Coordination of Islamic Colleges (CIC), based in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, India, is an

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

university serving as an academic administrative body. Colleges affiliated with the CIC offer "Wafy" courses for men and "Wafiyya" for women, which combine both Islamic and secular higher education (post-secondary school, leading to a state-recognised university degree). These courses were designed and developed by Abdul Hakeem Faizy, an Islamic scholar and educationalist, who currently serves as the General Secretary of the CIC and is an executive board member from India at the League of Islamic Universities based in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. Panakkad

Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal (Birth name:Habib Sadiq Ali Shihab bin Ali Al-Hussaini Ba Alavi) (Arabic: صادق علي شهاب بن علي الحسيني با علوي)(born 25 May 1964) is a sayyid ( thangal) community leader and ...

is the current President of the CIC. At present, there are around 100 institutes affiliated to the CIC in Kerala. The CIC was established in

Malappuram District Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . The most populous district of Kerala, Malappuram is home to around 13% of the tot ...

in 2000 and was associated with the

Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama of EK Sunnis also known as Samastha, and EK Samastha, is a Sunni-Shafi'i Muslim scholarly body in Kerala. The body administers Shafi'ite mosques, institutes of higher religious learning (the equivalent of ...

, principal

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

scholarly council, in

. The body had signed memoranda of understandings (MoU) with

University of Cairo Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...

, League of Islamic Universities, Cairo,

Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) is a Tunis-based Institutions of the Arab League, institution of the Arab League, established in accordance with article 3 of the Arab Cultural Unity Charter by an announc ...

, Academy of Arabic Language,

and the

Egyptian Government The politics of Egypt takes place within the framework of a republican semi-presidential system of government. The current political system was established following the 2013 Egyptian military coup d'état, and the takeover of President Abdel ...

's Ministry of Religious Affairs. The body notably promotes the concept of women-only educational institutes of higher religious learning in Kerala, where women are simultaneously trained in advanced Islamic theology and modern secular education up to the graduate level.

History

The CIC made a humble beginning in the year 2000 as an academic coordinating committee of a few Islamic colleges following a standardised curriculum and academic programmes. A precursor of this journey had started in mid 1990s at K.K.H.M. Islamic and Arts College, under Markazu Tharbiyathil Islamiyya, in Karthala of

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a municipality and town in Kerala and the headquarters of the Malappuram district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Kerala, 4th largest urban agglomeration in Kerala and ...

District. Later, the CIC came into existence as an academic confederation of the various colleges who had shown interest in this programme and courses of study. The coordination has grown exponentially over a short span of time and became an academic umbrella of 90 colleges. Registered as an autonomous organisation under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 (Regi. No: 379/04), the CIC has grown to become a multi-layered organisation, with a senate, a syndicate, an advisory board and various sub-committees such as Academic Council, Examination Board and finance committee, directives of which are binding on each affiliated college. At present, Wafiyya Campus, Pang is the headquarters of the CIC. Wafy is a modified and upgraded version of Al Muthavval course, a part of the erstwhile

Nizamiyya The Nezamiyeh () or Nizamiyyah () are a group of institutions of higher education established by Khwaja Nizam al-Mulk in the eleventh century in Iran. The name ''nizamiyyah'' derives from his name. Founded at the beginning of the Seljuk Empire, ...

Syllabus which had been adopted by most of the traditional Islamic colleges and seminaries in India for centuries. While retaining the spirit of the traditional syllabus intact, modification was achieved by introducing new topics and updating some traditional subjects. These measures were introduced to meet the new challenges and needs of time.

Campuses

The CIC is currently headquartered at the 'Wafa Campus' at Pang in

. CIC operates two postgraduate campuses, the Wafy postgraduate campus at

Kalikavu Kalikavu is a town in the Nilambur taluk of Malappuram district in Kerala state, South India. Kalikavu, like the neighbouring town of Nilambur, is also known for its rubber plantations. Coconut, Black pepper, pepper, areca nut, and teak are also ...

in Malappuram District and Malik Deenar Wafy postgraduate campus at

Thiruvallur Tiruvallur is a Grade I municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of Coovum river about from downtown Chennai ( Madras) in the western part of the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA). It is a satellite tow ...

in Kozhikkode District. The Wafy postgraduate campus in

launched its first phase in 2016 by opening the academic block.

Governance and coordination

The CIC leadership has the following positions and personnel: * President –

* General Secretary – Abdul Hakeem Faizy *Treasurer – Ali Faizy Thootha * Vice presidents ** K. A. Rahman Faizy Kavanur ** Muhammed Musliyar Chelakkad ** Ahmed Mulsiyar Maniyoor ** Hamza Musliyar Wayanad

Agreements

The CIC has entered into academic and cultural collaboration, and signed Memorandum of Understandings(MoU) to this effect, with several globally renowned institutions such as: *

Al Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

, Cairo *

(ALECSO) *

Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number 2 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious populatio ...

