Dr. Mohammad Hussein al-Mahrasawy, WOAG Vice-Chairman, said that the relation between al-Azhar and the Indonesian students is very close and solid. He added that al-Azhar receives every academic year several students from Indonesia, whose numbers at al-Azhar University have reached thousands. Indeed, the Indonesian students take advantage of al-Azhar legal sciences, enroll in its scientific specialties, respect al-Azhar esteemed scholars and never forget kindness and good deeds; hence, al-Azhar exerts every possible effort to serve its Indonesian students. The World Organization for al-Azhar Graduates (WOAG) seeks to, fully, attain such role through its “International Students Department” which is concerned with holding meetings between the Organization’s Board of Directors and the international students to discuss the obstacles and challenges that may encounter them in general, to overcome all problems and obstacles, in order to achieve applicable solutions and follow up them on the ground.
This came during the cultural salon held at the Organization’s headquarters, for a number of Indonesian international students studying at al-Azhar University.
Dr. al-Mahrasawy stressed that the Organization is more than willing to receive suggestions and complaints from the international students from every nationality, separately, and to discuss all issues, either the scientific, cultural or social ones. In fact, the Organization sets up plans to solve these issues, whether by holding events, scientific and cultural workshops, organizing leisure trips, as well as communicating with the faculties’ deans and administrations to solve the students problems. Indeed, the Organization is considered a communication bridge between al-Azhar students and al-Azhar University and its officials.
In the same vein, Dr. al-Mahrasawy urged the Indonesian students to be careful and not to follow any deviant intellectual groups, to adhere to their Azhari identity, to stay away from all sources that spread violent and extremist ideas as well as the hotspots disseminating misconceptions. He called upon them to make al-Azhar sciences and its esteemed scholars their sole references and to seek to represent goodness and compassion as al-Azhar ambassadors for al-Azhar and Egypt in their countries.
In the same context, Mr. Osama Yaseen, WOAG Vice-Chairman, stressed the Organization’s keenness to attain its role in spreading al-Azhar moderate thinking all over the Islamic world, especially in Indonesia. He highlighted that Indonesia enjoys a great pioneering status in sending its students to Egypt and al-Azhar University to acquire al-Azhar knowledge. He underlined as well the necessity to communicate with “The International Students Department” at the Organization, and considering it as “a window of communication” between the students and the Organization to present all demands, suggestions and complaints, in order to discuss and consider them with the students union of international students studying at al-Azhar University.
On the sidelines of this meeting, the Indonesian students visited the Egyptian National Library and Archives Fair, which is held, this year, for the first time at the Organization’s headquarters, and runs until the 5th of October.
