Alford T. Welch is a Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State University. Welch got his Ph.D. degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Edinburgh in 1970. He also holds a M.Div. degree on Biblical language, literature and Near Eastern history from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Welch's research areas include History of religions, and Arabic and Islamic studies. [1]
The Druze, who call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn, are an Arab esoteric religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and syncretic religion whose main tenets assert the unity of God, reincarnation, and the eternity of the soul.
Imam is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance. Thus for Sunnis, anyone can study the basic Islamic sciences and become an Imam.
Muslims are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraham as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous revelations, such as the Tawrat (Torah), the Zabur (Psalms), and the Injeel (Gospel). These earlier revelations are associated with Judaism and Christianity, which are regarded by Muslims as earlier versions of Islam. The majority of Muslims also follow the teachings and practices attributed to Muhammad (sunnah) as recorded in traditional accounts (hadith).
The Ottoman Empire, historically and colloquially known as the Turkish Empire, was an empire centred in Anatolia that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Europe between the early 16th and early 18th centuries.
Ayatollah is an honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. In Iran it came into widespread usage in the 20th century.
In Islam, the ulama, also spelled ulema, are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam.
Madrasa, sometimes transliterated as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious, whether for elementary education or higher learning. In countries outside the Arab world, the word usually refers to a specific type of religious school or college for the study of the religion of Islam, though this may not be the only subject studied.
Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidisciplinary program, scholars from diverse areas participate and exchange ideas pertaining to the particular field of study.
Mullah is an honorific title for Muslim clergy and mosque leaders. The term is widely used in Iran and Afghanistan and is also used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and sharia law.
A hawza or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah is the collective term for a madrasa where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated.
New College is a historic building at the University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the United Kingdom. Students in M.A., M.Th. and Ph.D. degree programmes come from over 30 countries, and are taught by almost 40 full-time members of the academic staff. New College is situated on The Mound in the north of Edinburgh's Old Town.
Usulism is the majority school of Twelver Shia Islam in opposition to the minority Akhbarism. The Usulis favor the use of ijtihad (reasoning) in the creation of new rules of jurisprudence; in assessing hadith to exclude traditions they believe unreliable; and in considering it obligatory to obey a mujtahid when seeking to determine Islamically correct behavior.
State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta is a public university in Indonesia, located in Ciputat, South Tangerang, Banten.
Pesantren is a traditional Islamic boarding school in Indonesia. It is thought either in private houses, a pondok or a mosque, the teaching includes classical Islamic texts and santri thought, taught by kyais. According to one popular tradition, the pesantren education system originated from traditional Javanese pondokan, dormitories, ashrams for Hindus or viharas for Buddhists to learn religious philosophies, martial arts, and meditation. Institutions much like them are found across the Islamic world and are called pondok in Malaysia, Southern Thailand and madrasas in India and Pakistan and much of the Arabic-speaking world. The pesantren aims to deepen knowledge of the Quran, particularly through the study of Arabic, traditions of exegesis, the Sayings of the Prophet, law and logic. The term pesantren derives from the root word santri or student -- pe-santri-an or the place of the santri.
Yohanan Friedmann is an Israeli scholar of Islamic studies.
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad, the religion's founder. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number approximately 1.9 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious population after Christians.
Abul-Qasim al-Hussein bin Mufaddal bin Muhammad, better known as Raghib [Raaghib] Isfahani, was an eleventh-century Muslim scholar of Qur'anic exegesis and the Arabic language.
Daniel Carl Peterson is a former professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at Brigham Young University (BYU).
Jane Dammen McAuliffe is an American educator, scholar of Islam and the inaugural director of national and international outreach at the Library of Congress.

Ar-Raniry State Islamic University Banda Aceh (Bahasa Indonesia: Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh or it is simply called UIN Ar-Raniry, is a public Islamic university in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, Indonesia. The University is run under the auspices of the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia.