How to study contemporary Islam and Muslim societies? Studies of contemporary Islam and Muslim societies do not follow one particular method. It is often said that this field of research does not have specific methods of its own at all. Since it is not possible to do research without methodology, researchers borrow methods from other disciplines and apply it to their material. Naturally, a research method cannot be transplanted from one research field to another without adopting it to its particular needs. The (arguably unlimited) plurality of possible methods and the difficulties involved in the process of adopting and adapting it are creating confusion among students who, as we observe, have major difficulties choosing and applying appropriate methods in their term papers and theses. Singular efforts notwithstanding, appropriate and ready-to-use guides for students on methodological aspects of studying contemporary Islam and Muslim societies are not available. Developing Open Educational Resources This initiative proposes to collaboratively develop open educational resources (OER) on four commonly used methods in the study of contemporary Islam and Muslim societies designed primarily for Master students. The four methods belong to the four disciplinary approaches of intellectual history, anthropology of Islam, religious studies, and literary studies. Each of these approaches contains a broad variety of methods and research objects. For the OER that we create, we will focus on one method within each disciplinary approach – the applicants of this initiative will be working on the respective methods of their expertise. Each block of OER will contain a short introduction about the basics of the selected method. In addition, short bibliographies with theoretical resources, exemplary applications, if available links to educational videos or other OER will be provided. Up to three fundamental texts that can serve as introduction to students will be highlighted. At the core of each OER are questions to ensure understanding and assignments to further train the application of the method. More aspects to be taken into account include essential questions and notions, possible pitfalls and best practices of the method, etc. It is part of the project to discuss what to include in the OER. The OER will use the Moodle platform and will provide barrierfree access. Community Building and Collaboration The primary focus of this initiative is community building between scholars,students, and interested members of the public. The initiative aims at creating a network of collaboration between the applicants of UGöttingen, UGhent, UTartu, and UBern, with possible expansion of the activities and/or the network members in the aftermath of this initiative. It aims to help the integration of our students as researchers with solid methodological skills into the research community. As a service to society, it provides interested members of the public with the possibility to access verified and state-of-the-art methods and related material to deal with contemporary Islam and Muslim societies in a scholarly manner.