 My name is Sarah Stewart and I'm the director of the programme responsible for the content, delivery and assessment. In this presentation we're going to look at the rationale for the study of Muslim minorities and how you can apply the subject to current affairs events. I'll say something about the virtual learning environment and give a short overview of the modules that you'll be taking. I'll then hand over to our associate tutor Simon Perfect with whom you will have day-to-day contact when you begin the core module. The programme builds on the existing postgraduate, on-campus module developed by Saas alumna Dr Alenu Dalshara and myself. Entitled Muslim Britain, Perceptions and Realities, it's been running since 2007 and proved extremely popular. Muslim minorities is a two-year distance learning programme ideal for balancing alongside employment and personal commitments. The popularity of this core module has led to its development as a full MA programme and it's attracted students from a range of professional backgrounds working internationally including teachers, those in NGOs and government, for example UK Foreign Office and US State Department, as well as the armed forces and also those involved in business, media and development. So in the course you will explore the historical establishment of Muslim communities outside Muslim majority states, contemporary state policies towards those communities and factors shaping those communities including political, socio-economic, ethnic, judicial, sectarian and gender issues. The programme traces the emergence and development of Muslim communities in minority settings in both Western and non-Western contexts. You'll find that much of the literature on Muslim minorities is confined to Europe and United States. The inclusion of non-Western states allows you to develop a truly global perspective. Muslim minorities in India and Singapore, for example, are mainly indigenous but have close links with Britain historically. They provide interesting points of comparison with minorities living in Europe and the United States. The programme also examines how Muslims have forged new identities as they have negotiated their places within their host societies. And it grapples with highly relevant contemporary debates about the place of religious minorities in secular societies. We might just pause here to consider what we mean by secular societies. Jurisdictions that we cover have differing roles regarding the separation of church and state. India, for example, does not have this distinction enshrined in law or in its constitution. France, on the other hand, has a separation of church and state firmly embedded as a fundamental principle of French secularity or laicité. Now, moving to contemporary issues, you will recognise these images from the beach in Nice, which sparked a debate over whether or not women should be allowed to wear full body covering in public swimming pools and on beaches. The Burikini, as it's known, was designed by an Australian Muslim woman back in 2004 and has become the object of an impassioned debate amongst Muslims and non-Muslims across the world. I've chosen it here as an example of a topic that, first of all, is linked to all our regions, plus others, of course. And it's also linked to many of our themes, for example, media, gender, law, history, civil society and Islamophobia. So if we flick through the following slides, we can see the issue reported here in Germany where it was Burikini was banned in a public pool in Regensburg back in June this year. In Italy, where there is no ban, the rationale for that being that it could provoke terrorist attacks, according to the Interior Minister, can you see here? Then we have India, where similar swimwear has been worn for decades. And finally in London, where the French decision to ban the Burikini has been widely criticised and the subject of a demonstration outside the French Embassy here. In Spain, the wearing of the Burikini has been banned in public in a water sports club in Catalonia and the issue has been widely reported in the Straits Times in Singapore and other of the countries we consider in this programme where commentary on the issue has been generally sympathetic. So reporting of issues such as these give us a view of how different countries think about them, legislate on them, portray them in the media and debate about them. So now I'm going to talk to you briefly about our virtual learning environment, the VLE. We use the IR model developed by Dr Simon Rove here at SOAS for international relations distance learning programmes. And this is based on the e-learning model designed by higher education academy senior fellow Professor Julie Salmon. Central to this model at MA level is critical discussion informed by the students individual private study. And I should emphasise here that this is a key learning outcome of this programme. Also discussion with fellow students is a core component. In addition to information provided by our selected readings, you will also learn to express your views confidently and persuasively in writing of course. And furthermore, you will respond to the views of others effectively, respectively and sensitively. And it's these skills that are essential in the workplace, especially when communicating with fellow students from different cultural backgrounds. Learning materials will be delivered by the University of London's virtual learning environment, the VLE, our Moodle site, with emphasis on the provision from the University of London online library. Now our cross-country comparative approach is designed to give you a broad understanding of the situation of Muslims in different minority contexts. You can focus on the particular countries we've chosen, Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, India and Singapore, or you can take a wider comparative approach. The focus on eight specific countries is designed to provide you with a template or a methodology that you can use to study Muslim minorities in other jurisdictions. So you're also free to choose other contexts to examine within the programme framework or to develop in your dissertation. Now I'm going to say something about our core module and then briefly about our selected modules. The core module for the programme, which is compulsory, has been included as a selected module for the MA Global Diplomacy in the centre of international studies and diplomacy since 2015. And it's divided into four four-week blocks, so 16 weeks in all. The first session explores the historical context of Muslim migrations and the attitudes and approaches to Islam and Islamic cultural expression adopted by host communities. The second