By TCN News,
Washington: In order to honor Sir Syed Ahmad and to remember his contributions in education, Aligarh Alumni Association (AAA) of Washington D.C. celebrated his legacy at Argyle Country Club in the suburbs of Washington D.C.
Being one of the oldest AMU Alumni Associations established outside of India, the Aligarh Alumni Association of Washington D.C. held the 42nd Sir Syed Day Memorial Lecture and Dinner on October 16, 2016
The Sir Syed Day Memorial Lecture was delivered by Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, Scholar-in-Residence at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. He is a distinguished scholar and a political activist, having served as a former Premier of Western Cape Province of South Africa from 2004 to 2008 under the first South African president, Nelson Mandela. He also served as Ambassador of South Africa to the United States from 2010 to 2015.
The event was attended by members of the AAA, their families, friends and admirers of Sir Syed from across the globe, including members of Pakistan Association, Alumni of Karachi University, office bearers of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), American Muslim Institute, National Council of Association of Indian Associations, Ambassador Islam Siddiqui, Ambassador Dr. HarSwarup Singh, Frank Islam and many other prominent figures of the Washington metro area.
The function started with a social hour, followed by dinner and the Memorial Lecture. Consistent with the long tradition of Aligarh Muslim University, the lecture was preceded by a recitation of the Holy Quran by Afzal Usmani, which was followed by the welcome address from Masood Farshori, President of AAA.
Dr. Syed Amir introduced the keynote speaker. After the introduction of the speaker, following the tradition of AAA, a plaque was presented to Ambassador Rasool,the citation on the plaque was read by Frank Islam, while Masood Farshori and Chairman, Board of Trustee AAA, Dr. A. Abdullah presented it to Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool.
The topic of the keynote address was “Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: A Reformer then, A reformer Now! Lessons from South Africa to the USA.”
Ambassador Rasool gave an inspiring talk, eloquently delivered, which mesmerized the audience. He described his personal journey from a middle working class family to the Premiership of Western Cape Province, his struggle for integration of the Muslimminority into the mainstream of his country, andreminisced about his association with Nelson Mandela.He articulated how Sir Syed’s ideology helped him to navigate through the tough times for South Africa when it was in transition from a country ruled by the apartheid system to a free nation. He elaborated on the interpretation of the Quranic word “Allamal-Insaan-Maalam-Yaalam” which is on the emblem/monogram of Aligarh Muslim University. He further explained the significance of choosing “Surah Al-Alaq” to begin the revelation of the Quran because this chapter talks about education, reading, writing and research. Ambassador Rasool stressed that as long as we continue to read, write and do research, this book will provide guidance for mankind till the end of time.
He stressed the importance of education as the key to success and progress. Sir Syed understood this relationshipwell and began to disseminate his message via his journal “TahzibulAkhlaq”, and the “ AligarhInstitute Gazette.” He founded the “Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College” which became a University in 1920.Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool highlighted the current political situation in America and suggested thatthe country was going through a transitional phase. He believed that the teachings of Sir Syed could also find application here and wouldbe likely to advance a better integration and reconciliation among the diverse population of United States. His speech is available at http://www.aligarhdc.org/ssml2016/
The lecture was followed by a question-answers session. Dr. Fazal Khan, Dr. HarSwarup Singh and Suman Verdhan expressed their gratitude to the speaker for his enlightening lecture and asked questions which the speaker answered appropriately. The evening concluded ona vote of thanks from Secretary Mrs. Humera Qadri. Dr. Razi Raziuddin served as the M.C. of the evening.
The Aligarh Alumni Association, Washington DC, founded in 1975, is a non-political, non-profit, tax-exempt, charitable, educational, social, and cultural organization for non-alumni and alumni of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh, India. The Association takes interest in affairs of the University, runs a scholarship program to help meritorious students from low income families, and organizes social, literary, and cultural programs.