Zaytuna

Zaytuna College is a private Islamic liberal arts college located in Berkeley, California. It traces its origins to the Zaytuna Institute, founded in 1996 by American Islamic scholar Hamza Yusuf and colleagues with the aim of presenting traditional Islamic scholarship within a modern liberal arts framework. The institution later adopted the name Zaytuna College to reflect its expanded undergraduate program.

The college emphasizes Arabic language and classical Islamic sciences alongside modern liberal arts disciplines such as philosophy, theology, and the social sciences. The curriculum seeks to combine rigorous textual study of Islamic sources with critical inquiry and engagement across intellectual traditions. Instruction combines traditional pedagogy with Western academic methods and emphasizes the development of both spiritual and intellectual capacities.

Zaytuna College has been described as the first Muslim liberal arts college in the United States. It operates with a relatively small student body and a residential campus environment that emphasizes community life, religious practice, and scholarly dialogue. The college has pursued accreditation processes with regional accrediting bodies, reflecting an effort to obtain formal recognition while maintaining its distinctive emphasis on traditional scholarship and pedagogy.

Notable figures associated with Zaytuna include founder Hamza Yusuf and a network of scholars and students who have contributed to Islamic studies and interfaith dialogue in the United States.