Untold Facts

Road to Riyadh: A pilgrim’s impressions

Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik” (”Here I am, my Lord, here I am”). No I have not done the Holy Hajj, but Urnrah. (The Urnrah is an extra, optional pilgrimage and does not count as the once-in-a-lifetime Hajj). Last year in March. Actually I went to Saudi Arab to present my Paper on Communication technology in King Saud University, Riyadh.

End of 2008 I was preparing the paper. I was really very restless. The time is knocking the door, I must finish and submit my abstract in due time. As it was geting tough and tougher I was calling Allah, please HELP.

After that I was going from one Library to another, to fmd essential books to make a research work. It was very hard to find a book with the latent theme the “effects of communication technology on young generation” I have started to observe some families, who have children up 9 years and above. I go very often to them, talk to the parents as well as the children. It was peculiar, that I could talk to the parents easily and it was very hard to talk to the children. Every time they have been busy either with games like wii, play station, or they can hear me hardly, as they were bandaged with wire iike the toy doctor. It looks till today for me very funny. Today’s young generation like to show them gladly, that they are wired. Two ears are schwitched with two head phones and around the neck snare the iphone or mp3, in the bag or pant pocket This a typisch picture of a modem youths.

Back my observation. It was a hard assignment to talk a young girl or boy. No, I am not saying that they are-hot obedient Of course they are. But they don’t like to be disturbed. They have their own world with electronics amusing articles, so they like to be busy with those expensive articles. As I was going to talk one of them, he could not concentrate to his games or music. Who likes disturbing guy? Sure, not also me! Before my paper was submited, I have received my E-ticket, per mail. Sukran. Trust is good, control is beter- I also believe it I did ask the Airlines whether everything is okay? The person asked me the name of the passenger. I said my name. He replies, no he cannot find my name. But as I said the ticket number, replied the angry man, no you cannot fly, because instead my name, there was the name of my father.

The Saudi university authority has made a big mistake. Allah, please help me.

He suggested to call Saudi authority, to correct the passenger name. Next day they have solved this problem. Sukran.

I was asked by Saudi authority, if I will be invited to visit Mecca for Urnrah, do I agree?

No, till today I cannot believe it What? I will visit Haram Sharif? Dear Almighty Allah, if it is simply dream, please allow me to visit your House.

Again, again I have very big problem. It is Friday. Tomorrow Saturday at 11 o’clock I have departure schedule. Ja, it is early in the morning in Germany, midday in Saudi Arab. Hotline exchange Riyadh Stutgart- Berlin, Saudi Embassy. At 16 hour I have got the final news Visa is issued, and I will get it either today late night or tomorrow in the Airport, short before my fly to Riyadh. 23:30 I have received it at home. I have packed my suitcase. I did not forget to take papers with me. Sukran!

After this time I could sleep for a while. It was really a sleepless night in my life. I left my bed many times. Looked at the sky. No I did not fmd him. Where is he?

Allah, I had never planed to perform my Hajj. I have decided with my sister Monju, we will distribute this Hajj money among the needy persons or patients. We thought, we are obliged to our fellow human being, to help them. As Poet Nazrul wrote: “Haschror din khoda boliben, he adom sontan, tumi more koro nei sheba, chhinu roge oggyan”. That’s why I believe, it is the same work, if you treat a patient during his sickness, and you have treated the Almighty Allah. Allah has made the Human being with his best power. We human being deserved the strength of Allah. But “man proposes, God disposes”.

Once my mother told, if you can go to paradise, you will fmd there only silky paths, where are only happiness, you can eat whatever you like, you can get, what you do you like etc. My stopover was in Istanbul. In my childhood I heard very often about this fascinating place of the world. As first class passenger now I am here. VIP Lounge in Istanbul Airport Oh my God is it the Paradise? Am I dead?

Is it the place of Angels! I am geting service with very obliged obedient super beautiful personals. I can cheek my Mail on Golden Tables, golden lamps, Chandeliers. I did take a short sleep in a fairytale world. This room was five meter high, transparent curtains from deck to floor, romantic breeze, light Turkish melodies, where one can only enjoy, also when one asleep. I have never seen such a wonderful VIP Lounge in any international Airports. For seven hours I was in the paradise! Sukran.

Sunday midnight 1 O’clock we arrive in Riyadh airport Dear God, where are you? Or I am now? I was six o’clock we arrive in our Hotel Marriot Our Luggage

I also believe it I did ask the Airlines whether everything is okay? The person asked me the name of the passenger. I said my name. He replies, no he cannot find my name. But as I said the ticket number, replied the angry man, no you cannot fly, because instead my name, there was the name of my father.

The Saudi university authority has made a big mistake. Allah, please help me.

He suggested to call Saudi authority, to correct the passenger name. Next day they have solved this problem. Sukran.

I was asked for Saudi authority, if I will be invited to visit Mecca for Umrah, do I agree?

No, till today I cannot believe it What? I will visit Haram Sharif? Dear Almighty Allah, if it is simply dream, please allow me to visit your House.

Again, again I have very big problem. It is Friday. Tomorrow Saturday at 11 o’clock I have departure schedule. Ja, it is early in the morning in Germany, midday in Saudi Arab. Hotline exchange Riyadh-Stutgart- Berlin, Saudi Embassy.

At 16 hour I have got the final news Visa is issued, and I will get it either today late night or tomorrow in the Airport, short before my fly to Riyadh. 23:30 I have received it at home. I have packed my suitcase. I did not forget to take papers with me. Sukran!

After this time I could sleep for a while. It was really a sleepless night in my life. I left my bed many times. Looked at the sky. No I did not find him. Where is he?

Allah, I had never planed to perform my Hajj. I have decided with my sister Monju, we will distribute this Hajj money among the needy persons or patients. We thought, we are obliged to our fellow human being, to help them. As Poet Nazrul wrote: “Haschror din khoda boliben, he adom sontan, tumi more koro nei sheba, chhinu roge oggyan”. That’s why I believe, it is the same work, if you treat a patient during his sickness, and you have treated the Almighty Allah. Allah has made the Human being with his best power. We human being deserved the strength of Allah. But “man proposes, God disposes”.

Once my mother told, if you can go to paradise, you will find there only silky paths, where are only happiness, you can eat whatever you like, you can get, what you do you like etc. My stopover was in Istanbul. In my childhood I heard very often about this fascinating place of the world. As first class passenger now I am here. VIP Lounge in Istanbul Airport Oh my God is it the Paradise? Am I dead?

Is it the place of Angels! I am geting service with very obliged obedient super beautiful personals. I can cheek my Mail on Golden Tables, golden lamps, Chandeliers. I did take a short sleep in a fairytale world. This room was five meter high, transparent curtains from deck to floor, romantic breeze, light Turkish melodies, where one can only enjoy, also when one asleep. I have never seen such a wonderful VIP Lounge in any international Airports. For seven hours I was in the paradise! Sukran.

