According to the report of the Department of Public Relations and Media at Qom University, Dr. Ahmed Hussein Sharifi, President of Qom University, received a high-level delegation from Pakistani higher education. While welcoming the delegation, Dr. Sharifi expressed his hope that this trip would lead to the development and expansion of scientific and cultural relations between Iran and Pakistan.

 

 

The President of University of Qomsaid: There are many cultural similarities between the two countries, whether in the field of science or in the field of culture, and some thinkers, such as Allama Iqbal Lahori, were among the pioneers of the revival of Islamic sciences and the Islamization of new sciences.

 

Dr. Sharifi added, saying: We believe that a point of view like that of Allama Iqbal Lahori is the savior of Islamic thought, culture and human knowledge, and the Islamic Revolution follows the movement of Iqbal Lahori more seriously and stronger in various fields.

  As His Eminence Dr. Ahmed Hussein Sharifi, President of Qom University, said, referring to the poems and ideas of Allama Iqbal Lahori: There are two points from Iqbal Lahori’s thought that should be continued in the universities of both countries. First, Lahori believes that the roots of modern science lie in Islam, and that the West, with its materialistic and humanistic outlook, has Turn these sciences into anti-human sciences. We must try to correct this world view, so that the Islamic world can develop and advance in the field of science with a divine perspective. If we do not surrender science, polytheism will enter Islamic societies.

 

He added: The second point that was extremely important in Iqbal Lahori’s thought is that he emphasized the cultural and economic dignity of Muslims, and so far, the biggest blow the Islamic world has received comes from this cultural and economic dependency, and the way to get rid of it is to return to Islamic culture and civilization, which is not the case. It can only be achieved with the sympathy of universities and scholars of the Islamic world, especially the centers of higher education in Iran and Pakistan.

 

The President of University of Qompointed out the great potential of University of Qomin terms of hardware, such as: colleges, research institutes, and numerous laboratories, and in terms of software, such as: the university’s distinguished professors, both in the field of humanities. and Islamic sciences, or in the field of basic sciences and technical engineering. He added: We at University of Qomintend and are pursuing the Islamization of science and we have very good facilities in this field. We are also prepared to establish joint scientific and academic chairs for teaching languages, exchanging professors, and Islamizing science in cooperation with Pakistani universities.

 

Moreover, Dr. Ahmed Hussein Sharifi said: Qom’s ability in the field of Islamic sciences is unique in Iran, and therefore we attach great importance to cultural and religious issues at Qom University. From this standpoint and in honor of Muslim women, we established the Academic Complex for Female Students at University of Qomin all fields of study.

 

During this meeting, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman of the Pakistani Higher Education Commission, expressed his thanks to University of Qomfor welcoming and hosting this delegation, saying: I was impressed by your great interest in Islamic ideas and Islamic thinkers, especially Allama Iqbal Lahori. It should be said that “Iqbal Lahori” was not only a poet and philosopher. Indeed, he was an influential thinker in Islamic societies. There are profound teachings in the words of the Lahori that can guide us to the right path. In addition, we see interest in Iqbal Lahori's ideas not only in Iran, but in other Muslim societies as well.

 

Referring to his recent visits to different regions of Iran, he said: In the many visits we made, we were impressed by the scientific progress in Iran, and the interesting thing is that Iranian universities have paid great attention to Islamic sciences.

 

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed added: The goal of this delegation’s trip to Iran is to closely monitor the scientific progress achieved by Iran, and it must be said that, unfortunately, all the suffering that the Islamic world is witnessing these days is due to the lack of progress in these sciences.

 

Referring to the cultural and religious commonalities between the two countries, the Chairman of the Pakistan Higher Education Commission said: Communication between professors, elites and universities of the two countries is necessary, and we must move towards solving the problems of the two countries and the Islamic world with the cooperation of both sides in all research and scientific affairs.

 

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed also announced his interest in establishing courses in Urdu and Persian at University of Qomand Allama Iqbal University of Pakistan.

 

After this meeting, a cooperation agreement was signed between University of Qomand the Quaid-e-Azam, Allama Iqbal, and Punjab Universities in Pakistan.

 

 

It is worth noting that the high-level delegation from Pakistani higher education that visited University of Qomconsisted of the following officials and figures: Dr. Ahmed Mukhtar, Chairman of the Pakistan Higher Education Authority; Dr. Niaz Ahmad Akhtar, Chancellor of Quaid-e-Azam University; Dr. Nasir Mahmood, President of Allama Iqbal University; Dr. Khalid Mahmood, President of the University of the Punjab; Dr. Muhammad Alam Saeed, President of Lahore University of Education; Dr. Muhammad Saleem Mazhar, Chairman of the National Language Center of Pakistan; Dr. Muhammad Rafiq Tahir, former head of the Directorate General of Religious Education in Pakistan and senior chancellor of Allama Iqbal University; Dr. Ahmed Adnan, President of the University of Lahore; Mr. Amer Shehzad, deputy to Dr. Ahmed Mukhtar, and Mr. Muhammad Zubair Khan, representative of the Pakistani Ministry of Education.