AS SUFFA PROJECT

• As-Suffa project is an initiative of World Islamic Mission Mauritius. It will be set up at the site of the former market fair situated at Canal Bathurst Street, Port Louis. This piece of land was made available on lease by the Government of Mauritius in recognition of the good work done by WIM Mauritius for the social and educational development of Mauritian citizens.

 Project Objectives

Education

The As-Suffa project is conceived principally to meet the aspirations of young people both male and female living in the Plaine Verte region. We are convinced that As-Suffa  can fill a big gap and will soon become a locus of activity for people living in the Plaine Verte vicinity.

As Suffa comes from arabic, it means ‘The Bench’. It symbolizes the school bench which is the place where people are seated when they come to seek knowledge. The name has been inspired by the place which the Companions of the Prophet, the Ashaab as Suffa used to occupy in Masjid-e-Nabawi in Madina. The Suffa was a prime place of learning and dedication for those Sahabas.

As Suffa Centre aspires to become a centre of excellence and a prime disseminator of knowledge in various fields. It is meant to be an opening to the world, a means to quench the thirst for knowledge that all human beings inherently possess. As Suffa will be a centre where students can look forward to obtain a support in their studies, a place to look for suitable coaches to help them improve their performance at school.

As Suffa will dispense education to children having difficulties at school in subjects such as Mathematics, French, English or Science. As Suffa will not duplicate the work done at primary schools and colleges. Its role is to support those children who require coaching and special care to improve on their capabilities. As Suffa will partner with the British Council and l’Alliance Française to provide its students with the possibility to acquire proficiency in English and French. Ability to speak and write in those international languages is an imperative in our globalised world. This will be one among the many steps that will allow young people to increase their chances to have a successful career in their professional lives. Moreover, As Suffa Centre  will work in collaboration with the Asian cultural centres to provide students opportunities to learn their Urdu and Arabic.

Details of educational courses and programmes are provided at Annex II

Promotion of peace and tolerance

The world has become an extremely violent place. In several countries we find war, terrorist attacks, killings, domestic violence and child molestation. These are extremely worrying signs which should make us reflect on the type of society we need to nurture for the future. Although our country is relatively safe and free, we cannot rest on our laurels. We need to proactively make the effort to build a society where there is more freedom and peace. As Suffa aims to promote peace and respect for all human beings. We support the lofty principles of humanism and we think that problems can be solved with dialogue and comprehension. Conflicts do not solve human problems, they can only flare up delicate situations.

A great majority of people living in Plaine Verte are Muslims and it is crucial to target them with the message of peace and tolerance. At a time when Islam is readily associated with terrorism, albeit unjustly so, it is ever more necessary to stress the importance to live in peace and harmony. Therefore, through As Suffa Centre, we intend to create a society where people understand the value of life and peace. Unless we promote the message of love for all, we cannot achieve durable progress. The teachings to be delivered at As-Suffa will foster peace, tolerance, social harmony, citizenship, respect for elders, women and children so that we may build a society where there is mutual love and friendship.

As Suffa will promote diversity workshops with other activists from other faiths. It will organise all its social activities around people who come from diverse ethnic backgrounds or religions in order to foster the spirit of tolerance and work towards mutual understanding. We are fairly confident to succeed because the new generation seems to welcome the idea of diversity and share common interests. We need to encourage this.

Cultural enrichment

A third objective of As Suffa is to work towards the cultural enrichment of the inhabitants of the city. During the last decades, education has been somewhat neglected by our citizens living in this region. We have seen young boys leave school to help their parents look after the family business. Many students with a good potential to earn a university degree have thus entered the workplace and lost their chance to attain new heights in life. People living in Plaine Verte should be made aware of all possibilities or facilities existing to obtain higher education. People should open up to other communities to enrich their intellectual repertoire.

As Suffa will promote workshops and debates to enable its students attain language proficiency. Poetry competitions, oratory skill competitions will be organised. We shall encourage exchanges with other associations for enrichment of our students and members. They will be allowed to hold discussions among themselves on issues of interest to them. We shall give them the opportunity to voice out their views and exchange ideas. As Suffa will provide them with ample opportunities for their self-development and encourage them in various ways to take initiatives and become responsible members in society. As Suffa should be a forum where youth clubs can meet and discuss about their interests and concerns. For example, we intend to organise debates on subjects of interest such as :

• The role of women in society
• Living in a globalised world.
• Root causes of increase in divorce rates.
• Threats to the environment – global warming – climate change etc.

