Islamophobia: from Crusaders to

Donald Trump
Drs. Adnan Husain and Ariel Salzmann
HIST 240 FW; Tue 10-11:20 Dupuis 217 and Thu 1011:20 Ellis 321
Course Description:
This course traces the roots of the fraught and complex relationship
between the West and the Muslim world from late classical Middle East
to contemporary North America. While providing students with an
understanding of Islam and Muslim history, it explores historic patterns
of interaction and competition that have shaped Western perspectives.
It examines issues of cultural identity, racial and ethnic difference,
immigration, and citizenship in a longer historical perspective to
explore the combination of social anxiety, political opportunism, and
the resilient narratives employed by mass media and pundits that
continue today to distort the image of Muslims and Islam in the West.

Office Hours and Contact Information:

Dr. Husain: 229 Watson Hall, Tuesdays 11:30-1pm and by appointment
2-3pm
ah28@queensu.ca; xt 74367
Dr. Salzmann: 101 Watson Hall, Tuesdays 4-6pm or by appointment
as45@queensu.ca; xt. 74350

Materials:
The following required books have been ordered and are available at
the Campus Bookstore: 1-Todd H. Green, The Fear of Islam: an
Introduction to Islamophobia in the West (Fortress Press, Minneapolis:
2015); 2- Edward W. Said, Covering Islam: how the media and the
experts determine how we see the rest of the world (Vintage, NY:
1981,1997); and 3- Joan Wallach Scott, The Politics of the Veil
(Princeton University Press: 2007)
Other course materials and assigned readings will be posted on the
course OnQ site with links to online journals, electronic books, web and
blog postings, video clips, media and popular cultural materials or
scanned pdf book chapters and documents.

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Assignments and Assessment:

The marking scheme for this course is the Arts and Science letter
grade system. Please perform readings before Tuesday lecture for the
week assigned. Attendance and participation is very important to this
class. Thursday sessions will be dedicated to discussion and
group/collaborative work in a specially designed classroom.
Fall 2016 (50/100)
1) Individual and Group Participation [includes quizzes and in-class
assignments] (10%)
2) In-class Midterm Exam, Week 7 Thursday October 27 (15%)
3) Analytical Essay (5-7pgs/1250-1750 words) (20%)
Winter 2017 (50/100)
1) Individual and Group Participation (10%)
2) Book Review (Joan Scott, The Politics of the Veil; 5pgs, 1250 words)
(15%)
3) Final Group Research Project (30%)
Further detailed information about assignments will be given in class
and posted to the course OnQ site.

Schedule of Readings, Weeks 1-4:

Week 1: Introduction; What is Islamophobia?
In class: Mira Nair, September 11
Readings: Green, Fear of Islam, pp. 1-33.
Week 2: ABCs of Islam(s): Sociological and Theological
Approaches
Readings:
Adnan Husain, Islam: A Practical, Doctrinal and Historical Overview
(OnQ, word document)
Richard Bulliet, Islam: The View from the Edge (Columbia UP: 1994),
Chp 2 Prophet, Quran, and Companions and Chp 9 The Iranian

Diaspora: An Edge Creates the Center, pgs. 23-36, and 145-168 (OnQ,
pdf)
Reza Aslan, Aunt Kobras Islamic Democracy, The Boston Globe (April
17, 2005)
http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/04/17/aunt_k
obras_islamic_democracy/?page=3 (OnQ link)
Ali Shariati, An Approach to the Understanding of Islam, part 2
http://www.shariati.com/english/lesson/lesson2.html (OnQ link)
Week 3: Was there ever an Islamic State? The Caliphate and
Muslim Political Order then and now
Richard Bulliet, Islam: the View from the Edge, Chp 7 Caliph and
Sultan, pgs. 115-127 (OnQ, pdf)
Ira M. Lapidus, State and Religion in Islamic Societies, Past and
Present 151 (1996), pgs. 3-27 (OnQ pdf)
Graeme Wood, What Isis Really Wants, The Atlantic Monthly, March
2015 http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isisreally-wants/384980/ (OnQ link)
Caner K. Dagli, The Phony Islam of Isis, atlantic.com, February 27,
2016
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/02/whatmuslims-really-want-isis-atlantic/386156/ (OnQ link)
Asma Afsaruddin, Views of Jihad Throughout History, Religion
Compass 1/1 2007, pgs. 165-169 (OnQ pdf)
Week 4: Gendered Debates on Islam
Kecia Ali, Sexual Ethics and Islam: Feminist reflections on Quran,
Hadith and Jurisprudence (Oneworld: 2006), Introduction and Chp 1
Marriage, Money, and Sex, pgs xii-23 (OnQ, pdf)
Kecia Ali, The truth about Islam and sex-slavery is more complicated
than you think, Huffington Post Aug. 19, 2016 (OnQ link)
Elizabeth Thompson, Beyond the Veil: Male- Public and Private Middle
Eastern Women's History, Journal of Womens History 15 (2003), pgs.
52-69 (OnQ pdf)

Carla Power, A Secret History, The New York Times Magazine, Feb.
25. 2007 (OnQ link)
Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Divorce Iranian Style (doc film, 78mins; You Tube link
OnQ)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBm8GqMNwXU