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A Bastion of Defense Against Deviant Ideas

Posted: Wednesday September 29, 2004 1:08 PM EST

By Khaled Al-Suhail Khaled Al-Suhail, Arab News/Al-Eqtisadiah

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Dr. Muhammad Al-Salim, the president of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, is a well-known academic who took over the university’s management while it was passing through a difficult period. In an interview, Al-Salim answered all the questions addressed to him — some from the university’s enemies — frankly and clearly without leaving any room for doubt.

Since the 9/11 attacks in the United States, the Imam University has been facing a lot of criticism from Western writers and media organizations accusing the university of inciting extremism. Excerpts from the interview:

Q: How do you react to the American allegation that the Imam University supports terrorism?

A: The university has nothing to hide. We are completely transparent and work in the open. It enjoys wide recognition within and outside the Kingdom and acts as a bastion against terrorism. This accusation is not correct at all. We have an institute in the US capital that extends its services to American citizens and residents. Nobody has ever branded our university with this label before. The media reports or discussions at US Congressional committees or others are just nonsense. They say these things without any evidence. The latest report issued by the Congressional committee, which acquitted the Kingdom of all such charges, is proof of that.

Saudi Arabia is one of the most important countries in the fight against terrorism. It suffers from the repercussions of this dangerous disease, which has spread all over the world. Unfortunately, this disease has affected a deviant but small group of our young.

In Saudi Arabia we are victims of terrorism and it is wrong to accuse the victim of committing the crime. Our university has no relation at all with terrorism. It serves as a bastion against the deviant thoughts that feed terrorism all over the world today.

Unfortunately, the enemies of Islam, Muslims, Arabs and Saudi Arabia intend to link Islam with terrorism. Islam, with its great teachings, its basic but open sources and its noble behavioral ethics — in the past as well as present — has no connection with terrorism. It cannot accept terrorism at all. Our university is working to produce a generation armed with correct knowledge that can fight these deviant thoughts.

Q: What were the circumstances that led to the closure of the Arabic and Islamic Sciences Institute in Washington?

A: The institute was not closed down. It is still operating there. These are baseless reports. What happened was that some workers at the institute held visas other than work visas and these were given to them within the framework of the excellent relations between the two governments. They were holding diplomatic visas. After the events of 9/11 the US government decided that these people should leave the country and return on work visas to work at the institute.

Q: Are you telling me that what was needed was just a correction in the status of some workers and nothing had happened to the institute?

A: Yes. The institute continues to provide its services to people and society. It also organizes Friday prayers. More than 2,000 people attend it at the institute’s mosque. All this happens quite openly.

Q: Did you try to talk to US authorities to correct the situation and remove the name of the university from the US list of institutions that support terrorism?

A: I have already told you that this allegation is baseless. First of all, the university’s name is not mentioned in the list and is not classified in that way. So, why should we discuss with them a non-issue. I am hearing this for the first time.

Q: What, then, is the story behind linking the university with terrorism?

A: As I said, sometimes the media publish something that only expresses the opinion of the writer. A person appearing on television or testifying before the Congress is not necessarily expressing the opinion of the station or the Congress. Opinions expressed may be deliberately intended to serve some goal. We all know about the people who are attacking this country (Saudi Arabia) and who claim to belong to what is known as the “opposition”.

Their main concern is causing confusion and attacking the very ideas and principles on which this country rests, but their attempts will fail. We can’t engage in dialogue with others over issues that do not exist.

Q: What happened to the employees of the Arabic and Islamic Sciences Institute who were sent back to the Kingdom from the United States?

A: They returned to their previous jobs and are now working in their colleges at the university.

Q: What changes do you think have taken place in the university since you took over?

A: Nothing has changed. The university remains committed to its objectives and the policies drawn up for it either by me or by those who served before me who I believe have done better than me. The university is one of the main institutions of this country and its policy is not linked to individuals coming and going. Each one of us is trying to do their best to discharge his responsibilities honestly and sincerely while observing full transparency. I am not acting alone; there are others working with me, including the teaching staff, administrators as well as the students themselves. We are all working as one team. If there are achievements we all share the credit and if there are shortcomings we share the blame.