Sunday midnight 2 0´clock we arrived in Riyadh airport Dear God, where are you? Or where I am now?

It was six o’clock we arrived in our Hotel Marriot Our luggages were carried by the Saudi Personals. We didn’t have to take care for those maters. At seven we are going to our rooms. Again! Everybody has got their suitcase, but not me? At ten o’clock is my Lecture. After 90 minutes I have received it Sukran.

King Saud University has two parts, one for women another for men. As usual in Saudi Arab, the strongest Muslim religion dominated land, though, women participants were enough/ satisfactory there.

I am very lucky to see the Saudi educated women world. It was a tremendous experience in a modern Muslim world. In this women University Campus, the Saudi women are moving around the premises. If a woman comes late in the Premise, she will be transported with a mini car, like golf car, to the right place or institute. The drivers are of course women. As I was wondering the Campus, I ask myself, am I in a European University Campus? Or more? The Saudi female students are smarter than any other elite University. Most of the students are coming from westernised families or rich families, who wish to be educated. Their Uniform was only a black long skirt, but upper dress was much more than Europe! Their behaviour is very smart Well dressed, well make up, expensive fragrance, with expensive Handy. Like the so-called angels in paradise. Very ultra modern hair cut, with different colours. Believe me, I could not believe till today. Some times I thought, this people are those lucky guys in the world, who have never experience hunger, diseases or something like that They have been ever lucky persons of the world, who can wonder in the so-called fairy tales, where one can enjoy the life, only laugh, very happy.

In this happy world I have meet two young Bangladeshi women, working in this University campus as cleaners. They work 12 hours a day, monthly salary approximate $100. One of them has eight years old boy, living in a Bangladeshi village with his family. She is the earning source of the family. Another

one is willing to get married, but could not find the right person. I like to convey my best respect to these young deshi female workers, as they are fighting for their lives. Complement

They are trying the best as women, to find their luck in a desert land. Congratulations. Instead to begging, working is the moto. Our final Dinner took place in “King Abdul Aziz Palace, where only selected state guests are invited.

If I describe about the Palace, then it will be 10kg heavy book. May be I will write a book on this theme.

Just one thing I can write, during the conference, the women and the men participants were divided. We could not meet other. Some of the women professors have protested this system as discriminierung. During the dinner came to me a Saudi old professor with black and white hair with mostache, asked to me: Madame you did protested the dipartation between us, now today we are together. Are you happy now? Making a humour added another Saudi professor, tell yes we can! I replied, no, yes we have done!

In the midnight we left Riyadh for Jeddah, for Mecca. Only Muslim conference participants were invited to go to Mecca. All of us put on our Hajj clothes form the Hotel before we get up on the Bus. Just as we have got on the bus, all of us begin to recite “Labbaek allhuma labbaek”. What a thrilling feeling. I feel that I am going to meet God..

Same praying was in the Plane, from Riyadh to Jeddah. Each and everybody was praying, reading the Quran, and reciting different suras.

Are we were flying to the Hashor Maidan directly, I asked myself. The Jeddah Airport is a small Airport Again we were Living Jeddah airport in the direction of Haram Sharif, Allah’s House. Unthinkable. It is no more Fairy Tales, but the Truth. Allahmua Labbyek..: It was midnight I was trying the Haram Sharif.

Within one hour we arrived in our hotel Sohada, approximate 10 minutes to a walking distance from Haram. Our guide Professor said, in 20 Minutes we will start for the Haram. As I came down from my room I could not find, any of our Participants. Then I went with some other Hotel guest in a mini bus. It was 15 minutes to Fazar Azan. I was scared, oh, I am an unknown here, and how I can go to the Kaaba Sharif?

Then I thought I have been here to visit Allah’s House Haram Sharif,( As the birthplace of Islam’s founder, the Prophet Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) (SAW), Makkah is considered a holy city. This is where Prophet was born in the 6th century AD, where he began preaching and where he returned for his final pilgrimage. In Arabic, the city is known as Makkah Al-Mukkaramah (”Mecca the blessed”). So I must not have any kind of fearness. As soon as we have got down from the mini bus, called the Muajjin with Azan. All of us run in a hurry up to the right place. We tried to run long, but suddenly it no more possible. Everybody was geting for Fazr prayer. I have integrated myself in the women corner and did the so as the others have done. I cannot believe it; I am really in the Kabab Sharif. I made my eyes closed and praying with heart and soul. I thought I have nothing to lose; I am really in Kaaba Sharif intern. In our life only HE can help, where no other HELP is available. I was very free of fear. I don’t know what the next rituals are.

I asked people, where is the Safa and Marwoa? (As stated in the former section the origin of this Muslim ritual called “Saee” was based on Ishmael’s mothers search for water for her son. Safa is the rocky hill from which “Saiy” starts, and Marwah is the rocky hill at which “Saee” ends. It is mentioned in Holy Quran that they are of Allah’s rituals; accordingly, they have a great importance to Muslims) someone showed me over there, where the green lights are. I did follow his advice. For me it is a long was to pray and walk and to feel the blessings of Allah. I feel, it is the direct path to Allah or to Hashor Maidan. After the Tawab, I really met my colleagues, with them I could come back to our Hotel Al Sohada. Shohada (meaning martyrs.)

It was sunny day. I have decided with other colleagues to pray every das as much as possible. We went there for Maghreb prayer. After the prayer we wanted to see the Zam Zam. (ZamZam well is located few meters east of Kaaba under the Tawaf area, the well is 35 meters deep and topped by an elegant dome. Many prophetic traditions (Hadeeths) referred to the superiority of ZamZam water, such as:

“The best water on the earth is Zamzam”. “It is blessed, for drinking and for curing).

Unfortunately the original ZamZam is no more to see. But plenty of Zamzam water is available in many containers and also paper glasses are there.

On the next day we went to Bibi Ayesha’s graveyard,.(The most pious and spiritual grave yard of the world is called, “Jannat-ul-Baqqi” where a number of companions (RA), wives daughters and other family members of Prophet Muhammad sallalla ho allihi wasalam are lying to rest) it is the starting point of Hajj. Each every time I wondered. I was totally surprised. Only two Nafal Namaz was enough. Near from Haram Sharif, it was calling loud Umrah, Umrah. I thougt I was in Syedabad Bus station, Dhaka. No, we were in Riyadh! It was really very funny for me.

We went to the Haram Sharif so regularly as it was a much known place of ours, that, in this place we are wondering for many years, without any hesitation. In between the path from Kaaba to our hotel there a lot of litle shops chain likes Dhaka New Market footpath shops chain! Almost same was the footpath!

