The Faculty of Islamic Studies in Novi Pazar is a higher education institution founded by the Islamic Community, and is on a par with other faculties and higher education institutions in the Republic of Serbia.
The Faculty's diplomas are recognized both in Serbia and around the world. The Faculty of Islamic Studies is registered by the competent ministries in the Republic of Serbia, as well as higher education institutions of the Rijaset of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, equal to the other three Islamic faculties operating within the Rijaset.
The Faculty of Islamic Studies was founded at the session of the Assembly of the Islamic Community of Sandžak on May 12, in year 2001, originally as the Islamic Pedagogical Academy in Novi Pazar. In 2005, the Academy was renamed to Faculty of Islamic Studies.
Affirmation of the religious and national identity of Bosniaks from Sandžak during the nineties opened up a space for freer religious activity, which resulted in the reactivation of religious and educational establishments and institutions. The establishment of the Faculty is a continuous rise of religious education in Sandžak.
The importance of the Faculty
The strength of a nation is contained in its intellectual and educational potential, in knowledge whose light chases the darkness from the horizon of the unknown and hidden.
Bosniaks in Sandžak have survived for a hundred years despite permanent attacks on their religious, national and cultural identity. One of the biggest injustices towards this region by all the systems that governed it is the systematic stifling of the development of education, especially religious and educational institutions.
The Faculty of Islamic Studies was created on the basis of the religious and educational institutions in Sandžak, which were established during the time of the Ottomans as early as 1461.
The work of the Faculty of Islamic Studies for the Muslims of Sandžak means the preservation of religious knowledge, as well as the provision of its own, high-quality personnel potential. The activity of the Faculty of Bosniak Culture means the continuation of an age-old tradition that is unique in Europe and the world in its peculiarities.
Thanks to the establishment of the Faculty of Islamic Studies, Novi Pazar has become a student town, since it is the first higher education institution in this climate.
Activities of the Faculty
The activity of the Faculty is reflected in the organization of teaching and scientific-research work in Islamic and social sciences that lead to diplomas and academic degrees, including doctoral degrees, with the aim of improving Islamic thought, knowledge and education, and for the needs of the Islamic community in Serbia.
Scientific-research and teaching work in the education of personnel for the acquisition of a higher vocational education, professional degree of specialist, scientific degree, master's degree and doctor of science takes place in theoretical and practical Islamic sciences: qiraet, tafsir, hadith, aqaida, fiqh, history of Islam, Islamic culture and civilization, Islamic philosophy, comparative religions of positive law and communication studies, and subjects of Islamic pedagogy, for which the Faculty is home. At the Faculty, the teaching process is also carried out in disciplines such as: Islamic sciences, professional disciplines in Islamic sciences (ulumu-l-Qur'an, aqaid, hadith, fiqh), pedagogy, didactics, languages (Arabic, Bosnian, English), Islamic art, Islamic philosophy, Islamic morality and other disciplines for which a special interest is shown.
The Faculty of Islamic Studies performs its educational role for Muslims in Sandžak, Serbia and beyond.
The goal and tasks of the Faculty are realized through: educational work, regular teaching, free activities, study trips, practical teaching, scientific research work, organization of professional and scientific gatherings, publishing activity and the work of the professional service.
The faculty carries out, develops, affirms and organizes the systematic monitoring and use of achievements in modern science, performs nostrification and equivalency of diplomas, provides professional and scientific assistance to the bodies and institutions of the Islamic community, develops cooperation with Islamic faculties and other scientific and educational institutions and associations in the country and abroad.
Islamic Studies
The Islamic Studies course is a general course in Islamic sciences and is one of the four basic courses at the Faculty of Islamic Studies. Graduates of this course acquire the professional title of professor of Islamic sciences. The study program of Islamic studies aims to educate students in Islamic studies, and provide all the elements necessary for them to master the techniques of learning the Qur'an, the sciences of the Qur'an, the disciplines of Hadith, and the conduct of scientific research in Islamic sciences, as well as other areas represented by the plan and program. . The purpose of the Islamic studies study program is clearly formulated through the structure of the program, i.e. a series of theoretical and applied subjects, from general education to narrowly specialized ones. This study prepares students to perform religious and educational services in the Islamic community and various cultural, educational and social activities for which a humanistic education is required.
Sharia and Law
The field of Sharia and Law is designed as a professional study of legal sciences in Islam that are in the corpus of Sharia, as well as the study of legal areas of domestic and international law. Graduates of this course receive the title of Professor of Sharia and Law. The purpose of the course is to teach students Sharia and general law and to acquire the necessary competencies for understanding and comparison, as well as studying the aforementioned areas. A student of basic studies in this field acquires an education that enables him to understand the necessary disciplines from the mentioned fields, which makes him well-educated and trained to perform a wide range of work tasks with great qualifications.
The course was created as a real need of these areas for quality personnel of this profile who will be trained to respond to the needs of society.
Pedagogy and Communication
This course provides students with professional education in the field of pedagogy and communication and an introduction to scientific research in that field. Graduated students obtain a diploma of the first academic level and the professional title of professor of pedagogy and communication. The study is designed in such a way that, in addition to professional training in pedagogical sciences, the scientific field of communication, it gives the student an insight into general Islamic and other humanistic disciplines. This study prepares students to work in the field of educational engagement, as well as in areas where the competences of communicators are necessary.
The course was created as a result of research into the essential needs of society and the market for personnel who, in addition to religious upbringing and education, possess professional qualifications in pedagogic and communication sciences.
The mentioned courses contain all the necessary subjects for building and training the staff of young generations, in order to effectively and successfully convey religious and scientific-educational thought in a multi-religious and multicultural environment.