Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui

Infobox Person
name = Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui


caption =
birth_date = 21 June, 1952
birth_place =
death_date =
death_place =
other_names =
citizenship = flagicon|Pakistan Pakistani
known_for = Educationist, Prominent businessman
occupation = Business
relatives =
spouse = Ayesha
website =
footnotes =

Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui (Urdu: قاضى ذوالقدر صديقى) (born June 21 1952) is a leading businessman of Pakistan in addition to being a academician and a social worker. His contributions towards social sector development, academics and business leadership have been greatly recognized in Pakistan and countries of the region. He has been very successful in establishing businesses in different areas of technology, and is now recognized as a leading entrepreneur in the field of alternate energy technologies in Pakistan and the region. His lectures and writings on various areas of human, social and professional responsibility and Muslim thought have had a profound impact on his audiences. He is often in demand as a speaker at different forums in Pakistan.

Kazi Zulkader is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Techcorp Group of Companies [See http://www.techcorpholding.com for details about the group.] and Emerging Energy Systems [See http://www.ees-hummer.com for details about the group of companies.] which are spread out over Pakistan, Bangladesh, the UAE, Afghanistan and China. The group is currently involved in engineering services and construction business aimed primarily at the telecom sector, structures, and institutional corporate buildings. In addition, the group is involved in the security services business. [See the Pakistan Board of Investment site http://www.pakboi.gov.pk/pak/adsummery.asp?PageNo=361&SortOptions=0 for listing of Premier Security Services (Pvt) Ltd.]

Kazi Zulkader is an accomplished senior executive in corporate management, international business, marketing management, industrial management, and business development in the fields of information technology/services, technology systems and services, and industrial and construction products and systems, with an impressive track record during a thirty year career in Saudi Arabia, USA, Canada and Pakistan. He has successfully led several major corporations and businesses in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Bangladesh in various areas of technology including alternate energy, telecommunications, information services, chemical industry, electrical distribution and civil construction.

In addition to his business accomplishments, he has been deeply involved in academic activities, primarily with universities in Pakistan. He has also demonstrated his leadership in social sector development and relief activities through NGOs. He is the founder chairman of the Petarian Foundation, [See http://www.petarianfoundation.org/Management.htm] and a director of the Metupak Foundation. Both of these organizations are involved in improving the standard of education in Pakistan. [ See http://www.pepfoundation.org/weakest_link.pdf where Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui discusses some of the issues related to higher education in Pakistan]

Mr. Siddiqui is one of the pioneers in the field of Wind and Solar Energy in Pakistan, which is expected to provide a clean source of energy in line with the international efforts to reduce pollution and global warming. He has been instrumental in introducing small wind turbines on a large scale in an organized manner in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Ancestry

Kazi Zulkader traces his lineage to the first Caliph Abu Bakr and is a direct descendent of the famous Sufi Baha-ud-din Zakariya Multani (1160-1267). One of his great-grandsons Shaykh Nizamuddin moved to the Deccan in South India during the reign of Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq around the year 1343. Subsequently, this branch of the family settled down in Hyderabad for over six centuries. Kazi Zulkader's ancestors were given the title of "Kazi", i.e. judge and administrators of the various towns that were located west of the city of Hyderabad - like Qandahar, Udgir, Parbhani, etc.

His grandfather Kazi Zainul Abedin who was the last of the Kazis of Udgir was one of the earliest officers of the Hyderabad Civil Service and eventually rose up to the rank of a Secretary in the government of the Nizam of Hyderabad State. His father Kazi Abdur Rasheed also followed in the footsteps and joined the Hyderabad Civil Service in 1946, two years before the fall of Hyderabad State to Indian armed forces.

A year after the creation of Pakistan, his grandfather Kazi Zainul Abedin moved to Pakistan and settled down in Mirpurkhas, Sindh in 1948. Kazi Zainul Abedin spent the rest of his years at Mirpurkhas in developing agricultural farms and social work in that area. He died in 1963 and was buried on his farms there.

