ASSIGNED: Friday, 8/27, DUE 09/03 by blackboard by the start of classtime

WORTH: 8% of semester grade

ESTIMATED TIME: The documentary itself is 1 hour and 32 minutes long; writing solid, "A" answers to each of these questions should take a total of 2 hours and 28 minutes---you'll see that I've given you how long each question should take. In short, altogether the assignment should take 4 hours.

CAN THIS BE TURNED IN LATE?: NO, unlike the paper and the fetwa which can be turned in late (with penalties), this homework can NOT be turned in late.

BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE FILE-NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR THIS COURSE (5% penalty if you do not).

All files should be saved on your computer as: your last name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the first two letters of your first name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the assignment number. So if a student named Saddam Hussein were to submit assignment number 1, the file name would be:

hussein_sa_1.doc

THIS IS ASSIGNMENT 1

These questions are for Inside the Koran(available at the library's 3-hr reserve)

1) The video stresses that the interpretation of Islam by believing Muslims has varied not just from place to place, but across time as well. Some of the examples the video uses to make this point are quite recent. Choose two examples of such shifts in the interpretation of Islam from the past forty years that appear in the video; then, explain (using at least 3 sentences) how the video’s producers use the examples to illustrate their larger point about varying practices by Muslims across time.

Your two examples may, by necessity, appear quite far apart in the video. So, be sure to watch the whole video before answering this question
(3 – 5 sentences: 5 pts and will take roughly 10 minutes)

2) What larger shift in Arab culture did Gamel Abdel Nasser’s death symbolize and why, according to the video’s producers, did that shift occur?
(2 – 3 sentences: 5 pts and will take roughly 5 minutes)

3) Describe the origin, according to the documentary, of female genital mutilation and the frequency of the practice in Egypt. Should the practice, according to the documentary, be considered “Islamic” or not and why ? Be specific.
(2 – 3 sentences: 5 pts and will take roughly 5 minutes)

4) What larger point about Islam are the documentary’s producers trying to make in their discussion of the Seid Naya Convent in Syria? How does the Seid Naya convent illustrate that point? Be specific and point to as many aspects of the Seid Naya as you can find that illustrate the video’s point. (3 – 5 sentences: 5 pts and will take roughly 12 minutes)

5) What role does the figure of the Virgin Mary plan in the Qur’an? (1 – 2 sentences: 2 pts and will take roughly 4 minutes)

6) Quote the Qur’an verses that appear in the documentary that support tolerance as well as those that support intolerance. (2 sentences: 2 pts and will take roughly 8 minutes)

7) When and why has the Islamic world been particularly tolerant; that is, under what historical conditions have Islamic lands exhibited tolerance towards religious minorities and when in the past did these conditions prevail? Support your answer carefully with specific examples. (2 – 4 sentences; 9 pts and will take roughly 10 minutes)

8) Under what conditions, according the documentary, have Islamic lands exhibited intolerance? Support your answer carefully with examples. (2 – 4 sentences; 5 pts and will take roughly 12 minutes)

9) The documentary details a “narrative” that is broadly believed in the Muslim world and that explains what has happened in and to the Islamic lands during the past century and half. What the overarching argument of this narrative and how do certain events, to many Muslims, seem to support this narrative? Be specific (that is, tell me which events support the narrative and how) and be sure to include the recent war in Iraq in your answer.
(5 – 8 sentences: 20 pts and will take roughly 18 minutes)

10) What is the basis of the division between Sunnis and Shi’ites, according to the documentary? Explain what needs Shi’ism fills; explain, also, how Sunnis view Shi’sm and why. The video does not detail the historical origin of the Sunni/Shi’ite division particularly well, so you may want to read here: http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/islam/shia/shia.html -- but keep in mind in this question I am asking for the theological divisions as they are explained in the documentary (4 sentences; 5 pts and will take roughly 13 minutes)

11) (2 parts) (A): How does Wahhabism differ from larger trends in Sunni religious thought and (B): what has allowed, according to the documentary, Wahhabism to spread in recent years so quickly from its historical base in the Arabian Peninsula?

(2 – 4 sentences; 5 pts and will take roughly 5 minutes)

12) In many Islamic countries, Sharia—which covers many aspects of human life--has been reduced to which narrow range of issues?
(1 sentences: 2 pts and will take roughly 4 minutes)

13) Why does arguing that the text of the Qur’an has been distorted threaten Islamic beliefs more so than does arguing that the Bible has been distorted threaten Christian beliefs? (Another way to think about this question is ask "how do Muslims see the TEXT of the Qur'an differently than do Christians see the TEXT of the Bible.)
(2 – 3 sentences; 5 pts and will take roughly 8 minutes)

14) Why are the Qur’an fragments discovered in the Grand Mosque of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, of particular value to historians? How do western historians use evidence from these fragments to date the Qur’ans discovered in Sana’a? What arguments using material from those fragments have western historians made about the Qur’an? (5 – 7 sentences, 10 pts and will take roughly 15 minutes)

15) Why and how might a knowledge of the Syrio-Aramic language, according to some western scholars, help in the interpretation of the Qur’an? Explain carefully (using at least 3 sentences) one example of these new interpretations. Be sure to detail how knowledge of the Syrio-Aramic language leads to the new interpretation of your example and why this interpretation changes our understanding of Islam's message.
(5-7 sentences: 10 pts and will take roughly 15 minutes)

16) Why and how has technology changed the tone and practice of Islamic thinking, according to to the documentary?
(2 – 3 sentences: 5 pts and will take roughly 4 minutes)