There are many organizations out there trying to educate Americans about our religion, but they do not have an institution that’s engaging in ongoing research around the issues that affect our community.

Our organizations and activists have to scramble when it’s time to put literature together to answer FAQs about Islam. They have to scramble when the latest attack on Islam comes—or even when Muslims call to ask: “What can I give my son? What can I give my daughter? What can I give my co-worker? What can I give my fellow student? What can I give my neighbor to clarify my religion, my values, my principles for them?”

Brothers and sisters, we need an institution of higher education that’s engaged in ongoing research and that’s producing the material that our organizations on the ground, on the frontlines, need in order to translate our values, our principles, our beliefs, our deep faith into knowledge, into information that the average American can readily access.

We also need an institution that our community can point to and say, “This is my college,” just as others can point to the Harvards, or Yales, or Princetons with great pride. We need an institution that is going to continue to produce wonderful fruit long after all of us have departed this world.

If we support this institution before we depart this life, we can look back and say, “You know what? I planted a seed, and I’ve seen that seed grow, and then I’ve seen the tree that came from that seed, and then I’ve seen it begin to bear fruit. And, I’m confident that it will continue to bear fruit—good fruit, productive fruit, nourishing fruit—decades, or even centuries, from now if this earth is still here by the leave of Allah, in sha Allah.”

This is the opportunity Zaytuna College gives us, brothers and sisters. What are we waiting for? To make a donation go to My Zaytuna link at Zaytuna College website.