Seminaries need to be modernised, made accountable

Cleric hopes to initiate dialogue, calls for updated curriculum.

ISLAMABAD:

With the country caught in turmoil due to the grand tussle between liberals and conservatives, the best way forward could be creating dialogue between the two schools of thought.

On this very note, Kuch Khaas held an interactive dialogue on ‘Seminaries in Pakistan, reality and myths” on Tuesday where Maulvi Jahangir Mahmud, the cofounder and director of the Society for Educational Research, sat down with young minds.

The small gathering had many sceptics at the beginning, but by the end of an extremely interactive session, a lot of myths and misunderstandings seemed dispersed. Mahmud stressed on the fact that even though there are black sheep in every segment of society that are dishonest and corrupt, they do not represent society as a whole. “Clerics out there who are corrupt and pocket madrassa (seminary) funds while roaming around in Pajeros and SUVs do not represent us. Some of us are trying very hard to improve things, but progress can only be made if we begin to understand each other,” he said before laying emphasis on madrassa students. “If you are the eighth child in a poor family, and your family sends you away because they can no longer afford to keep you, the child understands that. Then if he grows up to become a cleric and gets treated as a second-class citizen, somewhere along the way he will become resentful towards the world,” he added.

When asked about the level of government funding, Mahmud was quick to clarify that most funding that is set aside by the state never actually goes to madrassas, while funding that comes from the Gulf is usually given to Salafi ones. Referring to the resistance to budget transparency in seminaries, Mahmud was of the opinion that budget should indeed be made transparent, but the audit process should be transparent as well.

Some were of the opinion that instead of Arabic, religion should be taught in the local language as done in most other Muslim countries so the subject matter is easier to understand and relate to, to which Jahangir replied that only recently have the institutions begun teaching in Urdu. However he noted that while there is an abundance of translated material available, to be a specialist one still has to learn Arabic.

The education curriculum was much debated upon as many insisted that the it needs to be revised. “There is a dire need to update the curriculum…we have started working on it, and some madrassas have also started vocational training because the consensus is to create more opportunities for the students,” Mahmud said agreeing with the participants.

He closed the discussion by listing key skills that he hopes will be promoted in madrassas. “Self awareness, empathy, critical thinking and respect for diversity are the keys. The problem is that we as a nation become intimidated by the ranting bearded man who gets away with horrendous acts in the name of Islam simply because we refuse to study our faith,” he said.

Mahmud added, “We don’t raise our voices against such people because the majority of the nation is ignorant of matters concerning faith. Peace and tolerance is our creed!”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 12^th, 2012.