Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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* Every student passing out with a Secondary School Certificate has also completed
Tahfeez Memorization of the Holy Quran, read the Quran in translation, been introduced
to fundamental concepts of Tafseer,Hadith, and Fiqh.
* Totally not-for profit organization operating on self-help basis (without appealing for
charitable contributions).
* Two months annual vacations: one month during Ramadan and one month during
July every year.
Hatim al-Assamm
1. God will raise in rank those of you who believe and are given knowledge.
(Al Quran: )
2. Can those who know and those who do not know ever be equal?
(Az-Zumar: 39:9)
3. Read in the name of thy Lord who created man out of a mere clot. Read and
your Lord is Most Bountiful. He Who taught (the use) of the pen.
4. Those (who) truly fear Allah among His servants (are those)who have
knowledge.
(Fatir: 35:28
2. Whosoever goes out in search of knowledge, trods the path of Allah till he
returns.
(Tirmidhi)
3. Whosoever searches knowledge will have this serve as expiation for his past
sins.
(Tirmidhi)
4. He who meets with death while in search of knowledge for bringing Islam
back to life, will have only one degree in paradise between him and the prophets.
(Darimi)
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AN ISLAMIC SYSTEM OF EDUCATION SHOULD PROVIDE
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In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful Most Gracious
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
The future of every nation depends upon the quality of its individuals.
Human resource development has moved well beyond from being mere jargon to a
very definite and active field of academic endeavour and practical development.
Indeed, every individual is a microcosmic symbol of the nation's potentials and
future ambitions. The importance of the truism about enhancing quality of
individuals can hardly be over-emphasized. No individual serving in any role model
or leadership capacity can afford to lose sight of this fact.
Leaders put into effect policies which in their view (or the view of their
groupings and associates) are likely to achieve certain strategic targets. For instance
if a country wishes to improve its technological state in a shorter span of time than
the one taken by other similarly developed nations, it would undertake actions
which are likely to yield that result.
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whereby a strong emphasis is laid on both religious subjects together with the more
secular ones required for success of a more temporal nature.
Although still technically ruled by the Mughals, India was had been under
British sovereignty for almost 70 years. The golden age of imperialism had begun
and the British were busy in plans to establish the `raj' that would last centuries - in
an area which was to become the Crown Jewel of the colonial empire. Economic
ambitions of the quasi-commercial bodies like the Dutch and British trading
companies had led to political control for "king and country". As would appear
natural, this `desire to dominate' soon developed into a policy aiming at total
supremacy through social and cultural ascendancy. Although it was to be much
later that Kipling coined the expression of "White Man's Burden", the desire
civilize the uncultured natives by planting Western ideas and institutions on local
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soils and thus put into motion far-reaching and more subtle changes had existed in
the minds of colonial policy makers for some time.
The first step in this direction was a disconnection of the Indians from their
traditional sources of learning: Arabic/Persian for the Muslims and Sanskrit for the
Hindus. As the language of administrative process and court record was changed
from Persian to English economic reward in the shape of government employment
was restricted to those who knew the new rulers' language. Macaulay was of the
considered view that the British must attempt to produce a class which while being
Indian in flesh and blood be indistinguishable from the British in their outlook,
tastes, morals, and ambitions. Apart from the open intent to produce clerks and
menial workers for the raj, Macaulay also sported a secret personal desire which he
expressed in a letter to his mother: the hope that the new education would win
Christian converts amongst the Indians.
The transformation set into motion by the colonial rulers more than a
century and half ago remains with us to this day. Anybody who figures in any vital
decision making position in any walk of modern Pakistan has been brought up and
bred on lines envisaged by Macaulay: educated Pakistanis, as a class, are not
representatives of their country's masses and instead resemble Westerners in their
appearance and mental outlook. In more recent years it may be said that the
Pakistani system has become part of the increasing globalization of Western
education.
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education in a workable whole is now taking root in Pakistan. Before we look at this
initiative in detail let us take a look at its background.
