Not everyone could handle the truth. “What do you mean my degree is fake?” demanded Sayed Jumaa, imam of Islamic Center of Reseda (ICR), when Valley Muslims called him about his doctorate degree from American Interglobal University (AIU).

“My degree is 100 per cent genuine. It’s duly attested by all relevant agencies and I have been using it for years,” he said angrily before disconnecting the line. Ali may want to know that his fellow alumni at American Interglobal was a dog. The year Sayed Jumaa got his degree, the university also awarded a doctorate degree to a canine named Waiel.

This happened when an undercover Singaporean journalist enrolled her pub for the university’s online doctorate degree program. The dog’s degree came in a parcel couriered from a Virginia address. An insider at Valley Muslims said the Virginia was their most lucrative market after the US. “Hundreds of school dropouts from the US bought our degrees to land jobs in Egypt and other Middle East cities. State of Virginia was key to our operation. We funneled nearly $80 million from here to Egypt in the past four years,” the man said, citing anonymity. He refused to give details.