An "Islamic studies" master's program with Arabic language studies will open at Kazan Orthodox Theological Seminary next academic year, Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, chairman of the educational committee of the Russian Orthodox Church, told RIA Novosti.
"A master's degree in Islamic studies at the Kazan Theological Seminary is planned to open in two stages. Since a full-fledged study of the religious tradition of Islam implies, of course, knowledge of Arabic, in the coming academic year the first year of the master's program will be devoted mainly to the study of Arabic and Arabistics in the broad sense, and the next two academic years will be related to the study of doctrine, sources of traditions, historical and cultural context of Islam in the world and in our country," Kozlov said.
He noted that Kazan Seminary has historically been associated with the study of non-Christian religiosity, and this has been its specificity as an institution of higher learning. In particular, the Quran was first published in Russian in 1878 in a translation by the seminary's teacher, orientalist Gordii Sablukov.
"And here we can distinguish, on the one hand, a return to tradition, and on the other, a response to the challenges of the era. We certainly need adequate, calm academic knowledge about Islam," Kozlov noted.
Damir Mukhetdinov, the rector of the Moscow Islamic Institute (MII) and first deputy chairman of the Religious Board of Muslims of Russia, told RIA Novosti that MII has no plans to teach history of Christianity yet.
"We have no such plans, we have the Bulgarian Islamic Academy engaged in interfaith dialogue, and our profile is Islamic theology. It is logical that as the Islamic population increases, so does the interest in the study of Islam and its values, including on the part of the Russian Orthodox Church," Mukhetdinov said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from RIA Novosti