Open letter from the President of the Islamic University of Gaza

Dr. Kamalain Shaath, President, The Islamic University, Gaza

Dear Sir/ Madam,

Subject: Support and Solidarity to the Islamic University of Gaza

On Saturday December 27th, 2008, The Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) was ready to start the Final Exams where about 20,000 students are enrolled into its ten colleges. Complete preparations were made to ensure a smooth completion of the fall semester.

On Sunday night December 28th, 2008 and with a great shock and sadness, the Palestinian people, international community, institutions and local civil society organizations received the horrible news of the grievous destruction of the Science and Engineering Buildings at the Islamic University of Gaza. These buildings were completely wiped out by the Israeli F-16 jets and other buildings were greatly damaged by the rockets fired. A great number of invaluable scientific, medical equipments, devices, computers and their accessories, LCDs, and invaluable books and references were destroyed.

It is worth mentioning that the Islamic University of Gaza is the largest academic institution in Palestine and envisions its role in the advancement of knowledge, providing higher quality education, encouraging academic and scientific research, serving the local community, and promoting dialogue of civilizations. Also, the Islamic University of Gaza is a member of several international academic leagues and associations (International Association of Universities, Community of Mediterranean Universities, Association of Arab Universities, and Association of Islamic Universities).

The Islamic University was established three decades ago, during which it worked very hard under tough situations and faced difficult challenges during the Israeli occupation, however, it managed to stay open and provide academic services to its students. With the help and support of all good people in the world, the University campus was converted from simple tents and barracks to a
modern campus with facilities that match the best in the world.

Fabricated lies and accusations accompanied the offensive aggression in order to justify these attacks. A misleading campaign full of aspersion and calumnies was launched to misinform the public and media. However, this propaganda was overdone and the lies were unbelievable that most
of Palestinian people and observers refused to believe.

We firmly believe that the Israeli occupation was continuously targeting the academic institutions and in particular IUG in their efforts to impede any improvements in the Palestinian welfare, impeding any development towards building the capacity of the Palestinian nation and insuring continuous ignorance among our people.

We therefore call upon the international community to show their support and solidarity to the Islamic University.

Best Regards,

Dr. Kamalain Shaath
President,
The Islamic University,
The Gaza Strip – Palestine
pres@iugaza.edu.ps

email: iugrec@gmail.com
Tel: 0097 08 2823310
Fax: 0097 08 2826222

For IUG Support visit:

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