Welcome to The Final Flagbearers of Islam

This four-week live online course explores the remarkable story of the Ottoman Empire: from its emergence as a small frontier beylik, through its conquests and Golden Age, to the challenges of reform, its eventual collapse and its lasting legacy across Europe, Asia and Africa.

Across the four weeks, you will examine the people, events and institutions that shaped more than six centuries of Ottoman history and consider how the Ottomans came to carry the banner of Islam across three continents.

Your instructor

The course is conducted by Ustadh Maheer Hasan.

Live-session schedule

Live sessions begin on Tuesday 28 July 2026 and run weekly on Tuesdays from 6:30pm to 7:30pm UK time:

Tuesday 28 July 2026
Tuesday 4 August 2026
Tuesday 11 August 2026
Tuesday 18 August 2026

Recordings will be added to the learning platform after each live session, in shāʼ Allāh.

Quizzes and final exam

A quiz is scheduled to open after each weekly lesson. These quizzes will help you review the main ideas, chronology and historical evidence from that week.

After the fourth and final live session, you will also complete the Final Exam — The Final Flagbearers of Islam. The exam covers all four weeks, is timed for 30 minutes and allows one attempt.

We recommend reviewing the lesson slides, readings and recording before attempting each quiz and the final exam.