ISLAMABAD:The Executive Council of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) Thursday in its meeting held here at the main campus approved the establishment of four ‘Excellence Centers’.
The four center include Centers of Excellence for Sufi Studies, Seerat Studies, Iqbal Chair of Muslim Thoughts and an Archives which will be based on series of interviews of living legends.
The meeting was held under the chairmanship of AIOU Vice Chancellor, Prof Dr Zia Ul-Qayyum.
Briefing the meeting about the objectives of setting up these centers, he said the aim to establish these centers would be the development of an excellence-based knowledge hub primarily to carry out Sufi dialogue, research on Seerat-un-Nabi and unveil the hidden corners of Iqbal’s Muslim thoughts.
He said the Seerat Studies Center would contribute to create, transfer, and dissemination of knowledge by taking examples from the life of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and to extend cooperation, understanding and professional linkages among the institutions working for promotion and implementation of social justice and welfare in the society.
Sufi Studies Center would cooperate to conduct academic research on Sufi traditions in Pakistan and South Asia and to study the lives of Sufi saints to highlight their character traits.
This center would also take initiatives to organize national and international dialogues on Sufi Thoughts, the vice chancellor added.
Iqbal Chair for Muslim Thoughts would provide the opportunity for scholars to deliberate on the Muslim philosophical thought of Allama Muhammad Iqbal through his published work.
The Chair would work to establish academic linkages with the Muslim world and the rest of the world with a special focus on Iqbal’s thought and philosophy.
An archive Center (Dialogue with history, series of interviews) would also be established to produce more oral histories, preserve oral history collection and train more oral historians.
It is pertinent to mention here that no degree programme shall be offered by these excellence centers.
The meeting highly appreciated the initiatives of the AIOU for establishment of the centers and hoped that these centers would prove very helpful in promoting the soft image of Islam and Pakistan.