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Saudi Arabia Inaugurates New R&D University, American Scholars Plan for Muslim College

Visualization Center at KAUST

Visualization Center at KAUST

Two similar, yet very different items about higher education came to my attention today. The first, from the Chronicle of Higher Education, is about two men who want to establish a four-year, fully accredited Muslim college and the challenges they face.

Sheik Hamza Yusuf and Imam Zaid Shakir share a vision for the next step in the evolution of Islam in America: creating the country’s first four-year, accredited Muslim college.

The two men, American scholars of Islam and leaders in the Muslim community, are criss-crossing the country building support for an institution they call Zaytuna College, which they plan to open next fall. The college will serve the nation’s growing Muslim population, blending traditional Islam and American culture and establishing a permanent place for the religion in American society.

Before any of that can happen, Zaytuna’s founders face steep challenges. They must hire a staff, establish a curriculum, develop admissions policies, and raise at least $5-million just to open their doors—all during a particularly trying time for college fund raising. At the same time, government scrutiny has put a chill on Muslim philanthropy.

Estimates are that there are more than 2,000 mosques and growing number of Islamic schools across the country. The founders plan to train the leaders of these institutions. Currently most of these institutions bring their leadership and teachers from overseas, whereas graduates from the college will be more familiar with American culture and traditions.

While this college is still in the idea stage, ArabCrunch reports a major new research university opened its doors today in Saudia Arabia, streaming its inaugural ceremonies live.

(The) King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is opening now. KAUST inauguration is very significant because it is the biggest technology R&D center and university in the Arab world and is supported by a multi-billion dollar endowment (Islamic Waqeef), thanks to the great support of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The University which is open to men and women from around the world offers degrees in 9 fields of study:

1. Applied Mathematics and Computational Science (AMCS)
2. Bioscience (B)
3. Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE)
4. Computer Science (CS) 5. Earth Science and Engineering (ErSE)
6. Electrical Engineering (EE)
7. Environmental Science and Engineering (EnSE)
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The state-of-the-art university will focus on key research fields:

* Resources, Energy and Environment;
* Biosciences and Bioengineering;
* Materials Science and Engineering;
* Applied Mathematics and Computational Science.

The university is a state of the art facility and the first coed institution in Saudi Arabia. It will bring together scholars from many cultures around the world, thus counteracting the rising tide of extremism.

“Humanity has been the target of vicious attacks from extremists, who speak the language of hatred,” King Abdullah said at the inauguration. “Undoubtedly, scientific centers that embrace all peoples are the first line of defense against extremists. And today this university will become a house of wisdom … a beacon of tolerance.”

Oil Minister Ali Naimi hailed the university’s opening as a pivotal step forward in the oil-rich kingdom’s quest to strengthen its economic base.

“With all the natural resources that God has endowed us, the kingdom is keen to diversify its sources of income for the future,” Naimi said in remarks carried by state media.

So far 817 students representing 61 different countries are currently enrolled, with 314 beginning classes this month while the rest are scheduled to start in the beginning of 2010. The aim is to expand to 2,000 students within eight to 10 years.

-via Saudi Arabia inaugurates its first coed university

Academic and Free-Speech Groups Join Criticism of Yale U. Press Over Cartoons

Jennifer Howard writes in the Chronicle of Higher Education today,

Criticism continues to rain down on Yale University and Yale University Press for their decision to remove all images of the Prophet Muhammad from a forthcoming scholarly book, The Cartoons That Shook the World, by Jytte Klausen.

Now the National Coalition Against Censorship and a group of academic and free-speech organizations have sent a letter of protest to Yale’s president, Richard C. Levin, and the Yale Corporation. “This misguided action established a dangerous precedent that threatens academic and intellectual freedom around the world,” the coalition wrote. It said that the university’s action “compromises the principle and practice of academic freedom, undermines the independence of the press, damages the university’s credibility, and diminishes its reputation for scholarship.”
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via Academic and Free-Speech Groups Join Criticism of Yale U. Press Over Cartoons in Book – Publishing – The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Yale had withdrawn the cartoons from the book for fear of offending Muslims and inciting violence.