Whenever I went to the Kaaba, midnight or midday the presence of the people remains the same. Thursday (19.03.2009) was my last day in Mecca. I wanted to buy something for my family. We went for Asar prayer. No, God had another plan. I have done my Maghreb as well as Esher prayer. Twos of my colleagues took me in their hand and begin the Kaaba Tawaf. Suddenly tears are coming from my eyes; I said to Allah, are they your Angels? I thought I am dying and will go direct to Paradise as the two angels are accompanying me. I could touch the Kaaba wall. Really.

It was 21 Hours. My departure is at 2 a.m. As soon as I came back to Hotel, I went for Dinner. Soon I was called to leave the Hotel. My guide Professor told me today is Thursday; Mecca will have too many people, who came Thursday night for a holy prayer. So please leave the Hotel, because the highway may have jam, and you cannot fly today. I left my plate with full Spices, packed my suitcase quickly, get on a Limousine. The guide professor said, my sister, please don’t mind. I hope you will have a pleasant journey.

To tell the truth my drive from Mecca to Jeddah airport was total free. In Saudi, in this night I was a lone woman in a Limousine, with the Bangladesh (ZSylehti) young driver, coming back to my family in Germany. I didn’t spend even a single penny in seven days, I bought nothing, but I bring with me a very big and pleasant feeling. The seeing of Allah’s House, the House of the biggest power, ever, and the best feeling in my life, which I will ever fresh in my heart for, each and every second. Sukran.

Author: Monowara Begum Moni
Source: the New Nation

Islamic attitude towards entrepreneurial development

Islam upholds the view that economic progress, though important to the well-being of humankind, cannot lead on its own to social justice and sustainable development. Human needs have deep religious/spiritual roots that must be accounted for and incorporated in the development process. The aim of ‘Islamic development’ therefore is to achieve a state of ‘human well-being’ based on spiritual/humanitarian and socio-economic foundations, as a stage towards the ultimate destination, well-being in the hereafter.

The philosophical differences between the Islamic and Western worldviews of the universe and the relationships between man and his Creator, his environment and other human beings are fundamental. A comprehensive inquiry into the disposition of both worldviews regarding the concept of ‘development’ reveals that in addition to differences in their core philosophies, they also differ in their focus, goals, approaches, applications and mechanisms.

It could be strongly argued that these differences are so real that they cannot be overlooked, marginalised or narrowed, nor can they be reconciled and integrated within a standardized single development model.

Such differences therefore do not only justify, but also necessitate the building of an alternative Islamic model of entrepreneurship that works towards the realisation and fulfilment of the Islamic vision of ‘well-being’.

A religion with a positive attitude to work and productivity is most likely to contribute positively towards the creation of new quality business entities and the fostering of a friendly entrepreneurship environment. It is anticipated that such a constructive attitude will produce fruitful results when complemented with a comprehensive framework and matched by political will and commitment from the state.

The suggestion that religion has a key role to play in shaping the mode and the level of entrepreneurial activity in a given society is gaining widespread acknowledgment and recognition. The link between religion and economic activity in the wider context was explored and demonstrated by the work of (Dodd & Seaman, 1998; Guiso, Sapienza & Zingales, 2004; Hirschman, 1983; Sood & Nasu, 1995; Wienen, 1997).

Among the basic rights that all individuals are entitled to, and should enjoy, is access to income. Chapra (1985) explained that socio-economic justice, based on the theory of “social equilibrium”, implies that people are entitled to have equal opportunity and does not entail that they should be equal in poverty or in richness. Earning lawful (halal) living is tenable through engagement in productive activities, namely: employment (working for others) and being self-employed and employing others (undertaking entrepreneurial activity). Although Islam endorses working for others for fixed salary, it encourages and stimulates Muslims to embark on entrepreneurship as the preferred option to earning halal income.

Beg (1979) noted that Islam does not only motivate Muslims to be entrepreneurs, but in fact, it makes it obligatory on them to work hard and gain halal earnings beyond their immediate needs in order to care for the community and the Muslim ummah at large. Earning halal income through entrepreneurship and helping others to earn a living spares the public wealth from being exploited by a few and discourages them from being dependent on the state. Public wealth belongs to the Muslim ummah, so it should be utilised in projects that serve the common need and the common interest of society.

Sadeq (1997) pointed out that entrepreneurship in Islam is highly regarded, and forcefully argued that Islam provides not only the incentives but also the conducive framework for economic and entrepreneurship development.

His argument is based on the interpretation of the Qur’anic verse “And when prayer is over, disperse in the world and search for the bounty of Allah” (Qur’an, 62, 10), and on the many traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Others have cited “It is He Who made the earth manageable for you, so traverse ye through its tracts and enjoy of the sustenance which He furnishes: but unto Him is the resurrection (Qur’an, 15, 67). Searching and steering through the earth’s tracts goes beyond simply finding employment opportunities or even engaging in basic entrepreneurial activities. The search implies the exploration of the unknown in order to discover new horizons and uncover new opportunities for the benefit of humankind. Such active search involves taking risks and requires innovative thinking and to Sadeq (1993), that is “entrepreneurship”.

The Holy Qur’an and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) explicitly praise entrepreneurship and commend moral entrepreneurial activity; “But Allah hath permitted trade (bai) and forbidden usury (riba)” (Qur’an, 2, 275). The economic transaction of buying and selling for profit (bai) implies the existence of the entrepreneur.

It is narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “A faithful and trustworthy businessperson will be resurrected at the Day of Judgement with the prophets, the truthful, and the martyrs” (Ibn Majah; al-Tirmithi). Furthermore, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and many of his close companions were trustworthy and successful entrepreneurs.

He explicitly emphasised the importance of entrepreneurship and encouraged Muslims to actively participate in business activity. Nu’aym Ibn Abd Al-Rahman narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said, “Nine-tenths of the sustenance (rizq) is derived from trade (business ventures)”.

The second Muslim khalifah, Omer bin Al-khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) also was a trader, and he used to say “nothing is more beloved to me than to earn my living through my own hard work and efforts”.

The concept of collective obligation (fard kifayah) in Islam is based on the ability of society to meet its minimum and basic needs from a specified activity or meet national challenges and obligations.

An appropriate share of the Muslim population should undertake entrepreneurial activities by their own choice and according to their own initiative to ensure the continuity of the nation’s economic viability.

Failure to achieve such a level of performance means that the Islamic government has to step in and assume its legal and moral obligation to compensate for any shortfall of the private sector.

Perkins (2003) analysed the role of Islam in the process of “wealth creation”, and confirmed Weber’s conclusions: “There is no doubt that Islam is an economic hindrance and barrier to prosperity and fulfilment of human ambition, potential and welfare” (Perkins, 2003, pp. 5-6). However, the claims that Islam has the propensity to deter development (Weber, 1963) and that Muslims in general are low in achievement (McClelland, 1961) have been conceptually challenged even by Western intellectuals.