Education and Early Life

Kazi Zulkader is a graduate in Chemical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Mass, USA. [See the Wikipedia article on "List of Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni"] He pursued his graduate studies in at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal Canada. Prior to his studies at MIT, he also studied at the Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey for 3 semesters. [See the list of Pakistanis who studied at METU at http://home.ica.net/~rabbani/list/list_01.htm]

He spent his high school years at Cadet College Petaro, [See http://www.petaro.org and check under "Search for Petarian" for details] one of the premier institutions in Pakistan, from where he completed his Matriculation and Intermediate (FSc). Cadet College Petaro is located around 160Km from Karachi, the main port city of Pakistan. This college has produced many prominent Pakistanis who have excelled in every field in Pakistan.

In 1969, upon completion of his 12 years of schooling from Petaro, Kazi Zulkader moved to Ankara, Turkey and was admitted to the Chemical Engineering program at the Middle East Technical University in the Fall of that year with a full merit scholarship from CENTO. Those were tumultuous years, and the university was going through a difficult period. With political upheavals influenced by Leftist and communist philosophies, Middle East Technical University was also hit badly. Boycott of classes and other Leftist student activities disrupted studies, leading to closure of the university for 6 months from March - August 1971 after a battle on campus between the Leftist students and the Turkish armed forces.

Dissatisfied with the loss of academic progress and the on-campus politics, Kazi Zulkader then chose to make a move. He applied for transfer to MIT, USA. He was granted admission as a transfer student in the Sophomore year with scholarship and financial assistance from the university. He moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts in September 1971. Subsequently, he graduated from MIT from the Department of Chemical Engineering in 1974.

Kazi Zulkader has a flair for languages as well. While he is proficient and fluent in English and Urdu (his native language), he has a good command over Arabic and Turkish as well. He is able to pick up and communicate very easily in a number of other regional languages and dialects.

Upon return to Pakistan from Canada, Kazi Zulkader got married to Ayesha on February 7, 1980. They have four children - Amina, Kazi Muhammad, Khadija and Sarah.

Academic Experience

For the past several years, Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui has also been a professor of Ethics, History and Religion at various universities in Pakistan. Currently, he is Professor of Civilization Studies and Medical Ethics at the Shifa College of Medicine (Bahria University) where he heads the "Physician and Society" program. This is a unique program that examines philosophical and medical ethics issues in a Muslim and Pakistani environment.

Previously, he has taught courses on History and Modern Muslim thought at the Hamdard University, Islamabad Campus. He was also the Founder Head of the Department of Islamic Studies at the Women's Institute of Science and Humanities [A list of faculy of WISH is given on their website at http://www.wish.edu.pk/F_Visiting.htm] (Riphah International University, Islamabad), where he is still listed as a visiting Professor.

He has lectured extensively on various subjects related to civilizational studies, ethics, religion and technology in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Canada and Sri Lanka. [See 1. See "Capacity Building of RIU's Students Continues" on page 4 of http://www.ips.org.pk/IpsnewsText/IPS%20News%20Jan-March%202007-Fina.pdf for programs at Riphah University, 2. See also details of international lecture delivered at Sri Lanka for the Eisenhower Foundation Fellowships program at http://www.efsrilanka.info/2006_conference_Speaker_Biographies.htm ]

He is also a member of the Editorial Committee of the well respected journal "Islamic Studies" [ [http://www.iiu.edu.pk/Institutes/Islamic%20Research%20Institute/Islamic_Studies.htm Islamic Studies ] ] published by the Islamic Research Institute of the International Islamic University Islamabad. [ [http://www.iiu.edu.pk/Institutes/Islamic%20Research%20Institute/IS_Editorial_Committee.htm Editorial Committee ] ]

Other Activities

Since his return to Pakistan in 1995, Kazi Zulkader has been involved in a number of activities and has contributed to support social sector and educational programs. He has also been deeply involved in philanthropic organizations.

Due to his commitments, he was chosen to sit on the Board of Governors / Management Board of the following academic institutions:
*Cadet College Petaro, Sindh, Pakistan
*Women's Institute of Science & Humanities, Islamabad, Pakistan [A list of the Management Board of WISH is given at http://www.wish.edu.pk/MB.htm]

In addition, he is an Honorary Advisor on Technology at the Islamic Research Institute of the International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan.

He has worked in different capacities with non-governmental organisations as well. Since its inception in 2003, he has been the Chairman [See http://www.petarianfoundation.org/management.htm] of the Petarian Foundation, which offers scholarships to needy and meritorious students at Cadet College Petaro, and runs their teacher training programs. The devastating earthquake [See reports of activities at http://www.hawausa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8&Itemid=2 and also at http://www.pakistan-earthquake.org ] in the northern areas of Pakistan on 8 Oct 2005 brought the Petarian Foundation to offer relief programs, medical relief programs and reconstruction and rehabilitation programs. To date, the Petarian Foundation has disbursed nearly US$ 2.5 million worth of relief and reconstruction services in Bagh, AJK in cash and kind.

