About Us

The study of Islam has a long tradition in Zurich, dating back to the 16th century when Theodor Bibliander and Johann Heinrich Hottinger began studying the Koran and Islamic history. In 1919, the University of Zurich created its first professorship in ‘living Oriental languages and Islamic cultures’. Today, the Department of Islamic Studies is part of the Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies, which also includes the departments of Indology, Japanese Studies and Sinology, as well as the Gender Studies section.

With two complementary chairs, an SNF-funded professorship, a visiting professorship for Islamic theology and education that is regularly established in the autumn semester, and approximately ten research assistants for Islamic Studies, the 300 students at the BA, MA and doctoral levels are offered a range of courses that guarantees a wide thematic and methodological spectrum. Teaching and research focus on both the past and present of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, drawing on the three main languages of the region: Arabic, Persian and Turkish. The MA programme in Gender Studies, which focuses on gender studies theories with an emphasis on postcolonial and regional studies topics, is institutionally and personally linked to the Department of Islamic Studies.

The Department of Islamic Studies offers a wide-ranging programme of study with its BA programme in ‘Near and Middle Eastern Studies’. It includes:

• An in-depth introduction to the history, culture, religion and society of Muslim regions, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa.
• The teaching of profound philological knowledge of Arabic (classical and modern) and New Persian, as well as basic knowledge of Turkish.
• Exemplary reading of selected sources in the original languages of Arabic, Persian and Turkish, as well as examination of central problems and issues relating to the region.

The advanced, research-oriented study programmes (MA in Muslim Cultures and Societies, PhD in Islamic Studies) enable in-depth examination of historical and contemporary topics based on current research priorities.