This is one of the oldest departments set up by the late Founder-Chancellor, Janab Hakeem Abdul Hameed Saheb, which later provided the base for establishing Jamia Hamdard in 1989. The Department is actively engaged in research and teaching activities and offers BA (Hons), MA and PhD programmes. The BA (Hons) and MA programmes have been designed to acquaint students with various aspects of Islamic faith and civilization. The subsidiary and compulsory papers of BA (Hons) have been prepared keeping in mind requirements of the present times. The purpose is to give a thorough knowledge of contemporary subjects of social sciences such as Sociology; Political Science; Economics; Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance; Computer Applications; Arabic and English languages. The MA programme also focuses on issues like Ijtihad, the Islamic position on multi-culturalism, dialogue between religions and civilizations, knowledge in the Islamic perspective, and problems faced by the Muslim community in India and abroad. The main thrust of research in the Department is in the areas which have relevance to the issues of the contemporary Muslim world with special reference to Indian Muslims. These include subjects related to the socio-economic, religious and political problems of Muslims in the contemporary Indian perspective, contribution of Muslims to different walks of life, issues related to misunderstandings about Islam and Muslims, the impact of Islam on India and vice-versa, the contribution of Indian Muslim scholars and noblemen during the medieval period, translations of outstanding works by Muslim scholars including Muslim scientists, ulama and sufis. Research in Islamic Studies is based on, and guided by, the social science approach, and modern methodology, within the parameters prescribed by the Holy Qur’an and Hadith.
