Need of the hour: Varsities told to play role in Muslim Ummah’s unity
Youth of Pakistan and Muslim world can lead Ummah towards development, peace and progress, says President Mamnoon.
President Mamnoon Hussain. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
Unity among Muslim countries and promotion of knowledge are basic requirements of the hour, International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) Pro-Chancellor Dr Sulaiman Abdullah Aba Al-Khail said on Sunday.
He was speaking at the ninth convocation of the university where degrees were conferred on 4,527 female students. Another 4,306 male students were awarded degrees at a separate convocation ceremony held on Saturday, said a press release.
Altogether, 57 PhD, 1,035 MS/MPhil, 3,544 graduate and 4,197 undergraduate degrees were awarded to male and female students over the two-day events. Gold medals were awarded to 121 female and 91 male students.
The Sunday ceremony was attended by the university’s Rector Dr Masoom Yasinzai, President Dr Ahmed Yousif Al-Draiweesh, Vice-President Dr Muhammad Bashir Khan, Saudi Ambassador Abdulaziz Ibrahim Al-Ghadir, Senator Sardar Fateh Muhammad Hassani, envoys of different countries and political personalities.
“Higher seats of learning such as IIUI can play pivotal role for unity among the ranks of Muslim Ummah by nurturing the minds of youth in accordance with teachings of Islam” said Dr Khail.
He said IIUI is an example of strong Pak-Saudi bilateral relations. He conveyed the message of King Abdullah reiterating Saudi Arabia’s continued cooperation for the university and the people of Pakistan.
He announced that an exchange of faculty and students between Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University and IIUI will take soon place.
While congratulating the students, Al-Khail said we would have to make our educational institutions more functional by giving them chances to formulate a milieu of unity in Muslim world.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Dr Yasinzai said IIUI has become a major centre for higher education for female in Pakistan with more than 10,000 students on campus.
Yasinzai said that more than 25,000 students were getting contemporary knowledge at IIUI. Now the university was focusing on engineering, science and technology and social sciences in addition to Islamic subject, he said.
Male students’ convocation
At the male students’ convocation on Saturday, President Mamnoon Hussain, who is also the IIUI Chancellor, had addressed the students.
Hussain had said Pakistan is an important country and has the potential to become a source of economic prosperity and stability in the region. Youth of Pakistan and the Muslim world can lead the Ummah towards development, peace and progress, he had said.
Hussain had also mentioned that the government would continue to take measures for the promotion of education as easy access to education was the government’s top priority.
“Pursuit of knowledge is a continuous process and students must set their priorities to acquire knowledge and disseminate it to bring peace and prosperity in the country,” President Hussain said.
He also advised the graduating students to never forget to pay back the love and affection their parents have showed them. He said he hoped the graduates would serve humanity and contribute to Pakistan’s progress.
During the Saturday ceremony, Hussain also conferred an IIUI honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics and International Relations Honoris Cousa to King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia. Al-Khail received the degree on behalf of the Saudi monarch.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2014.
Unity among Muslim countries and promotion of knowledge are basic requirements of the hour, International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) Pro-Chancellor Dr Sulaiman Abdullah Aba Al-Khail said on Sunday.
He was speaking at the ninth convocation of the university where degrees were conferred on 4,527 female students. Another 4,306 male students were awarded degrees at a separate convocation ceremony held on Saturday, said a press release.
Altogether, 57 PhD, 1,035 MS/MPhil, 3,544 graduate and 4,197 undergraduate degrees were awarded to male and female students over the two-day events. Gold medals were awarded to 121 female and 91 male students.
The Sunday ceremony was attended by the university’s Rector Dr Masoom Yasinzai, President Dr Ahmed Yousif Al-Draiweesh, Vice-President Dr Muhammad Bashir Khan, Saudi Ambassador Abdulaziz Ibrahim Al-Ghadir, Senator Sardar Fateh Muhammad Hassani, envoys of different countries and political personalities.
“Higher seats of learning such as IIUI can play pivotal role for unity among the ranks of Muslim Ummah by nurturing the minds of youth in accordance with teachings of Islam” said Dr Khail.
He said IIUI is an example of strong Pak-Saudi bilateral relations. He conveyed the message of King Abdullah reiterating Saudi Arabia’s continued cooperation for the university and the people of Pakistan.
He announced that an exchange of faculty and students between Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University and IIUI will take soon place.
While congratulating the students, Al-Khail said we would have to make our educational institutions more functional by giving them chances to formulate a milieu of unity in Muslim world.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Dr Yasinzai said IIUI has become a major centre for higher education for female in Pakistan with more than 10,000 students on campus.
Yasinzai said that more than 25,000 students were getting contemporary knowledge at IIUI. Now the university was focusing on engineering, science and technology and social sciences in addition to Islamic subject, he said.
Male students’ convocation
At the male students’ convocation on Saturday, President Mamnoon Hussain, who is also the IIUI Chancellor, had addressed the students.
Hussain had said Pakistan is an important country and has the potential to become a source of economic prosperity and stability in the region. Youth of Pakistan and the Muslim world can lead the Ummah towards development, peace and progress, he had said.
Hussain had also mentioned that the government would continue to take measures for the promotion of education as easy access to education was the government’s top priority.
“Pursuit of knowledge is a continuous process and students must set their priorities to acquire knowledge and disseminate it to bring peace and prosperity in the country,” President Hussain said.
He also advised the graduating students to never forget to pay back the love and affection their parents have showed them. He said he hoped the graduates would serve humanity and contribute to Pakistan’s progress.
During the Saturday ceremony, Hussain also conferred an IIUI honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics and International Relations Honoris Cousa to King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia. Al-Khail received the degree on behalf of the Saudi monarch.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2014.