There is a small but notable community of Muslims at Harvard University, compromising 3.9% of the class of 2024. The proportion of Muslims within the university has increased over time, from 1.3% in the class of 2016, 2.6% in the class of 2017, and 3.9% in the class of 2024.
Starting in 1654, the university originally provided Arabic language classes before introducing actual Islamic classes. Such classes were taught alongside Hebrew and other Semitic languages as a part of Biblical studies. According to early Arabic professor Stephen Sewall, it was a "pity, not to say disgrace" that Harvard supposedly lagged behind European universities in Arabic studies by 1768.
In 1765, the first Islamic books were brought to the Harvard Library, and the first Islamic course was taught in 1889. In the same year, the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East was founded and provided manuscripts and artifacts brought from the Ottoman Empire. In 1948, the first Iranian languages were taught, and in 1954, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies was built, which includes Islamic studies, academia, government, business, journalism, and law. Additionally, in 1998, the Middle East Initiative was founded at the Harvard Kennedy School in order to interact with and study the affairs of Muslim-majority nations.
Islamic courses include Islamic art, architecture, calligraphy, literature, history, philosophy, theology, culture, economics, law, science, sects, and modernism. Additional courses cover Islam and Christianity, Islam and politics, Islam and women, Islam in India, Islam in Iran, Islam in Spain, Islam in South Asia, Islam in Syria, Islamic empires, comparative religion, and Orientalism.
The Harvard Islamic Society represents Muslim students at the university. It provides meetings, prayers, programs, service opportunities, and Islamic resources.