Undergraduate Major in Islamic Studies
The Islamic Studies offering in the Department of Religion and Theology at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) is a traditional Islamic Studies program designed to engage contemporary issues both globally and within the South African context. Students can major in Islamic Studies alongside other disciplines such as Arabic, Psychology, Sociology, Linguistics, Political Science, Philosophy, among others. The program’s interdisciplinary framework enhances career opportunities in academia, secondary and tertiary education, nonprofit organizations, journalism, Middle Eastern studies, Islamic finance, Muslim personal law, madrasah education, and religious leadership.
The program is committed to providing rigorous academic training, critical thinking, scholarly writing, and competence in reading Islamic literature. The curriculum places particular attention in developing proficiency in the Arabic language, competence in navigating the Islamic theological and legal sciences, and understanding of modern Muslim societies.
The undergraduate curriculum includes the following modules:
BA Honours in Religion and Theology (Islamic Studies)
The Honours program in Islamic Studies comprises both coursework and a written dissertation, offering a rigorous academic foundation for seminary-trained scholars and graduates of Islamic Studies. Designed to enhance scholarly writing, critical thinking, and academic proficiency, the program equips students with the skills to engage deeply with Islamic scholarship while addressing contemporary challenges. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students learn to critically apply classical Islamic thought to modern issues.
The honours curriculum includes the following modules:
Master’s and Ph.D. by Thesis
The Department of Islamic Studies offers both Master’s and PhD programs by thesis, designed for research-intensive study that fosters advanced scholarly inquiry in a broad range of Islamic disciplines. The department welcomes research in areas such as Islamic theology and philosophy, Islamic legal sciences, Muslim societies and civilizations, Islamic political thought, and Muslim education. Additionally, we encourage studies in applied ethics—including science, technology, ecology, and education—as well as contemporary Islamic thought, interfaith relations, gender studies, Islamic ethics and spirituality, Islamic economics, and Middle Eastern studies.
For both Master’s and PhD candidates, the only requirement is the submission of a thesis. Master’s students are expected to submit a thesis of approximately 50,000 words, while PhD students are required to submit a thesis of around 100,000 words, both based on an approved research proposal. New students in both programs must attend the annual research methodology workshops offered by the department and are invited to participate in weekly departmental seminars.
To apply for the Master’s or PhD by Thesis, prospective students must submit a two-page research proposal via the UWC portal, which should outline the sub-discipline they intend to specialise in and clearly define their research theme. The department welcomes inquiries from prospective students for additional information.
The department provides rigorous academic training with internal expertise for supervision while also drawing on expertise from other faculties and departments for collaboration and co-supervision, further enriching the research and scholarship.
Lecturers
Nabil Yasien Mohamed is a lecturer in Islamic Studies in the Department of Religion and Theology at the University of the Western Cape. He is a former fellow at the Cairo Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences (CILAS). He is the author of Ghazālī’s Epistemology: A Critical Study of Doubt and Certainty (Routledge, 2023). He is a PhD candidate with research interest in Islamic theology and philosophy. He holds an M.A in Islamic Philosophy from the University of the Western Cape (UWC), an honours degree in Islamic Studies from the Islamic Peace College of South Africa (IPSA), a BA degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of South Africa (UNISA), and a BSc Honours degree in Engineering from the University of Cape Town (UCT). Nabil has spent several years in Egypt studying Arabic and traditional Islamic studies. His research interests and publications include Ghazālian studies, classical Islamic Philosophy, contemporary Islamic thought, theology, epistemology, ethics, and ecology.
Dr Fatima Essop holds a PhD from the University of Cape Town’s Law Faculty. Her thesis focused on the intersection between the Islamic laws of inheritance and the South African laws of inheritance. Fatima has a BA degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the International Peace College of South Africa (IPSA) and a Certificate in Islamic Finance from the ETHICA Institute of Islamic Finance in the United Arab Emirates. She has a keen interest in how usūl al fiqh (principles of jurisprudence) and maqāsid al-sharīa (objectives of Islamic law) can be utilized to derive fair and just substantive rulings in various areas of contemporary fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Her current research focuses on legal pluralism, and the practice of Muslim family law in constitutional democracies. She is a former Fellow of the Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World at Harvard Law School, the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Western Australia and of the Young Scholars Fellowship on Religion and the Rule of Law, Oxford. She is also the founder of the Muslim Family Law Hub a non-profit organisation, which aims to educate and advocate for more equitable Muslim family law outcomes in South Africa.
The Islamic Studies offering in the Department of Religion and Theology at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) is a traditional Islamic Studies program designed to engage contemporary issues both globally and within the South African context. Students can major in Islamic Studies alongside other disciplines such as Arabic, Psychology, Sociology, Linguistics, Political Science, Philosophy, among others. The program’s interdisciplinary framework enhances career opportunities in academia, secondary and tertiary education, nonprofit organizations, journalism, Middle Eastern studies, Islamic finance, Muslim personal law, madrasah education, and religious leadership.
