Muslim scholars of the past have been beacons of light, leading the way in medicine, astronomy, algebra, linguistics, and more. In recent years, the light has flickered, but today, with the establishment of the first accredited Muslim college in America, the light of intellectual Muslim visionaries is being revived again.
Zaytuna Institute was founded in 1996 by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf with the mission of reviving the Islamic scholarly tradition, of seeking knowledge for the betterment of the mind, heart, and spirit. Traditionally, the Muslim student gained not only an academic education, but a moral one as well, developing an immense love for the Prophet (peace be upon him), ethics, a moral code, a different perspective, and a whole new way of living.
Hatem Bazian and Imam Zaid Shaker joined forces with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, striving to turn this small seed, the zaytuna or olive seed, into a larger, fruitful tree, to move towards becoming a college.
Starting out as shabby, cramped classrooms in Hayward, California, filled with students literally sitting on the floor, hungry to learn about Islam and how to purify one's heart, in a historic moment on March 4th, Zaytuna College became an accredited institute of higher education.
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) which granted Zaytuna College accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. It accredits institutions in several Western states, including colleges, such as Stanford University. No longer Zaytuna Institute, it is now officially Zaytuna College, attracting faculty from prestigious universities such as Harvard, Duke, and others. Now classes are taught in a beautiful, spacious, sunlit building in Berkeley, California and the college even provides housing for students.
The curriculum is a broad, undergraduate liberal arts four-year program, equipping students with the tools of learning, critical thinking, and eloquent expression. It focuses on the Arabic term ‘adab', which means a number of things: decency, comportment, decorum, etiquette, manners, morals, propriety, and humaneness. Required courses include Arabic language, Islamic sciences, law, history, philosophy, astronomy, literature, ethics, and politics. As the students pursue their studies, they are actively involved with the local Muslim community, delivering lectures, participating in religious gatherings, and leading activities for the youth.
Zaytuna College aims to prepare its graduates for lives of service and leadership. Students grow in intellectual curiosity and are fashioned to become caring, responsible human beings, committed to being stewards of the Earth, as God has intended for us to build and nurture the Earth and humanity, not destroy it.
At Zaytuna College, the Muslim tradition comes alive, in addition to studying Western philosophies. Students engage in discussions of Aristotle and Avicenna, Galen and Ghazali, side by side.
What does accreditation mean, why is it so important, and why are Muslims across the United States and the entire world so jubilant about this accomplishment?
“Accreditation for us means that we are moving from zaytuna.org to zaytuna.edu. It means Muslims have an academic address in America. For our students, it means that their degree is recognized. It means that they can apply for a Master's degree and a PhD at other institutions with ease, without worrying that their institution is not accredited. It means that we are able to host conferences that are recognized academically by partner institutions here in the US and across the world. It means that people know where to go if a question about Islam is raised,” said Hatem Bazian, co-founder of Zaytuna.
The accreditation process was a long and arduous one. The college received a visiting team of administrators from other colleges and universities appointed by WASC; it also included a comprehensive self-study to determine if the college is compliant with 39 different evaluation criteria. The road to accreditation culminated in a WASC committee meeting with Zaytuna College leadership, which ended in astounding success, and the accreditation was granted.
In its notification letter to Zaytuna, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges commission commended the college for the creation of “a rigorous and high-quality learning experience, one that… can be viewed as an exemplar in the liberal arts tradition.”
“You do not have to look very far to find out how important Islam has been to science, literature, and the development of law. Education is not something new to Islam; it is woven into its whole heritage, but it is nice to see it surfacing in America in this particular way,” said Riess Potterveld, President of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.
Vice-president of Academic Affairs at Zaytuna College, Colleen Keyes, said, “We are aiming to prepare and educate students who are morally committed, who are spiritual, intellectual, and professional leaders, grounded in the Islamic tradition and conversant with the cultural currents and critical ideas shaping modern society.”
As for the purpose of education, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf has said, “Learning is to make a better human being. Learning is not to make more money; it is to make a better human being.”
