Comment on this article
Inside the Blue Book
A
Timely Tale of Islam
April
2002
by Jennifer L. Holley
History
350b
Islamic Movements in the Middle East since 1773
Faculty: Abbas Amanat, Professor of History
This spring, Abbas
Amanat expected to teach a course on the making of modern Iran.
But following the events of September 11, he shifted gears. Amanat
canceled the course and replaced it with "Islamic Movements in the
Middle East since 1773." "I've taught a junior seminar on Islamic
revivals in the Middle East on and off at Yale for 18 years," he
says. "But this year, I thought there would be enough students interest
to reconstruct the seminar as a lecture course."
His instincts were
right. Amanat now tries to "demystify Islam" for about 100 students
(most of whom have little or no knowledge of the subject). First,
the class is introduced to Islam as a religion and community -- with
special attention paid to its diversity. Next comes discussion of
movements, beginning at the end of the 18th century with Wahhabi
in Arabia, which provides one of the earliest examples of an Islamic
movement coming about in reaction to external power in the Middle
East (in this case, to Western colonialists). The course will conclude
with events leading to the attacks of September 11.
Amanat hopes to provide
a balanced view of Islam in order to counteract popular biases against
the religion. While some say Islam is a violent and anti-modern
religion, others see it as peaceful and free from all defects. "Both extremes need to be addressed," Amanat says. "I emphasize that there
are different ways of interpreting Islamic texts."
An Iranian by birth
and upbringing, Amanat links his extensive travels in the region
to his ability to explain the material. "I wouldn't be able to give
a very realistic picture of the Middle East," he says, "if I didn't
witness it for myself."  |
