NOTE: I hope to continue updates in the coming weeks, so that readers can download the text of the complete set-twelve - of costly publications as a free of cost option. Furthermore ITREB has arranged availability of two volumes on one topic only while remaining set is not yet available despite a long waiting time and emphasis given by the Imam of the time.
“That intellect is what separates Man from the rest of the physical world in which he lives. And as we develop not only our primary education but also our secondary education, I hope that my Jamat will find great happiness in reading the new books that we will make available on the history of thought, the history of faith within Shia Islam. This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand, and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives. Of that I am certain.”
MHI, 17 August 2007
"Since 1957, it has been my objective to retrieve from our history and strengthen, by present day endeavours, the magnificent Shia Imami Ismaili identity and its inter-relationships with other Muslim schools of interpretation, thought, and practice of the faith. I feel that, at this juncture in the Jamat’s history, when different traditions are beginning to converge, it is particularly important to bring forward those aspects of faith and practice, including diverse forms of devotional expression, that are rooted in the Shia Ismaili Tariqah of Islam as interpreted by the Imam-of-the-Time. "
MHI - 13 December 2008
The Secondary Level Curriculum developed by the Institute of Ismaili Studies is an international, multilingual programme in religious education and the humanities for the global Ismaili community. It introduces Ismaili youth to a modular programme of education that examines Islam as both faith and civilisation in world history and in contemporary times. The curriculum approaches the study of Islam in general, and the Shia Ismaili tradition specifically, from humanistic, civilisational and normative perspectives. Students are guided to explore aspects of Islam that relate to religion, ethics, thought and culture in Muslim societies and the Ismaili Tariqah within a broad educational framework. The modules in the curriculum are based on a study of selected facets of Muslim societies, in the past and present, including their interactions with other civilisations and cultures. The content is interwoven with thematic strands which reflect a wide range of human endeavours and pursuits that have found expression in Muslim societies and Ismaili contexts. Among the subjects covered are civilisation and society, encounters in Muslim history, Muslims in the contemporary world, intellectual traditions, ethics and development, faith and practice, the Qur’an and its interpretations, and the literature of Muslim traditions. In dealing with these subjects, the curriculum aims to address themes which are of relevance to the youth and their communities in different regions of the world.
To achieve its aims, the curriculum applies pedagogical approaches consonant with its philosophical framework. It calls for a profile of teachers with a broad set of proficiencies – a profile that is not narrowly specialist but reflects an acquaintance with a range of subjects and contexts. For this purpose, the secondary curriculum is taught by professionally qualified teachers who have been specially trained to guide students in studying Islam and the Ismaili tradition at the secondary level. These teachers are graduates of the Secondary Teacher Education Programme(STEP) who receive two postgraduate awards(Level 7) in the subjects of Islamic Studies and Education. The curriculum for the secondary level is intended for the 12-16 age group, and can also be extended to 17-18 year old students. It consists of eight modules, presented through student textbooks and teachers’ guides. The materials endeavour to impart the content through pedagogical approaches that are creative and intellectually engaging for both students and teachers.
This module introduces the rise and development of Islam, from the period of Prophet Muhammad in the sixth and seventh centuries to the rule of the Fatimid Imam-Caliphs from the tenth to the twelfth century. Students are introduced to people, places and events of significance that came to shape the first six centuries of Islam, beginning with its genesis in Mecca and the establishment of the early caliphate in Medina, and tracing the growth of dynastic empires in Damascus, Baghdad, Cordoba and Cairo. Using the city as a space of dynamic creativity, the content presents the flowering of Muslim civilisations in all their manifold aspects. The development of Shia traditions, and the emergence of the Ismailis in this phase of history, features as an integral part of the broader Muslim narrative.
This module forms a sequel to Muslim Societies and Civilisations which covers developments from the sixth to the twelfth century. It picks up the various narratives at the beginning of the eleventh century and presents encounters and exchanges among Muslims and with other societies until the beginning of the modern period at the end of the eighteenth century. It highlights key events and figures, linking them to major challenges and achievements of each age. Analyses of the interplay of forces and influences in various regions reveals unfolding dynamics in the political, economic, social, intellectual and cultural arenas. Significant aspects of the history, thought and culture of diverse Ismaili communities during this period are interwoven into these narratives of exchanges, detailing their interactions within these systems.
