President's Report 2023

Gateway to a Great Tradition Presiden t’ s Report 2023

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“The greatest, truest, and only permanent good bestowed upon humanity is that of true knowledge. From such knowledge, all other goods flow, even faith.

And this is why, at Zaytuna College, we have adorned our seal with the prayer Qul Rabbi zidnī ‘ilman (‘Say: O Lord, increase me in knowledge’) (20:114).

For it is our knowledge of the world alone that enables us to discern a creator; hence true knowledge will always lead to true faith. The greatest Qur’anic commandment is ‘Know that there is no god but the One True God.’ It is knowledge alone—and most importantly, knowledge of God— that differentiates us from beasts, making us unique among God’s glorious creation.”

President Hamza Yus uf

I n the Na m e of G od , the Be nef icent, the Mercif ul

Gateway to a Great Tradition Presiden t’ s Report 2023

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Table of Contents Letter from the President iii Commendations for the College v Academics vii

Tenth Commencement 1 New Faculty 6 New Deans 8 Canon Lecture Series 10 Faculty Activities 11 Course Spotlights 14 Harvard-Zaytuna Symposium 17 Alumni Spotlight 20 Admissions 22

Public Engagement 25

Studio 26 Ethical Living and Learning 28 Presidential Highlights 30 Ramadan Lesson 33 The First Spring 34 Zaytuna College Bookstore 36 Emir-Stein Center 38 Zaytuna Curriculum Series 40 Zaytuna at ISNA 41 First Command Book Club 42 Renovatio 45

College Operations 47

The Zaytuna Campus 48 College Growth 53 Restoration and Beautification 55 Students by the Numbers 57 Financial Review 58 College Leadership and Faculty 60

Letter from the President

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D e a r F r iends of Zayt una, Salām ‘alaykum wa raĥmatullāh. We live in a deeply troubling time for the world, let alone for our community. The callous assault on civilians, even children, speaks to the urgency of spreading peace and pursuing justice—and justice can only be pursued in a time of peace. The Qur’an reminds us, “Every time they ignited the flames of war, God extinguished them” (5:64). Our Prophet s, who has been maliciously slandered as a promoter of violence by the vilest of people, always sought peaceful means to end hostilities, the igniting of which he understood as the role of Iblīs in the world.

Our Prophet s was a firefighter. He came to put out the fires of vice, greed, and iniquity. The Prophet s compromised for the sake of peace at Ĥudaybiyyah and prayed for those “The punishment of the who abused him at Ţā’if. He called for patience afterlife is called the Fire and warned of extremism: “Beware of extrembecause those in it had made ism in your faith, for it destroyed those before you.” More than ever, we need to follow his the world a place of fire, not a place of light, for themselves way and be firefighters and spreaders of light. and for others.”

The punishment of the afterlife is called the Fire because those in it had made the world a place of fire, not a place of light, for themselves and for others. They tore down and destroyed instead of building. They never rose above the base desires of their egos and never struggled against their own worst tendencies. But Muslims who pursue the path of their Prophet s are builders.

At Zaytuna College, we are attempting to build a testimony to our faith, establishing an institution that Muslims can be proud of and point to as something that embodies the highest principles of Islam: truth, goodness, and beauty. While the world edges toward self-destruction and though the warmongers may seem to be prevailing, let us never

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forget that the world has always been an abode of strife, struggle, and tribulation and that “the end affair is for the pious ones” (Qur’an 28:83).

On that great and momentous Final Day, when God declares “No oppression today” (Qur’an 40:17), the oppressed will finally have their say.

Even the dog will have his day: every wronged animal gets retribution; no stone goes unturned; no crime remains unrevealed; and no debt is owed that does not come due. These are not the fanciful wishes of dreamers but are prophetic truths reiterated throughout millennia.

Even as the end draws near, and we find ourselves in the shade of the Hour, we are commanded to continue planting if we have a seedling in our hands. Though we do not know how much longer this world will continue, the direction taken by its current leaders leaves many of us wondering if it will last the century. Nevertheless, we must continue to plant the seeds of goodness and virtue: we must not despair of a callous and uncaring multitude when we can see so many faces and places choosing to affirm the light and reject the darkness. We will stand by those who do so, whether Muslim or Christian, Jew or Hindu, poor or rich, as long as they stand for peace with dignity, just laws, and an order that aligns with the highest truths.

The Prophet’s teachings are for all of humanity, and we are commanded to be witnesses to the truth, even against ourselves. We cannot let the extremists on all sides divide and conquer the hearts of humanity. Ours is a hopeful species: we have survived countless wars, untold terrors, slavery, rape, and pillage, and yet we endure. Belief in God still dominates, and people continue to bring children into the world, an act of the greatest hope. Our Prophet s prayed for a certainty that made all the trials of this world insignificant. That is what we are working to cultivate in our hearts and the hearts of our students.

Thank you for your support. May our Lord make it easy for all those suffering and make us instruments of peace and prosperity. May God bring peace and security to our brothers and sisters and the children of Gaza.

With prayers and gratitude,

Hamza Yusuf Pr e si d ent , Zayt una Colleg e

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Commendations for the College Today, we are in the midst of what First Things magazine editor Rusty Reno calls “the Great Forgetting”—a time when the rising generation of leaders and a growing proportion of citizens know next to nothing about the ideas and thinkers that have shaped our history. That’s a grievous loss, not only for the individuals involved, but for our country.

Thankfully, there are a few places in America—and Zaytuna College under the inspired leadership of Hamza Yusuf Hanson is prominent among them—where the intellectual heritage of the West is being nurtured in a vibrant, faith-based setting and passed on to a new generation.

Mary Ann Glendon Learned Hand Professor of Law Emerita, Harvard University In the field of Islamic studies, one often encounters students who are conversant with Western academic approaches and methodologies—but less capable of reading demanding original texts in Arabic. The Zaytuna College students who presented at the joint Harvard-Zaytuna symposium in 2023 were clearly well trained in both aspects.

They demonstrated their ability to read—closely and carefully—original Islamic texts in Arabic and to ask broader contemporary and comparative questions about them. It’s exciting to encounter students with such capabilities.... I encourage them to apply to Harvard’s graduate programs.

K haled El- Rouayheb Chair, Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, Harvard University v pr esident ’s report 2023

Zaytuna College, as America’s only Muslim college teaching the traditional liberal arts, serves as a place of unparalleled importance in contemporary higher education. As many within the classical renewal movement work to articulate the conviction that this type of education is for all people, the existence and flourishing of Zaytuna validates this idea. Reclaiming a common intellectual heritage and educational telos, one that sees “education as the inculcation of the love of beauty, truth, and goodness in a human being,” will prove critical to living well in a pluralistic society. Many within the classical movement are deeply grateful for the existence and mission of Zaytuna College. jer em y tate Chief Executive Officer, Classic Learning Test

The MA program at Zaytuna College is uniquely designed to provide students the tutelage of teachers and masters of the Muslim scholarly tradition. This endeavor only begins by revealing and consequently rectifying the first principles entrenched in our society, while disclosing those that undergird an Islamic worldview. To do so requires empathy and honesty—a deep understanding of the overlapping Islamic and Western intellectual traditions with a sincere commitment to portraying both in a balanced light. kas haf zaman Zaytuna MA student, Class of 2024

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AC ADEMI CS

Zaytuna graduates at the commencement ceremony on May 21, 2023

vii i pr esident ’s report 2023 Graduates exiting the auditorium at the end of the commencement ceremony

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our T enth Co mme n c e me n t

“Be People of Decorum. Be Noble.

Think Deeply.”

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he t ent h com m encem en t ceremony of Zaytuna College was a gathering of remembrance and gratitude—and a resounding appeal to graduates to think deeply, pursue knowledge, and serve humanity. Soon after he began his welcome address, President Hamza Yusuf disclosed that the words he had just read out were the product of an artificial intelligence chatbot. Unsettled by their quality, he appealed to graduates to think critically about technology and other forces shaping modern society. He emphasized the idea of thinking deeply as an “intellectual jihad,” saying, “Just as “Just as a military jihad is to a military jihad is to defend a state, to defend defend a state, to defend its its borders against invaders, intellectual jihad is borders against invaders, to defend the mind from invaders of the mind.” intellectual jihad is to defend Thinking freely and deeply, or ijtihād, rethe mind from invaders quires the utmost effort—and is essential, he of the mind.” said, to community and democracy. It requires freeing the mind from four obstacles: the ego Pres ident Hamza Yus uf (nafs), ulterior motives (hawā), delusion (dunyā), and malevolent insinuation (shayţān). President Yusuf added a fifth obstacle: illiberal thinking, or thought bereft of the arts that free one to deliberate, or weigh in the balance. This, he stressed, is the foundation of the Islamic tradition: reckoning with outcomes, weighing benefit against harm. What does it mean when God tells us to “weigh with an upright scale?” (Qur’an 17:35). According to Imam al-Ghazālī, he said, reason enlightened by revelation is the light upon light that makes an upright scale.

Tyranny flourishes when citizens lose their critical capacities, President Yusuf said, so democracy must sustain and extend liberal education or perish. Paraphrasing one of his teachers, President Yusuf said we are under the illusion that we are a liberal society—but it is a false 1 pr esident ’s report 2023

President Hamza Yusuf shares a light moment before the ceremony with Raheema Abdulaleem and Imam Zaid Shakir

liberalism that confuses authority with tyranny and reduces truth to a matter of opinion. Without reason, he warned, we must surrender to the only other arbiter of human affairs: force.

“Restoration of community remains our most urgent imperative,” President Yusuf said, adding that “we can only form real communities to the extent we can communicate and share common ideas and purposes. We need to be able to discuss momentous ideas and events with intelligence, forbearance, and brotherly love.” He appealed to graduates to always carry what they learned at Zaytuna in their hearts. “Be people of decorum. Be noble. Think deeply. And most importantly, make your prophet proud of you on the day of judgment.” He reminded them that the dunyā is a realm of tribulation—and that God’s help is always near. Those who understand this, he said, will be grateful and patient.

Finally, he exhorted them to stand firmly as witness“I am a descendant of enslaved es for justice and to remember that justice is always tempered by mercy.

Africans, including Muslims Commencement speaker Raheema Abdulaleem, who, in spite of the horrors special assistant to the president of the United States imposed upon them, worked hard to maintain their faith.” and chief legal advisor in the executive office, congratulated graduates and noted they represented the R a h ee m a A b du l aleem diversity of the Muslim world—not only in geographic, racial, economic, or ethnic terms, but also in diversity of thought. She urged them to bring their whole selves to every undertaking, adding that their unique Muslim identities and perspectives are needed in every arena of public life.

Abdulaleem said she was raised in Philadelphia by an imam and a teacher who taught her to be proud of her identities, and that she was 2 president ’s report 2023

Dani Bin Abdul Rahim

Nusaybah Benhamou

Maryam Awwal

part of a lineage that played a vital role in realizing American democracy. Black Americans, she said, are uniquely qualified to understand our history and are deeply committed to justice. And as a Muslim, she brought a commitment to embodying her faith’s universal message. “I am a descendant of enslaved Africans,” she said, “including Muslims who, in spite of the horrors imposed upon them, worked hard to maintain their faith. Their prayers, fortitude, and faith allow me to be here today as an embodiment of the hopes and dreams of the enslaved.”

