PML President Attends Ceremony Honoring
Pakistan Academic
Washington, DC: American University honored
Akbar Ahmed, the University’s Ibn Khaldun Chair of
Islamic Studies and professor of international relations,
as The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education
2004 District of Columbia Professor of the Year at a reception
on Tuesday, Dec. 7. Ahmed is the former High Commissioner
of Pakistan to Great Britain, and a distinguished anthropologist,
writer, and filmmaker.
The 2004 teaching award is the latest of many achievements
for the professor of international relations, who has been
described by the BBC as
Ashraf
Abbasi (President Pakistan American Congress),Ambassador
Jehangir Karmat ,Hussain, Prof. Akbar and and Ex-PM
Ch Shujaat Hussain |
“the world’s
leading authority on contemporary Islam” and by Britain’s
Archbishop of Canterbury as “one of the most important
scholars of Islam today.”
A diverse group of guests, which included several ambassadors
and students, many traveling from outside of Washington,
D.C. had gathered for the reception hosted by American University
Provost Cornelius Kerwin.
Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, President of the Pakistan Muslim
League and former Prime Minister of Pakistan, attended the
reception. Saying in his speech of Dr. Ahmed, “I congratulate
him and we are very proud of him in this crowning achievement
of a distinguished educator…we all appreciate his
efforts in building bridges between cultures, religions,
and students….and appreciate Dr. Ahmed’s role
in dialogue of Civilizations.”
Provost Kerwin commented in his talk that “School
of International Service Dean Louis Goodman said, ‘we
needed the perfect candidate for the Ibn Khaldun chair.’
I didn’t think it was possible. The Dean proved me
wrong.”
Senior Rabbi Bruce Lustig, of the Washington Hebrew Congregation,
spoke warmly of Dr. Ahmed saying that he was blessed to
have found a teacher and a friend in him.
Newly arrived Pakistan Ambassador, General Jehangir Karamat,
in his talk, expressed his admiration for Dr. Ahmed, his
books and films. Ashraf Abbasi, President of the Pakistan
American Congress, who flew from Houston for the event,
said, “Dr. Ahmed is the pride of Pakistan.”
Ex-PM
Ch Shujaat Hussain,Ambassador Jehangir Karamat,Dr.Mubashar
Choudry and Prof Akbar Ahmed at podium.Photos courtesy
American University by Jeff Watts |
Dr. Ahmed’s daughter,
Nafees, spoke of the gift of her father having dedicated
his book, Postmodernism and Islam to her and said, “For
me you will always be the Professor of the Year.”
She added, “I also hope my hard work will take me
to the best universities my father has been associated with
such as Harvard, Princeton, Cambridge and of course
my father’s favorite – American University.”
As Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at AU, Ahmed teaches
such courses as The World of Islam to packed rooms of students
curious to learn about his timely and controversial subject.
A student of Professor Ahmed, Laura Zeender said “I
have seen Professor Ahmed embody the principle of ilm [knowledge]
in his teaching and his life. I agree with Chief Rabbi,
Dr. Jonathan Sacks, who was quoted as saying, ‘In
you, classic Islam has a spokesman and role model of supreme
grace and dignity.’”
Ahmed has engaged in public dialogues across the United
States and in Britain with Judea Pearl, father of slain
Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, as part of his
commitment to interfaith dialogue. Such dialogues are necessary,
he says, to dispel misconceptions about Islam and to counter
the notion that Western society and Islam are on an inevitable
collision course.
Located in Washington, DC, American University (www.american.edu)
is a leader in global education, enrolling a diverse student
body from throughout the US and more than 150 countries
and providing opportunities for academic excellence, public
service, and internships in the nation's capital and around
the world.
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