Image source, Mamadou Safayou Barry
Mamadou Safayou Barry It crossed Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Niger and Chad.
- Author, Wedaeli Chibelushi
- Role, .
The University of his dreams was more than 4,000 kilometers from his home and yet Mamadou Safayou Barry decided to get on his bicycle and cross 6 countries to get there.
In May, he left Guinea for the prestigious Al-Azhar center in Egypt in the hope of being accepted.
Along the way of this adventure, the 25-year-old father of a child endured scorching heat for 4 months and he was even detained in one of the countries devastated by Islamist militants or coups d’état.
When he finally arrived in Cairo received a scholarship by the institution.
I’m “very, very” happy, he told the BBC.
He added that despite not being able to pay for the Islamic Studies course at Al-Azhar, or the flights to Egypt, The reputation of the university prompted him to risk a trip through Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Niger and Chad.
Al-Azhar is one of the most influential centers of Sunni Islamic learning of the world.
It is also one of the oldest. It was founded in 670 AD
Barry left home “in search of Islamic knowledge”, but in Mali, Burkina Faso or Niger, Attacks by Islamist militants against civilians are frequent and recent coups d’état have caused political instability.
“Traveling through these countries is very difficult because they have no security right now,” he said.
Image source, Mamadou Safayou Barry
Nahla Elseidy, dean of Islamic studies at Al-Azhar University, with Mamadou Safayou Barry.
“They have a lot of problems and people are very scared. In Mali and Burkina Faso people looked at me as if I were a threat. I saw the military everywhere carrying big guns and cars“Barry said.
He said it was arrested and detained three times without good reason: twice in Burkina Faso and once in Togo.
A lucky break
However, Barry’s luck changed when he arrived in Chad.
A journalist interviewed him and posted his story online, prompting some good Samaritans to finance a flight to Egypt.
This prevented him from cycling through Sudan, where some areas are currently war zones.
The 5th of September finally arrived in Cairo.
His determination earned him a meeting with the dean of Islamic studies, Nahla Elseidy.
After speaking with him, Elseidy offered him a place on the Islamic Studies course at Al-Azhar, with a full scholarship.
Image source, Getty Images
The al-Azhar mosque, the oldest in Cairo, is the seat of a theology school considered one of the oldest universities in the Eastern world.
The dean said on social media that the university was willing to offer its knowledge to students around the world.
And that this philosophy “not only covers international students in Egypt but also it extends further. Al-Azhar receives students from all countries, takes care of them and offers them help.”
Barry said he was “very, very happy” to have received the scholarship.
“I can’t express what happy that I am. I thanked God“, said.
Barry added that the problems he encountered during his expedition were long forgotten and erased by the joy of being able to become an Al-Azhar scholar.
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