As Suffa centre will be a place where children can exercise their skills.  We strongly believe that there are affordable means for self-development and self-awareness. Our role is to educate them, so they understand the difference between what is good and evil. Once they have learnt this, we should trust them.

Progress for women

As-Suffa will be give special attention to women’s activities. These will include coaching sessions to help them become entrepreneurs; lectures on specific issues affecting them such as health, eating habits, basic rights, and parenting skills. The centre will also provide them with facilities to perform physical exercises or aerobics and indulge in other activities that will allow them to participate more fully in the social development of their community. All such activities will be done with strict respect to the rules of Shariah, hence behind closed doors and without possibility for strangers to have any view at all.

Women are key elements in social progress. Unless they are provided with adequate support and technical expertise, they will have to strive harder to construct a place for themselves in society. In some regions, women still suffer from prejudice and bias. Therefore, it is essential that they be given the training to become more assertive so as to claim their place alongside their male counterparts. In many countries, it has been found that involvement of women has considerably helped to boost the economy and strengthen the social fabric. For example, in Bangladesh several programmes supported by various NGO’s for women have brought considerable wealth and social progress.

As Suffa itself will have a team of women among its staff and managerial cadres. We need to set the example ourselves and allow women to higher positions to be able to drive this change process. We strongly believe that women should be allowed to contribute in social development and As Suffa will give them all the facilities required for their emancipation and progress.

Personal development for young people through sports and leisure

As Suffa though will not be exclusively a place of learning and training. Today’s young people are fond of leisure. Therefore, adequate provision will be made to allow them play indoor games such as table-tennis, badminton and other leisure activities.

Facilities for indoor games will attract young people and ensure that the public become more health conscious. Practice of sports is a must for the health and development of the Mauritian nation at large. Access to sports facilities will be open to all Mauritians irrespective of their faith and beliefs.

The indoor leisure activities will serve as magnet to attract young people to As Suffa. Young people are dynamic and full of energy which they want to spend. And the best channel is sports and leisure. Facilities for youth are rather scarce in Plaine Verte. So it is but normal that As Suffa should make provision for such kind of activities. In this regard, we hope to enlist the support of the Municipality of Port Louis by using their coaches to hold various activities on a regular basis. Cooperation with  Municipality will allow us to obtain the success we want to achieve in this field.

5.0 Details on the infrastructure

• The area of the land is about 660 square metres and will be used to build a three-storey complex having a beautiful architecture which is inspired by local tradition. It also has a North African design with a mixture of Persian elements, including arches, windows and a dome. The building has been specifically designed by architect Mr Fezal Malleck Amode  to be easily accessible to children, the elderly and the disabled.

• The Centre consists of a three-storey building that will serve social and educational functions. On the ground floor level, there is a multi-purpose hall which will be used for weddings, lectures, games and sports activities.

• The multi-purpose hall(ground floor) will host a wide range of activities. The following is a shortlist of what we plan to do on the ground floor:

(i)         Setting up of 4 classrooms to be devoted to teaching of moral values, scriptures and secular studies.

(ii)        Lectures, seminars and conferences by experts in their respective fields.

(iii)       Film projections and debates and open discussions.

(iv)       The hall will be reserved for women on certain specific days of the week for counselling, training, and other activities as detailed in the Mission objective.

(v)        Indoor games such as table-tennis, badminton, weight lifting and body fitness etc.

• On the first floor, there are four classrooms, two computer rooms and an office room. The first floor will comprise an audio visual room which can also be converted into a mini-seminar room. The rooms will be equipped with facilities for film viewing and will be lecture theatre type.

• Our experience shows that week-end classes are very important especially for the teenagers. The classrooms may also be used for adult learning through evening classes. We plan to give courses in marriage counselling, leadership skills, parental guide etc.

• The second floor will have a Guest House as well as a library. The library will be named Rasheed Mahboob Memorial Library in memory of an active member who devoted all his life in collecting Islamic books. He has donated his personal collection of more than 8000 books to As Suffa and the uppermost floor will hence accommodate this unique collection of books which took him more than 50 years to collect. The guest house will accommodate visiting professors or special guests. It will be quite a large space provided with all facilities to make the stay as comfortable as possible.

Financing of the Project

The overall project is expected to cost Rs 15 million. This represents quite a huge amount for our capacity and therefore construction works will be undertaken in phases. Phase I will consist only of the ground floor. The second phase will focus on the remaining floors. However, it is our earnest wish to complete the whole project as early as possible so as to be able to indulge in all the ambitious activities set ahead.

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