Islamic University, Bangladesh

Islamic University Auditorium, Kushtia, Bangladesh

On 1 December 1976 then government announced the establishment of the Islamic University to promote a coordinated approach to Islamic education and general education in the country. Islamic University, Kushtia was founded on 22 November 1979 at Shantidanga-Dulalpur (Kushtia-Jhenidah) by then President of Bangladesh General Ziaur Rahman, based on the recommendation of ‘Islamic University Planning Committee’ on 7 January 1977 headed by M. A. Bari including seven other members.

The Islamic University Act was passed in the National Assembly of Bangladesh on 27 December 1980.

The objective of establishing Islamic University is "to provide for instruction in theology and other fields of Islamic Studies and comparative jurisprudence and such other branches of learning at Graduate and Postgraduate level as the University may think fit and make provision for research including Post-Doctorate research and training for the advancement and dissemination of knowledge"[9]

On 1 January 1981 the government of Bangladesh appointed A. N. M Momtaz Uddin Choudhury as the first vice-chancellor and the university became operational that year.

As construction of several important buildings began, a presidential decree was issued on 15 May 1982 to shift the university from Shantidanga-Dulalpur (Kushtia-Jhenaidah) to Boardbazar, Gazipur on an area of 50 acres. The construction of an academic building, two residential halls and other necessary infrastructures were completed. Initially two faculties (Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences) with four departments (Al-Quran and Islamic Studies, Dawah and Islamic Studies, Accounting and Information System, Management) were established and 300 students were enrolled in the session of 1985–86.

In 1987, two more departments (Economics, Law) were established.

On 28 December 1988, while the infrastructure development and academic activities were in full swing, the university was again shifted to Shantidanga-Dulalpur (Kushtia-Jhenidah).

In 1991 five more departments — Bengali, English, Arabic, Islamic History, and Public Administration — were established.

In 1992, one more departments (Al Hadith and Islamic Studies) were established.

In 1995 three other departments — of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and Computer Science and Engineering— were established.

In 1998 three other departments — Information and Communication Technology, Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, and Applied Nutrition and Food Technology — were established.

In 2007 two more departments Mathematics, and Al-Fiqh and Legal Studies— were established.

In 2009 two more departments Finance and Banking, and Statistics— were established.

In 2015 three more departments — Folklore Studies, Political Science, and Marketing— were opened.

In 2017, 8 more departments— Law and Land Management, Development Studies, Social Welfare, Biomedical Engineering, Pharmacy, Environmental Science & Geography, Human Resources Management, Tourism and Hospitality Management — were established.[10][11]

In 2019 the department of Fine Arts was added to the Faculty of Arts.

In 2021 the department of Mass Communication & Journalism was added to the Faculty of Social Science.

In 2022 the department of Physical Education and Sports Science was added to the Faculty of Science.

Currently there are 36 departments under 8 faculties i. e. Faculty of Theology & Islamic Studies, Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Business Administration, Faculty of Sciences, Faculty of Engineering & Technology, and Faculty of Biological Sciences.

It may be mentioned that the department of Information and Communication Technology of Islamic University in Kushtia was opened in 1998 as the pioneer department in that name in Bangladesh. In addition, "ICE Innovation Lab", the first ever Internet of Things (IoT) Lab in Bangladesh, was inaugurated at the department of Information and Communication Engineering (ICE) of Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia on 21 September 2016. Three former students of the department contributed to the procurement of all the Internet of Things (IoT)-related equipment including Sensor, Raspberry pi, Arduino, Sheild etc. for the Innovation Lab.[12][13]

On 23 June 2009, an Act of the Parliament assigned the President as chancellor, replacing the Prime Minister.[14] On 21 August 2016, Harun-Ur-Rashid Askari of English department of Kushtia Islamic University was appointed its 12th Vice Chancellor. The 'Bangabandhu Chair' was established at IU under Bangla department on 20 July 2017 to carry out extensive research on the life, political activities and ideology of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation. Shamsuzzaman Khan, former director general of Bangla Academy, was appointed as 'Bangabandhu Chair' Professor at Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia on 1 October 2018.