(ICESCO) *

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

Hamdard University Hamdard University () is a private research university with campuses in Karachi and Islamabad, Pakistan.Ministry of Religious Affairs, Egypt *

National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language The National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (, NCPUL) is an autonomous regulatory body in the Government of India.

(NCPUL) of the Central

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

Recognition

The CIC has been recognised or honoured with: *Membership at the executive committee of the League of Islamic Universities (

) *

ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...

9001: 2015 certification *Membership at the General Secretariat of the World Muslim Communities Council (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) *Membership at the board of directors of the International Association of the Institutions Teaching Arabic Language for Non – Arabic Speakers (Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation-

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

) *Islamonline International education Award (2009) *Islam.net Award (2011)

Courses

The CIC regulated integrated courses for men and women combining

and secular higher education. Known as "Wafy" and "Wafiyya", these courses are currently offered in different modes such as Residential, Day-school and Distance.

Wafy

Wafy is an eight-year programme in advanced

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

(comprising two-year Higher Secondary, four-year undergraduate and two-year postgraduate courses) coupled with a recognised state university degree in a secular discipline. This course is offered in residential mode only and is exclusive for men. The postgraduate programme consists of six departments under three faculties namely

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, Islamic Sharīʿah and Arabic language and

Islamic culture Islamic cultures or Muslim cultures refers to the historic cultural practices that developed among the various peoples living in the Muslim world. These practices, while not always religious in nature, are generally influenced by aspects of Islam ...

Wafy Arts

"Wafy Arts" is a five-year integrated programme comprising a two-year Higher Secondary and a three-year undergraduate studies with a

state university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

degree in a secular discipline coupled with a preparatory certificate and a degree in

Islamic Studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

offered by the CIC This course is exclusive to men and is offered both in residential and day-school modes.

Wafiyya

Wafiyya is a five-year course in Islamic studies (comprising two-year higher secondary and three-year undergraduate courses) coupled with a recognised state university degree in a secular discipline. This course is offered in residential mode only and is exclusively for women. An optional two-year postgraduate programme is also on offer for Wafiyya undergraduates, which they can complete either in distance or regular mode, subject to conditions.

Wafiyya Day

"Wafiyya Day" is a five-year course in advanced

(comprising two-year higher secondary and three-year undergraduate courses) coupled with a recognised state university degree in a secular discipline. This course is offered in day-school mode and is exclusive for women.

Educational approaches

Continuous assessment

To ensure the efficiency of the curriculum, the programmes are designed with various continuous evaluation activities such as

seminars A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some part ...

debates Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

, collections (

portfolio Portfolio may refer to: Objects * Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase Collections * Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual * Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a ...

of works),

projects A project is a type of assignment, typically involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a specific objective. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of events: a "set of interrelated tasks to be ...

symposium In Ancient Greece, the symposium (, ''sympósion'', from συμπίνειν, ''sympínein'', 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, o ...

s, album setting, teaching practices, oral exams, essay writing, and field work.

Continuous assessment Continuous assessment is a form of educational examination that evaluates a student's progress throughout a prescribed course. It is often used as an alternative to the final examination system. Proponents of continuous assessment argue that the a ...

constitutes around 20 per cent of the total marks in some subjects.

Orientation and workshops

The CIC conducts orientation and workshops for students and parents. The workshops include Da'wa workshops, field work, teaching practice sessions, pre- and post-marital counselling training, and de-addiction counselling training.

Academic events

The CIC conducts many academic events. Recently conducted international conferences and

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

seminars have received considerable media attention. Wafy and Wafiyya alumni associations and students' federations regularly conduct academic programmes and training workshops. As part of the syllabus at the postgraduate level, Wafy and Wafiyya students need to organise seminars and debates on different topics. The Examination Board grants grace marks to those attending and presenting papers at national and international level academic events.

Madrasathul Umm

(which literally means 'Mother's School') is an exclusive curriculum designed by the CIC to nurture the Arabic language skills of the students, placing more emphasis on ''Listening'', ''Speaking'', ''Reading'' and ''Writing'' (LSRW).

Dissertation

During the period of postgraduate courses, students are required to submit a dissertation in not less than 100 pages on a selected topic approved by the academic council of the CIC. Later, they will be asked to defend and discuss their thesis in a in front of a select panel of experts from the faculty.

Pastoral

Women's colleges

Mentoring

The CIC has put in place an effective mentoring system. Students are assisted by full-time mentors who provide them with customised psychological care and guidance. The CIC conducts training and workshops for mentors. It also conducts inspections from time to time to ensure mentoring is done efficiently.

