The Criterion Concepts name and logo was the product of extensive deliberation on how best to reflect the varied goals of this project.
In this educational project, the starting point was a study of the life of Umar bin al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him. One of the names of Allah’s book is “al-Furqan,” being the Criterion that separates right from wrong. Likewise, one of the titles of Umar is “al-Farooq” in that his spiritual sense is so sharp that he recognizes truth from falsehood. In the spirit of Umar RA’s discerning gaze, we chose the name Criterion Concepts to convey how Muslims needs to re engage and re establish criteria on how they evaluate relevant ideas and concepts. With advice from Imam Zaid Shakir we chose the name “Criterion Concepts.”
Above the name, the logo features a book reaching out of the globe. This book has three layers. The first layer is the Qur’an. The second layer is the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him. The third layer is the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them.
From that source there are three trees growing. The forest of these trees is the Muslim Ummah reaching for the sky. One tree represents the Tradition of Islamic learning. Second tree represents the state of the art of learning methods. A teaching of the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him, is that “wisdom is the lost property of the believer.” Meaning, we search across the world for further wisdom, in this context for the state of the art of education, personal and social transformation. The third tree is the unification of the first two trees.
The outer rims of the logo are the split moon. When the opponents of the Prophet, may peace be upon him, demanded a miracle, they were granted a splitting of the moon, as recounted in Surah al-Qamar (Surah 54). Those who rejected that phenomenon ignored it, having already recorded the wondrous miracles of the Qur’an itself and the Prophet, may peace be upon him. But, for the believers, it was yet another moment of wonder in their ongoing efforts to approach their Creator.
Then, beneath the moon, beneath the sky, are the raindrops that fall upon the world. In our logo the raindrops from the sky and the leaves growing out from the trees, which grew out from the source, are one. Nature gives us blessings from above and below.
One, unified world in service to the Divine. A heart of this world is Knowledge.