A Tour of Zaytuna College

Salam alaykum and greetings my name is IA Hussein and my name is farz Bala and we're both Juniors as Zuna College we welcome you to the first accredited Muslim liberal arts college in the United States join us as we take you on a tour of our Oasis of learning nestled at the very top of the scenic Berkeley Hills our upper campus houses both the ba and the ma programs as well as a growing permaculture Garden in 2017 theya purchased this campus from its then owners the Pacific Lutheran Seminary its buildings remind of old andul Laine architecture with its traditional design and paired with a beautiful natural environment the campus serves as a proper host to Serious study of circuit knowledge we are currently standing inside Sophia Hall which houses the main dining area for campus as well as other classrooms and offices our Cooks prepare each meal with fresh and wholesome ingredients and prayers for wellness some of our produce is taken directly from our permaculture Garden during the week we're blessed to break bread together as a Campus Community the Sophia library is a favorite spot among students for quiet study and research ladies love to study and find reflection time in the lawn behind Sophia the sisters dorm is a special place where the ladies live together and build a true sense of Sisterhood it's a great place for young women who are committed to learning while building lasting friendships that will stay with them well after their time at zetuna here's our archery range which is a part of our sacred Sports curriculum archery encouraged by our beloved Prophet peace and blessings be upon Him is a sport that requires Temperance it teaches one through patience and inner Focus to reach one's Target despite distraction it's a spiritual practice as much as a physical one it's time for class so first up is one of our favorites shef faras Khan's class for the junior cohort on cam theology everything that is created and willed by God Almighty is based on his decree and predestination the universality of the Divine decree and predestination because linguistically so here is his first argument a semantic argument linguistically the word is an expression of action with the addition of perfection action along with perfection to do it with Excellence let's visit one of our MA classes Masuk the dean of our ma program in Islamic Texs is teaching philosophy let's go take a look the concepts of unity and multiplicity as it is also the case with the concept of existence contingency or cause effect fact and the like they are General concept which are impressed on on the mind with a primary impression they are self-evident they are clear they are simple Arabic is a Cornerstone of our curriculum so let's take a peek into Dr Rabia Bea's freshman Arabic class what's the clue why H now passive Mt so otherwise we would assume but now okay it's passive so we haven't even though it's we look out for the say F and then we're going to get a passive here we reach one of our favorite spots on campus our permaculture Garden we're going to meet rise K our scholar in Residence raise is one of the country's leading experts in per culture design and agroecology follow me are so we're given a tour of the campus and we'd like for you to tell us more about the garden sure I'd love to so the perac culture design Garden has been a project that's been running since about 2019 the per purpose of having the garden is to provide a means of sort of realizing the ethics and the principles that are found within Islam as a practical matter college is a community and ecologies are communities and so we find that college is a metaphor for the thing we find in nature we have all of these different elements that are working together and in working together we're able to create Mutual benefit and not only for ourselves not only for the garden itself but also for the community that we find ourselves situated in so really this is uh a type of Applied ethics a type of practical wisdom that embodies everything that is being talked about and taught in the [Music] classroom our most special place on campus is our new prayer hall or the musah designed with the sacred geometric patterns found in traditional Muslim buildings most notably the alhamra palace the miab and adjacent wall design reflect the commitment to beauty and Excellence Oran that the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon Him commanded his community to adhere to with the five daily prayers established on campus the College Community builds its schedule around our most important daily practice remembrance of the Divine asalam alikum welcome to the junor colleges prayer Hall this is where we establish the five daily prayers in congregation with our student faculty staff and guests you can see that the wwor is done by one of our supporters and and also a student is Ahmed this is the this is where the Friday speakers or the give the this is the room for our Imam one of the unique thing about this prayer Hall is that the five daily call to the prayer will be broadcasted from here to every building at Zula college and outside we look forward to having you visiting Zuna College one day and pray with us in congregation in this beautiful parel so here we're at Founders Hall one of the two main historic buildings on campus where students attend classes and faculty hold office hours let's go meet Dr ad atai our dean of undergraduate studies at zetuna zetuna college is a trailblazer it is the first ever accredited Muslim College in North America as an institution of Higher Learning our fundamental metaphysic and worldview are rooted in traditional Islam and the Sunni intellectual tradition our curriculum Is Anchored in our tradition and so our professors work from within our tradition but here's the amazing and unique thing about our educational Mission we also teach the Western tradition in Canon so our students engage seminal texts in both intellectual Traditions they study gazali IB tamya suti as well as Aristotle platinus and aquinus they engage the Quran and the Bible the word zetuna is in the Quran it refers to an olive tree that is neither exclusively from the Orient nor the ocient it is universal and all of our courses are booed by the liberal arts the Trivium grammar logic and rhetoric the word liberal comes from the Latin for Freedom these are the freeing tools these are tools that free our minds they allow us to think critically outside of the box the most influential people in history were masters of these tools as our president shik Hamza yusu once said the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam was the most logical human being he was always grammatically correct and was the most rhetorically powerful person who ever lived you could learn a lot from a school's motto and the motto of a tuna college is not only a direct quote from the Quran which demonstrates our absolute commitment to our sacred scripture but also reveals that our tradition is rooted in the seeking of knowledge and say oh my Lord in increase me in knowledge we are a thinking person's religion and zetuna college is a direct reflection of that we are in the business of making lifelong Learners lifelong lovers of knowledge we have had zetuna alumni who have gone on to Georgetown Oxford University of Chicago and they are excelling they have become doctors lawyers Community leaders and just better human beings better husbands better wives and better parents and neighbors so I'll leave you with this if you are a prospective student look into Zuna College visit our website read our College Catalog I promise you that you will at the very least be intrigued by what you see if you're a supporter you should know that you're contributing to the education of generations of American Muslims and for that we thank you for your support thank you for joining us as you can see Zona college is a special place we welcome you and invite you to come visit our campus for yourself and if you're considering a higher education program that strengthens your faith and nurtures your intellect then please apply and join our learning community

Channel: Zaytuna College

Views: 40,492

Keywords: zaytuna college, campus tour, liberal arts, muslim, islam, college, 2023, berkeley

Id: VLsPN8HMC8o

Length: 10min 45sec (645 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 01 2023