Volume 9 (Special Issue) December 2012
IIUC STUDIES A Research Journal of International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC)
Avš—R©vwZK Bmjvgx wek¦we`¨vjq PÆMÖvg International Islamic University Chittagong www.iiuc.ac.bd
Volume 9 (Special Issue) December 2012
IIUC STUDIES A Research Journal of International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC)
International Advisory Council Professor Dr. Anis Ahmad, ViceChancellor, Riphah International University, Pakistan Professor Dr. Salman Nadwi, University of KwazuluNatal, Durban, South Africa Professor Dr. Nowshad Amin, National University of Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia
Advisor Professor Dr. A. K. M. Azharul Islam, ViceChancellor, IIUC
Chief Editor Prof. Dr. Abu Bakr Rafique, Pro ViceChancellor, IIUC
Members of Editorial Board Professor Dr. Rafiqul Islam Molla, Academic Advisor Professor Md. Harun‐Ar‐Rashid, Professor of DBA & Treasurer, IIUC Professor Dr. Md. Delawer Hossain, Dean, Faculty of Science & Engineering Professor Dr. Farid Ahammad Sobhani, Dean, Faculty of Business Studies & Secretary, CRP Professor Md. Morshed Mahmud Khan, Coordinator, Faculty of Laws Professor Dr. Md. Mamun‐ur‐Rashid Khandker, Head, Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering Mr. Md. Humayun Kabir, Head, Department of English Language & Literature Dr. Abdul Hamid Chowdhury, Head, Department of Business Administration Dr. B.M. Mofizur Rahman Al‐Azhari, Director, Center for University Requirement Courses
Computer Compose & Processing Mr. Mohammad Idris Chowdhury, Deputy Director & PS to ProVC, IIUC
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Editor’s Note
In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Beneficent
We are pleased to present the Volume 9 (Nine) of IIUC Studies before the learned readers. In fact this is a special issue of this Journal containing 21 (twenty one) selected articles which were presented in the 5th International Conference on “Islam, Education & Development” organized by IIUC in September 2011. Due to some unavoidable circumstances publishing of this Volume is delayed from the period as scheduled for that. Most of the articles selected here for publishing were contributed by IIUC staff members. The main objective of publishing this Volume is to keep continuation of the sequence of IIUC Studies and to keep the records of publication. We hope that, though late, this Volume would be helpful for the seekers of knowledge in general and the researchers in particular. We do encourage the authors with proper aptitude and potentiality for doing research work in different fields of knowledge and branches of scholarship to contribute to IIUC Studies regardless of the condition of the affiliation with any particular Institution, belief or point of view, being from within the country or beyond. However, the works related to ideas and thoughts, critical appreciation and constructive analysis of any existing system, thought or philosophy which can bring changes in the society towards the betterment are especially appreciated. May Allah give us the best of Tawfique.
(Prof. Dr. Abu Bakr Rafique) Chief Editor, IIUC Studies International Islamic University Chittagong
NOTE TO CONTRIBUTORS
The “IIUC STUDIES” is an interdisciplinary research journal of International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC). The Journal accepts a wide variety of scholarly articles on various fields of studies like Religion & Ethics, History & Culture, Economics & Social Sciences, History & Philosophy, Law & Humanities, Linguistics & Literature and so on. However, preference is given to original research works dedicated to the revival of Islamic heritage, highlighting the glorious past of Muslim Ummah and addressing the problems that are being faced by the Ummah at present. The articles that are related to controversial issues or are considered as dealing with the usual issues and fail to make meaningful contribution to the field of scholarship may not be accepted. The articles received for publication are referred to two specialists for assessment & review. Those, which are recommended by two assessors, are selected finally for publication. Guidelines to the Contributors: 1. The paper should have an abstract of not more than 150 words. It should include a readable summary of the research in question & methodology. 2. It is preferable to mention the Keywords used in the article which should not exceed five in number. 3. The submitted manuscript should be original and contributing to some new dimensions in the field of scholarship and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. 4. Manuscripts to be considered for publication must be written in correct English or Arabic and be submitted in accordance with the prescribed format. Articles must be free from all kinds of grammatical mistakes. Articles with grammatical mistakes may be rejected outright. 5. The author should retain a copy of the manuscript for his own reference. 6. Three (3) copies of article(s) are to be submitted to the Editor of the Journal in font size 12 (twelve) of Times New Roman or 14 (fourteen) of Traditional Arabic on A4 size paper. 7. The figures & diagrams should be commensurate with the font size of the article. 8. Articles will be accepted for publication on understanding that they are subjected to editorial revision.
9.
The manuscript should be typed, double spaced for English article and one & half spaced for Arabic article throughout (excepting the abstract) with wide margin, on one side of the paper only. 10. If the article is accepted finally for publication, the author(s) will be asked to submit their copies in final form in a Formatted CD, incorporating the changes and corrections as suggested by the Assessors. 11. The length of the article should not exceed 5000 (five thousand) words for English Article and 7500 (seven thousand & five hundred) words for Arabic Article and Book Review should not exceed 1000 (one thousand) words. 12. The article should begin from the second page and the first page should contain the title, name of the author, his affiliation, address, telephone & fax number, and e‐mail address. 13. References from the Holy Qur’an must be mentioned within the text immediately after the verse followed by its translation. However, no translation is needed for Arabic articles. 14. References should be numbered consecutively in the text and grouped together at the end of the paper. 15. References should contain: author’s surname in capital letters followed by a coma with author’s initial(s); year of publication; title of the article (Italic); journal & volume number; and inclusive page numbers. Books must include the location and name of the publisher. Examples: GREANEY, V. et al (1999), Assessing Basic Learning Skills, Bangladesh Development Series, Dhaka, University Press (Published for World Bank), PP.2‐22 ODA support to the strategic management inputs, University of Zimbabwe, s.l: s.n.: s.d On line available at: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/public/what/evsums/africa/ev_s585.html As an alternative, the references may also be included within the text in parentheses. Only the last name of the author and the relevant page number need to be mentioned. No dividing punctuation mark is required between the name of the author and the page number. If the author’s name has already been cited in the text, only the page number should follow within parentheses. If citations are given from more than one work by any author, they should be differentiated either by giving the volume number e.g. (Shaeffer I, 309) or by mentioning the year of publication e.g. (Tugner
1982, 69). If more than one work has been published by the same author in the same year and they are all cited from, the letters a, b, c should be used as distinguishing marks e.g. (Richards a, 84). A complete list of all works cited should be included at the end of the articles, arranged in Alphabetic order e.g. WORKS CITED Alexander, Doris, “Eugene O’Neill and Light on the Path.” Modern Drama 3 (December 1960): 260‐267. _____. “Lazarus Laughed and Buddah.” Modern Language Quartely 17 (December 1956): 357 ‐ 365. Barrent, William. Irrational Man. New York: Doubleday, 1958. _____, ed. The Later Plays of Eugene O’Neill. New York: Random, 1967. Carpenter, Frederic I, American Literature and the Dream. New York: Philosophical Library, 1955. _____, Emerson and Asia. Cambridge: Harvard, 1930. Chabrowe, Leonard. Ritual and Pathos: The Theatre of O’Neill. Lewisburg: Bucknell, 1976. Observations to help clarify text or give additional information should be given as End Notes at the end of the article. All End Notes should be numbered and the numbers should correspond to the numbers given in the main body of the text. 16. The responsibility for opinions expressed in the published articles or other comments rests with the author(s). 17. Two (2) copies of the Journal will be made available to the author(s) plus 10 (ten) copies of offprint of his article free of charges. The authors may purchase additional copies at subsidized rates from the IIUC authority. 18. The copyright of the paper will be reserved for International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC) once it is accepted for publication in the Journal. 19. All editorial communications should be made to the following address: CHIEF EDITOR, IIUC STUDIES International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC) 154/A, College Road, Chittagong – 4203, Bangladesh Phone: 880‐31‐610085, 610308, 638657, Fax: 880‐31‐610307 Email: abrafique@yahoo.com, iiucstudies@iiuc.ac.bd
CONTENTS The University’s Role in Development 11‐16 Prof. Dr. Anis Ahmed Towards an integrated Islamic Curriculum for Bangladesh in line 17‐38 with the recommendations of OIC Conference ‘77 Prof. Dr. Abu Bakr Rafique Mainstreaming the Third Sector Economics By Employing Islamic 39‐58 Entrepreneurship: For Development with Equity and Social Justice Prof. Dr. R. I. Molla Islamic Philosophy of Education and our Challenges Ahead 59‐78 Prof. Dr. Maimul Ahsan Khan Philosophy of Education in view of the pressing Muslim 79‐106 Requirement in the Islam and Word Perspective Prof. Dr. MuinudDin Ahmad Khan Need of Islamization of Education for Sustainable Development 107‐112 Prof. Dr. Md. Abdullahel Baqui Essence of Approaches to and Transformation Process in 113‐136 Higher Education for Sustainable Development: A Critical Review Prof. Dr. F A Sobhani & Dr. Azlan Amran Science and Science In Muslim Theology: Exploratory Study From 137‐160 Contemporary Books of Tafsīr Dr. Sohirin Muhammad Solihin Causes and Consequences of Western Extreme Negativism 161‐186 against Islam: the Need for Unbiased and Continuous Education on Islam to bring Global Harmony and Peace between the Muslims and the non‐Muslims Dr. Ghyasuddin Ahmed Accounting in Islamic Perspective: A Timely Opportunity, 187‐214 A timely Challenge Dr. Alim Al Ayub Ahmed Arif Billah & Md Alidul Islam The need of Ijtihad for sustainable development in Islam 215‐224 Arshia Javed & Muhammad Javed
Scientific Research; Instructions from the Holy Quran 225‐232 Md. Athar Uddin & Fouzia Ferdous Toward Islamization of Science and Technology 233‐242 Fouzia Ferdous & Md. Athar Uddin Information Technology (IT) Ethics in the Light of Islam 243‐260 Abdul Kadar Muhammad Masum, Md. Cholem Ullah & Md. Abul Kalam Azad English Literature from the “Other” Perspective: 261‐278 A Thought and an Approach Umme Salma Auditing in Islamic Perspective and Auditing as Practiced 279‐292 in some selected Islamic Banks operating in Bangladesh Muhammad Showkat Imran, Afzal Ahmad & Md. Zahid Hossain Bhuiyan Role of Mosque for Human Resource Development 293‐306 Imran Mahmud, Shahriar Rawshon, Md. Jahidur Rahman The Need for Computer Ethics Course for the Students 307‐322 of CSE/CS or Equivalent Discipline in Bangladesh Md. Monirul Islam, Mohammed Shamsul Alam & Tanveer Ahsan Economic Development of Bangladesh: Role of IBBL 323‐334 Shafiqur Rahman & Nicholas McDonald Morality and Ethics in Education and its Impact on the Society 335‐344
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IIUC STUDIES ISSN 1813-7733 Vol.- 9, December 2012 (p 11-16)
The University’s Role in Development Prof. Anis Ahmad, Ph.D* Abstract: Universities are always a powerful and creative hub of ideas, innovations and inventions. As factories of knowledge, universities disseminate knowledge, values and culture. The economy centered capitalist ideology considers University’s major role in terms of development of technology, talent and tolerance. To achieve these three objectives, the capitalist order invests in higher education to improve quality of life, economic productivity and maximization of profit margin. Globalization of economy, in the final analysis appears to stand for control and monopoly multinational’s network in economy, media, education and culture. While fully aware of its role in economic development, university as a seat of learning and producer of knowledge has to take first things first without minimizing the importance of technology it should address the primary issue of purpose of knowledge or purpose of life. Higher education should, first and foremost serve the purpose and objective of life. Economic development, technology, enhancement of talent and building of tolerance, are directly linked with the purpose of life. This paper argues that a holistic education paradigm can achieve this objective better than the existing utilitarian educational paradigm, exported, in the name of globalization, to the so-called developing world. This paper makes an effort to highlight basic features of a holistic education paradigm based on the global ethical values of Islam. Keywords: Development, Technology, Talent, Tolerance, holistic development, values
*
Vice-Chancellor, Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan
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Human capital development remains the key to a meaningful global development strategy whether in the east or the west. The western Capitalist economy could grow and reach its height thanks to a proportionate development of skills, techniques and human resource needed to meet challenges of technology. The correlation between fast technological development and human talent development is the key to the capitalist development strategy. Influenced by the technological revolution in the western capitalist model of development, the so-called developing world believes the key to improvement of quality of life lies in technological progress alone. In the western model three T’s are believed to play key role. First and foremost is technology. The contemporary technological revolution, with its unprecedented speed in IT revolution and consequent globalization of media and economy not only have transferred the size of economy and nature of society but also have changed our concept of time, space and world view. Technology has assumed so-central a place in human life that not only those who live in cosmopolitan cities and posh suburbs but even those who live in rural areas cannot survive without technology. Man’s dependence on technology has reached a point where human behavior is to be adjusted and modified in view of the demands of latest technology. Man’s food habits, reading culture, interpersonal communication, global connectivity, ways of socialization, travel, security, personal time, in brief total human behavior in society has because subservient to technology, man’s own invention and creation. Technology remains a key factor in economic development, knowledge transfer, man’s security and future of humanity, poverty alleviation, literacy level, health care, housing, in brief man’s basic needs depend directly on the level of technological development. Universities are hotbeds of inventions, innovations and the cutting edge of technological advancements. The secret of high technological performance of the west lies in its interface of University education with the industry. A recent study of over three hundred metropolitan regions done by Richard Florida et al, tries to establish a logical correlation between universities and creative economy. 1 Development of metropolitan regions has been directly related with the role of universities in conducting research and offering technological 12
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solutions. The role of Stanford University and MIT in development of Silican Valley and greater Boston area is a ground reality. The point we would like to emphasize is while regional economic development in the US or elsewhere appears have correlation with the leadership role played by participating seats of higher learning, does economic and technological development and excellence in technology transfer also results in a holistic development of man with internalization of basic human values? The second pillar of economic development, in the utilization paradigm, is said to be talent i.e. enhancement of human capacities needed to run technology, and at the same time attracting available top class talent, researchers, inventors, mentors, as faculty members in the universities. A proper combination of the two gives a university an edge over other institutions. It is innovative faculty which attracts industry to invest in research and benefits from the fruit of research in its industrial build up at national and global level. Market need leads to discovery of innovative solutions and their application in industry brings success to entrepreneurialism. This industrial link with the academia results in ranking of universities, in the west and the east, for achieving higher number of patents and research publication in high impact factor journals. Faculty who succeeds in getting larger number of patents is considered more talented and resourceful and qualifies for fast track academic promotions and financial rewards. Third place of economic progress and scientific and technological development is said to be creation of tolerance which means acceptance of diversity in ideas, identities, ethnic, religious and cultural realism as well as acceptance of life styles which have been earlier considered unethical, immoral and unlawful. This departure from the established universal norms has become an obsession with the post-modern morality. Leaving it aside for a while, the concept of tolerance itself is a welcome idea and helpful in social interaction in our age of globalization. To sum up, universities as engine of innovation and hub of technological development its transfer lead a society to better economic progress and play a crucial role in regional development. The question we raised earlier that 'what do we mean by development' still needs an answer. Is development confined to creative economic index? Is it enough to have a vibrant relationship between universities and industry, in order to create a tolerant human 13
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society? Can excellence in scientific and technological innovation also make a society socially sustainable? This and other related questions, we raised earlier call for further deliberations. The key to the role of universities, in our view, as engine of development lies in our vision and purpose of life. If the purpose of life is to have material satisfaction of the individual in measurable economic terms, the role of universities as engines of innovation and hub of technological solutions is understandable. However, if the objective and purpose of life is to realize certain higher global ethical values in human conduct and behavior, technological development and innovation should also lead to realization of a value based ethical and moral society. A value based society does not mean a rural or pre-industrial and pretechno culture environment and habitation. It simply means technology should be subservient to ideology and not ultimacy of technology and economic progress. Technological development and innovation is necessary to cope with the growing needs of human society. However, it is totally different thing to use technology for higher objectives of life than to make universities simply engine of innovation, mainly in technology. If technology is taken as the benchmark of quality of life and success of academic program of a university, in the final analysis we may have technocrats and work force with expertise in technological know-how but with no concept of purpose of life. This aspect has become glaringly visible in highly technological societies in the west as well as in the east. An obvious example of take-over by techno-culture and consequently decline of family values, for example is in the case of U.S. and Japan. A holistic development of human personality can take place when universities give equal importance to the human, intellectual, spiritual, psychical as well as technological needs of society. Islamic paradigm of knowledge and higher education represents a holistic model in which the Divine guidance, the Qur’an and the prophetic sunnah enjoin ethical and moral conduct as well as call for exploration in the universe, to discover what the Creator has provided for the benefits of mankind. This is done with a deep sense of ethical and moral responsibility toward the Creator (huquq Allah) and toward His Creations (huquqal ‘ibad). The faith of a Muslim persuades him to
14
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conduct scientific enquiry to understand Allah’s blessings and favors on man. University education, therefore, has to have primary objective of developing critical thinking, search for meaning in life and the purpose of human existence on earth. It is not for the theologian or philosopher to address those questions. It is for each and every researcher to think and try to find out what should be the objective of scientific research and innovative technology, is it simply a matter of using technical know-how for economic prosperity or to achieve certain higher goals of life. Is there a desire in the university education to inculcate values such as unity in life (tawhid), equity and just and fair attitude (‘adl) contributing to the welfare of society (infaq), realization of good and virtue (ma‘ruf) and elimination of wrong, evil and unethical practices (munkar), achieving excellence in doing good (taqwa), standing for truth (haqq), facing crisis situation with boldness (shuja‘ah), facing difficulties and frustrations with strong resolution, confidence, optimism and persistence (sabr) considering human kind a single community (ummah) and brotherhood (al-ikhah), doing best to make human society peaceful and secure (Dar-as-Salam). Those are as a few out of a number of global ethical values whose inculcation in the personality of a researcher, a student as well as a teacher can transform the world view and way of life of a person. Consequently, such a person cannot become ego-centred, individualistic, concerned with his or her personal gain and benefits. These values inculcate a sense of belonging to society and consequently contributing to the welfare of humanity. University’s engagement with industry, through technology and scientific research is a phenomenon which has made Stanford University and MIT success models. But engagement with society, understanding human problems and man’s encounter with the ultimate is equally a workable model which helps in holistic development of the human talent. A holistic model of development, in our view, alone can reduce extremism, violence and use of force in human society. It can produce a new generation of young scholars with their commitment to moral and ethical behavior and total involvement in innovative technologies. An integration of global Islamic values in the teaching material as well as teaching methodology is the key to a moderate, balanced, fair and just or (‘adil) society, state and humanity. This can be done only when 15
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academicians liberate themselves from the intellectual colonialism of the west. There is nothing wrong in learning from the western models, success, stories and failures. It is totally different thing to adopt their world view, philosophy of education and solution to their typical problems. It is not necessary that solutions developed in the west also work in a totally different geo-political and cultural context. Muslim world particularly has to liberate itself from the cultural, educational, economic, political and social imperialism of the west over the rest. To conclude our higher education and concept of development should be based on our own purpose and objective of life. An imported education system based on individualism, utilitarianism, materialism and ethical relativism can never satisfy our needs and aspirations. An ethics centered system inspired and guided by the two non-variable sources of guidance (hidayah) alone can lead us to development of a society where fairness, justice, moderation, critical thinking and serving Allah and His creature’s prevails.
