America's First Muslim College

America's First Muslim College

WASHINGTON – As interested students race to beat the fast approaching enrolment deadline, Muslims are turning their sights to the Zaytuna College in California to see if America's first ever Muslim college will live up to the high expectations.
"We’ve been waiting for this time," Imam Zaid Shakir, a scholar-in-residence and lecturer at Zaytuna Institute and a co-founded of the college, told IslamOnline.net in an exclusive interview.
"It’s been a long road to get here, Alhamdulillah, and to know that we’re in this final part to getting freshman class set is very exciting."
Zaytuna College, a brainchild of Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, Imam Shakir and Professor Hatem Bazian, will stop accepting applications for its first freshman class of 2010 on March 1.
With the application process coming to a close, a committee is readying to study the applications and admit between 20-25 students as incoming freshmen.
And although the college is seeking Muslim students, it is not exclusive to Muslims.
There will be no gender separation at the college and academic pursuits and freedom will be paramount.
Course subjects have been decided on, but educators are now writing syllabi and mapping out teaching methodology for the subjects.
Currently only two majors are being offered: Arabic language and Islamic law and theology.
As the class size increases and more educators are hired, other majors will be offered, Imam Shakir said.
Zaytuna College is in the rigorous process of seeking accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, a process that will take a number of years and one that Imam Shakir hopes will be completed by the time the freshman class graduates.
He noted that they have been able to achieve the goal of raising nearly $4 million needed for its temporary location at Berkeley.
Now they face the challenge of raising upwards of $65 million for an endowment fund that will ensure a consistent monetary support

Read more:http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2010-02/24/02.shtml#ixzz0gSonTkl2