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Join the Islam Students - Research Association (ISRA). Are you a teenager or a young Muslim who is interested to learn Islam not just by traditional teaching method but also by supervised research into variety of Islamic subjects? Do you know that this is one of the most effective methods of developing an in-depth and rational understanding of religion? If you are interested or if you know any one who is interested then you might not want to lose this opportunity. Assalamu Alaykum, Dear brothers/sisters In a nutshell this is to invite interested teenagers and young minds to join my call and make an online circle of students who are aiming to become young researchers in Islam. For a long time I was thinking that how we can support and encourage young minds that are keen to understand Islam through research and analytical thinking. There are of course many good online sources for studying Islam through learning relevant Islamic material however I know that there are young people who have the talent to develop a set of skills to enable them not just memorising religious knowledge by reading but to create, develop and evaluate religious knowledge by research. I am now looking for teenagers or young people who are keen to develop research skills that will help them with the above. These are preferably teens, or young people who can allocate some time, who already have a reasonable understanding of the basics of Islam and have such creative and analytical mind that puts them in a position to start online supervised research into Islam. The idea is to develop a research plan for every individual to suit their age, interest and knowledge and then to give these individuals research tasks to complete. Through completing these research tasks and in the course of discussions and advisory comments that will take place, these students will be able to develop research skills and a rational way of thinking when approaching a religious subject. This will enable them to develop an open mind and an intellectual approach in understanding religion which will then make them advantageous to those who merely memorise the knowledge of Islam. The advantage of learning Islam by the means of supervised research is that it enables the person to have an in depth understanding of religion that is not biased by any sectarian thought. It is these types of minds that can answer the demands of our Muslims today and can effectively respond to the challenging environment that we are living at, in the 21st century. My hope is that this supervised, customised research programme will contribute in producing intellectuals who can fulfil the need of our time for Islamic researchers. Just to give you an idea of what it looks like, for example an individual might be given a task to read a few verses of the Qur'an, then read two different exegeses on those verses (in English) and then to comment on them and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments. This will be seen by myself and a feedback will be given. Another example is to be given a critical question on Islam and to demand for writing an answer after some brief research. As appropriate, at times there can be skype sessions where particular subjects will be discussed in more details. Of course apart from this, the students will be encouraged to have their own reading of sources of Islamic knowledge to make sure they have a reasonable knowledge of the basics of Islam. This project is carried out by myself and I am the sole responsible person for it. It is simply my own passion and endeavour. Of course where needed and appropriate I will welcome and take benefit of any support in doing this and of course by the grace of the Almighty I take benefit from my respected teachers and learned colleagues where I need assistance. I do not belong to any particular sect of Islam and proudly consider myself as a Muslim who belongs to the Jama'ah of Muslims. To know more about me (Abdullah Rahim) you can read my profile here. If you are interested in this or if you know any one who might be interested in this then please contact me or advise them to contact me via e-mail directly ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). If you or any volunteer has any questions on this please do not hesitate to e-mail me and ask. Only one point: This is not going to be a disciplined programme. What I mean is that I am not going to pursue the volunteers and put them in pressure to carry on the tasks. It therefore needs self motivated people who are very enthusiastic about the idea and can also spare some time for it. I therefore like to make sure that the applicant is keen enough to do this, before joining him/her to the research circle. My plan is to start from the month of Ramadhan so if any one is interested I appreciate a quick reply. Of course an interested applicant can join any time after the start of the programme. Regards Abdullah Rahim |
Islam Students - Research Association (ISRA)
- Tuesday, 26 July 2011 11:15
- Ronnie Hassan
- Hits: 931
Last Updated on Friday, 11 November 2011 12:09
