International Open University

The International Open University (IOU), previously known as the Islamic Online University, was founded by Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips. He envisioned an institution that would offer online intensive, undergraduate, and graduate courses in Islamic Studies and other disciplines at an affordable cost. The IOU was initially launched in 2001 from UAE with an offering of a few short courses. After a five year interlude, it was restarted in 2007 from Qatar with a greater offering of completely free short courses. Alhamdulillah, although we began with 1,500 students in 2007, by the end of 2008, the number of registered students tripled, reaching 4,500. And now, as 2009 has ended, Allah has blessed the IOU with a student body of over 15,000 students from over 160 different countries. The IOU is now launching the world’s first tuition-free, online Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies. This path-breaking initiative plans to utilize 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 .