He envisioned an institution that would offer online intensive, undergraduate, and graduate courses in Islamic Studies completely tuition-free. Dr. Bilal Philips, Founder and Dean, Islamic Online University
The IOU was launched in 2007 from Qatar with an offering of completely free diploma courses. Alhamdulillah, although we began with 1,500 students in 2007, by the end of 2008, the number of reg
istered students tripled, reaching 4,500. And now, as 2010 draws to a close, Allah has blessed the IOU with a student body of over 30,000 students from over 177 different countries. In 2010 the IOU launched the world’s first tuition-free, online Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies. This path-breaking initiative utilizes the worldwide presence of the Internet and advanced open source online learning technology to bring low-cost, university level Islamic education within reach of anyone on the planet who has access to a computer and the Internet. Thus the IOU Now has two separate virtual campuses: the degree campus and the diploma campus. Each campus is hosted on its own dedicated server.
