On Friday, October 23, 2026, nearly 400 guests filled Ashton Place in Willowbrook to celebrate a new chapter for Islamic higher education in America: the partnership between American Islamic College (AIC), the first Islamic college in North America, and The Islamic Seminary of America (TISA).

AIC Board Member Atty. Roula Allouch opened the program. Imam Nazir Chahin (MDiv ’22) followed with an opening du’a, and Mesut Mamaloglu (BA ’19) gave a Qur’an recitation, setting the tone and intention for the night.

Dr. Marcia Hermansen then welcomed guests on behalf of the AIC Board of Trustees. She described the partnership as “a rahmah to AIC at a time when we faced profound challenges in sustaining our operations.”

AIC President Dr. James Jones spoke about the power of partnership. He highlighted AIC’s Madrasa Pathways program, the Institute for the Study of Muslims and Islam in India (ISMII), and the Hassan Institute for interfaith engagement.

Scholars, educators, community leaders, students, alumni, and families came together to hear the vision behind the partnership, formalized in a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions on July 15, 2026, and to help build its future.

The evening honored the founders whose vision created AIC in 1981, recognized the people who carried it through its most difficult years, and called on the community to invest in a generation of leaders educated here and prepared to serve here.

To everyone who attended, sponsored, pledged, volunteered, or watched online: Jazakum Allahu khayran.