She recalled her studies at Harvard Law School, especially the thirty-three quotes in the halls representing humanity’s enduring yearning for fairness and dignity through law. One reads: “Oh ye who believe, stand out firmly for justice as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, whether it be against rich or poor, for Allah can best protect both” (Qur’an 4:135). That quote, she said, reminded her that Islam is integral to American justice.

Three graduating student speakers—Dani Bin Abdul Rahim, Nusaybah Benhamou, and Maryam Awwal—expressed heartfelt gratitude for the gifts of a Zaytuna College education. “I am the product of the love and guidance of family, the gentle wisdom of teachers, the nurturing friendship of fellow students, and the material and spiritual assistance of countless Zaytuna supporters, most of whom I do not know,” said Maryam Awwal.

Imam Zaid Shakir, professor emeritus, closed the ceremony with a prayer for all in attendance, that each one will stand before the Lord of the Worlds and be recorded among the truthful, and that God might bless Zaytuna College, the United States, and our troubled yet still promising world. Ð 3 president ’s report 2023

Theses Titles of the Graduates BA Class of 2023 Dani Bin Abdul Rahim “I Am the Jurist of the Arabians Nomadic”: The Legal, Lexic, and Ludic in al-Ĥarīrī’s Maqāmah Ţaybiyyah

Emaad Ahmed The Path to Master Jurisprudence: A Translation and Commentary of Imam al-Kāfī’s Samt al-wuśūl ilā ¢ilm al-uśūl

Fatima Alemam Unifying the Fragments of Modern Man: An Analysis of Dr. Van der Kolk’s Therapeutic Approach through Imam al-Ghazālī’s Heart-Centered Metaphysics

Sarah Moawia Babiker The Wool to Power: Weaving Global Historiographies

Nusaybah H. Benhamou Ruqyah upon the Maenads: Exorcizing Nihilism by Refuting Nietzsche’s Dionysian Spirit

Javon “Lapu” Aaron Canlas A “Neoplatonic” Reading of the Qur’anic Relationship between Humans and Other Animals: How the Qur’an Endorses Porphyry’s Critique of Human Superiority

Yusra Shahid Constantino The Answer Is in Our Adornment: Healing and Nourishing the Spirit through Knowledge of Human Beauty

Dihya Hajee A Traditional Model of Anatomy: Reviving a Metaphysical Study of the Body

Yaseen Mahmoud Ĥifż Methodologies as Proof of Qur’anic Facilitation: Examining Premodern and Modern Methods of Ĥifż

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Hamida Bano Mitha The Believer’s Guide to the Horizons: An Islamic Framework of Weather Phenomena

Muhtasim Rahman Muslims and Christians in Dialogue: The Surprising Agreement of al-Ghazālī and Aquinas on the Resurrection of the Body

Sara Naveed Shafi The Qur’an: A Multi-Formic Text

MA Class of 2023 Habiba Afridi The Dilemma of Gharar in Insurance: Through the Lens of Uśūl and Maqāśid

Shihab Ahmed Thinking through Tartīb: How the Conceptions and Classifications of Muslim Scholars Are Reflected in Ţāshkuprīzādah’s Miftāĥ al-sa¢ādah and Sāchaqlizādah’s Tartīb al-¢ulūm

Raaofa Abdullah Albaadany Analysis Methodology for Producing Fatwas Regarding Covid Vaccines: An Uśūlī and Maqāśidī Perspective

Aseel Atalla Parsing Shar¢ī Change: How the Development of ¢Urf as a Legal Source Indicates the Shariah’s Inherent Capacity to Consider Customary Change

Maryam Awwal Rebuilding the Bedrock: Contemporary Muslim Legal Scholars’ Engagements with Capitalism

Hamzah Ahmad Hashmi Are the Arts Dead? A Study on the History of the Five Arts of Logic

Mahbubur Rahman Maruf A Critical Study of Ijmā¢ and Its Treatment by Muĥammad b. Ismā¢īl al-Amīr al-Śan¢ānī in His Mazāliq al-uśūliyyīn wa bayān al-qadr wa al-muĥtāj ilayh min ¢ilm al-uśūl

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Dr. Harun Sencal and Dr. Esma Sag Sencal

New Faculty, New Area of Study w h e n muslim s g r ow their own institutions of higher education, the community gains the capacity to pursue important avenues of scholarship that are either neglected or ignored by institutions that don’t participate in Islam’s living tradition. But as a prerequisite to pursuing new fields of knowledge, Muslim colleges must recruit scholars whose intellectual backgrounds, ethical grounding, and academic maturity equip them well to lead such an ambitious initiative.

By God’s grace, Zaytuna College welcomed three new faculty members this year and welcomed back another. Each new scholar brings a specific quality to the College, but perhaps the most exciting benefit may be the establishment of the Islamic Finance concentration in Zaytuna’s MA program—under the guidance of Dr. Harun Sencal, a Turkish scholar of Islamic finance educated and trained at universities in both the Muslim world and the West.

Dr. Sencal’s work aims to broaden the interpretation of Islamic economics and finance, fostering a shift from a narrowly defined discipline to a broader approach that crosses and transcends disciplines—an approach that forwards a political and moral perspective on economic entities. His interdisciplinary background makes him ideally suited to launch Zaytuna’s new MA concentration.

“Most MA programs in the field just train individuals on technical issues—they simply prepare students for the industry,” observes Dr. 6 pr esident ’s report 2023

Sencal. “Our motivation, in sha Allah, is not just to get students prepared for those jobs but to go beyond that and develop ideas. We want to give them the tools to think of alternative visions and be aware of the limitations of the existing industry.”

Zaytuna’s prospective Islamic Finance students will share a common foundation with students of other concentrations, especially the Islamic Law concentration. “We benefit from the whole MA program, its Dr. Eiyad al-Kutubi faculty, and its courses,” Dr. Sencal says. This makes the Islamic Finance concentration perhaps the only postgraduate program in which students will be trained with an integrative approach to the traditional sciences and industry standards.

Dr. Sencal arrived with his wife, Dr. Esma Sag Sencal, a scholar of Arabic language who specializes in its classical disciplines of naĥw, śarf, and balāghah. Trained both in the language and in linguistics, Dr. Sag Sencal joins Zaytuna as assistant professor in Arabic language, and her multidimensional approach has already caught the attention of students, all of whom study Arabic in each academic term.

Zaytuna also welcomed Dr. Mohamed Boufares as a core teacher in the MA program and in the undergraduate Honors Program. Dr. Boufares, a student of Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, is a classically trained scholar of the Islamic sciences, with specializations in uśūl al-fiqh, logic, Maliki jurisprudence, and Arabic language. A native of Morocco, he is Dr. Mohamed Boufares teaches an MA class in the fall semester

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deeply steeped in the Southern Moroccan and Mauritanian scholarly traditions.

In introducing him this fall to the Zaytuna community, President Hamza Yusuf also appointed him the Imam Rātib of the new campus muśallā (see page 48): “He is well-versed in the Arabic trivium, so I encourage students to benefit from his encyclopedic knowledge of the Islamic sciences. We are extremely fortunate to have such a skilled academic and well-trained scholar at Zaytuna. Please welcome him and show him the respect that our scholars warrant. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said in a hadith related by Imam Aĥmad, “He (or she) is not from us who does not respect our elders, have compassion on our youth, and does not know the respect due to our scholars.”

And finally, Dr. Eiyad al-Kutubi returned to Zaytuna. Previously on faculty from 2017 to 2020, he specializes in Muslim philosophy and has taught at a range of institutions, including Georgia State University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Indiana University, where he received an award for outstanding Arabic teaching.

New Deans Lead Academic Direction a p r ac t ice f rom the Muslim tradition that Zaytuna College takes very seriously is muĥāsabah, reflection upon actions, achievements, and needed improvements. This year, the College took time to review and reinforce its fundamentals, which have become more important than ever given the increasingly postmodern climate of higher education.

Dr. Ali Ataie Muslim students who enter these institutions often feel a strong sense of inadequacy or even alienation. Acknowledging this growing crisis, Zaytuna’s leadership set out this summer to establish itself as a bulwark for the largest incoming cohort yet, analyzing and reviewing its curricula across the BA, MA, and Summer Arabic Intensive (SAI) programs.

Perhaps most significantly, Zaytuna also adopted an academic model that features two deans, Dr. Ali Ataie for the undergraduate program and Professor Mahsuk Yamac for the graduate program. These appointments build on the critical leadership and mentorship roles that each has already played as a faculty member, formalizing their efforts to ensure strong learning and a healthy student life. Both recognize the 8 pr esident ’s report 2023

link between strong teaching and the principles of the liberal arts.

“The liberal arts are grammar, logic, and rhetoric,” said Dr. Ataie in one of his first messages as dean. “The word ‘liberal’ comes from the Latin for freedom, so these are the freeing tools, the tools that free our minds.

The most influential people in history were masters of these tools. These teach us how to write properly, how to think properly, and how to be persuasive. “[When] a young man or woman completes the program here at Zaytuna, that graduate will be an absolute Professor Mahsuk Yamac force to be reckoned with. The liberal arts make you a better lawyer or doctor or whatever [profession you seek]. The liberal arts are tools that really help you realize your full potential.”

Each scholar is uniquely well suited to cater to the needs of students in his respective program. Dr. Ataie, who is clearly invested in the liberal arts college tradition, has received consistently strong feedback for the quality of his teaching. Professor Yamac is a learned classical scholar who has taken the ¢ulūm al-dīn from some of the greatest scholars of our time.

“The goal is really to achieve excellence, iĥsān, in reading, in writing, and in reasoning,” Dr. Ataie said in his message. “The Prophet s said, ‘God, exalted is He, has prescribed excellence in all things.’ This striving toward iĥsān is at the heart of Zaytuna’s mission. We want our graduates, these muĥsinīn [people of excellence] to go out into the world and extend that excellence to the broader community.” Ð

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cano n l ec ture s eri e s

What Aquinas Learned from Averroes t h e c anon lect ur e series explicates critical texts from Zaytuna College’s curriculum, setting the context for them in the history of ideas and their reception over the ages.

Last semester’s series featured Thomas Hibbs from Baylor University on Aristotle’s Ethics and Mohammad Fadel from the University of Toronto on the Muwaţţa’ of Imam Mālik, while Zaytuna’s own Professor Mahsuk Yamac is scheduled to lecture on Sājaqlīzādah’s Al-Risālah al-waladiyyah. Together, these reflect three critical poles: classical virtue ethics, the first major work of the hadith tradition, and a manual for the art of debate and discussion, one of Islam’s great contributions to intellectual history.

In his lecture, Dr. Hibbs highlighted what makes these ancient guidelines so necessary today.

