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Overall, the class is really easy if you like to memorize things! The exams are short essays though, and I believe she did easy quizzes throughout the quarter.

This class was one of the most interesting classes I have taken at UCLA. There is a lot of reading but it is actually very interesting and I was able to get an A in the class without completing full readings (as in I missed a few). I came into this class with no background on the subject and the TA's were very clear as well as the professor so that was fine.

Highly recommend this class. I took it the first quarter it was offered and even completely virtual the class was super engaging and interesting. Since it's a cluster you spend a year focusing on Islam from a variety of different perspectives from some of the most knowledgeable and amazing professors on campus, and I have to say it has definitely changed the way I think about the social sciences. As a STEM major, like many others I took this class because it satisfied a lot of my GEs, but I got way more out of this class than that.
To start with, the papers that I've written in this class have been some of the most interesting and unexpected, and I've been able to learn analytical skills both within and outside the social sciences that I don't think I would've learned outside this cluster and that I'll probably continue to apply beyond this class. The professors are so approachable and are always willing to help with research for your papers or your understanding of a topic.
The third quarter of the cluster is also organized into small seminars where you delve into a subtopic with a small group of students and a TA (there are multiple seminars, each on a different topic, which you can chose from). I've had some of the most interesting discussions there and the small class size (it was about 10ish people) made the class way more engaging than your typical GEs. There was also a lot of focus on connections with present day issues, which also made the seminar an awesome opportunity to become more informed and aware of how the subject (and the social sciences more broadly) intersects with contemporary environmentalism, politics, science, etc., and learn things I can take with me beyond this class.
There is a bit of work and reading that comes with the class, but if you stick with it it will be worth it, and you'll be proud of the diversity of what you've learned and of the work that you've produced. It's not the easiest class you'll find, but in a way the challenge made it worth it :D

This class would be phenomenal for an Islamic studies student, which I am not. Do not take this class as a GE. It is beyond interesting, but will take up an absurd amount of your time if you want to retain any of the information you are learning. Lectures are interesting and pretty engaging, but the texts assigned are long and dense - some up to 40 pages long of dense, premodern history. Overall, interesting course but not worth the long readings, tiring studying, and blow to your GPA

I made the mistake and took this class as a first-year freshman for my first quarter at UCLA. IT WAS SUPER TOUGH. She gave us a super long study guide of terms that would be on the midterm and final. You had to go to lecture to get the information. Her slides were posted, but she mentioned key things that were not on the slides. The final was super hard because she made us do a 7 page essay and an in-class final. It was a challenging course, but I would take it again because I did leave the class with a firmer grasp on Islam and its followers. Amazing professor, just a really challenging class. Also, I had Evan as a TA and he was amazing. If you're looking for an easy GE, don't do this. If you really are interested in Islam and want to be challenged, Professor Sayeed is your professor!

The production value of Prof Sayeed's lectures is incredible. They are fully shot in a studio with a green screen and her slides come up behind her as she's talking and there are transitions to photos and it's just wow. A great class to take online.
The modules also have quizzes and activities (you can retake multiple times) in between lectures so they don't get too monotonous.

There are 3 equally weighed exams. There is a study guide given out with ~15 possible short answer questions on it and 6 of those are on the exam (you pick 5 to answer and you have 90 minutes). You can pretty much answer the exam questions before the actual exam (by doing the study guide) if you are worried about running out of time.

There were a lot of readings assigned but tbh i didn't do them all, just the shorter or more interesting ones. Some were more reviews of what we learned in lecture.

Overall would take this class again, especially online. I learned so much about Islam that I never thought I would.

Overall, I really appreciated how well-structured this class was as an introduction to Islam. Professor Sayeed seemed very intelligent and concise during lecture. However, if you are simply taking this to fulfill a GE requirement, the workload is a bit much. There were a lot of assigned readings every week, as well as modules that make up a good portion of your grade.

Two of the books that were required weren't listed, so I never ended up buying them, which made certain discussions more difficult. I don't know why they didn't list the required books in the first place.

The exams were pretty reasonable since we were given study guides of all possible questions. That being said, I got B's on all of them (due to poor time management) but managed to scrape by with an A-.

I'd take the class again because I personally found it very fascinating, but if it's not required for your major and you don't like religion/history I would go for something else.

Overall a very interesting and well-put-together, organized course. I took this with distance learning, but the video lectures were so professional and engaging. Definitely the best organized class in regard to having everything online, lectures were broken into short chunks with small activities in between. Professor Sayeed is also just genuinely a good lecturer. She is very knowledgeable and composed, and cares deeply about making learning about Islam rewarding and accessible. I learned a lot, but it was a pretty tough GE in terms of workload. There's a ton of required reading (2 books, many primary sources per week, articles, research papers, and documentaries), which can get tedious. That said, if you do your stuff, getting a good grade is not hard...The midterms/final were all open note, and you could choose 6 questions/prompts to answer from a list of 8. AND she gave us a list of (maybe 20 or so) questions that she would pull from a week beforehand, so you could prepare really well. The final paper was made optional for us. Overall, it was a challenging course, but it was engaging and rewarding. I don't regret taking it, and would recommend it to anyone who's willing to shift/broaden their perspective.

Islam in the West with Professor Sayeed was one of my favorite classes at UCLA. Her lectures are very engaging and thought-provoking. The discussion sections are also fun; I had a lot of meaningful discussions with my TA and classmates. By taking this class, you will be one step ahead of everyone else in understanding issues regarding Muslims in the West.

I took this class for my diversity requirement, so this was my first being exposed to this subject. Prof. Sayeed did a great job introducing and explaining the material to the class, and I really enjoyed listening to her lectures. As expected, there was a mandatory discussion, which was also very engaging and helpful because we went over the class material more thoroughly. Some of the reading materials were challenging to grasp but overall, it was not too bad. What I liked the most is the format of the exams - each exam had 4-5 essay topics but we were given study guides prior to that, which included all the possible essay questions that would appear on the exam. So, as long as you finish the study guide before the exam and answer those questions, you are pretty much set for the exam. There were also weekly quizzes and small assignments but they were pretty easy and short. The quizzes could be retaken multiple times until you get a perfect score, so they can be considered as free points.