Here are the questions that Jeff developed--
Ruthven. Islam: A Very Short Introduction
1. What does the word “Islam” mean? What word is it
closely related to? According to the author, what
three Western categories does Islam fall into?
2. What do the terms “cultural” or “nominal Muslim”
mean?
3. Why does the author find the term “fundamentalist”
problematic when describing Muslims?
4. Explain the distinction between islam and iman.
5. Explain “social imaginary” in relation to the
legal modernization of Islamic countries.
6. Does the author believe there is a religious
awakening in the Muslim world? Give evidence to
support your answer, and explain why the author
believes it is or is not happening. Note: To answer
this question you need to pull information from both
the first and last chapter of the book.
7. What is Shari’a law? Explain why the author talks
about individualism in relation to it.
8. What is the history of veils for female Muslims?
How does the author describe this tradition?
9. What are the two Jihads?
10. Contrast reformists and modernists. Is there a
clear cut line between them? Why or why not?
11. Who is Sayyid Qutb? Note: The reader for this
course has an excerpt from one of his books.
12. What happened in Iran in 1979? What does the
author say about universalist appeal in relation to
the Iran-Iraq war? What connections can you draw
between the late 70s and early 80s and the current
situation in the region?
13. Who was Ali Shari’ati? How does he represent a
contemporary blurring of reformist and modernist
approaches?
14. What predictions does the author make about the
political future of Islamism? What year was the book
written? Do you think these predictions have held
true?
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