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International Open University (IOU)

Website:

iou.edu.gm
Type:

Online Islamic University
Formation:

2007
Founder and Executive Director:

Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
Location:

21 Kanifing Mosque Road, P.O. Box 2340
Kanifing South, KMC, Banjul, The Gambia

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

International Open University (IOU), formerly the Islamic Online University, is an online Muslim university that offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in various fields, including Islamic studies, psychology, and economics. 1 It was founded in 2007 by controversial Islamic professor and Sunni imam, Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips. 2

IOU maintains a global network of educational institutions across more than 20 countries with which it partners to spread Islamic education. 3 Philips, its founder, has been banned and deported from several countries for alleged extremism. 4

History

Bilal Philips founded the then-Islamic Online University to offer free online degrees with a focus on Islamic education. By 2010, IOU launched its full Bachelor of Arts program in Islamic Studies. IOU received global accreditation and a university license from Somalia’s Ministry of Higher Education in 2013. 5

In 2014, IOU received a license to operate as an online university from the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science, and Technology of The Gambia. IOU introduced new colleges including its College of Education, College of Islamic Economics, College of Banking and Finance, and College of Psychology. It also added a new college of Arabic Language and Linguistics that offers a 2-year intensive Arabic program. IOU also introduced a bachelor’s program in Islamic Studies in Russian and a prison educational initiative for inmates. 6

In 2015, IOU launched the Youth Dual Credit Program (YDCP), which offers enrollment in IOU courses. Upon the successful completion of a high school diploma and the YDCP courses, graduates receive an associate’s degree. The Open Education Program was also launched for students who do not hold a high school diploma; it enables students to join university-level programs to complete their high school diplomas. 7

Also in 2015, IOU expanded its international influence through its membership in the following educational organizations: the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE), the Association of African Universities (AAU), the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE), the African Quality Assurance Network (AfriQAN), the International Council of Islamic Finance Educators (ICIFE), the Association of Quality Assurance Agencies of the Islamic World (IQA), the Talloires Network, and the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU). IOU also opened four country chapters for its bachelor’s degree programs in Islamic economics, banking, and finance program from the International Council of Islamic Finance Educators (ICIFE) in India, Somaliland, the Gambia, and Sierra Leone. 8

In 2020, the Islamic Online University changed its name to the International Open University to reflect its expanding catalog of degree and course offerings, although it maintains an Islamic worldview as its educational core. 9

As of 2024, IOU has had 482,056 students registered globally. It maintains more than 130 faculty members, 2,500 exam centers, and has offered over 5,500 scholarships through its more than 20 global representatives. 10

Degrees and Programs

The International Open University offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in Islamic studies, business administration, and Arabic language studies. IOU also offers a Bachelor of Education degree with a concentration in English. IOU offers Bachelor of Science degrees in psychology, information technology, and Islamic economics, banking, and finance. 11

IOU offers Master of Arts degrees through coursework and research in Arabic language studies and Islamic studies. It also offers a Master of Education degree and Master of Science degrees through coursework and research in Islamic economics, banking and finance, psychology and Islamic counseling. IOU’s only doctoral program is in Islamic Sciences. 12

The International Open University has an online Qur’an Campus that offers an Ijazah in Tajweed certificate, denoting proficiency in memorization of the Qur’an. 13

IOU lists a range of $880 to $2,560 for the total cost of tuition for a bachelor’s program. 14

The International Open University also has various scholarship programs, including general scholarships for bachelor’s and master’s programs, as well as the 1 Million African Scholarship (1MAS) initiative that seeks to expand IOU’s influence to over one million impoverished students in Africa. 15

Partner Institutions and Affiliates

The International Open University has over 20 global representatives that facilitate its operations across the globe. IOU has one representative in Canada, The Gambia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, the Philippines, Russia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and the United Kingdom; two in Pakistan and the United States; three in Nigeria, ; and one general African representative. IOU also has committees and volunteer groups in 58 organizations across the world, including six State Representative and Student Committees across the United States. The six states with IOU chapters are Florida, Michigan, California, South California, Illinois, and Tennessee. 16

