Activities of the IOS Chapters

KOLKATA CHAPTER

Discussion on the Problem of Muslim Education

In a largely attended meeting of intellectuals and noted personalities a discussion took place on the ‘Problems of Muslim Education in West Bengal’, particularly Kolkata, in the lecture room of the IOS on Friday the 18th of June 2004. Mr. Md. Nizam Shamim IPS (Rtd.) presented a report on the activities of Education Coordination Committee (ECC) since its inception in 1995, and Dr. M.K.A. Siddiqui Coordinator, IOS, Kolkata Chapter, presented his paper ‘Educational Scenario of the Muslims of West Bengal’.

Mr. Nizam dealt at length with the experiences of ECC in activising schools and persuading them to make better arrangement for teaching subjects like English, Physical and Bio-Sciences and Mathematics etc. He gave the details of the ECC’s efforts to standardize textbooks. The committee’s experience with teachers, students, guardians as well as those responsible for producing textbooks for Urdu medium schools, had been frustrating. Mr. Nizam spoke about the overcrowding of students and inadequacy of the number of schools and restrictions imposed by the administration on the establishment of new schools. He spoke of the difficulties the ECC faced in establishing a model schools for the Urdu medium students. The audience appreciated the efforts of ECC for the educational uplift of the Urdu medium students and felt sorry for its failure in its endeavour.

Dr. M.K.A. Siddiqui in his paper drew a very gloomy picture of the state of education of the Urdu medium students, of which he said that the community is not properly informed. Of a total population of about eight lakh Muslims in the city, approximately 70 percent or 560,000 are Urdu speaking which should demographically include not less than 1,40,000 juvenile population of school or college going age.

But according to a survey in 1997 the total enrolment figure of Urdu speaking students in educational institutions of all types did not exceed 35,000 (14,663 in schools, 5090 madrasahs and approximately 15,000 in maktabs and primary schools). This means that about 1,05,000 boys and girls do not have any educational institution to attend. This is partly due to socio-economic reasons but largely because of the extreme dearth of educational institutions. There are 43 Urdu medium schools (Junior 16, High 21 & H.S. 6), only 24 are recognized while the state runs one higher secondary and two junior schools. Though, generally of very poor standard, the schools are extremely overcrowded and a large number of aspirants are refused admission. Limited accommodation leads to mal-practices and irregularities in selection for admissions which has its impact on performance and results.

A sizable affluent class in the city has a craze for admitting its children to English medium mission schools, in which the admission of Muslim children is getting more and more restricted, and the amount of capitation fee which is so high and which could be any amount from 50,000 to one lakh and even more is paid. We have no means to estimate the total amount of capitation fees paid by the affluent class of Muslims for their children which could be Rupees fifteen to twenty million or even more. There is practically no serious endeavour to establish English medium schools of high standard, to cater to the needs of comparatively well to do class in the localities where they could serve the needs of the largest number. Attempts to establish standard schools in the residential areas of the city do not appear to be successful because these are not affordable. Cost of establishing schools within the reach of the target group is definitely high, but they are viable and may be an asset rather than a liability in a few years time.

Dr. Siddiqui said that the crying need of the hour is the establishment of a few English medium schools somewhat of the standard of mission schools through individual or corporate efforts on business lines in which the investment is safe. Muslims must strive to remove the restrictions, asserting their constitutional rights, through legal steps, if necessary. He suggested that a perfect project report be prepared and made available for those of the businessmen who may be interested in investment on schools of the type proposed. He said that his exercise is purely recommendatory.

Those who participated in the discussion were Mr. Nisar Waris, Mr. Md. Iqbal, Mr. M.A. Mallick, Mr. Ziauddin Ahmed, Prof. Ghulam Sarwar, Mr. Amanullah Ansari, Mr. Hafizur Rahman, Mr. Mansoor Ahmed, Mr. Md. Bilal and others.

PATNA CHAPTER

Lecture on Muslim Philosophical Thought

A Sham-e-Muzakara was held on July 11, 2004 in the lecture hall of the IOS Patna Chapter. The programme started with recitation of the Holy Quran by Dr. S.S. Ali, Assistant Co-ordinator, IOS Patna Chapter. Dr. M.A. Quddus, Coordinator, while welcoming the guest and the audience, highlighted the role of the Institute of Objective Studies in ameliorating the conditions of the weaker sections. He expected the talk by the speaker will surely provide insight into the problems the people are facing today. He also hoped that the speaker would come out with viable solutions.