Continues with the content covered in Muslim societies and civilizations. In this module we study, developments which occurred in Muslim and neighboring lands from eleventh to the eighteenth century.
We begin by the events leading up to the eleventh century, and then move on to examine significant development that followed.
The module explores the rise of new states in empires resulting from conquests, migration and settlements in Muslim lands in this period.
The history of the Ismaili Imamat, that of Ismaili communities in various regions, forms an important part of this module. We will learn about the Ismailis in the Alamut period and in the centuries that followed.
A later module, entitled Muslims in the contemporary World, concludes the coverage of Muslim history in the secondary curriculum. It introduces key events and developments relating to Muslims societies from the eighteenth to the early twenty-first century.
Encounters in Muslim history thus forms a bridge between the early and modern periods of Muslim history. It highlights the diverse civilizations,cultures and traditions which arose in Muslim contexts in this intermediate period.
Key Questions
The module explore broad questions such as:
How have Muslims of different times and places understood Islam ?
How has their understanding led to the Islam becoming adapted and expressed across different cultures?
What has led to the rise of a vast diversity of Muslim communities and traditions over time?
We will approach these questions and examining Muslim context from political, economic and cultural perspectives.
This module is based on the subject of devotional and ethical literature in Muslim societies. Through an examination of a range of texts across changing periods and contexts, from the formative age of Islam to contemporary times, students are led to explore the diversity and richness of literature that has developed in Muslim societies over time. Examples from a wide variety of literary forms and genres are used as illustrations to reveal the creative application of language in Muslim writings, including Ismaili contributions, in diverse contexts and cultures.
The anthological content in this volume highlights selections from the Qur’an and the hadith, passages from works attributed to the early Shia Imams, and excerpts from the writings and speechesof the contemporary Imams. Also presented here are exemplary pieces of literature from religious texts, historical biographies, moral fables, mystical poetry and devotional hymns. Drawing from diverse Muslim sources, and particularly Shia and Ismaili literature, the contents as a whole yield insight into the creative ways in which religious, devotional, spiritual and ethical themes have found inspiring expressions in Islam.
This module engages with the dimensions of religious meaning and practical expressions in a community of faith. These aspects are approached from a variety of perspectives by exploring the significance of faith, worship, devotion, ethics, religious practices, prayer, and spaces of worship and gathering in Muslim communities. Students are guided to reflect on these themes in the context of the Shia Ismaili Tariqah, and with reference to other Islamic traditions. The module seeks, as a whole, to develop insights into the role of faith and religious practice in a faith community, and in relation to the individual believer’s search for ultimate meaning.
Volume One of Faith and Practice in Islamic Traditions examines concepts of faith as expressed in a range of sources, from the Qur’an to the religious literature of Islamic traditions. A central part of this volume is devoted to understandings of tawhid and nubuwwa in Islam, and the significance of the principle of imama for Shia Muslims. The first volume also includes a study of selected facets of faith, including ibadat, divine love, and the concepts of zahir and batin in esoteric traditions of Islam.
Volume Two extends the study by focusing on the practice of the faith in Islamic traditions. Among the topics covered are the origins and development of selected rites and practices in Muslim history, the diverse forms they have taken in Muslim communities, and the meaning given to them in the practice of the faith. Also discussed in this volume are the different forms of prayer in Islam, and the diversity of spaces of worship and gathering to be found in Islamic contexts.
In this module students are led to engage with the issue of social development by examining the impact of poverty, illness, illiteracy, homelessness and social injustice on communities across the world. A contextual approach is adopted to issues of development and their impact on the quality of life of people in different regions. The major part of the module is devoted to examining the institutions and projects of the Aga Khan Development Network(AKDN) as case studies of innovative approaches to development in selected parts of the world. Particular attention is paid to the spiritual and ethical ideals which underpin the concept of development upheld by Imamat institutions. Students are led to a deeper appreciation of the long, historical tradition in the Ismaili Tariqah of Imams giving institutional realisation to the ethical call of Islam.
The IIS Secondary Curriculum - RELATED - CREATIVE CLOUD
USER GUIDE; SIGN IN; GOOD NEWSNOTE: I hope to continue updates in the coming weeks, so that readers can download the text of the complete set -twelve - of costly publications as a free of cost option. Furthermore ITREB has arranged availability of two volumes on one topic only while remaining set is not yet available despite a long waiting time and emphasis given by the Imam of the time.