“You might have noticed,” he said during a riveting talk and question-and-answer session at Sophia Hall, “that in our culture, the default position on social media seems to be that anyone who disagrees with me or my team is both evil and stupid—and I’m going to let them know it very quickly, and as vehemently as I can!”

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This of course is in marked contrast to the arts of analysis and debate that Averroes built upon from Aristotle and which Thomas Aquinas took as an example.

“Aquinas takes Averroes as his model of the commentary and writes detailed commentaries on the texts,” Hibbs explained. “And he disagrees with Averroes sharply, as do some members of your tradition as well. Averroes was known as the Commentator in the Middle Ages.”

The reliance of Christian scholastics on the work of their Muslim predecessors is often forgotten today, but for Hibbs, it’s an essential fact of the history of his Christian tradition. “Aquinas wants to understand the particular arguments in each book—in each chapter, of each book,” Hibbs noted. “And then he inherits, again from your tradition—the Islamic tradition—a sense of the order of learning.”

To refute an argument or conclusion is insufficient. To truly grapple with an idea, the interlocutor must address its roots. Aquinas understood from Muslim philosophers, Hibbs said, that not only can one go wrong by misunderstanding a particular argument but also, and perhaps more deeply, by starting from the wrong place, or in the wrong order.

Logic, for example, comes before the study of natural philosophy while ethics and politics are placed below metaphysics.

This method is critical to the arts of scholarly debate, as the works of Aquinas, Averroes, and Sājaqlīzādah demonstrate, and an invaluable pillar of a true education. Ð

Faculty Acti v i ti es

From the Pope to Paganism e ach y ear, z ayt una’s f aculty represent the College through their scholarship and public engagement activities, which appear or occur in various forums, including academic journals, the publication of books, as well as interviews, conferences, and events. This year was no different, with the faculty showcasing their broad qualifications through a number of diverse accomplishments and engagements.

Blogging Theology an d Z ay tuna Faculty This year, in addition to return appearances from faculty members Dr. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali and Dr. Ali Ataie, Fr. Francisco Nahoe appeared on the popular podcast Blogging Theology episode “Pope Benedict XVI: His Life, Death, and Islam.” Fr. Francisco took a broad look at the theology of Joseph Ratzinger, the late Pope 11 pr esident ’s report 2023

Fr. Francisco Nahoe

Dr. Jawad Qureshi

Benedict XVI, while reframing the continual threat of unbelief that modern believers fear by emphasizing the notion that the modern world also challenges unbelievers—by the temptation of faith. He called attention to the overlooked appreciation of Islam’s devoted monotheism and submission in Ratzinger’s writings. Fr. Francisco is a gifted teacher, and between host Paul Williams’s insightful questions and Fr. Francisco’s thoughtful responses, the episode showcased his skill and knowledge to a wide, largely Muslim, audience. In addition to his appearance on Blogging Theology, Fr. Francisco made several contributions to his academic specialty of Renaissance studies in academic papers and at conferences, including the 2023 Renaissance Society of America conference in Puerto Rico.

C o n t r i bu ti n g to Ac ade m i c Islamic St udies While many of Zaytuna’s faculty hold traditional training, some also contribute to the academic study of Islam in the West. This year, Dr. Jawad Qureshi made substantive contributions to Islamic philosophy and theology, including publishing an extensively argued review in the Journal of Islamic Studies, a publication of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, on a recent book by Dr. Ramon Harvey on Maturidi theology, Transcendent God, Rational World. Dr. Qureshi offered an important critical engagement with Dr. Harvey’s ambitious project of reading Imam Maturidi’s theology in light Shaykh Talal Ahdab of Anglo-American analytic theology and philosophy of religion. Shaykh Talal Ahdab also engaged the academic arena, presenting at the annual conference of the American Society of Islamic Philosophy and Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while also working on a critical study of Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī’s epistle on revealed laws preceding Islam.

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I s l a m a n d Natu re at Baylor University Zaytuna scholar-in-residence Rhamis Kent gave a talk at Baylor University in September, titled “Saving Truth and Beauty: The Destruction of Nature and the Islamic Solution,” which was inspired by his background as a permaculture expert. The event was sponsored by various departments at Baylor, including the Honors College and the Environmental Humanities Minor. Dr. Thomas Hibbs, philosophy professor at Baylor and a friend of Zaytuna, helped welcome Kent to the campus and reported that his talk was very much appreciated by Baylor’s students and community.

Renovatio as a Home for Faculty Writing Zaytuna faculty member and researcher Shaykh Faraz Khan has become one of Renovatio’s most consistent faculty contributors, having written essays on a broad range of topics, from philosophy of mind to divine love. For Renovatio’s upcoming issue, which is due to be released this winter, Shaykh Faraz addressed our current age of nihilism from an unexpected vantage point: the emergence of a new paganism that seeks to create meaning in a world increasingly devoid of Shaykh Faraz Khan it. If some form of paganism, as a reaction to nihilism, gains popularity in the modern world, he asserts, then we may well enter a sort of “Muhammad moment,” a time when the message of monotheism that our prophets carry engages directly—and effectively—with a society saturated by polytheism.

A n E y e on Ec on omi c s Zaytuna Islamic law scholar Dr. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali participated in various online conversations about contemporary issues in economics and Islam. He offered a broad overview of Islam and economics on the Muslim Bitcoiner Podcast, saying: “We may be sometimes doing ourselves more harm than good” by our knee-jerk skepticism of emerging financial models “because it gives the impression that unless something originates among the Muslims, Dr. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali then it can’t be valid.” He also joined Zeeshan Mukhtar for the presentation “Money Matters: IMF, Petrodollar, and Crypto,” produced by the Lamppost Educational Initiative. Through Lamppost, he also interviewed Bruce Fenton, a former US Senate candidate and a global expert on Bitcoin, economics, and technology. Fenton, a recent convert to Islam, also shared parts of his conversion story publicly for the first time. Ð 13 pr esident ’s report 2023

Dr. Youssef Ismail

cours e s p otl i g h ts

Where Science Meets Wonder d r . yo ussef ism ail, who teaches Astronomy in the Islamic Tradition to undergraduates, fondly recalls the day a student said, in a tone of awe, that when he learned to determine prayer times by studying his own shadow instead of relying on his adhān app, he “became the reason for his own prayer.”

In the course, Zaytuna students study ancient and modern sources— from Islamic culture and the West—to arrive at a thoroughgoing understanding of the cosmos. Their sweeping syllabus includes Muslim astronomers alongside Aristotle, Newton, and others; beyond lectures and study, students apply theory to practice by building their own astrolabe to model the movement of the sun.

By the end of the semester, students develop a deeper understanding about modern science and technology: they learn that the disciplines are just one of three modes of knowledge—rational, empirical, and revelatory—to which they have access.

Dr. Ismail, who earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, says the most enriching aspect of teaching this course is seeing students raised in a high-tech age discover they don’t need gadgets to fulfill their Islamic obligations. No app can compare to turning their faces to the sky to study the sun or the moon and reconnect with the wonder of creation—of which we are a part. Ð 14 pr esident ’s report 2023

Dr. Uzma Husaini (left) teaching the tajwīd class with Ustadha Hosai Mojaddidi

The Miracle of Tajwīd tajwĪd , or t he science of Qur’anic recitation, is a miracle unique to Islam; no other religion retains a precise discipline for articulating the speech sounds of prophetic dispensations. This science remains foundational not only to Muslim prayer and recitation but also to all other Islamic sciences arising from the Qur’an and prophetic teachings. That’s why this course is part of the core curriculum at Zaytuna; graduates must demonstrate proficiency in tajwīd’s written rules as well as their oral articulation.

Dr. Uzma Husaini finds teaching tajwīd deeply rewarding; reciting God’s book together in class, she says, adds a beautiful spiritual element to each session. While mastery of tajwīd takes a lifetime, the fundamentals can be acquired in a matter of weeks. Dr. Husaini loves to see her students make progress in leaps and bounds. “One student had been told she had a ‘lazy tongue,’” she recalls, “so I helped her gain confidence through reassurance and positive reinforcement. I’ll never forget the joy and amazement I saw on her face the first time she heard her own beautiful recitation.”

Each transformation Dr. Husaini witnesses affirms what she promises her students: that when we put in sincere effort, God grants us openings. Ð 15 pr esident ’s report 2023

Dr. Esma Sag Sencal teaching students in the Summer Arabic Intensive

Summer Arabic Intensive Offers Calligraphy t h e s u m m er ar ab ic int ensive ( s ai), an integral part of the undergraduate curriculum, serves as an entry point to classical and spoken Arabic during the summer before freshman year.

New this year was an advanced pathway—one that allows returning students, primarily sophomores, to strengthen their Arabic skills during the summer, ahead of an increasingly rigorous study of classical Arabic texts.

Also this summer, a calligraphy component enhanced the SAI, taught by two classically trained calligraphers and illuminators, Dr. Bilal Badat and Ustadha Farzana Razzaque. Students tried their hand at a living art form that has marked Islamic culture and civilization for centuries. The College also offered one-day workshops for community members to meet these teachers and experience calligraphy for themselves. Everyone has seen works of Islamic calligraphy, but to actually try one’s hand at it provides an entirely new dimension to appreciating the art. Ð 16 pr esident ’s report 2023

Zaytuna students on a tour of Harvard

Ha rvard-Z ay tu na Sy mp o si u m

A Promising Partnership i n m a r ch , a g r oup of Zaytuna faculty and students flew to Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the inaugural Harvard-Zaytuna Thesis Symposium. Spearheaded by Harvard senior Jenna Albezreh, the symposium allowed students of both institutions to receive feedback on their original research with the broader aim of establishing a mutually beneficial relationship in the years to come.

President Hamza Yusuf opened the event on Friday evening with a presentation on the foundations of Muslim education that explored the roots of Muslim pedagogy, charting the way in which it develops a student’s understanding by drilling reasoning and language skills. President Yusuf provided examples of this systematic approach as it has been understood in different Muslim lands and also vividly warned about the pitfalls of seeking to understand—let alone translate—the Islamic tradition without such an education.

On Saturday and Sunday, Zaytuna students presented theses exploring subjects ranging from the history of the arts of logic (Hamzah Hashmi) to nihilism and Nietzsche (Nusaybah Benhamou) and economics in comparative fiqh (Maryam Awwal). The audience included a wide range of knowledgeable guests, including faculty from Harvard, Brandeis, and Brown, as well graduate students in related fields, all of whom provided deep and thoughtful feedback with suggestions for further reading and future research directions.

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Zaytuna’s Maryam Awwal (MA Class of ’23) presenting at the Harvard-Zaytuna symposium

Student organizers also arranged a roundtable discussion with faculty to think through what the collaboration of Harvard and Zaytuna students could mean in the future, beyond just the sharing of research.

The group reflected on matters such as approaching their research as Muslims with teachers who might not share the same core values and the benefits or drawbacks of an organized, sequential curriculum versus the academic range and scope offered by a large institution. While the discussion was focused on student needs, teachers, including President Yusuf from Zaytuna, Dr. Khaled El-Rouayheb from Harvard, and Dr. Aaron Spevack from Brandeis University, provided practical suggestions for developing the partnership so it benefits not only students at Harvard and Zaytuna but students at other institutions who face similar concerns.

