Islam and Arabic
Understanding contemporary Islam through its history
Researchers in Islamic and Arabic Studies at Utrecht University study key areas of the Islamic religious tradition, in particular:
- formative texts and intellectual currents in the Islamic theological, legal and mystical tradition;
- national and transnational networks of Islam in modern Western Europe and the contemporary world;
- material and esthetic aspects of Muslim religious thought and practice.
They combine linguistic and textual competence with theories and methods developed in cognate disciplines in the Humanities such as religious studies, history, and anthropology. They bring a historical perspective to the understanding of modern and contemporary Islam. The study of the Arabic and (to a lesser degree) Persian and Turkish languages and textual traditions - both classical and modern - occupies an important place in this endeavor.