Building an Islamic University
(By Hafizur Rahman)
How does it feel to be responsible for actually constructing a prestigious Islamic university? Two men, a Pakistani and an Egyptian, are heading a team which is doing exactly that. While they talk with triumph of the project, they are rather reluctant to speak about the heartbreaks involved.
The two are Malik Meraj Khalid, Rector of the International Islamic University (IIU) in Islamabad, and Dr Hassan Mahmud Abd el-Latif el-Shafie its President (Vice-Chancellor). The triumph lies in the fact that construction has at last commenced on the new campus, a sprawling Sector H-10 comprising seven hundred acres. The heartbreaking aspect is shortage of funds, despite millions of dollars contributed by generous Muslims across the seas. However, they thank God that the eight years of frustration of not being able to use the new site because of militant squatters is at last over, due to positive help by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. lt
will be a couple of years before any part of the IIU is able to move there from the constricting premises lent by the Faisal Mosque, but at least the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight and burns brightly.
Before I tell you of what they are building in Sector H-10, let me express a personal note of incomprehension. As I’ve said, millions of dollars given by Muslim individuals and welfare bodies in the Middle East are there to be spent, but there is not a single rupee given by any Pakistani. What I
don’t understand is, why successive Presidents of Pakistan, in their capacity as Chancellor of the IIU, have never asked their countrymen for donations. President Tarar is taking almost day-to-day interest in its affairs, but why can’t he launch a formal appeal for funds? Those rolling in wealth in Pakistan, love to be philanthropic, and I’m sure they would give handsomely for the university if their contributions were suitably publicised. The other day in the
High Court two unnamed Pakistanis living abroad were mentioned who, it was said, could jointly pay off the entire foreign debt of Pakistan. Who are they and where are they? Mr Meraj Khalid should send out a team to hunt them out and make them donate a couple of billions in the name of Islam. Much has been written about the academic scope and role of the IIU in religious education, or rather Islam-oriented education. The university is actually the result of the efforts of some
distinguished scholars from the Islamic world to establish a seat of advanced learning to integrate the modern sciences with traditional Islamic knowledge. In my opinion, the greatest good it is doing in Pakistan is to transfer the interpretation of Islam from the ignorant and semi-educated student of
the deeni madrassah to the enlightened student of the Islamic University. The same situation may be available elsewhere too, because more than 33 per cent of the IIU’s
student community hails from 58 foreign countries, and most of them come from nations where Muslims are in a minority. For them the university is a boon. Add to this the fact that, unlike the local maulvi, the IIU does not consider advanced and specialised religious education unnecessary for women. Girl students form one-fifth of the total enrolment of about 3,000. Two hostels for them are being given priority in construction work at the new campus. In 1992, M/s Nespak were hired as consultants for the project with the basic mandate to develop a Master Plan that envisaged a total outlay of Rs. 7.6 billion to be incurred in five phases spread over a period of 25 years. Of course that figure is now seven years old and will have to be revised upwards. Although the whole amount is not to be spent in one go it is a very large amount. And considering the fact that some of the original donors have lost interest because of unconscionable delay on the part of the CDA/Government to make the new site available, Mr Meraj Khalid and Dr
Shafie are really worried. These financial constraints obliged the IIU planners to have an Executive Master Plan comprising Phase One so that construction could go ahead. This EMP covers three faculty blocks (one of them for women), eight hostels (two of them for women), an auditorium, a central mosque, the
library and the administrative block. The last four buildings will follow on the heels of the faculty blocks and hostels. Actual construction work began in last August and is proceeding apace. But there is no doubt that the overall position of funds is not very good. The Pakistan Government gives an annual grant to the IIU, but it is barely enough to meet running expenses. The salaries and
allowances of all the foreign scholars are paid by the concerned Muslim countries. So far no amount has been sanctioned for the new campus. May be the government thinks that the 700 acres given free by PM Benazir Bhutto in her first term is sufficient contribution, because the land is really priceless. One expects Chancellor Rafiq Tarar to impress upon the government that the IIU is no ordinary educational institution. When initially it was decided by the Board of Trustees (the majority of whom are high government dignitaries and distinguished scholars from Muslim countries) to locate it in Pakistan it was considered a great honour by everyone here, and President Ziaul Haq was jubilant at the achievement. I sometimes think that the chequered history of the new campus project must be making the Board of Trustees wonder if they hadn’t made a mistake in locating the Islamic University in Islamabad.
They all consider Pakistan as the bastion of the faith, and, after Turkey, the most advanced and enterprising of Muslim nations. I’m sure they never bargained for a government bound so tightly with red tape and so given to chronic administrative lethargy. Compared to this, the IIU in Malaysia has progressed with leaps and bounds and its new campus is one of the most beautiful in South
East Asia. Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad treats it like a personal project.
One writes about the Islamic University with mixed feelings of hope and despair. It’s a pity that we talk so much about Islamic education and are not even sustaining this excellent institution. If aid from abroad were to stop today, the IIU wouldn’t last a month. Much depends of what Chancellor Rafiq Tarar is able to do for it.
(If you want to get more infromation about this project, Please contact directly with the University Administration. And if you want to send some money, please send it directly to the University Account, No organizaton or Person (as far as I know) has been appointed to collect any money, Thanks )