Dr Sheikh Mohammad Iqbal (Kashmir)
Dr Sheikh Mohammad Iqbal is an educationist, a prominent academician, a renowned Islamic Scholar and a well-known historian of contemporary Kashmir. Born at Sialkote in 1929, he was brought up in the Valley of Kashmir. Dr Iqbal taught and lectured in American Universities as a Visiting Asian Professor and Fulbright-Hays Senior Scholar. Invited to Saudi Arabia a number of times, he attended the Third Islamic Summit Conference of Islamic States at Makkah/Ta'if. He was a visiting scholar to King Abdulaziz University, and participated in numerous International Conferences and Seminars contributing his papers to them. He has been visiting the Middle-Eastern countries especially Saudi Arabia and Egypt since 1958 in connection with his research and has been in touch with eminent scholars and leaders of the Muslim world. Dr Iqbal has to his credit more than 40 books including his five-volume History of Islam and Muslims and numerous research papers and articles published in the local and international journals. He served in Kashmir with dedication for almost three decades, holding, besides others, the posts of a Professor, Principal, and Director. He is associated with a number of social, educational and religious organizations. Owing to his differences with the bureaucracy, he voluntarily retired from Government service in December 1977.
Personal life
Background
Sheikh Mohammad Iqbal was born at Sialkot,Punjab now in Pakistan. His parents used to go to the British Resident's Office to Srinagar for arranging civil supplies. His 718-page Memoirs (2006) reveals that he was only 15 days old when his mother passed away at the age of 28 years during an epidemic. He (along with his elder brother) was taken immediately to Srinagar and brought up by his maternal grandmother who managed his early education. He was admitted to Tyndale Biscoe School at Fateh Kadal for basic education. His grandmother died when he had to appear in his matriculation examination of the University of Punjab, Lahore in 1942.
Education
Dr Iqbal graduated with Honours in Arabic from the University of Punjab, Lahore, in 1946. He did his Master's degree (in History and Political Science) with LL.B. in 1949 at the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. He joined the School of International Studies, Sapru House, New Delhi in 1956, for a course of Ph. D, taking up "Political Development in Najd and Hejaz, 1901-1934" as the subject of his research. He was qualified for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in July, 1963.