Zaytuna College is the first Muslim college in the US; the college is currently seeking accreditation from accrediting bodies in the United States, as well as recognition from major educational institutions in the Muslim world, such as Egypt’s al-Azhar University.
Its very existence in America repudiates notions of Islam as an exclusively Eastern ideology, and it indicates that Islam and Muslims can be authentically American, writes Shazia Kamal. The college’s very existence in America repudiates notions of Islam as an exclusively Eastern ideology. Its presence instead indicates that Islam and Muslims can be authentically American, and can contribute to the nation’s sociological, political and cultural advancement.
Zaytuna College seeks to promote the same vision in its students, which it welcomes from all faith traditions. It endeavours to draw on principles from the Qur’an and from the teachings of some of the greatest Muslim scholars in history, like Imam Al Bukhari, a 9th century scholar of the study of hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad) and Imam al Ghazali, an 11th century jurist and Sufi mystic. Zaytuna College will communicate Islam’s tenets and practices to the broader American public and serve as an alternative source of information to five-second media bytes that perpetuate a one-dimensional Islam.