A number of Western thinkers, in addition to Muslim scholars, have acknowledged the progressive nature of Islam and recognised its positive attitude towards prosperity and the desirability of engaging in productive business activity. While Sullivan (2004) acknowledged that Islam is “a religion of knowledge”, Wienen (1997, p. 42) stated that “Islamic tradition has always included a positive approach to economic activity” and noted that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was “a merchant before his prophetic mission”. Zapalska, Brozik, and Shuklian (2005) stated that Islam generally has a positive attitude to entrepreneurship and the rights of ownership. Wilson (2006) acknowledged the uniqueness of the Islamic code of business ethics and the positive contributions that ‘trust’ can render to the economic activity in the form of cost effectiveness and organisation competence.

Author: Rasem N. Kayed and M. Kabir Hassan
Source: The New Nation

Madarasa: Must be Closed Down for Attaining Vision 2021?

Romantic Professor

A University Professor in the presence of a Minister, some public representatives and academicians has predicted in course of a discussion in a posh hotel in Khulna on the 5th September (09) that all Madarasas must be closed down immediately for attaining ‘Vision 2021’. That was how a news item was published in a Dhaka Bengali daily on the 6th morning. The news item said further that there was some protests right then to the comment by some political activists of opposition parties of the Government, possibly, followers of enthusiastic Islamic faith.

Romantic Vision

The so-called Vision 2021 is nothing of the Professor’s own but of the Awami League Government now running the country since January 09. In this sense the comment he made for closing down the Madarasas for Vision 2021 is an agenda for implementation by the Government. It is thus crystal clear that he spoke for the Government both for the vision and for closure of the Madarasas, no matter if he is an active member of the Awami League or not. He seems to be nothing but a GOPALBHAR of the backward feudal Bengal’s silly past legacy.

Three ‘Secular’ governments

People in the know of things of the past two governments of the same genre have no hesitation to confirm that their earlier two versions of 1972-75 and the 1996-2001 had the same or exact intension in regard to the age old and historically one and a half millennium Madarasa learning and education in the Muslim world and so also for about 1000 years in the Bangladesh territory. But why the repeated romanticism and yet each time in the past ended in fiasco, if not this time.

What Vision 2021

Let us take first what Vision 2021 means? I have tried to know the details as a septuagenarian retired educator from all accessible sources including the Government but I must admit that I have not been able yet to specifically identify the bits and pieces of the Vision 2021. My experience as a life long educator ending the last life time decade in a private university education faculty as its head that development of the highest quality of manpower is the sine a qua non for any meaningful vision ahead of any society and country. There is as such no disagreement that we must employ all our available resources for development of manpower expertise through quality learning at all levels and meaningful youth education and training towards continuing life long education.

Comprehensive learning

Education of human child is not merely limited to training of physical natural instincts but also of all faculties commensurate with one’s inborn ability that mysteriously remains unequal. In addition, education must at the same time provide for human attitudes and qualities that are essential for corporate living in society with many others alongside. In other words, education means acquirement of cognitive knowledge, skill to face life from childhood to the end and positive attitude to life for useful social living. Secular education provides for the first two requirements but not for the third, that is, of attitude formation. That is where the controversy remains and continues between secular and non-secular religious education. The controversy is not only a matter of Bangladesh but of all civilized society. Western education is largely secular but even so they have kept religion in the system for essential need for attitude formation. Learning to live as a good law abiding citizen, an essential learning package at the early secondary education in all countries is nothing but curriculum implementation for right and positive attitude formation.

Learning of Muslims

Education of the Muslim children since the days of the Great Prophet in the early seventh century and continuing since then was designed for comprehensive personality building inclusive of the three main essentials and though known as Madarasa education in Arabic term but are both schools of elementary learning, on the one hand, and colleges and university of higher learning, on the other. The history and past proud legacy of the Muslims are that such comprehensive learning made them not only useful productive workers but also worthy citizens armed with spiritual powers. This is not to deny that there has been no depreciation in the system for various reasons, one being the fall in political power and the other in decline of learning areas. Thus the West, who borrowed from the Muslims learning in the middle ages despite crusades for two hundred years, thrived in but the Muslims declined. Lapsing into despair, on the one hand, and getting addicted to poorly perceived Sufism, on the other, made the things still worse for the Muslims all over their own places. The ill fate of colonialism made another big blow to their own self-confidence so much so that they took shelter to the mosques and age-old curriculum of learning in almost all Madarasa. Bangladesh remained no exception to the unfortunate reality despite ‘independence’ and self-rule of the Muslim majority people. The unending tussle of the so-called secularists and the non-secularists is on since about six decades now after the foreign colonialists left the land and the people enjoying self-rule since 1947. The tussle this time in 2009 sponsored and supported by the government of brute majority has reached a pinnacle when the Professor of Economics seems risen to lend support to the present government. There is nothing unusual in his lending support, but being an economist educator there are few riddles to reckon with.

Riddles

The first riddle is that as upholder of the theory of free market economics as the great teacher Adam Smith initiated and pursued by many others during the last two centuries, unfortunately abandoned ethics and morality from his noted thesis of Wealth of Nations (1776), amazingly despite the fact that he taught Ethics and Morality in his early career as a university professor in Britain. Unfortunately, when the ethics and morality was abandoned for greed, only material gain and heartless profit making as he did in propounding the free market economy, the teacher could not have been respected as any good and compassionate human being. Thus I would have thought that no economists should poke their dirty nose in educational curriculum making. After all economics is nothing of any original subject of learning as it only until recently remained a small part of political science (political economy). On the contrary Political Science along with Ethics and Morality remained essential learning materials of Philosophy itself considered as the original subject of learning since at least about two and a half millenniums. Islamic learning had the same feature from the very beginning and had mutual exchanges in the heydays of the Muslims based at Baghdad and Cairo in early middle ages, in particular, keeping full conformity with the basic Islamic learning of the Al Quran, Ahadis and pure monotheism or Tawheed for comprehensive learning for development of Muslim personality in both secular and spiritual matters.