IOU has expanded its presence in the United States as it opened an American chapter in Santa Clara, California called the International Open University of Humanity Health Science and Peace. 17

IOU’s website is managed by the Global Open Learning Foundation (GOLF) which is a registered charity in Malaysia. It is listed as an official charity partner of the International Open University. 18

In 2020, International Open University listed British universities such as Loughborough, Gloucestershire, Cranfield, and Surrey as open centers for students to take their IOU exams. All four universities denied any relationship with Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, founder of IOU. 19

Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips

Background

Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips is the founder and chancellor of International Open University. Philips is a Jamaican-Canadian Islamic scholar and professor who converted to Islam in the 1970s. 20 He received a bachelor’s degree in Islamic studies from the Islamic University of Madinah and a master’s degree in Islamic Theology from the King Saud University in Riyadh. Philips received his doctorate from the University of Wales in 1994. 21

He is a notable Islamic preacher who has garnered controversy for his stances on various Islamic teachings, resulting in him being banned and deported from several countries. 22 Philips has written 50 books and claims that he and other Muslim chaplains converted 3,000 U.S. service members during the 1990s. 23 He has a significant digital media presence, including over 150,000 subscribers on YouTube, where he has regularly shared the story of his conversion to Islam. 24

Philips taught Islamic studies at a high school in Riyadh for 10 years. He also spent 18 years lecturing on Arabic and Islamic studies at the American University in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; the Islamic Studies Academy in Doha, Qatar; the Knowledge International University of Riyadh; and Preston International College in Chennai, India. 25

During the First Gulf War, Philips proselytized Islam among American troops deployed in Saudi Arabia. He claimed to convert thousands of U.S. troops to Islam during this period, even using the relationships he made in this process to recruit U.S. volunteers for the 1992 war in Bosnia. 26

Philips founded and directed the Islamic Studies department of Preston University in Ajman, United Arab Emirates in 2002, as well as the Islamic Studies Academy in Doha, Qatar in 2007. 27

A 2002 Tampa Bay Times article described Philips as a media-savvy preacher who built TV followings in multiple countries and founded the first English-language television show dedicated to teaching Islamic principles. 28 Philips has built a large following on social media platforms. In addition to his YouTube audience, he has over 1.2 million followers on X/Twitter. He was named one of “The 500 Most Influential Muslims” in 2010 and 2023 by the yearly publication of the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan, in part due to founding International Open University. 29 30 31

Alleged Extremism

In a lecture, Philips claimed that suicide bombers are not really committing suicide, which would be against Islamic law. Instead, he suggested they were carrying out “a military action and human lives are sacrificed in that military act.” Philips received greater criticism for these comments after the Luton Islamic Centre posted a link to Philips’s speech on its website before one of its members, Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, blew himself up in Stockholm in December 2010. 32 Many accused Philips of encouraging the attack through his extremist speech. This led then-United Kingdom Home Secretary Theresa May to ban Philips from the United Kingdom in 2010. 33

In 2022, in response to a question about his views on suicide bombings, Philips said he was taken out of context. He cited an incident of Palestinians suicide-bombing a bus of Israeli troops in 1995 as a justifiable use of suicide bombings, and differentiated the act from suicide bombings of civilians, which he said was “haram,” or impermissible under Islamic law. 34

Phillips has been banned from Australia, Germany, Kenya, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, and Denmark, though some of these bans have been lifted. He was also arrested in the Philippines. 35 36 37

Philips also sparked controversy when he described the treatment of homosexuals in Islamic states and declared that rape did not exist between spouses in Islam. 38 He claimed that he was not endorsing the murder of homosexuals in Islamic states, but rather explaining the practice. 39