Q: Is it true that you came to the university to enforce certain changes?

A: This is not true. There were no circumstances that needed change. This is a successful and advanced institution that serves the country well. It is fulfilling this role successfully, with the grace of Allah. I did not come to do specific things but I have won the trust of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd, who assigned me this great responsibility. All I wish is to be able to discharge it, although I feel the burden is heavy.

Q: What about reports about changing the university curriculum?

A: Again, this is completely baseless talk. However, as happens in universities all over the world things change and there is constant development and progress in different areas. This is being carried out through the collective effort of the teaching staff, college councils, education councils, the university senate and the council for higher education. It is an ongoing process.

Q: Are there any plans for merging Shariah studies with general education and opening of scientific colleges like medicine and engineering?

A: This is something that relates to the state policies. The university only implements these policies. When the leadership decides that such colleges should be opened at Imam University or any other university, the university council and the relevant departments will study the best means of fulfilling these policies. As you know, the university has colleges for Shariah and religious studies as well as Arabic language and also a higher judicial institute. Every one appreciates the importance of these areas of study not only for the Kingdom and the Arab and Muslim world but also for the entire world. The Kingdom must be able to attain self-sufficiency in different specialties, especially modern sciences. For this reason the university opened a number of colleges for computer science, English and other foreign languages, journalism and social studies.

Q: With the job market unable to accommodate the graduates of theoretical studies, what can you do to solve this problem? Would you cut down admission to these colleges?

A: I think you mean certain areas of studies and specialties, but these are limited in number. Admission to these colleges depends on the numbers of students who enroll for each area of study. Universities, including Imam University, care a lot about the market needs but this may not require scrapping some colleges, but merely suspending admission for one, two or even five years.

The private sector in the Kingdom is a large one and can accommodate hundreds of thousands or even millions of graduates. Some of them could even start their own business. Besides, we are very much involved in this process through training courses and vocational programs. We now have large numbers of well-rained people in English language, computer, business administration studies, networking and the Internet. We are trying to cope with the market requirements.

When the Commission for Tourism was established and we saw the large inflow of people to the Kingdom for Haj and Umrah, we started offering diploma studies to qualify individuals working in these areas. We are cooperating with chambers of commerce, banks and companies in this regard. We design special programs for these activities and can guarantee for both the student and businesses the highest degree of coordination. We also provide additional training and qualification for those graduates who cannot find jobs by focusing on areas where there is shortage of Saudi employees.

Q: Some say jobs of judges are mostly reserved for Imam University Shariah graduates while very few graduates from other similar colleges are accepted in these jobs. Is this true?

A: No. Opportunities are available for every one, depending on their qualifications. Only the best are chosen, and I don’t think there is a certain policy that is being followed in this regard.

The people who make the appointments should find the best. It is normal to see the bigger number of Shariah graduates from our university. We are not the only ones graduating judges; we are just the biggest university and we graduate more judges. In addition to that, we have the higher institution for judicial affairs. This institution helps in increasing the abilities of judges and qualifies new people in this field. The Imam University is the only one with this facility. So when someone asks why, the answer is that they graduated from the higher institution for judicial affairs.

Q: What about efforts from the university on religious dialogue?

A: Imam University always helps in these efforts with honesty and objectivity. We believe that most of the discord comes from ignorance, lack of objectivity and, most importantly the absence of dialogue. The university adopted dialogue with others through seminars, sending delegates, holding conferences or participating in conferences; the last was the conference about Islam’s position on terrorism. This conference aimed to repair the bad image people have about Islam. Because some people do not know the truth about Islam they portray every Muslim as a terrorist that supports crime in the name of Islam. We offered to bring together those interested in Islam from all over the world under one roof to talk. The outcome was positive. They realized that Islam does not support terrorism.

Q: What is the reality behind reducing the number of scholarships for foreign students after 9/11?

