The consortium not only offers students further occasions for growth and development, but also supports Pope Francis’ vision of interreligious dialogue, said Gabriel Said Reynolds, the Jerome J. Crowley and Rosaleen G. Crowley Professor of Theology. “Pope Francis is clearly signaling to Catholics that part of charity is welcoming the other, offering hospitality toward the other and extending the friendship of Christ to non-Christians as well,” Reynolds said.

The exchange program will begin this fall, with theology students spending up to a year at their selected institution. Each of the four universities has unique advantages for students seeking to deepen their understanding of Muslim-Christian relations, immerse themselves in a new culture and hone language skills in English, Arabic or Italian, Reynolds said.

“The Pontifical Institute offers coursework in both Italian and Arabic to students who come from all over the world, while Saint Joseph University has a highly diverse student body in a majority-Muslim country,” he said. “And Sacro Cuore in Milan has historical connections to the communion and liberation movement within the Catholic Church, as well as a robust, thriving program in Muslim-Christian relations.”

At Notre Dame, the consortium is supported by the Department of Theology’s World Religions World Church program, in which faculty and students research world religions in all of their dimensions, as well as the Church and its theological expressions in diverse cultural settings. Like the consortium, that program seeks to follow Pope Francis’ counsel that “an attitude of openness in truth and in love must characterize the dialogue with the followers of non-Christian religions,” Reynolds said. “Our hope is that through this student exchange, we will help further the Church’s thinking about how to be a positive dialogue partner with the Muslim community.”

Source: University of Notre Dame

With experts addressing questions about Islam as a religion, the Center seeks to meet the growing demand for independent Islamic theology in German society. One of the ways of achieving this is through the promotion and (further) training of young researchers.

Students can register for the following degree courses:

• Bachelor’s Degree (1 Subject) – Islamic Theology

The bachelor’s degree course in Islamic theology addresses the religion of Islam in an academic and inner-theological manner. Intensive Arabic language studies form the foundation needed for textual analyses and will be taught throughout the degree. In addition, students study one other language relevant to Islam.

The course centers on the following classical theological research disciplines:

• Science of Qur’ān (ʿulūm al-qurʾān)
• Qur’ānic exegesis (tafsīr)
• Hadith (ʿulūm al-ḥadīṯ)
• Biography of the Prophet (sīra)
• Systematic Islamic theology (kalām)
• Islamic law and jurisprudence (fiqh and uṣūl al-fiqh)
• Islamic philosophy, ethics and mysticism

Other main areas are:

• History and culture of the Islamic world
• European philosophy and history of ideas
• Comparative Islamic theology
• Empirical research of Islam
• Other religions and theological approaches

• Bachelor’s Degree (2 Subjects) – Islamic Theology

The bachelor’s degree course “Islamic theology” with two subjects approaches the religion of Islam in an academically sound manner. This type of degree course allows students to combine skills acquired within the framework of the degree course “Islamic theology” with skills acquired during the study of one additional subject (2-subject bachelor). The learning of the Arabic language forms a fundamental part of the study of Islamic theology. This allows students to access the original written Arabic sources.

The course centers on the following classical theological research disciplines:

• Science of Qur’ān (ʿulūm al-qurʾān)
• Qur’ānic exegesis (tafsīr)
• Hadith (ʿulūm al-ḥadīṯ)
• Biography of the Prophet (sīra)
• Systematic Islamic theology (kalām)
• Islamic law and jurisprudence (fiqh and uṣūl al-fiqh)
• Islamic history
• Islamic theology and Islamic religious practice

• Islamic Religious Education (Teaching Degree)
  

The subject “Islamic religious education” trains teachers for the teaching of faith-oriented Islamic religious education in German schools. The course has two main focuses. Students are trained in teaching methods, focusing on the pupils and the use of modern educational and didactic methods as well as learning the necessary skills to teach Islamic topics in a competent and topical manner.

The following subject areas are covered as part of the teacher’s training course:

• Arabic language
• Qur’ān and hadith
• Qurānic and hadith hermeneutics
• Biography of the Prophet
• Islamic law and jurisprudence
• Islamic religious practice
• Islamic religious education
• Islamic didactics and methodology
• Psychology of religion and sociology of religion

• Doctoral Programs

It is currently possible to obtain a doctoral degree (Dr. phil.) from the Center for Islamic Theology.

Admission Requirements:

• Degree in a related subject (e. g. Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies etc.) with at least eight semesters and above average results.
• Knowledge of German with at least DSH 2 language proficiency. In the absence of a DSH 2 or an equivalent certificate, declaration of the supervising professors that language proficiency is acceptable or that research and dissertation will be in English. It is possible to participate in a DSH German language proficiency course or sit a DSH German language proficiency exam.
• Regardless of the above, you must obtain supervision from a professor at the Center.

In order to obtain supervision you should submit your application including all relevant certificates, a cover letter stating your motivation and an abstract of approx. five pages detailing your planned research. Your abstract should outline the topic of your research as well as its position with regards to the current state of research, taking into consideration relevant expert literature. Please submit your application to zit.studienberatung@uni-muenster.de.

The web presence of Münster University’s student office provides information on registration deadlines.

Contacts:

• Address: The Center for Islamic Theology, Hammer Str. 95, 48153 Münster, Germany
• Tel: +49 251 83 26110
• Website: www.uni-muenster.de/ZIT/en/