Markaz to hold Islamic conference

By ARAB NEWS

Published: Nov 26, 2010 22:24 Updated: Nov 27, 2010 00:57

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article200964.ece

JEDDAH: Jamia Markaz will organize an international Islamic conference in the southern Indian city of Calicut in January with dignitaries from the Arab and Islamic world attending.

The conference, commemorating the 33rd anniversary of Jamia Markaz Ssaquafathi Ssunniyya, will be held from Jan. 7-9, its General Secretary Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar told a press conference in Jeddah.

The conference will also mark the graduation of the 15th batch of students from the Faculty of Shariah at Jamia Markaz, he added. Aboobacker was in the Kingdom to perform Haj. He said Jamia Markaz, a prestigious charitable institution for religious education in India, aims to build more institutions to bolster technological development and progress in the Muslim community.

The institution is also playing a key role in the renaissance of the Muslim community in India, he said. One of the main goals of the institution is to protect orphans and the needy by providing them facilities for education. There are more than 40 institutions under the Markaz. The anniversary and the international conference come at a time when the institution is planning to launch its Ayurveda and Unani Medical College project, Markaz Knowledge City and Markaz Mall, he added.

He said some projects to create permanent source of income for the Markaz and its Shariah college are in the planning stages.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, the institution is also planning to organize a mass wedding ceremony for the poor, a talent meet, an international scholars' conference and a Fiqh seminar.

Aboobacker urged the Ummah to pray for the speedy recovery of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, who has undergone a successful surgery in the United States.

He said King Abdullah, who has been striving hard to ensure the welfare of Saudi citizens and expatriate residents in the country, has had a special relationship with India.

"In order to foster this relationship further, all of us must pray for the king's good health," he said.