Dialogue in Islam Course

Session Times and Dates (All UK TIME)

Session 1: The Qur’anic Basis for Dialogue I, 9th Feb, 2021, 18:00
Session 2: The Quranic Basis for Dialogue II, 16th Feb 2021, 18:00
Session 3: The Prophetic Basis for Dialogue, 23rd Feb 2021, 18:00
Session 4: The Historical Basis for Dialogue, 2nd Mar 2021, 18:00
Session 5: Contemporary Barriers to Dialogue, 9th Mar 2021, 18:00

Each session is expected to last 1 hour.

Enrolment Details

Students are expected to join all five of the class sessions and all the four office hour sessions as well as provide your end of a course assignment in order to be provided with a certificate of participation in our course. By week two all students will be expected to have informed the course instructor of their selected topic. This will be explained in-depth in the first week's class.

We will be providing you with a student handbook, a sign-up sheet for your course assignment, and relevant information.

You will also be provided with access to a Microsoft Teams account where you can engage in conversation with your classmates, as well as tutors, and keep up-to-date with deadlines.

All classes will be held on Zoom.

Once students have clarified whether they would like to complete with an article or a film for your final piece assignment they will be provided with a separate link.

Registration and Fees

Registration and payment of the course are to be made through our Eventbrite page.

Fee: £20.

Refunds are attainable up to a week before the course begins until the 2nd of February to do so.

What is Dialogue in Islam Course?

A five-session course exploring the Quranic, Prophetic and historical advocacy for dialogue in Islam, with a session dedicated to contemporary issues defined as barriers to effective dialogue.
Accessible to Muslims and non-Muslims alike, though the course does require prior introductory knowledge of Islam. Yet, we do welcome those completely new to Islamic concepts, and have provided a guided reading list to ensure our participants can engage fully with the material of the course.
An interactive pedagogical approach is taken with the course, despite being content heavy each session will be followed by a question-and-answer format ensuring a lively and to-the-point format.
Moreover, the participants will have additional contact hour throughout the week with the tutors and will work on a final piece coursework. For instance, those interested in writing a blog piece will attend 4 sessions in parallel to the ‘Dialogue in Islam’ course in how to write, publish and advertise their piece – finishing the course by writing a blog piece on a topic of their choice studied in the course.
Alongside ‘effective blog publishing’, video content curating could also be selected as a means of assessment.
The course demonstrates the case for interfaith and intercultural dialogue in Islam through reference to scripture, Sunnah and Islamic interpretive methodology. It directly addresses elements of Islamic sources and traditional interpretation which are sometimes taken as contradicting the case for dialogue and even exploited by violent extremists.

Course objectives

To give a clear, accessible and Islamically sound introduction to what the Qur’an and Sunnah have to say about dialogue and intercultural/interfaith relations.
To demonstrate how Islamic interpretive methodology refutes divisive and extremist misinterpretations of contentious passages in the Islamic sources, giving participants confidence to reject and challenge those misinterpretations on a sound Islamic basis.
To offer an Islamically-anchored positive and proactive narrative.
To demonstrate that good intercultural and interfaith relations and dialogue are integral to the religion of Islam.
To foster an interactive and transferable learning pedagogy in which participants gain confidence in being able to express material learnt from the course.

Learning objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to

Identify the core theological issues in relation to Muslim engagement with the ‘other’.
Deconstruct the arguments made for and against dialogue in Islam
Understand the foundational case for dialogue in Islam.
Understand the interpretive methodology that necessitates dialogue in Islam.
Use transferable skills, such as blog writing or video curating, to share what they have learnt.

Method

A five-session course. Each session consists of a 45minute session, including a questions and answers session.
In parallel to the content, students are empowered by transferable skills taught. Students use the skill taught to work on a final assessment piece.
The lesson objectives are explained at the beginning of each lesson with questions and comments encouraged from participants.

Target audience

Young British Muslims
Muslim community leaders and organisations in a position to provide advice and guidance to ordinary Muslims.
Mosques, Muslim community centres, youth clubs, schools and other outlets with a significant number of Muslim beneficiaries
Non-Muslims, including social workers, teachers, council members, liaison officers, academics and relevant stakeholders and policy makers who wish to understand more about what the Islamic sources say about intercultural/interfaith relations, diversity and dialogue.

Course Outline

Session 1: The Qur’anic Basis for Dialogue I

9^th FEB, 2021, 18:00(GMT) UK

Methodologies of commentary; divine intention in plurality; and affirmative dialogue verses from the Qur’an.