Islamic Open University

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Phdtobe, Mar 17, 2019.

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  1. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    Free!
    Tuition-free, but pricey
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 20, 2019
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  2. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    How's it pricey? Even for the highly developed countries, the per semester charge is low.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 20, 2019
  3. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    Fees only
    A degreee will be minimum $us560 in poor countries and rich countries $us1280. Gdp in many poor countries < $us1000
     
  4. Steve Levicoff

    Steve Levicoff Well-Known Member

    Now, here's why it appears to be a mill . . .

    FWIW, I didn’t even bother looking at their programs or their specific curricular requirements. I started with the primary area of exploration: their faculty. And found enough that was questionable that I feel comfortable in writing them off.

    To wit: They have what appears to be an impressive list of faculty. But randomly looking up individual profiles, there is no consistency in how the faculty’s credentials are listed. One person might show “Ph.D. in Psychology (University of London),” another may show a “doctorate in psychology” with no specific degree title or institutional source listed.

    So here’s today’s rule of thumb, campers: When a school lists its faculty with no consistency in style, it’s a mill. Period.

    Check it out – look at, say, 10 or 20 faculty profiles in their different departments. Look, specifically, for the differences and inconsistencies in style and the amount of information provided on where the faculty earned their degrees (and in what subject areas). If there is not complete disclosure for every faculty member, this is a school to avoid.

    I’d love to see a legit school of Islamic studies – the inclusion of Islamic economics and psychology is brilliant in concept. But based on how they list their faculty alone, this school is not legit.
     
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  5. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    It will be nice if someone from that part of the world provides some feedback. Except for one master, all the programs are undergraduate. Also, students pay by the semester so there is no cash grab, and there is a time commitment. I am hoping it is not a mill. The fees are so low that it should be quite easy for someone to do a semester to ascertain if this is a mill or not.
    We should fund someone for a semester. We could be like a consumer report.
     
  6. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I'll chip in a dollar.
     
  7. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    I feel like we talked about this school once but I'm too lazy to search for it.

    My biggest concern would not be accreditation here. It would be that the founder, Bilal Philips, is on numerous watchlists. The guy is an unindicted co-conspirator to the '93 World Trade Center bombings.

    Setting aside the whole "where is money going and am I ok with that" issue, I just question whether it would really be a good idea to put your name on paper as being a student of this guy.

    Just sayin'
     
  8. heirophant

    heirophant Well-Known Member

    Their accreditation page isn't very convincing (to me, anyway).



    Supposedly they are located in and licensed by Gambia, but are claiming accreditation by Somalia. Why is Somalia accrediting Gambian universities? And isn't Somalia more or less a failed state?

    My personal opinion is that this might have some value as a source of non-credit non-degree classes in a hard-core militant Salafist form of Islam for those who are interested in such things. (I sort of am, in much the same way that the CDC studies exotic diseases.) But I wouldn't put a lot of credence in its degree programs, particularly in secular subjects. (Reportedly IOU has some 50,000 students in northern Nigeria alone.)

    Their Jamaican/Canadian Islamic-convert founder, currently resident in Qatar, doesn't exactly inspire me. According to Wikipedia, he's banned from entering the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, Germany, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Kenya. Wikipedia says that he was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombings, so I expect that he's on American watch-lists too.

    He does boast a PhD from the U. of Wales Lampeter (now UW Trinity St. David). Don't know if he did it by DL. (Reportedly, he's currently forbidden from entering the UK.)

    Here's an earlier thread about IOU:



    Here's the founder.



    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilal_Philips
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 20, 2019
  9. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    There are more than enough red flags. Moderators, please remove the hyperlinks. There are better alternatives to inadvertently promoting a hate agenda.
     
  10. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    I agree with you. Anything with this BP guy should not be promoted.
     
  11. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    My Islam-related interests are Islamic Finance and Islamic decorative arts - and music. For Islamic Finance, you have to at least understand the religion to some degree, whether it's yours or not. For arts, aside from knowing some basic religion-based rules, e.g. don't depict living things - I don't think you really need as much religious knowledge. There are plenty of accredited programs in Islamic Finance, and recognized non-degree credentials, e.g. CIFE, that do not involve controversial figures e.g. Dr. Phillips. As far as music and art are concerned, I don't need a degree to pursue those interests, though others might; the knowledge I need can be obtained less formally.

    From the other thread I believe one has to take three courses in Arabic to complete a degree at IOU. I guess this is consistent with the Prophet's (PBUH) teachings that Allah requires his believers to be clean and (Arabic) literate - but it might be a stumbling block for a number of Western students not interested in conversion to Islam.
     
  12. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I dunno - in recent years I've seen art photography that breaks this rule - a lot . . . maybe it's the current fashion to do so - a form of artists' rebellion?
     

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