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  May 2016 
                          
Events

IIIT Islamic Studies Junior Faculty Workshop 
          
The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) hosted their first annual workshop for Junior Faculty of Islamic Studies on May 25 and May 26, 2016, at the IIIT office in Herndon, VA. More...
 
Vibrant energy and smiles filled a classroom on Saturday May 21st as The Fairfax Institute, in partnership with the Indonesian Muslim Society of America, co-hosted the first ever leadership training program for Indonesian Muslim leaders from around the United States.. More...


A posthumous Honorary Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, was awarded to Dr. Jamal Barzinji, who passed away in 2015, at Hartford Seminary's graduation on May 13, 2016. More...


News in Arabic
دور المعهد العالمي للفكر الإسلامي في تطوير الدراسات الإسلامية في
 الكليات اللاهوتية
 
ظهرت فكرة الحلقة الدراسية التي نظمتها الأكاديمية الأمريكية للأديان (AAR) في اجتماعها السنوي لعام 2015 حول تعليم الدراسات الإسلامية في الكليات اللاهوتية من خلال المناقشات المستمرة التي أقامها المعهد مع العديد من الأساتذة والمديرين في تلك الكليات، وخصوصاً، مارك تولوز ونيفين ريداً من كلية ايمانويل, وسيرين جونز وجيروشا تانر لامبتي من معهد الاتحاد اللاهوتي، وما أن تم وضع العناصر والأفكار الرئيسة للحلقة حتى تم التواصل مع العديد من الكليات الأخرى والتي قبلت دعواتنا دون تردد. وهكذا، تم وضع عناصر المشروع برمته بشكل رئيسي من نيفين وجيروشا ومني. المزيد
  
Summer Programs @ IIIT 

IIIT Summer Students Program - 2016
(July 11 - August 14, 2016)
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Seminar For IIIT Summer School Program Alumni
(August 4-10, 2016)
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Turkey Summer School - 2016
(August 7-23, 2016)
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 Summer Institute for Scholars - 2016
(August 8 - 13, 2016)
Details
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IIIT European Summer School - 2016
(August 10-24, 2016)
Details
IIIT Publications - Books-in-Brief 
Jobs at IIIT
IT Position at IIIT. Apply now. Details.... 
 
New Titles @ Al Alwani Library
Please check the website for new library acquisitions. 


 
One Faith, One Practice, and One Spirituality
The first and most important element of Muslim identity is faith, which is the intimate sign that one believes in the Creator without associating anything with Him. This is the meaning of the central concept of tawhid, faith in the oneness of God, to which the shahada affirms and testifies. In this sense, the shahada is the purest expression of the essence of Muslim identity beyond time and space. It is naturally embodied in religious practice (prayer, zakat, fasting). Closely connected with these two realities, and the immediate consequence of them in the life of the believer, is the fundamental dimension of spirituality. Spirituality, from an Islamic point of view, is the way in which the believer keeps his faith alive and intensifies and reinforces it. Spirituality is remembrance-recollection and the intimate energy involved in the struggle against the natural human tendency to forget God, the meaning of life and the other world. All the practices prescribed by Islam, especially prayer, are in fact a means of recollection (dhikr): "Truly I am God; there is no god but I. So worship Me and perform the prayer in order to remember Me."

Excellence, defined as the ideal behavior of the Muslim, would be to attain a state where there was no forgetfulness. Excellence (al-ihsan), the Prophet said, is "to worship God as if you could see Him, for even if you cannot see Him, He sees you," that is, to try to be with God in every situation.

In the many debates involving sociologists and political scientists, this dimension is often forgotten, as if faith and spirituality cannot be considered as scientific data with an objective "identity." But the word islam itself means "submission" to God, expressing, strictly speaking, an act of worship, with its spiritual horizon. Consequently, recognition of the Muslim identity entails recognition of this first and fundamental dimension of faith, and, by extension, allowing Muslims to carry out all the religious practices that give shape to their spiritual life. Faith and spirituality underpin these practices, which express the presence of an essential conviction that gives meaning to life: to cut Muslims off from them is to cut them off from their very being. Muslim identity, at its central pivot, is therefore a faith, a practice, and a spirituality. It is essentially the dimension of intimacy and the heart.
 
- Tariq Ramadan
(http://tariqramadan.com/english/one-faith-one-practice-and-one-spirituality/)

IIIT Library
Al-Alwani & al Faruqi Libraries of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) are open to the public.  
  • Access the new cataloging system by clicking here 
  • Computers and Wi-Fi are available
  • The library staff is available to assist all library users 

Contact: Saber Kilany, saber@iiit.org,  (703) 230-2850 

  

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