Term: Fall 2022
Participating Campuses: Host – Michigan State University | Receiving – Pennsylvania State University
Semester Dates:
- Michigan State: August 31 to December 16, 2022
- Penn State: August 22 to December 16, 2022
Course Dates & Times:
- Michigan State: Tuesday & Thursday 3:00pm-4:20pm Eastern
- Penn State: Tuesday & Thursday 3:05pm-4:20pm Eastern
Course Number & Title:
Students at participating campuses can enroll in the following sections for local course credit:
- Michigan State: REL 330 “Islam”
- Penn State: RL ST 107 “Introduction to Islam”
Instructor: Dr. Mohammad Khalil, Michigan State University | khalilmo@msu.edu
This course aims to provide students with a working knowledge of the religion and civilization of Islam. In addition to identifying the core beliefs, practices, scriptures, and sentiments that have defined Muslim communities, we will look at those issues that have formed the focal point of ongoing debate and disagreement in the history of Islamic thought. We will also visit a number of the “major” communities in their historical encounter with Islam. The course will conclude with an examination of the encounter between Islam and modernity, and Islam in the West (specifically, the U.S.).
For more information about this course, including textbook information and instructions on enrolling, please contact digital.islam@umich.edu.

About the Instructor: Mohammad Hassan Khalil is Professor of Religious Studies, Director of the Muslim Studies Program, and Adjunct Professor in the College of Law at Michigan State University. His specialty is Islamic thought, and much of his research revolves around Muslim conceptions of and interactions with non-Muslims. His specialty is Islamic thought, and much of his research revolves around Muslim conceptions of and interactions with non-Muslims.
Khalil is the author of Islam and the Fate of Others: The Salvation Question (Oxford University Press, 2012) and Jihad, Radicalism, and the New Atheism (Cambridge University Press, 2018); and editor of Between Heaven and Hell: Islam, Salvation, and the Fate of Others (Oxford University Press, 2013) and Muslims and US Politics Today: A Defining Moment (Harvard University Press and ILEX, 2019). He has presented papers at various national and international conferences and has published peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on various topics, from early Islamic historiography to bioethics.