Student air passenger handcuffed and questioned

EIGHT YEARS after 9/11, we’re used to changes in our routines. We show ID to get into office buildings, and take off our shoes at airports.

But should a college student flying back to school be handcuffed and held for five hours because he has Arabic flash cards in his backpack?

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via Dave Davies: Student air passenger handcuffed to echoes of 9/11 fears | Philadelphia Daily News | 09/11/2009.

Follow that link and read this story.  It is disconcerting.  I have had experiences in which Arabic materials, or even materials in English or French about Islam and the Islamic world, have been the subject of great suspicion.  Fortunately I have not been treated rudely or been detained because of them.  It does worry me, though.

Ramadan 2009 – The Big Picture – Boston.com

Breaking the fast in Pakistan

Breaking the fast in Pakistan

We are now in the midst of Ramadan, the 9th and holiest month of the Islamic calendar, when Muslims celebrate the revelation of the Holy Quran to the Prophet Muhammad.  During this month Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual activity during the day, breaking their fast each sunset, with traditional meals and sweets. It is also a time for pious deeds such as reading the the entire Quran, prayer, and giving alms to the poor.  Muslims are called to carry out their fast willingly and in a spirit of devotion, humility, and sacrifice.  Ramadan nights in much of the Muslim world are often festive and fun, as things stay open late and people are out and about in the streets.

This link is to a feature from the Boston Globe gathering images of Ramadan throughout the Islamic world.  The photos are absolutely stunning!  Truly talented photographers.
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via Ramadan 2009 – The Big Picture – Boston.com.

Tariq Ramadan answers his Dutch detractors

The municipality of Rotterdam and the Erasmus University Rotterdam have fired Tariq Ramadan, the Swiss-born scholar on Islam, for hosting of a program on Iran’s Press TV that they consider “irreconcilable” with his position as a guest professor, adding that “Although there is no doubt at all concerning Dr Ramadan’s personal dedication, both boards found this indirect relationship with a repressive regime, or even the impression of being associated with it, not acceptable.”

Ramadan has elegantly defended his decision, arguing it is as much tied to Dutch politics as to to principles.

Today, the argument goes that I am linked to the Iranian regime; I support the repression that followed the recent elections. Should we be surprised that this latest accusation has surfaced only in the Netherlands? It is as if I in particular, and Islam in general, are being used to promote certain political agendas in the upcoming Dutch elections. [Local elections will be held in 2010, Ed.]…

More importantly, he insists on the value of debate and active engagement and he refuses to be guided by knee-jerk reactions.
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When I agreed to host a television program on Islam and contemporary life, I chose the path of critical debate. I accepted no obligations. My guests have included atheists, rabbis, priests, women with and without headscarves, all invited to debate issues like freedom, reason, interfaith dialogue, Sunni versus Shia Islam, violence, jihad, love and art, to name only a few. I challenge my critics to scrutinise these programmes and to find the slightest evidence in them of support for the Iranian regime. My programme proclaims its openness to the world; all guests are treated with equal respect.

Today, as Iran is torn by crisis, I intend to take all the time necessary to make the proper decision. All the facts must be carefully weighed in order to devise the optimum strategy for supporting the long march, in Iran, toward transparency and respect for human rights. Violent polemics and overheated debate of the kind we see today in the Netherlands lead nowhere. Before deciding on a course of action, I am determined to form a fully rounded picture.

via nrc.nl – International – Opinion – Tariq Ramadan answers his Dutch detractors.

New Book: Africa’s Islamic Experience

Africa's Islamic Experience

Africa's Islamic Experience

Please allow me a bit of shameless self promotion. A new book has been published, and I am one of the editors: Africa’s Islamic Experience: History, Culture and Politics. The title is self explanatory. It is a collection of essays that I had the pleasure of working on while a graduate assistant at the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University.