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Towards an Integrated Islamic Curriculum for Bangladesh in line with the Recommendations of OIC Conference'77 Prof. Dr. Abu Bakr Rafique* Abstract: Education holds very high position in Islam, the 1st revelation to the Prophet (s.a.w.) contains especial emphasis on knowledge and has been identified as an especial favour of the Creator. The four point objectives behind sending the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) with the mission of prophethood are all related to recitation, teaching and purification of soul through continuous training and guidance. Seeking knowledge has been made an obligatory duty on every Muslim - male and female - by the Prophet (s.a.w.). The Muslim wherever had ruled they had patronized education and established educational Institutions. These were open to all the peoples regardless of race, religion and caste. The Muslim rulers who ruled Bengal for more than 500 years had established many educational institutions, introduced a very advanced education system in Bengal, which was Islamic in nature and an integrated policy based on Arabic and Persian. After the British took over the rule of Bengal from the hands of the Muslims, they introduced an English medium secular education policy replacing the prevailing education system introduced by the Muslims. But the majority of the Muslims could not accept that policy, knowing that the main objective behind introducing that policy was degrading the Muslim society. The paper is a historical overview of prevailing Curriculum of the Islamic Education System in Bengal and the then East Pakistan in general, and the present Bangaldesh in particular in one hand, and a recommendation for introducing an integrated Islalmic Education Policy on the other. Keywords: Integrated, Curriculum, Patronize, Recommendations
*
Pro Vice-Chancellor, International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh.
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Introduction Islam has given prime importance to education. The first revelation of the Holy Qur’an contains proclamation about reading in the name of the Creator who is Compassionate enough to teach the mankind with the help of the pen, and to teach them whatever they knew not. The most important four point programs of prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) for which he was sent down were all related to teaching and educating the people. (2) The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) used to feel honoured to say that he was sent as a teacher. The Prophet (S.A.W.) had instructed all the Muslims, male and female, to seek knowledge. Due to all these reasons, seeking and imparting knowledge has always been considered as an act of ‘Ibadah in the eye of Islam. Wherever the Muslims had gone, they had tried to disseminate knowledge and wherever they had ruled over the people they had patronized education, established educational institutions and introduced regular stipends for the scholars and researchers. This was the reason that almost all of the capitals of Muslim countries and the prominent cities were considered as the meeting place of the scholars of different religions, the poets, the philosophers, the chemists, the physicists, the writers and the litterateurs. Almost all of the Muslim rulers had played their vital role in imparting education to the people in general and the Muslims in particular. The impact of this effort can be estimated from a report of Max Muller who mentioned that there were not less than 80,000 schools in Bengal alone in 1757, while the East India Company had took over the power through conspiracy by defeating Sirajuddawlah, the Nawab of Bengal. And according to Sir John Adams, the number of schools in Bengal and Bihar was not less than 100,000. (3) The government used to grant settlement of land and the ameers and the wealthy persons used to make endowment (WAQF) in the name of different institutions to meet the expenses of these Religious Schools. History has preserved the names of many Muslim Sultans of India as great patrons of education and scholarship. Some of them, whose contributions were worth mentioning are as follows: Sultan Iltutmish (d. 1236 C.E.) His daughter, Sultana Razia His youngest son Nasiruddin Muhammad Shah (d. 1266 C.E.) Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban (d. 1286 C.E.) Sultan Jalaluddin Khalji (d. 1296) 18
Towards an Integrated Islamic Curriculum for Bangladesh in line with the Recommendations of OIC Conference '77
Sultan Alauddin Khalji Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, the founder of Tughlaqese dynasty Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq (d. 1351 C.E.) Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq (d. 1388 C.E.) Contributions of these rulers to the development of education and scholarship were remarkable. Most of the rulers of Mughal dynasty in India like Zahiruddin Babar (1531 C.E.), Nasiruddin Humayun (d. 1556 C.E.), the King Jahangir (d. 1625 C.E.), King Shah Jahan (d. 1658 C.E.), King Awrangzeb (d. 1707 C.E.) and others were themselves great scholars and patrons of education.(8) Even Sher Shah Suri, who ruled Delhi for a short span of five years had established many Madrasahs and other educational institutions here and there in the country and made arrangements to meet the expenses of these institutions.(9) The Nature and Curriculum of Religious Schools: The religious schools were classified into three types: a) Maktab or Primary school: Here the curriculum was mainly related with how to recite the Qur’an correctly and giving primary knowledge of Persian language. These maktabs were open to all citizens and these were spread over at every nook and corner of the country. Each and every mosque was also considered a Maktab, where the children of that particular locality used to be attached with, no special furniture was to be used, other than mats in these maktabs. b) Persian Schools: As Persian was the official language during the whole period of Muslim rule in India and Bengal, Persian was the medium of instruction in all secondary level schools. The books were also written in Persian. However, there was no separate Board or Directorate of education to look after the education policy and curriculum of these schools. The Head of the institution had full autonomy to determine the curricula and syllabi in these schools.(10) The subjects taught in these schools were (i) Persian language and Literature, (ii) Fiqh, (iii) Ethics, (iv) Mathematics, (v) Calligraphy, (vi) Essay writing etc. c) Arabic Madrasahs: The Arabic Madrasahs were considered as the seats of higher education. 19
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Though there was no central body for coordinations these institutions planning the courses and curricula of these Madrasahs but these madrasahs were characterized with following an integrated curriculum which includes courses on (i) Arabic Grammar, (ii) Arabic Literature, (iii) Fiqh, (iv) Usul-al-Fiqh, (v) Tafsir, (vi) Hadith, (vii) Ilmul Kalam, and (viii) Tasawwuf or instructions related to Sufis of India, being an adjacent country to Iran was influenced by the popularity of philosophy and gradually has made its important position in the curriculum also. The influence of philosophy is clearly seen in the education system introduced by Mulla Nizamuddin (1747 C.E.) which was accepted as a preferred education policy by the padagogists of the Indian subcontinent and which is still being followed by a large number of educational institutes known as the institutes of Dars-e-Nizami.(11) The remarkable characteristic of this education system is that it is a relatively comprehensive policy which includes a curriculum related to spiritual and mundane knowledge. The graduates of these madrasahs were eligible enough to be employed in various responsible positions of public administration, Judicial services and also in religious institutions. The products of this system were used to prevail as prominent until the advent of British colonialists in Indian subcontinent.(12) William Hunter, the writer of “Indian Mussalmans”, has acknowledged this in his book, as he mentions that the Muslims were superior not only in politics but also in knowledge and thought. They had an education policy which though inferior to that of ours as observed by A.C. Belly, but can never be considered a useless. It was established on solid foundation. No doubt it was the best possible system in consideration of the requirement of those days. This system had given them the superiority in education and politics.(13) The most remarkable characteristic of this education policy is that the education from primary to higher level was completely free of cost. And as such, each and every one who wanted to get his children educated upto the highest level could avail this facility without any financial burden. In spite of all these positive characteristics as mentioned above, the education policy had some weaknesses, for which it can be criticized as follows: The books on Tafsir and Hadith were not sufficient. Only some parts of the Holy Qur’an and some selected Hadiths were included in the syllabus, whereas the greatest importance should have been given on these two main sources of Islam. The books related to history, Geography and Arabic Literature were 20
Towards an Integrated Islamic Curriculum for Bangladesh in line with the Recommendations of OIC Conference '77
very few, whereas they are considered the most important areas of discipline related to Social and human science. Though books on Rhetoric are included in the curricula, proper importance has not been given on Arabic Literature, which was essential to understand Rhetoric.(14) It is also observed that the importance of philosophy was given more than it was required, specially the philosophy was developed either in line with Greek philosophy or to discard it, in both cases it was meaningless after the Greek philosophy was no longer prevailing in the world as a living philosophy. Education in Bengal during the British Regime: A glance at the official report of East India Company during their rule in Bengal reveals that the position of education in Bengal was far better compared to any other provinces of India. Max Muller, a British officer has estimated in the report of his study that the number of Madrasahs in Bengal during the inception of the British regime was 80,000. (1) Though most of these Madrasahs were run by the individual scholars at home, it indicates to a very flourishing situation of education during the Muslim rule in Bengal. A report mentions that the ratio of the students, with the number of population was 1:73. If the average number of students in each Madrasash was 0, then the total number of students was not less than 800,000 (eight hundred thousand). From the very beginning of British rule, the East India Company tried to destroy the education system of the Muslims. They had adopted some policies with this end in view. For example: a. To confiscate the property owned by the educational institutions established by the Muslims. b. Not to provide Financial support to Islamic educational institutions. c. To close the doors of public services for the graduates of Islamic educational institutions. d. On the other hand, they had established many English medium missionary schools here and there under the supervision of Churches. However it is very important to mention that the British colonialists had to wait as long as 78 years for introducing an independent education policy of their own. Lord Macklay was the engineer of that education policy. Regarding the objective of that policy, he is reported to have mentioned: [“We are going to introduce an education policy of ours, after getting educated under this policy a person though 21
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an Indian in colour and caste, but shall be considered a British in culture civilization and custom�.(15)] The Muslims who had been a ruling class in India for more than five centuries could not accept this new education policy, especially after knowing the objectives of the British to degrade them socially and to deviate them culturally. The Hindus, on the other hand, had accepted this policy with great enthusiasm and got the opportunity of getting educated under this system and being appointed to different important positions of civil services. The nature of this curriculum was secular, without having any scope for studying religion. Rather in many schools the students were compelled to study Christianity. As a result many Hindu students became Christians and were rewarded with big posts and high positions of administrative and executive services. However some of the Muslim thinkers later on tried to attract the Muslims to learn English and called them upon for getting modern education. Sir Syed Ahmad was the pioneer of that movement. He had established an English medium college at Aligarh, U.P. in 1864 called Mohammedan Oriental College, Aligarh. Later on it became a university known as Aligarh Muslim University. Another attempt was taken by Moulana Qasem Nanatwi in 1867 to establish a higher Islamic University at Deoband to save the Muslims from religious decadence. The curriculum of this institution was based on the Dars-e-Nizami, with much emphasis on Tafsir, Hadith and Fiqh, giving less importance to Philosophy. But teaching of English was totally avoided in this system. Many madrasahs were established throughout the country on this model which had played an important role to save the Muslims from religious and cultural deviations. Though they could do nothing for the enhancement of social and economical status of the Muslim masses, but one striking characteristic of this system is that, the Ulama who got educated under this system did never accept the British rule in India and they had pioneered the independence movement against British colonialism. It is to be mentioned that one religious madrasah was established in Calcutta in 1781 by the British government in response to the demand of the Muslims, which was just to prove that they were not antagonistic towards Islam and the Muslims. The curriculum of this madrasah was a bit different from that of Deoband, due to inclusion of Logic and Philosophy as compulsory subjects and English and Mathematics as elective courses. 22
Towards an Integrated Islamic Curriculum for Bangladesh in line with the Recommendations of OIC Conference '77
This system could not get much popularity until the independence of India from British regime. However after the British had left the country, the curriculum of Aliah system got more popularity and government patronage for being comparatively modern and for coping up more with the requirements of the nation and demand of the day. But this education policy did not receive proper attention and due patronage of the government during the regime of Pakistan compared to that of the general Education system which was more or less a continuation of the secular education policy adopted by the British. The Curriculum and Status of Religious Education during Pakistan and Aftermath: The following education systems were existing in Bengal (the then East Pakistan) during the Pakistan regime. a) Government approved Madrasah education: This system was called Aliah system. It was a 15 years long education system prevailing in the country from the independence of Pakistan till today. Theis system was divided as following stages: From 1947 upto 1983: Ibtidai’ (Pre-Primary) Dakhil (Primary) Alim (Lower Secondary) Fadhil (Secondary) Kamil (Higher Secondary but with no approval) Total
3 years 6 years 2 years 2 years 2 years 15 Years
From 1983 till today Dakhil: class 1-5 (Primary) Dakhil: class 6-10 (Secondary) Alim: class 11 – 12 (H. Secondary) Fadhil: class 13 – 14 (No equivalence) Kamil: class 15 – 16 (No equivalence) Total
23
5 years 5 years 2 years 2 years 2 years 16 Years
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Equivalence: Upto 1963, no equivalence was made. However, a student could sit for special Examination of English & Mathematics for obtaining equivalence of Secondary School Certificate (SSC). From 1963 to 1978, Fadhil was considered equivalent to Secondary and Kamil was left without any equivalence. From 1978 to 1983, Alim was considered equivalent to Secondary and Fadhil was equivalent to Higher Secondary. From 1983 till today Dakhil has been considered equivalent to Secondary. Alim has been considered equivalent to Higher Secondary, but Fadhil and Kamil were left without any equivalence.(according to a decision taken in the year 2005 Fadil has been accepted as aquivalent to degree and Kamil as aquivalent to Master degree, but not implemented till now) b) Non-Government Religious Institutions (Qawmi Madrasah): These institutions are known as the Qawmi Madrasahs. They follow a curriculum similar to that of Deoband Madrasah system. This system is based mainly upon studying text books on different subjects like Arabic Grammar and Literature, Fiqh & Usul al- Fiqh, Balaghal & Mantiq, Tafsir and Hadith, Urdu, Persian Literature and so on. Here the duration is not important but studying of the books included in the syllabus is more important. Hence a student if he is a meritorious one, can finish his study within eight years of schooling, whereas another student may take ten to twelve years for the same if he is a mediocre student or of dull merit. The curriculum of the above mentioned two types of Madarasahs: The curriculum of government approved religious schools (Madrasahs) in Bangladesh is as follows: (16) Primary Level (5 years) The curriculum of this level includes: i. National Language: Bangla. It is taught in all classes of Primary with a gradually improved syllabus. ii. Arabic Language: Arabic is also taught in all classes of this level with an objective to enable the students to recite the Qur’an with correct pronunciation and to give them the knowledge of basic vocabulary and easy sentences. iii. Arabic Grammar: Some books on basic grammar of Arabic are included in the curriculum of this level. 24
Towards an Integrated Islamic Curriculum for Bangladesh in line with the Recommendations of OIC Conference '77
iv. Aqaid and Fiqh: It starts with oral classes at the early stage and gradually some basic books are taught which include idea about Tawhid, Rishalah and Akhirah, the revealed books, the angels and also includes lessons on Tahara, Salat, Sawm, Zakat and Hajj and basic idea about some Muamalat. v. English: It is also taught from class I, starting with Alphabets, easy vocabulary, practices on writing (seen and unseen), framing easy sentences, reading independently and developing understanding skill upto the meaning of the easy texts. vi. English Grammar: It starts from class V, to give the students an idea about the basic grammatical rules of the language. vii. Mathematics: It starts from the class I, starting from introducing the students with numericals and developing gradually to enable them doing basic with arithmetics independently. viii. Social Sciences: It starts from class II, and contains in all classes of Primary level. The objective is to make the students aware about the basic concept of family, society, the state and government, basic administration system of a country etc. ix. General Science: It starts teaching from class IV. x. Environment Science: It starts teaching from class III. xi. Geography: It starts teaching from class V. xii. Physical Training: It starts from KG and continuous upto the end of Primary Level. Secondary Level (5 years) [This is known as Dakhil] The curriculum of this level includes the following courses: i. Arabic: Arabic is taught in all the classes of this stage as a language and literature, but it is completely based on the text. No oral practices are done to develop the language skills of the students. ii. Arabic Grammar: This is also taught in all classes of this level, but the approach is not scientific. The students are targeted to make them understand the rules and regulations related to grammar. In some cases they are encouraged to memorize some books on Grammar.
