KARACHI, May 4: Eminent scholars and academicians, speaking at a memorial reference, paid rich tributes to the services rendered by Dr Annemarie Schimmel in the fields of languages, Islamic studies, mysticism and Pakistan studies.
They observed that the German scholar worked with great dedication to promote in the West understanding of Pakistan, its culture and people.
The reference was organized by the Institute of Central and West Asian Studies (ICWAS), University of Karachi, on Saturday. Dr Schimmel, born in Erfurt, Germany, in April 1922 and died in Bonn in January last, was conferred honorary fellowship of the institute in 1988.
Eulogizing her services, Hussain Shah Rashdi announced at the meeting that a replica of her grave would also be placed prominently at the Makli necropolis soon. Efforts would also be made for the preparation of a reference memorial volume by Pakistani scholars, researchers and writers as well, he stressed.
Mr Rashdi, a former senator and a nephew of Pir Syed Hussamuddin Rashdi, highlighted Dr Schimmel’s works and said that he had had many opportunities to see and hear the distinguished scholar as she had been frequenting Sindh to meet his family regularly since 1958.
Mr Rashdi said it was due to her close relationship with his family as well as the people of Sindh and their culture that she had wished her burial at Makli which happened to be Rashdis’ graveyard. He said that she had also had her grave designed but changed mind in her last days.
Mentioning that some of the caretakers (Mutawalleen) of the Makli graveyard had reservations on her burial there because she was not a Muslim. However, he added, it was a well-known fact that she had converted to Islam and chosen ‘Jamila’ as her name.
He said that unlike other western and European researchers, Dr Schimmel surveyed the whole of Sindh for the purpose of acquiring knowledge and to satisfy her urge for different languages and culture. “She developed an acquaintance with the Islamic calligraphy as well as history and architecture of Sindh before writing on the civilization, poetry and culture of the province very honestly,” he remarked.
Dr Manzoor Ahmed, Chairman of the Usman Institute of Technology, mentioned his several meetings with Dr Schimmel and said that she was keenly interested in Islamic history and mysticism. He observed that though her perception of mysticism was rich, she was not very much interested in its metaphysics. At the same time, he added, she was very close to the eastern cultures.
Dr Ahmed acknowledged that her death had caused great damage to orientalism. He said he did not see anybody after her to be described as ‘a true holder of inter-cultural dialogues’.
Prof Riazul Islam, Secretary ICWAS, said that Dr Schimmel’s death had really shocked the people of Pakistan because she was a great personality very close to Pakistan, especially Sindh.
The former chairman of the Urdu department, University of Karachi, Prof Sehar Ansari, read his paper Annemarie Schimmel And Understanding Iqbal. He noted that the great scholar had conducted research on the Allama Iqbal zealously and had really done justice with it. “She had a passion for the classical aspects of the eastern poetry,” he remarked.
A former vice chancellor of Karachi University, Dr Irtifaq Ali, said that Dr Schimmel’s contributions to various aspects of Islam, languages of the subcontinent and her quest in Pakistan studies, particularly Sindh, were highly commendable and would be remembered for long.
Hina Khan, teacher in General History department, said that Ds Schimmel was a scholar of mysticism who contributed greatly to humanity. She completed her PhD at the age of 19 and started teaching at Bonn University later. She said that the scholar had moved Turkey and taught at a university where she developed interest in Islamic history and mystic poetry.
