2019 US Summer Student Program has begun!
The 2019 Summer Student Program (SSP) convened on Monday June, 10th. Twenty one students – who were selected from a large number of applicants – have assembled at IIIT for a three-week Islamic Studies intensive program. They come from a range of academic backgrounds, such as Islamic law and theology, economics, international studies, technology, arts, media, data analysis, philosophy, political science, and religion. Most of them are students at universities in the US, Canada, or Turkey.
The event began with Kareem Makhlouf, Director, Organizational Development & Strategic Engagements, welcoming the students. He wished them an engaging and fruitful experience. Next, Dr. Jonathan Brown, Co-Director of this year’s SSP, briefly spoke to the students and asked them to introduce themselves. He also shared the message for the students that was sent by Dr. Ovamir Anjum, Co-Director of SSP, who could not attend the Opening in person. Then, Dr. Ilham Nasser, Senior Researcher, introduced the Advancing Education in Muslim Societies (AEMS) project and encouraged students who are interested in research and data to reach out to her. She was followed by Amina Derbi, Policy Research Executive Associate, who gave an overview of The Fairfax Institute (TFI). Inga Milosavljevic, TFI Program Manager, and Lina Bhatti, TFI Program Assistant, reviewed important logistics and details with the students for the duration of the program.
The three-week rigorous program is comprised of twelve courses that are taught by leading scholars and professors from a variety of universities and institutions: Muslim History and Civilization (John Voll), Islamic Jurisprudence (Suheil Laher), Sufism (Ahmet Karamustafa), Approaching the Qur’an (Zainab Alwani), Islamic Philosophy (Charles Butterworth), How to Read the prophet’s Biography (Jonathan Brown), Approaches to the Sunnah (Jonathan Brown), Women in Islam (Hadia Mubarak), The Methodology of Jurisprudence (Sharif El-Tobgui), Contemporary Islamic Thought (Ermin Sinanovic), Qur’anic Exegesis (Younus Mirza), Foundations of Belief, Knowledge, and Science (Ovamir Anjum). . Tesneem Alkiek, an alumna of the 2015 Summer Student Program, is serving as the Academic Mentor and Teaching Assistant.
During the program, students will choose a topic of interest and conduct research on it. This will be presented to faculty members, peers and IIIT staff for feedback. Students have the option to attend the IIIT Summer Institute for Scholars, which will be held for one day this year on July 22, 2019. The program ends on Friday, July 28th, with student graduation that will be attended by Dr. Ovamir Anjum.
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