Special interest of First Lady: Sufism, science, tech research centres to be set up in Punjab

LAHORE: On the special interest of First Lady Bushra Imran, it has been decided to set up Sufism and science and technology research centres throughout Punjab.

In the first phase, Sheikh Abul Hassan Shazli Sufism and Science and Technology Research Centre will be established in Lahore where the research work on Islam, Sufism, religious thoughts, tolerance, science and technology as well as modern knowledge will be conducted. Poor-friendly and education-friendly steps of the first lady are being implemented under which equal opportunities of development and progress are being provided to the impecunious strata of the society.

Apart from reviewing the arrangements of Pannahgah almonries, Darul Aman and child protection bureaus in different cities, the first lady is trying to bring significant improvements.

Sheikh Abul Hassan Shazli Research Centre will always be open for poor and deserving students, destitute classes of the society and education-friendly people. The research centre will be linked to Darul Aman, Child Protection Bureau, prisons across the province especially for juvenile and women rehabilitation centres/jails as well as schools, colleges, universities besides public and private religious educational institutions. The research centre will also be connected to the e-libraries of world-renowned modern research institutes including JSTOR and leading educational institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard. The people of the province will be given remote access so that they can benefit the same from their homes.

An Online Guidance Centre Portal will also be set up in the research centre in collaboration with Higher Education to provide guidance to students for getting admission and scholarships in local and foreign universities. For this purpose, MoUs are being signed with Government College University, Lahore College for Women University, Jamia Naeemia, Auqaf Research Centre, in the first phase, for linking them to the modern research work.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Abul Hassan Shazli Research Centre will also be set up at Government College University Lahore for research on Islamic teachings. In this centre, research will be conducted on interfaith and interreligious issues, Sufism, Islamic philosophy, spirituality and Sufi traditions in collaboration with national and international universities. In this centre, BS, M.Phil and PhD programs on Islamic philosophy and Sufism will also be launch. Moreover, Rahmatul lil Alameen scholarship will be made a part of it. Sheikh Abul Hassan Shazli was a well-known Sufi scholar from the royal family of Morocco. The purpose of naming this research centre after Sheikh Abul Hassan Shazli is to promote religious tolerance, harmony and knowledge-friendliness in the region.