Iman University (also al-Iman University, el-Eman University, or al-Eman University; ar, جامعة الإيمان; ''Jāmiʿat al-Īmān'') is a

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

religious school founded in 1993 in

Sanaa Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

.Arabic website
of Iman University
of Iman University ''Al-Iman'' means ''the Faith''. As of January 2010, it reportedly had 6,000 students. Its founder and principal director is Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, who is classified by the

US Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and th ...

as a

Specially Designated Global Terrorist A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the US Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of US Executive Order ...

,United States Designates bin Laden Loyalist
, United States Department of the Treasury and who is also under sanction by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. In 2004, he was designated a terrorist associated with al-Qaeda by both the U.S. and the

.Schmidt, Susan
Imam From Va. Mosque Now Thought to Have Aided Al-Qaeda
''The Washington Post'', 27 February 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2009. He was co-founder of

Islah Islah or Al-Islah (الإصلاح ,إصلاح, ') is an Arabic word, usually translated as "reform", in the sense of "to improve, to better, to put something into a better position, fundamentalism, correction, correcting something and removing v ...

(a Yemeni opposition party) and was theological adviser to

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

. The statement made by the U.S. Treasury mentions that some students at Iman University have been arrested for political and religious murders. Some believe that the school's curriculum deals mostly, if not exclusively, with Islamist studies, and that it is an incubator of extremism. Students are suspected of having assassinated three American

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

, and "the number two leader for the

Yemeni Socialist Party The Yemeni Socialist Party ( ar, الحزب الاشتراكي اليمني, ''al-Hizb al-Ishtiraki al-Yamani'', YSP) is a political party in Yemen. A successor of Yemen's National Liberation Front, it was the ruling party in South Yemen until Y ...

Jarallah Omar Jarallah Omar al-Kuhali ( ar, جار الله عمر) (1942 in Kuhal, Ibb Governorate – 28 December 2002) was a Yemeni politician, intellectual, and guerrilla fighter. He was trained in Islamic law, but in the 1960s he turned towards Marxism. He ...

John Walker Lindh John Philip Walker Lindh (born February 9, 1981) is an American convicted felon who was captured as an enemy combatant during the United States' invasion of Afghanistan In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghani ...

, now serving a 20-year prison sentence in connection with his participation in Afghanistan's

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

army, is a former student of the university. After

fighting Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

in the city in September 2014, the new

Huthi The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...

masters in San‘a’ closed the Al-Iman University.November 2014

Le monde diplomatique ''Le Monde diplomatique'' (meaning "The Diplomatic World" in French) is a French monthly newspaper offering analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs. The publication is owned by Le Monde diplomatique SA, a subsidiary com ...

, engl. version, by Laurent Bonnefoy

References

External links

Iman University

(Archive)
Anwar al Awlaki: Pro Al-Qaida Ideologue with Influence in the West
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iman University Universities in Yemen Islamic universities and colleges Madrasas Islamic organizations based in Yemen