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iii. Al-Qur’an: It starts with translation of the Holy Qur`an beginning from class IX with teaching the students, the translation of Suratul Fatiha, Al-Baqara and Al-`Imran with some explanation. iv. Hadith: Some selected Hadiths are also taught with translation in class IX and X. v. Fiqh: It is taught as a compulsory subject in all classes of this level. vi. Usual al Fiqh: It starts from class IX. vii. Bangla: Compulsory in all classes. viii. Bangla Grammar: Compulsory in all classes of this level. ix. English Literature: Compulsory in all classes of this level. x. English Grammar: Compulsory in all classes of this level, but teaching of Grammar is done in traditional method. xi. Mathematics: Compulsory in all classes of this level. xii. Geography: It is taught upto class VIII. xiii. General Science: It is compulsory in all stages. N.B.: This is also taught in some Madarasah’s but not as a compulsory course. Higher Secondary Level (2 years, year of 11th & 12th) [This stage is known as Alim] The curriculum of this level includes the following courses: i. Tafsir: It is taught in both classes with due importance but following the traditional and translation methodology. ii. Hadith: Some selected portion of Hadith are taught following the translation methodology. iii. Arabic Literature: This is also compulsory but taught in traditional methodology. iv. Arabic Grammar: Compulsory in both classes but no importance is given on functional approach. v. Bangla: Compulsory as National Language.
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Towards an Integrated Islamic Curriculum for Bangladesh in line with the Recommendations of OIC Conference '77
vi. Fiqh: Compulsory in both the classes. vii. Usul al-Fiqh: Compulsory but taught in traditional method. viii. Ilmul Balaghah: Ilmul Balaghah or Rhetoric is also taught in this level. ix. History: Sirah of the Prophet is taught as History. Apart from the courses mentioned above some other courses are also taught as elective or to the students of Science group. These are: (a) Mathematics; (b) Physics; (c) Chemistry; (d) Biology etc. Degree Level (2 years, year of 13th & 14th) [Known as Fadhil] The syllabus of this stage includes as follows: The Examination is held on 1000 marks on completion of 14 years schooling. i. Tafsir: Compulsory. ii. Usul al-Tafsir: Compulsory. iii. Hadith: Some selected portions of Hadith are taught. iv. Usul al-Hadith: Some basic principles regarding methodology of criticizing the authenticity of Hadith are taught in this course. v. Arabic Literature: Some selected Text books on Arabic are taught as compulsory subject (200 marks). vi. English: As optional subject English is included in the syllabus (but most of the students tend to choose this) vii. Islamic History: Taught as compulsory. viii. Ilmul Kalam: Taught as compulsory. ix. Ilmul Balaghah: Taught as compulsory. Specialization (2 years, year 15th & 16th) [Known as Kamil, offered for specialization in Hadith, Tafsir or Fiqh] The syllabus of this stage includes as follows: The examination is held at the end of the year 16th years schooling and on 1000 marks. i. Hadith: It includes six authentic anthologies of the Hadith known as Sihah (500 marks). ii. Usul al-Hadith: (100 marks). iii. Tafsir & Usul al-Tafsir (200 marks): Kashshaf and Baidawi are 27
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taught here. iv. Islamic History: Two papers on Islamic History are to be taken each paper comprising 100 marks each. It is to be mentioned that though the curriculum of the Madrasah Education System is identified as close to an Islamic Education Policy but this is not the curriculum of general stream. Only 20% students in Bangladesh are getting their education following this system. The remaining 80% are undergoing the general stream of education, which is secular in nature and contains the mains characteristics of the education policy of British Rule with some changes in curruculum and fields of specialization according to the needs of the day. On the other hand, though the characteristics of the Madrasah Education System are Islamic in nature but it has failed to meet the requirements of present days due to being an incomplete system. However, it bears in itself some potentialities to be restructured in such a way which is in line with the recommendation of the OIC’s International Conference on education held at Makka in 1977 and that of the follow up programs held at Islamabad in 1980, at Dhaka in 1981, at Jakarta in 1982, in KL in 1983, at Cairo in 1987 and at Nigeria in 1996. And as such, I shall try to place here a proposal for a curriculum of Integrated Islamic Education System for Bangladesh, in line with the recommendations made by the World Conference on Islamic Education in 1977 and other follow up programs. Some important recommendations which are made by the World Conference on Islamic Education held at Makka in 1977 are as follows: a) To introduce an integrated and unified Islamic Education Policy for the whole Muslim World replacing the existing dual education system. This policy shall be an Islamic in character in onehand and shall have provisions for creating specialized in different fields of discipline on the other. Emphasis will be given on Science and Technology after ensuring the Islamic character of the policy. (17) As we have mentioned earlier that some follow up conferences were held in different countries like Islamabad, Dhaka, Jakarta, Malaysia, Cairo and Nigeria but a few countries have shown interest in implementing the recommendations of these conferences, Bangladesh is one of those countries which did not pay proper attention to implement the recommendation of this conference. This is why in spite of having a potential Islamic education system in Bangladesh like 28
Towards an Integrated Islamic Curriculum for Bangladesh in line with the Recommendations of OIC Conference '77
Madrasah Education, this country has taken no meaningful step for introducing an Integrated Islamic Education Policy. What it seems to do is to recognize the Madrasah Education system at par with that of general stream in respect of equivalence of certificates. I do believe that the existing Madrasah Education system of Bangladesh preserves in itself some characteristics which can be used as the foundation for framing an Integrated Islamic Education Policy as recommended in the Makkah Confernce of 1977. The Characteristics of an Islamic Education Policy: An Islamic Education Policy should inevitably contain the following characteristics: i) This policy should essentially provide the answer to three most basic questions of cardinal importance related tohuman being, the correct answer of which count not be given by anyone of the philosophers nor the scientists nor by the sociologists excepting the prophets of Allah (swt). These questions are: (a) Who? (b) Why? and (c) Where? Who is related to the origin of the existence of human being. Different answers have been given to this question, but the only correct answer is that the 1st human being was created from the clay by Allah Himself as the best of all creatures (ashraful makhluqat) and His vicegerent on the earth, and that all other mankind are the offsprings of this 1st human being. Why is related to the purpose of creating the mankind. The correct answer to this question is that the human being is created for the purpose of servitude to Allah alone and to discharge the duties of a vicegerent of Allah. Where: is related to that ultimate destination of human being. The correct answer of this question is that this life is not only life of human being, there is a life hereafter wich is the ulmimate destination of them. It is eternal and endless.Each and everybody will be accountable to Allah in the life hereafter for each and every activity of this life good or bad. ii) This policy should have option and opportunity for specialization in 29
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any of the fields of Islamic disciplines to those who are interested therein. iii) The opportunities for getting specialization in any of the fields of Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Modern Sciences and Technology, Medicine or Business Studies should be provided for those who are interested therein. If we analyse the Madrasah education system of Bangladesh, we shall find that the first and foremost of the characteristics of an ideal Islamic Education (i.e. the basic Islamic Knowledge which are required for leading the life of a true Muslim) though some lackings are remaining therein but they are rectifyable. But this system has failed to a great extent in fulfilling the second characteristic, because this is an incomplete system. No provision has been kept open to a student of Madrasah for furthering his education after a certain stage. So far the compliance of third characteristic is considered, some of the education commissions have made some recommendations for taking steps to reform Madrasah Education System, so that it can comply the needs of the day, and opportunities are kept for the students to choose some other fields of study as they wish. However, this is not a very tough task which is unattainable. On the other hand if we look at the general education system we can see that the general education policy has completely failed to meet the first and second characteristic and possesses no possibility for undergoing this kind of changes in Bangladesh for two reasons: (i) A large number of the people are of secular nature. They are not ready for accepting any change towards Islamizing the education policy. So whenever, any step shall be taken in this way, they shall create hue a cry against this. (ii) around 15% of the citizens are non-Muslims. They will raise objection against introducing an Islamic Education Policy in the country on the plea of racism, whereas any change in the existing Madrasah Education System will create no problem. Because it will happen in the name of updating and modernization as per recommendations of different Education Commission reports and the recommendations of OIC’s International Conference on Islamic Education which wll rather be appreciated by all.
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Towards an Integrated Islamic Curriculum for Bangladesh in line with the Recommendations of OIC Conference '77
How to get the Existing Madrasah Education System Restructured. Here I would prefer to propose for restructuring the Madrasah Education system in two ways: Firstly: Through restructuring the exsiting levels of study as follows: i. Primary Level (7 years): one year pre-primary and six years of primary schooling. ii. Lower Secondary Level (3 years): It will consist of three years of schooling i.e. class VII to class IX. iii. Higher Secondary Level (3 years): It will consist of three years of schooling i.e. class X to class XII. iv. Undergraduate Level (4 years): It will consist of four years of schooling i.e. from 1st year to 4th year of Undergraduate program. A student shall obtain a Bachelor’s Degree upon completion of this level. v. Graduation Program (2 years): It will consist of two years of Graduation program. A student shall get Master’s degree on completion of this stage. vi. Post Graduate Program (2 to 5 years): Two to five years. This is a specialization program for only those students who want to continue their study and research for obtaining an M.Phil or Ph.D. degree in a particular field of study. N.B.: The stages like Ibtidai, Dakhil, Alim, Fadhil and Kamil which are existing at present shall cease to exist. Secondly: The existing curriculum should be replaced with a new set of integrated curriculum, which will be Islamic in nature in one hand and comprehensive on the other, with an objective to make it eligible for implementing by any of the Muslim countries. An Overview of this Curriculum has been prescribed as follows: 1. Primary Level (1+6 = 7 years): The curriculum of this level includes: i. Al-Qur’an with Tajwid: It will start from the 1st year of schooling beginning from introducing the students with Arabic Alphabets, its correct pronunciation, with an objective of giving the students the skill of independent and correct recitation of the Holy Qur`an. In the later stage of this level the students shall 31
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have to memorize some parts of the Qur`an and shall also have the ability to recite the Qur`an complying the rules of Tajwid. ii. Diniyat & Training on Salat: It will begin from the 1st year of schooling and continue upto class III. The objective of this course is to make the students habituated to offer their prayer correctly. Some basic Surahs and other Du’as related to Salat shall be taught. iii. Aqaid & Fiqh: It will begin from class-I and continue in each class of this level. The objective of this course is to provide correct idea regarding Tawhid, Risalah, Akhirah and other important issues related to purity of belief, Fiqh includes basic Masa`il related to Taharah, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, Hajj, Fard, Wajib Sunnah and Halal, Haram Makruh etc. iv. Arabic Language: It will start from class III and continue as a compulsory subject upto the end of Secondary. It is to be mentioned that the students of this class have already obtained the skill of reading Arabic independently through practices on recitation of the Holy Qur`an in class I & II. Here the course will start from giving them knowledge of basic Arabic vocabulary & understanding simple sentences, and it will gradually advance towards giving the students the four skills of language. Arabic Grammar: Arabic Grammar may be taught starting from class V in Arabic speaking countries but in non-Arabic speaking countries Arabic Grammar should not be taught separately at this stage. However, the books on Arabic Language should contain lessons on Functional Grammar. v. National Language: National Language should be included in the curriculum beginning from KG upto the end of Higher Secondary Level. (It is Bangla, in case of Bangladesh.) vi. English: It is a must as an important International Language vii. English Grammar: It should be taught in functional method from class IV and above. viii. Mathematics: It shall be a compulsory subject in all classes of Primary stage, beginning from introduction to the numericals shall develop gradually considering the standard of the students and their ability. ix. Environmental Science (Introductory): Books on environment shall be included in the syllabus of class IV and shall continue 32
Towards an Integrated Islamic Curriculum for Bangladesh in line with the Recommendations of OIC Conference '77
upto class VI. The objective of this course is to make the students acquainted with their surroundings and the Universe and also about some matters and means created by Allah (S.W.T.) for the greater benefit of the mankind. The curriculum of class VI shall continue lesson on family, society, state, and basic idea about the country and its historical religious and cultural background. x. Geography: The syllabus of Primary level shall include books on Geography in Class V & VI with an objective to give the students an idea about the geographical situation of his country, its resources, products and prospects. And a general idea about the global and geo-political situation of other countries. N.B.: The medium of instruction should be the native language. However, it may be English or any of other International Languages in some specific situations. A Public Examination will be held at the end of this level. It will be optional. 2. Lower Secondary Level: The Curriculum of this level includes: i. Qur’an: The translation of the Qur’an should be taught in each class of this level. At least six parts of the Qur’an shall be included from Suratul Fatiha to Suratul An’am in the curriculum. Practicing correct recitation shall also continue in this level. ii. Hadith: The Prophetic Hadith being the 2nd source of Islamic Shari`ah should be taught through translation and explanation thereof. At least forty Hadiths should be included in the syllabus of each class of this level. iii. Arabic Language: Arabic language shall be taught in each class of this level as a compulsory subject. Emphasis should be given on functional approach of language teaching. iv. Arabic Grammar: Arabic Grammar shall be taught in each class of this stage as a compulsory course. Emphasis should be given on functional approach of Grammar teaching. v. ‘Aqaid & Fiqh: The course will be compulsory at this level and books will contain on more detailed and developed discussion on the issues of the Tawhid and its demands. Risalah and its 33
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importance, discussion on Shirk, Bid`ah etc. More detailed books on Fiqh shall also be taught. vi. National Language: It will be compulsory at all classes of this level. Books on Grammar shall also be taught according to the standard of the students. vii. English: It will be considered a compulsory subject for the seasons mentioned earlier. viii. English Grammar: This will be taught in functional approach. ix. Mathematics: It is compulsory at all classes of this level. The syllabus will be prepared as per suitability and standard of the learners. x. Biography of Prophet (s.a.w.): It is a compulsory subject in each class of this level. The objective of the course is to get students acquainted with the life of the Prophet (s.a.w.) and the history of the four pious caliphs of Islam. xi. General Science: This will be a compulsory subject to be taugt at the lower secondary level. N.B.: A compulsory Public Examination will be held at the end of this level, which will be called Secondary Certificate Examination or Lower Secondary Certificate Exam. The examination will held on 1000 marks, evaluation will be done under grading system. 3. Higher Secondary Level: The curriculum of this level includes: The courses under this level will be divided into two groups. (i) Compulsory Subjects (ii) Elective Subjects. Six subjects are to be taken as compulsory. Each subject is of 100 marks. These are as follows: i. Al-Qur’an: The syllabus of al-Qur’an includes at least nine parts of the Qur’an (i.e. from Suratul A’raf to Suratul Isra). The Qur’an will be taught through translation, explanation and lessoins of these for implication in our life and society. ii. Hadith: At least 300 Hadiths shall be included in the syllabus of this level (i.e. 100 Hadiths in each class). Those Hadiths will get preference which may contribute more to shape the character of the students, and give an ethical orientation. 34
Towards an Integrated Islamic Curriculum for Bangladesh in line with the Recommendations of OIC Conference '77
iii. Arabic Language & Grammar: Emphasis will be given on functional approach in teaching language and grammar. iv. National Language & Grammar: It is a compulsory course in each class of this level. Grammar is part of this course. The syllabus of each class will be prepared according to the standard of the students. v. English Language & Grammar: Emphasis shall be given on functional approach of language teaching. The syllabus will be prepared considering the standard of the students. It is also a compulsory course at this level. vi. Computer Literacy: Three courses on computer shall be offered in each of these three classes. The students shall choose another six courses as elective subjects i.e. they will choose any of the following groups according to their interest and preference. These are: (a) Religious Studies Group (b) Business Studies Group (c) Science & Technology Group (d) Social Science Group etc. The curriculum of Religious Studies Group includes: (i) Fiqh (ii) Usul al Fiqh (iii) Arabic Literature (iv) Ilmul Balagah (v) Faraid (vi) Ulumul Qur`an/Hadith The curriculum of Business Studies Group includes: (i) Mathematics (ii) Economics (iii) Accounting (iv) Book Keeping (v) Business Law & Ethics (vi) Introduction to Management (vii) Computer Programming (any six) The curriculum of Science & Technology Group includes: (i) Mathematics (ii) Advanced Mathematics (iii) Physics (iv) Chemistry (v) Biology (vi) Computer Programming (vii) Geography (viii) Statistics (any six) The curriculum of Social Science Group includes: (i) Economics (ii) Civic (iii) Sociology (iv) Home Economics (v) History (vi) Islamic History (vii) Geography (viii) Computer Programming (any six) 35
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N.B.: A compulsory Public Examination consisting of 1200 marks entitled Higher Secondary Certificate Examination will be held at the end of this level. The evaluation of examination result will be done on the basis of Grading System. 4. Undergraduate Level: This is a degree course of four years duration offered by a University or a college of higher reputation affiliated to a University. The choice for the students will be open according to their interest and aptitude. In this level a student shall further his studies under a four year’s duration Undergraduate program in any of the disciplines related to Shari`ah, Qur`anic Sciences, Hadith Sciences, Comparative Religion, Arabic Literature, Muslim Philosophy, Islamic History, Law, Business Studies, Economics, Political Science, English Language & Literature, Computer Science, Communication Engineering, Information Technology, Medicine or Engineering etc. I am not going into the details of the curriculum of this level. However, some salient features of the curriculum are given below: The curriculum will be integrated one which includes 10% - 15% related to Islamic Studies and History of Islam, 10% related to Arabic & any other foreign language, 15% Inter Disciplinary courses and the rest 60% - 65% related to the field of specialization. The program will be offered on credit hours basis and the evaluation will be made on Grade Points basis and the course distribution will be done under the Semester System. A student may require taking 120 to 160 credits of different courses for graduation, depending on the nature of program. The best example of an integrated curriculum at Undergraduate Level is that the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC) and some other Islamic Universities established on this model. Any of the Universities may offer some of the above mentioned programs of Undergraduate Studies or many of them according to their ability and availability of facilities. 5. Master Degree Program: The Master’s program is of three to five Semesters’ duration. This will be offered to those who wish to acquire specialized education in any of the disciplines of his interest. This will be usually a combination of 36
Towards an Integrated Islamic Curriculum for Bangladesh in line with the Recommendations of OIC Conference '77
course work and thesis, consisting of 36 to 60 credits depending on the nature of program, the requirements thereof and the background of the students. The details of curriculum shall be prepared by the competent authority of the University in line with the opportunities available there. 6. M.Phil Or Ph.D Program: M.Phil or Ph.D Program are considered very high level specialized program, it shall be offered by those Universities where very competent supervisors are available with reputed scholarship in the relevant field. The program may be exclusively research based or a combination of course work and research, depending on the University’s policy and the nature of the study and the researcher. Detailed curriculum will be prepared by the competent authority of the degree offering University.
