2 new classes that will be available for the upcoming Fall 2008 Quarter offered by the Zaytuna Institute Distance Learning Program.

Zaytuna Distance Learning: Islam, Marriage & the Family

A sample clip from the course: Islam, Marriage & the Family by Imam Zaid Shakir.
A course for those wishing to deepen their understanding and implementation of a fulfilling Islamic family life. Topics covered include aspects of Islamic family law as they relate to the domestic affairs, relevant aspects of the Prophetic biography, and practical advice for newlyweds that are based on a family-oriented reading of The Aphorisms (Hikam) of Ibn Ata-Allah as-Sakandari.

Imam Zaid Shakir: The Power Struggle Exercise

Bonus video taken by an audience member. This video shows an interactive exercise that Imam Zaid used to prove several points. Double click on the video below and then click on (more info) on the YouTube page to see the points.

Zaytuna Distance Learning: The Essentials of Faith

A sample clip from the course: The Essentials of Faith with Ustadh Abdullah Ali.
This course aims at raising a believers awareness about Gods uniqueness, greatness, and absolute perfection. It also aims at giving a historical context to some of the polemical controversies that developed after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) and led to the strife brought on by religious sectarianism. Topics covered include the basic tenets of the Islamic faith, scriptural and rational proofs and arguments for the existence of God, the first fundamental obligation of every human being, the godly attributes, prophetic attributes, and other issues. Based on the introductory chapters of the classical text, Al-Murshid Al-Mu’in ("The Helpng Guide") by the great scholar, Imam ‘Abd al-Wahid Ibn Ashir.

For more info on ZDL, please contact us using the contact form on this site.

Zaytuna Institute’s DeenLoad – a video promotion thanks to Mujahideen Ryder. Check out the original post here: ISNA Video Blog – Day 2 (Saturday)

For a high-quality version, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRIgd6u9VFo [Click on "watch in high quality"]

For those of you who missed the DeenCards or who were not able to attend ISNA 2008, drop us a comment here and tell us how you would promote the DeenCards in your community. The best achievable as well as creative comments will get you the DeenCards.

Read our earlier post about the DeenLoad system to find out what DeenCards are: DeenLoad – Zaytuna Distance Learning and Real Love

From all of us at IslamCrunch: May you all have a blessed Ramadan!

Sweetcron has released another sneak preview video. This is a continuation of our previous Sweetcron video preview post.

A sneak preview video of Sweetcron’s Admin Panel on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqFd6EDQimU

SweetCron is the eagerly awaited new lifestreaming blogging software that is:

• Free
• Open source
• Self hosted
• Easily customisable
• Your lifestreaming automatic imports of your web 2.0 life

See Yong Fook’s site (SweetCron’s developer) to see SweetCron live.

SweetCron is expected to launch on August 28, 2008. Get ready for the future of blogging.

Count Me In!

The Zaytuna 1,000 Monthly Donor Campaign.

A message from Zaytuna Institute:

Zaytuna Institute, we’re happy to report, is busier than ever. Now, we’d like to count on you to help us create an exciting future for Islam in America.

All the rapid growth we’ve been experiencing recently—growth you can read about in our Quarterly Newsletter—means we need to work harder to raise money to finance Zaytuna’s increased activity. What we need is financial stability so we can have planned growth. And that means developing a base of donors who see the wisdom of giving a regular monthly donation.

With that in mind, we have launched this new “Count Me In!” donation campaign with the goal of developing 1,000 monthly donors.

Can We Count on You?

It’s a campaign that everybody can participate in—whether they can afford $10 a month or $100 a month or $1,000 a month. What’s important is the consistency of giving. Please help us reach our goal of 1,000 donors—and, if you’re already a monthly donor, please consider increasing your contribution.

What Does My Monthly Donation Support?

Your monthly donation will help Zaytuna:
• Develop Premier Academic Programs. We have already launched our Summer Arabic Intensive, an eight-week residential program in Berkeley, which will also be a prerequisite for entry into our seminary program. Our goal is to make this the best summer Arabic program in the nation.

• Provide Thought Leadership. We are working hard to change the public discourse about Islam in America. We do this through our Contemporary Issues Series, which brings together Muslim voices with leading intellectuals of other perspectives; through our books, such as our latest publication, Submission, Faith, and Beauty, an important introductory work that aims to correct distortions about Islam; and through our acclaimed Seasons journal.

• Make Education Accessible. We just kicked off a new round of courses for our online Distance Learning program, which has already enrolled 1,400 students. We soon hope to add high-quality educational content from the inspirational Summer Rihla Program. We’re also taking our popular Minara weekend workshop to more and more cities. The program has served more than 5,000 people already, and we’re preparing for exponential growth.

Check out a special offer here: http://www.zaytuna.org/monthlydonor/