Aga Khan University President, Firoz Rasul’s interview with Houston Chronicle

Firoz Rasul, the new president of Aga Khan Universityin Karachi, Pakistan, was in Houston recently to introduce himself to supporters of the college.

Johnny Hanson: For the Chronicle

Jan. 26, 2007, 9:59PM
Q&A: Bridging a ‘chasm’ of ignorance

By RICHARD VARA
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Firoz Rasul, the new president of Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan, was in Houston recently to introduce himself to supporters of the college.

The university has 2,000 students from five countries, and extension campuses in Afghanistan and Kenya. It was founded 25 years ago by the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader and imam of the Ismaili Muslim community.

The national offices of the Aga Khan Council for the USA are in Sugar Land.

One of the Aga Khan’s goals is to modernize Islam through education. Of the world’s more than 1 billion Muslims, an estimated 20 million are Ismaili.

While here, Rasul spoke with religion editor Richard Vara. Excerpts from their conversation follow.

Q: The Aga Khan has been speaking out on the tensions and clashes between Islam and the West. What is his position?

A: The clash the Aga Khan has talked about — he uses the words “clash of ignorance” rather than a clash of civilizations. He says he refers to the ignorance on both sides: the ignorance of Islamic civilizations and cultures by the West and the ignorance of Western civilizations by people in the Muslim world. That is the clash he talks about. We see our role as trying to bridge the chasm of the divide that creates this clash in terms of educating the world about Islam.

Q: How can you do that?

A: We have set up an institute in London called the Institute of Muslim Civilizations, which is part of the Aga Khan University. Its job is to research, to study, then to share, to teach the heritage of Muslim peoples.

The monolithic way the people of Islam are being portrayed by the media is because of the lack of understanding of pluralism within Islam — the different traditions, the different geographies, the ethnicities, languages, countries. Islam practiced in Central Asia, the ex-republics of the Soviet Union, (is) so different than in South Africa or Algeria or India.

There is no one common monolithic Islam. It is only recently that people have begun to understand the difference between Sunni and Shia.

We have just been overwhelmed by the interest in our program at the institute … from other universities, from individuals who want to take courses, from organizations who want to send their people, media, banking (and) diplomatic corps, governments who want to study the different aspects of Islam.

Q: What about teaching Islam about the West?

A: On the other side, we are setting up a faculty of arts and sciences, one in Pakistan and one in East Africa.

It will be a liberal arts education not unlike one available in small liberal arts colleges in the U.S., like in New England. They will teach the students to think critically, to look at problems, to question, to understand the histories of Europe, Africa, Asia. To look at anthropology and sociology, to appreciate literature and music from different parts of the world.

That type of an education would cause people to learn about people from around the world.

Our aspiration is to create a global citizen. To create a global citizen, you need an individual who not only understands different perspectives and different government systems, who speaks different languages, (but) someone who is comfortable studying, working, living in different parts of the world. Someone who can bring a global perspective to the issues we are trying to deal with.

Firoz Rasul

Age: 55

Education: Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Hertfordshire in England; MBA from McGill University in Montreal

Background: Born in Kenya; longtime resident of Vancouver, British Columbia

Experience: Previously served as chairman and CEO of Ballard Power Systems and on the University of British Columbia’s Board of Governors.

Q: That puts you in the forefront of the “clash.” How do you feel about that?

A: It is a very exhilarating, energizing vision because we are in the forefront of education, changing attitudes, changing perspectives in a world that desperately needs that.

That is very exciting. The impact, the difference you can make, even if you are only partially successful, is very exciting.

Q: What is the Aga Khan University, and what is its role in Pakistan?

A: It is a small university … a young university. From the very outset, the vision for it was for it to be a university of high quality, but always it will be a small university.

Its impact will not be from the number of graduates but from the quality of its graduates. It is currently a medical health-care university with an institute for educational development which looks at improving school systems through curriculum developers and policymakers.

Q: What are some of its achievements?

A: The main one would be that it has brought international-quality medical education and health-sciences education to Pakistan.

Not only did we want to educate and graduate well-qualified nurses, but elevating the role of women — and nurses generally tend to be women — in a country like Pakistan has been very important.

The nursing program has helped give women a noble profession, a dignified profession, and given them social standing in a community where women are not generally held in high standing.

The third accomplishment of the university (is) the hospital we have established.

Q: Why the concern about the role of women?

A: The role of women, the position of women has always been something high up on the list of the founder of the university, the Aga Khan, and also his grandfather who was the previous imam, the leader of the community.

I remember when my mother was a student and the previous Aga Khan told the community at one time that if you can educate only one child, let it be your daughter, because when you educate a daughter, you educate a family and a community. When you educate a man, you educate an individual.

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