Vision

As integral part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and the College of Islamic Studies (CIS), the Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE) shall lead the reform and renewal of contemporary Fiqh, Islamic and ethical thought, and behavior by contributing a sustainable ethical framework for addressing contemporary challenges in Qatar and the World.

Mission

Producing, applying, recommending and disseminating Islamic ethical thought and research by engaging scholars of Text and scholars of context to bring about a leading credible school of thought with transformative impact.

Launched in January 2012, the Center specializes in Islamic legislation and ethics with a focus on applied ethics in the fields of:

Methodology, Arts, Environment, Economics, Education, Food, Gender, Media, Bioethics, Migration & Human Rights, Politics & Psychology

Our Methodology

CILE has developed the following methodological approaches to guide its work:

  • Reconciling spirituality and science, legislation and ethics, laws and objectives and emphasizing their complimentary relationship so as to revive the role of Islamic ethics in contemporary knowledge and practice.
  • A broad and positive view of the Islamic sources of legislation and ethics, recognising the necessity to enrich our understanding of them with the fruits of human thought and values common to all people.
  • A practical spirit that transforms the science of Maqasid al-Sharia (higher objectives of Islam) from theory to practice in all spheres of life, contributing to the establishment of an Islamic legislative and ethical framework.
  • A trans-disciplinary assessment of contemporary legal and ethical challenges that considers the complexities of reality with the diversity of visions and means to address them.
  • A holistic synthesizing approach whereby scholars of the Text from diverse Islamic traditions and scholars of the context from various natural and human sciences engage in an intellectual exercise that infuses the insights from one field to another.
  • Critical self-assessment and reasoning that goes beyond short-term crisis management in favour of creative, long-term transformative solutions to world problems. It is only with this approach that the interests of people everywhere can be served, fulfilling the vision of Islam, its higher ethical objectives and its liberating mission.