Mr. Siddiqui is also an Education Counselor for new undergraduate applicants to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA, USA. He has also been a Member of the Nomination Committee for selection of candidates from Pakistan for the Eisenhower Foundation Fellowships, Washington, DC.

Publications

Kazi Zulkader has authored a number of articles on history, religion, ethics and technology published in the Journal of Pakistan Historical Society, Islamic Studies, Al-Hawliyah, Arc, and other journals. He was the editor of a number of journals during his student days at MIT and McGill University. Some of his books are expected to be published during the current year.

Some of his articles that have been published are as follows:
*"The Theory of Knowledge: Epistemological Typologies of Some Major Mutakallimun", "Journal of Pakistan Historical Society", vol. XXXVI, part III, July 1988, pp.225-242.
*"A Bibliography of Writings By and About Mawlana Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi", published in "Islamic Perspectives", edited by K. Ahmad and Z.I. Ansari, Leicester, UK, 1979. [ See http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-9118(198005)39%3A3%3C620%3AIPSIHO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7 for review citation of the book ]
*"Islam - the Balanced Path", in "Arc" (quarterly journal of the Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, Montreal), Spring 1979, Vol. VI:2.
*"The Problem of Historical Distortion", in "Hawliya" – Annual Journal of International Islamic University, Islamabad, Vol. IX (2001), pp. 23-39
*"The Problem of Similarities in Ancient Near Eastern Religions: A Comparison of the Hymn to Aton and Psalm 104" in Islamic Studies, Vol. 40:1 (Spring 2001), pp. 67-88 [This article is listed at http://www.ttk.gov.tr/data/2001/is40-1.htm and http://www.ttk.org.tr/index.php?Page=SureliYayinlar&No=2606]
*"Women in the Early Christian Church", in Hawliya – Annual Journal of International Islamic University, Islamabad, Vol. X (2002)
*"The Prophetic Movement in Ancient Israel: with a case study of the Book of Amos", in Hawliya – Annual Journal of International Islamic University, Islamabad, Vol. XI (2003)
*Halal and Haram Meat [For full text of article, see http://www.contactpakistan.com/news/news143.htm]
*"The Directory of Petarians 2007", Islamabad, February 2007 (576 pp)
*"Petaro and Petarian over 50 years", Islamabad, February 2007 (180 pp)
*"Col. J.H.H. Coombes - The First Principal of Cadet College Petaro - including his wartime memoirs 'Banpong Express'", Islamabad, February 2007 (207 pp)
*"The Directory of METU Pakistanis 2006", June 2006 (91 pp)
*"The Directory of Petarians 2002", Karachi, September 2002 (400 pp)
*"The Directory of Petarians 2000", Karachi, May 2000 (270 pp)

Professional Affiliations

*Registered Professional Engineer, Pakistan Engineering Council
*Member, All Pakistan Contractors Association [See listing at http://www.apca.org.pk/pages/members4.html]
*Member, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry
*Member, Management Association of Pakistan
*Member, Marketing Association of Pakistan
*Member, Institution of Engineers, Pakistan
*Member, MIT Club of Pakistan
*Member, Instrument Society of America (ISA), USA
*Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), USA
*Member, Internet Society of Pakistan
*Life Member, Pakistan Historical Society, Pakistan
*Member, Medical Ethics Research Council, Pakistan
*Founder Chairman, Petarian Foundation
*Director, Metupak Foundation
*Life Member, Petarian Association

Footnotes

Other Wikipedia references

*List of Pakistanis
*The Petarian Foundation
*Cadet College Petaro
*List of MIT Alumni
*Middle East Technical University Alumni

External links

* [http://www.techcorpholding.com Website of Techcorp Group of Companies]
* [http://www.ees-hummer.com Website of Emerging Energy Systems]
* [http://www.petaro.org Cadet College Petaro homepage]
* [http://www.petarianfoundation.org The Petarian Foundation homepage]
* [http://www.pakistan-earthquake.org Petarian Foundation activities for Earthquake Relief]