Recently, light has been shed on the issue of Islam, as a religion, a political system and a civilization. There has been an increasing interest in the study of Islam, mainly in the US and Europe. This special interest is due to several factors.
First, American scholars and students draw special attention to Islamic studies for the increasing number of Muslims in the US population, as well as the different interpretations of Islam by Arab Americans, Black Americans and converters. The US is interested in Islamic studies because of the strong link that many of them would make between the religion and the Muslim terrorist action around the world. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the break of the Soviet Union, it has been a widely held belief that an impending cultural and historic war would be between Liberalism and Islam as a complete way of life. In Morocco, coexistence between 'religions of the book' and the different races of humankind is a fact of life. The richness of Moroccan history and culture has been the fruit of the work, in a tolerant environment, between Muslims, Jews, Arabs, Berbers, Spanish, Portuguese and French.
One of our main principles at Moroccan Universities is to enhance the culture of tolerance within and outside Morocco. For this reason, and as an international institution, increasing numbers of universities are offering their students an MA in Islamic Studies. Such programs highlight the deep ties between the different parts of the Muslim world, calling the student's attention to (and developing their interest in) the plurality and diversity of Muslim societies, and their richness and openness to other societies' contributions.
Such courses also analyze the ways in which different Muslim societies adjust to modern times, and their contributions to world cultures. Moroccan Liberal Arts Universities also offer alternative courses to undergraduates and graduates who are studying other concentrations. The Moorish and Moroccan Arts and Music course studies the development of Islamic art and Moroccan music, and its influence in Mediterranean countries. It examines major artistic development in Europe in music and visual arts, from circa 1600 to the early twentieth century, in order to facilitate a better understanding of Western art. Believing that the causes of historical development of any civilization will be related to factors that explain its present day validity, there are also courses looking at 'An Introduction to Islamic Civilization'. Such courses will introduce students to the general features of Islamic civilization, using an approach that takes into account the basis of the civilization, its sources and components.
Courses entitled 'History of the Arab World' are also offered, studying the significant political, religious and socio-economic events in the Arab-speaking countries of the Muslim world. I find it very relevant to inform readers that apart from the academic programs and courses offered in the field of Islamic Studies, universities such as Al Akhawayn University, are also considered to be a meeting place for distinguished scholars of religion. Al Akhawayn University organized the First Conference on Tolerance in October 1999, followed by 'la Faculté Itinérantes des Religions des Livres' in April 2000.
Author
Mohammed Rherras
Executive Director Al Akhawayn University
