Study Programs
The need for informed engagement between Muslims and Christians is urgent. This need goes deeper than basic religious and cultural literacy, as important as that is. Mutual misperception has increased rather than decreased in recent decades. Many Christians are exposed to misleading and harmful caricatures of Islam and Muslims that raise barriers to thoughtful engagement; many Muslims are similarly burdened with centuries old misconceptions about Christians and Christianity. Where should Christians and Muslims turn who genuinely want to better understand the historical roots, theological obstacles and cultural dimensions of Christian-Muslim interaction? Christian theological institutions have limited resources for the study of Islam. University-based Islamic Studies programs are not focussed on theological engagement or the questions that are most important to Christian-Muslim engagement.
ISRME faculty live and work around the world, enabling students anywhere to learn about Christian-Muslim Relations from some of the top notch faculty anywhere. Not only do our instructors have top notch academic credentials, they also have long experience putting into practice what they teach and deep knowledge of particular contexts.
We offer courses at three levels.
- Our most popular courses are accessible to most students on a credit or non-credit basis. Master’s level credit is available to qualified students, and some undergraduates may also be eligible for credit. Auditors are also welcome in many of our courses. As an introduction to our program, we recommend our Foundations for Christian-Muslim Engagement course. The Foundations course is taught by a team of ISRME faculty, and is designed to be our most accessible course. The course surveys a range of essential tools and approaches for understanding Christian-Muslim interaction and fostering fruitful engagement, including historical analysis, textual studies (Qur’an and Bible), comparative theology, worldview studies, anthropology and phenomenology, and women’s studies.
- The ISRME Certificate in Christian-Muslim Studies. The ISRME Certificate program offers structured and systematic preparation for real-world engagement between Muslims and Christians.
- MA in Christian-Muslim Studies.
