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THE OPEN EVENING LAUNCH CEREMONY OF
THE ISLAMIC INSTITUTE FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDIES (IIPS)
SAYYIDA ZAINAB (AS) DAMASCUS (SYRIA)
Report written by: Hassanain Aleem Mir of Leeds Jamaat.
On Sunday 16th September 2007 / 3rd Ramadhan 1428, an Iftar dinner was held for the opening ceremony of the IIPS. The evening’s proceedings were held at the same venue where the first week of lectures/tutorials had been completed by me and my class fellows.
Invitations were made to all of the heads of all of the major howza’s (institutes) within the vicinity. Alongside these invitations, invites were also sent to the office bearers / representatives of all the major Maraje’s/Mujtahids within Damascus.
The evening was hosted by Jaffer Dharamsi (IIPS Co-ordinator), under The World Federation. The ceremony’s chief organiser Haji Hussein Ravji (Administrator/Manager IIPS) was also present alongside three of the senior lecturing staff namely Sheikh Sami Bo Khamseen (IIPS Educational Director), Ustaadzh Qasim Al-Assady (IIPS Module Co-ordinator/Lead Arabic Lecturer) and Sheikh Mohammed Jawaad Hirmilani (Male Quran Instructor).
The evening was initiated with the eloquent recitation of The Holy Qur’an by Sheikh/Qari Jawaad Hirmilani, who then made the call for the evening prayers by reciting the Azaan. After a few polite gestures of invitations to lead the prayers, it was unanimously agreed upon for it to be lead by Hujjatul Islam wal Muslimeen Syed Mohsin Hashmi (Head of Fatwa’s/Representative in Qum, Iran for Ayatullah al Uzma Sayyid Ali Al-Hussani Sistani). These congregational prayers were unique, as the heads of all the numerous Howza’s and representatives for the various Maraje had never before come together for jammat prayers.
The other distinguished guests and notables who attended the open evening ceremony were as follows:
Ayatullah Abdul Mun’im Al-Hakim
Syed Ali Al-Hakim, Principal of Howza Imam Ali (AS)
Hujjatul Islam Sheikh Haleem Al-Behbahani, Syrian representative of Ayatullah Sistani
Syed Ali Baqir, Principal of Howza Imam Al-Mahdi (AS), Sheikh Gulam Sadiqi, Principal of Howza Mujtaba
Sheikh Qasim Akhundy, Representative of Ayatullah Bashir Najafi
Sheikh Jasim Al-Khalisi, Representative of Ayatullah Ha’iri
Sheikh Abu Ali, Principal Howza Al Qaim
Mohammed Jaffer from Toronto, Long standing supporter and enthusiast of the IIPS project
Abu Yahya, Construction Architect for the Campus and student accommodation.
Iftar dinner was served after prayers on the roof top of the AL-Qaim building. The catering and service arrangements where supervised by Abu Mohammed (Caretaker of development Campus site). After dinner, tea was served inside the main foyer, where guests had access to the IIPS project/course materials e.g. syllabus; subjects covered over the 4 years; module/topic construction, composition and delivery; lecturing staff credentials and personal statements; aims and objectives of the overall project; selection criteria of students and accreditation of graduates upon completion of the IIPS. Lecturing staff, support staff and students including myself were available to share our thoughts and both answer and ask questions regarding the whole project.
All in all the feedback from all the prominent attendees was that the IIPS has incorporated the entire fundamental and core topics essential to a howza institute. Alongside this, it was also pointed out that the project included many original and novel concepts, necessary for the developing world and fulfilment of needs of the communities around the world. The aims and ambition were deemed to be realistic and achievable, which is to develop and nurture professional and superior scholars who will provide guidance and be able to lead their communities effectively. The IIPS was given the support and well wishes by all of the relevant bodies and thought to be essential to the future role envisaged to be undertaken by the future Alim/Alima’s living and working in the west. |
