I have a soft spot for Bonnie Scotland, and not only because I was a lecturer on the MSc. course in Applied Linguistics in Buccleuch Place at Edinburgh University for a while in the 1980s. At that time my parents lived in Inverness where my father worked for the Highlands and Islands Development Board, and I loved to escape the rigours of academe by periodically driving there up the scenic A9 via Perth and Aviemore through the extensive Cairngorms National Park. It was also a joy to see my two children flourishing and benefitting hugely from the outstanding education offered by George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh, where my son was very proud to be coached on the rugby field by Andy Irvine, the captain of the Scottish international rugby team and an ex-pupil of the school. I remember the children’s blue blazers which sported the motto ‘Distribute Chearfullie’, reflecting the charitable foundation at the core of the school’s ethos. I also remember the plaques on the walls of some of the houses in Buccleuch Place of famous graduates, including the influential historian, essayist and philosopher Thomas Carlyle and James Africanus Horton the first African to graduate from the university.
The weather certainly did not account for my affection for Scotland, for I well remember that on taking up my post at Edinburgh in 1985 after returning from a three-year contract in tropical Papua New Guinea the temperature in Braemar was minus 27 degrees Celsius, and I never saw the sun from my north-facing office in Edinburgh. Only a minor inconvenience nonetheless, especially when I was blessed every year by the exhilarating Edinburgh International Festival, founded in 1947 to transcend political and cultural boundaries through its arts programme which features the finest performers and ensembles from the world of music, opera, dance, and theatre. And then there was the thrill of the world-famous 45-minute display of fireworks from the castle which traditionally signalled the end of the festival and which usually attracted more than 250,000 spectators, but which did not run this summer for lack of a sponsor and may be replaced in the future by an alternative large-scale event.
It’s worth noting here that the present Edinburgh Festival Fringe includes an annual celebration of Islam, hosted by Edinburgh Central Mosque, the doors of which are open to everyone, old or young, of any faith or none, so as to remove barriers and to teach about Islam through an exhibition, guided tours, talks, and workshops.
It was a great pleasure to return to Edinburgh in March 2010, over 20 years since I had resigned from my lectureship, to be present at the formal opening by the Duke of Edinburgh, Chancellor of the University of the Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World. I had been privileged to serve together with Dr Anas Al Shaikh-Ali and Professor Charles Butterworth as advisors to Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal on his proposed funding for the establishment of new Centres of Islamic Studies at two British universities. These were intended to complement the centres he had previously funded at Harvard and Georgetown Universities in the US, and at the American universities in Beirut and Cairo. On our recommendation, Cambridge and Edinburgh were duly endowed, and the Edinburgh Alwaleed Centre has become noted for ground-breaking interdisciplinary research, dynamic teaching and innovative outreach projects, working closely with local, national, and international partners and stakeholders to promote a better understanding of contemporary Islam and the Muslim world. Its founding director, Professor Hugh Goddard, a noted expert on Christian-Muslim relations, continues to serve the Centre as an Honorary Professorial Fellow.
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