Discover IPSA

The International Peace College South Africa (IPSA) is a higher education institution specialising in Islamic Studies. Located in Cape Town, South Africa, IPSA offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes grounded in Islam and informed by the academic standards of higher education.

IPSA provides an environment in which the Islamic intellectual tradition is studied, examined and developed through teaching and research. Its academic programmes cultivate disciplinary knowledge, critical enquiry and research competence. Students are equipped to engage Islamic thought with intellectual depth and academic integrity.

The institution operates within a distinctive South African context. Islam has a history of more than 350 years in South Africa, with Muslim communities contributing to the country’s religious, educational and social development. This historical presence provides an important context for IPSA’s role in advancing Islamic higher education in the country.

Contemporary society also presents increasingly complex intellectual and ethical questions. Developments in economics, governance, family life, technology, social relations and public life require informed engagement. IPSA provides an academic setting in which such questions can be examined through Islamic thought and applied to contemporary realities.

The development of scholars, intellectuals and leaders is central to this academic mandate. IPSA seeks to produce graduates who demonstrate intellectual maturity, sound character and a clear sense of responsibility. Students are prepared to communicate knowledge with authority, exercise informed judgement and contribute within academic, professional and community settings.

Research forms an important part of this work. IPSA promotes research that contributes to the development of Islamic thought and responds to contemporary concerns. Its postgraduate academic direction includes engagement with Maqasid al-Shari’ah and its relevance to juridical, spiritual, intellectual, social, political and economic matters.

Beyond its academic programmes, IPSA maintains an active relationship with the wider community. Public programmes and community initiatives extend the institution’s educational role beyond formal study and create opportunities for meaningful intellectual engagement.

IPSA’s institutional identity is expressed through three defining principles:

Knowledge · Virtue · Civilisation

Knowledge affirms the pursuit of learning, intellectual enquiry and research. Virtue places character, dignity and ethical responsibility at the centre of education. Civilisation reflects the responsibility of education to contribute to human development, responsible citizenship and a just social order.

Our History

To produce scholars, intellectuals and leaders who combine the qualities of faith, good character and knowledge in their learning, teaching and research in an environment that fosters tolerance and appreciation for diversity, intercultural understanding and civilizational dialogue.

To build International Peace College South Africa as the leading Centre of education which:
 

• contributes to revitalizing the intellectual and spiritual dynamism of the Muslim Community as exemplified by the Qur’anic principle of wasatiyyah (the middle-way) and demonstrated in a rich legacy of scholarship spanning more than 1400 years;
  
  
• promotes the authentic and historically grounded expression of Islam in South Africa - a heritage which comprises more than 350 years of integration to context whilst consciously mitigating the perils of assimilation and isolation; and
  
  
• prepares students and academics to play a meaningful and catalytic role in contributing towards the creation of a just social order in South Africa and the world.

The values of the institution are embedded in the following:
 

• Knowledge: create an environment that promotes and encourages the generation of knowledge and scholastic research that is focused on contributing to the improvement of the quality of life of communities and nations through mutual respect.

• Virtues: promote education and scholastic research across disciplines and discourses which add value to the fostering and protection of the dignity of humanity and respect that ensures equity and reduce discrimination in all aspects.

• Civilization: promote scholastic and practical research and publications that contribute to the development of good governance and global citizenship that permeates tolerance through collective understanding and communication.