Syed Mohamed Afzal (right) handing over a memento on behalf of the AMU Alumni Association to Mohamed Habib Un Nabi on the occasion of Sir Syed Day yesterday. Salim Matramkot
DOHA: Past students of India’s largest Muslim educational institution, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), marked the birth anniversary of the university’s founding-father, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, here yesterday.
The AMU Alumni Association held a glitzy event on the occasion at a hotel with a former registrar of AMU, Syed Mohamed Afzal, as the chief guest.
S M Afzal, a senior officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS) who is currently based in Gwalior, Central India, as Inspector-General (IG) of Special Armed Force (SAF), has also been registrar of another key Muslim educational centre in India – Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
In his brief address, Afzal rued that AMU was becoming unmanageable due to its growing size and said Sir Syed’s message (that Muslims must strive and have access to modern education) must reach each and every Muslim.
Afzal said after he arrived here he was taken by his hosts around Doha for a quick sightseeing early yesterday. “I was amazed to see the progress… Sir Syed must have dreamt of this kind of progress and prosperity for Muslims,” he said, lauding Qatar.
The IPS officer was at his humorous best even while tackling as serious an issue as Sir Syed’s contribution to Muslim education and this made the audience occasionally burst into laughter. Munawwar Haziq, India’s country manager for Emirates Airline, was also a guest of honour at the event. Local guests included M S Bukhari and Hssan Chowgule, and the chief patron of the AMU Alumni Association, Mohamed Habib Un Nabi.
The Peninsula
