Dar al Islam is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating greater understanding of Islam among Americans in order to establish our commonalities and build stronger relationships. They are committed, via their Mission, Vision and Approach, to an integrated, appreciative society.They have been providing non-Muslims and Muslims alike with an array of opportunities to learn more about Islam, based on the Foundational Texts, since 1979. They believe in the collaborative efforts that encourage greater compassion and empathy between all communities.
The Dar al Islam Teachers’ Institutes are held at in Abiquiu, New Mexico since 1994.The goal is to enable educators to teach about Islam with greater confidence. Participants gain a deeper understanding of the basic tenets of Islam and see how Islam works in the daily lives of the program’s Muslim faculty and staff. Through discourse, study of texts, and interaction with Muslims, some of the questions we seek to address include:
- How did Islam become the second largest world faith?
- What should we know about Islam and Muslims in America today?
- What are the common links between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism
- How does Islam view reform, diversity, and change?
- How can one most effectively teach about Islam in the classroom?
The Program:
This is a two-week residential Institute that covers Islam from a normative perspective. Using primary texts and classical interpretations, University professors and Islamic scholars cover in depth and breadth
- Islamic faith & practice
- History
- Culture and civilization
- Contemporary issues and world-view of Islam
- Existing resources & curriculum for social studies, religion or world history classes
Participants, faculty, and staff benefit from living together during the program because it provides the opportunity to 1) have informal conversations with one another outside of the classroom; and 2) observe the lived Islam of faculty and staff, most of whom are Muslims.