Nur-Mubarak University of Islamic Culture
Egyptian University of Islamic Culture “Nur-Mubarak” is the only higher Islamic educational institution in Kazakhstan, located in Almaty city.
The University has a license of the Ministry of Education and Science and has passed state certification.
History.
During the official visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev to the Arab Republic of Egypt in 1993, agreements were reached on the opening of a joint Kazakh-Egyptian Islamic higher education institution called the Egyptian University of Islamic Culture “Nur-Mubarak”.
A land plot of 6 hectares was allocated for the construction of a university in the city of Almaty. On May 16, 1993, President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Egyptian Waqf Minister Mohammed al-Mahjub laid the first stone of the future campus in a festive atmosphere.
In 2000, the first phase of the construction of the university was completed. An agreement was reached between the Kazakh delegation and the Egyptian government on transferring university management to the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan. This agreement was ratified by the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan on July 2, 2003, approved by presidential decree No. 460-11 and entered into legal force. On the Egyptian side, the agreement was secured in 2003 by decree No. 215 of President Hosni Mubarak.
A board of trustees was formed from representatives of Kazakhstan and Egypt, which approved the University Charter, according to which an Egyptian citizen should become the rector, and a Kazakhstani citizen should become the
vice-rector. The first rector of Nur-Mubarak University was academician and professor Mahmoud Fahmi Hijazi, and vice-rector was Doctor of Philology, Professor Shamshadin Tursynuli Kerim.
In 2014, at the congress of members of the Board of Trustees, Professor of Al-Azhar, Dr. Jauda Abdul-Gani Basyuni, who previously worked as a manager of the fiqh department at the Sharia faculty and was dean of the faculty, was appointed university rector.
Currently, the rector is an Egyptian doctor, professor Muhammad al-Shahkhat Abdulhamid Muhammad al-Jindi, vice-rector is a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kurmanbayev Kairat Kalmyrzaevich (both appointed on September 8, 2018 at the 7th meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Nur-Mubarak University, located in the city of Cairo).
Board of Trustees
According to the agreements reached, a board of trustees was created from citizens of Kazakhstan and Egypt, which should consist of:
|
Minister of information and social development of RK – equal chairman |
Egyptian Waqf Minister – equal chairman |
|
Minister of Education and Science of RK |
Supreme Mufti of Egypt |
|
Chairman of SAMK, Supreme Mufti |
Rector of Al-Azhar University |
|
Akim of Almaty city |
Representative of Al-Azhar University |
|
Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan |
Rector of Cairo University |
|
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Egypt |
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Egypt to Kazakhstan |
|
Chairman of the Religious Affairs Committee of Ministry of Information and Social Development of RK |
Three public figures at the discretion of the Egyptian Waqf Ministry |
|
Rector of the Al-Farabi KazNU |
|
|
Rector of the Abylai Khan Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages |
|
The rector and vice-rector are appointed by the Board of Trustees: rector - from the citizens of Egypt, vice-rector - from the citizens of Kazakhstan.
Rectors
- Mahmoud Fahmi Hijazi (from 2003 to 2014)
- Jauda Abdul-Gani Basyuni (from 2014 to 2018)
- Muhammad al-Shahkhat Abdulhamid Muhammad al-Jindi (since 2018)
Faculty
The overwhelming majority of university teachers received theological education in higher educational institutions of Kazakhstan, Egypt, and Turkey. The total number of faculty is about 75 people, of which 13 teachers are citizens of Egypt.
List of departments and research centers
- Department of University-wide humanitarian disciplines
- Department of Islamic Studies
- Department of Religious Studies
- Department of Arabic Language and Literature
- Abu Hanifa Research Center
- University preparatory course
- Cultural and educational center
- Arabic language center
University complex
The university building complex includes several educational buildings with a library (500 m²), lingophonic classrooms and a dining room, a mosque for a thousand people (about 1200 m²), and a student dormitory for 610 people. There is a preparatory center with a library and a hostel, designed for 120 students, in Talgar district of Almaty region.
The university is equipped with a public library, an electronic library, an educational room, lingophone and computer rooms designed for students.
The library has a rich book fund, which contains about 203 thousand objects of religious and secular literature, textbooks, and scientific works. The university’s library also contains fiction, teaching aids in Kazakh, Russian and Arabic, works of Kazakh and Arab scholars, scientific and educational literature, and religious books. In order to increase the level of education of students and promote their zeal for a deep mastering of the Arabic language, a rich fund of CDs has been collected.
Egyptian University of Islamic Culture "Nur-Mubarak" is accepting applicants in three areas of preparation:
"5В021500 – “Islamic Studies" (male and female groups)
"5В020600 – “Religious Studies"
"5В011900 – “Philology"
Applicants entering the specialty “Islamic Studies” pass a creative exam in the Koran, Akida, and Fikh, as well as tests on the history of Kazakhstan and the Kazakh language.
Currently, the total number of students at the University is 1350, of whom 1233 are undergraduate students, 72 are graduate students, 45 are doing PhD.
In addition, Nur-Mubarak University holds preparatory courses for applicants who want to get theological education.
In accordance with clause 8 of Article 5 of the Law on Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 27, 2007, the University has a general license No. AB 0137466 issued by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan on September 29, 2010, which implies that there is no need for licensing of preparatory courses organized at the specified university.
Contacts with other universities
Students enrolled in master's and doctoral programs of the University attend additional lectures given by teachers from universities of Turkey, Russia, Malaysia, and Egypt. Every year, professors from Cairo University conduct two-week lecture seminars for students. The Nur-Mubarak University has concluded bilateral agreements on mutually beneficial cooperation with the universities of Cairo, Alexandria, El Minyi, Ain Shams, and the Malaysian Unisza University.
Students have the opportunity to undergo practice, training courses, and deepen their knowledge in master's and doctoral programs at the Egyptian universities of Al-Azhar, Alexandria, and Al-Miniya.