UB students are showing a burgeoning interest in classes on Islamic beliefs and culture, made clear by the popularity of the two courses on Islam taught through the UB Cora P. Maloney College.
"Islamic Cultural History" (CPM 390), offered in the spring semester, and "The United States, Islam and Muslim" (CPM 250), offered in the fall semester, have both reached near-full capacity, in contrast to recent years of student enrollment low enough to eliminate the classes from course offerings.
The support of John Staley, associate vice provost for academic affairs, enabled the courses to remain available. Faizan Haq, a professor of Islamic studies for more than five years, credits Staley for keeping the courses despite the previous lack of student interest.
"The Muslim world is definitely underrepresented in the academic curriculum and we need to address this issue at SUNY at Buffalo, as well," Haq stated in an e-mail. He said UB could only benefit from an introductory course in Islamic studies, noting that over 400 million Muslims live in South Asia and over seven million live in the United States.
Letitia Thomas, director of Cora P. Maloney College, worked with the religious studies program to get both courses accepted under general education requirements through a cross listing with the religious studies department. "The United States, Islam and Muslim" was accepted last semester and "Islamic Cultural History" was recently accepted this semester as part of the religious studies requirements.
Following the Sept. 11 attacks, Thomas said the department was forced to move "The United States, Islam and Muslim" from its original location in the Millard Fillmore Academic Center to an undisclosed location on the Spine. She said students passing the classroom were making "off-color" remarks and in general creating a hostile atmosphere for students in the course.
Thomas underscored that, save for the aforementioned incident, the courses have received support from both students and faculty. She said her offices received calls from interested students, adding "UB has been good about academic freedom and realizes that professors have domain over their classes."
Thus far, CPM 250 and 390 are the only two Islamic courses offered at the university. They were introduced several years ago with the help of both Thomas and Staley. "At the time, it was considered bold to offer such courses," said Thomas.
Additionally, faculty teaching World Civilization courses in the general education program have been asked to increase the attention given to the historical aspects of Islam, according to Charles Stinger, interim dean for the College of Arts and Sciences.
Stinger said the current course listings for the College of Arts and Sciences was developed late last spring, several months before Sept. 11, and that the curriculum now in place was not dramatically affected by the attacks. "A specialist in the Islamic world was not part of the hiring plan," said Stinger.
Each department will be asked shortly to submit proposals for faculty hiring, intended for appointments effective Fall 2003. The proposals will give the administration a better picture of what specialists to hire and, subsequently, which courses to offer.
According to Thomas, Haq has expressed interest in creating a new course on Muslims and their portrayal in the media, although nothing concrete has yet been established.
Students expressed various levels of interest in studying the Islamic world.
"We should probably do more [on Islamic culture]," said Justin Chu, a sophomore computer science major. "The reason is that I've already taken World Civilization courses and still do not know that much about Islamic history."
"In light of Sept. 11, I would like to know more about the history behind it," he added.
John Davoli, a junior psychology major, felt differently. Asked whether he would take a course in Islamic studies, he answered, "I probably wouldn't take courses in anything like that, just because I'm not interested. It just doesn't apply to me, I guess."
