Welcome to Islamic University of Minnesota
American Muslims have established many religious academic institutions in America
specializing in the study of Islam and Islamic Sciences, its civilization and history.
We recognize that religious education and guidance in the West requires a type of scholarship
that in some ways is different from the scholarship available in Africa, Asia or the Middle East.
Muslims living in the west face several challenges. In most Muslim communities, these challenges
are being faced largely with the guidance of locally-trained scholars. In matters of religion, Muslim communities in the West have come to rely
for religious leadership on Imams and scholars whose training is mainly rooted in the cultural and educational environment of their countries of origin.
This training is not always sufficient to deal with the cultural environment of the West, nor
with the challenges arising from interaction with Western societies. With the rising number of
Muslims living in the West, and the accelerated movement of people and ideas across national and
cultural borders, Muslims today are living an unprecedented experience of multiculturalism.
This development of relations between religions and cultures, imposes new theoretical as well
as practical issues on Muslims in minority situations. Non-Muslim majority societies also face
new questions. More mutual understanding cannot be to the detriment of either; Muslims and non-Muslims
in the West and Muslims in the Muslim world stand to gain a great deal from such enterprises.
The West in general and the Muslim World are now much more aware of each other than in previous centuries.
This calls for a new and more objective analysis of their common characteristics and differences. Islam is
a religion of long and established traditions of learning. These traditions, however, developed in a largely
favorable milieu, and by absorbing various elements of their local environments became highly diversified
and differentiated. It is, therefore, vital to understand Islamic traditional culture in its historical and
social context. This is a prerequisite for the revitalizing of Islamic thought and making Islamic contributions
in the realm of ideas relevant to the human condition. As an answer to these needs, Islamic University of Minnesota came into being.
IUM Facts & History
IUM was first established as an academic institution for higher Islamic education in 2007 with
Dr. Waleed Meneese as its Vice President. Dr. Meneese taught many courses pertaining to Islamic
Knowledge in this institution and with other learned personalities. This seminary style humble effort
attracted immense interest from the youth hungry for authentic Islamic knowledge and training.
The student roster rose as hundreds of young men and women thronged to register for undergraduate and graduate schooling.
In 2013 Islamic University of Minnesota reincorporated as Dr. Walid E. Meneese took the reins of the
institution as its President and Dean of Islamic Studies faculty and with Hyder Aziz as its Vice-President and Executive Director.
News & Events
Get the latest IUM news and information about upcoming events.