امریکی جامعات میں مطالعۂ اسلام :تاریخ، ارتقا، منہج اور موجودہ صورتِ حال (ایک تجزیاتی مطالعہ) .................... The State of Islamic Studies in the United States: A Study of the Historical Development, Methodological Approaches, and the Current Situatio

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Scholars working in the field of social sciences in American academic institutions seriously study Islam and Muslims—i.e., Islamic fundamental sources, Islamic theology and philosophy, Islamic history and civilisation, etc. However, their methodological approaches and objectives may vary from those of the scholars working in the academic institutions of the Muslim world. For example, memorisation of the Qur’an and learning of different forms of worship i.e., prayers, pilgrimage, etc.—some of the essentials of the Islamic education—have never been a concern of the Western institutions. Instead, their focus has been on living realities of Muslim societies and socio-political dimensions of Islamic world. The author of the paper has twice been on fellowship programmes in American universities during which he had the opportunity to have direct academic interaction with many eminent American professors and scholars of Islamic sciences. This enabled him to observe their methodological approaches to both teaching and research in the area of Islamic studies. While taking into account the related published works, this paper is primarily based on his personal experiences and observations drawn from various visits to American academic institutions.