Critical thinking a must for peace and progress

Speakers urge teachers to promote sectarian, religious harmony

ISLAMABAD: In today’s digital age, where wide information is readily accessible, students should be taught how to think critically for themselves. This way, not only will they seek solutions to the pressing issues around them, but they will also be mindful of narrow and parochial explanations of the same issues. That is the path to a tolerant future.

These thoughts came in a day-long dialogue with around 35 teachers of post-graduate and degree colleges of central and northern Punjab, organised by Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS). The discussion explored what teachers can do to promote social and religious harmony in Pakistan.

Starting off the discussion, Dr Khalid Masud, former chairman, Council of Islamic Ideology, asked teachers to learn themselves the intellectual challenges of the country. A close reading will reveal them accepting diversity of opinion on causes and responses to those challenges.

Generally, Dr Masud noted there was too much focus on emotions and verbosity and little on analytical skills. This should change. The former chairman of CII noted the tendency of discarding different opinion owes to fear of disunity. This, he said, was wrong. In fact, diversity has been strength in the Muslim history.

The discussion presented a range of intellectual challenges the country has been facing, emanating from the search of identity in the state of Pakistan and the role of religion in state affairs.

Surely, these challenges are not new. Scholars and teachers have explored them in the past too. Yet, in today’s age and world, with the advent of new technologies, staying detached is not an option, the participants were told.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2017.