Islamic College for Advanced Studies

The Islamic College represents a fusion of the classical with the modern. It was founded in 1998 to promote a new approach to the study of Islam and Muslims by providing a unique ‘insider’s perspective’ on Islam and fostering a non-sectarian outlook. The College is fast becoming an important academic centre for Islamic studies: it offers fully validated degrees at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and has to date published more than forty major texts in the field of Islamic studies and a quarterly academic journal. It is also a multi-faceted institution, offering certificate level courses in practical Islamic subjects, such as Qur’anic Arabic and Islamic Banking, not to mention having just launched a momentous new programme to train Muslim scholars for the West. The Islamic College is one of the few Muslim institutions in the West today able to boast such an impressive contribution to the study and future of Islam.

The Islamic College is dedicated to helping students fulfil their potential and to promoting academic knowledge based on authentic original Islamic sources. We aim to disseminate Islamic knowledge in an environment that accords with Islamic values and thus tries to emulate Islamic norms and values in which that knowledge matured, was nurtured, and developed. The College provides the best opportunity for students who want a deeper understanding of Islam, its philosophy, and its law, in its right context and perspective.

In our programmes and research, we aim to provide more than just an academic understanding of Islam, as it is taught in most universities today. We want to present an ‘insider’s view’ of Islam and allow students to understand it as a living, breathing way of life, as well as a system of belief. This means they will not only study academic theories about Islam, but they will become acquainted with scholarly debates going on within Islam and what these mean for Islam’s future. In this way, we bring together education and spirituality, the classical and the modern, the academic and the practical.