Program Overview

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Program Overview

The program "Muslims in the West" is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of Islamic discourses in the Western context. 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.

Course Content

The course will cover a broad spectrum of Islamic discourses, from Salafism to Islamic feminism, using methods from political science and sociology of religion. Students will learn to analyze the development of various European discourses within Islam and understand the dynamics of Islamic extremisms and the women's struggle within Islam.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, students will gain a good overview of Islamic discourses in the West and develop methodological skills that enable them to analyze Islam as a minority religion in a Western context. The course is based on political science, anthropological, and sociological theory, which will be trained through papers.

Teaching and Learning Methods

The course will employ an array of short lectures, student presentations, dialogue between partners, small group activities, and full-class discussions.

Literature

The course literature includes a range of texts, such as:

• Ackfeldt, Anders (2020): The semiotics of Malcolm X from Harlem to Tahrir.
• Ahmed, Afia (2019): The clothes of my faith.
• Ali, Ayaan Hirsi (2004): The caged virgin: A Muslim woman's cry for reason.
• Cesari, Jocelyne (2010): Securitization of Islam in Europe.
• Eltahawy, Mona (2012): Why do they hate us?
• Henkel, Heiko (2006): The journalists of Jyllands-Posten are a bunch of reactionary provocateurs.
• Huntington, Samuel P (1993): The clash of civilizations?
• Klausen, Jytte (2007): The Islamic challenge: Politics and religion in Western Europe.
• Lughod, Lila (2013): Do Muslim women need saving?
• Nielsen, Jørgen S. and Jonas Otterbeck (2016): Muslim in western Europe.
• Otterbeck, Jonas (2020: Finding the object of study: Islamic studies in practice.
• Petersen, Jesper (2022): The making of a mosque with female imams: Serendipities in the production of Danish Islams.
• Rifaat, Alifa (1983): Distant view of a minaret.
• Rose, Flemming (2006): Why I published those cartoons.
• Soper, J. Christopher and Joel S. Fetzer (2009): The practice of their faith: Muslims and the state in Britain, France, and Germany.
• Vinding, Niels Valdemar (2018): "Churchification of Islam in Europe".
• Vinding, Niels Valdemar (forthcoming): "French Islam. If not Muslim, then what?".

Assessment

The course assessment includes:

• A syllabus of 1,200-1,500 pages.
• Active participation (at least 75% of the hours attended documented by protocol).
• Preparation of a written home assignment with a scope of 24,000-28,800 characters (10-12 pages) for undergraduate students, and 36,000-48,000 characters (15-20 pages) for graduate students.

Exam Details

• Type of assessment: Written assignment.
• Type of assessment details: Undergraduate requirements include a syllabus and a written home assignment, while graduate requirements include a syllabus and a written home assignment with a larger scope.
• ECTS: 15 ECTS.
• Marking scale: 7-point grading scale.
• Exam period: Winter and Summer Exam.

Course Type and Workload

• Course type: Single subject courses (day).
• Workload:
  • Category: Class Instruction.
  • Hours: 28.
  • Preparation: 122.
  • Exam Preparation: 150.
  • Exam: 120.
  • English: 420.

Language and Course Number

• Language: English.
• Course number: TTEASK035U.

Programme Level and Duration

• Programme level: Full Degree Master.
• Duration: 1 semester.

Placement and Schedule

• Placement: Autumn And Spring.
• Schedule:
  • Autumn 2025: Mondays 15-17:45, first day is 25 August.
  • Spring 2026: Mondays 15-17:45, first day is 26 January.

Study Board and Contracting Department

• Study board: Study board of Theology.
• Contracting department: Theology.
• Contracting faculty: Faculty of Theology.

Course Coordinator and Teacher

• Course Coordinator: Niels Valdemar Vinding.
• Teacher: Niels Valdemar Vinding.