Philips continues to maintain that he is a moderate Muslim who is not an extremist and who has no links to terrorism. When Australia refused to grant Philips a visa in 2007 for alleged ties to extremism, Philips said that “instead of following the path of fair investigation as the authorities in New Zealand, UK, and Canada have done,” Australia simply followed “American allegations and unsubstantiated false accusations.” 40

Mutahhir Sabree

Mutahhir Sabree is the director of IOU operations in the United States. He is also the director of the Al-Amin Trust Fund, a federal 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds the International Open University. 41

Sabree was a federal contractor who served as a chaplain. 42 He also administers an online Islamic prison ministry that claims to reach at least 3,000 inmates. 43 In 2007, his case accusing a prison of discriminatory treatment against an Islamic prisoner by not providing meat prepared in the manner of Islamic custom was dismissed. 44

Sabree was listed in a 2018 Daily Caller opinion piece as the director of IOU’s Prison Initiative which the author claimed spread “radical Islam…in America’s prisons on the taxpayers’ dime.” The opinion editorial said that IOU’s educational material for prisons contains “hateful and illiberal rhetoric” that is incompatible with Western culture. 45

Finances

Although there is no federal 990 form for International Open University, the South Carolina-based Al-Amin Trust Fund was established in 2016 “for the expressed purpose of providing funding for religious and educational purposes to the Islamic Online University.” 46 In 2022, the Fund reported $350,170 in revenue, $384,815 in expenses, and $387,709 in net assets. 47