The program is committed to providing rigorous academic training, critical thinking, scholarly writing, and competence in reading Islamic literature. The curriculum places particular attention in developing proficiency in the Arabic language, competence in navigating the Islamic theological and legal sciences, and understanding of modern Muslim societies.
The undergraduate curriculum includes the following modules:
- Islamic Studies 111: Introduction to Islam
- Islamic Studies 121: Prophetic Biography and Islamic History
- Arabic 111: Arabic Intensive (a requisite module offered in the Department of Foreign Languages) *
- Arabic 121: Arabic Intensive (a requisite module offered in the Department of Foreign Languages) *
- Islamic Studies 211: Quranic Science and Exegesis
- Islamic Studies 212: Foundations of Hadith Science: Understanding the Prophetic Tradition
- Islamic Studies 221: Islamic Interpersonal Fiqh: Marriage and Divorce
- Islamic Studies 222: Islamic Interpersonal Fiqh: Inheritance
- Islamic Studies 311: Advance Studies in Quranic Exegesis and Hadith Analysis
- Islamic Studies 312: Introduction to Islamic Finance
- Islamic Studies 321: The Higher Objectives of Islamic Law (Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah)
- Islamic Studies 322: Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (Uṣūl al-Fiqh)
- Islamic Studies XXX: Islamic Creed (forthcoming)
- Islamic Studies XXX: Advance Islamic Theology and Philosophy (forthcoming)
*Students wishing to major in Islamic Studies must complete the required Arabic modules as part of their curriculum*
BA Honours in Religion and Theology (Islamic Studies)
The Honours program in Islamic Studies comprises both coursework and a written dissertation, offering a rigorous academic foundation for seminary-trained scholars and graduates of Islamic Studies. Designed to enhance scholarly writing, critical thinking, and academic proficiency, the program equips students with the skills to engage deeply with Islamic scholarship while addressing contemporary challenges. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students learn to critically apply classical Islamic thought to modern issues.
The honours curriculum includes the following modules:
- REL733: Quranic Hermeneutics
- REL734: Advanced Studies in Hadith
- REL735: Critical Issues in Islamic Thought
- TST701: Research Essay
- RELXXX: Islamic Ethics (forthcoming)
Master’s and Ph.D. by Thesis
The Department of Islamic Studies offers both Master’s and PhD programs by thesis, designed for research-intensive study that fosters advanced scholarly inquiry in a broad range of Islamic disciplines. The department welcomes research in areas such as Islamic theology and philosophy, Islamic legal sciences, Muslim societies and civilizations, Islamic political thought, and Muslim education. Additionally, we encourage studies in applied ethics—including science, technology, ecology, and education—as well as contemporary Islamic thought, interfaith relations, gender studies, Islamic ethics and spirituality, Islamic economics, and Middle Eastern studies.
For both Master’s and PhD candidates, the only requirement is the submission of a thesis. Master’s students are expected to submit a thesis of approximately 50,000 words, while PhD students are required to submit a thesis of around 100,000 words, both based on an approved research proposal. New students in both programs must attend the annual research methodology workshops offered by the department and are invited to participate in weekly departmental seminars.
To apply for the Master’s or PhD by Thesis, prospective students must submit a two-page research proposal via the UWC portal, which should outline the sub-discipline they intend to specialise in and clearly define their research theme. The department welcomes inquiries from prospective students for additional information.
The department provides rigorous academic training with internal expertise for supervision while also drawing on expertise from other faculties and departments for collaboration and co-supervision, further enriching the research and scholarship.
Lecturers
Dr Fatima Essop holds a PhD from the University of Cape Town’s Law Faculty. Her thesis focused on the intersection between the Islamic laws of inheritance and the South African laws of inheritance. Fatima has a BA degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the International Peace College of South Africa (IPSA) and a Certificate in Islamic Finance from the ETHICA Institute of Islamic Finance in the United Arab Emirates. She has a keen interest in how usūl al fiqh (principles of jurisprudence) and maqāsid al-sharīa (objectives of Islamic law) can be utilized to derive fair and just substantive rulings in various areas of contemporary fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Her current research focuses on legal pluralism, and the practice of Muslim family law in constitutional democracies. She is a former Fellow of the Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World at Harvard Law School, the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Western Australia and of the Young Scholars Fellowship on Religion and the Rule of Law, Oxford. She is also the founder of the Muslim Family Law Hub a non-profit organisation, which aims to educate and advocate for more equitable Muslim family law outcomes in South Africa.
For Further Information
Email: islamicstudies@uwc.ac.za
Call: (+27) 021 959 2206
Call: (+27) 021 959 2206
