The leaders of America’s first Muslim college are reaching out to Houstonians for support during a nationwide fundraising campaign.
About 1,000 Houstonians will attend a sold-out benefit dinner Saturday for Zaytuna College, located in Berkeley, California, and Shayk Hamza Yusuf and Imam Zaid Shakir, the school’s founders, will speak on leadership in contemporary Islam during a public program Sunday.
Zaytuna, which was founded in 2009 and is currently in the process of accreditation, has partnered with Houston-based Risala Foundation for the past few years, bringing to the area speakers that address the American Muslim experience.
“They realize we’re young, we’re American,” said Zeyn Patel, from Risala. “We tend to attract 25-40 year old young professionals, people who had shied away from a traditional Islamic experience because of the ‘back home baggage.’”
The Houston Muslim community is “very excited” about Zaytuna’s development, Patel said, because many second and third-generation Muslims in Houston identify with their mission.
Unlike their foreign-born parents, they more strongly identify as American and want to do charity work in the U.S. rather than abroad while incorporating certain elements of American culture as well, he said.
The current Zaytuna fundraising campaign will help the institution buy property on the University of California, Berkeley’s “Holy Hill.” Zatuna already works with the school informally and uses their library.
Earlier this year, Zaytuna held sold-out fundraisers in Chicago and San Jose.
