Futuwwah Summer Program

Inspired by the 1000-year old tradition of youth ethics, the Futuwwah Summer Program is a two-week retreat in Istanbul designed for college students consisting of an introduction to classical Islamic texts, immersive cultural visits in Istanbul and Bursa, and an opportunity to meet like-minded young Muslims and form life-long suhbah.

The program aims to inspire love and appreciation in young Muslim students for Islam as a rooted living tradition that engages with contemporary issues and fosters fellowship among them in an enjoyable and fun environment. During the day, students attend classes that will cover books such as the 40 Hadith collection of Imam Nawawi, Tafsir of Surat Yusuf, Islamic theology, lessons on Futuwwa, and selections of the Mathnawi of Mawlana Rumi. In the afternoon, students will engage in sightseeing and exposure and appreciation to the heritage of Islamic civilization, including a trip to Bursa and sites in Istanbul. The program will also include evening talks by various visiting scholars.

The program is open to male and female 17-25 year old college-level students or recent graduates. The fee for the 2-week program is $1,750, which covers: accommodation, meals, transportation in and around Istanbul and tuition. Accommodation consists of of shared, modest student dormitories.

Schedule

9AM-1PM	Classes (with breaks)
1-2PM	Lunch
Afternoon	Sightseeing, activities and free time
Evening	Guest speakers and Halaqas

Week 1 Classes

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
40 Hadith Nawawi	40 Hadith Nawawi	40 Hadith Nawawi	40 Hadith Nawawi	40 Hadith Nawawi	BURSA
Tafsir	Aqidah	Tafsir	Aqidah	Tafsir
Futuwwah	Mathnawi	Futuwwah	Mathnawi	JUMUAH
Orientation and Dinner	Visit to Üsküdar	Topkapı Museum, Hagia Sophia, etc. Visit	Sama at the Mevlevihane or Dhikr Gathering	Free day

Week 2 Classes

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
40 Hadith Nawawi	40 Hadith Nawawi	40 Hadith Nawawi	40 Hadith Nawawi	40 Hadith Nawawi
Tafsir	Aqidah	Tafsir	Aqidah	Aqidah
Futuwwah	Mathnawi	Futuwwah	Mathnawi	JUMUAH
Free Day	Art Exposure – Hüseyin Kutlu	Eyüp Sultan	Picnic -(Küçük Çamlıca)	Bosphorus Tour with Guide

* Detailed weekly schedules to be announced, schedule is tentative and open to change

Hosted by

Ebad Rahman

Muslim Life Coordinator
Columbia University

Recep Şentürk

President
Usul Academy

Teachers

Dr. Recep Şentürk

Dr. Recep Şentürk is the President of Usul Academy and currently serves as a professor of sociology at Ibn Haldun University. He was the founding president of Ibn Haldun University (IHU) in Istanbul (2017-2021). After graduating from The School of Islamic Studies at Marmara University, he did his MA in Sociology at Istanbul University. He pursued his PhD in Sociology at Columbia University, New York. He served as a researcher at The Center for Islamic Studies (İSAM) in Istanbul, and the founding director of the Alliance of Civilizations Institute. He is head of the International Ibn Haldun Society. He has published widely in English, Arabic and Turkish on a whole range of topics, including social theory and methods, civilization, modernization, sociology of religion, networks of ḥadīth transmission, Malcolm X, Islam and human rights, modern Turkish thought, and the life and ideas of Ibn Khaldūn. Among his books are: Narrative Social Structure: Hadith Transmission Network 610-1505; Malcolm X: The Struggle for Human Rights, and in Turkish; Open Civilization: Towards a Multi- Civilizational Society and World; Islam and Human Rights; Ibn Khaldun: Contemporary Readings; Malcolm X: Struggle for Human Rights; Social Memory: Hadith Transmission Network 610-1505. Şentürk’s works have been translated to Arabic, Japanese and Spanish.

Dr. Ebad Rahman

Dr. Ebad Rahman memorized the Qur’an as a sophomore in high school. He completed a four-year pilot Islamic seminary program at Zaytuna Institute in the San Francisco Bay Area. He earned his B.A. from New York University, with a concentration on Islam in America and his M.A., M.Phil. and PhD from the Religion Department at Columbia University. He serves as the Muslim Life Coordinator and Religious Life Adviser at Columbia.

Dr. Kasim Kopuz

Dr. Kasım Kopuz graduated from the School of Law and Sharia at Al-Azhar University and from The Law School of Istanbul University. He has studied history and sociology at Binghamton University (State University of New York) where he earned his MA and PhD degrees in Ottoman History with a specific focus on legal theory. He was part of the research group for the Structures of Social Sciences at The Fernand Braudel Center for the Study of Economies, Historical Systems and Civilizations at Binghamton University. His academic concentration is on reproduction of legal culture in Ottoman society during the 17th and 18th centuries. His main areas of interest are fiqh, uṣūl al-fiqh, Islamic legal thought, social theory, cultural studies, knowledge production, world systems and civilizations.

Dr. Yamamoto

Naoki Yamamoto completed his PhD at the Graduate School of Asia and Africa Studies, Kyoto University in 2018. He specializes in Ottoman Sufism and traditional Japanese culture. His publications include a Japanese translation of Futuwwah and Introduction to Sufism: A Comparison with Shonen Manga.

Seda Özalkan

Seda Özalkan is currently a PhD student of Civilization Studies at Ibn Haldun University in Istanbul. She has a BA in Political Science and International Relations, and an MA in Political History and International Relations of the Middle East from Marmara University, Istanbul. She also completed a four-year extra-curriculum program on classical Islamic disciplines at the Center for Excellence in Education (EDEP).

Furkan Şentürk

Furkan Şentürk is currently a PhD student of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and, African Studies at Columbia University with a focus on Islamic Political Thought. He did his MSc at SOAS in Comparative Political Thought, and BA at Marmara University, Faculty of Theology in Istanbul, Turkey. He also completed a five-year extra-curricular program at the Center for Sciences and Arts (İSM), Istanbul.