Critical Loyalty is an online college focusing on disseminating traditional and academic knowledge of the Islamic Sciences. Unlike many other institutes, it is the infusion of both the traditional and academic styles of education that lead one to become Critical Loyalty i.e. critical thinker. This means understanding Islam as the loyal Muslims of the past understood it. Our focus is to compare Islam “then” and “now”. All of our topics of study consist of multiple levels, and each course focuses on one aspect of the science from a particular era. Textual analysis and historiography is how the students learn to understand the mindset of the traditional authors and their motivations for the sciences.
Critical Loyalty began in 2003 as an on-site weekend Islamic course and evolved in 2008 to Shatibiyyah Institute. The focus was the oral recitation of the Qur’ān and the sciences of Arabic phonetics and phonology.
Implementing a formal structure and curriculum became more vital as the classes became high in demand – the institute went online in 2011, which took the institute to new heights, providing access to people worldwide through conducting classes over the phone. This laid down the foundation of teaching Islamic sciences that not only focus on traditional Islamic education but also academic Islamic education, leading up to the one-of-a-kind institute, Critical Loyalty, incepted in 2014.
Critical Loyalty, College of Islamic Sciences teaches just that: Islamic Sciences, not Islamic Studies. The name Islamic sciences was strategically placed to show the focus of the institute — highlighting that that there is a difference between Islamic Sciences and Islamic studies. The difference between the two is crucial to the Critical Loyalty concept because the term “Islamic studies” generalizes all sciences to be Islam, whereas “Islamic sciences” demonstrates that there is a difference between the religion of Islam and the structure of Islam.
Critical Loyalty courses focus on the various traditional Sciences from two perspectives: theory courses, and practical application. All our courses are open to people of all religions and backgrounds. There is no discrimination based on race, religion, or gender.