''Al-Musharaka'' ( ar, المشاركة) (in en, participation and collaboration) is a National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE) program initiative, intended to expand and enhance the teaching and study of

Arab studies Arab studies or Arabic studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Arabs and Arab World. It consists of several disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, linguistics, historiography, archaeology, cultural studies, economics, geo ...

Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

and

Middle Eastern studies Middle Eastern studies (sometimes referred to as Near Eastern studies) is a name given to a number of academic programs associated with the study of the history, culture, politics, economies, and geography of the Middle East, an area that is gene ...

Background

The Al-Musharaka initiative began in November 2001 under the leadership of Clara Yu, then director of the institute, and its first major project was NITLE's online resource on Arab Culture and Civilization. An inter-institutional collaborative was launched at the same time which has fostered the development of an inter-institutional course on Islam and the development of online resources. It has also organized a large number of professional development activities, first at th
Center for Educational Technology
in

Middlebury, Vermont Middlebury is the County seat, shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College a ...

(now the Northeastern Center of NITLE). The 2006 summer seminar was held at

Macalester College Macalester College () is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 2,174 students in the fall of 2018 from 50 U.S. states, four U.S t ...

, and all subsequent seminars will be held at othe
NITLE affiliated colleges
The Oldenborg Center at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it beca ...

will host the 2007 seminar, which will deal with Teaching about Islam. ''Al-Musharaka'' is the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

word for "collaborative" or "collaboration". The Al-Musharaka logo was designed by Khaled Al Saa’i, one of the most prominent contemporary calligraphers in the Arab world. Th
Al-Musharaka Blog
contains news about the collaborative and its activities, related news from NITLE colleges, news on issues such as media and education in the

Muslim world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...

, issues of

academic freedom Academic freedom is a moral and legal concept expressing the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy as well as the principles of academia, and that scholars should have freedom to teac ...

, etc. Recent articles on Al-Musharaka appeared in th
''Educause Quarterly''
and th

External links

NITLE Web Page
Middle Eastern studies in the United States Educational institutions established in 2001 Non-profit organizations based in Texas Islam in Texas 2001 establishments in Texas