Chancellor of IOU meets Chancellor of USL
The Chancellor of Islamic Online University (IOU), the Jamaican/Canadian born, Dr. Bilal Philips commonly known as Abu Ameenah, based in Qatar, visited the Chancellor of University of Sierra Leone (USL) His Excellency the President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma, in his office at State Hosue last Monday December 8, 2013. After briefing him about the activities of IOU, Dr Bilal handed over a cheque of $US 50,000 in favor of Voice of Islam Radio (FM102.0). The donation according to Dr. Philips is meant for the development of VOI in its coverage across the country. (Photo: Dr. Bilal Philips in warm hand shake with P.Koroma)
In response the president acknowledged the donation on behalf of the Radio and promised to monitor the committee in charge of the money. President Koroma also welcomed the idea of establishing the IOU type Islamic institution. In fact he promised to enroll, if at all he had time, as a student himself. He also promised to see that the registration process at the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) is fast tracked. According to Dr. Bilal Philips, during his last visit to Sierra Leone he said that the IOU had 100,000 Students at that time but now the number has increased to 130,000 in 219 countries in the world.
The IOU Chancellor also met and had fruitful meetings with ministers of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs (MSWGCA) and Education Science and Technology (MEST) Mr. Moi Jue Kai Kai and Mr Minkailu Bah respectively. Both of them welcomed Dr. Bilal’s intiative and promised to speed up the registration process. “If the IOU is taken seriously, it will help Sierra Leonean nationals in two ways; one: to give them contemporary Islamic Education and to create Job for the graduates with degrees in Islamic theology”, Mr. Moi Jue Kai Kai hopes.
Learn more about Islamic online university.com
MISSION STATEMENT
“Making authentic Islamic knowledge readily available to the world through the Internet solely for God’s pleasure is a noble life-goal and a mission well worth sacrificing all of one’s energies and means for.”
The Islamic Online University aims to grant global access to quality undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level Islamic education programs for students at virtually no cost. Its mission is “to change the Muslim nation and the world situation through appropriate education.”
The principles upon which the IOU is based are:
Knowledge: Quran and Sunnah
God said: “Indeed it is only the knowledgeable among His servants who truly fear Allah.” (35:28)
The Last Prophet said: “Seeking knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim.”
Accessibility
The Islamic Online University already provides a golden opportunity to access Islamic courses wherever people may be and whenever they wish, without having to travel overseas or even leave the confines of their homes. Its goal is to be for anyone, any place at any time.
The Last Prophet said: “If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads to Paradise.”
Affordability
The IOU demonstrates its continued commitment to spreading authentic Islamic knowledge by progressing from an absolutely free certificate and diploma level courses to a tuition free BA, thereby making higher Islamic education easily affordable worldwide. Free tuition for all students provides equal access to an education that few could afford if they attended traditional institutions of higher learning around the world.
God said: “Say: Are those who know equal to those who do not know?” (39:9)
Community
No student will be prevented from studying at Islamic Online University, regardless of their religious, ethnic or social background. The IOU affirms that its doors will remain open for all, irrespective of the borders existing in the real world. It has already spawned a global community of over 18,000 students who seek Islamic knowledge from over 160 countries and share their knowledge and concerns in supervised student forums.
God said: “Cooperate with each other in righteousness and piety… ” (5:2)
Islamic ethics
It is the fundamental belief of the Islamic Online University that the Muslim teacher is essentially different from a teacher who merely happens to be a Muslim. Likewise, the Muslim student should be distinctly different from a student who so happens to be a Muslim. The IOU expects all its students, faculty, staff, administrators and volunteers to function as Muslims first and foremost in their respective positions and fields. Doing so will naturally entail maintaining the highest standards of personal integrity, honesty and responsibility.
The Last Prophet said: “Indeed, Allah loves from each of you that whenever he or she does work, that is done according to the best of his or her ability.”
Quality and Application
Islamic Online University is committed to providing a top quality online academic experience, suitable in its scope and depth to convey authentic and practical Islamic knowledge, while at the same time enabling its students to face the contemporary challenges of the 21st century. IOU will assess and re-evaluate every aspect of its academic model on an ongoing basis and will not only encourage its students to study diligently, but also emphasize that they must strive their utmost to put the knowledge gained into practice.
The Last Prophet said, “The best of you is one who learns the Qur’aan and teaches it to others.”
He also said, “The best of you is the one most beneficial to people.”
The Last Prophet’s disciple, Ibn Mas’ood said, “We used to learn knowledge and its application together.”
