Course Description

Loyalty is at the center of human life – and often death. Loyalty defines families and friendships, philosophies and faiths. It also creates enemies, divides nations, and inspires people to kill and die for their country or creed. Indeed, the nature and force of our loyalties to different people, ideas, and things shapes virtually every aspect of our lives. In this course, Professor Mona Siddiqui explores the polyvalent meanings of ‘loyalty’ in Christian and Islamic thought. Four twenty-minute lectures, recommended readings, and reflection questions provide insights about religious martyrdom, the challenges of diversity, struggles for justice and beauty, and the observance of religious rituals in modern contexts.  Join Professor Siddiqui and learners around the world to study of the problematic virtue of loyalty.

Course Outline

Lesson #1: Loyalty and the Demands of Faith: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Sayyid Qutb

Lesson #2: Western Europe and the Challenges of Liberalism: Legal Pluralism and Competing Loyalties

Lesson #3: Loyalty, Fidelity, and the Quest for Justice: Cornel West and Khaled M. Abou El Fadl

Lesson #4: Faith and Fidelity: Islamic Law and Widowhood