Social service scheme

The CIC accords top priority to inculcate in students the habit of voluntary services. It has made social service mandatory for all students, aimed at nurturing in them the habit of serving the society and working for the needy and the underprivileged in the society. Students must complete 192 hours of social service during their degree (Aliya) period. They have to complete 24 hours in each of the eight semesters at Aliya level. Students will receive certificates after their works being reviewed by the guides of their respective institutions and the CIC's CSS Coordinator. The CIC was the first Islamic institute to introduce compulsory

social service Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

as a part of its curriculum. The first project was announced by the former Vice Chancellor of

Calicut University The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to be set up in no ...

K. K. N. Kurup at a meeting held at Shamsul Ulama Academy Wafy College, Vengapally,

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with its administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, ...

on 18 November 2012. The activities done by students under the CSS scheme include home building, flood volunteering, Mahal survey, Mahal empowerment, renovation of public libraries, cleaning work of government hospitals and local bodies, volunteering in programmes conducted by the Samastha Kerala Jam'iyyathul Ulama and its sub bodies, blood donation camps, medical camps, religious studies classes, Palliative care, Da'wa activities and relief activities. The Rescue Force formed by the Wafy Students' Federation during the Kerala flood have done some commendable jobs for two consecutive years. Over 400 students had worked in the 2019 flood alone.

Workshops and training sessions

Leadership conclave

WSF has organised a Leadership Conclave under the theme "Learn to Lead, Lead to Success". The conclave was aimed at providing organisational training for the union leaders from different colleges.

Vagmeeyam: Speech Designing

The Wafy Students Federation Fine Arts Committee conducts public speaking training sessions called . A series of workshops led by various trainers for selected students from Wafy colleges, aims to develop the public speaking skills of the students.

Student life

Student organisations

The student representative and networking organisations are: the Wafy Students Federation (WSF); Wafiyya Students Federation (WSF); and Orbit Wafy Students Federation (WSF) is the student wing of CIC, representing all the students from 90 colleges owned by or affiliated to CIC. The federation is actively involved in conducting various programmes and social projects. It coordinates curricular and non-curricular activities of the students from all affiliated colleges. Some of the focus areas of its operations include empowering the students, developing their organisational and leadership skills and leveraging their creative potential for various vital social projects. Wafiyya Students Federation (WSF) is a state-wide association of students from Wafiyya institutions under the CIC. The organisation, founded in 2011 and headquartered at Markazu Tharbiyyathil Islamiyya, Valanchery, has conducted a number of significant activities in the field of art and culture. The main purpose of the organisation is to consolidate and nurture the extracurricular activities of the students. To this end, the organisation has held various state-level art fests and competitions. Wafy Orbit is an extensive, bottom-up networking system connecting Wafy and Wafiyya students across the state. With committees at Panchayat,

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

and district levels, it helps the students reach out to the general public to disseminate CIC's message and conduct various community development programmes.

Cultural and sporting events

* Wafy Arts Fest: The 11th State Wafy Arts Fest was held at Mundayad indoor stadium,

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the maj ...

on 20 January 2019. * Wafiyya Arts Fest: brings together talented students from all Wafiyy college to compete at a state-level event. The state-level event is preceded by various zonal arts fests. The 7th State Wafiyya Arts Fest was held on 9 February 2019, at Markazu Tharbiyyathil Islamiyya Valanchery. * Wafy Sports Meet: The WSF conducts an intercollege state-level sports meet, bringing together sporting talents from all Wafy colleges. The event is preceded by various college-level meets. The Third State Wafy Sports Meet, held at the Calicut University Synthetic Track, was attended by around 1500 athletes in 31 events.

Facilities

* Library: Extensive libraries with a large collection of books, reference books, children's literature in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, English,

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, extracts related to syllabus, commentaries and tools. (The number of books to be in the preparatory, degree and postgraduate levels has been determined) * Reading Room: Reading rooms with Malayalam, English, Arabic and Urdu newspapers, magazines,

publications To publish is to make Content (media), content available to the general public.Berne Conv ...

and other modern learning facilities. *

Auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...

and Smart Classroom: Auditoriums and smart classrooms with modern facilities for organizing public events, general classes, debates and training classes.

Co-curricular activities

Various educational and intellectual sessions and cultural programmes are organised at regular intervals and on official days such as Independence and Republic Days. Eminent scholars, doctors, legal and political experts, writers, military officials and personality developers are invited to the colleges to interact with the students. The extracurricular activities in the colleges also include various programmes in

, English,

and

languages. In addition, students are given special training in various presentation skills such as elocution, debates, seminars, table talks, discussions, mock parliaments etc. Moreover, there are magazines (both manuscript and printed), tabloids, bulletins, pamphlets, wall journals, souvenirs and research magazines to improve the writing skills of the students.

References

{{Portal bar, Islam Islamic universities and colleges in Kerala Unaccredited institutions of higher learning 2000 establishments in Kerala