Imam Zaid Shakir has high hopes for Islamic scholarship in America --- that's fine, as long as our tax dollars aren't given
remember the separation of state and church thing? On Oct 2, 10:56 am, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > Islamic college? That’s an oxymoron for morons. > > Berkeley, home of nuts and fruitcakes, is certainly the appropriate locale. > > B > > http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1254393080295&pagename=JPo... > > Updated Oct 2, 2009 7:24 > Scholars plan first US Islamic college in Berkeley > > By E.B. SOLOMONT, JPOST CORRESPONDENT IN NEW YORK <[email protected]> > > Imam Zaid Shakir has high hopes for Islamic scholarship in America - > aspirations that include the first accredited four-year Islamic college in > the United States. > > Having gained momentum - and funds - in the past year, Shakir and a group of > American Muslims and scholars are now hoping to open the planned Zaytuna > College next fall in Berkeley, California. > > "Our goal is to attract top students," Shakir told *The Jerusalem Post*, > describing a mission to provide a liberal arts education and training in > Islamic scholarship. "Where Islam Meets America" is a working motto for the > school. > > Offering courses in Arabic language and Islamic theology, the college is the > brainchild of Shakir, Sheikh Hamza Yusuf and Dr. Hatem Bazian, and is based > on educational > programs[image:http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2.gif]<http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1254393080295&pagename=JPo...>they > have nurtured in the Bay Area over the past decade. In 1996, Yusuf > created the Zaytuna Institute in San Francisco, which offers educational > programs and language courses. Five years ago, Shakir created a pilot > seminary program that informed the new college's legal and theological > curriculum. > > According to its mission statement, the college "aims to educate and prepare > morally committed professional, intellectual and spiritual leaders who are > grounded in the Islamic scholarly tradition and conversant with the cultural > currents and critical ideas shaping modern society." > > The school plans to offer a course in Middle East politics at some point. > But Shakir said the way the Israeli-Palestinian > conflict[image:http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2.gif]<http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1254393080295&pagename=JPo...>was > portrayed would be left to the discretion of individual professors. > > "What we would expect anyone teaching at the college to look at is the full > ramifications of the issue from all points of view and give a truthful and > insightful assessment of the situation, and also try to stimulate in the > students [thoughts] as to how this particular dilemma could be resolved in a > judicious and equitable fashion," he said. > > So far, the school is planning two majors: Arabic language and Islamic Legal > and Theological Studies. Professors will be tapped from within the Zaytuna > Institute's current faculty, and Shakir said enrollment was open to men and > women of any racial or religious background. Asked if Jewish students would > be turned away, Shakir said, "Absolutely not," and noted that a Jewish > student had been accepted into a language course offered last year by the > Zaytuna Institute. > > "Every applicant will be considered on their merit," he said. > > The school's long-term goal is to become an interdisciplinary university, > Shakir said. > > As part of an effort to raise funds for the school's endowment, Shakir and > Yusuf have been crisscrossing the country to present their goals for a > school that hopes to succeed where other similar efforts have failed. > > "As a faith community, our needs aren't any different than the needs of any > other faith community," Shakir said at a conference in New Jersey organized > by the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals. "As Muslims, we > need to develop institutions to allow us to perpetuate our values." > > Reactions to the school have been largely positive, and the academics behind > it toe a moderate line. After meeting with former president George W. > Bush[image:http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2.gif]<http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1254393080295&pagename=JPo...>post-9/11, > Yusuf uttered the comment, now widely repeated, that "Islam was > hijacked." > > The Zaytuna Institute has garnered support, too. > > "It is far and away the single most influential institution that's shaping > American Muslim thought," Omid Safi, an Islamic studies professor at the > University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, told The Associated Press. "On the > one hand, they speak so much about being American. On the other hand, they > have also plugged these American Muslim students into the global Muslim > curriculum, [which] has all the rigor of traditional Islamic scholarship." > > But the AP reported that some detractors didn't support the premise of the > college. > > "I don't know that I would send my child to go to a college where they can > only learn tradition. Young people have to live," said Mahmoud Ayoub, a > retired professor of Islamic studies at Temple University who has worked > with the US State Department, representing America in the Muslim world. "I > like mixing people. I don't like ghettos." > > But Shakir said the world needed credible and effective Muslim voices. > > "Who will talk for the religion?" he said. "We have to train a generation." > > image001.gif > < 1KViewDownload --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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