A notable Jamaican-Canadian Muslim convert and Islamic scholar, Dr Bilal Philips is founder of the first accredited Islamic university in India in 2009: Preston International College, Chennai. However, he is most notably the Founder and Chancellor of the Islamic Online University AKA International Open University (iou. edu. gm), which currently has over 450,000 registered students studying accredited English-medium degree courses in Islamic Studies (shariah), Education, Psychology, Banking and Finance, IT and Business Administration, and a BA in Arabic language and literature. The IOU has the distinction of having the most diverse student body of any university in the world. Dr Bilal also reaches mass Muslim audiences through his television appearances on global satellite channels like Peace TV, Huda TV, and Islam Channel as well as through his official Facebook page. He has over ten million social media followers.