Advanced Diploma in Islamic Studies

This unit will introduce students to Islam, its history, important personalities in Islam, and its main sources and basic teachings. Development of Islam as a religion will be analysed in further details. The unit has been arranged in three parts: early period of Islam; Islam and diversity; and Islam in the contemporary world. On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to know creeds, practices and rituals of Islam; different phases during which the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad and specific features of Makkan and Madinan verses; the early denominations of Islam, Islamic theology, jurisprudence and philosophy; as well as the position of Islam and Muslims in the contemporary world.

The position of women in Islam is a lively in both the Islamic and western worlds. It is a subject often used by critics to portray Islam as a misogynist and oppressive religion. In their arguments their first point of reference is the plight of Muslim women in many Islamic societies. The advocates of women’s rights in Islam, however, encourage differentiation between the teachings of Islam and diverse cultural practices. This unit is designed for candidates from all walks of life. The course will look at different dimensions of gender issues in Islam and among Muslims by exploring theological, political, cultural and practical perspectives.

Students will acquire introductory knowledge and understanding of women and gender issues in the contexts of religion and culture. This will be through cultural exploration and examination of social, legal and political issues in different Muslim contexts. The course will introduce Islamic feminism, and teach students how Islamic feminists claim and understand women’s rights within an Islamic framework. This unit will cover some controversial issues on women issues such as marriage, divorce, dress code, purity, violence against women, parenthood, hijab, women’s political participation, etc. Some of these issues will be covered in students’ presentations as part of their independent study and assessment.

Through establishing a foundation and some critical thinking on the subject matter, candidates will become confident in addressing challenges in response to their personal or professional situations through working in a multicultural society.

The unit covers a variety of topics in research methodology, research method and social theory. Issues covered include topics in Critical Thinking and Writing; Referencing and Bibliography; Philosophy of Social Sciences; Theories of Social Sciences; Designing Research; Strategies and Frameworks of Research; The Management of Research; Research Methodologies; Research Methods; Approaches to Data Collection; Survey Methods; Observation Methods; Analysing Data; The Ethics and Politics of Social Research; Methodology of Muslim scholars in Scientific Research, Primary, Secondary and Disputed Sources of Islam and their application and Writing a Research Proposal.

This unit will allow students to understand the Islamic core sources and approaches in depth. They will be introduced to the different sciences developed within Islamic studies from exegesis (tafsir) and methodology of hadith to Islamic law (fiqh) and principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh). On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to grasp the structure of the Islamic core sources and their development in addition to how these sources are applied in a variety of contexts. They will also become familiar with the different methodological approaches developed by Muslim scholars within the Islamic tradition.

This unique unit is designed to develop students’ knowledge in the key concepts of the Islamic ethical framework. It is taught from an Islamic perspective, introducing the main sources and methodologies for understanding and exploring ethical issues in Islam. Ethics (akhlaq) has always been an intrinsic and fundamental element of Greek moral philosophy, and monistic thoughts including Islamic thought. Ethics plays a central part of both Muslim jurisprudence (fiqh) and Islamic theology (kalam). However, modern scholarship in Islam has unfortunately not paid much attention to this vital and significant component of Islam. Therefore, this new Islamic Ethics unit looks at the centrality of ethics in the Islamic core sources, and how early and classical Muslim scholars have conceptualised it utilising the core sources as well as the existing moral philosophical theories and trends.

Depending on your previous knowledge of Arabic, you can choose from Arabic as a Foreign Language level 6 or 8 (for students starting in September).

You can choose from the following optional units:

• Islamic Economics and Finance
• Islamic Commercial Law
• Applied Islamic Banking and Insurance
• Islamic Accounting and Auditing

More information can be found here