JEDDAH, 7 December 2007 — Alumni from the Aligarh Muslim University, celebrated Sir Syed Day with a mixture of traditional aplomb and sobriety on Wednesday night. The function was presided over by Dr. Hisham Khadawardi, deputy director of King Abdul Aziz University, and Dr. Ahmed Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, former principal of Manarat School in Jeddah and now owner of Al-Beladi School.
The ceremony began with a welcome speech by Najmi Usmani, organizer of the AMU’s Jeddah committee. This was followed by a speech by Dr. Anjum Iqbal, which traced the AMU’s history from its humble beginning as a school to its present day prominence as a world-renowned university.
Dr. Rahat Abrar, a visiting public relations officer from Aligarh, highlighted the AMU’s contribution to the academic field and its role in furthering relations between Saudi Arabia and India.
Dr. Hisham spoke highly of the AMU and its alumni, and expressed deep admiration for the regard with which faculty members remembered their seniors and lecturers, noting that this was not the case at a prominent university he attended in the United States while studying for a doctorate degree in English Literature.
He also praised the Muslim university for standing firm in the face of a hostile non-Muslim environment, and for providing academic and scholastic opportunities to all regardless of race, color or creed.
Al-Ghamdi was appreciative of the AMU community at large and hoped for the institute’s further success. A large number of ex-students and staff at AMU have recently been hired by King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, indicating a revival of its popularity in the Kingdom.