This initiative is not new: It has its roots in the very fundamental notion of
"a complete code or way of life" by which Muslims have always described their
creed (deen). Unlike Christianity and the modern Western civilization which
divided the realm into spheres belonging to Christ and Caesar, classical Islam has
never believed in cut and dry compartments of the spiritual and the temporal.
Instead it always laid stress on the fact that lives of all Muslims be harmonious
wholes comprising of the best of this world and the hereafter. Perhaps the best
known of Quranic prayers is the one which believers call on their Creator to give
them the "Good of this world and the good of the hereafter." (Al-Quran: II:201)
This era of Muslim intellectual ascendancy began to falter towards the end of
the 6th century Hijrah (12th century C.E.) when cracks started appearing in the
formidable Muslim polity. The cyclic process of history led to the shifting of both
the political and the intellectual centres towards the West where Europe was
beginning to rise after the Dark Ages into the Renaissance and Age of Discovery.
Although Muslims saw periods of political glory in the form of the Ottomans
and Mughals, this time around they did not have an intellectual prowess to match.
A new renaissance has come about only during the past 100 years or so after a
series of concerted efforts led to the initial imbibing and later adaptation of the
Western education and scientific traditions. Of course, one must acknowledge that
during this long intervening period there were innumerable individuals, institutions
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and regional movements which aimed and worked towards the strengthening of the
religious sciences (Ahya-i-Uloom-i-Deen).
In India, Muslim political power had begun to decline steadily towards the
end of the 17th century C.E. As British tightened their hold on the administration,
it were the Muslims who lost the most not only in prestige but more importantly in
terms of economic sustenance and the decimation of their national institutions.
Virtually all seats of learning, religious training and culture had survived owing to
the direct or indirect patronage of the rulers and aristocracy. The new foreign
rulers resumed lands and endowments of these institution and economic hardship of
the formerly rich dried up remaining sources of sustenance. It was in this period of
political and economic decline that the great reformer Shah Waliullah appeared and
launched a movement of Islamic intellectual renaissance and political resistance.
More than anything else, the new initiative of bringing together the best of
Western and Islamic education reflects the philosophy of Sir Syed, even though
critics may point out that Sir Syed's legacy at Aligarh began to loose its Muslim hue
very early on - even before independence - becoming more liberal and pro-Western
rather than a synthesis. But what they forget is that it was Sir Syed's genius that
opened up a vision of the future: the revival of Muslim education in India and
elsewhere - both in its pure form or as a combination comprising the modern
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prowess of the Western education and traditional values of the Islam. Indeed it is a
tribute to Sir Syed that even in opposition he inspired as great an institution as the
seminary at Deoband which was established by one of his class fellows and chief
opponents, Maulana Qasim Nanotvi.
The movement that had begun at Aligarh soon began to inspire Muslim
reformers and educationists throughout the length and breadth of India leading
them to establish schools patterned on Sir Syed's model. As Muslims felt an
increasing need to educate their children under the British system, Aligarh alumni
returning to their native towns served as moving forces. As a result of this
inspiration - as well as to counter the growing Hindu and Sikh efforts visible in the
form of the Benaras Hindu College, DAV and Khalsa schools - institutions bearing
the generic `Islamia' or `Muslim' label began coming up in all major cities. (like
Islamic College Peshawar and Sind Madrassah at Karachi.) Yet many felt that the
gap between Aligarh with its visible British patronage (and increasing Western
colour) and the classical Islamic "madrassah" symbolized by Deoband needed to be
bridged by a new class of educational institution: the "Modern Islamic
Madrassah."
Thus on the eve of partition, India had many Muslim educational institutions
with varying degrees of attachment to the core belief system: Some like Aligarh
were only institutions with a strong Muslim flavour. Diagonally opposite were
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traditional madrassahs producing religious scholars, qaris, nd imams. In between
were institutions of many descriptions symbolized by Nadva, Jamia Millia and
Islamia School at Etawah. In the years after partition Islamic political parties like
the Jamaat Islami with its strong urban intelligentsia roots and social reform
programme began their own schools like Mansoorah.
