Islamic University of Rotterdam: Realizing the Founding Vision of the First Independent Islamic University in Western Europe

This article examines the historical development of the Islamic University of Rotterdam (IUR), today known as the Islamic University of Applied Sciences Rotterdam (IUASR), between 1997 and 2026, with particular attention to the relationship between its founding vision and subsequent institutional evolution. Using a qualitative historical case study and process-tracing approach, the analysis draws on founding statutes, conference discourse, curriculum documents, vision and mission statements, accreditation records, and institutional archives. The findings show that the university was conceived as a broad educational project integrating religious scholarship, scientific inquiry, citizenship formation, cultural engagement, professional education, and societal contribution. Its development did not follow a single linear trajectory. Instead, different elements of the founding vision evolved through realized, interrupted, re-activated, and projected pathways. Theology and chaplaincy became consolidated fields, several cultural and academic initiatives were interrupted, and teacher education re-emerged as an accredited pathway in 2026. The article conceptualizes this institutional orientation as a comprehensive Islamic university and proposes the Multiple Pathways of Vision Realization Model to explain how founding visions may continue to shape institutional continuity, diversification, and development across changing leadership, organizational, regulatory, and societal conditions.