References: 1.
In this regard the verses 1 – 5 of Chapter No. 96 of the Holy Qur`an may be referred.
2.
Please refer to verse no. 2 of Chapter 62.
3.
A Brief History of Education System (Bengali), Islamic Education Society, Dhaka, 1999, p-49.
4.
See for more details “The Education and Tarbiyah System of the Muslims in India and Pakistan (Urdu) by Professor Syed Muhammad Salim, Lahore (3 Edition), 1993.
5.
A Brief History of Islamic Education System (Bangla) p-37
6.
Ibid, p 37-39
7.
Ibid, p 39
8.
Ibid, p 39-41
9.
Ibid, p 41
10. For details: The Education and Tarbiyyah System of the Muslim in India, OP Cit, p 73 11. For details: Please refer to “The Education and Tarbiyyah Policy of the Muslim of India (Urdu), op. cit. p 108-116 12. Ibid 13. Ibid (reproduced from Urdu), p 116-117 14. Ibid, p 119-120
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15. This is the reproduction of his comment in my own language. 16. For more details please see ‘Bangladesh School O Madrasah Shikshaniti O Patthyakrom (The Education Policy and Curriculum of Schools & Madrasahs of Bangladesh) by Prof. Dr. A.K.M. Azharul Islam and others. The Islamic Academy, Cambridge, 2003, p 162-187 17. Please see the recommendations of the World Conference on Muslim Education of Makka, 1977.
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IIUC STUDIES ISSN 1813-7733 Vol.- 9, December 2012 (p 39-58)
Mainstreaming the Third Sector Economics by Adopting the Principles of Islamic Entrepreneurship: For Development with Equity and Social Justice Professor Rafiqul Islam Molla* Abstract: The ‘private’ and ‘public’ sector economics found their own strong places to play roles in the mainstream economy. At the end, however, these two systems – the private, popularly called the first sector economy, and the public, called the second sector economy - both individually and jointly have been found seriously inadequate and incapable to ensuring wellbeing of human societies nationally and globally. Responding to such a situation a number of non-conventional approaches like cooperatives and social enterprises, waqaf, foundations, and other non-profit institutions, etc., together called third sector economy, were moved and promoted to ensure social justice and wellbeing of mankind. Initially it emerged as a make-up and defensive strategy of the market-state model to meet the minimum of unmet requirements in the sectors where the market and state have grossly failed. It, thus, played only a subordinate role. As a result, it could not help much to solve the problem of economic inequity, concentration of wealth, and social divides. However it is strongly felt that a broadly based third sector economic model with both not for-profit business like enterprises and for-profit businesses blended with social justice is necessary to play its role as a mainstream model not only for poverty alleviation but also for economic growth to bridge the economic and social divides. Mainstreaming the third sector is the urgent call of the day. Islamic entrepreneurship, which is basically a communitycentric mode of business initiative, is an antidote to the problem of intolerable economic and social dualism in the
*
Specialist in Economics, Multimedia University, Melaka, Malaysia
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economies. It is a natural strategy against all forms of capitalist exploitations, like in the past through European colonialism and now through American led terrorism, to control resources. Accordingly it is the natural model for solving the problems of economic inequity, concentration of wealth, and social divides. Therefore, this study finds the Islamic mode of entrepreneurship as most suitable and effective for widening and mainstreaming the third sector economics, more particularly in the developing countries. Johor Corporation (JCorp) in Malaysia and Sheba Polly in Bangladesh are examples of two types of Islamic style third sector enterprises – one is staunchly business like initiative and the other is cost based charity initiative for social benefit. For the development and promotion of the community-centric third sector economics model, the paper recommends for urgently establishing a research and development centre on third sector economics preferably under an Islamic Research and Development Institute in any reputed university.
Key Words: Third sector economics; Islamic entrepreneurship; Social justice; Inequality; Islamic economics; Economic growth and development, Community-centric 1. Introduction At a later stage of the Roman Era the Puritan and Protestant ethics declared wealth as gift from God; and pursuits of wealth were freed from social and religious stigma, though, on condition that the wealth acquired would be used for righteous purposes. However, this opened the doors for wealth making, giving rise to a nascent form of capitalism. The Roman era thus sowed the seeds of capitalism by allowing unrestricted individualism. Roman law and legal structure were accordingly designed to nurture this nascent form of capitalism. This nascent capitalism formally grew up at the hands of Adam Smith and other classical economists and it fully blossomed and flourished at the hands of Alfred Marshall and other neoclassical economists. Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, saw economics fundamentally as the subject involving effective utilization of society’s resources for the wellbeing of mankind. Over the time it grew and thrived for the purpose of best achieving that very fundamental goal - the wellbeing of mankind. Its disciplinary development was pursued through ideologically and operationally different two dominant modes – the 40
Mainstreaming the Third Sector Economics By Adopting the Principles of Islamic Entrepreneurship: For Development with Equity and Social Justice
market (private sector) and the state (public sector) economic systems. Private sector economy relies on methodological individualism and ‘maximization of profit’ for individuals on the assumption that individual benefits added together maximizes society’s benefits. Thus it puts individual’s benefit at the centre. Maximizing individual’s wellbeing is maximizing society’s wellbeing. It is based on free market competition under the strategy of ‘strongest takes it all’ following the Darwinist social philosophy of ‘survival of the fittest’. On the other hand, the public sector economy relies on the philosophy that society’s benefit is the summation of all individual benefits. When the society maximizes its benefits it necessarily maximizes individual member’s benefit. Maximizing society’s wellbeing is maximizing individual’s wellbeing. It puts society methodologically at the centre. At the hand of Marshall, during the last quarter of the 19th century, economics gained maturity as a social science. It gained greatly in mathematical and technical proficiency to qualify as a science and earn the name ‘darling queen’ of social sciences (Molla 2005). At that time, market, consisting of competing for-profit firms, was conceived as the sole agent for efficient organization and management of the economy for growth and ensuring wellbeing of the community. However, from the beginning of the 20th century it was realized that market alone could not be trusted to ensure community wellbeing. State involvement and participation side by side with the market was thought necessary. Market was to produce and supply mainly the private goods and the state was to produce and supply primarily the public and collective goods. As a result, market-state partnership in the management of the economy was thought essential for realization of the goals of the economy at national and international spheres. This Market-state mixed economy model was thought necessary to ensuring community wellbeing at national and global levels. Their strengths and limitations in performing at different sectors of the economy eventually made the ‘private’ and ‘public’ sector economics find their own strong places in the mainstream economy to play their roles most efficiently. This market-state model gained continued acceptance of the academicians, professionals, and policy makers, for some time. But their serious shortcomings surfaced when the income inequalities within and among nations continued to increase instead of decreasing. Profit maximizing principle without care for social justice led to exploitation and concentration of wealth in the hands of the small group of capital owning business enterprises. The inherent inability of government in handling economic/business operations resulted in gross inefficiency and economic losses and vulnerability of 41
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the public sector enterprises. Therefore the private-public economic model seriously failed to stop the widening of the income and social divides within and among the nations. Income inequalities significantly increased among citizens and among nations. World Development Indicator 2007 reported that 84% of world’s population received less than half (46%) of world’s income in 2005 (Todaro and Smith 2009). The Gini coefficients of world’s income and wealth distributions are 0.612 and 0.892 respectively signifying an extremely high inequality of world’s income and wealth distribution (Pinkovskiy 2010, Davies et al. 2006). The richest 1% of adults in the world own 40% of the planet's wealth, and 2% own more than half of global household wealth. Even the wealth inequality within the nation is too high, such as wealth Gini of Japan is 0.55 and USA is about 0.8 (Davies et al. 2006). This model even failed to eliminate the most acute forms of poverty in various countries and locations. Excessive emphasis given on self-interested and competitive behavior has weakened the fellow feeling and brotherhood and thus weakened the social bonds among people; it has diminished trust relations and cooperative behavior heightening the sense of vulnerability and fears for the future (Borzaga et al. 2009). Increased economic growth has not been matched by increased wellbeing and happiness at national and global levels. Therefore, at the end these two modes – the private, popularly called the first sector economics, and the public, called the second sector economics- both individually and jointly have been found seriously inadequate and incapable to ensuring wellbeing of nations and human societies. Various attempts were made to remedy the shortcomings of the market-state operated economy model by reducing the size of the public sector through privatization policy. Under the scheme many public sector enterprises were transferred to private sector to avoid inefficiency. But it did not yield expected results pointing to how difficult it is to obtain socially responsible behaviour from agents concerned only with the maximization of their self-interest. 2. Emergence of the Third Sector Economics Based on failure of the profit maximization model Blaug (1980) and Balogh (1982) observed that all was not well in the house economics had built; they emphasized the need for a new paradigm to effectively serve its purpose and goal. Stiglitz (2009) found it necessary to find a new balance between markets, governments, and other institutions, including not-for-profits and cooperatives with the objective of building a plural economic system with several pillars. Other scholars of the same standing fully support that position. They see cooperatives and 42
Mainstreaming the Third Sector Economics By Adopting the Principles of Islamic Entrepreneurship: For Development with Equity and Social Justice
social enterprises as better suited to coordinate collective action and promote collaboration, enhance trust, and increase freedoms. Responding to such a situation a number of non-conventional approaches like cooperatives and social enterprises, waqaf, foundations, and other non-profit institutions, etc., together called third sector economy, were moved and promoted as make-up for the deficiency of the two dominant models to ensure wellbeing of mankind. Initially the third sector emerged as a make up and defensive strategy of the marketstate model to meet the minimum of unmet requirements in the sectors where the market and state grossly failed. It is typically conceived as an economic model comprising the various not-for-profit and other organizational forms able to perform well in the production of personal and collective services that cannot be provided so efficiently by forprofit or public organizations. It is the kind of social activity that is suitable for carrying out basically by non-profit and non-governmental organizations. It is also know as voluntary sector or non-profit sector. Typically it consists of non-government, and not-for-profit bodies e.g. charities. Cooperatives and social enterprises are the two main movements of the third sector economics. A Cooperative can be defined as a voluntary organization – farm, business, or other organization - that is owned and managed jointly by its members for a common goal and share the benefits among themselves. It follows the Rochdale principles. The modified Rochdale Principles are: open and voluntary membership, democratic governance, limited return on equity, surplus belongs to members, education of members and public in cooperative principles, cooperation between cooperatives, and concern for community. The key element is that it is basically meant for serving the interest and benefits of its members. Rendering service to the community is only incidental for a typical cooperative. Social enterprises on the other hand are ‘social mission driven’ organizations. These include both non-profit and for-profit enterprises which apply market-based business approach in their operations to achieve social objectives. These are business like operations but not for business. Social enterprise must satisfy a social need and at the same time its activities must be economically sustainable. These are organized under different names with different tendencies in different countries and societies. It may be interpreted as any for-profit or nonprofit organization that applies capitalistic strategies to achieve philanthropic goals without any ulterior motive. It is not outright a 43
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charity function. It is, in fact, based on the principle that can be described as ‘doing charity by doing trade’, rather than ‘doing charity while doing trade.’ Some recent theoretical developments have been helpful in strengthening the academic and analytical arguments for the third sector economics (Euricse’s Philosophy 2011): i. The new theories of the firm shift from a view of the firm as centred on profit maximization to one as a coordinator aimed at solving society’s problems through the production of goods or services. This new conception of the firm broadens its role by envisaging its use in the production of public and collectiveinterest goods as well. ii. Similarly, the new contributions of the behaviourist school and experimental economics to the analysis of individual behaviours question the hypothesis that every human action, and in particular every economic action, is governed exclusively by self-interest. This school maintains that human actions spring from a mix of motivations (which could be in the nature of intrinsic, extrinsic, self, others, etc.) and are influenced by a general ethical factor of inclination to help each other (brotherliness) and uphold justice and equity. These theoretical developments clearly point to the truth that men are fundamentally ‘ethical social beings’ and secondarily ‘economic beings’. This has been the message of Islam and all other revealed religions. These two theoretical developments have facilitated explaining why the objective of an enterprise is, or can be, also the solution of a collective problem; these new theories propose to provide the rationale for the third sector economics. Thus, the inability of the dominant models to respond to numerous needs has, among other things, made room for the development and growth of cooperative and social enterprises created by groups of citizens and civic movements specially during the past three or four decades. Under the circumstances the third sector economy is seen as a viable and needed economic model to ensure realization of the fundamental goal of economics– the wellbeing of mankind in the national and global domains.