In addition to these intellectual and practical concerns, participants came together for prayers, meals, and gatherings, fostering friendships and future learning. With each day starting in the morning and running well into the evening, the shared experience felt almost like an orientation, but with a far longer horizon than that of simply one cohort. By the grace of God, these students are the first of many who will continue to develop this program over the years.

Zaytuna College looks forward to welcoming its Harvard guests to Berkeley for the 2024 symposium.

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Liberal Arts: A Lost Muslim Tradition What is a liberal education, and how does it intersect with the Islamic intellectual tradition?

These questions were the focus of President Hamza Yusuf ’s address to inaugurate the Harvard-Zaytuna Thesis Symposium. The liberal arts are found in every civilization, from its Hellenic roots in Europe to their analogues in China, India, and Africa. They equip students with the fundamental tools of learning, the trivium: grammar, logic, and rhetoric, which enable the study of more specific and quantitative subjects, the quadrivium.

“In the West they have this tradition of Jerusalem and Athena, but the Muslims were more syncretic,” said President Yusuf. The Christian liberal arts tradition sought “In the West they have this tradition of a synthesis of the biblical traditions with the Hellenized Jerusalem and Athena, world of Christendom, but while Muslim scholars also but the Muslims were studied the Greek classics, they cast a wider net. “They more syncretic.” took from the Indians, Chinese, and Africans. They were like bees, and knowledge was like flowers to them, so wherever they went, they took knowledge, developed it, preserved it, and synthesized it.”

The Muslims not only borrowed from the Greeks but also made their own substantial contributions to the liberal arts, which were then transmitted back to Europe.

Citing the work of twentieth-century historian George Makdisi, President Yusuf noted that the ancient universities of European cities such as Oxford, Paris, and Bologna followed the model of the Muslim colleges. “That’s why we have things like the Chair of Grammar, [a term that] makes no sense unless you understand that the only person who sat on a chair in Muslim colleges was the teacher,” he said. “So they literally called that kursī al-naĥw [chair of grammar], kursī al-fiqh [chair of law].”

In addition, Muslims distributed the jubbat al-faqīh—the robe of the jurist—to those who successfully graduated, a practice that evolved in European and American academia into the wearing of a cap and gown.

President Yusuf noted various Muslim efforts to restore the Islamic tradition of knowledge, including the founding of Darul Uloom Deoband seminary in British India by scholars who recognized that the most crucial task for them as a colonized community was to preserve their tradition so it would endure and educate generations of scholars. Their efforts bore fruit. “It’s a very important institution that still teaches,” he said. Ð

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alumni s p otl i g h t

Zaytuna Alumni Graduate from Medical and Law Schools to day , we don’t often think of the liberal arts and the sciences in tandem, but the Zaytuna graduates who completed their medical and law degrees this year will tell you something quite different.

For Nida Ahmed, who received a BA in 2019 from Zaytuna and graduated this year with a medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Zaytuna instilled a holistic, Muslim worldview that helped her see some of the blind spots in contemporary medicine. “I think Zaytuna is the best premedical program that you can go to,” she says. “You’re going to have the critical thinking skills and the tools to really excel in medical school and be an amazing physician.”

Zaytuna’s emphasis on developing fundamental reasoning skills through the trivium boosted her ability to study and understand medi-

Commencement Day 2019: Nida Ahmed (foreground) is one of two Zaytuna alumni who graduated from medical school this year. In the background (from left to right) are Fariha Asad (enrolled in medical school at Texas Tech), Hanna Kim (a second-year student at UC Law SF), and Zahra Parekh (a graduate of UC Law SF).

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cal knowledge, while its centering of moral uprightness and taqwā provided a safeguard against the many spiritual pitfalls of higher education.

“I didn’t leave Zaytuna having studied anatomy, chemistry, and biology, but what I did leave with—and what all students leave Zaytuna with—is the importance of being a good, honest, and moral human being,” Nida says. “In sha Allah, we’re never going to Abdullah Qureshi act in an unjust or immoral or corrupt way for the purposes of financial gain, because we’re not motivated by the dunyā; we’re motivated by Allah.”

Health sciences have not been an uncommon pursuit for Zaytuna graduates, with a growing number entering fields such as premed, medical research, integrative medicine, and pharmacy. Nabeez Noor, for example, graduated in 2017 from Zaytuna and earned a pharmacy degree this year from Touro University California; Zaytuna alumni can also be found at Ross University School of Medicine and the Virginia University of Integrative Medicine.

Meanwhile, other Zaytuna graduates pursued law school and attribute the successful completion of their law degrees to the grounding they received at Zaytuna. BA alumnus Abdullah Qureshi graduated from Georgetown Law School, one of the top law schools in the nation.

His Zaytuna education, he says, prepared him to analyze any legal argument from its foundations, something that had become habit for him but seemed elusive to many of his classmates. This experience showed him that Zaytuna manages to instill something that even many storied and historic institutions now neglect.

Abdullah is using his knowledge of American law and Muslim jurisprudence to give back to Zaytuna through an incredible public learning initiative. Alongside Hafiz Yaser Ali, a practicing attorney and expert in sharia-compliant estate planning, Abdullah is teaching an ongoing six-part monthly series, Islamic Estate Planning: Prepare Now for the Next Life. Taking account of one’s affairs and preparing for death is a sacred charge for Muslims, but just how to do so within the context of the American legal system can be difficult to navigate.

Remarkably, he is one of four Zaytuna alumni who graduated from law schools across the country this year; the other three are Nirav Bhardwaj (UC Davis School of Law), Malik Conn (University of Illinois College of Law), and Zahra Parekh (UC Law San Francisco).

Each of them demonstrates signs of promising success. Ð 21 pr esident ’s report 2023

New students gather for orientation weekend

ad m i s s i ons

New Students Bring Broad Backgrounds and Experiences “z ay t u n a’s adm issions process is more competitive than ever before,” says Dr. Carol Nisar, admissions recruitment officer. The 2023 cohort of new students represent a vast array of backgrounds and experiences, and the campus’s numbers are its largest yet: total active students now number eighty-one across both programs, and the class of 2027 is 35 percent larger than the class of 2026. This growth was achieved without sacrificing the small class sizes and teacher attention that Zaytuna emphasizes.

“For the bachelor’s program,” Dr. Nisar says, “we’re looking for well-rounded students who combine a passion for the liberal arts and a strong sense of their religion.” One of the new BA students, for instance, volunteered during his high school years to help expand education among ethnic minorities in Pakistan, while another spent his time during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown memorizing the Qur’an.

An international student from Turkey has produced Muslim children’s books.

The MA cohort includes a practicing medical doctor who enrolled to learn the critical theological and philosophical context for a Muslim 22 pr esident ’s report 2023

in the world of medicine and an engineer with a graduate degree in robotics who wants to understand how the shariah informs the ethical framework of that field.

While the undergraduate program has long attracted a global base of candidates, Dr. Nisar notes that the admissions team is hoping to attract more international applications for the graduate program, which will contribute to the atmosphere of exchange and mutual learning among mature students.

For instance, an ¢ālimah who graduated from a madrasah in South India joined the MA program this year. Her rigorous training in a region that combines the scholarly traditions of the subcontinent and the Indian Ocean will be a resource for her classmates, just as the professional experience of other applicants brings a distinct perspective to the graduate talent pool.

These students recognize—and seek out—Zaytuna’s mission to produce learners who can communicate with both the Muslim tradition and the contemporary world. Their professional and educational backgrounds demonstrate how necessary this combination is to thoughtful people globally.

In August, when the 2024 application season began, the College hosted Zaytuna Day, an interactive, in-person event that allowed prospective students an opportunity to visit the campus and experience a cross-section of the student experience.

Attendees sat in classes on logic by Dr. Phillbert Cheng and on the Qur’an

by Dr. Ali Ataie; learn- Dr. Rabia Bajwa teaching an Arabic class in the fall semester ing and discussing just as Zaytuna students do left a far deeper impression than watching or listening to a mere recording. Participants tried archery, explored the permaculture garden with Rhamis Kent, and met and asked questions of Zaytuna faculty, students, and staff.

Zaytuna has already received many applications from talented students, but the BA application deadline is not until January 30, 2024, while the MA deadline is December 1 for international applicants and January 30 for domestic applicants. Ð 23 pr esident ’s report 2023

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p u b l ic en g ag e m e n t 25 pr esident ’s report 2023

Haroon Sellars pictured in the classroom studio nearing completion

A Studio for “Human Connection and Interaction” au d i ov isual eng ineer Haroon Sellars, who holds the distinction of being the longest-serving staff member at Zaytuna College, recalls the days when he had to rent or borrow equipment and convert a closet into an office, and he dreamed that one day Zaytuna would boast its own professional studio. His dream and good intentions, along with patience and perseverance, are finally bearing fruit.

By the grace of God, a state-of-the-art studio is now imminent, thanks to a generous gift from the Saleh family in honor of Medhat Toufic Saleh, a son, brother, and lover of knowledge who was beloved by many in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Our commitment has always been to do our best with what we’ve been given,” Haroon says. When the audiovisual studio opens, it will offer unprecedented online learning opportunities and connecting with community around the globe. Construction of the studio in Bin Bayyah Hall, the primary classroom building, is near completion, with a crew of workers busily adding the finishing carpentry touches before it will be outfitted with a raft of lights and cameras, as well as other audiovisual equipment.

Zaytuna’s studio represents the realization of an inspirational idea through scrupulous planning. For example, the studio is designed to also function as a regular classroom, but with desks that also come together 26 pr esident ’s report 2023

to create a communal table for discussions and group work. In addition, the space will be equipped to produce prerecorded courses and to live stream lectures and talks in response to many requests for online learning.

The studio features a multicamera system, an interactive, eighty-six-inch visual display, and a green screen. Ethernet cables connect these features to “Soon, people around the world a separate control room. And because God loves beauty, square lights over- will actively participate—sharing feedback, asking questions— head feature modern Islamic calligraand intimately experience phy—subĥānallāh, alĥamdulillāh, and Allāhu Akbar—oriented to be read Zaytuna College.” from anywhere in the room. haroon s ellars Haroon describes live streaming as the most exciting aspect of his work.

In the new studio, years of planning will meet major technological progress, enabling students and seekers everywhere to experience Zaytuna College in real time.

“Our entire tradition is based on human connection and interaction,” Haroon said. “Soon, people around the world will actively participate—sharing feedback, asking questions—and intimately experience Zaytuna College.”

