By Abdus-Sami Hoda
North America’s newest Islamic College recently completed its second term. Students first attended classes at the new College of Islamic Studies (CIS) at the Islamic Institute of Orange County (IIOC) in Anaheim, California at the beginning of 2013.
I was able to interview Shaykh Mustafa Umar, currently Director of Education and Outreach at IIOC, and College of Islamic Studies’ Lead Instructor about building the new college and teaching within the American context.
1. What led you to conceive of and lead a project like the College of Islamic Studies (CIS)?
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I have always loved sharing what I learn with others. I remember starting my first Arabic grammar class at University of California Irvine only two weeks after I had started studying Arabic for the first time on my own. While I was studying Islam overseas, every time I came across a point of knowledge which really resonated with me, I would be eager to share it with others. Upon returning back to America and serving as a leader in the Muslim community, I noticed a high level of ignorance about Islam, even among practicing and activist Muslims. I have always been thinking of a way to spread the knowledge of Islam in the quickest and most efficient manner possible, and that is where the idea of the College of Islamic Studies came from.
2. There are more and more correspondence based and online Islamic Studies programs popping up in the past five years. What does this tell you?
It tells me that there is a thirst for knowledge in the Muslim community, but there are usually few good resources available to English speaking Muslims. It also indicates that many people who are interested in learning about Islam are quite busy and unable to attend the classes/lectures held in their area due to their busy schedules. Correspondence courses offer the convenience [despite requiring added discipline] of studying from any location.
3. What did your own studies around the world teach you? What worked, and what didn’t?
It taught me a lot about how different cultures determine what aspects of Islam are emphasized, both in studies and in practice. I realized that many things I was learning were never going to be of any practical benefit, because of the culture that I lived in. Why would I care about how many buckets need to be drawn out of a well in case an animal falls inside and dies? We don’t use wells and are not likely to ever use them. I also realized that there were many things that I should have learned, but didn’t. How do we pay zakah on a 401k or IRA account? We did not even learn the underlying theory needed to answer these questions. So I realized that in order for Islamic studies to remain relevant, practical and interesting for students, several modifications would need to be made, not only in the teaching methodology and pedagogical practices but in the informational content as well.
4. How does CIS set itself apart? What approach are you taking?
The College of Islamic Studies has developed its curriculum and teaching methodology around eight fundamental pillars; these pillars were developed in response to common challenges faced by contemporary Muslims seeking to learn about their faith.
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Start with the Basics: Each class is taught with the assumption that the student has no prior knowledge about the subject. No one will hear random Arabic phrases without there being a clear definition, or have certain information skimmed through because of the all-too-common assumption, “everyone knows that already.” There is nothing more frustrating for a student attempting to learn Islam than being told that they are already supposed to know something they were never taught before.
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Avoid Sectarianism in Theology and Jurisprudence: One of the frustrating, and dangerous, trends in many Islamic educational institutions is the emphasis placed on following a particular school of thought in either theology [ʿaqīdah] or in the interpretation of Islamic law [fiqh]. Rather than forcing any particular school of thought, the College of Islamic Studies presents knowledge which agrees with the mainstream teachings of Islam while instructing students to respect the legitimate differences of opinion that exist between Muslim scholars. All teachings are based on the Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah [the teachings of the Prophet] together with an understanding that minor differences of opinion will always exist among Muslim scholars.
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Utilize a Pedagogical Approach: There are two extreme trends in Islamic education. The first emphasizes rote learning, making the student memorize minute details without teaching them to think critically or analyze the subject matter. The second encourages the student to criticize the different aspects of an Islamic subject before actually undertaking a comprehensive study of that subject. At CIS, we strive to teach our students to be academic and critical after they have a firm grasp of the subject.
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Focus on Relevant Information: Prolonged discussions on matters that are not necessary for understanding and practicing Islam are avoided. If an issue is not practical but may have some theoretical benefit, it is usually summarized without spending too much time on it. CIS aims to focus on the practical, beneficial knowledge for Muslims living today, and emphasize learning the core subject matter in every course rather than focusing on minute details.
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Follow a Comprehensive Approach: A balanced Islamic education requires areas such as Theology, Islamic law, History and the Principles of Islamic Law to be studied as separate subjects in order to equip students with the necessary tools to understand and connect with the Qur’an and Sunnah on a deeper level. The absence of comprehensive study causes the Islamic sources to be understood within a vacuum and makes them seem irrelevant to the present age.
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Provide Targeted and Comprehensive Exams: Testing your knowledge solidifies it in your mind, gives you the confidence needed to convey it to others, and corrects any misunderstandings you might have had. Many students attend classes and listen to lectures but have no way of measuring how much they actually learned. Therefore, the examinations at the College of Islamic Studies are both comprehensive and focus on understanding the subject matter, rather than merely memorizing arbitrary facts and names of people.
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Academic Practices and Rigor: Professionalism is a key component of the College’s methodology. When it comes to appearance, style, source referencing, transliteration, etc. the most up-to-date academic practices will be utilized.
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Spiritual Emphasis: There is little benefit to a scientifically dry study of Islam which will only dull one’s senses. Instead, each subject will be taught with an aim to inspire and motivate the student, be relevant to the present day context, and most importantly, have an emphasis on spirituality. CIS does not ascribe to the idea that religious conviction and objectivity must be mutually exclusive.