The chancellor is the ceremonial head of the university who appoints the vice-chancellor. The position is held by the incumbent President of Bangladesh, the Head of State of Bangladesh. The vice-chancellor is the executive head of the university. Present and the 13th vice-chancellor is Shaikh Abdus Salam, who was appointed on 29 September 2020.[15][16]

Administration Building 2

1. A. N. M Momtaz Uddin (from 9 February 1979 to 27 December 1988)[22]
2. Muhammad Sirazul Islam (from 28 December 1988 to 17 June 1991)
3. Muhammad Abdul Hamid (from 18 June 1991 to 21 March 1995)
4. Muhammad Enam-Ul Haque (from 9 May 1995 to 2 September 1997)
5. Qaisuddin (from 3 September 1997 to 19 October 2000)
6. Muhammad Lutfar Rahman (from 20 October 2000 to 3 November 2001)
7. Muhammad Mustafizur Rahman (from 10 December 2001 to 2 April 2004)
8. M. Rafiqul Islam (from 3 April 2004 to 10 July 2006)
9. Foyez Muhammad Sirazul Haque (from 10 August 2006 to 8 March 2009)
10. M. Alauddin (from 9 March 2009 to 27 December 2012)
11. Abdul Hakim Sarkar (from 27 December 2012 to 30 June 2016)
12. Md. Harun-Ur-Rashid Askari (from 21 August 2016 to 20 August 2020)
13. Shaikh Abdus Salam (from 30 September 2020 to present).[23]

1. Kamal Uddin (3 March 2009 to January 2013)
2. M. Shahinoor Rahman (20 February 2013 to 19 February 2017)
3. M. Shahinoor Rahman (23 February 2017 to 22 February 2021)
4. Mahbubur Rahman (30 June 2021 to present)

In Islamic University, Bangladesh has many notable people, like students and faculty.

Islamic University Computer Centre was established in order to accelerating research facilities for faculty, staff and students. Present Director of the Computer Centre is Paresh Chandra Barman. The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) CELL is to deliver technology services to support the Teaching, Learning, Research and Administrative goals of the university, managed by the Computer Centre.

• Journal of Islamic University (IU Journal )
• Journal of the Faculty of Applied Science and Technology
• Journal of the Faculty of Business Administration
• Islamic University Studies
• Swapno literary magazine[39]
• "Mukta Bangla" literary magazine[40]

• 17 teachers from different faculties of IU have been ranked among world's best scientists ( Researchers) in the AD Scientific index published in October 2021.[41]
• The Intelligent Smart and Versatile Home Security System was designed by Niaz Mustakim, an M.Sc. student of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) Department. It can be used for everyday tasks like opening and closing doors, switching lights and air-conditioning on and off, as well as warning of dangers such as gas leaks and fire.[42]
• A robot was invented by ASM Shamim Hasan, an M.Sc. student of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) Department. The device is capable of collecting information from spaces which are usually out of the reach of humans.
• IU is four times champions in football, two times in basketball and fourteen times in volleyball at the Bangladesh inter-universities sports competition. Moreover, some IU students played in the Asian games and Olympic games for the Bangladesh National Team and acquired prizes at that competition.
• Evening primrose (a special species of sunflower, a flower of winter-prone country) is cultivated first time in the climate of Bangladesh by the researchers of the Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (BTGE). After trying for almost a year and a half under the leadership of Jahangir Alam, the researchers have been able to cultivate this flower in the country's climate through tissue culture. The other members of the research team is Anwarul Haque Swapon, Mostafa Shakil, Jubayer Hussain, Sadrul Hasan Chowdhury, Zahurul Islam, Zulkar Nain and others.[43]

Islamic University regularly organizes national and international seminars, conferences and workshops in its campus. Among them the following are notable:

