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Pontificio Istituto di Studi Arabi e d'Islamistica

Programme of studies

The PISAI aims at the intellectual and spiritual training of Christians: priests, religious and laity for an encounter between Christianity and Islam, in the spirit of mutual respect and understanding.

The spiritual formation is done through teaching and through a programme of organised meetings and informal exchange. The weekly celebration of the Eucharist with staff and students contributes also to such an aim.

The formation given seeks to provide a sound knowledge of Arabo-Muslim culture, with particular emphasis on its religious heritage, and of the life of the Islamic community in the modern world.

The PISAI is not primarily a language school, althoug it offers an intensive course of classical Arabic, extending over a period of two or three years, and going from the beginning stages through to the Licentiate.

Classical Arabic is studied in view of its importance for Islamics, for the Muslim community everywhere uses Arabic in its worships, and refers constantly to the great classical texts in Arabic, even where Arabic is not the national language.

The Islamics programme covers history, Qur'anic studies, theology, law, spirituality. It provides an insight into the varieties of literary and cultural expression and the current problems of the modern Muslim world.

Admission to courses in Islamics is open to students who wish to study Muslim culture and religion without following the intensive language course. Classical Arabic remains nevertheless the "royal road" for anyone seeking a true understanding and appreciation of Islam.

Students are made aware of the various questions involved in Christian-Muslim relations. Attention is paid to the lessons of past history, and to the opportunities of the present context, and also to the theological underpinning of the Church's relationship to Islam and Muslims.

PISAI
Viale di Trastevere, 89
I 00153 Roma
Tel: (06) 588 26 76
Fax: (06) 588 25 95