Philosopher’s Job

Curriculum making need be almost an exclusive matter for the philosopher who sees life as a wholesome one just as Plato prescribed for his design of PHILOSOPHER KING (Plato, The Republic, Penguin, 1955, p.304). Making Philosopher King does not mean everybody to get training to become king but for indication of the apex only leaving others in the various levels and process as workers for various vocations and professions. In a way that would be both vocationalization of educational levels and for training in producing law abiding citizens imbued with loyalty based on ethics and morality for employment in needful socially productive jobs. To my understanding the Muslims in a way followed the Plato model for learning and education. In fact, the Muslims had interactions with the West in matters of learning and education, and so both benefited from each other. Tragedy followed latter due mainly to colonization of the Muslims by the West and gradual secularization of European education that they imposed them in the colony, and succeeded partly, not fully. The partial failure kept Madarasa education to survive in almost all Muslim lands though in depreciated form but not in full potential as that existed before. I am afraid what the present Government has been trying to do is to foster the British secular system otherwise known as the Macaulay prescription for producing ‘interpreters’ and not wholesome learned and trained balanced human personality.

Illusion and reality

There is still debate in the West and elsewhere if the West is one hundred percent secular or founded on Christian ethics, morality and values. In social reality, say Britain, the nursery of democracy and also of ‘secularism’ has no written constitution and mainly governed by Conventions and Usages that are all based on Christian Values, Ethics and Morality. But whatever amount of secularism is now practiced there that has been doing more harm than good. Their family values have eroded, institution of marriage is a despised thing, living together without marriage and wedlock is common thing there, illegitimate child is not considered anything bad as such. These have spread in the name of ‘freedom and secularism’ and hostility towards religious ethics and moral values. Or in other words, these are the widespread vices in the West; they cannot be anything other than serious vices for they have been destabilizing natural bondage of family values and human society and creating new chaos every day. Fortunately Muslim societies are still largely free from these social vices not for ‘benefit’ of secular education, much less for science and technology, but for integrated learning curriculum as the Madarasa education provides.

Dishonest History Professors

In Bangladesh there are some dishonest historians and professors of History who as well found taking recourse to mutilating Muslim history in the recent days, obviously by the sponsorship of the then ‘Secularist’ government in as much as in school-college secular textbooks against alone Muslim history and proud legacy. One example I came across is a textbook written by three History Professors that mentioned in the text that the Muslim women following the Hindu widows used to get self immolation in the funeral pyres of dead husbands (See, Classes XI- XII History Textbook, published by the Open University in 1998/2000, p.135)! Funeral pyre is a common system for well off non-Muslims and not for Muslims. Muslims religiously take such burning of dead bodies in open as inhumanly beastly and religiously HARAM or forbidden. How could such Professors of History be given charge for framing textbooks?

Identity Question

The romanticism for closing down the Madarasa by not only the Professor but by the present Government that had the same intention in 1996-2001 but failed and also tried in some blanket way in removing almost all Muslim and Islamic symbols and insignia from government institutions during 1972-75 remains there as self immolating so far as Islamic beliefs and values were concerned. They did not only scrap off the Quarnic inspirational Ayahs from the emblem of say, Dhaka University (RABBI JIDNEE ILMA- Oh Lord Creator, expand my knowledge), and from the Dhaka Education Board the previous emblem (IQRA BISME RABBIKAL LAZI KHALAQ- Read in the name of thy Creator Allah), apart from leaving off Quran Tilawat at the very onset of independence and outset of 1972 but modified later on due to public pressure the abandonment with reciting along with other religious books. These misdeeds of identity scrapping away of the Muslims alone and not of other religious people had all been prompted by the academicians as one renowned Professor (Later on died as national Professor and buried in national honor) frankly admitted to me sometime before his death that it was he who proposed the abandoning the term ‘Muslim’ from the appellation of the Jahangirnagar (Muslim) University (Savar), as the then Government did for the Salimullah Muslim Hall, Fazlul Haq Muslim Hall of Dhaka University, etc. To make the long story short it may safely be concluded that the game of sham secularization and so the intent to close down the Madarasa is thus fraught with grave danger against the long established identity of the Muslims who constitute 90% of the 150 million population of Bangladesh as in 2009.

Author:M.T. Hussain
11 September 2009

No time like Ramadan time

No time like Ramadan time
‘Golden Hours on angel wings’

Soon, once again, the blessed month of Ramadan will be with us; once again, like ‘golden hours on angel wings’, will descend upon us its blessed moments. Like every other year since Hijrah, it will summon Muslims, as individuals and as a corporate body, to an intense and sustained life of Fasting and Prayer, of worship and obedience, of devotion and discipline — all centered on the Quran which, too, was sent down in these very moments in the custody of ‘noble and trustworthy’ angels. Call will go forth to every believer to take to prolonged companionship with the Book of God. To a life of redoubled endeavor to become what God desires Muslims to be. Ramadan bids our hearts and minds, our society and polity, to come to.

Joyfully and dutifully the Muslims will respond. Every day will be spent in Fasting: from dawn to sunset, for one whole month, not a morsel of food, nor a drop of water, indeed nothing shall pass down the throat; nor will sex be indulged in. Each night. hours will be devoted to standing in Prayers before Allah, reciting and reading His words as sent down in the Quran. During the day, too, reading the holy text will be a cherished business.

Fasting, in one form or another, has always been an important and often necessary part of religious life, discipline and experience in every faith. As a means par excellence to come nearer to God, to discipline the self, to develop the strength to overcome the temptations of flesh, it needs no emphasis. Yet Islam turns Fasting, as it does every other act of worship and devotion, into something different and unique, the life-giving centre of life.

How does it impart new meaning and force to Fasting?

Put simply: by prescribing for it the time of Ramadan. This may sound like making things too simplistic, or trivializing the important. But Ramadan is no trivial event. For it is the month ‘in which was sent down the Quran: the Guidance for mankind, with manifest truths of guidance and the Criterion [by which to judge the true and the false’ (Al-Baqarah 2:185). It was on a night in Ramadan that the last Divine message began to come down: ‘Read in the name of your Lord…’ (Al-’Alaq 96:1). That is why you must fast in Ramadan, says the Quran.

Ramadan therefore centers the entire discipline of Fasting on the Quran. The sole purpose is to prepare us for receiving the Divine guidance, for living the Quran, for witnessing the Truth and Justice that it perfects, for striving to make the word of God supreme.

How is this purpose achieved?

The fruit of Fasting ought to be that rich inner and moral quality which the Quran calls taqwa. ‘Ordained for you is Fasting . . . so that you might develop taqwa’ (2:183). The most basic condition for being guided by the God, too, is taqwa. The significance is plain to see. Fasting, linked to Ramadan in which Allah’s guidance came down, generates a taqwa which becomes directed on the supreme goal of entering the world of the Quran and of living therein, instead of being a spiritual ecstasy to be frittered away in the delights of soul. It becomes the key with which can be unlocked all the doors leading to the blessings which the Quran has to offer; honour, prosperity and freedom from fear and anxiety in this-world; success, Paradise and God’s good pleasure in the life-to-come. No time for Fasting other than Ramadan could have made taqwa such a potent force.

