History was made as March winded down when a group of 11 students began a week intensive course initiating their academic study for the pioneering Graduate Certificate in Imam Education. Professor Mahmoud Ayoub of Hartford Seminary in Hartford, CT taught the course on Major Themes in the Bible and the Qur'an at The Fairfax Institute (TFI) at IIIT.

 

This pilot graduate certificate program is a joint effort of Hartford and TFI and is taught at TFI premises. It aims at enhancing the academic, professional and pastoral qualifications of Imams, counselors, teachers and other religious leaders in the American Muslim community. The first cohort of 11 students are a very diverse group of persons, including imams on the job, aspiring imams and religious leaders, and two women.

 

The entire certificate program consists of 24 credit hours of graduate level courses, including one course in residency at Hartford, and two supervised practicums. “We are very excited about this opportunity, and the first course has been a great mind-opener,” is the reaction of most students. “We want to go beyond the graduate certificate all the way to a D.Min or a Ph.D.,” say more than one student in the program.