Ok, so I took this GE since I needed another class. I'm saying this review as someone who has very little original interest in Islam. I will discuss each portion by itself.

Professor:
Yarbrough is one of the best lecturers I have ever had in my life. He is funny, engaging, and extremely well spoken. Classes are 75mins, and while they do feel long, it's not nearly as bad with Yarbrough as it is with other professors. I went to his office hours once, and he was nice and friendly. While being very nice, I doubt that he's lenient, though I've never been put in a position where I had to test this.

Easiness:
This is not a free A, but there is a good chance to get an A with a decent amount of effort. This class is not hard, but does take effort/time.

Time Consumption:
This class takes lots of time. There is an above average amount of reading in this class, and the once a week HW assignment takes a decent amount of time.

Readings:
Unfortunately, you can't get away with not doing the readings. Both the midterm and final are half based off the readings, as are the weekly assignment. I can't imagine getting more than a 80% (at the absolute most, more realistically 50%) in this class without reading. There is about 40-70 pages of reading, depending on the week.

Interest:
I didn't really like the subject, but that's just me. Still, it ended up being mildly interesting.

Key Assignments:
There is a midterm, final, and final essay, all put together worth ~60% of the grade. If you take decent notes during lecture and while reading, you should get at least a high B/low A on the midterm/final once you review. You'll have to study ~ 4 hours for each, so not that bad (if your notes don't suck). Final essay is 5 pages with about 80 pages of reading. Get started early so that it doesn't conflict with your finals.

Overall: Great professor, lots of work for a GE, not that difficult. Extremely fair and organized.

I was really excited for this class until it started. We were assigned an insane amount of readings each week, ranging from 80-120pages worth of readings. We were required to engage thoroughly with each reading, as were was a weekly quiz/focus question, as well as a cumulative midterm for weeks 1-5 and final (6-10). The readings were very complex and boring, which is unfortunate because with religion classes there are so many beautiful, informational readings that could have been assigned, but we were instead required to read historical theory, jargon filled readings that really turned me and so many others away from the subject. I have taken multiple religion classes before and this one by far has been the worst because of its heavy workload and uninteresting material. This class definitely took the cake for being my most time consuming course thus far.

Dr. Yarbrough is awesome! Even though this class was online, I looked forward to all his lectures. However, if you'd like to take this as an easy GE with little prior interest about Islam, I'd advise against it. There is a lot of readings/work every week with a reading quiz and reading reflection and it was a lot to keep up with. However, if you are interested in Islam and have room for a more heavy GE I'd highly recommend! I learned so much and I am so happy I took this class. The tests require studying but are very fair. they truly demonstrate your knowledge and questions are fairly straightforward.

Unfortunately Dr. Yarbrough will leave UCLA after spring 2020 to do research in Israel. He is a humorous and very clear professor. He is also caring and quick to respond. One thing though is the class consists of small points, especially participation is 25%. Tests are a bit tricky, mainly because there are so many readings. In short, he is great, but you will have to read a lot every week to do well.

By far, my most favorite class ever! I didn't know much about Islam before taking this class, as I had only chosen to take it for my GE, but this class opened up my eyes to a whole different level. I learned so much not only about Islam and Muslims, but about the interactions between Islam and Christianity, and Muslims and other races/ethnicities. I was able to see connections regarding similarities and places of conflict when differences were shown. It helped me see a lot of issues in a whole different light, and realize how sometimes the media manipulates issues regarding Islam and its followers. I even got the chance to visit a mosque, which was so interesting. We even had a meal there. Overall, Yarbrough is a great lecturer and helps us understand the concepts, even if some of the religious concepts may be hard to understand. Every week, I looked forward to coming to class and learning more. Yarbrough also loves to make funny jokes, which helps make lecture go faster. The grade breakdown for this class is Attendance (5%), Class Participation (20%), Micro Quizzes (10%), Focus Question Weekly Answers (10%), Midterm Examination (20%), Micro-Final (15%), and Final Essay (20%). I would highly recommend taking this class!