session examines civic perspectives, issues of assimilation, religious and ethnic identities and kinship and politics. The third session examines the ways in which Muslim laws have been accommodated within the jurisdictions of different states. And the fourth and final session examines the role of the media in shaping Muslims' relationships with their host countries, including how major events at both local and international levels have resulted in negative media portrayals, a surge in anti-Muslim activism, an increase in Islamophobia and a renewed focus on gender issues. In addition to the core module, you will also do a compulsory dissertation module, which will give you the opportunity to develop your interests in a particular area as well as your research skills. Now, a brief look at the selected modules that have been developed so far specifically for this program and there will be two more coming online next year. So we have here the Introduction to Islam module, which is a survey course developed for online learning by one of our associate tutors, Elizabeth Monroe, and based on the course offered by Dr Peter Hartam at SOAS on campus. It's intended for those students who have little or no previous knowledge of the subject matter. Central to the module is the notion of interpretation or the authoritative textual foundation of the Islamic world view and the Islamic historical narrative. The Muslim minorities and the state historical and contemporary perspectives. This module has been developed by associate tutor Simon Perfect. It explores the development of government policies in eight non-Muslim countries towards Muslim minority communities from the colonial era to the present day. In addition, the module offers a theoretical approach to Muslim minorities more generally, expanding on some of the key themes and issues covered in the introductory module for the program. Upon completion of this module, students will have acquired methodological expertise to apply themselves to the study of Muslims minorities in different geographic locations, living under different jurisdictions. We also offer a module on Islamic law in a global context, and this option gives students an opportunity to critically analyze the judicial views of scholars, as well as the legal practices of ordinary Muslims within Muslim societies of the contemporary world. This module enables students to make comparisons through case law between countries with Muslim minority communities and those in which the majority population are Muslim. It's been developed by Dr. Sham Kayum at SOAS. We have other selected modules which have been drawn from the MA programs under the aegis of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy and are available on our website, as well as that of CISD. So now I'm going to hand you over to Simon Perfect, associate tutor for the core module, which is where you will begin the program. So that's all from me and thank you. Hello, my name is Simon Perfect and as Sarah said, I'm the associate tutor for the MA Muslim minorities in the global context. I'm going to outline in more detail the general structure of the modules and the assignments that you will take on the program. I'll also offer some reflections based on my experience of leading the core module for the last year. So here is an outline of some of the key people that you will need to know on the program. We've already heard from Sarah, the program director. Throughout your time in the program, you'll be assigned a personal tutor who will be your personal point of contact for any pastoral issues. And the key role you need to be aware of is the associate tutor. The associate tutor is the main contact for students during each module. As associate tutor, it is my role to lead you through the module and to give you feedback on your assignments. The associate tutor is always on email to answer your questions and address any issues that you may have. So imagine a supervisor with their door always open. So how does the program work in practice? The key principles of the distance learning format are independent study and collaborative learning. The advantage of distance learning is that you are in charge of your own learning. You'll be able to shape the time you spend on reading and learning around your other personal and professional commitments. At the same time, we build an online community of students through the virtual learning environment. You engage with your fellow students regularly in online reading fora and you give each other feedback on each other's work. So here we can see a visualization of your two-year program. So during these two years, you'll take four subject modules each beginning either in April or October. One of these is the core module which all students take and the other three are selected from a range of options which Sarah has outlined. You also undertake a 15,000-word dissertation spanning the two years of your program. And as you can see from the diagram, in each dissertation study period, you will be engaging in activities that will help you to develop your research and methodology skills. And there are four dissertation study periods in between the subject modules. So let's look in more detail at the subject module elements of the program. Each module is 16 weeks long. Each week focuses on a different topic or theme. And there are set readings for each week split into recommended and desirable readings. In some weeks, you will be set two or three general recommended readings. In other weeks, you will select one or two countries and read the readings relevant to those countries. You can choose to focus on the same countries throughout the module or explore different countries each week to gain a broad comparative perspective. The readings here are not exhaustive but are a starting point for thinking about these topics. You're also given pop quiz questions to think about as you do your reading. Towards the end of the week, we share our thoughts on the reading in an online discussion forum. Your answers for this are not formally assessed and they do not contribute to your final grade, but collaborating in the forums is essential to help you deepen your understanding. It also helps you to get to know and learn from your fellow students on the course. Now we recommend spending 10 to 12 hours a week on study time, much of which will be spent on your weekly readings. If you're unable to do the reading in a particular week, you can catch up and contribute to the relevant discussion forum at a later date. These discussion forums remain live throughout the course so you can keep the conversation going. Alongside your weekly readings, you must also complete six