• About
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    In 2009, Zaytuna College was founded in Berkeley, California, with a mission that called for grounding students in the Islamic scholarly tradition as well as in the cultural currents and critical ideas shaping modern society.

  • Academics
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    Zaytuna College aims to educate and prepare morally committed professional, intellectual, and spiritual leaders who are grounded in the Islamic scholarly tradition and conversant with the cultural currents and critical ideas shaping modern society.

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  • Admissions & Aid
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    Our mission is to educate students to become morally, intellectually, and spiritually accomplished individuals ready to contribute to our contemporary world in ways that are proportionate to their gifts and to the needs of human society.

     

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  • Campus Life
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    Zaytuna’s campus is on Holy Hill and students enter the College as part of a cohort, a community of learners that travel together through the curriculum.

Faculty

Harun Spevack

Dean of Student Life, Associate Professor, and Chaplain

Harun Spevack
Dr. Harun Spevack is an educator, researcher, writer, musician, and chaplain specializing in Islamic intellectual history, with a focus on law, theology, mysticism, philosophy, and their contemporary reception. He has taught in higher education settings including Harvard University, Boston University, Brandeis University, Colgate University, Loyola University New Orleans, and Hamilton College, and he is the author of multiple books, academic articles, and annotated Arabic–English translations.

He has served in various advisory and chaplaincy roles at these institutions where he offered pastoral, academic, and policy guidance to students, faculty, staff, and administration. He also offered consultancy for legal, educational, and community institutions rooted in his various content and context expertise.

As a co-founder of Renewal Education and the American Society of Islamic Philosophy and Theology (ASIPT), he led curriculum design and research initiatives. He also led annual Islamic Philosophy conferences and serve as Executive Editor of the Journal of Islamic Philosophy. More recently, Dr. Spevack's work has expanded into applied AI, especially music-related projects. Drawing from decades of study, performance, and teaching of various genres of music, he brings his creative and analytical skills together in all of his endeavors.
Education
Dr. Spevack's Educational Background:

Boston University (2008)

PhD, Arabic and Islamic Intellectual History from University Professors Program

 

Harvard University (2003)

Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies Cum Laude [Islam, and Mid East Studies]

 

New England Conservatory of Music (1992-1995) Jazz guitar and composition, Turkish Sufi and classical music, North and South Indian and Balinese Hindu Music, Eastern European and US Jewish Music (Klezmer), European classical and Liturgical styles.

 

Private Islamic Studies

Ijazas (traditional license to teach) in specific topics in law, theology, logic, hadith and grammar.

 

Primary Fields of Specialization:

Islamic Intellectual History: Intersections of Law, Theology (kalam), Philosophy, Logic, Sufism. Current focus: Ottoman-Kurdish and -Egyptian Madrasa Curricula.

 

Music Theory, Performance, and History: Religion and Music, Arabic and Turkish Percussion, Jazz guitar and composition, American musical traditions (Hip-hop, Folk, etc.).

 

Additional Academic Specialties and Interests:

Islamic Finance, Islam in America, Islam and Modernity, Classical Arabic Linguistic Sciences (grammar, rhetoric, etymology), Academic Theories of Religion, Islamicate History and Culture (MENA, Turkey, China, West Africa)