If you're looking for a comprehensive summary of Islam and how it differs around the world, this class is not what you're looking for. This was essentially a history class on Muslim philosophers. If that's what you want, great, but honestly I was pretty disappointed that this course's title and description didn't match the material. That being said, the TA's were really good and the tests and essay were very fair. Al-Rahim is a very dry, boring lecturer but he literally tells you exactly what you need to prepare for the tests. After realizing that we were not, in fact, going to talk about global Islam, I didn't do a single reading since the first week of class but still pulled an A-

This is a really good course if you are interested in understanding Islam in the modern period. This is the only religious studies class I have ever taken, and I thoroughly enjoyed this class because of the professor and the topics. The first few weeks are an overview of Islam, and then it moves to the period after Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798 up to the present day, going into nationalist and jihadist movements across the Arab world. This is a wonderful antidote to the coverage of Islam in most news sources, and provides an important, informed, and detailed understanding of what has and is happening in the Muslim world, both theologically and socially.

The content of this class is pretty interesting, but it's easy to zone out during lecture. Professor Al-Rahim is really nice and approachable, and I've never met anyone who knows so much about the history of sects in Islam. I rarely ever did the readings but took notes during lecture and attended discussion (William is one of the most entertaining TAs I've had) and ended up with an A. Most people think this class is boring, but I don't think it's too bad if you're interested in the subject or looking to fulfill a certain requirement.

This is the worst class I've taken as a religion major. My TA was miserable. The class wasn't difficult, but it wasn't worth my time.

Interesting in terms of material but Al Rahim is very bland in lecture, but he's very nice. Nauman was an awesome TA! He made the class. Pretty much 1 paper, a midterm and a final. I got a 97 in the class, A+

the professor has horrible lectures, though the course material is pretty interesting. Do your reading and be prepared for discussion (because you will learn most during then) and the class is pretty straight forward. Nauman is an awesome TA also.