New Spring Course from the Abbasi Program Explores Muslim Political Thought

This Spring, the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies will offer GLOBAL 136: Contemporary Muslim Political Thought, a new course taught by Dr. Halil Yenigün that examines how Muslim thinkers have grappled with enduring political and ethical questions from the nineteenth century to the present.

Meeting Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00–4:20 p.m. in Encina West 108, the course fulfills the WAYS–Social Inquiry requirement. It also serves as an entry course for students pursuing the Islamic Studies minor. 

GLOBAL 136 introduces students to a diverse range of intellectual figures whose writings have shaped modern debates about Islam, politics, and society. Readings include selections from major thinkers such as Rifaʿa al-Tahtawi, Khayr al-Din al-Tunisi, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, Rashid Rida, Muhammad Iqbal, Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, Abu’l Aʿla Maududi, and Ali Shariati, among others.

Rather than treating these works only as historical artifacts, the seminar approaches them as contributions to political theory. Students will examine how these thinkers interpreted Islam’s foundational sources and intellectual traditions while addressing modern political questions. Across different regions—from the Arab world and Iran to Turkey and South Asia—these authors grappled with issues that remain deeply relevant today, including civilization and decline, rationality, democratic governance, deliberative consultation (shura), Islamic independent reasoning (ijtihad), secularism, Muslim unity, the caliphate, and questions of justice and freedom. 

The course is designed as an interactive seminar centered on close reading and discussion of primary texts. Students will engage these writings through weekly responses, reflective journal entries, and a final paper that allows them to pursue their own questions about the intellectual and political trajectories explored in the class.

By the end of the quarter, students will have developed a deeper understanding of the internal debates that have shaped contemporary Muslim political thought and will be able to situate those debates within broader conversations in comparative political theory.

GLOBAL 136 is open to all students, and no prior background in Islamic studies is required.

More information about the course and enrollment can be found at: tinyurl.com/Global136

View the course syllabus here.