitely would recommend
I had a great experience learning about Islamic Traditions with Professor Anzali. He is very enthusiastic about the course content and ensures that he delivers it well. There were only 4 quizzes in the first 4 weeks of the semester based on the readings. The discussions sessions on Fridays were also fun and never felt like a hassle.
This course is quite difficult if you're not used to a lot of readings, like I was. The thing is that there's not much homework other than readings so it's not the worst and it gets easier over time. Still, the readings are very dense and hard to understand on your own, especially if you're not familiar with Islam or religion. On the other hand, Professor Anzali is very engaging and passionate about the material so it helps to relieve some of the burdens. He also goes over readings in class so it helps, but pretty embarrassing when you have no idea what everyone's talking about. I did enjoy this course, though; It just takes a lot of brain power to wrap your head around some concepts.
This course is quite difficult if you're not used to a lot of readings, like I was. The thing is that there's not much homework other than readings so it's not the worst and it gets easier over time. Still, the readings are very dense and hard to understand on your own, especially if you're not familiar with Islam or religion. On the …Read more
I really like professor Anzali because he is so passionate and excited about his teaching. I will say the readings were pretty dense and sometimes a lot to follow/remember. Lectures could be a little boring but he will throw in some fun jokes to keep you present.
Ata Anzali is a great professor. I had never taken a religion course, so this was a great intro class for religion. His lectures were engaging and the workload was not too much. He does grade the essays pretty strictly, but he let's you revise them. If you don't say exactly what he wants you to write, then you will likely have to revise your essay. Otherwise, class was good. There are four quizzes on the readings at the beginning of the semester. But after that, you basically just need to read in order to do well on the essays. Great intro religion class!
Ata Anzali is a great professor. I had never taken a religion course, so this was a great intro class for religion. His lectures were engaging and the workload was not too much. He does grade the essays pretty strictly, but he let's you revise them. If you don't say exactly what he wants you to write, then you will likely have to rev …Read more
Anzali is a great professor and the course material is not difficult at all. this is one of the most enjoyable classes i have taken so far. material is not hard to understand even though i have never taken a religion class.
Anzali is a very cool and funny guy. There are a lot of readings but he explains and talks about the readings in class. There are 4 quizzes in the beginning of the semester but the questions are easy if you skim the readings.