Pakistan: Renowned scholar Mufti Naeem dies at 62

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan's renowned religious scholar Mufti Mohammad Naeem passed away in southern port city of Karachi on Saturday. He was 62.

Mufti Mohammad Nauman, his son, told journalists that his father, a chronic cardiac patient, suffered a heart attack, and breathed his last while on his way to hospital.

Born in 1958, Naeem was the founder, and the chancellor of the International Binoria Islamic University Karachi, which enrolls over 5,000 students, including hundreds from abroad.

Well-known for his moderate views about religion, Naeem espoused induction of modern subjects into the typical religious education. Binoria University was one of the initial madrassahs or religious seminaries in Pakistan, which introduced computer science, English, and other modern subjects along with religious education.

Established in 1980, the seminary attracted hundreds of foreign students because of its unique curriculum -- a blend of traditional and modern education.

Currently, according to Nazeer Nasir, a spokesman for Binoria University, over 700 students from 54 different countries are enrolled with the school.

Foreign diplomats are regularly invited to the university to interact with students.

Naeem was survived by his wife, three sons, two daughters.

President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif, Jamat-e-Islami Chief, Siraj-ul-Haq, and other politicians, and religious scholars expressed their grief over Naeem's demise terming it a huge loss to the country.