Announcements2 weeks ago
h
August 26, 2013 at 7:16 PM
jazzakallahkhair
Abdus-Sami Hoda (@studentsjourney)
August 27, 2013 at 2:25 PM
Wa iyyakum. Thanks for taking the time out to read this.
Summer
August 28, 2013 at 6:45 PM
Reading this article gave me a pang of longing. I live in the UK where education like this is hard to find if you don’t have the expenses. I pray you find every sucess with this college inshallah :)
Abdus-Sami Hoda (@studentsjourney)
August 29, 2013 at 12:23 PM
Join us. Our online courses are available across the world.
ahmadali
August 30, 2013 at 1:41 PM
I pray Allah to be very kind on the muslims living in different part of the world to be able to live a life similar to prophet and all those who make effort in this direction are lucky people
StrangerFromTheEast
September 14, 2013 at 11:45 AM
Looked interesting at first, but after further browsing I noticed they are promoting material from Hamza Yusuf whom I believe is a Sufi. Nothing else needed to know: I immediately closed the website.
If you want a good, tried and tested online islamic degree course: I recommend islamic online university (IOU) or Knowledge International university (KIU)
Abdus-Sami Hoda (@studentsjourney)
October 2, 2013 at 3:00 PM
Salam StrangerFromTheEast,
In all honesty, I’m not sure you read the whole article about our approach, if you scoured the website looking for someone or something you could disagree with. May Allah (swt) have mercy.
Again, in all honesty, our Purification of the Soul class, like all our classes, encourages outside reading. The outside reading is optional. For this class we currently recommend “Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart” by Hamza Yusuf which is a translation and commentary of a prior Scholar’s work.
We’re always evaluating the optional reading we recommend, and like is mentioned in the article, stay away from things that divide the Ummah. Perhaps this book may or may not be a part of our future curriculum, but it is no way a reason to avoid the college or to label it.
IOU and KIU are good alternatives, and we work well with other colleges. In fact, we may have credit transfer agreements and accreditation agreements with many of them in the future.
That being said, Alhumdulillah, we have no close to 400+ enrollments this term, and that would probably make us the biggest Islamic college in North America (from what I can tell). We are always looking for people support, supplication, and honest feedback. If you’d like to talk further, please feel free to tweet me, but I hope you see we’re honest and transparent about all this, and quite simply, just trying our best.
May Allah (swt) accept.
StrangerFromTheEast
October 4, 2013 at 10:42 AM
Wa alaikum salam warahmatullah to the contrary I scoured the website looking for any resources that would actually help me.
How can you say that the references or supplementary material that are in there, has nothing to do with the credibility of the rest of the curriculum or even the institution as a whole?
When you put in references to topics or individuals that ‘may’ cause deviation to the very CORE of islamic beliefs which is tawheed, then you would need to be careful of who you are supporting and what you are propagating. I am especially fearful for the new muslims out there.
I’m telling you this because I think you are honest, open and transparent in your intentions and I think you will take action by having scholars who are well grounded in matters of religion frame your curriculum, preferably scholars from Saudi Arabia.
Abdus-Sami Hoda (@studentsjourney)
October 4, 2013 at 11:57 AM
Salam StrangerFromTheEast,
A couple things to consider, and I’ll leave it at that.
One of the keys goals of the college is to help build a foundation so that you can process books from different authors (that you may agree with, and those whom you may disagree with) so that students are not afraid of approaching other texts and can critically analyze the texts to take what benefits them, and reject (with adab) what does not.
In class, we actually criticized some points in this book and others, and this is documented in the videos.
The text we really wanted to get for the class was unavailable for such a large class. It had to be imported, and was not available from any seller in the US. With around 80+ students in each class, we needed a huge quantity and shipping costs were significant. Not to mention, we are offering the college at minimal cost, so the book itself would be more expensive than the class itself.
In the end we chose a book which we could reference and discuss, and was available for free on the Internet for download (without copyright). If you have some other books you would recommend, please feel free to do so.
But these are some of the practical implications of running a new school. Like I mentioned, we will continually work to improve our curriculum, but we also wont shy away from teaching students how to navigate the world of Islamic scholarship.
The argument that the books are linked to the credibility of the organization is somewhat a red herring – because many controversial books (or uncontroversial books by controversial authors) are taught in many schools, and the teacher uses the text to teach what is right and what is wrong [and the principles to determine the difference]. If we only teach “our books” from “our scholars”, we limit ourselves and our students.
As for tawheed, yes indeed that is imminently important. My own teachers are some of whom who teach at IOU and KIU. But I’ve also learned from the mistakes of other teachers in what to avoid, what areas are grey, etc. That education has been just as important. It would not be accurate to say that the truth lies in teachers from only one region of the world, or more so, from any one school.
And Allah (swt) knows best. I have tried to be as honest and straight-forward as possible. Give us a try, if you don’t like it, ask for a refund.
Cara Sholat
December 13, 2013 at 10:51 AM
This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah, Who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them, And who believe in what has been revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what was revealed before you, and of the Hereafter they are certain [in faith]. (al-baqarah:2-3)