Quantcast


Advertisement

The God Blog

Email | Print | Text - Text +

June 11, 2009 | 12:43 pm

India university teaches Islam in engineering courses

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Call me crazy—or a heretic—but I always thought that religious studies were more within the field of the social sciences than the hard sciences. But at Aliah University, an institution of the Indian government, Islamic and Arabic studies are part of the engineering and science courses:

“A very basic knowledge of Islam and Arabic will be a part of the course structure of even engineering and science disciplines. Even in the IITs, the students take up one foreign language. So there is no harm in talking Arabic, which is spoken across 22 countries,” said Syed Shamshul Alam, the vice-chancellor of the university, who was once the head of department of mathematics at IIT, Kharagpur.

The university, set up in 2008, has introduced 12 integrated post-graduate courses from the ensuing academic session. Four courses of mathematics, physics, chemistry and statistics, of the 12, are aimed towards basic sciences while disciplines like computer science and engineering, electronics and communication, electrical engineering and civil engineering along with conventional courses on Islamic Theology, Islamic Studies have also been started.

But to maintain the character of a minority institution, the university will also incorporate Arabic and Islamic studies in the syllabi of the engineering and science courses. The V-C said that there is no problem in students taking up science with Islamic studies. On the contrary it would clear misconceptions about Islam among educated Indians, he added.

I’m not sure what those misconceptions are. If it’s that Islam is nothing but a bloody, war-waging religion, that is something that could be cleared up in a course offered through a religious studies department. If, on the other hand, it is a belief by Hindu Indians that Islam is not, as a discipline, rooted in scientific reality, well then I guess Aliah University has picked the correct venue.

(Hat tip: Holy Weblog!)

2 Comments — Leave your comment

Share this post: del.icio.us Favicondel.icio.us Digg FaviconDigg Facebook FaviconFacebook Google FaviconGoogle Reddit FaviconReddit StumbleUpon FaviconStumbleUpon Technorati FaviconTechnorati YahooMyWeb FaviconYahooMyWeb

COMMENTS

We welcome your feedback. Comments may not exceed 700 characters.

Privacy Policy

Your information will not be shared or sold without your consent. Get all the details.

Terms of Service

JewishJournal.com has rules for its commenting community.Get all the details.

maybe all the jobs are in Dubai?

Comment by Proton Soup on 6/11/09 at 6:33 pm

“If it’s that Islam is nothing but a bloody, war-waging religion, that is something that could be cleared up in a course offered through a religious studies department.”
Islam like Judaism combines in a holistic way all aspects of human life.
Israel, a declared religious state combines Zionism with a religious belief that allows it to carry out massacres in the name of self defense and act contrary to the highest principles of Judaism and current standards of human rights.
Today, many extremists abuse Islam for their own agenda. Islam had to defend itself from attacks by non- beliefing Arabs supoorted by Christian and Jewish tribes who also supported the other side as well.
It had to deal with later enmity by Christendom.
Islam calls for making peace but to be aware of aggressive action against it. The secualr West has given up religious wars but not the mass murder of innocents in the name of defense and democracy.
For fanatic Jews who blindly support all Israeli policies including the illegal settlements to make comments about Islam can only inflame more hatred of Jews who are always portrayed as the victim and like the old joke about Hitler wanting peace-“Yes, a piece of Austria,Poland etc. Now, Israel wants as much of the West Bank as it can confiscate or settle illegally in the name of Eretz Israel.
There is nothing wrong with combining religious education with scientifc education as long as the integrity of both is maintained. Scientists can have religious knowledge that give them an ethical standard to live by.
Don’t be a hypocrite and claim that you are the only holy ones in the world and that Islam and Muslims have no place in this world through your propagand apparatus and your twisting the arms of the uS Congress to make it vote inthe interest of Israel only without taking into considration the intersts of the US. Muslims know how to live in peace and how to fight in wars based onthe Qur’an. Those who engage in the killing of civilians must be condemned for violating Islam and using it to promote theirnarrow political interests.
Sincerely
Ameer Raschid
An American retired in Bodrum, Turkey.

Comment by Ameer Raschid on 6/12/09 at 4:10 am

Post a Comment

Name:  
Email:  

Type the word you see below:

Comment:


About this Blog

Blog Home
About the Blogger(s)
Contact

RSS


Blog Archive






Newspaper

Serving a community of 600,000, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles is the largest Jewish weekly outside New York City. Our award-winning paper reaches over 150,000 educated, involved and affluent readers each week. Subscribe here.

© Copyright 2012 Tribe Media Corp.
All rights reserved. JewishJournal.com is hosted by Nexcess.net. Homepage design by Koret Communications.
Widgets by Mijits. Site construction by Hop Studios.

counter fake hit page