Islam at Harvard University
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- Agnosticism (23.9%)
- Atheism (17.4%)
- Catholicism (16.9%)
- Hinduism (3.10%)
- Islam (3.90%)
- Judaism (7.40%)
- Mormonism (0.50%)
- Protestantism (14.5%)
- Other (11.3%)
There is a small but notable community of Muslims at Harvard University, compromising 3.9% of the class of 2024.[1] The proportion of Muslims within the university has increased over time, from 1.3% in the class of 2016, 2.6% in the class of 2017, and 3.9% in the class of 2024.[2][1][3][a]
University resources
[edit]Starting in 1654, the university originally provided Arabic language classes before introducing actual Islamic classes. Such classes were taught alongside Hebrew and other Semitic languages as a part of Biblical studies. According to early Arabic professor Stephen Sewall, it was a "pity, not to say disgrace" that Harvard supposedly lagged behind European universities in Arabic studies by 1768.[4]
In 1765, the first Islamic books were brought to the Harvard Library, and the first Islamic course was taught in 1889.[5] In the same year, the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East[b] was founded and provided manuscripts and artifacts brought from the Ottoman Empire.[6] In 1948, the first Iranian languages were taught, and in 1954, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies was built, which includes Islamic studies, academia, government, business, journalism, and law.[7] Additionally, in 1998, the Middle East Initiative was founded at the Harvard Kennedy School in order to interact with and study the affairs of Muslim-majority nations.[8]
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Islamic courses include Islamic art[c][d], architecture[e], calligraphy, literature, history[f], philosophy, theology, culture, economics, law[g][h], science[i], sects, and modernism. Additional courses cover Islam and Christianity, politics, women[j], Islam in India[k], Iran, Spain, South Asia, Syria, Islamic empires, comparative religion, and Orientalism.[9]
Students
[edit]The Harvard Islamic Society represents Muslim students at the university. It provides meetings, prayers, programs, service opportunities, and Islamic resources.[10]
Notable alumni
[edit]- Ali S. Asani
- Celene Ibrahim
- Daniel Haqiqatjou
- Mafaz Al-Suwaidan
- Muzammil H. Siddiqi
- Roy Mottahedeh
- Tarek Masoud
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ These statistics are from surveys, not censuses.
- ^ Then called the "Harvard Semitic Museum" until it was renamed in 2020.
- ^ the university collected Islamic art starting in 1919.
- ^ The first classes regarding Islamic art started in 1969.
- ^ The first classes regarding Islamic architecture started in 1969.
- ^ The first classes regarding Islamic history started in 1986 by Roy Mottahedeh.
- ^ The first classes regarding Islamic law started in 1947 at Harvard Law School by professor Arthur Taylor von Mehren.
- ^ The first program regarding Islamic law started in 2018 at Harvard Law School by professor Intisar A. Rabb.
- ^ The first classes regarding Islam and science started in 1973.
- ^ The first classes regarding women in Islam started in 1999 at Harvard Divinity School by Leila Ahmed.
- ^ The first classes regarding Indo-Muslim culture started in 1967 by Annemarie Schimmel.