Islam at Harvard University

There is a small but notable community of Muslims at Harvard University, compromising 3.9% of the class of 2024.[1] The proportion of Muslims within the university has increased over time, from 2.6% in the class of 2017 to 3.9% in the class of 2024.[1][2]

University resources

Starting in 1654, the university originally provided Arabic language classes before introducing actual Islamic classes. Such classes were taught alongside Hebrew and other Semitic languages as apart of Biblical studies. According to early Arabic professor Stephan Sewall, it was a "pity, not to say disgrace" that Harvard supposedly lagged behind European universities in Arabic studies by 1768.[3]

In 1765, the first Islamic books were brought to the Harvard Library, and the first Islamic course was taught in 1889.[4] In the same year, the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East[a] was founded and provided manuscripts and artifacts brought from the Ottoman Empire.[5] In 1948, the first Iranian languages were taught, In 1954, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies was built, which includes Islamic studies, academia, government, business, journalism, and law.[6] Additionally, in 1998, the Middle East Initiative was founded at the Harvard Kennedy School in order to interact with and study the affairs of Muslim-majority nations.[7]

Islamic courses include Islamic art[b][c], architecture[d], calligraphy, literature, history[e], philosophy, theology, culture, economics, law[f][g], science[h], sects, and modernism. Additional courses cover Islam and Christianity, Islam and politics, Islam and women[i], Islam in India[j], Islam in Iran, Islam in Spain, Islam in South Asia, Islam in Syria, Islamic empires, comparative religion, and Orientalism.[8]

Students

The Harvard Islamic Society represents Muslim students at the university. It provides meetings, prayers, programs, service opportunities, and Islamic resources.[9]

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "2024 statistics on religion".
  2. ^ "2017 statistics on religion".
  3. ^ "Stephen Sewall".
  4. ^ "Timeline of Islamic studies".
  5. ^ "Museum of the Ancient Near East".
  6. ^ "CMES".
  7. ^ "MEI".
  8. ^ "Islamic courses".
  9. ^ "HIS".

Notes

  1. ^ Then called the "Harvard Semitic Museum" until it was renamed in 2020.
  2. ^ the university collected Islamic art starting in 1919.
  3. ^ The first classes regarding Islamic art started in 1969.
  4. ^ The first classes regarding Islamic architecture started in 1969.
  5. ^ The first classes regarding Islamic history started in 1986 by Roy Mottahedeh.
  6. ^ The first classes regarding Islamic law started in 1947 at Harvard Law School by professor Arthur Taylor von Mehren.
  7. ^ The first program regarding Islamic law started in 2018 at Harvard Law School by professor Intisar A. Rabb.
  8. ^ The first classes regarding Islam and science started in 1973.
  9. ^ The first classes regarding women in Islam started in 1999 at Harvard Divinity School by Leila Ahmed.
  10. ^ The first classes regarding Indo-Muslim culture started in 1967 by Annemarie Schimmel.
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