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CAO DAI UNDERSTANDING OF GOD BY DR. MOHAMMAD JAHANGIR ALAM

CAO DAI UNDERSTANDING OF GOD BY DR. MOHAMMAD JAHANGIR ALAM

Updated 2022-08-08 07:21:31

(California August 2022)

Mohammad Jahangir Alam (born 1977), is an Associate Professor of World Religions and Culture at the University of Dhaka. He earned his MPhil and PhD in World Religions Culture from the same university. As a part of his PhD research fieldwork funded by Cao Dai Overseas Missionary, USA, he studied Vietnamese language and culture at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam from 2012- 2013. An expert on Baha’i Faith, and Cao Dai culture, he authored The Concept of Unity in Baha’i Faith and Caodaism: A Comparative Study in 2010. He was awarded his doctorate in 2020 for “Dao Cao Dai: A Socio-historical Analysis of a Syncretic Vietnamese Religion and Its Relationship with Other Religions”. His current research interest includes the realization of common aspects of truth in religion for the quest of new dynamics of peace and harmony, and exploring social integration of New Religious Movements (NRMs) through the lens of acculturation. He is a member of United Religions Initiative, Bangladesh CC and Treasurer, International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) Bangladesh Chapter. Dr. Alam served as the Founding President of Bangladesh Youth Association for Religion and Peace (2001-2003).

On October 3, 2021, Prof. Dr. Mohammad Jahangir Alam, Associate Professor and Principal Lecturer of the ‘Tradition of Cao Dai Religion’ course, was promoted to take the post of the Chairman of the Department of World Religions and Culture (DWRC) at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, for a 3-year term from October 2021 to October 2024.

Professor Dr, Jahangir Alam, born in 1977, started to study Caodaism in 2003 and got a grant from the Cao Dai Overseas Missionary to do his MPhil on Caodaism in 2009. Then, as part of his PhD Research Fieldwork funded by the Cao Dai Overseas Missionary, California, USA, he studied Vietnamese language and culture at the HCM University of Social Sciences and Humanities between 2012 and 2013 and has just been awarded a Doctorate in 2020.

Department of World Religions and Culture was established in the University of Dhaka on December 1, 1999, with Professor Dr. Kazi Nurul Islam as the founding chair. The department was renamed the Department of World Religions in 2000 and in 2008, the name of the department was changed to the Department of World Religions and Culture. The changing of the name of the department was for making the department more pertinent to its aims, goal, and philosophy. The department offers a four-year B.A. Honors and a one-year M.A. course. A two-year M.Phil program and three-year Ph.D. program are also offered. The syllabus of this department includes the major World Religions of the world along with the minor, and indigenous religions, such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Sikhism, Judaism, Caodaism, Zoroastrianism, North American Religions, Indigenous Religions of Bangladesh, Chinese Religious Traditions, Japanese Religious Traditions, etc. For a better understanding of the religions, Sociology of Religions, Philosophy of Religions, History of Religions, Psychology of Religions, Cultural Anthropology, Women in World Religions, Science and Religion, Media and Religions, State, Religions, and International Politics, Religion and Environment, Ethics, Moral and Legal Issues in Different Religions are taught in this department. The syllabus of this department is very enriched as it includes the course on Research Methodology for the students to meet the contemporary challenges and to apply their knowledge in different research areas with constructive and analytical perspective.

Following are 3 papers written by Dr. Alam about CAO DAI :

CAO DAI UNDERSTANDING OF GOD BY DR. MOHAMMAD JAHANGIR ALAM
THE SPIRIT OF CAODAI PHILANTROPY BY DR. MOHAMMAD JAHANGIR ALAM
CAODAI COSMOLOGY BY DR. MOHAMMAD JAHANGIR ALAM (A Critical Analysis of Creation Theory: Cao Dai Perspective)

CAODAI UNDERSTANDING OF GOD