Boston Islamic Seminary (BIS) began as an idea in 2008 among several active volunteers in the Boston Muslim community and has since grown into a degree-granting institution. The BIS founders recognized that the American Muslim community was at a defining moment in determining its future outlook and place in American culture.
Though we had seen growth in population and institutional development, there remained difficult and perplexing moral, intellectual, socioeconomic, and civic challenges that impede a more fruitful and God-conscious lived reality for Muslims in America. BIS was established to address the gap in qualified American Muslim religious leaders.
Established as a legal entity in 2015, the Seminary operated for the first several years under the auspices of Muslim American Society (MAS) Boston, relying on MAS Boston and the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center for significant operational support during our startup phase.
Our first academic program, Continuing Education, was launched in the fall of 2016. Serving adult learners of all academic, spiritual and religious backgrounds, Continuing Education offered night and weekend options structured as college- or graduate-level courses. Students gained access to rigorous academic curriculum not only in the Islamic sciences, but also in topics of particular importance to the American-Muslim community. We expanded our offerings and reach during our first two years of Continuing Education by holding classes online and in multiple venues.
Our first academic program, Continuing Education, was launched in the fall of 2016. Serving adult learners of all academic, spiritual and religious backgrounds, Continuing Education offered night and weekend options structured as college- or graduate-level courses. Students gained access to rigorous academic curriculum not only in the Islamic sciences, but also in topics of particular importance to the American-Muslim community. We expanded our offerings and reach during our first two years of Continuing Education by holding classes online and in multiple venues.
In the summer of 2018, BIS became independent of MAS and in December 2020, BIS’s full-time Master of Islamic Religious Leadership (MIRL) program was unanimously approved by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education. BIS is the first Islamic Seminary in the United States to receive the authority to award this degree. The inaugural MIRL cohort commenced their studies in September 2021, and BIS looks forward to admitting subsequent cohorts as we grow this flagship program.