Logic and Constitutional Law are the first two courses that will be produced in the new studio, but Haroon dreams of another offering soon after. Decades ago, as a new convert, he watched a course titled Introduction to Islam on VHS—and discovered a teacher by the name of Hamza Yusuf. That brought him to Zaytuna Institute, the precursor to the College. One day, he hopes Zaytuna College will offer its own Introduction to Islam course online as an enduring resource and inspiration for seekers around the world. Ð

27 pr esident ’s report 2023 Studio construction in progress

Students of the Permaculture Design Certificate course get some practical training last summer

ethic al l i v i ng and l e a r n i n g

Seeding the Ground with Good Intentions R h a m i s Ke n t, a sch olar- in -res idence at Zaytuna College and an expert in permaculture-based regenerative design, grounds his work in the first hadith many Muslims learn: “Actions are by their intentions.” Before describing Zaytuna’s Permaculture Design Certificate course, he says, “Everything we’re doing in this course is a way, ultimately, to operationalize a good intention.”

The two-week course returned to the College this summer after a pandemic-forced suspension since the last offering in 2019. Open to participants from around the world, the intensive program features both classroom learning and practical training that helps individuals gain a better understanding of the world and their obligations to it.

The term permaculture, derived from “permanent agriculture,” is not limited to that crucial field of human existence. “Mu¢āmalah, the way that we effectively deal with the creation, is not only buying and selling but how we interact with everything we come into contact with,” Kent explains. With the right intention, the tasks that an individual fulfills become an act of worship. The Prophet s, after all, established both the market in Medina as well as the mosque.

Kent observes that many people are drawn to permaculture because they have heard of some of its specific techniques, but he notes that any one technique isn’t its central concern. Permaculture “provides an opportunity for people to find something that suits them. Because there’s a great deal that needs doing, we can find all these different ways for people to find their place.”

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In the beginning, the course can overwhelm students, as it packs extensive information into a short amount of time. “You’re reordering, reorganizing, and connecting information in a different way,” Kent says. “It’s very interesting to watch people go through that process. By the end of it, they are definitely not the same people they were going in.”

The course has also provided a broader benefit for the College. “At Zaytuna, because we’ve been able to do that initial pilot design, Rhamis Kent we now effectively have a living outdoor classroom,” he notes. Kent sees this outdoor classroom as something that will be kept alive through regular participation by students and staff. This is part of the promise of the gardens at Zaytuna. Just as the built environment contributes to learning and the experience of nature invites reflection, the gardens provide a practical meeting point of both.

Muslim Ethics in the Grocery Store The contemporary food industry is at odds with the ethical standards emphasized in Islam. As a way to help identify the relevant Islamic principles, the Zaytuna Center for Ethical Living and Learning (ZCELL) hosted a five-session course, taught by President Hamza Yusuf, concerning halal and ţayyib (pure) food within the sacred law and Islamic ethics.

Intended for staff, auditors, and affiliates of the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA), a well-known halal food certification organization, the program offered a detailed review of the key legal and ethical standards in this field, which are often neglected today. The curriculum explored topics ranging from ingredients and food additives to animal care and slaughter. Participants received certificates following their successful completion of the program.

Through this course, ZCELL aims to make sure that those in the food industry are better informed about its pitfalls and areas of improvement.

This is essential to shifting the conversation and bringing real representation of Islamic ethics among experts and decision-makers in food-related fields. “Muslims believe that food is one of the most important contributors to their physical and spiritual states,” says Dr. Aisha Subhani, vice president of Zaytuna, “and ZCELL hopes to serve as one effort to help establish a better ethical paradigm.” Ð 29 pr esident ’s report 2023

Pope Francis addresses the AI Ethics gathering

pr es i denti al h i g h l i g h t s

A Muslim Vision for AI Ethics To b e gi n his address on AI ethics to the august members of the Pontifical Academy for Life at the Vatican, President Hamza Yusuf employed a classical taxonomy from Aristotle that ranks techne—“technology” or “craftsmanship”—as the lowest of the five intellectual virtues and sophia, or wisdom, as the highest. Just above techne is phronesis, or prudence. “How do we use our technology prudently?” he asked, presaging his critique of the present age and its unquestioning devotion to technological progress.

He was invited to speak as a Muslim representative at the Pontifical Academy’s “AI Ethics: An Abrahamic Commitment to the Rome Call,” a conference that sought insights from religious scholars from the Abrahamic traditions to explore the ethical questions raised by the juggernaut of artificial intelligence technologies. The conference, held in January, featured an opening address by Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah as well as a special message from Pope Francis.

President Yusuf ’s query emphasized the disordered eagerness with which society often approaches technology, diving into new developments without caution or contemplation. “The idea that you can’t stop progress is a very dangerous idea if that progress is harmful,” he said. He also highlighted distraction as a hidden cost of technology.

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President Yusuf hands books to Pope Francis, including Thomas Cleary’s translation of the Qur’an

“We forget that distraction in English actually means mentally drained,” he said.

President Yusuf urged the gathered thinkers, theologians, and technologists to consider how the wisdom literature of virtually all civilizations viewed technological progress, even as it developed both technologies and responses to them.

International Religious Freedom Summit Th e a nnual International Religious Freedom Summit, which convened this year from January 31 to February 1 in Washington, DC, brought together diplomats, members of Congress, and world leaders to address key concerns and challenges for the global religious freedom movement. President “For those of us who still Hamza Yusuf was invited to join the main ple- believe in religion, we undernary session, “What Is Religious Freedom, and stand religious freedom to be What Is It Not?” and emphasized that our cul- something deeper than simply ture has radically changed, especially in regard the freedom to practice to religion. “All traditional religions feel under our religion.” siege right now because many of the things they hold dear, like Abrahamic morality for instance, are seen as a bigoted view of the world,” he told the audience.

“For those of us who still believe in religion, we understand religious freedom to be something deeper than simply the freedom to practice our religion,” President Yusuf said. “We believe it to be the freedom to flourish as human beings, especially in societies that are becoming increasingly antithetical to religion.” Ð 31 pr esident ’s report 2023

Classical Learning Test Conference I n S e p t em b er, President Hamza Yusuf joined the Classical Learning Test (CLT) Higher Education Summit held in Annapolis, Maryland.

The summit gathers leaders in higher education from across the United Stated who seek to revive classical education. The forum serves a unique opportunity to network and discuss the many internal and external challenges that colleges and universities face today. President Yusuf participated in the President’s Panel alongside Dr. Nora Demleitner, the president of the Annapolis campus of St. John’s College, and Dr. Jonathan Sanford, the president of the University of Dallas. Asked to provide an elevator pitch for those who inquire about classical liberal arts education and why it is relevant today, President Yusuf replied that “liberal arts today is a contested term but has been central to Muslim education for centuries. Liberal education at its best is the acquisition of skills necessary to becoming fully human.”Ð

Closer to Truth c r e at e d a n d h o s t e d by Robert Lawrence Kuhn, Closer to Truth “presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions.” The video series is aired on more than two hundred PBS stations and their YouTube channel has more than 2,500 videos.

This year, Kuhn and his twelve-member video production team recorded more than fifteen separate discussions with President Hamza Yusuf over two days Robert L. Kuhn in New York City. The topics focused on all aspects of Islam from its understanding of God to how it views evil and suffering, morality and ethics, its relationship “The sessions we with Christians and Jews, its views of faith and science, recorded with President death and dying, and the afterlife.

Yusuf were one of our Following the recordings, Kuhn said: “Our on-camhighlights in Closer era discussions were directly on point and terrific— to Truth’s 25-year thoughtful, insightful, erudite, edifying, engaging. production history.”

Closer to Truth audiences will love it. Personally, it was a delight. Off camera, too!”

Kuhn says the videos will be released soon. “The sessions we recorded with President Yusuf were one of our highlights in Closer to Truth’s twenty-five-year production history.” Ð 32 president ’s report 2023

Rama dan L es s on

What It Means to Be Human du r i n g ram adan, the month of the Holy Qur’an, Muslims around the world turn to the revealed text for recitation and reflection. This year, President Hamza Yusuf presented a YouTube Live class on a text that can be termed a practical manual for any individual who desires to understand the purpose and meaning of one’s life and how to improve oneself through the eternal wisdom of the Qur’an.

The eight-session class, “Self-Knowledge: Towards a Qur’anic Anthropology,” was based on a close reading of Imam al-Rāghib alIśfahānī’s Tafśīl al-nash’atayn wa taĥśīl al-sa¢ādatayn (An exposition of the two creations with means to the acquisition of the two felicities).

“The most amazing thing about this book to me is how he uses the Qur’an,” said President Yusuf about Imam al-Iśfahānī. “I haven’t seen any other scholar use the Qur’an with the facility, the ease with which he uses the Qur’an to substantiate every single thing he says.”

This short book leads a serious reader into a thoroughly Qur’anic vision of what it means to be human and explicates the means to achieve our God-given potential to realize true humanity (insāniyyah) in this life.

For modern readers, many confounded by postmodernist and nihilistic ideas of the self, Imam al-Iśfahānī provides a much-needed antidote by grounding us in knowledge of the self, which results in knowledge of the universe. At the meeting place of those two knowledges, we arrive at certainty of the Creator of our self and our world.

The class sessions, taught at the new Zaytuna prayer hall to a live 33 pr esident ’s report 2023

audience of faculty, students, and staff, followed the classical Islamic method of teaching in which a teacher reads from a text in its original Arabic, then translates and comments upon it. It proved an opportunity for those gathered in person and online to experience Islam’s living tradition for themselves.

President Yusuf peppered his sessions with discussions of words and phrases—a treat for students of the Arabic language but also inspirational for those on the path of study. He also reminded his listeners that self-awareness is the first step to understanding our place in the world and our duty to our Creator.

“If you know yourself in reality, then you will know the world,” he said. “If you know the world, you’ll know that it was created, and you will know that there has to be a Creator that cannot resemble the created thing in any way, shape, or form—that’s the extent of your knowledge.

Imam ¢Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, said ‘The intellect was given to us to establish our servanthood to God.’”Ð

the fi rs t s p ri ng

The Prophet for the Latter Days E ach y ear, at the start of every Rabi al-Awwal—or First Spring— the name of the blessed month of the birth of the Prophet s, Zaytuna College provides talks and presentations that are available for the broader community to view online. This year’s program, titled “The Prophet for the Latter Days: Planting the Prophetic Seedling,” was inspired by a famous prophetic hadith, “If the [Last] Hour falls upon one of you and in his hand is a seedling, he should plant it.”

“The worst thing we can The series featured a live stream presentation by do during these times is President Hamza Yusuf, as well as recorded talks by disconnect ourselves Dr. Ali Ataie, Ustadha Hosai Mojaddidi, and Dr. from Allah.”

Asad Tarsin, with each teacher exploring a different dr. ali ataie lesson from the wisdom that the Prophet s left his community for the “latter days” of humanity.

Dr. Ataie explored the Hadith Jibrīl, often related by scholars and teachers as the most effective summation of Islam. In it, the Angel Jibrīl appears before the Prophet’s Companions, may God be pleased with them, and asks the Prophet s to explain four key concepts: islām, īmān, iĥsān, and al-sā¢ah. The fourth word, meaning the Hour, indicates the latter days and is often overlooked compared to the first three. While Dr. Ataie emphasized this “forgotten” fourth, his lesson looked at it in

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the full context of the brilliant hadith, with practical advice for students and seekers alike.

