Islam Invulnerable is the latest Al-Maghrib class to hit Houston and its gonna be a blast!
If you have a short attention span or do not wish to read the following, please at least watch
this short video to learn about the class.
If the video interests you, then go to
http://almaghrib.org/iim.php for more info
The Topic: Islam Invulnerable: The Making of the Modern Muslim World
This is the 1st major class on Muslim history told from a point of view that describes WHY the ummah is in the shape it is in today. Here's a breakdown on the course: The course is divided into four parts. The first part will analyze the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Safavid Empire, as well as the evolution of Muslim civilization in Central Asia, Africa and South East Asia.
The second part of the course will examine the scientific, military, and economic factors that contributed to the rise of the European nations, and to the relative material decline of the Muslim world, as well as the role that European Imperial powers played in dividing the Muslim world into distinct nation-states.
The third part of the course will focus upon the creation of the modern nation-states of Turkey and Iran, and the partition of India and the subsequent Indo-Pakistani wars, as well as the articulation of the modern Arab state system.
The Instructor: I talked to various shaykhs such as Shaykh Yasir Qadhi and they have all told me that the instructor for this class is one of the most knowledgable and riveting speakers that they have ever met. Here's a little background info about Dr. Ashraf Ismail:
Ashraf Ismail
Ashraf Ismail was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and at the age of four immigrated with his family to the United States. His family decided to move back to the Middle East in his mid-teens, and thereafter he lived in many Arab countries, including Egypt, Qatar, and Syria. Dr. Ismail has also lived and studied in various parts of the United States, as well as in England, Thailand, and Taiwan.
Ashraf Ismail received a B.A. in European History and Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. He also holds a Masters Degree in International Relations from Cornell University as well as a Masters of Science in Economics from the University of Birmingham (U.K.). Further, Dr. Ismail received his Ph.D. in International Relations from the Government Department of Cornell University.
Dr. Ismail has served as visiting faculty member at Georgetown University, where he taught classes on International Relations, International Organization, International Political Economy, and Globalization and Global Governance. Dr. Ismail also served as an Assistant Professor at Drew University where he taught the Political Economy of Development and Underdevelopment, Globalization and its Discontents, and other classes on international relations theory and analytical political economy.
Dr. Ismail is the latest addition to AlMaghrib Institute’s faculty of instructors. His upcoming seminars with the Institute will focus on the history of the Muslim world.
Instead of barraging you with more info, you can check out the class' page yourself @
http://almaghrib.org/iim.php
I'll leave you guys with a sweet short movie that describes the class:
http://durbah.almaghrib.org/trailers/iih_hq_hosna.wmv