On Saturday evening, the Islamic Center of Saginaw hosted Hamza Yusuf to speak about the importance of liberal arts in higher education.
Yusuf is president and co-founder of Zaytuna College, the first Muslim liberal arts college in the United States, located in Berkely, Calif. He is a leading proponent of classical learning in Islam and listed as “the Western world’s most influential Islamic figure” in the Muslim 500, an annual global ranking issued by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Jordan.
Yusuf said that liberal education is important because it develops the ability for people to heal themselves and society—arguably at a time in history when they might need it most.
According to Yusuf, technology, social media and the pace of life today have resulted in the breakdown of family, communication and interdependency. However, liberal education can help resolve these issues because it teaches students to develop the three core dimensions of all human beings—morality, spirituality and intellectualism—that lead to harmony within a person and the world they live in.
He also said an education in liberal arts produces social engineers who have the ability to think in new, creative ways and at a deeper level. Similar to traditional engineers, social engineers look at finding solutions to problems, except they find solutions to society’s problems.
“Liberal education gives living a meaning,” Yusuf said. “Liberal arts might not save the world, but they make the world worth saving.”
Yusuf said that the teaching of liberal arts always has been valued by Muslim communities in America but can help all Americans as well.
Shona Siddiqui helped coordinate the event and spent the last year trying to arrange for Yusuf to speak to the local Muslim community—he’s normally booked three years in advance. The free event was open to the general public.
“Our community is excited by Zaytuna College. It’s something Muslims need.” Siddiqui said. “But the teaching of liberal arts is something that’s lacking not only with Muslims, but all over America.”
The Islamic Center of Saginaw’s president, Sarosh Anwar, M.D., said he was impressed with Yusuf’s dedication to liberal arts and his humbleness.
“We thought it was important to bring Yusuf here because he speaks to the heart on a crucial issue about having a good education,” Anwar said.
Zaytuna College, a nonprofit organization, is authorized to operate and award degrees by California’s Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. The college welcomed its first freshman class in 2010, and those students are scheduled to graduate in 2014.
Yusuf doesn’t have a preference which careers Zaytuna graduates may pursue, but he still holds them to high standards.
“I hope our graduates will be doing good things, that’s all,” he said. “I hope they make the world a better place rather than a worse place.”