Beyond Borders: Bringing the Tools of Learning to You

Zaytuna College aims to follow in the footsteps of the forebears of Islam’s great intellectual tradition, who rooted their scholarship in the pursuit of sound knowledge and understood that knowledge was the right of every Muslim. The great Yale historian Franz Rosenthal observed, “There is no branch of Muslim intellectual life, of Muslim religious and political life, and of the daily life of the average Muslim that remained untouched by the all-pervasive attitude toward ‘knowledge’ as something of supreme value for Muslim being.” This pursuit of knowledge transcends buildings or institutions and lives in the hearts of sincere seekers. Muslim scholars often wrote adaptations and primers of their own work, so that a wider audience could benefit from their insights. Imām al-Ghazālī, one of the greatest codifiers of the Muslim sciences, wrote several adaptations of his magnum opus The Revival of the Religious Sciences, in Persian and Arabic alike, to reach audiences of all backgrounds. These distillations remain in the canon of Muslim educational literature. They serve both as a means of general education and as essential primers for the student of knowledge. With the generous gift enabling the creation of a high-quality professional studio, the College is excited to announce the launch of an online learning program that will propel Zaytuna’s education mission beyond the classroom.

The initiative will integrate a holistic curriculum based on the trivium and quadrivium from both the Western and Muslim traditions. Students will have the opportunity to develop a foundational Muslim literacy that provides the requisite knowledge and tools to tackle today’s theological and ethical challenges. Constitutional Law and Introduction to Logic, presented by Zaytuna faculty members, will serve as the first two courses. Filming is scheduled to begin at the start of the new year. “Constitutional Law and Introduction These will be followed by to Logic, presented by Zaytuna faculty a fard ayn series that will members, will serve as the first two include the obligatory courses. Filming is scheduled to begin sciences of the Islamic at the start of the new year.” tradition, including creed, jurisprudence, spirituality, hadith, prophetic biography, and more. Specialty courses on topics such as Islamic finance, medical ethics, sustainable living, halal education, and more will be developed to better inform those who have professional or personal interest in these fields. Ultimately, Zaytuna aims to develop a comprehensive online learning catalog that provides high-quality courses with an optimized user experience. The program will be designed using the best practices in distance learning and will allow Zaytuna’s supporters to actively study with faculty and benefit from the education they support.