Module manager: Professor Mustapha Sheikh
Email: m.sheikh@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is approved as a discovery module
This module introduces students to the major themes and thinkers in modern Islamic thought from an interpretive, gender, and decolonial perspective. Modern Islamic thought represents a wide variety of intellectual currents dominating the contemporary Muslim world since roughly the revolution of the Young Turks in 1908, the rise of the nation-state and the beginning of the de-colonization process. With regards to modernity and Westernisation, Muslim responses have ranged from acceptance and justification to rejection and a call to violence. In this module, students will explore the main movements that have responded to Western hegemony of the Islamic world, including liberal reformism, political Islamism, and militant Islamism.
The aim of this module is to equip learners with a structured and critical understanding of the major intellectual currents that constitute modern Islamic thought from the early twentieth century to the present. The module explores how Muslim thinkers and movements have responded to the forces of modernity and Western hegemony. Students will examine the diverse trajectories that emerged in this period, ranging from liberal reformism, to political Islamism, to militant Islamism—and develop an analytical grasp of the theological, social, and political arguments that underpin each strand.
This understanding is then applied through close reading of key texts and thinkers, enabling learners to identify how these movements conceptualise modernity, authority, gender, governance and social transformation. By comparing and contrasting the interpretive strategies and political visions embedded in liberal, political and militant Islamist discourses, learners will gain insight into how acceptance, critique, rejection, and even calls to violence have been articulated within modern Muslim responses to modernity. In combining these objectives, the module provides a coherent approach to connecting the historical emergence of modern Islamic thought with its ongoing significance for contemporary Muslim societies and global politics. Learners develop the ability not only to describe these movements and thinkers but also to evaluate their implications for debates about secularism, nationalism, decolonisation and the future of Islam.
The module is structured around lectures, guided readings and seminar-based analytical exercises that progressively build theoretical and contextual understanding. Lectures introduce the historical background and key thinkers and seminars give learners the opportunity to apply theoretical frameworks to specific thinkers and texts. Peer discussion and collaborative exploration of case studies enable students to observe how different intellectual orientations shape Muslim engagements with modernity, thereby reinforcing their ability to apply, critique and synthesise the central debates in modern Islamic thought in their final assessments.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1. Appraise the major intellectual trends and figures in modern and contemporary Islamic thought from the late nineteenth century to the present
2. Critically evaluate the key challenges posed to Muslim intellectual traditions by modernity, including colonialism, secularism, and globalisation
3. Analyse critically selected modern approaches to Qur’anic interpretation (tafsīr and hermeneutics), with reference to both primary sources and contemporary scholarship.
4. Critically apply diverse scholarly arguments and methodological approaches to a range of texts and sources
5. Construct coherent and evidence-based arguments, demonstrating clarity, precision, and critical engagement
Students will gain confidence in approaching classical/medieval Islamic legal texts in English translation, and accessing modern studies on the same. They will also become familiarised with Muslim legal terminology.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Private study refers to researching and writing up of essay; reading in preparation for lectures and seminar discussions; watching course-related films/ listening to relevant radio programmes; researching for oral presentation; exam revision; undertaking all other assigned readings as suggested by tutor through the course of the module; contributing to online discussion room.
Students are provided with multiple opportunities to receive feedback on their progress throughout the module. Written assignments are returned with detailed written comments, offering guidance on both content and academic skills development. Seminar discussions provide ongoing, formative feedback through dialogue and collective reflection on key themes and readings. In addition, each student is offered a designated feedback session once per semester, allowing for more focused, individualised discussion of their work and development.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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