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2.1 Similarities with the goals and objectives of Islamic economics In terms of its objectives of collective benefit, balanced and just economic development, equitable distribution of income and wealth, and narrowing the income gaps, closer understanding and trust among nations and societies, increased quality and standard of living of all etc. the third sector has close similarity with Islamic economics. Basic goals of economics are allocative efficiency and distributive efficiency and justice and balanced development for all. Distributive efficiency is a value driven function. It includes the universally-desired socioeconomic goals of need-fulfillment, full employment, optimum rate of economic growth, equitable distribution of income and wealth, economic stability, and ecological balance, all of which are generally considered indispensible for actualizing human wellbeing. Being driven by profit maximization, the mainstream market economics is highly deficient and inefficient to meet these normative goals for the society. Because of its secularist worldview with materialist and social Darwinist outlook, the conventional economics fails to specify the necessity of individual behavior to serve social interest. The third sector economics emerged in order to make up this deficiency. It makes a frontal attack to the problem by mobilizing and demanding its entrepreneurs work ultimately for the benefit of the society. It puts social benefit as the prime mover of entrepreneurial functions. Islam’s commitment to brotherhood and justice makes the wellbeing (falah) of all human beings its principal goal. This wellbeing is the balanced realization of both material and spiritual needs of human personality (Chapra 1993, pp.6-7). Therefore mere maximization of total output cannot be the goal of a Muslim society. Maximization of output must be accompanied by ensuring efforts directed to spiritual health at the inner core of human consciousness and interactions. Economic development can be considered realized only when the need-fulfillment for all, equitable distribution of income and wealth, full employment, and environment protection are satisfied. Islamic economics is founded on the principle of goal realization rather than profit maximization. In Islam, it is ethics that dominate economics and not the other way round. Hence, Islamic system differs from all other economic systems by an ‘ethical factor’ (Naqvi 1981, pp.12-18). This difference is fundamental because ethics epitomize the common values of a society and determine the preference structures of the members of that society. Independence of economics from ethics has no place in this system. In the Islamic perspective ethics set the tone for economics, with the result that the rules of economic behavior are 45
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derived from the ethical norms of Islam. Therefore, it is a value driven system that stands fundamentally to meet the ethically determined and demanded normative goals for the wellbeing of the society. It aims to establish a just and balanced social system – ‘a social environment that brings a sense of community and fellowship in human relationships’ that demands expressed recognition of justice, human dignity, and compatibility among man, his technology and his natural environment. Such a social environment requires much more than the economic growth and prosperity, much more than the so called efficient allocation of resources. Therefore it supports the view of economic development described by Myrdal as an upward movement of the entire social system, or simply growth plus change in the redistribution of income in favour of the lower income groups, so that economic dualism is avoided. In Islam, however, economic development is viewed as only an element of wellbeing of the society; it is important but only as a contributor to the uplift of human beings in spiritual, material, and social spheres. Its entrepreneurship is geared to ensure expansion of useful production for the benefit and improvement of the human community (ummah), improvement in its quality of life allowing enjoyment of conveniences and moderate amount of luxuries, but avoiding extravagance (Molla et al. 1988, pp.199-200). Therefore, to the extent that community benefits, rather than individual benefits, is the focus and prime mover of the economic and entrepreneurial orientations, the third sector economics and Islamic economics have close similarity; both the systems are basically community benefit driven. 2.2 Limitations in spheres of operation Unfortunately, from the inception, conceptually, structurally, and functionally these movements were meant and designed as special programs with location of operation primarily in the peripheral areas of the economy, like poverty alleviation, rural and agricultural development leaving the two other models to operate in all the dominant and growth generating sectors of the economy. Some scholars like to insist that the third sector economics are best suited mainly for the provision of personal and community care services (Borzaga and Bacchiega 2003). As a result, it remained outside the mainstream of the economy and could not play any dominant role in the economy. It failed to gain necessary recognition and respectability. Even donors and international agencies also promote cooperatives and
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social enterprises only as poverty reduction, and employment generation tools (UNDP 2008). Asia is fortunate to be the birthplace of several successful and large Social Enterprises (SEs) such as Grameen Bank, The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), and Population and Community Development Association (PDA). These enterprises are respected and discussed widely. These few SEs are lucky to receive extensive government and donor supports. Unfortunately the rest of the SEs are small or mid-sized. But in an increasing number of instances, these are accomplishing the socioeconomic goals in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors (Shahnaz and Tan 2009). Moreover, Asian SEs are finding increasing opportunities to raise capital. It is very satisfying to note that there is now a rise in governments’ interest, availability of Islamic banking and financial services, and availability of Shariah (Islamic Principles) compliant funds for promotion of social enterprises as a new sector. But in spite of the invaluable contributions of the third sector economics towards bridging the social divides and achieving the community wellbeing unfortunately it is not receiving expected attention and recognition for necessary development and expansion as potentially a more effective dominant economic model for balanced and sustainable development at national and global domains. It is currently treated as a peripheral activity and is put on the side line in the national economic management. Broadening and Mainstreaming it (bringing it in the limelight with the other two economic systems) is now the most important task in order to make it play the expected role as a dominant and leading economic system for the future world. 3. The Potential of the Sector and Call for Its Restructuring With its community centric conceptual base and social justice-driven motivation, the third sector stands as the superior economic model for goal realization. It has the best potential for most effectively managing the economy with human face and heart. It qualifies best to take the driver’s seat of the economy to realize sustainable growth and development with equity essential for realizing the wellbeing of the human community. Therefore this study aspires and calls for its necessary development and expansion in that direction. Earlier we noted that the third sector economics conceptually and operationally have remained mostly involved at the peripheral areas and not at the mainstream of the economy. It is now working only as a 47
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filler holding a subordinate position as non-vibrant, non-growth generating, non-progressive, and non-challenging set of activities. Typically it comprises the non-government, and not-for-profit bodies with cooperatives and social enterprises as its two main movements. With this narrow base it is defined to include only the nongovernmental and not for-profit economic activities for addressing societies’ wellbeing. But profit seeking and profit making is the legitimate right of the entrepreneurs. Without profit the enterprise cannot survive and entrepreneur cannot remain in business. That is why the normal profit, without which the entrepreneur will not be willing and able to continue with the business, is calculated as a part of economic cost. Therefore, the third sector economics should not remain confined to only not for-profit activities. On the basis of its spirit and essence it needs to widen its sphere and domain of operations. However, profit maximizing or seeking unreasonable and excessive profit or profiteering without due regard for social wellbeing is not desirable for the society and cannot be the legitimate right of the entrepreneurs from the point of view of the goals of economics and essence of the third sector economics. The ‘not for-profit’ narrow base has put serious limitations to its growth and expansion and entry to the growth yielding and more challenging industrial sectors which are called the mainstream economy. It was highly expected that the third sector economics would play its role as another dominant model working not only for poverty alleviation but also for enhancing economic growth to bridge the economic and social divides. In recent decades, therefore, attention has been given to widen the dimension of its goals and objectives, and expansion of its spheres of operations to find its place as another dominant and more effective economic model for producing development with social justice. If it wants to make its presence felt and play a significant role in ensuring wellbeing of the society it has to rise up and get out of the present subordinate position. It has to expand in terms of conceptual base, domains of operations, and types of enterprises and their objectives to include social businesses and businesses blended with social justice, in addition to the not for-profit activities. Neither not for-profit nor purely profit maximization could be the natural themes of the general and mainstream economic activities in an economy. In fact these may be regarded as limited and special cases. The mainstream economic activities are supposed to be carried out in the environment of the natural theme of doing business (for earning profit) with human face and social justice. Philosopher 48
Mainstreaming the Third Sector Economics By Adopting the Principles of Islamic Entrepreneurship: For Development with Equity and Social Justice
Adam Smith in his theory of moral sentiment highlighted that men are endowed with two instincts - self-interest and sympathy faculty. The sympathy faculty refers to feelings for others in the society. Sympathy faculty constantly moderates the self-interested behavior so that others’ interests are protected. This being the case, the natural behavior of the entrepreneurs is expected to be doing business for earning profit but within the framework of social justice. Therefore, the restructuring of the third sector economics should capitalize this natural behavior of human being. Accordingly it should accommodate changes to include the following additional types of enterprises: i) ‘social businesses’ that are basically profit-driven but some operations are social benefitdriven, ii) public private partnership (PPP) enterprises with social benefit as a control factor, iii) all Islamic business enterprises with ethics and social benefit as control factor, and iv) cooperatives, basically for benefits of the members but with some operations devoted to community benefits, etc. It will thereby include all enterprises which have at least a declared policy and some stated operations driven by community benefits. Thus it should be viewed and structured to include the not for- profit enterprises and the forprofit ‘businesses blended with social justice’ to enable it ultimately become a large and most dominant economic model carrying comparable status with the market-based first sector economics in terms of size and domain of economic activities and share and control of the economy. With this expansion and restructuring, the third sector will be strong enough to significantly influence the first sector to moderate and blend its profit maximizing behavior with equity and social justice. This will produce the best and most desirable set up and combination of operating economic models for ensuring balanced and sustainable growth with equitable distribution of income and wealth and realization of the ultimate goal of economics – the wellbeing of human society at national and global levels. For this restructuring it will require regulatory provision of registration of enterprises as third sector enterprises specifying their plan of actions to meet their commitment to social justice in their operations. Since for these enterprises profit maximization is not the basic reward, there should be regulatory provisions for rewarding these enterprises as a category by a socially respected trade mark, award of social titles as recognition to the successful enterprises and entrepreneurs, special financial and other supports for these enterprises in the event of any temporary financial crisis or genuine business failures, punishment through withdrawal of the trade mark, social and economic privileges, 49
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etc., in case of their willful negligence to their commitments to social justice. This new regulation may conveniently replace the earlier regulations for NGOs, cooperatives, foundations, Waqfs, etc. 4. Role of Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth and Development Entrepreneurs are the initiators and drivers of the economy. Importance of entrepreneurship cannot be over estimate in accelerating economic growth and development both in developed and developing countries. Entrepreneurship is a process through which individuals identify opportunities, allocate resources, and create value. An entrepreneur undertakes innovations and initiates an effort to transform innovations into economic goods. In business term the most obvious form of entrepreneurship is a 'startup company' (that starts new businesses). However the concept of entrepreneurship has a wide range of meanings. It may mean a person who pioneers change. It may also mean who wants to work for himself or herself rather than being an employee. Innovative entrepreneurs who are willing to take risks are an essential human resource in any economy. They are in very short supply particularly in the developing countries. Entrepreneur possesses certain qualities that are unique and found in very few individuals in the society. A more comprehensive and descriptive business definition of entrepreneur could be that, an entrepreneur is one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. He sees 'problems' as 'opportunities', and accordingly identifies the solutions to those problems and finds customers who are ready to pay for such products/solutions. According to Joseph Schumpeter (1934), he 'is a person who is willing and able to convert a new idea or invention a successful innovation'. He works for change through what Schumpeter called 'the gale of creative destruction' - the process of changing the old to the new. Schumpeter's definition of entrepreneur placed emphasis on his role for innovation such as new product, new production methods, new markets, and new forms of organization. This process of creative destruction through innovations is largely responsible for the dynamism of industries and long-run economic growth. Entrepreneurship therefore is an indispensible function in economic growth for social wellbeing and progress of human civilization.
