Department of History Fall 2026
History 497 Peace and Peace Movements in Islam
Instructor: Juan Cole
Office hrs. Weds. 2:30-3:30 2527 Haven or Zoom (inquire).
U-M uniquename: jrcole
Course Description:
Peace has been a central concept in Islam from its inception, addressed extensively in the Qur'an and the sayings and doings of the Prophet. Throughout Islamic history, philosophies of peace and conflict resolution have been important parts of this tradition. As in the Bible and in Judaism and Christianity, peace thought and practices have co-existed with ideas about war. With regard to the study of Islam, however, academic scholarship has been one-sided in concentrating on war. This course attempts to address this imbalance through a series of case studies. It surveys ideas of peace the late antique world, in the Qur'an and early Islam, and in medieval Sufism. The course then addresses the age of European empire and Muslim peace movements, from Gandhism to Senegalese Muridism. It concludes by looking at modern Muslim conflict resolution and youth movements. This course will be based on class attendance and participation and participation in a weekly written Discussion at Canvas, which are mandatory, and a research term paper.
Readings
Books at Barnes and Nobles
Juan Cole, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires (New York: Bold Type Books, 2018)
Juan Cole, ed. Peace Movements in Islam (London: IB Tauris, 2022)
Fred M. Donner, Muhammad and the Believers (Cambridge, MA: Beklknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2010).
Aug. 31 Orientation: Peace History
Sept. 7 LABOR DAY
Sept. 14 Peace History and Late Antiquity
Peter van den Dungen, Lawrence S. Wittner, " Peace History: An Introduction," Journal of Peace Research Vol. 40, Issue 4. Date: 2003/07/01 Pages: 363-375.
Thomas Renna, The idea of peace in the West, 500-1150," Journal of Medieval History Vol. 6, Issue 2. Date: 1980 Pages: 143-167.
Clive Foss, The Persians in the Roman Near East (602-630 AD)" Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Third Series, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Jul., 2003), pp. 149-170 .
Sept. 21 Muhammad at Mecca
Cole, Muhammad, chaps. 1-3
Juan Cole, "The Qur'an and doing Good to Enemies," in Peace Movements in Islam, 23-46.
Sept. 28 Muhammad at Medina
Cole, Muhammad, chaps 4-7
Oct. 5 War and Peace and the Commanders of the Faithful
Cole, Muhammad, Conclusion
Donner, Muhammad & Believers, pp. 144-154
Daniel J. Sahas, "The Face To Face Encounter Between Patriarch Sophronius Of Jerusalem And The Caliph ῾Umar Ibn Al-Khaṭṭāb: Friends Or Foes?" The Encounter of Eastern Christianity with Early Islam Vol. 5 (2007): 33-44.
Oct. 12 The Umayyad Empire as Multicultural
Donner, Muhammad & Believers, pp. 155-226Oct. 19 FALL BREAK
John bar Penkaye (d. 690), Summary of World History
Alan M Guenther, " The Christian experience and interpretation of the early Muslilm conquest and rule" Islam & Christian Muslim Relations Vol. 10, Issue 3. Date: 10/01/1999
Oct. 26 Sufism and Harmony
"Persian Literature," Britannica Online.
"Rumi," Britannica Online.
Alexander Knysh, "Internal Peace versus being in Society: Sufi Dilemmas," in Peace Movements in Islam, 63-74.
William Chittick, "The Pluralistic Vision of Persian Sufi Poetry," Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations Vol. 14, Issue 4. Date: 2003 Pages: 423-428.
Cyrus Masroori, "An Islamic Language of Toleration: Rumi's Criticism of Religious Persecution," Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 63, No. 2 (JUNE 2010), pp. 243-256
Ahmad Jalali, " Jalaluddin Rumi's religious understanding: A prelude to dialogue in the realm of religious thought" Diogenes Vol. 50, Issue 4. Date: 2003 Pages: 127-134.
Iranian Poetry 'Bani Adam'
Coleman Barks, "Rumi's Poetry: 'All Religions, All This Singing, One Song'"
Nov. 2 Akbar and the Most Great Peace
Michael H. Fisher, "Mughal Empire" The Ashgate research companion to modern imperial histories, 2012, 181-206
Lawrence A. Babb, "Hinduism," Religion in India : past and present, 2020, 53-88. Rajeev Kinra, "Handling Diversity with Absolute Civility: The Global Historical Legacy of Mughal Sulh-i Kull," The Medieval History Journal Vol. 16, Issue 2. Date: 10/2013 Pages: 251-295.
Parvenu Babli, " The Eclectic Spirit of Sufism in India: An Appraisal" Social Scientist Vol. 42, No. 11/12 (November-December 2014), pp. 39-46
"Jainism," Britannica Online.
Audrey Truschke, "Dangerous Debates: Jain responses to theological challenges at the Mughal court," Modern Asian Studies Vol. 49, Issue 5. Date: 2015-09-07 Pages: 1311-1344.
