E-Learning and Islamic Studies: Proceedings of the 2014 Conference Organised by The Islamic College and Middlesex University

Book excerpt: 'Prophet Muhammad', writes Mehdi Aminrazavi in his introduction to this volume, 'was one of the first students of distance learning. He learned about revelation from God through the medium of Gabriel.' Drawing a symbolic correlation between the Prophet and twenty-first-century students participating in a new age of enlightenment offered by Internet technology, Aminrazavi and the contributors to this book explore the pearls and perils of introducting new technologies into Islamic Studies. Oritinally presented at the International Conference on Islamic Studies and E-Learning organised by The Islamic College and Middlesex University in London in 2014, the essays within E-Learning and Islamic Studies explore the interrelationship between Islamic Studies and e-learning from three different perspectives: the emerging issues presented by this new frontier, how technology can be used effectively within Islamic e-learning, and the importance of pedagogy and procedures in Islamic e-course delivery. While distance and e-learning can pose immense challenges, the contributions to this important and timely collection show that although dissemination of knowledge can bring with it contention, dissension, and conflict, Islamic embracing of the internet and mass communication is, to the contrary, a fulfllment of the Prophetic command to acquire knowledge from the cradel to the grave.