• 2009 - Networking and ISP Setup workshop.[44]
• 2015 - National Workshop on Networking and ISP set up (System Administration) using LINUX.
• 2015 - International seminar on ‘Role of Microbial Proteases in their own metabolism and host Infection’[45]
• 2016 - Seminar on self-assessment.[46][47]
• 2016 - Workshop on 'Effective Teaching of English: Best Practice' on 30 July 2016, jointly organized by the English Department and Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association(BELTA), sponsored by the American Centre, US Embassy, Dhaka.[48][49]
• 2016 - A three-day workshop on 'Pure Pronunciation, News Presentation and Recitation’[50]
• 2016 - A career camp on ‘Information and Communication Technology’[51]
• 2017 - A two-day national workshop on 'Bioinformatics and Computational Biology'.[52]
• 2017 - An international conference on ‘The Role of Nutrition in Health and Development’.[53][54][55][56]
• 2017 - A seminar on 'Regression Analysis and Environmental Statistics'.[57][58]
• 2017 - An international seminar on ‘Contemporary Trends in Folklore'.
• 2017 - Idea Innovation Workshop for Mobile Games and Apps Development.
• 2017 - A four day-long training on "Active Citizens Youth Leadership, organized by British Council and Democracy Watch.[59]
• 2017 - A seminar on "Photon beam commissioning of an eleckta Synergy linear accelerator".
• 2017 - A seminar on "Collaboration with Canadian Universities" [60]
• 2018 - An international seminar on "The influence of world literature on the Tagorean characterization of women" was held on 3 March 2018.[61][62]
• 2018 - A seminar on "Role of University to Revive River Economy".[63]
• 2018 - An international seminar on ‘Management Practices in Bangladesh and Challenges of Twenty First Century’.[64]
• 2018 - An international seminar on 'Historical and Linguistic Features of Arabic Language'.[65]
• 2018 - An international seminar on "Innovation of Healthy Products through Biotechnology" "Innovation of Healthy Products through Biotechnology"
• 2018 - A seminar on "Arsenic in Coconut Water".[66]
• 2019 - An international seminar on "Music and performing arts as the exposition of Lalon's philosophy".[67]
• 2019 - 7th ICSDAP Biennial International Conference on 'Social Unrest, Peace and Development' held on 14–15 September 2019 at Islamic University.[68]
• 2019 - 2nd International Conference on Nursi Studies in Bangladesh "Global Peace and Harmony: The Risala-i Nur Perspective" 28–29 January 2019.[69]
• 2019 - An international seminar on 'Natural products for drug discovery and development' was held on 26 June 2019, organized by Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Department of IU.[70][71]
• 2019 - An international seminar on ‘Contemporary challenges for international humanitarian law’ was held on 8 July 2019, jointly organized by IU Law Faculty and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).[72][73]
• 2020 - Seminar on cultural dilemma held at IU.[74]
• 2021 - Seminar on metabolic syndrome.[75]
• 2022 - ASM Microbiology Quiz Competition-2022, a seminar was held on 3rd September, jointly arranged by Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering and American Society for Microbiology.[76]

IU has two large playgrounds, one is for cricket and another for football. These two are used as venue of annual athletics competition of the university as well as cricket, football, and hockey competitions. Moreover, these two venues are very popular for inter-university football and cricket competition. Students can access the facility all year round. IU has tennis court beside the gymnasium building. It also has a gymnasium cum indoor stadium near the halls of residence where students can do gymnastics and play basketball, badminton during leisure, and this gymnasium is used almost every year for inter-university basketball, badminton competition.[81] Also this university has won the inter-university football competition five times into Bangladesh.[82][81]

Tamanna Khatun student of IU, who won a gold medal in the Youth World Hockey Championship held in South Africa in 2006.[81] Mohammad Shamsuddin competed in the 100 meters at the 2004 Athens Olympics and Abdullah al hil Kafi, a famous athlete, who represented Bangladesh in South Korean Sports in 2003.[81] Fahima Khatun and Mehedi Hasan Royal are national woman cricket and man football team member.[83]

Islamic University has a 'Laboratory School & College' of secondary level and higher secondary level education inside the campus for children. The school & college also receives general students from outside of the campus.[89]

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  Cultural function at mango garden
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  Central Shaheed Minar
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  Mofiz Lake, IU
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  Princes Diana Courtyard
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  Main gate of Islamic University
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  Central Library of IU
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  Mukto Bangla
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  Sheikh Russell Hall a IU

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Islamic University, Bangladesh.

23.7212°N 89.1504°E / 23.7212; 89.1504

• IU Official website
• Islamic University Reporters Unity, Kushtia