Madrasas are centres of social service - Home Minister Shivraj Patil

Jehad in the classroom
By Balbir K. Punj

'Jehad' as M.J. Akbar says in the prologue of his book, The Shade
of Swords is the signature tune of Islam. Islam's quest for
re-domination of India found a milestone with attainment of Pakistan in
West and East of India on August 15, 1947. So it is hardly surprising
that Pakistan would give up transmission the raison d'etre to its
future generation.

When Home Minister Shivraj Patil certified (sic.) that Madrasas are
centres of social service rather than terrorist indoctrination there
was a news from our western neighbour that 'Jehad to remain in school
books of Pakistan" (The Indian Express, July 26). Pakistani Prime
Minister Shaukat Aziz, no Mullah but a suave banker with 30 years
experience in the West, had declined a suggestion from moderate Islamic
scholars, to keep the primary classes out of bound religious
curriculum. Javed Asharaf Qazi, the Education Minister of Pakistan, has
said full knowledge of Jehad will be imparted to students. Qazi's
integrity is beyond doubt. As the head of the infamous ISI, between
1993 and 1995, he had supervised the recruitment of students from
Pakistan's madrasas for raising the Taliban militia which overran
Afghanistan in 1996.

The 'topology' of Islamic studies in public schools of Pakistan
would be something like this-the lower classes would be taught about
several aspects of Islam in their curriculum; Classes XI and XII would
be taught 39 selected chapters that contained an introduction to Jehad,
its importance and forms in the light of the scriptures. Qazi informs
that Nazara Quran (glimpses of the Koran) would start in Class III,
leading to completion the Koran by class VIII. The students of Classes
IX and X would be taught 20 selected chapters with translation and
interpretation.

But the whole thing proves that while Pakistan doesn't fumble about
its Islamic identity India is unsure of its secular, let alone Hindu,
identity. Our Islamic neighbour is sure that Jehad is the corner stone
of its formation, survival and envisioned expansion at the cost of
'infidel' India. Haath mein khanjar, gale mein Quran, ladke lenge
Pakistan (dagger in the hand, and in our voice Koran/through war we
shall wrest Pakistan) went one of the popular though forgotten slogans
of Muslim League in 1940. But the establishment in India is patently
unsure of the imperatives of 'secularism' that is vaunts of
following.

By saying that Madrasas are the places where lessons of humanism are
imparted, and graduates of Madrasas can only be termed as 'servants
of humanity', the Home Minister is doing double disservice. First, he
is encouraging a warped system of education, which even if sanitised
turns out unemployable theological robots. It is a tremendous wastage
of human capital which is responsible for low per capita income amongst
Muslim community. When Muslims of India bemoan their poverty and
backwardness, much could be ascribed to Madrasa education. Moreover a
person coming out with Madrasa has complete knowledge about life,
extended family and battles of Prophet Mohammed, but little knowledge
about India's states, rivers, politics, and culture. He is a
theological automation incompatible with modern world and civil
society. With Home Minister of India paying glowing tributes to such
institutions tantamount to pushing a sizeable, and rapidly growing,
section of Indians into dark ages. It would have been more practical
that instead of 'lessons of humanity', lessons of engineering,
medicine, vocational training were provided to them.

There was little need for Madrasas for common Muslims in India during
the Muslim rule. The Muslims already had the political power to seek
which is the prime objective of Jehad. Hadith, the sayings and acts of
the Prophet, was not a popular study and was not translated from
Arabic. As Mughal power began to wane across India, a need was felt to
build more Madrasas where spirit of Islam might take shelter to
reassert itself at an opportune moment. Shah Waliullah (1703-1762), the
ideologue of Wahabi movement, emphasized on Hadith for masses because
he viewed Muslim in India in 'midst of war' as the Prophet in his
own times. No wonder Dar-ul-Uloom was established in out-of-the-way
Deoband (U.P.) where Islam could flourish away from prying British eyes
in the aftermath of cataclysmic 1857.

'Jehad' as M.J. Akbar says in the prologue of his book, The Shade
of Swords is the signature tune of Islam. Islam's quest for
re-domination of India found a milestone with attainment of Pakistan in
West and East of India on August 15, 1947. So it is hardly surprising
that Pakistan would give up transmission the raison d'etre to its
future generation. The future of Islam, Muslim clerics realised long
ago, is intrinsically connected with future generation of Muslims.
Islam is the only religion priding on its burgeoning demography, while
a dedicated cadre of clerics is active in making every Muslim-majority
states more and more Islamic.

In India 'secularists' want to 'de-toxify' history text books
to take out anything remotely critical of Islamic iconoclasm,
separatism, and fundamentalism. History writing, in India was hijacked
by communists, where rhetoric became a substitute for objectivity. Long
before Arjun Singh started his 'de-toxification' drive in 2004, the
NCERT, in 1982 had issued a directive. It prohibited depicting the
medieval ages as period of conflict between Muslims and Hindus.

The school curriculum in Pakistan, on the other hand, has been
increasingly radicalised. A reliable glimpse was provided by
Pakistani-scholar Amir Mir in his article 'Primers of Hate' in The
Outlook (October 10, 2005). Amir Mir's article relates how a class XI
student of Lahore Government Central Model School, while speaking at a
declamation contest to celebrate Pakistan's Independence Day on the
topic 'Why Islam and Pakistan are integral to each other', lashed
out at Hindus, who form an infinitesimal part of Pakistan, with great
rage and fury. When asked to explain this unnatural outpouring he said,
"We hate Hindus because they are Hindustanis and the number one
enemies of both Islam and Pakistan. We know it all through our history
and Pakistan Studies books. We learn what happened years ago all the
time at school". Amir Mir informs that Jehad verses could be located
in as unlikely place as biology text books in public schools of
Pakistan. The curriculum and instruction methodology is venomously
anti-Hindu, anti-Christian and anti-Jewish.

This was the finding of Sustainable Development Policy Institute
(SDPI), which in its meticulous report 'The Subtle Subversion'. The
140-page report jointly authored by H. Nayyar and Ahmed Salim showed
how the education system was contributing to the culture of
sectarianism, religious intolerance and violence.

While Qazi is handing over the sword of Islam to future Jehadis in
classroom, our Shivraj Patil and Arjun Singh are taking our protective
shield off. This is an unequal battle!

Note:

When it comes to Islam and xianity, we are admonished only to look at
their charities and social-service fronts and not their political or
ulterior agenda, even when they are so obvious. They are lionized for
their 'services' to society.

But when it comes to hindu counterparts, they are instantly demonized
and propganized and atrributed hidden agenda, cultural/ideological
affinity to Sangh pariwar, communal agenda etc even when none of them
may be present in their functioning - their charities and welfare
projects do not count as 'services' to society. They are never
acknowledged. they are discounted as Sangh fronts spreading communal
poision and hatred of minorities. All you would know about them is
their communal agenda and complaints from minority outfits against
them.

Anybody who tries to go beyond service fronts to expose the missionary
and jehadi outfits is labelled as communal, hater, nazi, against
minorities etc. ou sometime wonder, that even Indian media is
controlled by people immical to hindus and hindustan.

.

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