ISLAMABAD: The Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) will soon launch degree programs at Masters, MPhil and PhD level to project Seerat-un- Nabi(SAW). Outlines of the courses have already been prepared and got approved from the University’s Academic Council, according to Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Shahid Siddiqui. The university will arrange a competition for writing books on Seerat-un-Nabi (SAW) on annual basis and the best book will be awarded special prize. The university has recently won five national awards on promotion of Seerat-un-Nabi (SAW) through its research-based academic work. It was for the first time that the AIOU was declared the best among the higher education institutions for writing research journal and articles and was granted five awards by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. A separate department on Seerat-un-Nabi (SAW) has been set up which will exclusively work on the teaching of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). According to Department of Seerat Studies Chairman Dr Moinnuddin Hashmi, the annual enrollment in this discipline at BA level has reached around 70,0000. “This is something unprecedented in the history of AIOU. The teaching of Seerat-un-Nabi (SAW) is already going on successfully at the Matric and FA level,” he said. The university has decided to hold third international Seerat Conference in October this year. It has also planned to publish an encyclopedia on Seerat-un-Nabi (SAW). A series of ‘Khutbat-e-Islamabad’ has also been launched by the Department of Islamic Thoughts, Culture and History, through which special talks are regularly arranged on the contemporary issues in the light of Holy Quran and Sunnah. The future plan to expand the academic work on Seerat-un-Nabi (SAW) includes setting up a Seerat Center and a special library. It has also been decided to prepare a short course on the subject for the university’s employees. Published in Daily Times, May 18th 2018.