14222
Seminar
WiSe 25/26: What is Islam?
Florian Zemmin
Kommentar
The book What is Islam?, published in 2016 by the late Shahab Ahmed (who passed away before its release), has been widely discussed in Islamic Studies, both positively and critically. There is broad agreement that Ahmed raised extremely important questions, particularly his critical interrogation of the understanding of Islam as a religion. This critique, especially in postcolonial contexts associated with figures like Talal Asad, is not entirely new. The question of how Islam should actually be conceptualized dates back even further. Nietzsche’s dictum that "nothing can be defined that has a history" clearly applies to Islam as well. Therefore, this seminar will not attempt to define Islam. Rather, we will explore prominent scholarly conceptions of Islam, both from German Islamic Studies (in English) and from predominantly English-language Anthropology of Islam, as well as other relevant debates. A key focus will be the question of whether Islam can be understood as a religion. In addition to critical voices—such as Shahab Ahmed—who deny this classification, we will also engage with more recent contributions that argue Islam—or the Islamic concept of din—can indeed be regarded as a religion. Schließen
16 Termine
Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung
Di, 14.10.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 21.10.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 28.10.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 04.11.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 11.11.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 18.11.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 25.11.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 02.12.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 09.12.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 16.12.2025 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 06.01.2026 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 13.01.2026 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 20.01.2026 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 27.01.2026 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 03.02.2026 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 10.02.2026 12:00 - 14:00