More importantly, the fulfillment of being guided by the Quran comes about when we strive to discharge the mission it entrusts to us. For, having the Book of God — a weighty word — places on our shoulders a heavy responsibility: to hear is to make it heard, to know is to act, to have is to share, to say shahadah is to do shahadah. This means an unflinching pursuit to create a new self within us, and to create a new world of Quranic ideals outside us.

This is the sole purpose for which a new Ummah was created and charged with the mission of bringing man to God by witnessing to His guidance, ‘so that you be witnesses unto mankind, and the Messenger be witness unto you’ (Al-Baqarah 2: 143). Otherwise, when the Quran came, the world was not devoid of godly men who fasted, and stood in prayers before God, and wept.

Discharging that mission requires immense inner and moral resources like knowledge of and devotion to the Quran, strong faith (Iman), resolve and steadfastness (sabr). For it is no light task. Few have a full and clear understanding of what it means. Let us pause here and reflect why, otherwise we shall never grasp what the Ramadan Fasting is for and what it achieves.

When in Ramadan the first ray of Divine revelation reached the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, in Hira, its message of Iqra was impregnated with world-shaking forces; he, therefore. trembled. The second revelation made things clear: ‘arise and warn; make the greatness of your Lord the greatest’ (Al-Muddaththir 74:2-3); he, then, took up his task with a single-minded dedication, and encountered stiff opposition. For, the call to ‘let God be the Greatest’ (fakabbir) implied that all false claiments — and every claimant is false — to greatness, to unlimited power, authority and lordship over men and things, to obedience, loyalty and servitude from God’s creatures be challenged, and dethroned.

This, it is not difficult to see, requires supreme sacrifices in ‘giving up’ (Hijrah) everything one loves and fighting with all that one possesses for the sake of that love of Allah which must be greater than all else (Al-Baqarah 2:165). A life of Jihad therefore necessarily requires important qualities: knowledge of and devotion to the Quran, deep and strong faith (Iman), resolve and steadfastness (sabr), total trust (tawakkul) and, of course, taqwa. Read the Quran and you will find every promise of success here and in the Hereafter conditional upon these qualities.

Fasting, combined with the Quran recital in night-prayers, generates these rich resources which Ramadan harnesses to the fulfilment of the Quranic mission.

First, look at taqwa. What is it? Literally it means saving ourselves from harm. In moral life, therefore, taqwa must primarily mean. firstly, accepting that some actions and beliefs are harmful, that is to say, right and wrong do exist, and secondly, having the resolve and will to avoid the wrong and do the right. As a consequence, thirdly, his conduct should reflect this consciousness and resolve, if he is not a hypocrite.

To have the Quranic taqwa, which will entitle us to its guidance, we must know that there are realities and values beyond matter, beyond what we are incapable of perceiving by our physical senses, beyond this world, that man needs to be guided to what is right and what is wrong, (yu’minuna bil- ghayb). We should also be prepared to submit, willingly, all that we possess — mind, body, wealth — to the truth that we know and believe (yuqimunas salata wa mimma razaqnahum yunfiqun).

Every moment in Ramadan engraves these lessons on our hearts. Integrates them in our practice. The most elementary physical needs — food and water and sleep — are readily and joyfully sacrificed. Hunger and thirst are no more harmful; God’s displeasure is. Physical pleasures no more hold any lure; God’s rewards do. The scale of values is turned upside down. The measure of comfort and pain, success and failure is radically changed. Without this change, none is entitled to take up Allah’s cause.

To the uninitiated, or an outsider, the devotional regimen of Ramadan may appear harsh and austere, but, in fact, it is eagerly awaited by believers. The sighting of new moon, the crescent that signals the beginning of Ramadan is met with celebrations and jubilation. Even children — who are not required to fast — look forward to their first experience of Ramadan fasting. The sick, too, remain restless for having been deprived of this blessing. Such jubilation and eagerness, to sacrifice time, wealth, and life in submitting to whatever God asks of us, and a regret and sorrow if prevented from doing so for reasons beyond our control, is highly desirable in the way of Allah.

These qualities spring from genuine faith in heart. For a Muslim the fast is primarily a commandment to his person, though its collective aspect is no less important. Little wonder, then, that individuals gladly take on the tribulations of Ramadan as an expression of their faith. Just as Fast is something special between man and his God which only He can reward, so should we take Jihad to be.

Whatever the physical discomfort, the mortification of flesh is certainly not a desired object in Islam. The gifts of God are there to be enjoyed, but the limits by Him must also be strictly observed — that is another lesson of taqwa in Ramadan. As the sun sets, the fast must be broken, and sooner the better. All that became forbidden at His command, becomes permissible, again at His command.

Similarly eating before dawn is strongly urged, even though the hour is unearthly. For it provides the necessary strength for the rigors of the day ahead. Fasting and praying are obvious acts of worship, but eating, drinking and sleeping, too, constitute forms of worship. So in the way of Allah: what matters is His command, the whole life must witness to Him.

The month-long regimen of dawn-to-sunset abstinence from food, drink and sex, for the sake of Allah alone, internalizes the lesson that one must never touch, acquire or enter that which does not belong to one under the law of God. A man can no more remain a slave to his own self-indulgence as he prepares for the arduous journey on the road to his Lord.

For many it is difficult to see the value of long hours of hunger, thirst and sleeplessness. Productivity losses are difficult to accept in an age that has tried to make gods of gross national product and economic growth. According to Islam, however, man is created to live a life of total submission to the One and Only God, and this purpose must be paramount in all scales of values. Ramadan fasting is crucial to this understanding. It shows that its purpose, like God’s guidance through His Prophets and Books and all other rituals of worship, is to train the believer in how he must live totally and unreservedly, at all costs, in submission to God.

Obedience, let there be no misunderstanding. is not limited to mere outward conformity with the letter of law. The law must be observed, but evil, in all its forms, must be eschewed. lbn Maja the great Hadith scholar, reports that the Prophet said: When the month of Ramadan arrives, the gates of Paradise are flung open while those of Hell are closed. All the shayatin (satans) are put in chains and a herald cries out. ‘O you who seek good come here and those who desire evil desist’.

Imam Bukhari, the most renowned Hadith scholar narrates: Eyes should refrain from seeing evil, ears from hearing evil, heart from reflecting evil, tongue from speaking evil. The Prophet said: ‘One who does not give up speaking false words and acting by them is not required by God that he give up only his food and drink.’ On another occasion he said: ‘Many are the observers of fast who gain nothing from their fast but hunger and thirst’ (Darimi).

As a collective experience Ramadan suffuses the entire life of communities with the spirit of taqwa ; even the air, it seems, is changed with a new fervor. In Ramadan we can see a beautiful example of how Islam unites the individual and the society under the sovereignty of One Lord alone.

