JEDDAH, 28 March 2003 — Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradhawi, an internationally known Islamic scholar, recently inaugurated an Islamic university at Shantapuram in the Malappuram district of the southern Indian state of Kerala. The opening ceremony was attended by a number of foreign dignitaries including the Kuwaiti Ambassador to New Delhi, Abdullah Al-Murad, and Prof. Ali Al-Qurrah Daghi of Qatar University.
In his opening address, Qaradhawi urged Muslims to be tolerant toward people of other faiths. “Patience and perseverance are indispensable qualities of Islamic preachers,” he said. Praising the atmosphere of good will and tolerance among different communities in Kerala, Sheikh Qaradhawi said Islam never preaches hatred and animosity toward members of other religions.
“Islam stands for peace. It denounces terrorism and rejects violence,” the Egyptian scholar said, adding that he was among the first to condemn the Sept. 11 attacks. With 1,400 students, the new Islamic university consists of faculties for Shariah, Holy Qur’an, Sunnah and Arabic Language in addition to a Qur’an Memorization Center, Teachers’ Training Institute, Islamic Research Center and Information Technology Center.
The university has an advisory council of eminent scholars chosen from all over the Islamic world. The council, with Sheikh Qaradhawi in the chair, consists of Dr. Abdullah Naseef, former vice chairman of the Saudi Shoura Council and former secretary-general of the Muslim World League, and Dr. Qurrah Daghi.
The reputable Shantapuram Islamiya College, established in 1955, served as the nucleus of the new university. The college’s graduates have been actively involved in Islamic dawa work in India and abroad.
In view of the growing demand for Islamic scholars and preachers, there was a strong demand to upgrade the college to university status with facilities for specialization, research and higher learning. Kuwaiti Ambassador Murad inaugurated the university’s library while Mohd Jasem Kalban opened the newly built center for computer science and information technology.
“The Shantapuram Islamiya College has played a remarkable role in disseminating the message of Islam across the state,” Jamal Mohammed (Malappuram), one of the college’s first graduates, told Arab News.
The college was a pioneering Islamic institution in India, which introduced a unique system combining both religious and modern education in its syllabus. Under the system, students are taught Shariah-related subjects, such as the Qur’an, Hadith and Islamic jurisprudence, in addition to Arabic literature, English language and social sciences.