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 & Chancelor
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.
In 2013, IOU started to broadcast to the virtual world via Insights TV; television station dedicated to broadcasting free Islamic knowledge across the world. And also in the same year, IOU magazine Insights was successfully launched.
In 2014, IOU has been granted operational license in The Gambia and introduced new departments: Department of Education, Department of Islamic Economics, Banking & Finance, and Department of Psychology. All departments offer BA degree, Diplomas or Certificates to choose from. And also new Department of Arabic Language and Linguistics which offers two year Intensive Arabic program was opened.
Thus IOU now has a single virtual campus for all its accredited programs hosted on its own dedicated server.
“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.”
Dr. Bilal Philips, Founder and Chancellor, Islamic Online University
The Islamic Online University (IOU) aims to grant global access to quality undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level education programs for students at virtually no cost. Its mission is to “Change the Muslim nation and the world situation through appropriate education.”