compulsory assignments in each module. These are known as ETIVITIES and they are listed here. So ETIVITY 1 is simply an introductory exercise where we get to know each other digitally. This is not marked. ETIVITY 2 requires you to search in the library for and critically evaluate an article relevant to the module at hand. There are five total marks for this. For ETIVITY 3, you write a critical analysis of a set article. This is also marked out of five. For ETIVITY 4, you will submit an essay plan answering one of several set essay questions. The plan is worth 15 marks. ETIVITY 5 is another text critique of a set article relevant to the course. This is marked out of five. And the final assessment, ETIVITY 6, is a 4,000 to 5,000 word coursework essay which builds on your essay plan in ETIVITY 4. This is marked out of 100 and then scaled so that it accounts for 70% of the grade for the module. Now if we look at ETIVITY 2, 3 and 5 in more detail, we can see that they are split into two parts, the task part and the response part. So the task part is your review of the article at hand. The highest marks here are for reviews which are strongly evaluated. We need you to be thinking about questions such as what are the merits or limitations of the author's arguments? What are the assumptions that underpin these arguments? You then post your review to the online forum. The second section is called the response section. This is where you produce a critical analysis of your peers' reviews. Do you agree with your peers' interpretations? Are there arguments that need to be developed further? Have these interpretations influenced your own thinking about the issues at hand? This calls for self-reflection. The methodology of task and response means that collaboration with your peers is built into each assignment. You then submit both the task and the response to our online marketing platform called Turnitin. For each of these activities you will receive constructive feedback from your associate tutor to help you improve. The feedback will comment on the structure of your assignment, the content covered and the clarity and quality of your argument and analysis. You can contact your associate tutor at any time for further feedback or to discuss ideas or any issues that you may have. Now we've already briefly mentioned the dissertation. Aside from the discrete modules over the two years of the program, you will undertake a 15,000 word dissertation and this is related to the area of Muslim minorities. This is an opportunity for you to undertake a rigorous piece of academic research in a topic of a special interest to you. You will be assigned a dedicated dissertation supervisor who will give you advice throughout the research and writing process. There are four dissertation study periods over the program which are in between the subject modules and these are dedicated to developing your dissertation. And as I've said previously, in each of these dissertation periods you will have simple tasks to complete which will help you develop your research writing skills. The dissertation module is assessed in two parts. 15% of the mark is based on a 1,500 word research proposal and this is to be submitted at the end of your second dissertation period. And the remaining 85% of the mark is based on the final 15,000 word essay and this is submitted at the end of your two year program. So how have former students found the experience of the core compulsory module on Muslim minorities in the global context? We've got some of their feedback here and their thoughts on the new MA program. So I'll just read them out to you. I particularly liked the way this course is structured with regard to the focus on different countries. I find the comparison to be a very useful tool for understanding the benefits and limitations of particular policies. So this has helped me a lot in gaining a real understanding of the issues. I'm originally from Casablanca, Morocco. I chose this module because I'm a Muslim living in the UK and I was interested in the topic. I work in education with a focus on the Middle Eastern North Africa. From a works perspective, it was very interesting to read about the interactions between religion and education. I was very pleased when the Muslim minorities core module was introduced just in time for me to benefit from it before the end of my own MA. If a whole MA on the subject had been available, when I was searching for a program, I very well may have applied for it. I was looking for a degree in Middle Eastern or Islamic studies. In my field, a sound understanding of Islam and the complex issues facing Muslim minorities, particularly in the West, is very important. I think anyone in my field will benefit from such an education. Before then, I would say that the former students who have taken this course have been very excited by the prospect of studying in depth, something so relevant and important as a situation in Muslims in non Muslim countries. As we have seen every week, a new news story appears in the media concerning Muslim minorities generally stories to do with issues around security and extremism. Students have found it very helpful to be able to discuss the issues raised in these stories in an open, calm and critical way. The readings gave them the resources to put these stories into context and enable them to move beyond the security lens, which dominates how Muslims are perceived by non Muslim society. The students enjoyed grappling with the complex and crucial debates about the place of religion in public life, secularism, immigration, multiculturalism and liberalism. The discussion for allowed students to test out new ideas and engage in constructed debate with opinions they disagreed with. Sometimes these debates can be very lively, though we must remember there are no easy right or wrong answers when discussing these issues. Underpinning this program then is a level of introspection. Unpicking assumptions is a key part of the program. You'll be engaging critically with the assumptions that underlie contemporary discussions about Muslims in non Muslim societies and religion more widely in secular states. But you will also be encouraged to be self reflected. What are the assumptions that we bring to the table when thinking about these issues and where do they come from? So this program is not just about learning about the situations of Muslims in minority settings. You need to be prepared to be challenged and to challenge yourself. And with that, we will conclude. We hope you are excited by this unique program. Muslim minorities in a global context offers a fascinating lens through which to study the biggest debates facing our societies today.