New MAPI Course: "Beliefs and Practices of Islam" (August 26 - October 14)

We are proud to introduce the 2nd of our 10 MAPI courses for our 'Master's Degree in Apologetics and Polemics to Islam' program (MAPI), entitled IS502[24] "Islam's Practices (Deen) and Beliefs (Iman)", and taught by al Fadi (a former Muslim himself), every Monday evening, from August 26 - October 14, 2024. Each week Al Fadi will introduce one or two of the 5 practices and 6 beliefs, unpack them for the students from the perspective of a former believer himself, and then explain how we as Christians can engage with each of these practices and beliefs. Beginning on Monday the 26th of August (starting at 8:00 p.m. - Eastern Time) Al Fadi will lecture for 8 weeks, with each lecture followed by a 'live' discussion and Q&A between he and the students on the material introduced that week. Dr Jay Smith and Dr Daniel Janosik will assist in answering any questions. To register for the course just e-mail "Eliott Davis" before August 26 at: edavis@ves.edu Al Fadi will be lecturing 'live', via Zoom Webinar, every Monday evening from 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time - USA) until October 14. Since all of our teaching is by Zoom Webinar, those of you who have registered can watch the lectures from the comfort of your own home, anywhere in the world, or at any time, as he will be recorded and the URL will be sent to you by Dr Smith the next day by a Mailchimp email. But you need to be a Christian to take this course, due to the fact that it is being taught at the 'Veritas International University' (VIU) which is a Christian seminary headquartered in New Mexico, and, therefore, only Christians can participate. Every lecture will be recorded, and the URL along with the PowerPoints and PDFs will be sent to every registered student, so that any of you who are asleep, or cannot be at the 'live lectures', can still watch them wherever you are, and at any time you choose. As we have in the past, we are offering this course for 3 categories of students: 1) FULL-TIME MASTER'S OR DOCTORAL DEGREE STUDENTS: The first category are those students who want to take this course for a Master's or a Doctorate academic credit. This is a 3-credit course, so the fee for each credit is $330, which makes the cost for the whole course around $1,300 - 1500 (depending on whether you are a returning or a new student, coupled with administrative fees). For these full-time students, the full course itself continues for 15 weeks, stretching from August 26 - December 6, 2024 (though there are only 8 weeks of lecture). This will give you ample time to read and then write logs on the books required for the course, participate in the discussions, write your Research papers, and write your final 'open book' exam. 2) AUDIT STUDENTS: The second category are those students who want to simply audit the course. The fee for the entire 8-week course is $325. An Audit student will not have any assignments, but will have access to the Populi site where the discussions and assignments are found (like the Full-time academic students), and will be able to listen to the lectures and will be sent the PowerPoints and PDFs to download. 3) PERSONAL ENRICHMENT STUDENTS: The third category are those students who simply want to take this course for their 'Personal Enrichment'. Their fee for the 8-week course is only $225. Unlike the Full-time students or the Audit students, they will not have access to the Populi site, but they will still have "live access" to all of the lectures, and they will be sent the PowerPoints and PDFs to download and use in their own ministries. To underline the distinctions, while all of the students in all 3 categories will have access to all of the lectures and to all of the PowerPoints and PDFs for the entire 8-week course, the full-time Academic (as well as the Audit students) will also have admission to the Populi site to participate in the ongoing weekly discussions, and will have access to the reading lists and assignments, though the full-time students will be the only ones required to fulfill them. If you are interested in any of these 3 levels, simply e-mail the registrar 'Eliott Davis' at: edavis@ves.edu But you need to hurry, as the first lecture begins on Monday, August 26, 2024 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (US). LECTURE TOPICS Part 1: The Practices and Beliefs of Islam Part 2: Islam’s Statement of Faith (Shahada) Part 3: The five daily prayers (the Salaat) Part 4: The Islamic fast (the Sawm) Part 5: Tithing in Islam (the Zakaat) Part 6: The pilgrimage (the Hajj) Part 7: The doctrine of the Islamic god (Allah) Part 8: The Islamic view of prophet-hood (Rasul, or Nabi) Part 9: The Islamic doctrine of revelation Part 10: The Islamic views on angels (Malayka) Part 11: The doctrine of predestination (the Asim Alaqdar) Part 12: The Doctrine of Final Judgment (Qiyama) © Pfander Centre for Apologetics & Polemics - US, August 18, 2018 (109,105) Music = 'Rustic Ballad' by Alexander Nakarada, from Filmmusic io