The Center for Islamic Theology (CIT)

The Center for Islamic Theology (CIT), housed at Münster University (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster), was founded on 1 October 2011.

The center represents a university department dedicated to faith-oriented Islamic theology and Islamic religious education, making the CIT Münster the only Islamic theological-academic institution in all of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous federal state.

With experts addressing questions about Islam as a religion, the Center seeks to meet the growing demand for independent Islamic theology in German society. One of the ways of achieving this is through the promotion and (further) training of young researchers.

Students can register for the following degree courses:

• Bachelor’s Degree (1 Subject) – Islamic Theology

The bachelor’s degree course in Islamic theology addresses the religion of Islam in an academic and inner-theological manner. Intensive Arabic language studies form the foundation needed for textual analyses and will be taught throughout the degree. In addition, students study one other language relevant to Islam.

The course centers on the following classical theological research disciplines:

• Science of Qur’ān (ʿulūm al-qurʾān)
• Qur’ānic exegesis (tafsīr)
• Hadith (ʿulūm al-ḥadīṯ)
• Biography of the Prophet (sīra)
• Systematic Islamic theology (kalām)
• Islamic law and jurisprudence (fiqh and uṣūl al-fiqh)
• Islamic philosophy, ethics and mysticism

Other main areas are:

• History and culture of the Islamic world
• European philosophy and history of ideas
• Comparative Islamic theology
• Empirical research of Islam
• Other religions and theological approaches

• Bachelor’s Degree (2 Subjects) – Islamic Theology

The bachelor’s degree course “Islamic theology” with two subjects approaches the religion of Islam in an academically sound manner. This type of degree course allows students to combine skills acquired within the framework of the degree course “Islamic theology” with skills acquired during the study of one additional subject (2-subject bachelor). The learning of the Arabic language forms a fundamental part of the study of Islamic theology. This allows students to access the original written Arabic sources.

The course centers on the following classical theological research disciplines:

• Science of Qur’ān (ʿulūm al-qurʾān)
• Qur’ānic exegesis (tafsīr)
• Hadith (ʿulūm al-ḥadīṯ)
• Biography of the Prophet (sīra)
• Systematic Islamic theology (kalām)
• Islamic law and jurisprudence (fiqh and uṣūl al-fiqh)
• Islamic history
• Islamic theology and Islamic religious practice

• Islamic Religious Education (Teaching Degree)

The subject “Islamic religious education” trains teachers for the teaching of faith-oriented Islamic religious education in German schools. The course has two main focuses. Students are trained in teaching methods, focusing on the pupils and the use of modern educational and didactic methods as well as learning the necessary skills to teach Islamic topics in a competent and topical manner.

The following subject areas are covered as part of the teacher’s training course:

• Arabic language
• Qur’ān and hadith
• Qurānic and hadith hermeneutics
• Biography of the Prophet
• Islamic law and jurisprudence
• Islamic religious practice
• Islamic religious education
• Islamic didactics and methodology
• Psychology of religion and sociology of religion

• Doctoral Programs

It is currently possible to obtain a doctoral degree (Dr. phil.) from the Center for Islamic Theology.

Admission Requirements:

• Degree in a related subject (e. g. Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies etc.) with at least eight semesters and above average results.
• Knowledge of German with at least DSH 2 language proficiency. In the absence of a DSH 2 or an equivalent certificate, declaration of the supervising professors that language proficiency is acceptable or that research and dissertation will be in English. It is possible to participate in a DSH German language proficiency course or sit a DSH German language proficiency exam.
• Regardless of the above, you must obtain supervision from a professor at the Center.

In order to obtain supervision you should submit your application including all relevant certificates, a cover letter stating your motivation and an abstract of approx. five pages detailing your planned research. Your abstract should outline the topic of your research as well as its position with regards to the current state of research, taking into consideration relevant expert literature. Please submit your application to zit.studienberatung@uni-muenster.de.

The web presence of Münster University’s student office provides information on registration deadlines.

Contacts:

• Address: The Center for Islamic Theology, Hammer Str. 95, 48153 Münster, Germany
• Tel: +49 251 83 26110

Website: www.uni-muenster.de/ZIT/en/