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Mystery shrouds Batticaloa’s ‘Shariah’ campus
In a sprawling site on the border of the Polonnaruwa and Batticaloa districts, a row of multi-storied buildings are taking shape in what has come to be known as a ‘Shariah University’.
The man behind the project in the sparsely populated village of Punanai is M.L.A.M. Hisbullah, the Governor of the Eastern Province. “How can we start a Sharia degree programme without obtaining the approval of the Higher Education Ministry? he asked, insisting that there are no plans to teach Sharia Law.
However, the Sunday Times has seen documents sent to the Higher Education Ministry. They indicate that five academic cadre positions were allocated for the Sharia and Islamic Studies stream.
According to britannica.com, Shariah or Islamic law is seen as the expression of God’s command to Muslims and, in application, constitutes a system of duties that are incumbent upon all Muslims by virtue of their religious belief. Shariah “represents a divinely ordained path of conduct that guides Muslims toward a practical expression of religious conviction in this world and the goal of divine favour in the world to come.”
Allegations have been levelled against the non-state degree awarding institution at Punanai in the Batticaloa district with regard to funds from Saudi Arabia and, most importantly, the streams of study. Some claim that Sharia is to be taught under the law stream.
Leading the campaign against the university college is Prof. Channa Jayasumana of Rajarata University. He said: “We believe that the Faculty of Law and Culture is to have a department for Sharia Law. It is obvious that the main objective of the pseudo university is to promote Islamic law and Islamic banking. We demand an impartial and transparent inquiry into the university.”
Dismissing the allegation, Eastern Governor M.L.A.M. Hisbullah, the founding chairman of Batticaloa Campus (Pvt) Ltd., denied that Sharia was going to be taught at the campus. “How can we start a Sharia degree programme without obtaining the approval of the Higher Education Ministry? These are blatant lies,” he said.
Questions have also been raised as to whether the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Higher Education Ministry have granted approval for the courses of study at the university.
Former Higher Education Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told the Sunday Times that during his brief period as minister, no decision was taken on the matter.
Higher Education Ministry Secretary M.M.P.K. Mayadunne said that the campus had only applied for evaluation of its Information Technology stream.
However, in a statement dated April 30, 2019, the institute said it would offer degrees in Information Technology, Management, Agriculture and Education.
According to the campus’ general manager, Mohamed Thahir, construction activities are expected to conclude within this year.
The statement also claimed that the institution had obtained the recognition of the Higher Education Ministry and the University Grants Commission (UGC) and would come under their supervision.
The Sunday Times team visited the campus this week and saw classrooms and other facilities being prepared for these streams.
Mr. Thahir claimed that so far three UGC teams had visited the site. One team inspected the land and the buildings. Another team checked whether adequate learning tools were available. The third team, according to the general manager, assessed whether it could be opened for academic activities.
“The UGC officials said that the facility could not be opened now as it needed improvements. They also said the library must be completed fully,” Mr. Thahir said, noting they had completed only half of the construction.
However, the UGC’s Deputy Secretary C.J. Wijesinghe, who is in charge of academic affairs, refuted claims that the UGC teams had visited the facility.
This page from the document sent by the Batticaloa Campus to the Higher Education Ministry shows that Shariah will be taught at the law faculty
“They have not sought any approval from us. We look into the affairs of only 15 state universities which come under the Universities Act. The Batticaloa Campus comes under the non-state category. Therefore, it would have to be handled by the Higher Education Ministry,” she said.
The complex had a huge facade and an impressive gate reflecting Moghul or West Asian architecture. The sprawling complex built on a vast expanse of Mahaweli land consists of several state-of-the art facilities, including ‘smart class rooms’. It is said the land has been obtained from the Mahaweli Authority on a lease. According to a video presentation accessible on Youtube, the complex will also include a swimming pool, a football ground and several sports and recreation facilities.
We asked Governor Hisbullah about the source of the funding.
“We have obtained a US$ 24 million soft loan from ‘Ali Al-Juffali Trust’ in Saudi Arabia. These loans have been channelled through an account belonging to Batticaloa Campus at the Bank of Ceylon,” he said.
The university has been the brainchild of Mr. Hisbullah, who was serving as chairman until he was appointed Governor in January this year. His son now serves as chairman, while a board of directors functions under him.
Reliable sources in Malaysia told the Sunday Times that Mr. Hisbullah had even visited Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP), a private research university in Malaysia in 2016 and 2017. It is learnt that Mr. Hisbullah, who was a State Minister at that time, had visited UTP to obtain a map of its library to replicate a similar structure at the Batticaloa Campus.
We saw the library that was being built. It has been fitted with solar panels placed in a curve shape on its roof. Construction activities have been briefly stalled as workers have not reported to duty since the Easter Sunday’s terror attacks.