History of Islamic Countries

The aim of the course is to provide students with tools for acquiring knowledge and understanding of Shiʿism, a religious and political minority of Islam which, today, in its variant Twelver Shiʽism, is prevalent in Iran, but which is also followed, with different percentages, in the Arab Muslim world (e.g. Iraq, Bahrain, Lebanon, Kuwait, UAE).

According to the Dublin descriptors, students, at the end of the course, will demonstrate:

1) knowledge and understanding skills about Shiʿism, a religious and political minority of Islam;

2) ability to apply knowledge and understanding of the historical context to place properly the Shiʿite phenomenon in the complex picture of contemporary Islamic world and in the international arena;

3) ability to integrate knowledge and to formulate judgments on the basis of information that is not necessarily complete;

4) ability to communicate one's knowledge about Shiʿite phenomenon clearly and unambiguously to specialist and non-specialist interlocutors.

The main method of teaching is “lecture-based” learning. During the course, primary sources, related to the topics, will also be read and discussed.

The course aims to define the Shiʿite phenomenon as a religious tendency, a heretical minority, an opposition party and a political-philosophical ideology taking into consideration the most important historical crossroads up to our contemporary times. The concept of authority and the sources of authority as well as the major figures and the schools of thought up to the current doctrines and political groups will receive our attention.

1. L. Capezzone, M. Salati, L’islam sciita. Storia di una minoranza, Roma, Edizioni Lavoro, 2006, 435 p. (include bibliografia e indici), 20 cm.
2. F. Sabahi, Storia dell’Iran, Milano, Bruno Mondatori, 2006, XX, 298 p. (include cronologia, glossario, nota bibliografica, indice), 17 cm.
3. B. Scarcia Amoretti, Sciiti nel mondo, Roma, Jouvence, 2015, pp. 7-14, 73-265 pp., 21 cm.

Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.

For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).

All the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.