A: We did not reduce anything, but there are procedures that must be followed because of the situations prevalents in the countries they come from. These procedures may delay the arrival of these students. As for us, when we want to go to the United States, the student that go from our university waits for months before he gets a visa. There are other routine procedures that we see in airports and entry points. These procedures may delay people. We have opened institutions around the world — in Japan, the US, Indonesia, the UAE — and a number of foreign students study in these centers.

Q: Crown Prince Abdullah emphasized the role of scholars in tackling the terrorist menace. What did you do in this regard?

A: University teachers are participating in campaigns in the mass media, such as TV and newspapers. A large number of them are conducting guidance programs where they warn the public against deviant thoughts. We thank the Information Ministry for their initiative, because they are the ones that choose university teachers for these programs.

Q: How do you evaluate the university’s experience in the fight against terrorism?

A: We are satisfied with what the dialogue forum has achieved. The conference gave the participants a great chance to review the latest research and benefit from the debates. During the conference, modern technology was used and we were able to reach 300 million people by sending them e-mails. A number of scientists and thinkers — even people with negative views — attended the conference. We saw people who had negative opinions about the Kingdom change their opinions after they went back to their countries. We did not expect a large number of Americans to attend the conference. After we sent them visas, the US government issued a travel warning and most of them apologized for not attending. Those who are not familiar with these details would think that we did not do enough to attract more people from America. This is something that is out of our hands. I hoped that they would come to Saudi Arabia. Some of them hesitated because of the wrong information they had about the Kingdom.

Q: Has any student ever been expelled from the university because of his extreme views? Which would you prefer in such a case: expel him or try to correct his viewpoints?

A: No. That has never happened simply because there are no extremist students in the university.

Q: Do you think that the issue could be solved through evaluation?

A: We believe in curing. If there was a male or female student with bad ideas, we believe in treating him or her. We will not leave them to fall prey to mistakes, whether behavioral or ideological. We try to provide the right environment for them and are patient with them until they become better citizens and active members of society.

Q: Does the university have a role in establishing conversation with radical youths if they are found to be among the university’s students?

A: Let me first say that the university will not leave room for radical students. We in the university and through our courses believe that prevention is better than cure. I am not saying that all of them are angels. Those that have some devilish views we sit with to clear all the bad thoughts from their head through debates and conversation. The problem of students that fall victim to evil thoughts is that they stay away from the scholars and the learned people. Our environment is far from that. Students are free to go to the teacher and discuss with him any issue.

Q: The university has adopted at a certain stage what is called the dubbing of certain sciences as “Islamic” and others as “non-Islamic” (saying sciences such as math, physics, etc, are worldly sciences, not Islamic sciences). What have you achieved on that front? And what is your personal opinion on that?

A: Please allow me to correct you. There is no such thing as what you have said. Science, in all its forms, has not adopted a certain religion or path for it later to be transformed into an Islamic science.

Q: However, Doctor, this is what some of the Imam University teachers’ preach.

A: Some people could say this, but it is not true. What is right is that everything should be taken back to its roots. In all our matters we take things back to their roots, and that is what we do in the entire country. We take things back to their roots — the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Sunnah. We take what is new and work along with it, but move ahead on the condition that they are consistent with our basic principles. The university, thanks to its large capabilities and staff, has taken this matter into consideration more than others.

Q: How many students have been accepted so far this year?

A: We have accepted 12,000 male and female students; that is the total number of those accepted in the first semester.

Q: What about establishing a university for females and are there going to be any new majors?

A: The work has already started and the budget is set. The university will be established inside the University City. Prince Abdullah laid the corner stone for the project. Soon we will have a university city for females. We do not differentiate between males and females in education because this is a national policy.

Q: What about the plans of the university to build an all-female campus similar to that of the male section?

A: We have begun working on it, and the budget for this has already been approved. The University City for females will cover one million square meters. Soon, our sisters and daughters will find a complete university city that will meet all their requirements.

Q: Will the inauguration of this new women’s campus create new majors for females?

A: As I said earlier, we do not differentiate between men and women. These things are subject to the policies of the government. We have not had any shortcomings in this matter thanks to the grace of God. When we open a division for males, we open another division next to it for females. When we opened the computer college for males, we opened one for females and now we have more female computer graduates than males.

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