HY435      One Unit
Political Islam from Ibn Taymiyya to ISIS

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Course Convenor

Professor Kirsten Schulze

Availability

This course is available on the MA in Modern History, MSc in History of International Relations, MSc in International Affairs (LSE and Peking University), MSc in International and World History (LSE & Columbia), MSc in Social Anthropology (Religion in the Contemporary World) and MSc in Theory and History of International Relations. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.

How to apply: Students should write a short statement supporting their application to take a course. The Teacher Responsible will assign places on the course and their decision is final.

Deadline for application: TBC

For queries contact: For queries, please contact the teacher responsible for the course, as indicated on the course guide. Staff e-mail addresses are listed at https://www.lse.ac.uk/International-History/People.

Course content

This course has five objectives: i. To examine the evolution of political Islam as a set of ideas. ii. To compare and contrast different models of Islamic State. iii. To explore the strategies used by Islamist movements to Islamise a state as well as state strategies to prevent this. iv. To explore the phenomena of transnational Islamism and international jihadism. v. To familiarise the student with some of the primary sources (in translation) and the historiographical controversies. This course looks at the evolution of Islamist philosophy and movements, focusing on ideas as well as intellectual, religious and political leaders. The key areas covered are: Islamist thinkers - Ibn Taymiyya, Wahab, Abdu, Rida, al-Banna, Qutb, Maududi, Khomeini, Faraj, Azzam and Zawaheri; Models of Islamic State - Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Malaysia; Islamist Movements – the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Jihad, Hizb'allah, Hamas, the Islamic Salvation Front,  and Boko Haram; transnational Islam and international jihadism:  Al-Qaeda,  Jemaah Islamiyah,  and  ISIS.

Teaching

20 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.
20 hours of seminars in the Autumn Term.
2 hours of seminars in the Spring Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn and Winter Term.

Formative assessment

There are two formative essays (2000 words), one in the Autumn Term and one in the Winter Term. There is also a 1-hour timed essay in the Spring Term.

 

Assessment

Exam (70%), duration: 180 Minutes in the Spring exam period

Presentation (15%)

Course participation (15%)


Key facts

Department: International History

Course Study Period: Autumn, Winter and Spring Term

Unit value: One unit

FHEQ Level: Level 7

CEFR Level: Null

Total students 2024/25: 18

Average class size 2024/25: 9

Controlled access 2024/25: No
Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Course selection videos

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