AIIC plans madrassa for expat students

An international Islamic school (madrassa), named Al-Huda Learning Center, has been established in Jeddah’s Aziziya district for the purpose of imparting Islamic knowledge to school going expatriate children.
The new madrassa, where teaching will be in English medium, is run by All-India Islahi Center, Jeddah, a dawa organization of expatriates from different Indian states, said Akbar Batcha, president of AIIC and former chairman of the Indian School Managing Committee.
Al-Huda, located close to Al-Sudais Masjid in Aziziya, will start its classes from Feb. 1, during weekends (Thursdays and Fridays) from 3 to 6 p.m. The syllabus includes Qur’an, Hadith, biography of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Islamic manners.
“We will apply advanced teaching methods and group activities. We will also conduct character-building classes for personality development of children in the light of Islamic teachings,” Batcha told Arab News.
Although the madrassa is targeting Indian students, it will also accommodate interested students belonging to other nationalities such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, depending on availability of seats.
At present, Al-Huda will admit only male students in the age of up to 12 years due to space constraints, the president said. AIIC is planning to establish its own premises in Aziziya similar to Indian Islahi Center in Sharafiya. “We invite all Indian parents living in Aziziya, Mushrifa, Rihab and Safa districts to make use of the facility,” said Shaikh Hammud Shememry, director of Indian Islahi Center.
Shememry emphasized the need to learn the Holy Qur’an and understand the meaning of its verses in order to help children understand God and His teachings and gain spiritual strength.
Batcha also underlined the importance of teaching Qur’an and Hadith to children at early stages and bring them up in an Islamic environment.
“AIIC will ensure that Al-Huda will be an ideal place for children to enjoy learning the Qur’an and Hadith,” he said.
Indian Islahi Center was founded by late Professor Mohammed Abubaker and Dr. Hussain Madawoor in 1982. Since then IIC has been conducting dawa programs for Muslims and Non-Muslims and Qur’an and Arabic language classes. It also runs madrassas for Malayali students. During the 30th annual celebration, IIC initiated the process of forming an All-India Islahi Center inviting representatives of organizations and community leaders from different states of India, Batcha said.
“IIC’s 30 years of experience in dawa activities shall be utilized to serve entire Indian community and AIIC will be an ideal platform for state organizations to cooperate and benefit from each others knowledge and expertise,” said Naushad Karinganadu IIC general-secretary.
Batcha disclosed plans to conduct a three-day workshop on “Discover Yourself” next month for families. “AIIC will organize a series of Islamic activities to enrich Indian parents’ knowledge of the Qur’an and Hadith,” he added.
AIIC intends to open a separate madrassa for girls. Batcha can be contacted on 0503 608210 to get more information about Al-Huda center. Shafeeq ur-Rahman, a well known community leader from Maharashtra, is AIIC’s convener.