HBKU’s College of Islamic Studies Discusses Progress of Its Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad Project

The College of Islamic Studies (CIS) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) recently hosted a closed online discussion on Thursday, June 4, 2020 on one of its most groundbreaking projects to date. Dr. Emad El-Din Shahin, Interim Provost and Dean of CIS, explained in his opening statement how the college is leveraging partnerships with different religious communities and academic institutions to build a portal at the Qatar Digital Library on the Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad.

Featuring a panel of prominent faith actors and ethics consultancies, The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad Webinar neatly summarized and debated the main findings of research conducted by CIS’ Dr. Ibrahim Zein, Professor of Islamic Studies and Project Leader. The Covenants comprise a series of treaties which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) granted to Christian, as well as other religious communities, to protect their assets and facilitate positive interfaith relations.

Co-researcher Ahmed El-Wakil presented the research journey to date in collating copies of the Covenants from a wide range of eclectic libraries including from Armenia, Turkey, Greece, Lebanon, and Italy – essentially forming the largest collection of the Covenants in a university to date. 

Participants engaged in an enriching discussion, which saw the involvement of members of various religious, research, and ethics institutions, including the Queen’s Counsel, Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Greek Orthodox Community of Qatar, Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, St. Joseph Manuscript Conservation Centre, Muslim American Society of Minnesota, Caux Round Table for Moral Capitalism, Centre for Ethical Orientation, Şehir University, and Griffith University.

CIS serves as a hub for contemporary Islamic studies that promotes critical dialogue on topical issues of global relevance.