“The Prophet s said, ‘There will come a time when nothing will remain of this religion except its name,’” Dr. Ataie said. “It’s like a plastic apple—it’s an apple, we call it ‘apple,’ but the essence of apple is nowhere to be found! One of the ways in which we can protect ourselves from such Antichristic influence is to establish the prayer.… The worst thing we can do during these times is disconnect ourselves from Allah.”

Dr. Tarsin and Ustadha Hosai presented a two-part series, The Light of Guidance in the Latter Days, which explored the timeless lessons from the Qur’an and prophetic traditions on how we can cope with times of privation and hardship.

President Yusuf ’s presentation, delivered during a time of major conflagrations around the world, expounded on the signs of the latter days that our Prophet s shared over fourteen hundred years ago and offered guidance for responding to tragedies and tribulations with grace, dignity, and patience. He illustrated his remarks with a slideshow that vividly connected prophetic traditions about the last days to both historic and contemporary examples.

The First Spring lessons reinforced the notion that the believer’s response to adversity ought to be not despair but hopeful action and good deeds that will receive their just reward. At Zaytuna College, every graduating student goes into the world with critical tools to navigate it, while grounded in the timeless truths of the tradition. These young people can respond to times of trouble with knowledge and hope—like seedlings that have grown into what the planter intended. Ð 35 president ’s report 2023

Zaytu na Col l eg e B o o k sto r e

Why Buyers Flocked to the Store This Year bo o k s ar e a b ookstore’s core business, of course, and for the Zaytuna College Bookstore, this year saw quite a spike in book sales driven by another element of the College: the monthly First Command Book Club hosted by President Hamza Yusuf (see page 42).

The growing audience for the Book Club is not only local but national and international, and each month, when the book for the next month’s session is announced, the audience turns to the bookstore to buy and read in preparation for the session.

“It’s been wonderful for the bookstore,” explains Khadija O’Connell, the store’s creative director and curator. “It’s brought us new guests, both online and in person. We have people who just dart to that section. That’s why they’ve come.”

She shares an anecdote of a book club member who came from Brisbane, Australia, and then trekked three miles to get to the bookstore.

“She walked across from the Berkeley Marina to our bookstore just to get her Book Club books!” O’Connell said.

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Besides offering books, O’Connell also sees the bookstore as serving an important role not only as a place to shop but as a showcase for beautiful examples of Muslim traditions, whether literature or handicrafts.

O’Connell searches far and wide to find gifts that reflect the designs and aesthetic quality that Islamic civilization has historically been known for, and she is also very selective about carrying the handmade products from Muslim artists, craftsmen, and craftswomen.

“There’s the connection that it’s Muslims that made “There’s the connection that this,” she says. “It’s part of our tradition and I love it’s Muslims that made this. that. I love handmade things.”

It’s part of our tradition, With the new year, plans call for the Bookstore and I love that.” to move to another part of Zaytuna’s flagship brick khadija O’Connell building on its lower campus on Le Conte Ave., which will place the store closer to the street and give visitors more options and space for sitting, browsing, having coffee, and of course, buying books and other gift items for themselves and their loved ones.

The Bookstore has cultivated loyal customers at its Berkeley location as well as those who purchase online from wherever they live.

“I would personally like to thank both new and long-term customers for their support, which has allowed us to grow and flourish,” O’Connell says. “We feel honored that we’ve been able to be part of their lives and journeys.” Ð 37 president ’s report 2023

Em ir -S tei n Center

New Videos Highlight the West’s Muslim History i t ’ s e st im at ed t hat up to 15 percent of enslaved Africans brought to the American colonies and United States were Muslim. Against overwhelming odds, their Islamic faith guided them to build community, resist enslavement, and pursue freedom. In addition to their written biographies, enslaved Muslims left other traces behind, including copies of the Qur’an scripted from memory; an Arabic charm inscribed with No God but God dating back to 1755; and an inscription of Sura al-Nās inscribed on a pew in the first African American church in Savannah, Georgia.

Ayla Amon, curator of social and political history at the North Carolina Museum of history, narrates a new video from the Emir-Stein Center, African Muslims in Early America, which traces Muslim participation in American religious and cultural life to the early 1500s, when Spanish colonialists arrived with Muslim slaves. It’s one of two new productions released this year that illuminate Muslim contributions to Western culture for an audience unfamiliar, or even misinformed, about Islam.

In the second, The Enlightenment Muhammad: An Anticlerical Hero, historian John Tolan explores the Prophet Muhammad’s influence on Western leaders and intellectuals. Enlightenment authors such as Voltaire and Thomas Jefferson, whose Qur’an Keith Ellison used to be 38 president ’s report 2023

sworn into Congress in 2007, viewed the Prophet s as a great legislator and brilliant general. Others who sought to limit the power of the Anglican church viewed the Qur’an as the work of an “inspired religious reformer who quashed the power of corrupt clergy and banished superstitious beliefs of early Christians.”

After reading the Qur’an while traveling to Egypt, Napoleon styled himself as the “new Muhammad.” In exile at the end of his life, he defended the Prophet’s legacy and argued that he shared certain qualities in common with the Prophet s—as conquerors, legislators, and charismatic leaders.

Today both men appear on a frieze in a Supreme Court chamber featuring eighteen lawmakers who epitomize universal principles of justice. The prominent placement of the Prophet Muhammad s between two Christian emperors in our Supreme Court “is worth bearing in mind today when Islamist extremists claim to apply the law of Prophet Muhammad,” Dr. Tolan says in the video, “and right-wing nationalists in the US and Europe ignore the important role Islam has played in the making of Western culture.”

This video, which was released in August 2023, has been viewed more than 216,000 times, while the total views on the Emir-Stein YouTube channel have climbed above twelve million, an important accomplishment for an endeavor that seeks to dispel ignorance and strengthen the bonds of the Abrahamic family of faiths.

The Center also produced a third video, narrated by legal scholar Dr. Robert George, titled “Roe v. Wade: What Dobbs Did (and Didn’t Do).” Ð 39 pr esident ’s report 2023

Zaytu na Curri c u l u m S e r i e s

Two New Texts Shed Light on Islam’s Classical Age s i n c e t he pub licat ion of An Introduction to Islamic Theology in 2020, the team of scholars, translators, editors, and typesetters behind the Zaytuna Curriculum Series have been steadily progressing toward the completion of several additional texts in the Series.

By God’s grace, two new texts are now near publication—and both shine a light on Islam’s classical age of philosophical and scientific inquiry: an English translation of a work on logic and language by one of the Islamic tradition’s great masters of philosophy and an original pedagogic work in Arabic and English illustrating an innovative approach to scientific knowledge that originates from the House of Wisdom in eighth-century Baghdad.

With his Alfarabi, Book of Letters (Kitāb al-Ĥurūf ), Dr. Charles Butterworth, emeritus professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland, has produced the first complete translation in any language of this classic text by the Muslim philosopher known as the “Second Teacher” after Aristotle. In the text, al-Fārābī traces the development of logic and language as they affect the relationship between syllogistic inquiry, philosophy, and religion.

Dr. Butterworth provides a copious Introduction and an Interpretive Essay along with his annotations and a new edition of the Arabic text. the combinatorial house of Wisdom In The Combinatorial House of Wisdom, Amina Moujtahid—a lecturer of Arabic and French at the University of Washington who has also taught at Zaytuna’s Summer Arabic Intensive—and researcher Jeffrey A. Bennet explain and illustrate a three-step method rooted in the combinatorial nature of the Arabic language that enabled the composition of the first Arabic dictionary as well as the invention of algebra. The book includes selected readings from the scholars who originated and used this method of discovery. “No other scientific writings of the Islamic golden age exerted a greater influence on the development of the sciences of the Arabic language and the scientific foundations of our modern world,” write the authors. Ð the

zaytuna

curriculum series

100

‫فعل‬ ‫فلع‬

‫علف‬ ‫عفل‬

10

‫لعف‬ ‫لفع‬

100

100

‫ج‬ ً ‫أ أموال تع د لعددا‬ ‫مو‬ ‫ل‬ ً ‫جذورالت تععددل عددا‬

10

ً ‫ذورا‬

100

10

10

‫و ُلن َم َفا ِعيلُن‬ ‫َف ُعو‬ ‫َف ُع‬

‫ن َم َفا ِعيلُن‬ ‫ُل‬

10

10

A Guided Classical Arabic Reader in the Exact and Rational Sciences

The First Arabic Dictionary, the Rhythms of Arabic Verse, and the Invention of Algebra

Amina Moujtahid and Jeffrey A. Bennett

40 president ’s report 2023

Members of the Zaytuna leadership team engage with attendees at ISNA

Zaytuna at ISNA By t h e g race of God, Zaytuna College’s community of supporters and well-wishers extends across the United States and around the globe.

Most supporters, however, never get to visit the College’s serene hilltop campus in Berkeley or experience the classroom environment.

But this year, at the annual Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention, which attracts a cross-section of North American Muslims, friends of the College were able to meet and engage with Zaytuna’s leadership and faculty and to learn more about Zaytuna’s newest developments.

Imam Zaid Shakir and President Hamza Yusuf were featured speakers at the convention, which was held near Chicago, where they addressed a variety of audiences, including youth, and met with people at the Zaytuna booth. It was President Yusuf ’s first visit to the convention in several years, which made it a reunion with many colleagues.

Vice President Aisha Subhani and Dean of Undergraduate Studies Ali Ataie, as well as other staff members, also attended and spent time at the booth.

The convention served as an excellent platform for meeting prospective students and their parents. The College prepared informational materials to give out, so that even those unfamiliar with Zaytuna and its mission could learn more at a glance and direct follow-up questions to admissions staff accordingly. Ð 41 pr esident ’s report 2023

Firs t Com m and B ook C l u b

Guest Scholars Enhance Book Discussions i n au gust , t he First Command Book Club session, streamed live to members of Zaytuna’s 12000 Strong community of monthly donors, focused on Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man, an eighteenth-century classic of English letters and philosophy. The book is a brilliant, annotated edition by ProfesShaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah sor Tom Jones, a scholar of Enlightenment-era poetry and philosophy at the University of St. Andrews in the UK. He graciously joined the book club host, President Hamza Yusuf, to discuss the book in a lively, ninety-minute session.

“Thank you for sharing your knowledge, your curiosity, and wonderful questions,” Professor Jones said to the hundreds of Zaytuna supporters before he signed off. He also commented on President Yusuf ’s comparison of Pope’s thought with ideas from the Islamic tradition.

“It’s been a very interesting experience for me and has helped me to learn quite a lot about Pope which I didn’t know before.”

Besides Professor Jones, an incredible selection of scholars, including Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, Dr. Thomas Hibbs, and Dr. Supriya Gandhi, joined President Yusuf in 2023 to share their expertise, engage in thoughtful discussion, and answer questions from Zaytuna supporters who read the books and attend the online sessions. With the addition of guest scholars, many Book Club members, often professionals far removed from their years of formal education, get the opportunity to meet experts from around the world and benefit from their insights.

