Revising Islamic Studies Courses for Improving Cordial Interfaith Relations in Nigeria: A Case Study of Umaru Musa Yar’adua University Katsina, Nigeria

Nigeria has been, for the last four decades, struggling with the menace of inter-religious hostilities between Christians and Muslims who formed the largest religious groups in the country. Numerous policies and programs brokered by various Governments and non-Governmental organizations to curtail the situation failed to yield the desired result. Islamic studies as one of the widely offered programs in the Nigerian universities has the prospect of offering solution to the predicament. However, the courses taught in the program are mainly studies on the Qur’an, Hadith, Tauhid, Ibadat, Fiqh, Islamic civilization, thought and history without single course on interfaith relations. Taking Umaru Musa Yar’adua University Katsina (UMYUK)-Nigeria, as a study case, this paper attempts to draft and propose the inclusion of interfaith relations courses in the curriculum of Islamic Studies programs at the university level in Nigeria for realization of peaceful coexistence in the country. The researcher uses primary data from the Qur’an and sunnah as well as secondary data from different sources. The paper employs exegetical methods and adopts content analysis in the process of conducting the research. The article recommends merging of duplicated courses in the existing curriculum and inclusion of the proposed courses by the Nigerian universities and other institutions of higher learning that offer various Islamic studies programs for the attainment of peaceful interfaith relations in the country.

Impact of Knowledge Management Practices on Organizational Performance in Telecom Sector of Balochistan

The core rationale behind the study is investigating the impact of knowledge management practices upon organizational performance of the companies associated with Telecom Sector in Balochistan. The four major objectives behind this research study are; first, determining whether there exist any knowledge management practices in the selected companies, secondly, to determine whether their performance is satisfactory, thirdly, to determine that there exists an empirical relationship linking knowledge management practices with organizational performance of those companies. At last, comes explaining the impact of knowledge management practices upon the organizational performance of those companies in terms of competitive advantage, better service delivery, creation of value, innovation, efficiency and productivity. An adopted questionnaire has been used for the collection of primary data in Quetta, Balochistan. The major companies related with the Telecom sector in Balochistan are PTCL, Ufone, and Mobilink. The study concentrates on the opinion of 301 employees of these companies operating in Quetta, Balochistan. Results have been compiled from 301 filled in questionnaires with tables. It is revealed by the results that knowledge management practices such as orientation towards knowledge, organizational learning, development of innovative culture, individual-based approach, and competence development have significant impact on organizational performance of the three selected companies of Balochistan. The results have also demonstrated that knowledge management practices are having positive association with the organizational performance of these companies. This research proves that organizational performance gets better with the introduction and implementation of these knowledge management practices.