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Reinterpretation of Buddhist thought and practice in response to postcolonial modernizations.

Recent events have served to underscore the importance of understanding Islamic civilization, particularly the manner in which Muslim memories of the past, whether real or invented, serve Muslims as a guide to present behavior and a means of anticipating the future. This course begins by analyzing the contrasting the viewpoints of an evolving Western scholarship on Islam and that of traditional Muslims, as well as those of Muslims encountering that Western scholarship first hand. It then moves to an analysis of the life of the Prophet Muhammad and the birth of the Islamic community; the expansion of Islam and its emergence as a world religion; the establishment and growth of the political order and its institutions including the split between Shiites and Sunnites, and the development of those religious pillars that serve as the foundation for current Muslim belief and behavior.

In seeking to find explanations of religiously motivated strife, we too often overlook the innate human impulses of love, compassion, and tolerance, which can transcend sectarian divisions and implant notions of a shared humanity. This course on religion and nonviolence studies the traditions and relevant texts of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, in India and in their respective physical settings. The course also examines areas of interfaith dialogue and ecumenical unity, as well as the rise the rise of great peacemakers of religion, such as Buddha, Christ, Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave, the Dalai Lama, Martin Luther, Mother Theresa and others who shared the view that the prescription for ending violence requires self-transformation and self-transcendence. We seek to demonstrate the wisdom of turning swords into ploughshares to achieve peace in our times and for future unborn generations.