College launches research course in Islamic Sharia

The Dubai College of Islamic and Arabic Studies has launched a new PhD programme in Islamic Sha-ria: principles of jurisprudence to start next month.

Juma Al Majid, chairman, founder and financier of the college, made the announcement yesterday, and said the programme includes a preparatory year followed by a thesis.

The college has hired a group of specialised scholars and instructors for the course. The programme helps students deal with information and analyse it, Al Majid said.

It also aims to ensure that a new generation is armed with knowledge of the Islamic Sharia because it explains present day issues and addresses challenges in the fields of legislation and judiciary. The Sharia is the source of state legislation.

The new PhD course is also expected to contribute to the maintenance of Islamic heritage.

"In 1995, the college became the first academic institute to introduce a master's degree level course in Islamic Sharia; principles of jurisprudence," Al Majid said yesterday when speaking to students, college instructors and the local media.

Al Majid said the College of Islamic and Arabic Studies has been adopted by the UAE government, under the leadership of President His Highness Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the country's main patron of education. The course, which has educated more than 2,500 since its inception in 1985, also receives the full support of the Dubai government.

"The college is considered the most important one offering Arabic and Islamic studies in the region," he said.

"The course is a blend of modern and indigenous methods. Thus, we are improving our teaching skills and helping our students become well acquainted with concepts, such as computers, the Internet and scientific research," Al Majid added.

The college library contains more than 19,000 titles, besides being fully supported by the library of Juma Al Majid Centre for Culture and Heritage.