But for the most part no significant developments in Islamic education took
place until the late 70's when plans for an International Islamic University at
Islamabad began taking shape. Increasing availability of financial support from oil-
rich Arab countries also gave an impetus to growth of Islamic education in
Pakistan. Two institutions in Karachi, the Jamia Abu Bakr and Darasaat, became
the only facilities in South Asia imparting Islamic scholarship fully in Arabic and
gained international accredition at Azhar, Islamic University Madinah and
elsewhere.
For a number of years there has been extensive soul-searching among the
Pakistani middle class for quick-solutions to
the nation's many ills. Much that simple and superficial cures cannot be had
without more fundamental changes in the socio-political structures and economic-
development indicators, the people have tended to narrow down their list to political
and administrative accountability, greater economic balance, removal or socio-
cultural discriminations, free national participation and finally a dedicated system
of education.
Additionally, there have been other social and political problems: Given the
international political situation, successive governments have tried to appear West-
friendly and distance themselves from what the West calls "fundamentalist"
regimes. Social paradoxes in the national fabric have also limited the possibilities of
a change being instituted through the government. The ruling elite, particularly the
landed aristocracy and Westernized politicians consider revival of Islam in any true
sense of the word to be detrimental to their vested interests. Indeed, education or
social reform of any kind has little place in the feudal system of Pakistan.
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While the force of government regulations and widespread conservatism
dictate that common educational institutions cannot be secular like public schools of
some Western countries, they continue to operate fully on the wisdom of the British
colonial legacy. Governed on the basis of existing government policy guidelines and
operating under the aegis of the government controlled boards of education this
system leads to the Secondary School (matriculation) and Higher Secondary
certificates. Increasing deterioration in standards has reduced the real worth of
these qualifications to the bare minimum for seeking any public sector job.
As for the Islamic madrassahs, they also enjoy a degree of government
recognition through the accredition of a set of umbrella organizations like the
Wifaq-ul-Madaris (Confederation of Religious Schools). These "strictly Islamic"
institutions produce Dars-i-Nizami graduates aiming for general service as mosque
attendants (muezzins, mohtamims), imams, khateebs, huffaz (for travih prayers),
Quranic or Islamiat instructors at "normal schools" and teachers in the madrassah
system from which they have passed out.
Madrassahs are the only remaining choice for students whose parents cannot
afford `normal' schooling or who are not considered bright enough (amongst
numerous siblings) to have any resources `wasted' upon. Far from being
sympathetic to these institutions the government bodies are generally suspicious of
their activities and keep a strict watch on their funding. There is, generally
speaking, an understanding-gap between government educational authorities and
the madrassahs which may be likened to the uneasy relationship between the health
authorities and the traditional medical practitioners, the hakeems. Given social
pressures and preferences they are by far the unenviable and unlikely destination
for "normal" middle class children.
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charged (ranging from about 200 to 2000 rupees p.m.) and related pay/career
incentives package for workers. Similarly the curriculum used in this system also
varies greatly from expensive but fashionable imported texts to the less jazzy
government subsidized textbooks. While community based/ NGO operated private
schools are many, a large number of institutions in this category operate on a
commercial rather than educational-service basis and operate from premises built
for residential rather than school-specific purposes.
(iii) The facilities available under the government generally suffer from lack
of motivation in teachers (low pays and incentives) and deteriorating standards in
both quality of education and physical infrastructure (due to absence of change in
societal parameters). Still the economic reward is much better in this system.
Criticism of the school system is wide-spread yet it is often spared the
misunderstanding and ignorance about the madrassahs in the middle and educated
classes.
Most madrassahs are not managed on modern lines but instead are operated
as a means of sustenance for the administrators. Very often the pupils (left in the
institutions by destitute parents) are used for forced labour or sent out to seek funds
from the community at large. Stories of financial irregularities, inhumane
treatment and even immoral activities of pupils abound.
A new Islamic school education initiative which took root in Karachi in 1984
- the Iqra school system - is increasingly becoming stronger, visible and popular.
This is essential theme of this presentation.