The learned speaker initiated his talk by focusing on the pathetic conditions of Muslims today although they have ruled the world for at least one thousand years in the past. In the unipolar world today ruled by U.S.A. their conditions have become more pathetic than they were at the time of destruction of Baghdad by the Mongols. Today very cunningly the idea has been spread that all Muslims are not terrorists but terrorists are Muslims, thus putting all the Muslims in the orbit of suspicion as being terrorists when we are the chosen umamh and our Islam is a comprehensive religion, remarked the speaker. Another bigger surprise is the behaviour of George Bush the President of U.S.A., a country with a strong democracy and with the best of science and technology.

The clergy people when faced with these questions reply in spiritual way: since Muslims have forgotten the teachings of Islam, they are being placed under tyrant rulers till their sins are forgiven by the Almighty.

Logically even if we suppose that all the terrorists are Muslims what about “Hindu terrorists”, Israeli terrorists, American State terrorism and many other ethnic terrorism in other countries. Thus deliberately lies are being spread in the world against Islam which the American lobby wants to destroy as an ideology. But the truth is that terror begets terror. In other words those leveling charges of terrorism against the Muslims should look deep into the matter and find out the reasons for terrorism. If they are honest they will come to the conclusion that their deeds and continued injustices sometimes and somewhere are the root cause of terrorism.

At the zenith of their power, the Muslim scientists, philosophers, thinkers gave a lot of their inventions and richness of thought during Abbasid rule (750-1258 A.D.) and eight hundred rule in Spain, when Europe was lagging behind. In the beginning of the Muslim rule, extensive translations of science and philosophy and all the most important books of ancient civilisations particularly the Greek were done in a short span of eighty years.

Prof. Ashraf pointed out that the Muslim thought begins from Mutazilites who were great rationalists and interpreted Islam through reason. The other group of thinkers called Asharites arose in reaction to the Mutazilites. They showed the supremacy of faith over reason. The orthodoxy of Asharites was established to a great extent in the world of Islam, and the task was completed by Al-Ghazali. The controversies over the attributes of God, eternity of the world, createdness and uncreatedness of the words of Quran as revealed, freedom of human will and pre-destination, etc. between Mutazilites and Asharites are of great philosophical interest which still attract our attention, said the speaker.

The learned speaker, expressed his helplessness to give in details of the development of Muslim thought in a short lecture. It is possible only to give some pointed references. Islamic mysticism of Mansur Hallaj, Ibn-Arabi, Ghazali and Rumi and many other mystics is a glorious chapter in the history of Muslim thought, said the speaker.

In his thought provoking lecture, Prof. Ashraf said that there is no doubt that the Muslim thinkers of the East particularly Al-Kindi (800-873 A.D.), Al-Farabi (870-950 AD) and Ibn Rushd (1126-1198 AD) made significant contributions in the history of Muslim thought and made an impact on western thought. Ibn Khaldun (1332-1395) stands alone with his own separate identity as the pioneer of philosophy of History and as founder of sociology.

The torch of civilisation passed on to the West, it will not be an exaggeration to say that the humanist movement in Europe and the development of modern science and philosophy and the European renaissance was only a further development on the foundation of Muslim thought and culture.

Dr. Ashraf expressed his surprise over the missing link of Arabic-Muslim thought in the chain of human intellectual history which constitute the continuity of human civilization after the decay of Muslim civilization since four or five hundred years. It was only in the beginning of the 20th century, that attempts of systematic interpretations of master minds of Arabic-Muslim thinkers and their philosophical texts were started in the context of different cultures and civilizations of the world.

The nineteenth and twentieth centuries witnessed a strong wave of Islamic renaissance by the Muslim thinkers which may be designated by different words such as “revivalism”, “reformism”, “re-orientation”, “reconstruction”, “modernism”, “liberalism” etc. There are pressures of challenges to the Muslim world by the West almost in all the field. The speaker, Prof. Ashraf in his concluding remarks said that there is a lot of materials to review contemporary Muslim thought which is going on in India and Pakistan, the Arab countries, Iran, Turkey, Algeria, Malaysia and even in Britain and America. He said it is difficult to predict or guess what is the future of Muslim thought and civilization. He left the matter unanswered for further discussion.

Dr. Nazre Ahsan, former Vice-Chancellor of Patna University, in his presidential remarks appreciated the talk and showed his keen interest and requested Prof. Ehsan Ashraf to deliver some more lectures on this topic.

Dr. Imtiaz Hasan moved the formal vote of thanks.