Al-Zandani: “My reservation is due to security and intelligence factors” [Archives:2004/775/Community]

Hassan Al-Zaidi
Sheikh Abdulmajeed Al-Zandani, Rector of the Al-Eman University, confirmed that his reservation to talk to members of the press about the university, was due to security and intelligence factors.
“Foreigners used to visit us under the guise of being journalists and used journalism as a license to ask freely and form the speech of others as they wanted. What kind of freedom do they speak about?” said Al-Zandani, adding that he doesn't want to satisfy their desires. This took place during his meeting with a number of journalists at the university.
It was the first time that Al-Zandani welcomed the idea of meeting journalists to talk with them about the university, and this may evoke external controversy especially in the U.S.A. He attempted to appear as a knowledgeable scholar and not a University Rector nor Islah's Shora council speaker. He denied that there was a connection between the university and Islah party, stating that a great number of students don't affiliate to Islah and that the university demands graduates to swear by God not to harbour ideas of fanaticism and partisanship.
During his speech, Al-Zandani pointed to the miracles of the Holy Quran and to the coccyx of human backbone that has the role of restoring souls to bodies on the Day of Resurrection. He also mentioned that he has recently discovered medicine for diabetes showing successful results with many patients and claimed that two AIDS sufferers were cured by his hand.
Al- Zandani who is also an active politician, is convicted in the U.S.A. of supporting terrorism and for his relations with Osama Bin Laden when both met during the Afghan-Russian war.
The US-led war against terrorism hindered Al- Zandani's plans to built projects in the university financed by charitable societies.
He bemoaned the fact that Islamic nations do not support charitable societies and cited the example of US President Bush, who leads campaigns to collect donations for Religious Non-Islamic societies in the USA, where a part of the Federal Budget is assigned to such societies. “Why does this not happen in Islamic countries?” Al-Zandani wondered, mentioning that Yemen government halted the subsidy of $ 5400 that used to be paid monthly to the university before the 1994 war.
War against terrorism has had its effect on the infrastructure of the university, which currently has buildings as hostels for teaching staff, hangers as halls for students, as well as separate buildings for families.
The University comprises four colleges, four big halls and a hostel for unmarried students, there are plans to equip the university with a telescope and a mosque with a capacity of 116.
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