Nov. 9 Sufism in Senegal
Bisma Shahbaz, " Peace Profile: Amadu Bamba and Nonviolence," Peace Review Vol. 28, Issue 4. Date: 10/1/2016 Pages: 508-515.
Rudolph Ware, "Principled Pacificism in Islamic West Africa," in Peace Movements in Islam, pp. 75-88.
Cheikh Anta Babou, "Contesting Space, Shaping Places: Making Allen F. Roberts and Mary Nooter Roberts, "A Saint in the City Sufi Arts of Urban Senegal," African Arts Vol. 35, No. 4 (Winter, 2002), pp. 52-73+93-96
Beth Buggenhagen, "Fashioning Piety: Women's Dress, Money, and Faith among Senegalese Muslims in New York City" City and Society Volume24, Issue 1 (2012): 84-104.
Eric Ross, "Globalising Touba: Expatriate Disciples in the World City Network," Urban Studies Vol. 48, Issue 14. Date: 02/09/2011 Pages: 2929-2952.
Nov. 16 Muslims and the League of Nations
Elizabeth F. Thompson, "Rashid Rida and the 1919 Paris Peace Conference," in Peace Movements in Islam, 89-102
Mohammad Hassan Khalil, "Paradise Bound: Righteous Others in the Writings of Rashid Rida," in Peace Movements in Islam, 103-117.
Mona Siegel, "March(ing) in Cairo: Women’s Awakening and the Egyptian Revolution of 1919," in Peace on our Terms, 2020, 91-128
Nov. 23 Gandhi and the Muslims
Lester Kurtz, "The Indian Independence Struggle (1930-1931)" (v. brief overview)
Maria J. Stephan and Erica Chenoweth, " Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict" International Security Vol. 33, Issue 1. Date: 2008 Pages: 7-44.
James L. Rowell, "Abdul Ghaffar Khan: An Islamic Gandhi," in Peace Movements in Islam, 117-132.
S. Bala, " Waging nonviolence: reflections on the history writing of the Pashtun nonviolent movement Khudai Khidmatgar" Peace and Change Vol. 38, Issue 2. Date: 03/23/2013 Pages: 131-154.
Suman Bharti, Living Patriotism: The Experience of 'Freedom' among the Muslim Women of Colonial Punjab," Pakistan Journal of Women's Studies Vol. 21, Issue 2. Date: 20140701 Pages: 1-25.
Nov. 30 Muslims vs. Apartheid in South Africa
Willie J. Harrell, Jr., "'We Shall Crush Apartheid': Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko and the Rhetoric of the South African Anti-Apartheid Jeremiad" Ethnicity and Race in a Changing World: A Review Journal Vol. 1, Issue 1. Date: 01/01/2009 Pages: 13-27.
Farid Esack, " Three Islamic Strands in the South African Struggle for Justice" Third World Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 2, Islam & Politics (Apr., 1988), pp. 473-498.
Gerrie Lubbe, "The Soweto Fatwa: A Muslim response to a watershed event in South Africa" Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs Vol. 17, Issue 2. Date: 01/01/1997 Pages: 335-343.
Muhammad Haron, "Christian-Muslim Relations in South Africa (circa 1986-2004): Charting Out a Pluralist Path" Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations Vol. 18, Issue 2. Date: 04/2007 Pages: 257-273.
Na'eem Jeenah, "The national liberation struggle and Islamic feminisms in South Africa," Women's Studies International Forum Vol. 29, Issue 1. Date: 2006 Pages: 27-41.
Dec 7 Muslim Americans
Grace Yukich, "Muslim American Activism in the Age of Trump," in Peace Movements in Islam, 171-199.
Shafiqa Ahmadi, Mabel Sanchez, and Darnell Cole, "Protecting Muslim Students’ Speech and Expression and Resisting Islamophobia," Student activism, politics, and campus climate in higher education, 2019, 97-111
Marcia Hermansen and Mahruq F. Khan, “South Asian Muslim American Girl Power: Structures and Symbols of Control and Self-Expression,” Journal of International Women's Studies, Vol. 11, Iss. 1, (Nov 2009): 86-105.
Academic Integrity Policy: History 231 follows the academic integrity guidelines set forth by the College of LSA Academic Integrity site. Students should familiarize themselves with this document, which explains the standards of academic integrity and clarifies the prohibited forms of academic misconduct. Students in History 231 should utilize the Chicago Manual of Style Online [or alternative guides] for all issues of source citation, along with any specific guidelines provided in the course assignments. Clarifying the disciplinary standards of research ethics and source citation is part of the educational mission of this course, and students should consult the faculty instructor and/or GSI regarding any questions. The penalties for deliberate cases of plagiarism and/or other forms of academic misconduct are failing the course. Cases that the instructor judges to be particularly serious, or those in which the student contests the charge of academic misconduct, will be handled by the office of the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education. All cases of deliberate academic misconduct that result in formal sanctions of any kind will be reported to the dean's office, as required by LSA policy, which also ensures due process rights of appeal for students.