US gets its first accredited Muslim college

A California-based institution has become the US' first officially recognised Muslim college after receiving formal academic accreditation.
Zaytuna College, which operates out of two rented buildings in Berkeley, California, and had an enrolment of 30 in 2013, was officially accredited last week by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges -- one of the six academic organisations responsible for authorising public and private colleges and universities in the US.
The certification means the institution can apply for various federal and private grants, issue visas to international students and allow students to transfer credits to or from other accredited schools.
Zaytuna College, which was founded in 2008 and began holding classes the next year, offers liberal arts courses in politics, religion and ethics.

Tuition is USD 15,000 annually and housing costs are USD 9,000. About 50 undergraduates are enrolled.
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges' accrediting commission noted that Zaytuna had developed rigorous standards and has a driven student body.

"While Zaytuna has developed an exceptionally demanding undergraduate curriculum, its students enthusiastically embrace the distinctive character of this educational opportunity," the association said in a letter.
Hamza Yusuf, the school's president, said he hoped there would be more schools that follow Zaytuna's lead.
"And we hope, God willing, that there will be more such Muslim colleges and universities to come," Yusuf said in a statement.

Yusuf, an Islamic Studies advisor at both Stanford University and University of California Berkeley, is known for being an outspoken critic of extremism.
He drew a death decree from ISIS earlier this year for condemning the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Fox News reported.
The Zaytuna College website details a USD 7 million plan to build a new campus, a project that includes the recent purchase of a new building, but was put on hold until the accreditation came.