In the year 2004, there was an operation known Web Tryp, in this operation different research chemical vendors which operated on the internet were order cheap cialis this site raided and shut down by the FireEye network security firm in late 2009. This drug is manufactured by the Ajanta Pharma Ltd. viagra sans prescription canada order viagra online This results in fewer side effects when not taken in the correct dosages and strengths. However, when it occurs more often, then cialis discount overnight it is not normal and you need to constantly check with his / her medical doctor. I received my copy in the mail today, totally by surprise. It was sent to me the Institute’s director and founder, distinguished, renowned and sometimes controversial scholar, Ali A. Mazrui. I am sure that professor Mazrui wouldn’t mind my including the adjective “controversial” in a description of him, as he very rarely shies away from taking a stand when he is convinced of its truth.  One adjective I didn’t include in that description because it doesn’t define him so much as a scholar as it does a man, is gentlemanly. He showed that countless times since I have known him, and receiving this book today is evidence once again.

I was only involved in this book in the early stages, but I put in a lot of work, both on the conference and on the essays, and was very proud of that work.  Anyone who has ever been a graduate student knows that many, perhaps most professors, would not acknowledge a graduate students work in this way, especially so long after he has finished his degree.  But Dr. Mazrui is generous in that way.  Because he allowed me and other graduate students to participate so centrally in the activities of the Institute and so closely with him, I dare say that my brief time at IGCS was as central to my intellectual development as any course I took and my interactions with most of my other professors.

U.S. court reverses ruling barring Muslim scholar

This happened while I was overseas, so I didn’t get a change to post it here, but it is progress and I wish to acknowledge it.  Ramadan in an eminent, astute and highly respected scholar.  In fact he has been recently appointed a new Islamic Studies Chair at the University of Oxford.  He has done a great deal of meritorious scholarly work on Islam and the West and I was shocked that my country would deny him a visa.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday reversed a lower court ruling that had upheld the U.S. government’s right to bar Swiss Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan from entering the United States.

The ruling boosts the hopes of Ramadan and U.S. civil rights groups who argue that the U.S. government had unlawfully revoked Ramadan’s visa several times in 2004. The case was sent back to a lower court for further consideration.

Civil rights groups had appealed a federal judge’s ruling in 2007 that upheld the government’s right to ban Ramadan.

The U.S. government initially gave no reason for the ban but government lawyers later said he was barred because he gave 1,670 Swiss francs, then worth $1,336, to a Swiss-based charity, the Association de Secours Palestinien, or ASP, from 1998 to 2002.

Washington listed ASP as a banned group in 2003, saying it supported terrorism and had contributed funds to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

On Friday, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals said it was unclear whether the consulate officer who considered Ramadan’s case had given the professor the opportunity to answer whether he knew he had contributed funds to an organization designated a terrorist organization.

The consulate officer “was required to confront Ramadan with the allegation against him” and let him explain whether he knew “the recipient of his contributions was a terrorist organization,” the ruling said, adding that “the record was unclear whether the consular officer had done so.”
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Ramadan, an Oxford University professor, has said he was unaware of any connections between the charity and terrorism.

via U.S. court reverses ruling barring Muslim scholar | U.S. | Reuters.

The fact that I had not responded to this ruling came to mind today because I read a thought provoking piece that Ramadan wrote in response to Obama’s speech in Cairo early this summer.  It is worth reading and begins

We are used to nice words and many, in the Muslim majority countries as well as Western Muslims, have ended up not trusting the United States when it comes to political discourse. They want actions and they are right. This is indeed what our world needs. Yet, President Obama, who is very eloquent and good at using symbols, has provided us with his speech in Cairo with something that is more than simple words. It has presented an attitude, a mindset, a vision.

