From the 1st of April, Dr Bilal Philip’s Islamic Online University (IOU) has launched the world’s first tuition-free, Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies in English completely online. A major new step towards helping Muslims across the globe fulfill the Prophet’s command to seek knowledge of the religion.
After successfully running a collection of 20 free short courses since 2007 in which more than 20,000 students are currently registered from more than 160 different countries, Dr Bilal has taken the bold step of offering a BA along similar lines.
This path-breaking initiative utilizes the worldwide presence of the internet and advanced open source online learning technology to bring tuition-free university level Islamic education within reach of virtually anyone on the planet who has access to a computer and the internet.
The program has recorded video lectures and weekly live tutorial classes in a virtual classroom setting on the net and its syllabus is based on the BA in Usool ud-Deen (Religious Foundations) curriculum of Madeenah University, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan, and other similar institutions. Six subjects are available each semester. Each semester is 5 months, having a mid-term exam after two and a half months and the final at the end of the fifth month. Students are free to access their classes whenever it is convenient for them, however assignments and exams (mid-term and finals) have to be taken at fixed times.
There are no fees for the courses. However, there is a fixed symbolic registration fee and examination fee each semester which is calculated on a sliding scale (from $10 to $50) depending on the student’s country of residence. Enrollment for this semester will continue until the end of April at www.islamiconlineuniversity.com and for further clarification or help, the registrar may be contacted at Mobile :+974 681 99 50 and email: registrar@islamiconlineuniversity.com
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