EXCLUSIVE: Ford govt accredited Islamic college despite audit alleging parent org had Muslim Brotherhood links
A sealed Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) audit raised concerns about the Canadian Islamic College's parent organization's fundraising activities
Ontario’s Ford government has accredited the Canadian Islamic College (CIC) — a new private institution launched by the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC). The accreditation took place despite a sealed CRA audit raising concerns about MAC’s fundraising activities. The college holds the title as “the first fully accredited postsecondary Islamic Institution in North America,” and opened its doors to students this fall.
The Canadian Islamic College describes itself as offering a “faith-based multidisciplinary Islamic learning experience” that is “epistemologically based in the Islamic Primary Sources (the Qurʾan and Sunnah).” The college is an MAC-backed project, and the organization operates other schools and community centres across Canada.
While CIC emphasizes that its mission is to “integrate Islamic knowledge frameworks across disciplinary boundaries,” the accreditation has raised questions considering allegations from the Canadian Revenue Agency that MAC has historical ties to the Muslim Brotherhood - something MAC categorically denies.