'ilm al-tarikh page 1

'ilm al-tarikh: Introduction
"...even the relatively casual student of things Islamic should be aware of the history of Islamics studies" (Marshall G. S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, Volume 1, 1977, p.39)
The study of Islam is both an ancient and modern endeavour. The former has its roots among Muslims in a long-established and continuing tradition of scholarship and interpretation of their own faith. Among others, particular medieval Christians, the study was motivated by polemical ends ... The tendency has lingered on, though the medieval constructions and assaults on islam have assumed different forms and emphasis. The academic study of modern Islam, on the other hand, grew primarily out of the Enlightenment tradition of European scholarship and interest in Asian and African cultures and peoples, and had assumed by the nineteenth and twentieth centuries some of the normative contours and institutional patters that are associated with the general discipline of though and expertise known as Oriental Studies or Orientalism."
Nanji, A. [Ed.] (1997) Mapping Islamic Studies: Genealogy, Continuity and Change (Walter de Gruyter & Co) -notes herein from Nanji's Introductory chapter-
"Orientalism" as a concept defining Western perceptions of the Oriental 'other' is neither parallel with nor exclusive to Oriental Studies and arguably transverses Enlightenment and Christian investigations of Islam. It's history is longer, it's scope wider and it's relationship to Western self-understandings are more entangled than might be implied by any notion of misinformation born of colonial dominance. See: Mind Map Notes from Edward Said (1978) Orientalism plus a searing reinvocation Orientalism can be found in Ziauddin Sardar's Orientalism (Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1999).
Western scholarship followed shift among some Muslims towards the Shariah period and away from supposedly decadent Sufism etc, thus: "...the Cairene path to Islamic Studies became the Islamicist's path par excellence..." (p.40) which was largely an Arabist/philological one. Led to excessive focus on Arab Middle East in study of Islam. Move beyond occidental categories to those used by Islamicate plus those from study of world history, culture, society, etc.; broader cultural outlook; wider linguistic range, etc.
Hodgson, Marshall G. S. (1977) The Venture of Islam, Volume 1 (University of Chicago Press)
"Perhaps the most encouraging trend in Islamic Studies in recent times is the cosmopolitan profile of the scholars and their methods in the field. The migration of European scholars to the Americas has been followed by the migration of scholars from the Muslim world to both Europe and America ... one cannot easily seperate contemporary scholarship in terms of "Western" and "Muslim". When combined with the rapid changes in communication made possible by advanced in technology ... collaboration between scholars within a continent and across continents, has become much easier. The cross-fertilization is reflected in the fact that Islamic Studies now radiates from within many departments and disciplines... This new constellation of interests and constituencies ... augurs well for a transnational scholarly landscape..." "There are many possibilities open for adding to its subject matter and methods, including the role of Islam as a cultural force of great diversity; the increasing public participation in society by women .. the history of rural, agricultural and mountainous peoples of the Muslim world and new interactions among Muslims now living in the West. In this way, a vibrant humanistic scholarship can contribute to knowledge, linking a fifth of humanity that is Muslim, to others among whom Muslims live and with whom they share increasingly the task of building mutual understanding."
Nanji, A. [Ed.] (1997) Mapping Islamic Studies: Genealogy, Continuity and Change (Walter de Gruyter & Co) -notes herein from Nanji's Introductory chapter-
The mind maps accessible via the links below have been developed from William Montgomery Watt's Islam: A Short History (Oxford: One World, 1996) and aims to give an introduction to some of the key names, terms and movements in the history of the Islamicate. However, the Tasneem Project Scrapbook seeks to an engage with Islamicate history from a world history or world-systems perspective rather than a Eurocentric perspective.
Arabia and Mecca before Islam Arabia and Mecca before Islam (part 2) Muhammad's Early Life and Call The Response at Mecca The Response at Mecca (part 2) Muhammad at Medina Muhammad at Medina (part 2) The Formation of the Caliphate The Expansion of Islam Islamic Law The Development of Muslim Theology After al-Ghazali
Watt, W. M. (1996) Islam: A Short History (Oxford: One World)
Humphreys, R. S. (1997) Tradition and Innovation in the Study of Islamic History: The Evolution of North American Scholarship since 1960, Lecture at the University of Tokyo http://www.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/IAS/English/Unit/Soukatu/Soukatu-l/humphreys.html accessed 21/05/08

Muhammad

: Genealogies and the Vessel

The sirah, or biographies of Muhammad (aws), by Martin Lings and Ibn Kathir include within them genealogical discourses. The former sirat begins with the story of Abraham and Ishmael and the construction of the ka'bah; the latter lists pre-islamic notables in its prelude, including the Christian poet Hatim Tayyi whose generosity was said to be exceeded only by that of his own mother.

Genealogies are discourses on the origins of an individual person, group or species. Despite the enormous diversity within this discursive category, the contention here is that, in all likelihood, a single human motive - a question - commonly underlies these various quests for knowledge and understanding: Who are we?

Both questions demand an approach not unlike that of maritime science, where the student is expected to become acquainted with three things: the vessel, the oceans and their vagaries, and navigation. But as any good Muslim sailor knows, expertise in any of these fields is useless with the guidance and grace of Almighty Allah (swt).

SOCIAL COGNITION
An Integrated Introduction
Martha Augoustinos & Iain Walker

Human Evolution:
A Very Short Introduction
Bernard Wood

GENDER
R. W. Connell

STIGMA
Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity
Erving Goffman

VITAL LIES, SIMPLE TRUTHS
The Psychology of Self Deception
Daniel Goleman

A USERS GUIDE TO THE BRAIN
Perception, Attention & the Four Theaters of the Brain
John J. Ratey M.D.

GOVERNING THE SOUL
The shaping of the Private Self
Nikolas Rose

CARAVAN OF DREAMS
Idries Shah

THE MANIPULATED MIND
Brainwashing, Conditioning and Indoctrination
Denise Winn

HOW CHILDREN THINK AND LEARN
The Social Contexts of Cognitive Development
David Wood