Imaam Sufyaan ath-Thawree related that as a youth, when he first began to attend classes, his mother advised him, “If you write down 10 words and your faith hasn’t improved, check yourself.”
HISTORY
The IOU was originally a product of Dr Bilal’s teaching courses in Islamic Studies at the American University in Dubai for seven years after Islamizing the complete curriculums of study for the college of education of the Sharif Kabunsuan College in Cotabato City, Mindanao, Philippines in the early nineties. One year after the IOU’s establishment in 2001 the program ran into technical difficulties and had to shut down, however, the material developed for its courses was used to establish a department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Preston University – Ajman, UAE and three years later the department had its first batch of BA graduates.
After running the Islamic Studies department at Preston for one year as its dean, Dr Bilal moved to Doha, Qatar, and in the beginning of 2007 established another BA in Islamic Studies (BAIS) program in Doha, approved by Omdurman Islamic University in Sudan for accreditation, under the title of the Islaamic Studies Academy.
The BA & MA programs of the IOU represent the online version of the Islamic Studies Academy’s accredited BAIS & MAIS programs, which are the only accredited BAIS & MAIS programs of studies available on the internet.
In April 2007 the Islamic Online University (IOU) reopened its doors with the popular Da’wah Training Course after a five-year interlude. To enhance the student’s learning experience, the server and the LMS (Learning Management System) of the IOU have been upgraded. As a result, the courses now have audios and Flash format videos enabling easy viewing online for all types of internet connections. There are also monthly online live student forums with Dr Bilal, as well as general forums for students to discuss and research together.
FOUNDER
Dr Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips is a Jamaican Canadian Islamic Scholar who converted to Islam in the early seventies after journeying politically and intellectually from Christianity to Communism. Shortly after his reversion to Islam, he embarked on a spiritual academic journey to the other side of the world seeking Islamic knowledge. This journey took him to Saudi Arabia where he completed a BA in Islamic studies in Madeenah, and an MA in Islamic Theology in Riyadh, then to the University of Wales, UK, where he completed a PhD in Islamic Theology in the early nineties.
After graduation from Madeenah, Dr Bilal became a teacher of Islamic studies for 10 years in an Islamic High School, Manaret Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and a lecturer of Arabic and Islamic studies in the American University in Dubai, UAE, for another 10 years. During his 10 years in the UAE, he founded and taught at the Islamic Information Center in Dubai, and during his subsequent 7 years in Qatar he has been an Islamic consultant and lecturer for the Islamic Information wing of Sh. Eed Charity.
Dr Bilal Philips has written, translated and commented on over 50 published books on various Islamic topics. He has also edited and published the 56thof book of Eemaan Reading Series for children and presented Islamic programs for a number of years on Riyadh Channel 2TV, Sharjah TV for ten years, as well as Peace TV, Huda TV, Islam Channel, UK, and the Deen Show, Chicago, USA.
In 2002 Dr Philips founded and headed the Islamic studies department of Preston University, Ajman, UAE, and in 2007 he founded and headed the Islamic Studies Academy, Doha, Qatar, while simultaneously launching the Islamic Online University which is currently offering free Islamic courses to over 100,000 registered students from over 207 different countries worldwide, and for which he was included in the Jordanian publication, The 500 Most Influential Muslims.
Dr Bilal subsequently founded and headed, in 2008, the English medium Islamic studies department of Knowledge International University, who’s Chancellor is Shaikh Dr. ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn ‘Abdil-Azeez Al Sudais (one of the Imams of Makkah) and who’s President of the board of trustees is Shaikh ‘Abdul-Azeez ibn ‘Abdullah Al Shaikh, Mufti of Saudi Arabia. More recently, in 2009, Dr Bilal Philips founded and headed the College of Da’wah and Islamic Culture (English Section), Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan, and established and directed Preston International College in Chennai, India.
In March 2010, Dr Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips launched, for the first time in history, an accredited tuition-free BA in Islamic Studies degree course at the Islamic Online University.
DEAN’S MESSAGE
It is my great pleasure to welcome you, Islamically, to the IOU experience in which the various avenues of divinely-revealed knowledge have been opened for you. This opportunity has been made possible by the ‘accidental’ invention of the Internet, a human creation resulting from divine inspiration. At a time when Islamic learning is caught between fossilization and revival, hijacked by modernism and extremism, a chance to promote its teachings in their original unadulterated form was born. Allahu Akbar – surely this is a mercy from Allah. I sincerely hope that you will take full advantage of this unique opportunity to deeply understand the major areas of Islam, apply what you learn in your lives, and share this divine legacy to the world around you.
Dr. Bilal Philips, Founder & Dean
By Shk Alie Y.Kallay
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