References

  1. Streams. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/streams/
  2. Founder. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/founder/
  3. Home. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/
  4. Ha, Tu Thanh. “Controversial imam Bilal Philips says banning him won’t stop his message.” The Globe and Mail. September 15, 2014. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/controversial-imam-bilal-philips-says-banning-him-wont-stop-his-message/article20611079/
  5. History. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/history/
  6. History. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/history/
  7.  History. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/history/
  8. History. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/history/
  9. History. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/history/
  10. Home. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/
  11. Streams. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/streams/
  12.  Streams. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/streams/
  13. Ijaazah. Global Quran Memorization Center. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou-gqmc.com/ijazah/?ref=iou-hp
  14. Home. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/
  15. Scholarships. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/scholarships/
  16.  Representatives. Islamic Online University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://campus.iou.edu.gm/representatives.php
  17. Administration. International Open University Of Humanity Health Science & Peace. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iouhhspedu.com/index.php/administration/
  18. Donate Now. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://donation.iou.edu.gm/?bg_ref=tOGXqzK4c8&tid1=IOU+Main
  19. Tingle, Rory. “British universities are advertised as exam centres for online college set up by Islamist hate preacher banned from UK for ‘extremist views’ including saying gays should be put to death.” Daily Mail. June 8, 2020. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8377035/Outrage-British-universities-host-exams-hate-preachers-online-college.html
  20. About. Dr. Bilal Philips. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://bilalphilips.com/about/
  21. Founder of IOU. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/founder/
  22. Ha, Tu Thanh. “Controversial imam Bilal Philips says banning him won’t stop his message.” The Globe and Mail. September 15, 2014. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/controversial-imam-bilal-philips-says-banning-him-wont-stop-his-message/article20611079/
  23. Founder of IOU. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/founder/
  24.  Bilal Philips. “My Story – Dr. Bilal Philips.” YouTube. June 13, 2021. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rOs21INeT8
  25. Founder of IOU. International Open University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://iou.edu.gm/founder/
  26. J.M. Berger, “A Conversation About Jihad With Controversial Preacher Bilal Philips.” Intelwire. April 19, 2011. Archived from the original March 16, 2017. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20170316024102/http:/news.intelwire.com/2011/ 04/interview-with-bilal-philips-about.html
  27. About. Dr. Bilal Philips. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://bilalphilips.com/about/
  28. “Muslims get advice on show in English.” Tampa Bay Times. September 3, 2005. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2002/08/03/muslims-get-advice-on-show-in-english/
  29. Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips. @DrBilalPhilips. Twitter. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://twitter.com/DrBilalPhilips
  30. “The 500 Most Influential Muslims, 2010.” The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. 2010. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://rissc.jo/docs/0A-FullVersion-LowRes.pdf
  31. “The Muslim 500: The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims, 2023.” The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. 2022. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://themuslim500.com/books/The%20Muslim%20500%202023%20edition%20-%20Free%20eBook.pdf
  32. al-Abdaly, Taimour. “Stockholm bomber’s mosque website carries links to extremist preacher.” The Guardian. December 18, 2010. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/19/abdaly-luton-mosque-stockholm-bomber
  33. Gilligan, Andrew. “ Hizb ut Tahrir is not a gateway to terrorism, claims Whitehall report.” Telegraph. July 25, 2010. Archived from the original July 27, 2010. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20100727044823/http:/www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/andrew-gilligan/7908262/Hizb-ut-Tahrir-is-not-a-gateway-to-terrorism-claims-Whitehall-report.html
  34. Dr. Bilal Philips Clips. “Why am I banned from countries like the UK and Germany?” YouTube. June 6, 2022. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu8yiJb_YQw
  35. “Denmark bans 6 foreign religious ‘hate preachers.’ ” Deutsche Welle. May 2, 2017. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://www.dw.com/en/denmark-gives-two-year-ban-to-6-foreign-religious-hate-preachers/a-38663622
  36. “Dr Bilal Philips held in custody over ties with “extremist groups” in Philippines.” 5Pillars. September 12, 2015. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://5pillarsuk.com/2014/09/12/sheikh-bilal-philips-held-in-custody-over-ties-with-extremist-groups-in-philippines/
  37. McManus, Gerard. “John Howard bans Islamic leader.” The Courier and Mail. April 4, 2007. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/john-howard-bans-islamic-leader/news-story/9e5cd196b0377e12354da6ce93e61ecd
  38. Bell, Stewart. “Comments on homosexuality led to six-month delay renewing my passport: controversial Canadian imam.” National Post. November 15. 2021. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/comments-on-homosexuality-led-to-six-month-delay-renewing-my-passport-controversial-canadian-imam
  39. Vidino, Lorenzo and Meleagrou-Hitchens, Alexander. “Islamist Homophobia in the West: From Rhetoric to Violence.”  Program on Extremism at George Washington University. September 2022. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs5746/files/IslamistHomophobiaintheWest090722.pdf
  40. “Exclusive: Interview with Dr Bilal Philips.” Austrolabe. 2007. Accessed July 14, 2024.  https://austrolabe.com/2007/04/09/exclusive-interview-with-dr-bilal-philips/
  41.  Representatives. Islamic Online University. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://campus.iou.edu.gm/representatives.php
  42. Mutahhir Sabree. LinkedIn. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mutahhir-sabree-ab96599/
  43. Work, Yerusalem. “Chaplains Can Help Change Lives: Muslim Chaplains Provide Healing and Support in Various Settings.” Islamic Horizons. January/February 2024. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://islamichorizons.net/chaplains-can-help-change-lives/
  44. Malik v. Sabree, C.A. No.: 8:06-319-RBH. Casetext. March 13, 2007. Accessed July 15, 2024.https://casetext.com/case/malik-v-sabree/
  45. Kalam, Ahnaf. “Don’t Be Alarmed But Radical Islamism Is Spreading In America’s Prisons On The Taxpayers’ Dime.” Daily Caller. March 16, 2018. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://dailycaller.com/2018/03/16/radical-islamism-spreading-in-prisons-on-taxpayer-dime/#google_vignette
  46. Al-Amin Trust Fund – 2016 990 Form. ProPublica. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/466935518/201700869349300100/full
  47. Al-Amin Trust Fund – 2023 990 Form. ProPublica. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/466935518/202421369349316447/IRS990
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