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Mainstreaming the Third Sector Economics By Adopting the Principles of Islamic Entrepreneurship: For Development with Equity and Social Justice
5. Required Qualities of Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurial abilities and qualities are very scarce and valuable. These are needed to improve upon what we have and to create new goods and services for progress in human civilization. 5.1 For conventional economics Various western scholars highlighted the common personal qualities of successful entrepreneurs for the market economics. These are scarce qualities available only in a tiny fraction of the members in the society. An entrepreneur is about more than just starting a business or two, it is about having attitude and the drive to succeed in business. All successful Entrepreneurs have a similar way of thinking. These common qualities they possess can be summarized as follows: Inner drive to succeed and very ambitious; strong belief in themselves –assertive personality; creative and search for new ideas and innovation; openness to change – dynamic in nature; competitive by nature; highly motivated and energetic – abundance of self-motivation; accepting of constructive criticism and rejection – positive in attitude But the most essential ones from the perspective of community wellbeing are missing. These are motives to serve the social goals and values, and commitment to ethics and religious values. These are in fact the missing items of personal qualities differentiating them with the Islamic entrepreneurs and, similarly, the entrepreneurs for the third sector economics. 5.2 For Islamic economics Islam regards entrepreneurship as essential and indispensible for progress of human civilization. Entrepreneurship is essential for effectively exploring and exploiting the existing and potential world resources for economic growth and development for benefit of the human community. In Islam, to indulge in business is to perform an obligatory duty (fardhukifayah); having no entrepreneur in a community is regarded as sinful for the entire community. That is how seriously Islam perceives and encourages entrepreneurship. Profits are merely incidental in the fulfillment of this fardhukifayah. Emphasizing it as the prime mover, Islam has made entrepreneurship as a societal obligation (fardulkifaya) that must be performed even if by one or some members in the society. However, entrepreneurial qualities are very special and rare, and people with such entrepreneurial qualities are very limited in supply. That is why Islam made it a societal 51
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obligation (fardulKifaya) and not a personal obligation. That means the few available entrepreneurs must perform the function of pioneering continued changes through innovations in the economic environment. Since it is a societal obligation it has to be for society’s benefit. More people with this quality are available is better for faster and greater wellbeing of the society. Islam endorses entrepreneurship regardless of it is being opportunity or necessity driven as long as it stands on moral and ethical grounds and conforms with the Islamic code of conduct. Entrepreneurship in Western societies is mainly driven by the prospect of material rewards. Islam has nothing against seeking profit through the creation of, or the engagement in, business ventures. The only condition that must be preserved is the realisation that every business undertaking is a form of religious duty (Ibadah) intended firstly to please the Almighty Allah and secondly to satisfy the needs of the society and finally to generate reasonable income for the owners of the enterprise. Islamic entrepreneurship is not against seeking reasonable profit but it puts ethical consideration and community interest at the fore. Islam aspires to create high quality entrepreneurs and productive Islamic entrepreneurship. Thus, Muslim entrepreneurs are permitted and encouraged to be involved only in morally accepted and socially desirable productive business activities. Haram (non-permissible) activities like the activities that involve with alcohol, drugs, usury, prostitution, gambling, and highly speculative business behaviour are strictly prohibited, despite the possibility of their economic viability. In Islam entrepreneurship is viewed from a larger perspective and the entrepreneur assumes an altruistic role that goes beyond satisfying immediate needs and personal interest. Thus, the ‘pursuit of selfinterest ’and ‘self-centered wealth creation’ are not the primary motives behind Islamic entrepreneurial activity. Altruistic motives override personal considerations; it is the conviction that self-interest shall be realised as a natural outcome while advancing the society's common welfare (Kayed and Hassan 2010). The personal motives of entrepreneurs for starting their businesses are considered important indicators that explain the status and the direction of entrepreneurship in a country. The ability of the entrepreneurs to orchestrate and lead the economic transformation and to carry out needed fundamental changes in the cultural, social and economic structure of the country depends much on the entrepreneurial motives of new business founders when starting their businesses. Besides being holistic in 52
Mainstreaming the Third Sector Economics By Adopting the Principles of Islamic Entrepreneurship: For Development with Equity and Social Justice
approach, Islamic entrepreneurship dictates that the individual must first be a religious person. It is motivated by success which encompasses the world here and the hereafter. Entrepreneurial success, in Islam, is wider in scope and not confined to merely the ‘bottomline’ principle of earning profit and material wealth (Radiniz Site 2008). The following philosophical principles describe the nature of the Islamic entrepreneurship: it is an integral part of Islamic religion; Islam encourages its ummah to venture into business; doing business is a part of Ibadah (good deed); a Muslim entrepreneur (like any other Muslim) is a Khalifatullah (Allah’s agent) guided by Islamic ethics and values prescribed by the Holy Qur’an and the traditions of the Prophet(Hadith). 6. Call for the Islamic Entrepreneurship for Success of the Third Sector
For actualizing this needed expansion for the desired success of the third sector model it requires the right kind of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs to guide and lead the economy towards development with social justice. As noted earlier, the entrepreneurs functioning in the market-led economy are motivated and driven by profit maximization as the sign and symbol of success. Community wellbeing is only a residual consideration for them. They remain smartly engaged in serving the needs of the haves ignoring the cause of the have-nots. This, in fact, reinforces and expands the problem than solving it. These kinds of entrepreneurships are harmful and dangerous for the society. These are grossly misfit for the third sector economics. On the other hand, entrepreneurs in Islamic mould are guided by the Islamic etiquettes (ethics) in their search for best serving the cause of mankind. For them the motivating factor is wellbeing of mankind and pleasure of Allah, the Creator. The unique ethical and motivational structure of the Islamic entrepreneurship puts priority to community considerations over the individual benefits of other agents. It puts community as the primary stakeholder of the output of any entrepreneurial action. Islamic entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs being imbibed with Islamic spirit of community wellbeing as a priority fit very well to this structure of the proposed restructured third sector economic model. Applying the principles of Islamic entrepreneurship this sector can grow and expand to its required size to find a large number of its member enterprises are operating in the mainstream and growth sectors of the economy. We propose this kind of mainstreaming of the third sector economics. Only then it can upgrade itself to the dominant 53
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and comparable position with the first sector to effectively play its role to ensure sustainable growth with equity and social justice at national and global levels. However, in most countries of the world, in reality, most entrepreneurs now may lack Islamic conviction and spirituality. Particularly in the non-Muslim countries, entrepreneurships cannot be expected to conform fully to Islamic norms in respect of both the religious and material aspects of the entrepreneurship. Therefore, these cannot be reasonably called fully Islamic entrepreneurships. Under the circumstances, the entrepreneurship which falls short of fully conforming to the religious elements of Islamic entrepreneurship but conforming reasonably fully to all its material aspects and community centric spirit may be conveniently called Islamic style entrepreneurship. Under the Islamic style entrepreneurship, output maximization, profit maximization, employee benefits, etc., are all subject to community wellbeing considerations. Profits for the equity holders and benefits for employees are put as residual matters. Therefore, it may be found most suitable and useful for successful functioning of the third sector economics for development with social justice more particularly in the developing countries. 7. Examples of Recent Islamic Style Third Sector Enterprises In Malaysia, Johor state government’s investment agency, Johor Corporation (JCorp) is an example of a successful initiative of Islamic entrepreneurship (Musa 2010). JCorp, through creation of its corporate waqaf, WANCorp, has successfully initiated a new way of doing business under the banner ‘Business Jihad’ - an alternative to the purely shareholder-centric, business-driven economic model. Its mission and slogan is ‘Building wealth for all with Islamic entrepreneurship’. It is formed on the basis of the institution of Waqaf, which in Islamic Law, is a permanent endowment or trust, customarily of real estate, in which the proceeds are spent for purposes designated by the benefactor – usually charitable foundations such as schools, orphanages, hospitals, and mosques, etc. This newly created corporate Waqaf is a legally recognised community-owned corporation that continues in perpetuity, for producing useful goods and services for the society. Profits from it are used solely for reinvestment or to fund community interests in charitable or social causes as a way of bridging the social divides. It is more or less like the ‘social business’. It is claimed that the approach largely adheres to the nature and character of Islamic entrepreneurship. Community and social justice are at the core of this alternative way of doing business. Thereby it initiates a shift from the conventional to a community-centric business concept. 54
Mainstreaming the Third Sector Economics By Adopting the Principles of Islamic Entrepreneurship: For Development with Equity and Social Justice
This is an example of staunchly business like initiative of Islamic style third sector entrepreneurship. Similarly, Sheba Polly in Bangladesh is an example of another type of Islamic style third sector entrepreneurship. It is a cost based charity initiative. Sheba Polly (integrated rural service centre) (Molla 2008) is one of the two operating arms of the Bangladesh Association for Total Social Advancement (BATSA). It is a field level action program for development. It is an integrated rural development scheme. It is a project of a series of rural services centers, each armed with facilities ranging from hospital, technical institutes, and other services outlets built primarily through local initiatives to provide various social services in the community and motivate members of public commit to social services with the realization that ‘serving humanity is serving religion’. It is to provide at cost six categories of aids under a scheme ‘service according to need and payment according to ability’. Under the scheme, those who are incapable to pay full cost for the services may apply and negotiate with ‘Sheba Fund’ management (created for this purpose, with donations and zakah receipts from individuals and institutions) for payment of the balance. Recipients of services thus only pay according to their ability. The six categories of development aids are namely: • Health aid (health first! health for all!) • Employment generation aid (everyone must have access to work & earning for a living) • Educational and religious aid (everyone must have access to basic education and religion) • Legal aid (everybody must have access to justice) • Socio-cultural aid (everyone must have the right to promote his/her culture and live with social dignity). • Agricultural Aid (every farmer must have access to modern agricultural technology) So far only one such service outlet has been established at the suburban village of the district town Brahmanbaria. Being located at the village Bhadughor, it is called Sheba Polly Bhadughor. It has a 10bed hospital, certificate level nursing (patient management) and medical science and technology programs, handicrafts program, legal 55
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aid program, youth club (called Sheba Club to motivate the youths to social services), etc. However, its success so far has been modest. It is yet to start the agricultural aid and microcredit project. It is still struggling with the teething pains. For its take off and full success it may need some amount of initial backup support from other national and international institutions. 8. Conclusion The Political economy of the cultures of profit maximizing market economics, founded on the spirit and principle of Darwinist social philosophy of ‘survival of the fittest’ and tailored to create unjust extreme economic and social imbalances, gave birth to oppression in the past through imperialist colonization of territories and nations, and now through American style terrorism for occupation, domination and control of world’s natural resources. To counter these oppressions there emerged various strains of movements and revolutions. However, Islam addresses this kind of oppression (zulm) with the call for Jihad – a resistance movement and continuous effort for betterment and development against all sorts of injustices and oppression - under the conviction that wherever oppression (zulm) occurs, there will arise the brigade of Muslim army to fight it (the principle of ‘amr bil maaruf, wannahi anil munkar’). This gave birth to various types of current revolutions and resurgences for liberation and freedom of the oppressed from the hands of the capitalist terrorist occupiers. Similarly, Islamic entrepreneurship, which is basically a communitycentric mode of business initiative, is an antidote to the problem of intolerable economic and social dualism in the economies. There is indeed the scope to expand and develop the third sector economics to upgrade itself from the level of peripheral activities to the level of mainstream economic activities standing comparably and competitively with the market led private sector (1st sector) economics. Nations and societies which are interested to expand, develop, and mainstream their third sector economies to help establish a balanced and just economic development to bridge the economic and social divides, may need to profitably promote Islamic style entrepreneurship which is by nature not against seeking reasonable profit but which puts ethical consideration and community interest at the fore. It therefore proposes that for credible research and development in the field of community-centric economic model a Centre for Research and Development on Third Sector Economics (CRDTSE) be established preferably under an Institute for Islamic Research and Development in 56
Mainstreaming the Third Sector Economics By Adopting the Principles of Islamic Entrepreneurship: For Development with Equity and Social Justice
any reputed university. This Centre or the Institute should also publish an appropriate online free access international journal for promoting their objectives. References Balogh, T. 1982. The Irrelevance of Conventional Economics, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Blaug, M. 1980. The Methodology of Economics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Borzaga, C., and Bacchiega, A. 2003. The Economics of the Third Sector: Towards a more Comprehensive Approach. In Anheier, H., Ben-ner, A. (eds.), The Study of the Nonprofit Enterprise. Theories and Approaches, New York: Kluwer Academic, p. 27-48. (online) http://www.istr.org/networks/europe/borzaga.pdf (accessed on 24 June 2011). Borzaga, C., Depedri, S. and Tortia, E. C. 2009. The Role of Cooperative and Social Enterprises: A Multifaceted Approach for an Economic Pluralism. Euricse Working Papers N. 000/09. (online) http://www.euricse.eu/sites/euricse.eu/files/db_uploads/documents/1269529638_n360. pdf (accessed on 24 June 2011). Chapra, U. M. 1993. Islam and Economic Development. Islamization of Knowledge 14, The International Institute of Islamic Thought and Islamic Research Institute: Islamabad. Davies, J., Sandstrom, S., Shorrocks, A., Wolff, E. 2006. Pioneering study shows richest 2 percent own half world wealth. The World Distribution of Household Wealth, World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University. (online) http://www.wider.unu.edu/events/past-events/2006events/en_GB/05-12-2006/ (accessed on 20 January 2011) Euricse’s Philosophy. 2011. Guiding Principles for the Study of Cooperative and Social Enterprises. (online) http://www.euricse.eu/sites/euricse.eu/files/db_uploads/documents/1265989136_n334. pdf (accessed on 24 June 2011). Kayed, R.N. and Hassan, K. 2010. The motives and the incentives in Islamic entrepreneurship, The Financial Express, January 12, (online) http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2010/01/12/89298.html Molla, R.I. 2005. Faith-based Intellectualism in Contemporary Economic Thought: A Desirable Come-back Phenomenon, European Journal of Scientific Research, 1(2). (online) http://www.tums.ac.ir/briefcase/jnouri/English%20Articles/28%20(Nikoo).pdf (accessed on 24 June 2011). Molla, R.I. 2008. Islam-based Grassroots Institutions for Sustainable Integrated Rural Development: The Case of Sheba Polly in Bangladesh, Journal of Business and Behavioral Sciences 17(1): 36-42.
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Molla, R.I., Moten, A.R., Gusau, S.A, Gwandu, A.A. 1988. Frontiers and Mechanics of Islamic Economics, University of Sokoto: Nigeria. Musa, A. 2010. Malaysia can promote Islamic entrepreneurship. The Star Online, April 10. (online) http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?sec=business&file=/2010/4/10/business/2010 0410083304 (accessed on 24 June 2011). Naqvi, S.N.W. 1981. Ethics and Economics: An Islamic Synthesis. Islamic Foundation: UK. Pinkovskiy, M. and Sala-i-Martin, X. 2010. Parametric estimations of the world distribution of income, VOX, 22 January. (online) http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/4508 (accessed on 20 January 2011) Radiniz Site. 2008. Islamic Entrepreneurship, October 18, (online) http://www.radiniz.com/blog/?p=508, (accessed on 24 June 2011). Schumpeter, J.A. 1934. The Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest and the Business Cycle, London: Oxford University Press. Shahnaz, D. and Tan, P.S.M. 2009. Social Enterprise in Asia: Context and Opportunities. Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Research Paper No.LKYSPP09-018-CAG006. (online) http://www.asiaiix.com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/03/Social-Enterprise-in-Asia-Context-and-Opportunities3.pdf (accessed on 24 June 2011). Stiglitz, J.E. 2009. Moving beyond market fundamentalism to a more balanced economy, Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics 80(3): 345-360. Todaro, M.P. and Smith, S.C. 2009. Economic Development, New York: Addison Wesley. UNDP. 2008. Social Enterprise: A new model for poverty reduction and employment generation. An examination of the concept and practice in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. (online) http://europeandcis.undp.org/poverty/show/2F171313-F203-1EE9B687694A1F8C9AEC (accessed on 20 January 2011).
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Islamic Philosophy of Education and Our Challenges Ahead Dr. Md. Maimul Ahsan Khan* “....Are those equal, those who know and those who do not know? It is those who are endued with understanding that receive admonition.” - (Quran, 39: 9.) “Read in the name of thy Sustainer, who has created – created man out of germ-cell! – Read- for thy Sustainer is the Most Bountiful One -- who has taught [man] the use of the pen -- taught man what he did not know!” -- (Quran, 96:1-5.) Restraint of discipline, emulation, examples of virtue and of justice form the education of the world. -- Edmund Burke Capacity without education is deplorable, and education without capacity is thrown away. -- Sheikh Saa’di Guidance is not attained except with knowledge and correct direction is not attained except with patience. --Ibn Taymiyyah Abstract: Philosophical foundation of any area of study or disciple is very important aspect to deal with before undertaking comprehensible plans and programs to implement. Education is a quite undefined and ever expanding area of human resource development directly related to the nation-building, national security, and overall emancipation of the masses. Creaking highly professional and skilled human resources is indeed one of the prime goals for any education system. However, at the ground levels, our failure to disseminate minimum knowledge based on objective assimilation of required information may endanger the survival of the entire nation. Feeding the nation with only greed for money, wealth, and power may cause tremendous damage to the psyche of a nation leading to disastrous
*
Professor of Law, Islam, Human Rights, International Commerce; University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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consequences for educational policies as well. Finding right kind of balance for educational and cultural system is a very big challenge. This complicated challenge with many ideological, social, and economic dichotomies can only be met by reforming education at its core. Any Morally sound and economically viable system of education needs technical support all the way from top to bottom. Simple mechanical and rote learning of anything may be good for some individual drives to be fulfilled immediately. But those drives as a whole may not be befitting to save a nation from ignorance, moral decadence and arrogance. Thus we can hardly overemphasize the importance of building a comprehensive philosophical foundation based on some universal and Islamic values directed to creating humble souls with cutting edge technological know-how beneficial for the entire ummah, human race, and major causes of environmental protection. The major objective of writing this paper is to articulate some of the challenges we have been confronting in our education system as a whole and to endeavor finding a few approaches to address at least some of those problems to help ourselves in making us better equipped to bring happiness, prosperity, and humility around us all, and also to keep trying to leave the planet a better place for the generations to come for their safety, security, and spiritual salvation in worldly life and hereafter. Keywords and concepts: Globalization, Islamization, Educational Philosophy, Islamic Moral Values, Balance between Body and Soul, Creation of Human Resources, Interests of ummah, Survival of Human Race,
Introduction It is now quite fashionable to claim that we live in an information age. And we love to call our earth as Global Village1. Moreover, we
1
Global Village (GV) is a concept realted to the process of intense globalization of all aspects of international affairs. Marshall McLuhan in his famous book titled The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man (1962) and Understanding Media (1964) has popularied the concept of GV based on the miracles created by worldwide information technology and all kinds of media outlets. Still today we can simply take the term GV as a metaphor rather than a reality of reaching to everywhere by everyone at his or her sweet will. Of course, in that Internet Age and electronic domidance over everything physical distance is not a factor in reaching out to the public at larger, who maight appear very powerful and sometime completely helpless to do anything about their surroundings and fortunes. In the
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propagate that as educators our main task is to create knowledge and disseminate it among the students. On the other hand, because of our education and knowledge we can easily claim ourselves as civilized human beings. If I am not educated, then my claim to be knowledgeable, creative, and productive may not be taken seriously at all by any powerful or influential quarter. People in different governmental circles of establishment and administration may not at all consider me to be worthy for any job that might be beneficial or helpful for any good cause or task. However, if I ask who makes me educated, I cannot expect to hear one concrete or definitive answer. In our time of globalization now we can give almost exclusive role to the educational institutions, including universities, to make us educated. Thus we can simply say that people with educational and professional degrees are the best educated people among us. Can we take it granted that highly educated and skilled people are the best educated people among us? Do the degrees and certificates awarded by the worldreputed educational institutions and universities can make us genuinely educated in terms of honesty, integrity, patriotic behaviors, and commitments to the higher causes of humanity and humility both at national and international levels? Do the educated folks are posing less danger and threat to the ongoing efforts of the preservation of human dignity, racial equality, women’s rights, of caring children, sick, and old-aged people, preservation of environment and eco-systems, and soforth? Why the academic degrees and governmental powers and accumulated wealth, not the self-less contribution to the society, family, and state should be regarded as the final measurements or yardsticks determining educational status of human being? This paper will address some of these issues along with a vital question how far our educational system should be value-based i.e., morally and spiritually sound to tame our greedy mind and instinct at individual as well as collective levels. Classification of Education Not long ago we could divide our education system into religious and secular or Islamic and Western. Now division of education into such classification is rather an easier job. However, these kinds of divisions
areas of genuine education and intellectual development and reaping the benefits of modern amenities, sociological upliptment, and cultural enlightment of the entire human race GV is more of a myth rather than reality.
