Journey through the History of Islam to the Modern Times

All session recordings available - First session recorded 6th October, 3rd Nov. Next Class Sunday 15th Dec 9am to 1pm.

Timing 9am to 1pm

The course focuses on a broad sweep of the major historical personalities, events and processes of the Islamic (622-1707) and European (1707-present) Ages. The Islamic Age, or Islamic Millennium, is further divided into 3 major periods:

(1) the High Caliphate Period (622-1066), in which most of the Muslim world is united under one caliph who commands the greatest empire in the world;

(2) the Middle Period (1066-1500) of Islamic sultanates, emirates and khanates, in which myriad polities and dynasties come and go but which form the “Muslim Commonwealth” united by a common language, religion and culture; and

(3) the Gunpowder Period (1500-1707), dominated by the emergence three great empires in the Muslim world, the Ottoman, Mughal and Safavid, which continue Muslim global pre-eminence, while Western Europe is undergoing its Renaissance, Reformation and Age of Discovery.

The final period, the European Age, (1707- present), witnesses the gradual rise of the European colonial empires which come to dominate most of the world by the end of the nineteenth century. Following the momentous and self-destructive power struggles between these colonial powers in the 20^th century – the two World Wars – the mantle of Western civilization is taken on by the new world superpower, the United States of America, which proceeds to fashion a new global order under its direction.

The passage of ages, empires, dynasties and the later emergence of nation-states will be studied in relation to the world situation as a whole, and with particular regard to three inter-related aspects: political-military, intellectual and the economic.

The sessions will run Sundays (once a month) from 9am to 1.30pm, starting on 6th Oct 2024. Term time only. The session will be in person and online.

Length: 13 sessions, Starting Sunday 6th October (once a month) 

Venue: Castlefield Community Centre or ONLINE 

Instructors:  Lead instructor: Shaykh Dr Ridhwan ibn Saleem, Senior Lecturer at LCI. (Bio -  https://lci.org.uk/shaykh-ridhwan-ibn-saleem/ )

Guest lecturers include Shaykh Dr Talal al-Azem (Oxford University) and Shaykh Jawad Khalid.

Civilizations History course outline