In a Muslim context, Islamic studies can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge. It includes all the traditional forms of religious thought, such as kalam (Islamic theology) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), and also assimilates fields generally considered to be secular in the West, such as Islamic science and Islamic economics.
In a non-Muslim context, Islamic studies generally refers to the historical study of Islam, Muslim culture, Muslim history and Islamic philosophy. Academics from diverse disciplines participate and exchange ideas about predominantly Muslim societies, past and present. In spite of their non-religious approach, some non-Muslim scholars have written works which are widely read by Muslims. Before 1980, such non-Muslim scholars in this field were called "Islamicists" and the discipline was known as Oriental studies, now often Asian studies. Many universities offer academic degrees on the subject of Islamic studies.
Read more about Islamic Studies: History of The Field, Themes, Journals
Famous quotes containing the word studies:
“His life itself passes deeper in nature than the studies of the naturalist penetrate; himself a subject for the naturalist. The latter raises the moss and bark gently with his knife in search of insects; the former lays open logs to their core with his axe, and moss and bark fly far and wide. He gets his living by barking trees. Such a man has some right to fish, and I love to see nature carried out in him.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)