Dr. Fawzan bin Abdul-Rahman Al-Fawzan, Acting Rector of Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, and Chairman of Research Chair Program, has patronized on the last Tuesday the opening session of symposium “Contributions of Saudi Academic Research in Confronting Extremism: Evaluating and Prospecting”. The symposium, which organized in the presence of H.R.H. Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz, Chairman, Board of Directors of King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS), has arranged by the university in tandem with Research Chair Program at Conferences Bldg.
In his words before the audience, H.R.H. Prince Turki has stated that, the nation's education system is a measure of progress and evolution, especially university education, because it is a system where a fruit maturing and a crop of the educational process is harvesting. That’s why Arabic and Islamic civilizations have featured for along three centuries of existence of universities before Europeans establishing their firsts. “
Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University is a pioneer educational institution and a beacon of knowledge lights builds students 'minds to confront era’s challenges and crises in accordance with Islamic teachings and authenticated Arabic values. He, in furtherance, added that, this cultural rostrum, which bears a name matters to all of us, is the name of Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud, the founder of the Saudi State, which established Sharia State on our land and bring people under a one flag.
Continued his words, H.R.H. Prince Turki has noted that, the responsibility of the university, in prehistoric times of the prosperity of the nation, was morally, pedagogically, educationally one, and Al-Imam University bears a double responsibility burdens since it was established in the country of Islam first, and its name accompanied with Islamic. That’s why, it must reflects to the world the pure and obvious values of Islam, and to be a crystal beacon for right and light ways, especially we are in a time where values have plummeted, and our great Islam has become indictable.
He noted that, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, may God have mercy on him, has warned of intellectual classifications on various occasions, and realized by his depth thinking and foresight its grave consciousness on the security and stability of this country. As he said – King Abdullah – “I have already said, and I am reiterating before you now, that there are two things cannot be tolerated, Islamic Sharia, and the unity of this country. Frankly, I think it does not fit with the rules of the Sharia Law, nor with the national unity requirements, that some ignorance, or bad faith, dividing citizens into classifications that could not be accepted by Allah Almighty; this is a secularist, and other is liberal, and other is a hypocrite, and other is an Islamic extremist”.
H.R.H. Prince Turki has clinched his words by declaring that, if I had an opportunity to join any university in the world it had been Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University.
From his side, Dr. Fahd Al-Asker, Vice-Rector for Higher Studies and Academic Research, who doubles as a Vice-President of Research Chair Program, has pointed out that, the idea behind establishing the research chair program of Al-Imam University has emerged as a response to the communal interactions, which led to the insufficiency of the governmental efforts in research and development. That’s why the efforts of the university in establishing research chairs reached nearly 20 ones during the first two years, added he.
On the significance of the research chair, Dr. Al-Asker noted that, the success of the deliverables of the research chairs exceeded the regional level to the global one, through collaborating strategically with two great and oldest universities, i.e. French Pantheon-Sorbonne University and Italian University of Bologna. “Target of the current symposium is basically directing to focus on the evaluation of studies that made around terrorism and extremism in Saudi Arabian Kingdom. It is an endeavour to offer a positive vision to predominate the academic works directing to deal with such critical issues, instead of re-producing the studies and trends itself”, added he.