By Najam Gilani, TwoCircles.net,
Where there is will there is a way, is an old adage and Nurul Islam, Secretary General of Al Ameen Mission, West Bengal, firmly believes in it. It was the belief which motivated him to embark upon the journey of an arduous task – of empowering the poverty stricken Muslim kids with mainstream education, about which they used to know nothing at all.
Initially in the year 1984 Nurul Islam founded Indian Institute of Culture, which he later renamed as Al Ameen Mission (residential institute for Muslim students) in 1987, but almost a decade before that while still in school (class Xth) in his village, he set up the Junior High Madrasa. Today near its vicinity stands his greatest achievement in 23 acres of compound – a residential school catering to students from class V to class XII. It consists of a three-storey hostel building and a three-storey school building for about 350 girl students.
Besides the Al-Ameen Mission for girls, the main campus of Mission, Al-Ameen Mission for Boys, is located at Khalatpur, Howrah (near the Al Ameen Mission for Girls building). The 45 bighas of land consist of a five-storey boy’s hostel building, three-storey school building, three storey administrative building with a guest house, health centre and a mosque inside the hostel building.
It is a no mean achievement for a Mission which was established in 1987 with only eleven students, now has strength of 2000 students and 200 teaching and non-teaching staff and carries the reputation across West Bengal as a first and foremost organization in matters of helping Muslim students.
Following the curriculum of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) in the matters of academics it has set a good record in state level examinations and because of which it has been awarded “The Telegraph School Award for Excellence”.
The Study Circle is also one of the branches of Al-Ameen Mission for West Bengal JEE (Med/Engg) and West Bengal Civil Services (WBCS) coaching.
Though primarily it’s an educational institute the Al Ameen Mission also does the charity work by helping the unemployed Muslim youths in terms of loan and scholarship.
Surviving (read excelling) mostly on Zakat fund which comes to it from throughout the country, it also receive funds from several other sources such as Maulana Azad Education Foundation and the West Bengal Wakf Board through which it takes care of 25% of seats reserved for poor, destitute and orphans.