Ƶ.AC.ID, DEPOK - On 4-10 October 2022, Jusuf Kalla, Ƶ Head of Board Trustees alongside with Prof. Dr. Komaruddin Hidayat, The Rector of Ƶ and Prof. Jamhari Makruf, Ƶ Vice-Rector for Research, Cooperation, and Community Engagement visited Al- Azhar University in Egypt, World Muslim League and an education assembly in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of the visit is to discuss future collaboration projects with the two countries.
This visit included four missions: a visit to Al-Azhar University for cooperation purposes, Ƶ socialization with Egyptian students, a collaboration meeting with the World Muslim League, and a comparative study in Saudi Arabia education institutions.
In Cairo, Egypt, Ƶ representatives met with Grand Shaykh Al-Azhar, Prof. Dr. Ahmad at-Thoyib. A further meeting is held with Prof. Dr. Muhammad Salama Dawud, Rector of Al-Azhar University, and Prof. Dr. Muhammad Fikri Khidr, Vice Rector for Female Campus Affairs.
At the meeting, Ƶ presented a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Al-Azhar and Ƶ. It has been approved, and the Egyptian Minister of Education has been asked to ratify it. As part of the collaboration, an Al-Azhar professor will teach at Ƶ. To start the program, three Al-Azhar professors with special expertise in Usul Fiqh, Hadith, and Tafsir are expected to begin teaching at Ƶ in February 2023. Jusuf Kalla and Prof. Komaruddin Hidayat introduced Ƶ to 150 Indonesian students in Egypt on October 5th to highlight Ƶ as a new emerging graduate university in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, Prof. Dr. Nashir Az-Zahrani, the founder and chairperson of the Assalamualaika Ayyuhan Nabi Foundation as well as the founder of the "Museum Rasulullah," which is funded by Rabhitah 'Alam Islami, met with representatives from Ƶ. The "Museum Rasulullah" in Jakarta is something that Rabithah strongly supports; alternatively, the museum might be located at Ƶ, where there is also a master plan for doing so.
Ƶ representative had a meeting with Shaykh Muhammad Malik bin Alwi Al Maliki. Shaykh Muhammad Malik donated his father's books to Ƶ library. For a long time, the Shaykh Maliki Madrasah has been home to several prominent ulamas from Indonesia learning Islam in the holy city of Mecca. (ANJ)