Universities Search for Scholars of Islam

October 1, 2002

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.ucc.org/news/r081602f.htm

On October 1, 2002 Religion News Service reported that "since Sept. 11, universities throughout the country have been scrambling to hire experts on Islam to bolster departments of religion or Middle East studies. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill just added a second Islamicist to its department of religious studies. Edward Curtis will teach about Islam among African-Americans. The university is also considering starting a center for the study of the Middle East and Muslim civilizations. Duke University hired its second Islamicist last year, Ebrahim Moosa, an expert in classical Islamic religious thought. Although about 325 U.S. colleges and universities offer courses in Islam, most are taught by people trained in other disciplines. Of the 1,200 religious studies departments across North America, about 120 have faculty who claim Islam as their prime expertise, according to the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion."