Unity

Unity
Newsletter of the Cambridge Muslim College
issUe twO – septemebr 2011/shawwal 1432 print issUe
CMC moves to new campus
after twO years enjoying the hospitality of
the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology on
Grange Road, the College has now moved to its
new buildings at 11-14 St Paul’s Road, on a site
equidistant between Emmanuel College and
the Mosque. Built in 1847, the buildings have
been comprehensively refurbished to provide
a range of state-of-the-art resources. Facilities
include a kitchen, refectory, prayer room, library,
men’s and women’s common rooms, lecture and
supervision rooms, and rooms for administration
and for our Research Fellows. The building
includes a range of features generously funded
by various donors, including Ottoman-style
ceramic tiles in the ablution areas. Over the
summer the facility has welcomed groups of students
from the Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship, Cambridge
Interfaith Programme, Heritage Summers, and other
groups; and we are ready to welcome our biggest-ever
intake of Diploma students in September.
The College is actively seeking funding for the development
of the large additional site at the rear of the
property, which it has also purchased. This site formerly
accommodated eight houses, which were demolished
in the 1960s, and is one of the last large development
opportunities in central Cambridge. }
Stained glass window
‘magnificent’
We are grateful to an anonymous donor
for her generosity in paying for the creation
of a stained-glass window which has
been installed over our main staircase.
A combination of traditional English and
Islamic designs, the window was designed
and made by master-craftsmen Jamie Clark
and Adam Williamson.
cambridge mUslim cOllege, 14 st. paUl’s rOad, cambridge cb1 2ez www.cambridgemUslimcOllege.Org
c m c n e w s l e t t e r 2 1

Imam of
al-Aqsa visits
On June 21 2011, corresponding to
the Day of al-Isra wa’l-Mi’raj the college
was honoured to receive Shaykh
Yusuf Abu Sneina, Imam of Al-Aqsa
Mosque, with a senior delegation of
Middle Eastern scholars representing
the World Association of Azhar
Graduates, led by Dr Abdel Daim
Nosear, its Secretary General. Others
attending included Shaykh Abd
al-Fadeel al-Qawsi, representing
Shaykh al-Azhar Ahmad al-Tayyib,
and also Shaykh Muhammad Imdad
Hussain Pirzada, the Principal of
Jamia al-Karam, Nottinghamshire.
The delegation was introduced to
the College’s work, and expressed
its pleasure at the presence of Azhar
graduates in the present student
body. The event ended with a lunch,
and prayers for the further success of
the College. }
Papal visit ‘a success’
Rome was the location for the 2010 annual CMC excursion.
Students and staff were hosted for five days at the Lay Centre
at Foyer Unitas, located in the grounds of a monastery
beside the Coliseum in Rome. The intensive programme
included the following highlights:
• A welcome address by the British Ambassador to the Holy
See, Francis Campbell.
• Lecture by Professor Daniel Madigan SJ, on ‘What Happens
at Mass?’ followed by observation of an English-language
mass at the Caravita church community.
• Guided visit to the Palatine Hill, the Forum and the Coliseum,
with art historian Dr Elizabeth Lev.
• Guided visit to St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museum,
also with Dr Lev.
• Visit to the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies,
with a welcome from its President, Miguel Ángel Ayuso
Guixot MCCJ.
• Lecture on ‘Muslim-Christian Relations in Italy’ by Imam
Yahya Pallavicini, Imam of the Al-Wahid Mosque in Milan.
• Visit to Sta Maria Maggiore and other sites of interest.
• Visit to the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue,
presented by Msgr. Khalid Akkache.
• Visit to the Instituto Tevere, with a welcome speech by
director Mehmet Cenap Aydın.
2 c m c n e w s l e t t e r 2
CMC in
China
Following a visit to
Lanzhou, Dongshan and
the Linxhia Hui Muslim
Autonomous Prefecture
in July 2010, CMC has
been exploring ways of
building ties with Islamic
educational programmes in
Central China. In January
2011 CMC students heard
a lecture on ‘Issues in Hui
Muslim Inculturation’ from
Professor Yang Wenjiong of
Lanzhou University, who
visited Cambridge with a
group of Hui scholars, and
learned more about the
CMC’s work.
right: village madrasa in dongshan country
• Visits to the Pontifical Gregorian and Angelicum Universities
and meetings with staff.
• General Audience with Pope Benedict XVI.
Following the trip, CMC Principal Dr. Muhammad As’ad
said: ‘We are immensely grateful to the Lay Centre for
their hospitality and help in coordinating such a complex
and rewarding programme. Our students have been greatly
enriched by the whole experience, and we look forward to
future cooperation with our friends at the Lay Centre and at
other key institutions in Rome.’ }

CMC in Senegal
On 30 January, representatives from
CMC visited the city of Touba, where
they were received by HE the Khalifa Serigne
Mukhtar, and met Touba graduates
who have served in mosques in the West.
The madrasas of Touba and the neighbouring
city of Kaolack are currently
host to an estimated thirty students from
the English-speaking world, and CMC
is exploring ways of building improved
ties with this important sector. The visit
ended with a seminar discussion on Islamic
education in Europe at the Université
Ante Diop in Dakar. }
CMC takkes in the Yemen
the distinctive cmc takke was sighted for the first time in
Yemeni towns in January. The team gave several briefings on the
CMC’s work to British and Australian students, several of whom
expressed an interest in continuing their studies in Cambridge.
Public lectures were given at the Ribat Tarim, Dar al-Mustafa, and
the Faculty of Sharia at Ahqaf University, and visits took place
to libraries and cultural institutions. CMC Dean Abdal Hakim
Murad gave several interviews to Yemeni television, and participated
in an hour-long radio discussion and phone-in with Shaykh
Usama al-Sayyid of al-Azhar on issues of counter-radicalisation,
which was broadcast in several provinces, including Abyan. A
recording is available here (Arabic only): cambridgekhutbasetc.
blogspot.com/2011/03/interview-in-yemen-arabic.html }
New research fellows
appointed
In July 2011 the College was delighted to announce
the following appointments of new full-time Research
Fellows.
fOzia bOra took her DPhil from the University
of Oxford with a thesis on the development of medieval
Islamic historiography. Her present research
interests focus on Fatimid and Ayyubid Egypt, with
a special emphasis on the evolution of educational
institutions. She is currently writing a monograph
on the madrasas and courts of Mamluk Egypt.
shayKh mansUr ali completed his Alim studies
at Darul Ulum (Bury) and al-Azhar University
(Cairo), and received his PhD at the University of
Manchester with a thesis entitled ‘Al-Tirmidhi and
the role of the Isnad in his Sunan’. His specialisation
is in Hadith Studies, but he works also on fiqh
issues affecting the British Muslim community. He
has served as imam in several locations, including
Ashworth High Security Hospital, Liverpool.
matthew wilKinsOn was a King’s Scholar at
Eton, and subsequently studied Theology at Cambridge,
completing his PhD at King’s College
London with a dissertation on ‘History, Citizenship
and Muslim Boys: Learning to Succeed’. His
research interests include the sociology of Muslim
youth, and Islamic Critical Realism. He has served
as Lecturer in Education at London Metropolitan
University, and Head of History at Brondesbury
College (London).
c m c n e w s l e t t e r 2 3

O t h e r n e w s
F i e l d t r i p s
Recent field trips for CMC students have
included: * Ely Cathedral * BBC Cambridgeshire
* Oxford Centre of Islamic
Studies * Islamic Relief * House of Commons
* Greenwich Observatory * Nafas
Narcotic Rehabilitation.
s y r i a n u l e m a v i s i t c m c
On March 22, the CMC was privileged to
receive a visit from the Mufti of Damascus,
Shaykh Abdel Fattah El-Bizm, and Shaykh
Husam Farfur, head of the undergraduate
section at Al-Fath Islamic Institute. After
visiting the premises the scholars spent
time with our students, and discussed the
experience of British students currently
studying in Syria. Afterwards they made
du’a for the continued success of the College.
s h a y k h l a j p u r i p a s s e s a w a y
CMC’s Abdal Hakim Murad visited
Leicester to express condolences for the
death of Shaykh Ahmed Ali Lajpuri Surty,
who entered the next world on March 10.
May Allah grant him light in the grave and
salvation in Akhira.
l e j l a d e m i r i m o v e s t o B e r l i n
CMC has congratulated Dr Lejla Demiri,
former lecturer and course convenor, as
well as coordinator of our Rome trip and
former CMC Women’s
Officer, on her new post
as Research Fellow at the
EUME Wissenschaftskolleg
in Berlin. Her critical
edition of Najm al-Din al-
Tufi’s al-Ta’liq ala al-Anajil
al-Arba’a has been accepted for publication
with E.J. Brill.
c m c p u B l i c l e c t u r e s
• CMC Dean Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad
gave a lecture at the University of Cambridge’s
Faculty of Divinity, entitled, ‘British
Muslim Integration: The Perspectives
of G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc’.
