Ministry of Higher Education of Afghanistan Courses

Contemporary Manuscript Illumination of Herat

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Manuscript illumination, which has been emerged with abstract and naturalistic features, is considered a national art in Afghanistan. In addition to being used for various purposes, it has been mainly used for decoration of religious, scholarly, and historical manuscripts. The content of this course addresses two main objectives: (a) contemporary manuscript illumination of Herat—focusing on principles of Herat Timurid School of Art (b) contemporary manuscript illumination of Herat in accordance to the contemporary manuscript illumination structures and forms of Herat. This is an introductory course to manuscript illuminations. Those who are interested in art can take this course; they are not required to be art majors. This course will be taught by Professor Ahmad Shoaib Saljoqi, who has designed and decorated hundreds of illuminated manuscripts.

The Customs and Traditions of Afghanistan: Pashtunwali and Its Foundations

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You will learn the main principles of Pashtunwali which set out a complete guide of the customary law that shape the society’s approach toward life. You will also learn how the Afghan community treats guests, visitors and strangers and their expectations from guests, visitors, and strangers. The course further extends the discussion of the bravery, loyalty to territory, human rights, defense of the weak, defense of honor, collective work and cooperation, and justice implementation. Moreover, participants will learn about the main approach to decision making and dispute resolution, the Jirga, and compare its procedures, impacts and legal aspects with world’s past and current democratic systems.Participants will watch videos, movies, and documentaries and will work individually and in groups to compare the Afghan customary law, the Pashtunwali, with other legal systems in their own communities. You will read and work on case studies to learn how all these principles of Pashtunwali are applied in any aspect of the life of the Afghan community and to transfer the knowledge and seek the possibility of implementation of these principles in their communities.

Introducing Six Prominent Scientific and Literary Figures of Afghanistan (10 – 13 centuries)

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Historians have considered the war as the most influential phenomenon for the rise and fall of societies. Therefore, historians have paid more attention to the war and warriors through their pens. This style of writing is more evident among Afghanistan’s historians. While, what has been achieved as a result of the war will be lost as a result of revenge. Historical experience has shown that the superior sustainability of the societies and governing systems relate to its scientific and cultural foundations. One of the shortcomings in the presentation of historical events is the lack of attention to the scientific and cultural achievement of Afghanistan. In this course, we consider to eliminate the monopoly of war from the history of the country through highlighting the scientific and cultural personalities.

Mawlana Jalal-Uddin Balkhi - Rumi: The Greatest Mystic Poet of All Time

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Mawlana has written and composed most of his works in Persian, but occasionally he also used Turkish, Arabic, and Greek, text in his verses. His Masnavi (Mathnawi), composed in Konya, is considered one of the greatest poems of the Persian language. His works are widely read today in their original language across Greater Iran and the Persian-speaking world. Translations of his works are very popular, most notably in Turkey, Azerbaijan, the United States, and South Asia.According to the UNESCO.ORG The Persian-language poet and philosopher Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi (Mevlana Celaleddin Belhī Rūmī) was born in 1207 in Balkh, now Afghanistan. He lived most of his life in Konya, in today’s Turkey, where he died in 1273. Author of the renowned Mathnawi or “Rhyming Couplets”, he is considered to be one of the greatest Sufi masters, a peer of the well-known Ibn Arabi and Shams-e Tabrizi. During his lifetime, Mawlana enjoyed especially good relations with people of diverse social, cultural and religious backgrounds. He addressed humanity as a whole: “I do not distinguish between the relative and the stranger.”Mawlana's poetry has influenced not only Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, as well as the literature of some other Turkish, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Urdu and Pashto.

Introduction to Five Stars of Pashto Contemporary Literature

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This is a six weeks informative online course entitled (Introduction to Five Stars of Pashto Contemporary Literature). This course will provide you the opportunity to learn about the contemporary period of Pashto Literature and Five prominent Afghan authors. These authors have published remarkable literary, social, cultural, philosophical, historical, theoretical, and political works. These works have been published in different languages like, Pashto, Persian, Urdu, and Arabic. The efforts they have made in the academic fraternity of the 20th century in Afghanistan, have earned them the title of Five Stars in Pashto Contemporary Literature.  There will be active discussion form where you will be able to post queries related to content of the course. Every section comprises videos and reading material which provide detailed information regard these five prominent Pashtoon Authors.