The conflict between Israel and Palestine has been ongoing for nearly a year, resulting in thousands of casualties and the destruction of infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
Amid this situation, the call for “Free Palestine” continues to resonate around the world, including at the Indonesian Muslim University (UMI), particularly in the Faculty of Medicine (FK).
As a gesture of solidarity, the UMI Faculty of Medicine has admitted a new female student from Palestine named Nour Arafah. Dr. Nasruddin AM, Dean of the UMI Faculty of Medicine, explained that Nour is a 19-year-old Hafidzah who has memorized all 30 juz of the Quran. She arrived in Makassar after a long journey from Egypt via Jakarta.
Nour is the eldest of five siblings, from a merchant family in northern Gaza. Dr. Nasruddin hopes that Nour’s admission will support Palestinian freedom by educating the younger generation to become doctors.
Nour herself recounted that she left Gaza while the war was still raging. Initially, she was studying at the Faculty of Engineering in Gaza, but her university was hit by a bomb. The experience of witnessing so many casualties motivated her to become a doctor.
After researching her options, Nour chose UMI’s Faculty of Medicine because of its excellent learning environment, highly qualified faculty, and activities tailored to her needs, including Quranic memorization review sessions. She was ultimately admitted to the UMI School of Medicine through an international partnership between UMI, the World Islamic Medical Faculty (FOKI), and FIMA.