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of education in religious and secular lines cannot help us in identifying any real problem related to education, information, knowledge, and so forth. Classification of education has now been following a general rule of dividing skill and professionalism in the line of specific areas of training and expertise.2 Either you are a physician or an astronaut, an engineer or a lawyer; you have to deal with some knowledge of basic sciences. The area of basic sciences is called natural science without which no areas of knowledge can stand by themselves. Closeness between the natural and social sciences has been becoming increasingly intimate and complex to deal with at the occasions of their application in real material life. In this highly specialized world, our individual area of specialization has now become very precise, narrow, and apparently unconnected to rest of the areas of knowledge and expertise. However, at the time of its application it is very much interrelated with almost all other areas of studies and knowledge. Is it a paradox that the more I like to be specialized in any individual area of study, the more ignorant would I remain in all other areas of knowledge? Here we are not talking about different areas of natural or social sciences. We are trying to take a note of our specialization within our own field of expertise. A medical engineer is not at all a physician-like doctor in any consideration. But the best surgeons of the world cannot work without the direct help and cooperation of a good team of medial engineers. The same scenario of interdependence of various types of professionals with diverse expertise can be observed now in every field of knowledge. “Included in creation, human life has a tendency towards progress that arises from his tendency toward
2
“The first integrated solution to the Kantian problem and the Cartesian dilemma was provided by Max Weber (1864-1920). Weber was a German economist and historian. His methodological thinking was mainly influenced by the “Methodenstreit” in economics between the leader of the German historical school Gustav Schmoller (18381917) and the leader of the Austrian school of economics Carl Menger (1840-1921). This debate about the correct methods started in 1883 after Menger’s strong attack on Schmoller historical school. Menger proposed an economic approach as a pure theory, which should be based on general universal concept of human action, antecedent conditions, and a deductive method. Schmoller on the other hand argued for an economic approach based on concrete historical on the macro level, and an inductive method. Weber took an intermediate position in this debate (Fusfeld 1887: 454)” In: Etzrod, Chrisian, “Combined Methodology of the Natural and Social Sciences.” In: Ritsumeikan Social Sciences Review, Vol. 40, No. 3, 2005, pp. 112-3.
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perfection. This tendency toward progress becomes possible through opinions and theories being built upon one another over the course of centuries. Opinions and theories develop by means of the results attained-facts; then axioms or principles become established, and means to implement the principles learnt are invented. Established facts and principles impregnate the seeds of sciences that emanate from the “ribs” of creation in the womb of time, where they grow through experience and experimentations.”33 The best judges and lawyers of any country may become simply helpless in analyzing the engineering or medical data downloaded from any information system without adequate, honest, and professional judgment provided by competent authorities and personalities in respective fields. Under these circumstances, professional degrees in any particular field of study and knowledge must have various organic and functional relationships with many other fields of information-system, expertise-development, and knowledge. However, the interdependence between diverse areas of studies and knowledge in no way undermine the role and importance of specialization in any particular area of study and expertise. A jurist may not become an engineer or a doctor so easily and a reverse argument is also equally true. But cooperation between them may lead us to discovery of new horizons of truth that may rather be used more effectively in making our society better in terms of its humane nature and productivity, and distribution system. “With sociology the verdict is quite different…In a popular introductory volume, The study of sociology (1873), Spencer argues eloquently for the recognition and development of the new science. If determinism is correct in psychology, there must be regularities of cause and effect in social phenomenon; and a through student of man and society will not be content with merely chronological history, like Livy’s nor with a
3
Nursi, Bediuzzaman Said, The Reasonings: A Key to Understanding the Quran in Eloquence, Tughra Books, First Edition, 2008, p. 14-15.
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biographical history like Carlyle’s; how will look in human history for those general lines of development, those causal sequences, those illuminating correlations, which transform the wilderness of facts into the chart of science‌..Society, he believes, is an organism, having organs of nutrition, circulation, coordination and reproduction, vary much as in the case of individuals.�4 The organic relationship between mankind and environment is not unknown to a modern man. However, with modern technology, present-day human race appears to be a major threat to the very existence of our planet. Individual greed and unscrupulous ruling elite has been posing dangerous threat to the entire eco-systems that surround us everywhere. Moreover, destruction of societal ethos, cultural ways of living, balances in distribution of wealth and resources by the privileged few is unimaginably widespread and colossal. Without some kind of overhauling the entire education system including the way we exploit one another for just material gains, we cannot hope much improvement in any of these concerned areas of our common interests and destiny. Major Objectives of Education The major function of any educational system may sound almost the same. But at individual, group, and collective levels, persuasion of education, knowledge, skill, and wisdom may be driven by so many different types of purposes and objectives that cannot be confined within some kind compartmentalization. The mere cost-benefit analysis of any causal relationship and its subsequent impact on overall benefits and losses of a society cannot be the major indicator of progress and prosperity as an integrated whole. However, in course of interactions, any society or state is always in need of a good number of specialists and professionals to satisfy the demands of the citizenry. Many argue that human needs and necessities know no bounds. This argument may apparently be very true, but it does not command any absoluteness either. The crave for getting valuable things, wealth, money, and powers is limitless, but
4
Durant, Will, The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers, 1933, pp. 376, 377, 378
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human necessity (darura) 5 has always been constrained by so many limitations that we often even cannot foresee. Capability of foreseeing the necessity of the entire society, state or ummah6 is not easy to acquire. It is a complex process of gaining knowledge, experience, and wisdom. However, none can or should challenge to the God-Almighty’s full supremacy over the entire universe and beyond. “The sovereignty on that day will absolutely belong to the all merciful, (which He will exercise then with no intermediary veil of cause and effect). It will be a hard day for the unbelievers.”7 The objective of any education or educational system in its fundamental or broader connotation is supposed to deserve an extensive inspiration of creative and wisdom-based transmission of heavenly knowledge to mankind. It is more important that not only handful specialists would see the necessity of a particular group or community, but most members of the concerned community would be able to foresee the basic needs of masses and prudent ways and means to meet those necessities. This can be regarded as one of the fundamental objectives of the entire education system. In general, education makes human soul enlightened. However, many may claim that such a spiritual enlightenment is neither necessary nor can have any tangible goal for any educational policy. If something is not tangible or not attainable under some material measurement, then that should not serve as a purpose of some state policies, be it educational or otherwise. Apparently, that is a very strong argument for not taking any step to address any spiritual needs of any society. But in regard to cultural enlightenment of any group of people,
5
6
7
Apparently this is a way to make an unlawful act as a permissible one for the time being. In reality it is a breathing space for a weak and incapable believer to live up to his faith despite the fact that he or she needs to break the boundaries of permissible acts under the sharia law. In general Muslims believe that Muslims of all nationalities and ethnic groups form a united community of followers of Islam i. e., ummah. In other words, all Muslims of the planet taken together can be regarded as Islamic ummah (ummat al-mu’minin) of the whole world. In literary sense ummah refers to a kind of union of nations. This is why in the western literature ummah has been taken as a term to be replaced by Arabism or Pan-Islamism. Quran, 25: 26.
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collective or community, we cannot argue in a similar fashion. Problem here is not the cultural issues by themselves; challenging task is how to define the cultural standard and its growth or development. The standard of culture of a state or nation matters hugely for the political and economic development as well. What type of culture we are talking about here? Is it the lifestyle adopted by the majority of the people of a nation? What is, then, lifestyle itself? We all have born in this world in almost in a similar fashion by following similar kinds of natural and social rules. Death is also inevitable for all of us. We may lead a very successful and unsuccessful life on earth depending on our choices and the ways of pursuit of happiness. But successes and failures of life cannot be measured by only one yardstick. Who makes the yardsticks of successes and failures of life? This is the most vital question for any education system. An individual claiming taqwah8 (piousness in thoughts and deeds) as the main purpose of his or her education cannot use the same yardstick of success in life with another person whose main goal in life is to increase the bank balance at home and abroad with different banks and companies. Accumulation of capital in any group of individuals, groups, and communities by itself is not a sinful act. But the ways of accumulation of wealth are allowed and how they might be used may become too vicious a circle leading a nation to moral bankruptcy. As a consequence of that a whole region and even the entire humanity may suffer tremendously. Maybe at present also we have been witnessing same phenomenon all over the world. This is the failure of the modern education and cultural systems, and yardsticks of successes and failures that we have been using to evaluate human endeavors on earth to bring happiness and prosperity ay our own home forgetting the dare need and necessity of survival of other human beings and species living around us.
8
Linguistically Taqwa means forbearance, fear and abstinence, but in the Islamic terminology, Taqwa has comprehensive meaning. Taqwa is a higher state of honesty, decency, and commitment for doing good deeds and abstaining from all kinds of sins, crimes, and wrongdoings. This is a permanent state of God-Almighty’s presence in heart with an active quest for Knowledge, inventions, and implementation of those for the betterment of the entire human race and environment.
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Human Resource Development Without proper and timely development of human resources, no country or nation can thrive just by using its natural and mineral resources. The glaring proof of this argument is the level of development of the human resources and their misuse and abuse in many Muslim and Third world countries. In general, Muslim countries are abundant with unthinkable amount of natural and mineral resources, but poor state of human resource development has made most Muslim countries backward in terms of many parameters of life. Is it a problem of using wrong, flawed, incorrect or incoherent measurements of successes and failures of nation-building and contribution to the civilization development? Or is it simply an utter indifferent attitude to the vital affairs of our own people and nations in particular and the humankind in general? “About 9 million children in Arab countries are unable to go to school at all; a huge number of children also do not attend secondary schools, jeopardizing economic growth and sustainable development. Arab countries do not allocate sufficient funds to research and development; this naturally affects innovation and invention. In most Arab states the funds allocated to research and development activities represent no more than 0.3 8 9 Competitive Job Market and Quality Education We cannot expect that millions of university-students would work harder just to obtain good grades in their examinations without knowing well that those grades will speak for themselves in the competitive job market. In many Muslim countries still educational institutions operate for the sake of their own good or even just for their survival as governmental organizational set-up or governmentally approved educational institutes. Those educational institutions have very little to do with creating efficient workforce capable of undertaking specific jobs at specific workplace that may have their own job description. Not that the terms and conditions of the jobs are completely unknown to the job-seekers, the main problem is how to transmit the skill and know-how at the educational institution before entering into the real job to be undertaken after the completion of formal education.
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Length of formal education should not be that long as it is now in many countries. Some prestigious educational institutions, including world renowned universities are capable of marketing their degrees and certificates efficiently that in reality has very little to do with the quality of the human resources they produce. This is in fact already an unfair conventional system that with the name of the university, the credential of the students carries a much higher weight automatically than job-seekers with less prestigious universities and institutions. Very often native job-seekers with the degrees of less prestigious native universities get less attention from the employers, while foreigners with foreign degrees get the job unfairly in the name of special type of consultancy. This has been becoming something of a common phenomenon in many Muslim and Third World countries. Former colonial empires have been taking advantages in this regard and making their higher education a commodity to be bought and sold like any other product in the marketplace. We are now just emulating that colonial system of education without asking ourselves serious questions about the quality of home-grown human resources. Apart from the scientific technicalities and knowledge derived from various schools of arts and social sciences, we need to impart good human qualities in the hearts and minds of the students. Why does every society need capable and honest professionals? Societal needs demand higher professional efficiency to be sellable and affordable. Striking balance between care-givers’ price and care-takers’ satisfaction is indeed a challenging task to accomplish. This is why we need to create a flow of creating sufficient number of capable professionals in every sectors of economy, including service sectors. Catering the need of the creation of avenues, human resource development is not a goal by itself. Creation of worthy citizens for any state has many purposes other than just giving or selling services. Ultimate goal is to produce quality human mind capable of thinking outside one’s own box and be compassionate to fellowcitizens and human beings at large. Creation of inter-generational professional capabilities dedicated to the protection of national, environmental, and global interests throughout the entire life both at workplace and beyond is a pre-condition for all kinds of successes for all concerned parties. However, neither patriotism nor honesty can be tested through any examination at formal school setting; it is the reality check that makes real difference in the efficiency of a professional or just a working man 68
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or woman earning livelihood. It is presumed that highly professionals placed in prestigious posts would be less corrupt, but at present such an assumption appears to be quite untrue. Less qualified people engage in corruption to earn extra money bearing the burden of expenses of living, while crave for luxurious life-style makes the high-ups of our societies utterly corrupt and dishonest. The corrupt and dishonest sections of policy-makers can easily create many serious hindrances in the ways of earning livelihood for many millions of people. Not the simple urge for getting economic benefits has led us to a society of global migration. It is now estimated that about 250 million people are migrating from country to country for getting jobs and earning livelihood every year. These migrants are capable of generating about 500 billion US dollars remittance to their native countries.12 Their earning capabilities per year has been estimated more than a trillion dollars. Moreover, the movements of migrants and diasporas from one country to another also generate new energy in cultural and educational exchanges, which ultimately push the envelope of intellectual heights of human civilization. Nation Building as an Agenda of Good Education A great paradox of our so-called globalized system is that we are now more individualistic in terms of our attitude and life-style than even before. Many of us are quite happy to put the entire nation in deep crisis, endemic poverty, and wide-spread corruption and nepotism for their own financial interest. How far individualism should be blamed for this unprecedented selfish pattern of rule of our time? Even the collective goals of many groups are often detrimental to the national and ummaite interests of making peoples of different nationalities and ethnicities politically prosperous, economically independent, socially congenial, and culturally advanced. In many countries, national policies and educational strategies are not at all prudent or not even driven by any farsighted goals other than just creating ways and means to earn money on indulge in corruption. Market-dynamics of creating jobs and putting professionals and working force of country in right places in right time are by themselves very good indicators of doing well with economic growth and development. How far those dynamics are related directly to the
12
See Website of the International Organization for Migrations.
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wellbeing of educational and cultural systems of a country is a difficult question to answer. There is a universal logic of demand and supply relationship in almost every aspect of life. However, that so-called universal logic also has its own limitations. There might not be a great deal of enthusiasm in introducing and developing a quality education system in any particular country in a particular period of time. But every nation needs a higher standard of human resources as its economic development progresses with more scientific and technological advancement. Implementation of more advanced and comprehensive economic planning is not possible without introduction of latest technology. But none of these objectives can be reached without the skilled manpower. Without the honesty and integrity of the policy-makers, urbanplanners, designers and architects of all kinds, no advance technology can do any big help in bringing the educated work force in industrial and manufacturing sectors, which has been serving as a pre-condition of running a modern urbanized society. Finding yourself as urban dweller without adequate amenities of life may seriously jeopardize the very minimum decency of life required to be virtuous in daily lives. This is indeed a challenge to our future generation to come and their opening to a minimalist virtuous life worthy of living. Contribution to Civilization-Building Endeavors Keeping some nations and societies terribly behind in terms of economic progress and technological advancement, as a whole ummah or human race cannot achieve a higher standard of education, culture, peaceful co-existence, and maintenance of civility, humility, and ecosystems of all kinds that surrounds us. On the other hand, if some nations deliberately choose to cling to backwardness, ignorance, and arrogance, then their territories and resources would be occupied and looted by the foreign invaders as we have been witnessing during the entire period of colonialism and ongoing neo-colonialism. The overall progress of human civilization is an integrated whole as an idea of development. Pushing some nations and countries to a substandard life-style, behavior, and mannerism, we have been taking serious risk of bringing down the entire human race to a cultural decadence not compatible with normal human decency and dignity. How come two billion people around the world practically lead a sub70
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standard life with endemic poverty, lawlessness, and very poor standard of education? The sheer number of people living below the poverty line with no clean water, no minimum hygiene and sanitary conditions, no electricity, no access to good institutional education is a glaring example that we live in a chaotic world order and global system incapable of giving the right voices to the millions of voiceless people. “Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producing country, making it one of America’s biggest crude oil suppliers. But underneath the production of oil, lies a 50-year long brutal exploitation that has destroyed the ecosystem and affected the livelihood of millions of people.”13 In this regard Nigeria is not alone or only example. Situation is very similar with Mexico, Venezuela, Iraq, and many other oil-rich countries. Interesting enough that at present we love to blame only some superficial Muslim religious biasness for this devastating affect all over the world. Empowerment of Poor, Women, and Underprivileged In some countries, for some institutions and individual groups, it is quite fashionable to give a lot of lip services to the causes of women’s rights, empowerment of poor and underprivileged folks. In reality not many states are genuinely serious in safeguarding the interests of the entire society. The interests of the entire society and state are either ignored or misconceived as ideas to take care of the less unfortunate segments of population. “The framers of the original Constitution were remarkably unrepresentative of the people as a whole. They were not chosen in any way sanctioned by prior national law, and a majority of the population, including women, slaves, and the poor, was excluded from the processes that selected them and ratified the constitution…Quite apart from these defects, fairness cannot explain why people now should be governed by the detailed political convictions of officials elected long
13
http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/pph
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ago, when popular morality, economic circumstances, and almost everything else was very different.�14 In fact, the ideas of Welfare State 15 is either a myth or misconstrued in a way that we cannot hope to create an in-built pro-people system in catering the needs of the women, poor, and underprivileged people of any society. In fact, practically no state has been fully addressing the systemic problems they are in because the concern state machinery are engaged in either military build-up or just helping making more profits to extract more capital investments from the home-grown exploitative class and their foreign allies. Weaker and smaller states have increasingly becoming helpless in making their state policies independently either because of the intense pressure of the stronger neighbors or multi-national companies. Without protecting the interests of big capitals coming from abroad along with the profits of local suppliers, state institutions feel vulnerability to collect their revenues to pay salaries to their own employees.
