Azman Islamic Centre to meet needs of growing Muslim community at Curtin Sarawak

Miri – 30 March 2012 – The campus facilities at Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) will be further enhanced with the construction of an Islamic centre for its Muslim students and staff within the year.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the RM500,000 project was officiated by Sarawak Assistant Minister of Early Childhood Education and Family Development, Rosey Haji Yunus, at the campus today.

Also present were the Chairman of Curtin (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Datu Dr. Hatta Solhee, Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Alistair Inglis, and about 150 students and staff of the university.

The centre, which will be named the Azman Islamic Centre after its main benefactor, is being constructed in response to a request from the growing Muslim community at Curtin Sarawak for a bigger and more conducive building to perform their obligatory prayers and conduct religious activities.

According to staff member Mawi Taip, the existing prayer room on the campus, built when the campus was established in 2002, can accommodate only a limited number of people at a time. The situation is exacerbated whenever Curtin Sarawak hosts national and international conferences and other events involving Muslim participants who would also make use of it, he added.

The concept for the centre was put together by a development committee headed by Mawi, who is a Media, Culture and Communication lecturer with the Curtin Sarawak School of Business, and comprising other Muslim staff in consultation with a Kuching-based architectural firm.

Curtin Sarawak has allocated a suitable site near its Recreation and Event Centre for the centre. The site is highly accessible, serviced by public transport that stops by the campus and within walking distance to other campus buildings. A large car park is also conveniently located nearby.

The Muslim community at Curtin Sarawak believes the centre would not only better serve their spiritual needs but also enhance the image of the university as an international centre of learning and human development.

It is furthermore intended to be a centre for learning on Islamic matters for Muslim students at the university, who come from a number of countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Indian sub-continent and the Middle East. Curtin Sarawak also has an active Curtin Islamic Society with some 200 registered members dedicated to strengthening the bonds among Muslim students and staff and organising Islamic activities on the campus.

The centre’s architecture will incorporate both Islamic and modern architectural elements to blend with the campus’ Australian-inspired buildings, and it will be large enough to accommodate up to 200 worshippers.

The project is expected to commence this April and completed by November in time for Awal Muharram.

Artist’s impressions of Azman Islamic Centre to be built at Curtin Sarawak.