In Ramadan, therefore, the demands of Allah take precedence over all other demands; no part of personality, no aspect of our life remains outside His writ, even aspects as mundane as timings for eating and going to bed. Thus, will is strengthened, determination is reinforced, spirit of sacrifice is intensified, self-control is heightened.

But, above all, the life in Ramadan revolves, as it must, round the Quran which, as the Word of God, must become the core of all devotional activities. At least one reading of Quran is a required duty during nightly Prayers, after the ‘Isha.’ But it ought to be extensively recited both within and without ritual prayers. Ramadan is not only the annual celebration of the coming down of the Quran by disciplining every moment of life into surrender of God, it is also the occasion for heart and mind to get absorbed in its words and teachings.

Closely linked to fasting is the nightly prayer. Sleep is deliberately avoided to enter into communion with God’s words, to prostrate before Him, and thus to move nearer to Him. It is during the quiet and calm of the night that we can dwell upon God’s words, and the truths which might otherwise elude us can be grasped.

No time is like the Ramadan time. For in it lies that night which is ‘better than a thousand months’, the ‘Night of Destiny … in it the angels and the Spirit descend’ (Al­Qadr 97:1-4). It is ‘that blessed night in which was made distinct everything wise’ and ‘a warning’ and a ‘mercy’ was sent down which God has always sent for mankind (Al­Dukhan 44: 3-6).

That is why the Fasting is placed in Ramadan. In this technological age, when clock has become the only measure of time and every concept of sacredness of time has been erased from human memory, some may find it difficult to visualize how every moment of Ramadan encompasses centuries in it, how it allows us to draw nearer to God at a much faster pace. Acts of virtue during the month are especially rewarded; an obligatory act (fard) increases seventy times; a voluntary one (nafl) is rewarded like the obligatory. Each of its moments offers immense possibility of great spiritual journeys. As the poet Iqbal said:

Far though the valley of love may be,

a long and terrible way,

The path of a hundred years may be

traveled at times in a sigh.

If Ramadan is blessed because the Quran began to come down in this month; it is blessed, too, because the Quran triumphed in this month. The Quran is the al-­Furqan (criterion by which to judge the truth and the falsehood); in Ramadan falls that day which the Quran calls the Yawmul Furqan, Day of Criterion, on which the truth and the falsehood were judged, and the Truth triumphed. That was the Day of Badr, when the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, beseeched God for help and victory thus: O God if this group perishes today, You will not be worshipped any more’ (Ibn Ishaq). This was both a petition and a pledge; an expression of the final goal of all of his strivings, and of what our lives ought to be devoted to. Only an inattentive mind can ignore the significant link between al-Furqan descending in Ramadan. and Yaum al-Furqan falling in Ramadan.

Thus, to come back to the center: Ramadan reminds us of our mission, the only purpose of our existence as Muslims. It prepares us to discharge that mission; it deepens our consciousness, brings us closer to Quran and the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, strengthens our resolve, schools us to taqwa and patience.

The end of Ramadan brings Eid-al-Fitr. the feast of the breaking of the fast, which celebrates the revelation of the Quran. The Quran makes it clear: ‘that you complete the number, and proclaim the greatness of God for His having guided you, and that you render your thanks’ (2:185). Man’s response to the Divine initiative of guidance must be gratitude and extolling Him as the Greatest. That is why constantly on lip is the tasbih: Allahuakbar. . . walillahil-Hamd.

Even so, the heart still remembers wistfully the trying days and the silent, busy nights when the soul was engulfed in a dawn of light and cries out:

Stand still, you ever moving

sphere of heaven,

That time may cease, and

midnight never come.

Author: Khurram Murad

Exploding pejorative term against Madarasa education

Everybody’s job
Talking about education is everybody’s job. Teachers, parents, educators, and all in any profession may take interest in education. But using pejorative term like say in Bengali ‘Mandhata’ or in English meaning outdated or ‘Jongi Projonon Kendra’ that stand in English breeding ground for terrorists are possibly more for irrational hatred and ignorance than for usefully critical anything for development for better.

Irreconcilable ideas
Educators of standing can certainly appreciate that educational problems in developing country like Bangladesh owe much more to irreconcilable philosophical points than anything else in other relevant issues in curricula set up, school learning process, measurement of learning attainments, organization, funding, management and administration of institutions at various levels.

Looking into depth of quality issue
Talking is essentially needed to sort out issues in regard to quality and efficiency of learning outcomes compatible with needs for life and living. But only talking wildly without probing into depth of problems is not enough to mend all crucial problems involved much less improve on comprehensive learning quality in real classroom situation.

Bangladesh education in shambles
To be more specific, Bangladesh education is undoubtedly in shambles. But what went wrong is though not very difficult to ascertain, fixing up issues for something better remained very difficult for all concerned not only for the past few decades but also for centuries. Why, we must dispassionately probe into, if one would be serious to get and implement any acceptable solution of the so-called ‘outdated mode’ and from the negative attitude in looking down upon tendency, particularly, to the Madarasa system institutions.

Philosophical issues
The first problem to me that surfaced in first priority is the irreconcilable philosophical points of education for Bangladesh. The difference in thoughts and ideas remained for decades even after independence that obviously produced not less than four systems having their own philosophical pursuit, and also despite the fact that about half a dozen Commissions Bangladesh had since 1972. If one would look at the advanced countries of the West, they have more or less settled to one philosophical system for the State not in any regimented way but through consensus having had as well incorporated provisions for diversity of religious options at the secondary school level. For example, in Britain, Religious Education is compulsory in secondary schools having had dropped it for some time but even so, opting out from religious course instruction remained an option based on parental choice. In the USA there is no religious education in school syllabus. But the society is fully filled up with organized churches at the private level that hardly give scope for any progeny to miss socialization through the church system. That continued as the past legacy from the British colonial period. The modern education hardly made any dent. In addition, most of the colleges and universities, in particular, maintain department /faculties of divinity or religious studies. Graduates from these higher learning areas fill up positions of church hierarchy throughout the country. British church system (Anglican not Catholic) is not only equally organized but having also sanctioned authority from the sovereign Crown-Queen or King. These are the ways the church or religion socialize the progeny and maintain control in the society through implanting and, you can say, brainwashing all in the Christian value system, no matter whether in their maturity some would care for the Christian values is a different matter. But overwhelming majority remained thus conditioned in their attitudes to beliefs, for example, to Christianity.