In September, after the Book Club had read Treatise on Maqāśid alShari’ah, a twentieth-century classic of Muslim legal philosophy by the great Tunisian polymath, Ibn ¢Āshūr, members were graced with a surprise appearance by Shaykh Bin Bayyah, a giant of uśūl al-fiqh in his own right. He provided an overview of the subject and expressed his thoughts on what individual Muslims ought to know of a scholarly field such as the one he has mastered.

In July, Dr. Hibbs of Baylor University, a philosopher and a great 42 president ’s report 2023

Dr. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali and President Hamza Yusuf discuss the works of Thomas Sowell during a book club session on Black Rednecks and White Liberals.

friend of Zaytuna and of President Yusuf, joined the Book Club session to discuss Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor whose tome—a collection of his thoughts in notebooks—is considered among the most important Stoic texts, and an inexhaustible source of wisdom.

Earlier in June, Dr. Gandhi joined President Yusuf to discuss her book, The Emperor Who Never Was: Dara Shukoh in Mughal India, which is an enlightening and comprehensive narrative biography of the eldest son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Dara was a Sufi who studied Hindu thought and was the presumed heir to the throne until he was executed by his own brother, Aurangzeb.

Zaytuna’s Book Club team plans to continue inviting scholars to the live sessions and remains incredibly grateful for the scholars who have already devoted their time to help the community pursue learning and the first command: Read! Ð

Dr. Tom Jones

Dr. Supriya Gandhi

43 president ’s report 2023

Dr. Thomas Hibbs

The Year in Books Readers of the First Command Book Club read and discussed the following books in 2023

All First Command Book Club books are available at the Zaytuna Bookstore: bookstore.zaytuna.edu

44 president ’s report 2023

From left: Hasan Spiker, Mohammad Fadel, and Paul Williams at the Renovatio event “Do What Thou Wilt?”

renovatio

Signature Events and the Tenth Print Edition a f t e r a leng t hy hiat us necessitated by the pandemic, Renovatio once again welcomed supporters and visitors to the Zaytuna College campus for its signature conversation-style events on contemporary topics.

In the winter, Blogging Theology host Paul Williams moderated the thought-provoking conversation (“Do What Thou Wilt?”) on the relationship between freedom and Islam, which included Dr. Mohammad Fadel, an expert on Islamic law from the University of Toronto, and philosopher Hasan Spiker, then of Zaytuna College, now an independent researcher. Each articulated distinctive views: Dr. Fadel affirming his belief in a compatibility between liberalism and Islam; and Spiker countering that true freedom, which liberalism purportedly seeks to protect, requires a social order that promotes self-mastery—not personal autonomy—above all else.

Later in the year, Renovatio hosted Dr. Carl Trueman, an ecclesiastical historian, pastor, and author of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution, a touchstone book for many people, often traditional Christians, seeking to resist the rising tide of gender ideology in America’s public square. Dr. Trueman joined President Hamza Yusuf for a spirited and illuminating exchange on the subversive power of the sexual revolution, which 45 president ’s report 2023

provided a vivid example of how Muslim and Christian intellectuals can enrich each other on issues of shared concern.

“Our feelings are now the ultimate authority,” Dr. Trueman said in his opening remarks. “The most dramatic example of that is our transgender moment, where if you feel you’re a woman, even if you can’t define what that is, that is what you are.” President Yusuf built upon Dr. Trueman’s placement of the self as the authority in the conversation that followed, explaining how the daughters of lust (luxuria in Latin) also include forms of love, including self-love and love of the world: “These are the result of somebody giving in completely to incontinence,” he said, “which used to be a very important moral term in our culture.”

Renovatio also published its tenth print edition on the theme of human dignity, with contributions from returning writers as well as new ones, including Lenn E. Goodman, a prominent scholar of Jewish and Islamic philosophy; Catholic legal expert Diana Cates, as well as Hina Khalid and Spiker—two young Muslim scholars who studied at the University of Cambridge.

Renovatio’s work continues to be noticed by influential scholars and intellectuals, particularly those committed to their respective faith traditions. While still in its infancy as a publication, it helps inject the broader public discussion with the timeless wisdom of the great world religions, especially Islam, and increases the influence of Zaytuna College as it does. “In part because of the success of its excellent journal, Renovatio, Zaytuna College in Berkeley… has influence far beyond its student body, which numbers only in the double digits,” observed Joshua T. Katz, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Ð

“Our feelings are now the ultimate authority. The most dramatic example of that is our transgender moment, where if you feel you’re a woman, even if you can’t define what that is, that is what you are.”

Dr. Carl Trueman

46 pr esident ’s report 2023

c o l l ege o p e r at i o n s 47

pr esident ’s report 2023

Dr. Mohamed Boufares, who serves as Imam Rātib, leads members of faculty in prayer.

The prayer hall, a work in progress, has become central to Zaytuna College’s devotional activities.

THE ZAYTUNA CAMPUS

A Space to Remember and Reconnect to God

By G o d’ s g r ace, it’s been a steady drumbeat of multifarious growth and progress for the Zaytuna College campus in 2023, with the completion of new additions and vital improvements to existing buildings and grounds. From housing to beautification of the gardens to a new muśallā for the daily prayers, these changes enrich the lives of everyone involved in study and devotion on campus.

Feraidoon Mojadedi, who oversees all hospitality and campus events, vividly recalls the day he took a visiting couple on an upper campus tour, and they asked to see the school’s place of worship. Wishing it were a more inviting space, he showed them a modest prayer area behind a dividing wall in a small section of what was once a cavernous worship space for the Lutheran seminary that had previously owned the campus.

Harsh echoes reverberated off the floor and ceiling, one hundred feet high on one side and twenty feet high on the other. One day, Feraidoon told them, this space would be transformed into a proper muśallā designed for Muslim worship. Later, over chai in his office, his guests offered to underwrite the project cost.

Work began right away. A demolition crew reshaped the interior of the space, after which it was repainted. Next came rows of prayer rugs, in a radiant red, from Turkey—along with a thick pad underneath to 48 pr esident ’s report 2023

absorb the cacophonous echoes. Ismail Ahmed Zai, a skilled woodworker and longtime Zaytuna supporter, pored over hundreds of pieces of mahogany before selecting thirty he would use to replicate an intricate geometric pattern with infinite repetition in all directions that complemented the mid-century lines of the building itself. A miĥrāb was modeled after the Cordoba Mosque—a Spanish style suited to the Californian landscape. Its twenty-four bold stripes of alternating black and white remind believers of the passing hours, of life and death, and to approach each prayer as if it were their last.

When the muśallā opened, President Hamza Yusuf designated Dr. Mohamed Boufares, an accomplished young scholar of Islamic legal theory and student of Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, as the College’s first Imam Rātib. For the first time, the adhān for daily prayers is now piped into every classroom and corner of campus, prompting students and faculty to pause together to remember and reconnect to God. The importance of a dedicated prayer space at Zaytuna cannot be overstated; in the Islamic tradition it is foundational to success. Already, the College has established the five daily prayers and the weekly Friday prayer; during Ramadan, students and faculty knelt on the padded carpet reciting the Qur’an; some of the Honors Program classes are taught in the space; and it has also been used for live stream classes and addresses

by President Yusuf.

Much work remains: replacing aging brick with stonework, installing new windows, and creating a wuđū’ station that redirects water to the community garden. “Whosoever builds a mosque for Allah, like a sparrow’s nest for Allah or even smaller, Allah will build for him a house in paradise,” Feraidoon says, citing a hadith. “For the final phase of this project, we’ll accept donations of any amount so that as many people as possible—students, staff, faculty, parents, friends—can partake in that prophetically promised reward.”

49 pr esident ’s report 2023

Imam Tahir Anwar, who teaches Hanafi Fiqh, takes the opportunity to teach outdoors near the Founders Hall

L ea r n i n g i n doors an d ou tdo o rs Anyone who visits the upper campus of Zaytuna College discovers the soothing and contemplative surroundings on the hilltop—the beauty of greenery in all directions—and can grasp at once how such a place is conducive to both study and worship. In fact, for students of sacred knowledge, study becomes a form of worship.

The setting is so inviting that Zaytuna’s faculty often take the opportunity to step out of their classrooms with students and teach on the bucolic college grounds. This is possible through most of the year because of the lovely weather in Northern California.

Inspired by the appeal and the recurrence of such outdoor learning, the College plans to pursue a campus amphitheater, which will allow for structured teaching events outdoors and provide a more tailored space for learning, should a teacher decide to shift a lesson outside.

L a n d s capi n g the c ampu s g ro unds Throughout the year, garden improvement has been underway, with some more tailored projects planned for the grounds. An immediate priority was removing the eucalyptus trees from the eastern hillside of campus, because these present a wildfire risk, making their removal an essential service to the surrounding community. The removal of the trees provided the additional benefit of creating new sightlines, further enhancing the experience of the hilltop campus’s natural beauty.

Following the reinforcement of the grounds, required after a winter landslide, the College will move ahead with permaculture terracing that will be used for planting projects through Zaytuna’s Center for Ethical Living and Learning. Ð 50 pr esident ’s report 2023

Building a Testimony to the Beauty of Islam “Today, when Muslims are sadly witnessing the destruction and neglect of much of Islam’s rich inheritance, we are working to transform the Zaytuna College campus, God willing, so it becomes renowned for its ethereal beauty and devotion to learning.

We hope it becomes a place that attracts visitors, and students, from far and wide, so they might witness and experience the beautiful vessel that encases, and emanates from, the beauty of Islam.

Our vision for this College remains firm: to educate and prepare future generations of students in a beautiful setting conducive to the pursuit of knowledge so they may go into the world as intellectual ambassadors armed with the power of permanent truth, a precious gift bestowed upon us by our Creator.”

President Hamza Yus uf

51 pr esident ’s report 2023

52 pr esident ’s report 2023

A College Primed for Growth “t h e chang e is m onum ental ,” says Shams Khan, who returned to Zaytuna this year as Head of Institutional Advancement, “but the core mission—and that’s the critical part—is still the same. That’s what brought me back.”

Following a previous tenure on Zaytuna’s development team, Shams held development leadership roles at West Virginia University and Ohio State University, where he oversaw campaigns that raised more than $600 million.

He brings his considerable experience back to Zaytuna and now applies it to an institution that educates and prepares future leaders who are steeped in the Islamic and Euro-American traditions and conversant with the contemporary world. Shams sees this emphasis on the mission epitomized by a new capital project funded by generous donors: the muśallā, or prayer hall.

“It’s a convening point,” he says. “It’s not just the time and praying. It gets us together and, quite literally, aligned. I think that will pay dividends until the end of time.”

The new prayer space, Shams points out, is a focal point for what Zaytuna is uniquely suited to provide in the world of higher education. It cultivates a sense of community, with congregants gathering for the core spiritual activities of the day. Prayer halls, after all, historically served as places of learning in the Muslim tradition, with each dome signaling a circle of learning below it, to take an Ottoman example.

