IN CHARGE: Vice principal Inga Bostad heads the committee appointed to establish the new Centre for Islamic Studies.
FOTO: Marius Nergård Pettersen

The University is set to establish a Centre for Islamic Studies, but can't promise that they'll be offering an Imam programme any time soon.

- The centre will be of great importance for Muslim students, and will exhort the value of their religion and culture, says vice principal Inga Bostad, who chairs the newly appointed committee in charge of establishing a Centre for Islamic Studies at the University of Oslo (UiO).

The centre will not be established until 2007 at the earliest, and so far, hasn't left the planning stage. The committee has not yet decided where to locate the centre, or which faculty it will be reporting to.

The Faculties of Law, Humanities and Theology are all in the running, according to Bostad.

- It's important for us that the Centre's subject portfolio doesn't end up too similar to already existing subjects at for instance IKOS (Institute for Cultural Studies and Oriental Languages), Bostad says.

Among others, the Norwegian Islamic Council and the UiO Centre for Human Rights are involved in the planning.

- Our goal is that the new Centre will work as an open cultural centre and integrate students, Bostad says.

Bostad stresses that the Centre will be accept any applicant, no matter their creed, but expects it to appeal especially to active Muslims. Still, she can't promise that the Centre will offer an Imam programme similar to the Theology degree offered by the Faculty of Theology.

- The education of imams will be discussed, but as we lack comparative programmes at European universities, creating an Imam education would be complicated, Bostad says.