Dr. Abdussalam Muhammed
CEO, Markaz Knowledge City
Elements that make Markaz Knowledge city relevant in the age of the Knowledge revolution.
With the advent of Information technology, the world is now at our fingertips. When we take Silicon Valley as an example, it was where modern technology got developed and brought forth almost all the technological advantages we enjoy today. As a knowledge hub, Silicon Valley is academically supported by researchers from Stanford University. Research work from Stanford is taken up by Silicon Valley and turned into products and services. The collaboration of both academia and industry has made it possible to transform the whole world into a global village.
The advent of Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) claims the new world order will be completely under the influence of Artificial Intelligence and thus machines will take the place of humans in most of the activities with the least expense. Unprecedented disruptions in the conventional job markets are predicted.
Some people may find it weird that, amidst the popularity of information technology, Markaz Knowledge City is being reproduced from a city that had been modelled some one thousand four hundred years ago, regarding its distant past. Many of us do not remember the fact that the Prophet who was born in pre-historic Arabia which was ruled then by mere ignorance, constant tribal rivalries and other social anarchies had turned them the leaders of the world. Following his migration from Makkah, he transformed the place name ‘Yathrib’ into ‘Al Madina’ (The city) and established a full-fledged city. Following this legacy later on there were many Knowledge hubs established across the world, including Baithul Hikmah of Baghdad; to name one of them.
began with a noble objective of imparting Knowledge to orphans and the destitute, Markaz has grown far and reached across the Asian sub-continent providing empowerment to the economically challenged people from all walks of life. Now it is busy building Knowledge city as a beacon for bringing back the lost wisdom of human beings. This is in line with the model of transformation from the Dark Age to the golden era established by the holy Prophet thousand four hundred years ago.
When the whole world came to a standstill due to the economic crisis which rose from the interest-based banking system, it had to seek refuge in the interest-free banking system Proposed by the prophet centuries ago. Many more examples are there to quote as an example of where the traditions have repeatedly won over modern science and studies. The whole of humanity and the global economy market had come to a halt when covid’19 pandemic began its spread. Modern medical science was literally helpless. When almost all active places were locked down, some laboratories were engaged day and night with the hope of finding a remedy. Even at this moment when we are talking, they haven’t brought a proper cure for such a pandemic that crippled life. People look desperately for peaceful life free from all hassles, and Markaz Knowledge City now emerged as the perfect destination for them.
Feelings as a CEO
After overseeing the long seven years of this city going through tremendous hardships and tumultuous challenges, we feel a mixture of emotions coming up from within. We are very thankful, happy, excited and highly anxious too.
While here in the city, the greatest thing is every second of my life are being fruitful and creative. But our job is not done yet. As knowledge is instrumental in bringing happiness to human life, we require all the essences of knowledge to satisfy our stakeholders from various spectrums of life.
It warranted a great deal of courage that even after two economic recessions and the economic challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown we are able to move forward constantly with set plans and strategies. We are always indebted to our investors who have dared to keep up with us. While we derived the concepts, they stood firm with us and supported us. Now it has turned into a challenge that as they have trusted us during our turbulent times, we must be there for them when they are in need. Their children's education, their health and their business must be secure within our hands. We have completely put our efforts into researching, reviewing and auditing how to give back the best out-put to our investors and well-wishers. This is the legacy of Markaz.
In the beginning, 95 per cent of people thought this project will remain a mere daydream. But we made that dream come true. And then many businessmen asked us whether people will stay here in this hamlet if apartments are built. We could answer those questions too. Again, even those close around us informed their worries about the business potential and shopping opportunities in such an isolated place, but the soft launch of a Mini souk and the crowd that walk-in has further proved that Markaz Knowledge City is an excellent potential business hub too.
Along with all these happy signals, as a CEO, I am also a bit worried about many technical challenges that are emanating from the crowd walking into the city from distant places seen across from different states. Ensuring water, electricity, drainage, sanitation, waste management, safety, security and traffic management is going to challenge us technically. That too we may have to achieve sustainable development by protecting the environment in alignment with world sustainable development goals. Apart from this, the visitors must feel at home along with good reception and gentle care until they leave the place. In order to fine-tune this and overcome all these challenges, we need good teamwork, brainstorming discussions and tremendous Home Works which we are already into.
Construction and architectural distinctions
Unlike the conventional approach of construction, we had headed with a need and purpose-based approach. At the very beginning, we had to face allegations from the National Green Tribunal on the fragility of the environment due to construction. This has slowed us down for a temporary period which was resolved after a few months. Prior to the commencement of major constructions, we brought many subject matter experts to help us build a modern city with all amenities. The process demanded customizations to incorporate the values and legacy of Jamia Markaz kept up for decades. To satisfy with this we couldn’t find a single architect for the whole project. Later on, we hired many prominent architects who have assimilated certain elements of Mughal, Indian, Moorish, Abbasid and Roman architecture into our edifices. We have even adopted a modern blend of architecture on some of our structures like the golden coloured single roof-dome of the exhibition centre. The cultural centre is a culmination of various architectural blends. Its beauty, when seen from the banks of the water reservoir, can be equalled to that of the Magnificent Taj Mahal when looked at from the banks of the river Yamuna. Alif Global School resembles an ancient Roman structure with a stage that replicates the huge coliseums of Rome. Altogether Markaz Knowledge city presents a unique and aesthetic architectural view to the spectators as well as students and researchers walking in for the research and development.
Challenges, Success factors
Along with the technical challenges we had mentioned earlier we are anxious about maintaining the morale and cultural standard of the city in accordance with that of its mother institution, Jamia Markaz. As the city becomes fully functional, it is also a challenge to accommodate the growing populace within the planned measures of the city. But we take all these challenges into account and plan all the required measures to run a hassle-free city once it is wide open to the world. Since its inception, there have been rumours and allegations about its establishment and objectives. Some had even mistaken the city for a real estate hoax. We can overcome such allegations easily as we are of the firm belief that we have gone through every legitimate procedure as laid down by the government.
Our major success factor is definitely the visionary leadership of Shaikh Abubakar Ahmad, Our Chairman. At this project’s implementation stage, we had to undergo a legal stay of prosecution from the National Green Tribunal and all our works had come to a standstill. Ninety-nine per cent of people believed that this will be the end of the story. Our team was even pushed to a fear that the investors might step back from the project as it was the beginning. We approached him to explain the pros and cons of the current situation for which none will dare to move a step forward. He encouraged us telling to stand firm and move forward with whatever legal actions possible and leave the remaining matters at the disposal of the Almighty who is the ultimate proposer and disposer of plans. Post the great flood-related economic challenges, we again underwent such a turbulent situation, a time when even the government officials left us with not many choices, our chairman transmitted positive energy to us and led us the way. Our Managing Director, Dr. Muhammad Abdul Hakim Azhari who led our team round the clock played a pivotal role in speeding up the project by taking fast decisions at the right times. Dedication and teamwork are other key factors behind its success.