Undergraduate and Postgraduate Studies Abroad in Theology: The Case of Jordan İlahiyat Alanında Yurt Dışında Lisans ve Lisansüstü Eğitim: Ürdün Örneği

During the 20th century, several Muslim countries made attempts to create modern educational institutions, switch to the university system, and adapt the traditional Islamic Studies to the new system. Various countries have implemented similar initiatives by taking different approaches. The majority of Muslims have prioritized the transmission of Islamic scientific knowledge to succeeding generations and the tackling of social issues. Examining Islamic studies and theological education systems which carried out in other countries gives us an opportunity to discover different answers to the same dilemmas. Jordan is one of the countries where Islamic theological education has been given at the universities founded in the last century. In this paper, after a brief information about switching the university system at the Arap world, we introduced the long-established Universities in Jordan and Faculties of Sharia (al-Sharee’a) and Islamic Studies which are similar to the Faculties of Theology/Islamic Sciences in Turkey. We gave detailed information about the goals of these faculties, their missions, and curricula; and made a comparison with similar educational institutions in our country in terms of their programs and curricula. Unlike the Faculties of Theology/Islamic Sciences in our country, the aforementioned faculties in Jordan carry out multi-program education. These faculties have Usūlu al-Dīn departments that offer standard Islamic sciences education in the center, but the programs of the faculties are not limited to this. In addition to the Usūl al-Dīn program, there are other programs conducted jointly with other faculties. These include the Fiqh and Qadā' (Fiqh and Judiciary) program in partnership with the Faculties of Law, the Islamic Banking program in partnership with the Faculties of Economics, and the al-Dirasāt al-Islamiyya fi'l-Asri al-Mu'āsir (Islamic Studies in the Contemporary Era) program, which offers education in a foreign language. The fact that the program of Islamic Economics and Finance, Islamic Insurance, and similar programs, which have recently started to provide education at the graduate level in Turkey, have been carried out in Jordan for more than ten years at both undergraduate and graduate levels is important in terms of sharing experiences. Moreover, the Fiqh and Qadâ' program, whose graduates can work in the Sharia courts, stands out in the context of the relationship between Islamic sciences and society. In addition, the departments of Usūlu'd-Din and Dawah, which are among the programs carried out in the faculties of Sharia, have similarities and differences with the programs of the Faculties of Theology / Islamic Sciences and Religious Higher Specialization and Training Centers in our country. In this context, it has been determined that Theology/Islamic Sciences education in Jordan is deficient in terms of Religious Sciences (Sociology of Religion, Psychology of Religion, Philosophy of Religion, etc.), and this situation has been examined in our study as an issue that deserves criticism. This study, it is aimed to inform those concerned about the developments in other countries with Muslim societies in order to break down some prejudices, then to create the right interaction and to benefit from it.