• Professor Charles Burnett of the Warburg
Institute spoke on ‘Arabic Learning
and the Beginning of European Universities’.
• Professor David Ford of Cambridge
4 c m c n e w s l e t t e r 2
University gave a lecture on ‘Scriptural
Reasoning’.
• Professor James Montgomery of Cambridge
University spoke on ‘Al-Jahiz’s
Book of Living Creatures’.
• CMC Principal Dr. Muhammad As’ad
gave a lecture at Pricewaterhouse Coopers
at their London HQ entitled ‘Is there a
Place for Faith in the Modern World?’
• Dr Khaled Azzam, Chief Executive of the
Prince’s School for Traditional Arts’, spoke
on the work of his institution and the philosophy
of Islamic art..
• Dr. As’ad also gave a lecture to the East of
England Faiths Council entitled, ‘Islamic
Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue.’
• Shaykh Abdal Hakim spoke to the Christian-Muslim
Forum meeting in Blackburn
on ‘The King James Bible and the Study of
Islam.’
s o m e r e c e n t c m c i n t e r n a l
s e m i n a r s
• Dr Abdul Hayy Weinman, Professor of
Intercultural Relations at the University
of New Mexico, addressed our students
on a range of issues, including the Islamic
understanding of dialogue, and problems
facing Hebrew-speaking Muslims in Jerusalem.
• Faarid Gouverneur, founder of the
Islamic Texts Society, spoke on questions
of Muslim identity in secular societies.
• Shaykh Yahya Rhodus of the Californiabased
Zaytuna Institute discussed the interpretation
of classical Islamic texts.
• Julian Huppert MP visited the College
to brief students on his work as Liberal
Democrat MP for Cambridge, and answered
questions on the impact on ethnic
minorities of the introduction of university
top-up fees
c h i n e s e i s l a m i c c a l l i g r a p h y
Chinese master-calligrapher Zainab Hui
gave a one-day intensive course to CMC
students and others.
c m c l i B r a r y a p p e a l
The CMC currently holds around 1500
volumes. The emphasis is on Islamic Studies
and on texts relevant to the curriculum
of our Diploma Programme. We are
currently launching an appeal for donations
of more books in these two areas.
Our thanks go to Shaykh Ahmad Bullock,
former Imam of the Bath Street Mosque,
Oxford, for the gift of over two hundred
volumes. Books should be sent c/o The
Librarian, Cambridge Muslim College, 14
St Paul’s Road, Cambridge CB1 2EZ.
n e w t r u s t e e a p p o i n t e d
The CMC is delighted to welcome Professor
David Ford, Regius Professor of
Divinity in the University of Cambridge,
as its newest Trustee.
As Director of the
Cambridge Inter-
Faith Programme
(www.interfaith.
cam.ac.uk) and author
of several landmark
theological
works, David brings
a wealth of experience
and wisdom to the College’s work.
c m c p e o p l e p u B l i s h n e w B o o k s
Dr Atif Imtiaz, the College’s Academic
Director, has just released his new book,
Wandering Lonely in the Crowd: Reflections on
the Muslim Condition in the West (Kube Publishing),
which was described as ‘striking
and compelling’ by the Daily Telegraph.
CMC Trustee Dr Sophie Gilliat-Ray has
published her long-awaited Muslims in Britain:
An Introduction (Cambridge University
Press).
h a F i z s e j a d a w a r d e d d o c t o r a t e
We congratulate our Hifz and Hadith
Memorisation Officer, Sejad Mekic, on his
successful defence of his PhD dissertation
on the Bosnian jurist Husejn Djozo, at the
School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London.
d a n i e l B i r n s t i e l a p p o i n t e d t o
F r a n k F u r t
We congratulate our former Research Fellow,
Dr Daniel Birstiel, on his appointment
to a prestigious lectureship at the University
of Frankfurt. Daniel has supplied two
academic papers on the Qur’anic text to
CMC for inclusion on our website.
d o n a t e t o c m c
CMC is now a Registered Charity, and all
donations by UK taxpayers are tax-deductible.
We receive no government funding,
and are dependent on the commitment and
generosity of our donors. Cheques can be
made payable to ‘The Cambridge Muslim
College’ and posted to us at 14 St Paul’s
Road, Cambridge, CB1 2EZ.