University of the Punjab.

Institute of Islamic Studies strives to develop a learning community that aims at academic excellence. The institute has dynamic and visionary leadership, and is able to foster Islamic values. It endeavors to produce, in a stimulating and innovative educational environment, scholars possessing genuine faith, comprehensive Islamic knowledge and intellectual ingenuity, which enables them to respond to the enormous challenges faced in a continuously changing global society. We also intend to orient our students' academic and religious experience to help them become genuinely committed to contribute to the public good with the ultimate view to earning success in this life and the hereafter.

1.

To help the students grasp the essential and genuine concepts of Islam as a way of life which can effectively identify and resolve the problems faced in contemporary world.

2.

To equip the students with the deeper understanding of Islamic values.

3.

To teach students how to utilize the basic techniques of research to contribute to the existing body of academic research while observing principles of honesty and objectivity.

4.

To enable students to learn the Quran and the Quranic commentary in a way that they understand how its teachings educate conscience and ameliorate behaviors. Special emphasis is laid on understanding how the guidance of the Quran relates to contemporary issues and circumstances.

5.

To acquaint the students with major events in the evolution of Hadith and Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) and Fiqh Al-Sunnah, and other major disciplines of Islamic Studies.

6.

To enable students to serve as faithful representatives of Islam, i.e. they diligently follow Allah’s injunctions, emulate His Messenger (SAWS) and his companions, and exhibit and promote a culture of patience towards religious diversity.

7.

It envisages an Islam based on sound knowledge that the students have acquired for themselves and which they carry back into their communities with a commitment to respect and serve others.

8.

To promote the teachings of Islam without any sectarian, ethnic and extremist alignment or bias.

The Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) in Comparative Religions program provides an in-depth analysis of the main issues and developments in the relationships between Islam and other religions, based on sound scientific methods, particularly in regard to the complex interactions between political, economic, social and cultural aspects; the interactions between Islamic societies and external spheres; and the growing size, and social complexity of the lives of Muslims in non-Muslim societies and the non-Muslims in Muslim societies. The program also aims to broaden the academic interest in comparative religions, especially in the light of the current critical importance of Islam in world politics. It intends to create a broad academic platform to coordinate and support research on the identities of the main religions of the world, their differences and their common grounds, and how they contribute to a better understanding of past and present-day culture and ethics. This will form a much needed principle of unity which will harmonize and balance the claims and counter claims of warring religions into one unity and create a class of students that is increasingly cognizant of both politicization of religion and its resolution for the making of a harmonious society.

Since religion, especially the comparative field, has become integral to all aspects of life, the career opportunities for the graduates of the program are now in multitude. The graduates can now be employed in a wide variety of jobs in both public and private sectors. The most prominent and promising departments to employ the graduates include federal ministries and local authorities of Islamic and religious affairs, as they can benefit from their discursive inter-faith knowledge, experience and research. Similarly, mosques and religious guidance centers are other attractive places to seek employment at, as they too require able and learned scholars for daawah purposes. Graduates will also be amply qualified to a variety of careers in the fields of academia, research, public relations, cultural centers and administrative departments.

The graduate program courses are being taught by selected professors of Punjab University who have earned doctorate degrees and significant relevant professional experience and expertise. In addition to Punjab University faculty, professionals holding these qualifications are recruited to deliver all or part of some courses.