1.The readings for today included excerpts by several commentators (Ibn Kathir, Suyuti, Zuraqi, etc) explaining Jesus in the Quran. Which commentator’s exegesis did you find the most interesting? Why?
2.How do Muslim mystics describe Sufism? What verses & concepts from the Quran do they use to support their arguments in favor of Sufism? (Don’t quote the verses at length; focus on explaining their central ideas)
3.How does Edward Said define Orientalism in his writings that were assigned for today (Edward Said, Orientalism, pp. 1-28)?
4. According to Lukens-Bull where should an anthropological definition of Islam begin? How does he reach this conclusion?
In addition to your response to the prompt, your reading response should also include 4 new important facts/ideas/terms/concepts related to the academic study of the Islam/religion that you learnt from the readings. Look to the readings (not an outside source) for explanations of these facts/ideas/terms/concepts. Provide a brief definition/description of each of these facts/ideas/terms/concepts. The facts/ideas/terms/concepts do not count towards the word count mentioned above. The response should be at least 275 words in length. I strongly recommend keeping the response under 325 words, but you are welcome to write more if you think you need more space to answer the prompt. Please note the exact word count at the end of your response.
Make sure to cite your sources through in-text citation throughout the reading response. For example, “Muhammad was born in 570 AD (Mattson, pp. 52).” Failure to cite sources will impact your grade. A good rule of thumb is to cite the source with page numbers after every couple of sentences/about five times in the reading response. In addition, make sure to cite the source with page numbers after every term/fact/concept.
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