Scholars Plan First Islamic College in U.S.

A group of American Muslims, led by two prominent scholars Imam Zaid Shakir and Sheik Hamza Yusuf, is moving closer to fulfilling a vision of founding the first four-year accredited Islamic college in the United States. There is scheduled a June vote to decide whether the proposed Zaytuna College will open its doors in the fall of next year. Shakir and Yusuf of California have spent many years planning this institution, which will offer a liberal arts education and training in Islamic scholarship.

As I have quite a few Muslim friends and colleagues, I'm aware of how important the establishment of such an academic institution is. Though the study Islam in religious/cultural studies departments is done at major universities, there has yet to be a place of higher education founded and ran by Muslims grounded in Islamic principles.

Those of us who are Christian progressives ought to be supportive of these efforts of promoting and furthering Islamic scholarship and religion, which is becoming a widely prominent religion in the U.S. Helping institutions of higher education that are religiously-affiliated will serve to foster more awareness and understanding of the religious diversity in our country and learn more about each others' faith traditions. The more we engage with each other, the more we understand each other; and the more we understand each other, the less afraid we'll be of each other; and the less we're afraid of each other, the less violence and more love we'll show each other.

Read the Associated Press story at Newsmax.