The World of Islam: Culture, Religion, and Politics – Détails, épisodes et analyse

This episode discusses some elements related to the transition from the first dynasty of the world of Islam, the Banu Umayya, to the highly influential ruling dynasty of the Banu al-Abbas, bringing Muhammad's clan of Banu Hashim back to a leadership role. 

This episode continues discussing the non-Muslim communities of the early Islamic period. The focus shifts to Christian communities after the Arab conquests. 

This episode introduces the tradition of Sufism that some also call Islamic mysticism. We are concerned today with the early period and the practice of zuhd (asceticism). 

This episode discusses the struggles of modern Muslims to make sense of the concept of Jihad. We consider the impact of European colonialism and attempt to map a number of ways in which Muslims in the modern world have perceived Jihad up to the present. 

This episode briefly discusses the worldview of the Jihad movements that appeared on the Muslim scene around the 17th and 18th centuries AD. Can we view these movements as, in some ways, precursors to contemporary Jihad movements? The episode particularly highlights the attitude of these movements towards the religious practice of their time and also their drive to establish a "caliphate."   

What exactly is Jihad? This episode discusses the traditional doctrine of Jihad that Muslim Jurists developed and takes a brief look at related issues of conflict, peace, and pluralism in the Qur'an and some premodern Muslim legal discourses.  

What does Ijmāʿ (consensus) mean? How does it function within traditional Islamic Law? In what way do the Sunni concept of “ijmāʿ” and the Shīʿī concept of “imām” parallel each other? What are the political dynamics of ijmāʿ?

 The episode discusses the concept of ijtihad that has been used by Muslim jurists to derive legal rulings. We particularly focus on what is known as qiyas and that came to be the most dominant interpretative tool that a mujtahid utilizes in this process.   

The episode introduces some of the different types of Hadith collections that arose in the world of Islam over the centuries. We discuss the role of Hadith in the transition from Qur'anic discourse to Islamic discourses and learn about sahifas, musannafs, musnads, and the Sahih movement.

Hadith reports attributing sayings and actions to Muhammad came to play a major role in the shaping of the religion of Islam. This episode will discuss some of the classifications of Hadith that Muslim scholars came to adopt after the success of what can be termed the Hadith movement.