Tribute to Perkemas and Al-Azhar Students

Alhamdulillah, it went very well: from visits to students' homes, the dialogue session with Perkemas, the Singapore Seminar held at the Singapore Embassy and finally, the sending-off at Cairo Airport.

My schedule in Cairo from 6 to 9 April (after AMED II) was packed with activities to connect with the students and to offer our insights for them to prepare for their careers after their study at Al-Azhar. Immediately after touching down at the airport at 8 pm, Ust KZ, Aisyah and I visited 6 students' homes -- and we returned to Sonesta Hotel at about 2 am. I was deeply touched by their reception, staying up late and waiting for us to arrive, not to mention their cooking and the food they served us. And many of them had classes next morning and preparing for their exams. Jazakumullahu khairan kathiran.

The dialogue with Perkemas was very enriching for me. The EXCO members are bright, resourceful and talented. They benefitted from the previous EXCOs and showed that they are able to try out new ideas and approaches to reach-out to the students, and to generate revenue for their activities. I always believe that one gains strength through a good sparing, and a good sparing partner, and our dialogue with Perkemas EXCO did just that -- both the EXCO and us were enriched by our dialogue and the follow-ups to act upon.

I promised to blog the points I made for the closing of the seminar. So here it is, and I hope students who attended the seminar can reflect, ponder and act on some of these. There were four points:

a) Asatizah of National Standing (ANS) -- we want students to see themselves as, and work towards becoming ANS -- those who are cognizant of contemporary issues, those who are intellectually progressive, who act as sources of, or referred to for religious guidance, who contributes beyond Muslim community and who are nationally recognised.

b) Perkemas -- support and participate Perkemas' activities including that which will help members to do well in their studies. Students should come forward to support Perkemas, to be drivers and not just passengers.

c) Yourself! -- know what you want! Aisyah reminded me to ask students to start thinking what they really want. I always believed that once students know what they want, half of the battle (so to speak) is won. "Beyond knowing what you want, you should also start thinking beyond Al-Azhar including your specialisation so that you can seek and attend additional courses while in Cairo" (ps: we are assuming that some are not fully challenged at Al-Azhar and have the potential to do more, and have the time to do it).

d) Collective Identity -- what is an Al-Azhar graduate? Is an Al-Azhar graduate one who is multi-lingual, a scholar of contemporary issues, a thought leader, etc? Given the large number of students in Al-Azhar, their varied academic background and points of entry, it is difficult to describe a collective identity for Al-Azhar graduate, if and when this is necessary.

But these questions should not haunt Perkemas or the students at Al-Azhar. Suffice to trigger an exercise of self-reflection and discovery.

Given the enormous and strong support from Perkemas and more than 100 students who attended the seminar, I am optimistic of the future.

Our tribute and thanks to Perkemas, all students who invited us to their houses, and all who attended the seminar.