CAIRO – A new college in the British city of Cambridge is launching a course to teach Muslims how to better integrate into society.
"We want to help them to broaden their community and make it part and parcel of the wider British community, and to understand British society better” Dr Michael Berdine, director of the Cambridge Muslim College, told Cambridge News newspapers Friday, October 16.
The year-long course, titled “Contextual Islamic Studies & Leadership”, aims to teach students how to better integrate into society.
Students will study subjects on western intellectual history, Islam and gender.
They will also be taught how to look at modern political thought, conducting interfaith dialogue, and running mosques and charitable institutions.
Counseling and dispute resolution would also be offered by tutors, who will be advised on how to provide counseling on issues such as drug abuse.
Organizers say the course aims to equip Muslim students with practical skills to make them more effective Muslim leaders and to enhance their prospects for further education and work.
"In other countries where the Muslim community is a minority, they succeeded in making themselves an indispensable part of the community and in acting with the community," Berdine said.
* Clear misconceptions
The course is seen as an important step to clear misconceptions about Muslims in the European country.
"I think there's a misunderstanding and sometimes confusion around the issue of how we can be loyal to two different identities - being British and being Muslim,” Saleem Seedat, 25, told the BBC News Online.
"This course will hopefully allow us to formulate a response to that problem."
British Muslims, estimated at 2.4 millions, have been in the eye of the storm since the 7/7 London bombings in 2005, enduring a growing Islamophobic climate.
They have also been spearheaded for accusations about their integration in British society and how to juggle between their Muslim identity and British values.
A recent government-commissioned study has found that a torrent of negative and imbalance stories in the British media demonize Muslims and their faith by portraying them as the enemy within.
A Financial Times opinion poll showed that Britain is the most suspicious nation about Muslims.
Last year, the British government unveiled plans to send Muslim imams into schools to teach students against extremism and lecture them about citizenship and multiculturalism.
“We hope to have more students next year,” Dr Berdine said of the course, which has so far drawn six students.
He also hopes the new college will develop ties with the prestigious Cambridge University.
“We also hope the college will become affiliated with Cambridge University.”
Built in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and fourth oldest in Europe.
The university is consistently ranked in the world's top five universities and as the best university in Europe in the annual ranking by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
It was ranked as the best University in both the United Kingdom and in Europe in the 2008 Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings and 2nd best university in the world in the 2009 rankings.
Source: IslamOnline
"We want to help them to broaden their community and make it part and parcel of the wider British community, and to understand British society better” Dr Michael Berdine, director of the Cambridge Muslim College, told Cambridge News newspapers Friday, October 16.
The year-long course, titled “Contextual Islamic Studies & Leadership”, aims to teach students how to better integrate into society.
Students will study subjects on western intellectual history, Islam and gender.
They will also be taught how to look at modern political thought, conducting interfaith dialogue, and running mosques and charitable institutions.
Counseling and dispute resolution would also be offered by tutors, who will be advised on how to provide counseling on issues such as drug abuse.
Organizers say the course aims to equip Muslim students with practical skills to make them more effective Muslim leaders and to enhance their prospects for further education and work.
"In other countries where the Muslim community is a minority, they succeeded in making themselves an indispensable part of the community and in acting with the community," Berdine said.
* Clear misconceptions
The course is seen as an important step to clear misconceptions about Muslims in the European country.
"I think there's a misunderstanding and sometimes confusion around the issue of how we can be loyal to two different identities - being British and being Muslim,” Saleem Seedat, 25, told the BBC News Online.
"This course will hopefully allow us to formulate a response to that problem."
British Muslims, estimated at 2.4 millions, have been in the eye of the storm since the 7/7 London bombings in 2005, enduring a growing Islamophobic climate.
They have also been spearheaded for accusations about their integration in British society and how to juggle between their Muslim identity and British values.
A recent government-commissioned study has found that a torrent of negative and imbalance stories in the British media demonize Muslims and their faith by portraying them as the enemy within.
A Financial Times opinion poll showed that Britain is the most suspicious nation about Muslims.
Last year, the British government unveiled plans to send Muslim imams into schools to teach students against extremism and lecture them about citizenship and multiculturalism.
“We hope to have more students next year,” Dr Berdine said of the course, which has so far drawn six students.
He also hopes the new college will develop ties with the prestigious Cambridge University.
“We also hope the college will become affiliated with Cambridge University.”
Built in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and fourth oldest in Europe.
The university is consistently ranked in the world's top five universities and as the best university in Europe in the annual ranking by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
It was ranked as the best University in both the United Kingdom and in Europe in the 2008 Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings and 2nd best university in the world in the 2009 rankings.
Source: IslamOnline
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