Manarat Alumni

Nov 27, 2024

The origin of the Manarat schools of Saudi Arabia

The Manarat Schools in Saudi Arabia

By Abbas M

History :

The origin of the Manarat schools started in 1977. As per the internet sources I have the following.

The Owner of Manarat schools that is financially was Prince Muhammad bin Faisal, son of King Faisal.

The inspiration to make this platform is covered in another post.

Short bio

Prince Muhammad bin Faisal.

Prince Muhammad bin Faisal ,the son of King Faisal a well known businessman and for innovative projects . He was the eldest son of King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz.

Early life and Education

Born in Taif in 1937 and second child of King Faisal. His bachelors of Science degree was from Menlo College ,California,USA. This explains his many innovative projects in the Kingdom.

Menlo College is a private Business school in USA and has about 7.4% percentile in world rankings. The mission of Menlo College according to its website is as follows:

“

“ignite potential and educate students to make meaningful contributions in the innovation economy.”

Prince Muhammad Al Faisal made few notable contributions which include:

l In early Saudi Arabia ,there was a scarcity of drinking water . We expat kids never thought it was problem since it was solved by the time we went there or born after.Prince Faisal was appointed as “Director of Saline Water Conversion Department”. He proposed idea of desalination program that is converting salty sea water into drinking water. That is why in Saudi Arabia,we had no problem with getting drinking water.

l He made significant investments in banking and finance ,making him one of the “pioneers in Islamic Banking.”. He was founder of Faisal Bank of Egypt. He also co founded Dar Al Maal Islami Trust(DMT) which was founded in Geneva in 1981. This trusr was parent of 55 Islamic banks including Islamic Investment Company of Pakistan.

l He established Manarat Schools in Saudi Arabia and other countries.

This is the reason Manarat Alumni are different, a little confident,honest and outspoken.

Prince Muhammad bin Faisal Al Saud on January 2017.

According to famous Edior in Chief(former) of Arab News Khaled Al Maeena,

"He was truly a man of compassion and empathy. He was a humble man. He always had time for those who were underprivileged and greeted everyone in the same manner," said Almaeena, adding, "I was privileged to know him for many years. I never found him angry or getting upset. He faced many challenges in life and was never disturbed by them. Like his father the late King Faisal, Prince Mohammed led a very frugal life,"

Src:Saudi Gazette.

I remember waiting to read the Friday Arab News,especially editorial of Khaled Al Maeena’s in the 1980s. He had an unique style of expressing his opinion,and the content of which was attractive and looked forward to it .

Prince Muhammad bin Faisal’s children:

l Prince Amr bin Muhammad Al Faisal

l Princess Reem Al Faisal. (Manarat Jeddah Alumni)

Princess Reem Al Faisal has made a brand in photography . Her art gallery is well known.

The brainchild

Manarat Jeddah was the first school of the Manarat schools founded in 1977.

Manarat actually was a philosophy and vision, which is evident by its many alumni.

The Manarat schools was divided into four parts:

l Boys School

l Girls School

Both these had two sections:

l English

l Arabic.

The schools encouraged STEM subjects as well as arts as at that time the English teachers were all British.

Headmaster of English Section -Boys

l Kamal Husein

He was nice,rarely spoke and was stern. Mr. Kamal was always smiling but when he shouted,it meant business. Through his personality,he inspired in Manarat Jeddah boys to bring out their creativity.

Currently living in Egypt.

Headmaster of English Section -Girls

Ayesha Abdullah

She was the headmaster of Manarat Jeddah girls who had a tremendous influence in shaping the Manarat Jeddah girls school.

In words of an alumni of Manarat Jeddah girls who is a former editor of NewsWeek, Habiba Hamid :

“Aisha Abdullah is a tall, African American convert to Islam with a heavy southern drawl. Her stoicism and imposing calm got her appointed as headmistress in a Manarat school in Jeddah, where she ran a tight ship.”

The idea of Manarat schools

The idea of Islamic English speaking schools belonged to the Shawi Brothers .

The brothers were instrumental in direction of the school.

Conclusion:

Manarat Alumni from the original Manarat schools are ambitious (esp. The girls) ,achievers and usually target the good universities in US.

We were like the Saudi Princeton’ school. Whatever we don’t bow down to any opinion. That is Manarat alumni for you.

Manarat schools in Kingdom :

l Manarat Jeddah

l Manarat Riyadh

l Manarat Khobar

l Manarat Madinah

l Manarat Makkah