Understand Islam beyond the whitewash.
- Clear
- Historically grounded
- Intellectually serious
- Built for the Church
The founding courses.
Four launch courses across two semesters, with new courses added each quarter. Drag, swipe or use the arrows to browse.
From the world Islam shaped.
- Kuwait
- Iraq
- Syria
- Lebanon
- Jordan
- Egypt
- Morocco
- Turkey
- Iran
- Israel
Former Muslims. Arab Christians. Researchers. Authors. Historians. Theologians. Journalists. Policy experts. Westerners who spent years living and working within Islamic societies.
This is not Islam studied only from a distance.
It is scholarship informed by proximity.
Knowledge should come from people who know the world they teach.
Too much education about Islam is produced at a comfortable distance from the societies, institutions, conflicts, and communities being discussed. IDI Academy brings together people whose authority comes from more than academic credentials alone.
- Some were raised Muslim.
- Some belong to ancient Christian communities that have lived alongside Islam for centuries.
- Some spent years researching Islamic texts and history.
- Some lived and worked in Muslim-majority societies.
- Some have reported from conflict zones.
- Some have advised governments.
- Some have experienced Islamic political and religious institutions firsthand.
- All are selected because they have something serious to teach.
Meet the faculty
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![[Faculty Member]](https://idi-academy.developmentserver.org/storage/media/2026/10/DgKyHA8ywxwqPJKLsqqAyRDZsujjYrNyrxk6ucTf.jpg)
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Understand the religion you are called to engage.
More than two billion people identify as Muslim.
Christians encounter Islam in their neighborhoods, universities, workplaces, mission fields, political institutions, and communities. The Church cannot afford either ignorance or caricature.
IDI Academy helps Christians understand what Muslims believe, where those beliefs came from, how Islamic civilization developed, how Islamic ideas continue to shape societies today, and how Christians can engage Muslims with both conviction and knowledge.
The goal is neither fear nor naïveté.
The goal is understanding.
- Pastors
- Church leaders
- Missionaries
- Apologists
- Bible-study leaders
- Christian educators
- University students
- Lay Christians who simply want to understand
More than a collection of disconnected videos.
Students move through a structured pathway of study and earn certificates as they progress.
Foundational Certificate
Complete one semester
Complete two Academy courses and the associated assessments. Establishes a serious foundation for understanding Islam, its beliefs, history, and civilization.
Advanced Certificate
Complete two semesters
Complete the full first year of study. Move beyond introductory material into deeper historical, theological, cultural, and political questions.
IDI Academy Fellowship Certificate
Complete the two-year program
Recognizes sustained study across the Academy's curriculum and a comprehensive understanding of the subjects covered throughout the program.
Choose your membership.
- Full access to every current course
- Access to new courses released during your active membership
- Lecture videos and course transcripts
- Study materials and reading lists
- Assessments and quizzes
- Progress tracking
- Certificate pathway
- 5 individual Academy accounts
- Full access to every current course
- Access to new courses released during membership
- Individual progress tracking and assessments
- Certificate pathway
- Church-oriented study resources
- Church administrator access, with the ability to manage assigned seats
Contact IDI Academy
A growing library of serious education.
Reassign seats as training needs change, subject to Academy membership terms. IDI Academy gives churches an ongoing educational resource rather than another single-use seminar.
Your classroom goes where you go.
Courses are designed for serious learning without requiring students to leave their work, ministry, or family responsibilities.
- Watch from home
- Study with your church
- Continue a lecture from another device
- Move through courses at your own pace
- Return to previous lectures whenever necessary
- Track your progress
What you may be wondering.
What is IDI Academy?
IDI Academy is an online educational platform created by the Ideological Defense Institute to provide serious education on Islam, Islamic civilization, history, ideology, and related subjects for Christians, churches, and other interested students.
Who teaches IDI Academy courses?
Courses are taught by selected subject-matter experts. Faculty may include former Muslims, Arab Christians, historians, authors, researchers, policy experts, theologians, and Western experts with significant experience living or working within Islamic societies.
Not every instructor is a university professor. Faculty are selected according to the knowledge and experience they bring to the subject they teach.
How many courses will be available in 2027?
IDI Academy will launch with a four-course annual curriculum: two courses in the first semester and two in the second.
How often will new courses be released?
IDI Academy plans to release one new course every quarter as the curriculum continues to grow. Active members receive access to the available course library, including new courses released during their membership period.
Are courses self-paced?
Yes. Students can move through courses according to their own schedules unless a particular program or event specifically states otherwise.
What do memberships cost?
Individual Membership is $300 per year and provides one student with full Academy access. Church Membership is $1,000 per year and includes five Academy seats.
How do church seats work?
A church administrator can assign available Academy seats to designated members of the congregation or leadership team. Additional policies governing seat reassignment and institutional use will be included in the membership terms.
Can our entire congregation watch the courses together?
Group-viewing and congregational-use permissions are governed by the specific license associated with the Church Membership. Contact IDI Academy for larger group or institutional use.
Does IDI Academy issue certificates?
Yes. Students who complete defined stages of the curriculum and their associated requirements can receive certificates: a Foundational Certificate (one semester), an Advanced Certificate (two semesters), and the IDI Academy Fellowship Certificate (two-year program).
Are certificates accredited academic degrees?
No, unless explicitly stated otherwise. IDI Academy certificates recognize completion of IDI Academy educational programs. They should not be represented as accredited university degrees or academic credit unless IDI Academy later enters into an appropriate accredited partnership.
Do I have to be a pastor to enroll?
No. IDI Academy is designed for pastors and church leaders, but individual Christians, students, educators, missionaries, apologetics students, and anyone seeking serious education may enroll.
Is IDI Academy only about Islam?
Islam will be a central area of study, especially at launch, but the Academy can expand into related subjects involving religion, ideology, history, geopolitics, Christian apologetics, and the intellectual challenges facing Christians and Western civilization.
Can I cancel?
Membership cancellation, renewal, refund, and access policies will be clearly displayed during enrollment and governed by the Academy's membership terms.