Past to present
Bangladesh as part of India in the past had education systems based on individual religion. The Muslim rulers in the middle ages introduced a modern system based on Arabic and Persian traditions as the Muslim rulers of Arabic and Persian origin used to rule India and they devoutly followed, except few, Islamic beliefs. The British as foreign ruler took to change the system into a model neither of the English kind nor anything caring for the local people’s religious belief systems. The Muslims, in general, took the British system of early 19th century as secular one and so distanced away from it. In the set up of British foreign rule, Muslims not only distanced away from the system but also went to devise and make their own system. The Deoband model of the mid nineteenth century and the Aligarh model of the late nineteenth century stood then as proofs of the Muslims distancing away from the English system of secular education in the Indian subcontinent. In the early twentieth century the Deoband and the Aligarh systems had another innovation in East Bengal and Assam following the passion of the creation of the new province of Bengal and Assam with capital at the Muslim historic city of Dhaka. Though the province did not sustain after 1911 having a very short life span of only about six years, the model in somewhat revised form of both the Deoband and the Aligarh got started in 1915 styled as the New Scheme Madarasa. The system had been expanding for it became popular among the enlightened Muslim parents and produced many brilliant Muslim scholars, a few of them still alive in Bangladesh. Unfortunately soon after in mid 1950 the system was abolished without good reason but for their secularization hype by the then East Bengal Government.

Post 1971 Bangladesh educational scenario
The immediate 1971 post independence period of Bangladesh had a period of still bigger hype for secularization of the State and the education system. Both had been difficult propositions. Education experienced much more difficulties to get secularized. The Kudrat E Khuda Commission though went to make recommendations for secularization in the final report made in mid 1974, it faced a fate of being under lock and key by the same charismatic person and leader who had appointed the first Education Commission in independent Bangladesh in mid 1972. The clue for the lock and key though was a bit mysterious, but there were other hunches that the leader did not like that for it’s over secularization even surpassing British bureaucrat T.B. Macaulay of 1830s. In other words, the report recommendations not only kept silent about traditional Madarasa education of the Muslims that had a history of continuity for over 1000 years but also wished to ring the death knell for Madarasa education in Bangladesh.

Revived initiative in mid 1970s
The change of the government in mid August-November 1975 picked up the report that remained almost abandoned for 3 years by the next government hinting at disliking the wholesale secularization process in education with little bit of Islamic tint. The Madarasa education of the British Kolkata variety of late eighteenth century received some attention, but not the Qaomi system (Nesab) at all. In the backdrop, the government of Awami League and Sheikh Hasina is now known to have declared a new crusade not only against Qaomi system but also blaming them as ‘outdated mode’ and for ‘breeding ground of terrorists’. Dr. Faisal Mustafa’s Green Crescent Madarasa located in a rural area in the district of Bhola raided late in the March 2009 and ‘found’ there by the special police RAB some arms and ammunitions have given the Awami League government to summarily blame the Qaomi Madrasas as the terrorist training camps. But they would not use such pejorative term for other secular higher education institutions wherein arms use and killings are almost an everyday matter, now beginning in 2009 by the students’ wing cadres of the Awami League! Now there was interesting news that the P.M. Hasina who bred all those terrorists all throughout since early 1980s and murdered many in cold blood on her instance has decided to distance away from the student organization in a sort of caricature of hide and seek. These are the sorts of politics she is used to, and let her do so at free will. But should she venture crusade like the past US President Bush did against the Muslims and Hasina wishes to do in a slightly slanted way against the Qaomi Madrasasa making ploy not only in that these are breeding ground for terrorists but also of outdated nature? Or else she has to think over very seriously along with sound and patriotic educators to do something rationally acceptable to the people of Islamic belief, and not going to trade in romanticism as some of her ministers have lately been venturing only in diverting people’s huge wrath from the liabilities she owes directly to the BDR massacre of 2009 end February.

Education is also matter of parental choice
Education is no doubt an affair of the State and the Government. It is at the same time individual parental matter for young children. Parent’s decision even comes first in priority over the Government so far as democratic norms and polities are concerned. It thus is not that the choices and priorities of the huge number of parents and guardians who kept going the Qaomi Madarasa‘s existence for centuries without any support, much less financial one, from the government sources that kept these institutions running and so providing social and religious services based on continuing demand in society for centuries. Government has little business to go in any way disturbing the system except possibly through mutual understanding and accommodation. Such mutual understanding and accommodation may extend not only to control and management but also in matters of curricula change and innovation to fit into social and economic needs not totally ignoring religious and spiritual needs of the people of immense values to common people. There is little rationale to ignore the spiritual needs and craving of the people. Spiritual demand is not always without economic utility but of economic utilities as well that many secularists fail to appreciate. Spiritually sound and elevated worker can be more productive in their professions and vocations.

Qaomi Madarasa has to be looked into with broader outlook
What I, as a life long educator and a retired person with one leg in the grave, wish to maintain is that the government has to stop looking into the affairs of the Qaomi Madarasa in pejorative way but to approach the matter both as of necessity and to give due respect for the issues people are emotionally attached to the system. Otherwise, it would be a sort of romanticism of the government that is certain to end in failure in the plural democratic society Bangladesh had set up goals and yet meeting the need for an integrated curricula to turn out ‘good and righteous’ men and women or a humane society based on higher human ideals for the country in perpetuity.

Education means not only secular learning but also outlook of life integrated with spiritualism
Training for vocation through secular learning is certainly a need for life and living. But each and every averagely intelligent human being craves for spiritual attachment as well. Additionally, being the only rational animal distinct from all other living animals, human mind naturally seeks for spiritual end of life. Some exceptions only prove the rule. It is as such only logical and reasonable that education and learning must provide integrally both learning, as some educators call them, secular learning meaning ‘acquired knowledge’ and those relevant to spiritual as the ‘revealed knowledge’ or knowledge that is divine in origin. People of almost all countries since the days in the past have had their education and learning so integrated of the two. It is only recently that some societies went for all secular learning and nothing of spiritual. They could do that somewhat at ease for they had no revealed knowledge in original form. The devastating result was obvious in disintegration of family, society broken of bondage of love and fellow feelings, drug addiction, promiscuity, free sex and the spread of all the killer diseases costing huge to individuals and society. Can Bangladesh afford to set goal for that sort of secular learning in the government institutions? The stand and position of the Qaomi Madarasa must be comprehended with these issues in view.
The Muslims are the only people who are very fortunate to have their revealed knowledge in exactly the same original form as they came to the last and the great prophet of Islam. The Qaomi Madarsasa genuinely claims the learning of the same revealed and stored knowledge. That is why there is no practical possibility to finish up the system by any government that in the one and a half millennium year period no state power could do. In Bangladesh as well, the overtly secular government of Hasina cannot do it. Playing with the system for romanticism is a different matter.

Author: Dr.M.T. Hussain

Are Islam and Aristotle compatible?

It was from Arabic translations that Aristotle re-appeared in the West, re-introducing logical and dialectical rigour into medieval Christianity, and heralding the gradual revival of Greco-Roman classicism that culminated in the Italian Renaissance.