Department of Religious Studies at California State University Fullerton

The Department of Religious Studies at California State University Fullerton offers a wide variety of courses in the academic study of religion and its curriculum spans religions East and West, ancient and modern, global and local, mega-sized and individual.

About

Religious Studies is the name which is use to describe the work of scholars who teach and pursue research about one or more of the religions of the world in a non-sectarian, academic and comparative manner.

It is similar to many other liberal arts majors (history, literature, philosophy to name a few) because it gives you the intellectual tools for success in a host of career fields. It is not a dry, cloistered, or indoctrinating study. Here, you will encounter new ways of understanding the world, learn exciting methods of analysis, and develop sophistication in the interpretation of religious texts, beliefs and practices. You will learn to think, write, and speak with clarity and precision, to do research on complex issues, and to listen and relate to others with understanding and respect.

Islamic Studies Minor

Students minoring in Islamic studies are required to take 21 units, distributed as follows:

Required Courses (12 units/4 courses):

• RLST 250 Introduction to Islam (3)
• RLST 300 Methods of Studying Religion (3)
• RLST 371 History and Development of Islamic Thought: The Beginning to 1258 (3)
• RLST 372 History and Development of Islamic Thought: 1259 to Modern Times (3)

Elective Courses (9 units/3 courses ):

• RLST 302 Religion and Ecology (3)
• RLST 320 The End of the World (3)
• RLST 321 Psychology of Religion (3)
• AFRO/RLST 325 African-American Religion (3)
• RLST 332 Islamic Scriptural Studies (3)
• RLST 333 Religion and Sexuality (3)
• RLST 335 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam Compared (3)
• RLST 373 Women in Islam (3)
• RLST 374 Issues in Contemporary Islam (3)
• RLST 375 Conceptions of the Afterlife (3)
• RLST 380 Religion and Violence (3)
• RLST 381 Religion and Politics in the United States (3)
• RLST 400 Religion, The Media, and Contemporary Culture (3)
• SOCI/RLST 458 Sociology of Religious Behavior (3)
• HIST/RLST 466A Islamic Civilization: Arab Era (3)
• HIST/RLST 466B Islamic Civilization: Imperial Age (3)
• HIST 468 Middle East in the 20th Century (3)
• RLST 485T Major Religious Thinkers and Concepts (3)

Contact the Center

Department of Religious Studies Office
Location: University Hall (UH) 313
Department Office: 657-278-2442
Department Fax: 657-278-5820

Website: http://religion.fullerton.edu/faculty/

Contact the Islam Faculty

Zakyi Ibrahim, Ph.D, Professor & Department Chair

Specializations: Islam; Qur’an and its Exegesis; History of Islamic Thought; Women in Islam; Religions in Africa
Office: UH-309

Phone: 657-278-8241
Email: zibrahim@fullerton.edu

R. Zakiyyah Muhammad, Ed.D. , Lecturer

Specializations: Muslims/Islam in America and Women in Islam

Office: UH-315

Phone: 657-278-2442
Email: zmuhammad@Exchange.FULLERTON.EDU

Jessica Rehman, Lecturer

Specializations: Islam, Islam in South Asia,  Women in Islam, Religious violence specifically genocide and sex/gender based violence

Office: UH-315 
Email:  jrehman@fullerton.edu

Sana Tayyen, PhD. , Lecturer

Specializations: Contemporary Islam, Women in Islam, Comparative Theology: Ghazali and Aquinas, Islam in America

Email: stayyen@Exchange.FULLERTON.EDU