Kuwait: The Indo-Kuwait Friendship Society (IKFS) and Sayyid Muwwar Ali Shihab Thangal have sent a strong protest note and memorandum to the Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Kerala Minister of Finance K M Mani and the Governor of Kerala P Sathasivam to speed up the establishment of Arabic University in one of the 14 districts of Kerala.
IKFS has asked K M Mani not to be biased and communal for the establishment of the Arabic University. Dr Gahlib Al-Mashoor, President of IKFS said, “If you are reluctant for the source of funding, don’t worry. This is not done from your pocket, so stop worrying.” IKFS warned that the establishment of the so called “Arabic University in Kerala” should not be rejected. “This is a blatant violation of your attitude towards Muslims in Kerala.”
IKFS said in their press release that it can provide 10 acre of land in Kannur District for a reasonable price for the establishment of the Arabic University if the Kerala Government finds it difficult to locate a suitable land.
IKFS Vice President Advocate Sayid Mohamed Nizar Thangal has suggested that the goodwill and resources that the Malayalam speaking expatriates and IKFS has in Arab countries can be used in advantage of the proposed university. IKFS has also suggested to name the University, “Late Panakkad Sayid Mohamed Ali Shihab Thangal Arabic University” for his exemplary services towards communal harmony in India.
Advocate Nizar Thangal said that as a large number of the Kerala population go to work in these Arab countries. Students who pass out from an Arabic University and handle both English and Arabic language will be at advantageous positions in the selection lists. IKFS had earlier submitted memorandums through their patrons Dr M K Muneer, Minister of Public Works in Kerala, and K M Shaji, a Member of Legislative Assembly of Kerala State, when they visited Kuwait for the establishment of an Arabic University in the state.
“Learning Arabic will increase job opportunities for Indian expatriates,” a statement by IKFS said, adding that more than 15 million Indian expatriates are working in 21 Arab countries and the majority of them are poor in Arabic conversation. “Therefore, the establishment of an Arabic University will help Indian expatriates adjust better to work in these countries,” it added.
IKFS wondered why the second biggest party IUML which should have supported this noble project has kept silent. The Indian Muslim League won 20 of the 24 seats it contested in the 2011 Assembly elections and there are 5 ministers in the UDF Government. IKFS hereby asks that the Kerala Government “should endorse” the long waited ARABIC UNIVERSITY, and that such an institution will help India’s interest in the long run and get more employment for the less privileged and the minority community. Indian Union Muslim League established “Sanskrit University”, so there should not be communal thoughts on the subject.
Dr Ghalib Al-Mashoor, IKFS President, expressed his discomfort with Minister of Finance K M Mani knowing from a Kerala Malayalam Press report that he is against the establishment of the Arabic University, while saying that the Christian community also wants a Christian University. This is very unfortunate and ridiculous statement. He should not compare “Arabic Language” teaching University as a Muslim University….. instead K M Mani should understand that more than 100,000 Christian Nurses who work in the Muslim Arabic Hospitals as Home care Nurses and General Nurses required “Arabic Language” and for this they take private tuitions in the 21 Arab GCC Gulf countries. Arabic is an official language of the United Nations and the language of more than 650 million people in the Middle East and Africa.