In order to avoid shaping a binary vision of the world, Barack Obama referred to “America”, “Islam”, “the Muslims” and “the Muslim majority countries”: he never fell into the trap of speaking about “us” as different or opposed to “them” and he was quick to refer Islam as being an American reality, and to American Muslims as being an asset to his own society. Talking about his own life, he went from the personal to the universal stating that he knows by experience that Islam is a religion whose message is one of openness and tolerance. Both the wording and the substance of his speech were important and new: he managed to be humble, self-critical, open and demanding at the same time in a message targeting all of “us”, understood as “partners”.

The seven areas he highlighted are critical…

via Tariq RAMADAN.

Maths and science to be taught in English – The National Newspaper

ABU DHABI–All pupils in state high schools will be taught maths and science in English by 2012, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) said yesterday.

At the launch of its 10-year strategic plan, Adec said it aimed to see pupils graduating with equal proficiency in English and Arabic.

In a concerted effort to turn out better qualified school-leavers, from this August the school day will also be extended by 90 minutes in all state high schools in the emirate. Pupils in all Abu Dhabi’s state schools will study for 10 extra days a year.

It follows the publication of results showing that only 13 per cent of applicants to federal universities scored enough in their English exams to bypass remedial courses.

via Maths and science to be taught in English – The National Newspaper.

Language of instruction is always a sensitive issue in the Arab  world for a number of reasons: practical, political and religious, among others.  Arabic is regarding by Muslims as a sacred language, the language in God revealed the Holy Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad, so for many it has a special status above all others.
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It also has a special status as an identity marker.  To speak Arabic was to resist colonial rule or cultural imperialism from the West.  And it is seen as a factor that unifies folks across the region beyond religious ties.  There are Muslim Arabs, there are Christian Arabs and their are even Arabic-speaking Jews.

Arabizing curricula is often a way of asserting a unique, independent identity.  That said, though, Arabization is quite controversial in places where there are minority populations that don’t speak Arabic as a native language.

English, on the other hand, is unquestionably the dominant world language at the moment and there is a certain practicality in acquiescing to that.

In terms of practicality, transforming the language of instruction is always difficult and some of the challenges are pointed out in this article.  Are teachers trained in one language capable of teaching a subject in another?  If you are changing a language of instruction, when do you do so?  Will the College student who was taught a subject in one language follow when they are taught in another?

It’s all very interesting.  I’ll be following how it goes.

Silicon Valley should step up, help Iranians

In a recent SF Gate Open Forum Post, Cyrus Farivar, a freelance technology journalist from California, looks at the ways in which technology has been used as a tool in the pro-democracy movement, official efforts to thrwart that, and technology developments that had made it more difficult for them to do so. He writes

But now that Iran has been experiencing turmoil surrounding its recent election, many Bay Area technology leaders finally realize the importance their technology and services can play in shaping world events. As foreign media have been kicked out of the country, information technology services suddenly have become a crucial tool to get and receive information from Iran.

Twitter famously received a call from the U.S. Department of State nearly two weeks ago asking the company to postpone its scheduled maintenance to suit those in Tehran’s time zone, rather than those on Pacific time.

Facebook recently added Persian language support for its iconic social networking site. Google took things to an entirely new level by launching its Persian version of Google translate, which allows for decent machine translation between English and Persian and vice versa. But why this newfound attention to the Persian language (and Iran) took so long remains a mystery. Google’s translation capability for Estonian even came online before Persian.

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So instead of superficial support, like Twitter users changing their avatars to green to support Iran’s reformist movement, Silicon Valley minds and money should pool resources as a way to help Iranians get around this information blockade by providing easier-to-use proxies, anonymizers and maybe even unfiltered Internet access through hardware.

Long-range Wi-Fi, 3G, satellite or other wireless communications devices from Iran’s neighboring countries or even the Persian Gulf could be used to get faster and better information in and out of Iran. One Arizona company, Space Data, even advertises the capability to use helium-filled balloons to provide Internet and mobile phone access. Much of Iran could theoretically be covered with one or two such balloons.

All of that may sound crazy, but not helping Iranian reformers at their darkest hour would be even crazier.

Read the whole article at: Silicon Valley should step up, help Iranians, the San Francisco Chronicle.