“With the projects that we completed, we’ve established our place,” he says. “We have our presence now and are firmly rooted. Now, we enter a growth phase.” For Shams, this means bringing in more faculty and developing more academic programs, as well as sustaining or seeding auxiliary programs like the Zaytuna Center for Ethical Learning and Living

“We’re at six thousand monthly donors right now, and we’ve seen a huge growth in the last couple of years. God willing, that’s going to be a critical part of our success.”

Shams Khan

53 president ’s report 2023

Image of a yurt to be built on the upper campus

(ZCELL); Renovatio; the Emir Stein Center; and, God willing, a K-12 curriculum in the near future based on the College’s academic vision.

Shams also highlights additional capital projects that the College is actively seeking support for, including gardens, courtyards, gazebos, a yurt, permanent outdoor benches, and upgraded classrooms.

An engine that helps power Zaytuna’s progress to the achievement of these projects and its sustained growth, he says, is 12000 Strong, the college’s monthly donor program. “We’re at six thousand monthly donors right now, and we’ve seen a huge growth in the last couple of years,” he says. “God willing, that’s going to be a critical part of our success.”

The sustainability vision for the College is to rely less on major donors who provide a majority of funds necessary; the normal split at nonprofit institutions is that 20 percent of supporters provide 80 percent of the funds. Instead, Zaytuna aims to flip that model and cultivate a regular, monthly donor base of twelve thousand donors who give each month and who provide a significantly larger amount of operational funds.

The numbers are astounding. Shams notes that when Zaytuna reaches the program goal of twelve thousand monthly donors, it will functionally be the equivalent of a $100 million endowment. The fact that this effective endowment is to be achieved through a community-wide subscription model speaks to Zaytuna’s unique role both in the educational landscape and within the Muslim community. Ð

54 president ’s report 2023

The campus will include one or more gazebos similar to this

Restoration and Beautification Projects z ay t u na colleg e plans to embark on many projects all aimed at making the College a destination, one which Muslims from around the country and the world will want to visit, see, study or work at, and experience. Many of these projects have naming opportunities for which those wishing to provide support may dedicate a meaningful gift in the name of their family or loved ones.

Ga r d en s In our endeavor to restore the natural beauty of the Zaytuna gardens, the College uncovered the original landscape master plans for the property, which was designed almost one hundred years ago by famous American landscape architect Thomas Church. Remarkably, he used the famous Persian garden motif known as chahārbāgh (four gardens), which reflects the Qur’anic reference to the four gardens of Paradise under which rivers flow. This garden design adorns the most iconic architectural masterpieces in the Muslim world, and it’s an immense blessing that a Muslim college has the opportunity to restore this excellent tradition in the hills of Berkeley.

55 president ’s report 2023

A proposed design of a classroom at the Founders Hall on the upper campus

C o urt yards The College’s upper campus is home to three courtyards that were originally designed by Church. Part of the Zaytuna beautification project includes restoration of these courtyards, especially the largest of the courtyard spaces surrounding Sophia Hall. The College plans to develop restoration plans including landscape design with native plants and trees suitable for the arid climate and irrigation.

Y u rt Another project planned is to build a large yurt. Yurts have been used for thousands of years as portable homes by the nomadic peoples of Central Asia. They are sturdy and easy to install. Modern adaptations make them ideal for the expanding space at Zaytuna College, providing beautiful, durable, and long-lasting structures without having to go through the expensive and time-consuming process of building additional classrooms.

In addition, Zaytuna plans to build gazebos amid the gardens; install permanent benches anchored within the gardens and courtyards; and complete the prayer hall project with traditional benches, dividers, and furniture for the imam’s room. Lastly, classrooms will be remodeled and modernized in order to provide faculty and students with amenities more conducive to learning. Ð 56 president ’s report 2023

Zaytuna Students by the Numbers 2023 Zayt una Stu d e n t B ody Bachelor’s Master’s Total

Z ay tu n a Co l l e ge A l u mn i

Mal e

F e ma le

Tota l

26 7 33

43 5 48

69 12 81

Bachelor’s Master’s Total

Male

Female

Total

45 13 58

50 7 57

95 20 115

Wh ere They Wen t The following are some of the colleges and universities where Zaytuna graduates went for further study.

• Bayan Islamic Graduate School • Cambridge Muslim College • Chicago Theological Seminary • Claremont Graduate School • Columbia University • Georgetown University • Harvard University

• St. John’s College • Art Institute of Chicago • State University of New York • University of California–Berkeley • University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign • University of Oxford • William & Mary 57

president ’s report 2023

Financial Review

fy2023 (8/1/2022–7/31/2023) Statement of Financial Position

Statement of Activities (All Funds)

assets

revenue and other support

Cash ......................................................6,237,944 Investments ........................................... 4,910,384 Receivables ........................................... 4,862,088 Property, Buildings & Equipment, net ... 26,133,756 Other Assets.......................................... 4,646,904 Total Assets .................................46,791,076

Tuition & Fees ....................................... 2,360,600 Financial Aid & Scholarships ............ (2,009,262) Net Tuition ...............................................351,338 Capital Gifts & Donations ...................... 9,477,604 12000 Strong Gifts 12K Strong Gifts .................................... 2,489,002 Bookstore Sales, net .................................. 175,658 Other Sources .......................................... 444,374 Total Revenue and Other Support .. 12,937,977

liabilities Accounts Payable & Accrued Liabilities ...... 694,337 Notes Payable.........................................3,164,720 Other Liabilities ......................................... 50,100 Total Liabilities ............................. 3,909,157

net assets Without Donor Restrictions .................29,851,522 With Donor Restrictions ...................... 13,030,397 Total Net Assets ................................... 42,881,919 Total Liabilities & Net Assets ..........46,791,076

expenses Payroll .................................................. 7,951,247 Professional Services...............................1,003,517 Employee & Event Related Expenses ......... 351,027 Admin Expenses ....................................... 636,057 Student Expenses ......................................160,315 Facility Expenses ....................................1,514,368 Other Expenses ..................................... 1,258,877 Total Expenses .............................12,875,410

non-operational activ ities non-operational activities Increase in Net Assets ..............................3,357,823 Endowment Gifts .............................. 3,295,256 Net Assets at Beginning of Year .............39,524,096 Net Assets at End of Year ...............42,881,919

revenue

expenses

13,000,000

13,000,000

9,750,000

9,750,000

6,500,000

6,500,000

3,250,000

3,250,000

0

2019

2020

2021

2022

0

2023

2019

58 pr esident ’s report 2023

2020

2021

2022

2023

Growth and Sustainability Growth andSustainability Sustainability Growth and

As the College continues to expand its offerings, it must meet the growing fiscal demands, As the continues expand its offerings, it must meet the demands, while alsoCollege continuing in its to path of long-term financial stability.

Thegrowing College’sfiscal strategic focus is while also continuing in its path of long-term financial stability.

The College’s strategic focus revenue diversification through steady growth of the 12000 Strong monthly giving initiative, theis revenue diversification through steady growth of the 12000 Strong monthly giving initiative, College endowment, and online learning programs. By 2030, these collective revenue streams arethe College to endowment, learning programs.

By 2030,budget, these collective revenue streams are projected account forand overonline 70% of the College’s operational in sha Allah. projected to account for over 70% of the College’s operational budget, in sha Allah.

projected operational revenue projected operational revenue

projected operational expenses projected operational expenses 16,000,000

16,000,000

16,000,000

16,000,000

12,000,000

12,000,000

12,000,000

12,000,000

8,000,000

8,000,000

8,000,000

8,000,000

4,000,000

4,000,000

4,000,000

4,000,000 0

2024

0

2025

2024

2025

net asset growth net asset growth 44,000,000

0

2026

2024

0

2026

2025

2024

2026

2025

2026

projected endowment growth projected endowment growth 44,000,000 44,000,000

44,000,000

33,000,000

33,000,000

33,000,000

33,000,000

22,000,000

22,000,000

22,000,000

22,000,000

11,000,000

11,000,000

11,000,000

11,000,000 0

2019

0

2020

2019

2021

2020

2022

2021

0

2023

2022

12000 strong member growth 12000 strong member growth 6,000

0

2023

2023

2024

2023

2025

2024

2026

2025

12000 strong yearly revenue 12000 strong yearly revenue 2,600,000

2026

2,600,000

6,000 5,000

1,950,000

5,000 4,000

1,950,000

4,000 1,300,000

3,000

1,300,000

3,000 2,000

650,000

2,000 1,000

650,000

1,000 0 0

2019 2019

2020 2020

2021 2021

2022

0

2023

2022

0

2023

2019 2019

59 pr esident ’s report 2023

2020 2020

2021 2021

2022 2022

2023 2023

Ð College Leadership and Faculty B oa r d o f Tr u stees Pervez Qureshi, Chair m an | Syed Mubeen Saifullah, S e c r e tary and Tr easur er | Faraz Ahmed | Dilshad Dhanani Dr. Marianne Farina | Masood Khan | Muhammad Mian Dr. Suhail Obaji | Dr. Farah Rana

E x e c u t i ve Team Dr. Hamza Yusuf, Pres ident Dr. Aisha Subhani, Vice Pres ident Dr. Ali Ataie, Dean of Undergraduate Studies Professor Mahsuk Yamac, Dean of GRADUATE StudieS

F ac ulty Shaykh Talal Ahdab, Lect urer | Dr. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali, A s s o c i at e Pr of essor | Imam Tahir Anwar, Lecturer | Dr. Ali Ataie, A sso ciat e Pr of essor | Dr. Cindy Ausec, Adjunct Faculty Dr. Rabia Bajwa, Assistant Profes s or | Dr. Hatem Bazian, Pr o f e ssor | Qari Amar Bellaha, Lecturer | Dr. Mohamed Boufares, A s s o c i ate Pr of essor | Dr. Phillbert Cheng, As s is tant Profes s or Dr. Fadi Elhin, Associat e Prof esso r | Dr. Uzma Husaini, As s is tant Pr o f e sso r | Dr. Youssef Ismail, Ass is tant Profes s or | Dr. Lawrence Jannuzzi, Adjunct Facult y | Shaykh Faraz Khan, Lecturer, S e n i o r Resear ch Fellow | Dr. Eiyad S. al-Kutubi, adjunct f ac u lt y | Ustadh Yusuf Mullick, Lecturer | Fr. Francisco Nahoe, A ssi s ta n t Pr of essor | Dr. Jawad Qureshi, As s ociate Profes s or Dr. Esma Sag Sencal, Assistant Profes s or | Dr. Harun Sencal, A sso ciat e Prof essor | Dr. Asad Tarsin, Res earch Fellow Professor Mahsuk Yamac, Lecturer

Ð 60 pr esident ’s report 2023

ou r m i ssion Zaytuna College aims to educate and prepare morally committed professional, intellectual, and spiritual leaders who are grounded in the Islamic scholarly tradition and conversant with the cultural currents and critical ideas shaping modern society.

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2401 Le Conte Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709 | give@zaytuna.edu | (510) 356-4760