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groups who had wanted their children not only to be successful citizens but also
good Muslims.
The conceptual framework of this system is very simple: To produce high
school graduates who have not only completed the required studies and
examinations for award of the basic qualification of S.S.C. (matriculation) but have
also completed their tahfeez (memorization of the Holy Quran), read the Holy
Quran in translation, and learnt the essential features of tafseer (Quranic
interpretation), hadith (Sayings of the Holy Prophet), fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence)
and absorbed other useful knowledge required by Muslims for living their lives
according to Islamic tenets.
This system is the mid-way station between the more widely prevalent system
of school education and the "strictly Islamic" school system. This "third force" (as
all new entrants in our highly polarized milieu are popularly called) aims to serve as
a meeting ground for the two systems and thus as an agent for narrowing the
temporal-spiritual gap. To coin a new term they may be termed as "theophilic"
rather than thoelogic.
To a great part this new "Islamic Education Initiative" has come about as a
result of an already existing demand - like many a new product that caters to an
already existing market. In this case the product has come about as a result of a
desire on part ofthe most conservative of classes, the urban middle class to provide
their young with a "balanced" Islamically oreinted education: An education which
deals with the one element that Western education has generally regarded as a
personal issue of individual sets of parents: religious and moral training.
" Like so many other Islamically inclined Pakistanis we felt that the educated
middle class was getting increasingly distant and disappointed from religious
education institutions even though they had a desire to put their children through
Islamic schooling. Among the many reasons for this were,
(b) The Madrassahs not only had undesirable reputations for corporal
punishment and even other immoral activities but also lacked in some common
features of a school: discipline, uniforms, regular performance reviews, reports,
extra-curricular activities, etc. Of course, the Madrassahs education did not lead to
the desired careers open to "normally" schooled children. And so we thought of
incorporating the two systems. Under the guidance of Mufti Wali Hasan we began
our journey - a revolutionary step - on April 4, 1984.
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What began with 12 children in two rooms has now, by the Grace of Allah,
become nearly 9000 pupils at 13 campuses in Karachi and one at Lahore. In the
beginning we sent our children to other schools after completion of tahfeez but later
started our own school system in 1991. Our first batch is appearing for the Board
examination this year.
(ii) Qaidah: Age 5-6; preparation for tahfeez with practical Islamic training
and calligraphy.
(iii) Tahfeez: The memorization of the Holy Quran normally takes 4 years
with timings being 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the first year and later an increase of two
hours till 4 p.m. There is training for jamaat prayers.
(ix) Iqra School After successful completion of tahfeez, the essential syllabus
of the five primary classes is covered in one year; earlier we though only 3 years
work was possible but now condensed period of 2 months each are satisfactory for
each school year. We use the normal government school curriculum.
The following are some points about which people normally inquire from us:
* We had no model before us and built the system as we went along on the
basis of our own ideas, suggestions, and experience. We did borrow from the system
and curriculum of special Muslim schools in South Africa. Earlier we used general
textbooks for our early years but have now started producing our own.
* Of recent many other persons have started capitalizing on the demand for
our system and have both used and misued the "Iqra" name. We do not mind
anyone with a sincere purpose competing with us. In fact we have trained people
and cooperated with many in terms of sharing our experience and textbooks. Yet
most parents who initially go to our competitors ultimately come to us. There are
still long waiting lists for admission to our system and pressing demands from many
cities to open branches.
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* Our education costs are very economical as we are a totally not for profit
organization catering to middle and lower-middle classes: 200 to 300 rupees per
month with 250 to 750 rupees as admission charges.
CONCLUSION
The popularity of the Iqra School System can be gauged from the fact that
the education system-design introduced by it is now being increasingly adopted by
several institutions: some of these are genuine and sincere efforts while others are
spurious efforts designed to cash on the commercial viability of the idea. In the
Gulshan-e-Iqbal area of karachi itself at least 6 other schools of similar names are
operating. Other efforts have also been undertaken under different names, some of
which are:
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the new Islamic school initiative will have to draw on internal strength and popular
support for some quite time.
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