Be familiar with the following terms and names; be able to state their meaning, identify that (or those things) to which they refer, and indicate in a phrase their meaning in the tradition of Islam. (For meanings see R204 Lectures (1998) and the R204 Glossary.)
2. What is the central rite of Islam? Explain its role and significance in Muslim religious life. I2, "Handout on Islam")
3. What six things are required to be believed in Islam? (I3, Ludwig, ch. 11)
4. The five religious or ritual duties of a Muslim are what? Explain each briefly. (I3, Ludwig, ch. 12)
5. What does the Muslim ritual of daily prayer consist in? (I1, Ludwig, ch. 12)
6. In what does Muslim communal worship on Fridays consist? (I1, Ludwig, ch. 12)
7. What is the Zakat? Explain the concept or idea behind it. (I3, Ludwig, ch. 12)
8. In what does the fast of Ramadan consist? What is its basic purpose or meaning? (I3, Ludwig, ch. 12)
9. Muslims characteristically regard their holy book differently than do Christians the New Testament. Describe this difference. How is this attitude reflected in the place it is given in their life and worship? (I2, "Handout on Islam," and Ludwig, ch. 10)
10. What is the Muslim "scandal of particularity"? Why are all attempts at translating the Qur'an said to be at best interpretations and not the Qur'an itself? (J5, I2, Ludwig, ch. 10)
11. How does the Qur'an differ in its form and style from the New Testament and the Hebrew Bible? (I2)
12. What is the Qur'an's view of its place in relation to other revelations? How do Muslims characteristically view other religions in relation to Islam? Specifically how do they view Judaism and Christianity? (I1, I3, Ludwig, ch. 11)
13. How is Muhammad seen in Muslim eyes? What attitude or attitudes are characteristic? (I8, I1, I3, Ludwig, ch. 10)
14. To outsiders, the Islamic understanding of God often appears to have a fatalistic emphasis: God is depicted as the controller and predestinator of all things. What is the root motivation of this apparent stress? In what respects, then, is Islam not fatalistic? (I3, Ludwig, ch. 11)
15. What is Shari'a? How is Shari'a in Islam both similar to and different from Torah (or Halakah) in Judaism? (I3, I5, Ludwig, ch. 13)
16. What besides the Qur'an has given shape to Shari'a in Islam? How is this reflected in the diversity of the four schools of Sunni legal interpretation? (I5, Ludwig, chs. 10 & 12)
17. In what way is the relation between Oral Torah and Written Torah in Judaism something also found in Islam? How do Sunni Islam and Shi'a Islam differ in this matter? In what respects does this bear on the question whether there are or are not Muslim clergy? (I5, I6, Ludwig, ch. 10 & 12))
18. State the important respects in which Shi'a Islam differs from Sunni Islam. (I6, Ludwig, ch. 10 & 12)
19. How does an understanding of Shi'a Islam help to explain the apparent fanatical following the Ayatollah Khomeni had in Iran? What is an Ayatollah? (I6, Ludwig, ch. 10
20. There is a Muslim revival going on today throughout the Muslim world, with Muslims desiring to have their societies reform and become more authentically Muslim, more true to the will of Allah. What does this involve in practice? What tend to be the criteria for determining authenticity? (I8, Ludwig, ch. 10)
21. The Muslim calendar dates from what event? What makes that event of particular importance within the Muslim frame of reference? (I2, Ludwig, ch. 10)
22. Human happiness and fulfillment (falah, 'success') depend upon what in Islamic thinking? Explain how that requires a communal or social realization and how it has shaped the characteristic Muslim attitude toward the relation between religion and state. In what event was this understanding given its most exemplary expression for Muslims? (I1, I5, Ludwig, ch. 11)
23. In what ways does the community of believers play an important role in shaping the religious life of Islam. (I5, Ludwig, ch. 12)
24. Explain the attitude of Islam toward freedom of choice in religion. How does it square with their understanding of jihad in the cause of Islam? (I1, I2, Ludwig, chs. 10, 11 & 12)
25. What is the traditional and most common attitude among devout Muslims toward fanatical and terrorist acts committed by Muslims? (I2)
26. The root of all evil and wrongdoing is seen as what in Islam? Explain what this means. Accordingly what in Islam does at-onement with God depend upon? (I1, Ludwig, ch. 11).
27. What is the characteristic Muslim attitude toward other human beings (human brotherhood) and how is it connected with their understanding of God? (I8, Ludwig, ch. 11)
28. In what respects do the six different Ways of Being Religious find expression in Islam? Give examples. Which are given greater prominence? How does this relative priority or dominance of some Ways of Being Religious in relation to others in Islam compare with that found in Judaism? How does it compare with that found in Christianity? (See also question 40.) (I8)
29. What is supposed to distinguish a sufi from a non-sufi (in the broad sense of "sufi")? What in the narrow sense (i.e., what distinguishes a Sufi Muslim)? (I7, Ludwig, ch. 10)
30. Sufi Muslims (in both the broad and the narrow senses) have characteristically sought a different motivation to submission to Allah than divine judgment. Explain. (I7, Ludwig, ch. 10)
31. In general, the aim or goal of a Sufi path (or tariqa) is what? What sorts of things are involved in its pursuit? (I7, Ludwig, ch. 10)
32. For what reasons has Sufism been traditionally subject to suspicion in the eyes of orthodox Sunni Muslims. (I7, Ludwig, ch. 10)
33. Explain the tradition of Muslim 'saints' and their veneration. Explain how in certain Islamic contexts a wali or marabout expresses the way of shamanic mediation, and what status such expressions have in orthodox Sunni Muslim understanding. (I8).
34. How do Muslims in general view Judaism? How do they view Zionism and the modern state of Israel? And what are the main reasons for the hostility that Muslims seem to show toward the latter? (I3, I8)
35. How do Muslims view Jesus? How does their view differ from mainstream Christian teaching about Jesus? (I8)
36. How is Islam internally connected with Judaism and Christianity? What makes it a "blood brother" to these traditions? (J5)
37. In what respects does Islam share a conception of God with Judaism and Christianity? Briefly explain each of the three major aspects of this conception, indicating which is given greater emphasis by each of these traditions, thereby contributing to its distinctive feeling about God. (J5)
38. In what respects is the 'oneness' of God especially stressed in Islam? In what respects is the 'oneness' of God affirmed in Christianity, specifically in relation to the doctrine of the Trinity? (I1, I3, I7, Ludwig, ch. 11)
39. Be able to identify whether a statement or description of a religious phenomenon passes the test of neutrality. (See the handout on "Empathetic Objectivity.") (I2, and Essay II)
40. How do Judaism, Christianity, and Islam compare with regard to the distinction between orthodox and orthoprax religions. (I3, I1)