14 15
Dworkin, Ronald, Law’s Empire, Fontana Press, London, 1991, p. 364. The concept of Welfare State is no more a widely acceptable notion of governance. The idea of limited government has now become quite fashionable in the Western countries and many Eastern and Muslim countries have been following the directive of global capitalism and worldwide free-market dynamics of making profit rather than serving the future generations. During the second half of the nineteenth century many German authors tries to make the idea of Welfare State popular and the term Sozialstaat, had been used as a Social State of matured Statehood. In Germany in the name of Sozialpolitiker i. e., socially oriented and devoted politicians could be found in many pages of German history that did not long last. Pushing the Germans to the warfare one after another and making Hitler a historical legacy, English people named the German concept of State as Warfare State and claim that London had invented the idea of Welfare State, which is now simply a myth having no real impact for the ordinary or working masses anywhere in the world. However, only Scandinavian countries can claim that they still are sincerely trying to make themselves as Welfare States. Overall educational policies went wrong almost everywhere. As a result we can see how a Norwegian, Anders Behring Breivik, a 32-year-old far right Christian expressed his hatred against multiculturalism in Norway on July 22, 2011 by killing about 80 innocent young people of his own nationality. Prior to committing those cold-blooded killings in the name of saving Christianity from the hands of Muslims in Europe Breivik had posted a 1,500-page manifesto calling for a Crusade against the so-called aggression of Islam, Cultural Marxism, and Feminism in Europe. All kinds of extremism and fanaticism are just an outcome of flawed educational system.
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State has increasing becoming just a revenue collector from the corrupt and rich people engage in unfair politics and business practices. From physicians to the lawyers, from politicians to the traders, and from casino owners to the match-fixing circles of all kinds of sports are the main customers and beneficiaries of the state mechanism opted for all kinds of morally value-neutral drives for big dazzling urbanized projects survival of which would be under serious scrutiny, if a genuine pro-people education system can be brought in place. Compatibility between the Good Words and Deeds Hypocrisy is the norm now both in national and international politics and in the formulation of numerous plans and programs apparently viewed as progressive ways of protecting human health, human rights, women’s rights, and the rights of children, poor, and starving people around the globe. In reality words of our leaders do not match to their deeds, which may appear good, but disastrous for the interests of the people brought into the deadly spider-net of vulgar sexism and consumerism. Many Muslim nations are also now easy prey of aggressive marketing of pornography, gambling, racketeering of drug and women trafficking. Just by tightening the belts around the policing system and harshening the criminal justice system, we cannot hope to do any headway in bringing moral values within state machinery and education system. We desperately need to change our attitude toward others’ rights and wellbeing. In life there are some very simple unavoidable truths we need to appreciate for our own wellbeing. We simply cannot ignore them by arguing that we do not have any responsibility to look after the people who are lagging behind in every test of parameter of modern life and amenities. At the end we are all the integral part of one society and one integrated human race. Denial to this universal truth has many consequences in our activities and actions. Many of us appear to be too naïve to appreciate fully that by harming others we ultimately bound to bear the burnt of the damages we have inflicted on others. Our short-sightedness in reviewing our own actions is a source of many malice we consciously and unconsciously throwing in the ways of happiness and prosperity of our co-workers, neighbors, and people at large. This is a sadist mentality we acquire within our unfair and unjust family system and then make those mental diseases incurable in 73
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the course of our institutional education system. One of the teachings here we cannot introduce is that we would never say things which we do not practice. However, no positive progress should be ignored and future steps toward further progressive legal and educational development need to be put on the stronger and solid grounds based on reality as well taking into consideration the goal-based rights in the future to come. Most of the time, governmental machineries are of exploitative character and treat ordinary people very unfairly. But waging an isolated and disorganized ideological or religious war against the prevailing economic system and political regime may backfire to the ongoing progress in education and development.16 Challenges to be Appreciated with Full Seriousness Ever increasing gap between the rich and poor at national levels and between the states and regions is just one of many glaring examples how we have been managing our resources and national treasures and allow a tiny section of people to dictate a life-style practically hated or disliked by any humble soul. You do not need to be a noble person to think that millions of children left out in the street without any education and minimum sustenance to survive is indeed a curse for all nations and peoples of all ethnic groups. Here race, religion, and gender should not have any consideration. Only concern should be that the child needs education, food, clothing, and love from others, who are either responsible for them or just happens to be in the neighborhood and in power of making a difference to their lives.17 Generation gap has increasingly becoming an unforgivable crime committed by the policy makers and people operating and exercising state powers and resources supposed to be used for the overall emancipation for all. “The name of the religion that God Almighty revealed through all Messengers is Islam. Just as the laws
16
17
See for details, Khan, Maimul Ahsan, The Basics of Jurisprudence: Law, Politics, and Morality, Dhaka, 2010, pp. 392-413. National Professor Abdur Razzaq rightly says that “the prospects of the nation, are in the details of the plans and programs concerning this rather small section (child) of the population� in Razzaq, Abdur, Bangladesh: State of the Nation, University of Dhaka, First edition, 1981, p. 20.
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ordering and operating the universe remain the same and constant, and just as all people have the same basic characteristics, essential needs, and final destination regardless of when and where they live, it is natural for religion to be based upon the same essentials of belief, worship, and morality.” 18 Challenges to be Faced Without Hypocrisy After providing education and training to the younger generation, all kinds of state and non-state actors need to give a comprehensive attention to the ways and means to create jobs for all capable people willing to contribute to his or her family wellbeing or just to make his or her live worthy of living in terms of creativity and enjoyment of bounties provided by the God-Almighty. The Prophet of Islam (sm) says: “Wisdom is like lost property of believers. Wherever they find it, they have a greater right to take it”.19 There are so many gifts from God to make our life comfortable on earth. No one should have any monopoly over any bounty of Nature, which is at the service of the entire mankind and other creatures all the time. A grave misconception is that we cannot do anything about our own miseries and the troubles we are in because of our own faults or misdeeds of others. It is true that there are some incurable diseases about which we can do almost nothing except put our figure crossed for their save exist from this planet. Similarly only a very few social and economic crises may put us in complete disarray. Most of the natural disasters and environmental degradation are our own creation. Keeping balance in personal and family life is rather a very tough job to handle with success all the time. But in national life, with collective wisdom and knowledge we are supposed to be more prudent, beneficial, and humble as a nation-builder, educator, and preacher, as well as a catalyst of good will and protection of environment. However, individually we can do very little in any of these respects, if the state policies are not right. Without farsighted state policies and right kinds of educational systems we as individual
18 19
Buyukcelebi, Ismail, Living in the Shade of Islam, The Light, New Jersey,2005, p.107. Al-Tirmidhi, Sunan, “Ilm” 19
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citizens will not be able to make any difference to our national, regional, and international life. “Hizmet for Gulen implies that a person devotes his or her life to Islam, serving for the benefit of others, which is beneficial for life after death. Gulen is a very restless person who is always asking himself if he might do more for God. Death is always present in his preaching to his followers, and the fear of judgment day is the motivation to work hard.”20 Conclusion Apparently every education system should have a set of concrete philosophical grounds to begin with. It is not that difficult to give some explanations why we need to educate ourselves and others. There is a proverb that it is always better to live with an educated enemy than dealing with an ignorant friend. However, it has been increasingly difficult to recognize who is really educated and who is not. Neither the literacy rate nor the standard of higher education can now reveal anything substantial about the state of affairs of any nation, groups or individuals. Rather the economic condition and the rate of employment may send better signals about the level of socio-political, economic, and cultural development of concerned states and societies. Is it a good or bad phenomenon that instead of looking at people in terms of their educational level we are now more concerned about their economic conditions and employment situation? The average productivity rate and buying capacity of people now counts first to determine who are more progressive and who are ignorant. However, the issues of human resource development have been occupying very important place in the check list of all governmental agencies around the world. Here again success rate depends on the employment rate of educated people in highly paid jobs. Why, then, we need to talk so much about the philosophy of education at all? In the past, it was believed that just acquiring good skill and technological know-how would bring sustainable prosperity to any society. However, it has now already been proven to be very one-sided
20
Bekim Agai, “The Gulen Movement’s Islamic Ethics of Education”, In: M. Hakan Yavus and John L. Esposito, (eds) Turkish Islam and the Secular State: The Gulen Movement, Syracuse University Press, 2003, p. 59.
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look to the very approach to the sustainable economic development. The enlightenment of human soul and major goals of educational upbringing of human beings cannot be achieved by just distributing degrees of reputed universities and institutions. Without moral values at the core of all kinds of education, ultimately we would loose our dignity as human beings, who by their inherent qualities suppose to take care of others instead of exploiting other human beings at random just only for material gains or monetary profits. In substantive matters, human beings are spiritual as well as material entities at the same time. By denying one, we may loose the attributes related to others as well. This is very similar to physical well being of human beings. Without adequate amount of food for the nourishment of human bodies, we cannot hope for a normal life to live. But food and drinks alone cannot make us fit to carry on our duties as human being as many aspects of mental health are much more important that just intake of foods on regular basis. Social interests of any group of people and public interest of any state cannot be protected just by imposing some national security laws. The educational and cultural levels a community can achieve and sustain make huge difference in securing public interests and national security for the overall emancipation of a state or nation. It is only a balanced educational system that addresses the necessity of human body and soul; at the same time can make a nation fit for challenging the problems at hand and overcome the hurdles of deterring the evil-doers to make the entire society or state bankrupt economically, politically, and morally.
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IIUC STUDIES ISSN 1813-7733 Vol.- 9, December 2012 (p 79-106)
Philosophy of Education in view of the pressing Muslim Requirement in the Islamic and World Perspective Prof. Dr. Muin-ud-Din Ahmad Khan* Abstract: In Islam education is endemic to humanity and to the Muslims talabul ilm, acquisition cum research, is imperative, whereas by being bounded within the four walls of husulul ilm, acquisition of knowledge, education of the present-day Muslims has became epidemic by dint of their enthusiasm especially for chewing the cud of the foreign nations in the name of modernization of education which practically throws the Muslim elites out of the global Ummatic social arena turning them into supplanted personalities. Hence, in order to catching up with the dynamic spirit of Islamic education the Muslims are required to suitably overhaul the mentality and aims and objects of education.
Preamble In the light of the Quran, no sooner had Allah created man than gave him education in the science of identifying and naming things. The first revelation of the holy Quran urged the Prophet of Islam to read in Nature, to observe, to write, to calculate with a view to knowing the unknown, which is knowledge. This direction virtually covers all categories of knowledge in depth and level. In sharp contrast, all sorts of conventional education now prevailing amongst the Muslims everywhere in the world, have become rather epidemic to the Muslim Ummah that throws up its educated hosts down-right into an uprooted firmament of supplanted personalities. In effect, whereas Islam wanted a universal education and a life-long search after knowledge by the Muslims, educated Muslim elites of today love to remain at safe-distance from the lowly Muslim masses, whom they themselves pushed aside by dint of their bad leadership and
*
Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Arts and Law, Southern University Bangladesh, Chittagong
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gross love of foreign goods, foreign customs, foreign laws, foreign habits, foreign aids, foreign relief, foreign advice and high services of the foreign Companies. Degradation, corruption, shallow legalism, aggressive altercation, fantastic irreligiosity and widespread elitistic gossip and a somewhat nostalgic uneasy feeling towards religion cropped up inside the Muslim social order and education system. The Nobel Prize winner Professor Abdus Salam delineated its causality as stiff staticness in the flow of life and education amongst the Muslims leading to ossification of thought and the spirit of seeking after truth, neglect to research and experimentation since about five hundred years back, about the 16th century Christian Era (C.E.). The 18th century (C.E.) Muslim sage, Shah Wali Allah's clarion call to heed to the spirit of the Quran and the Sunnah and to clear off the debris of blind legalism as well as repeated warning of the Turkish sociologist, Zia Gokalp and of Iqbal, Shibli Nu`mani and poet Nazrul Islam at the turn of 19th and 20th centuries went practically unheeded. During the first half of the 20th century Syed Ameer Ali forcefully called the attention of the Muslims to the abiding modernity of Islam in an article entitled "Islam and Modernity " (K.K. Aziz ed. Life and Works of Syed Ameer Ali). He said, Islam wanted to spread enlightenment amongst human beings through universal education whereas the Muslims of the time refuse to accept it even when offered at their door-steps. He held out convincingly that Islam had remained still as modern as at the time of its nativity; it needed no reform but the revival of the spirit by which the Prophet was inspired. The words of the master have remained as fresh and as effective as when they were uttered, but the followers are unable to understand it. To break the ignoramus torpor of the Muslim masses and the vain-glorious selfgratification of the Muslim elites, he dedicated a full-dressed book The Spirit of Islam, which was more quoted than followed. Deliberately keeping aside Syed Ameer Ali's proposition to give serious indulgence to the primacy and originality of Islam, the Muslim elites held conference after conference all over the world, nationally as well as internationally, aiming at reforming Muslim education system. They virtually let to pass nearly a full century in fruitless debates and enthusiastic deliberations for synthesizing the absolutely out-dated Madrasah system and half-a-millennium long outworn, deductive textbook bound explanatory (matan wa sharh) latterly Muslim education 80
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technique and teaching methodology of the Muslims with the post renaissance ultra-materialistic and naturalist Greek ideology-oriented modem philosophy- based Western education system. They little realized that the modern West had borrowed from Islam, the scientific methodology, which alone Muslims could take back and reunite it with their evidential experimental logic which the West did not touch (Origin and Development of Experimental Science, published by BIIT) and still remains intact amidst the piled up treasures of Islamic archives and books of wisdom such as Imam Ghazzali's Al-Mustasfa min ilm al-usul (Bulaq, Egypt, 1322 Hijri). Instead of developing a brand new wholesome education system from the roots of the Quran and the Sunnah in pursuance of Quranicoriginated experimental scientific logic and methodology, they endeavored to synthesize the Occidental and Oriental education systems for the benefit of the modern Muslims. Consequently, there was a lot of miss-messing of spirit, juxtaposition of ideas and conglomeration of materials and at the long run neither of their twopronged efforts to promote the education of the Muslim community, one in isolation and the other in mixed-up, produced the expected result. Love's labour was enormously lost! These arm-chair Muslim elitists hardly grasped the classical Muslim hadd and burhan-based experimental scientific spirit and over and above that, in order to be acceptable to all and sundry, they tried to make their synthesis unradical and easy-going. As a result, their recommendations were more art-oriented and less scientific. It opened up no fresh vista of vision to inspire the teachers and students nor did it enthuse them to start an academic movement in any way comparable to their exuberance in politics. They often forget that education is not cramming ideas in the mind and memory of the students, rather to train one to think clearly, creatively and rightly. It is often given out by the Muslim elites and modernist Muslim ruling factions, everywhere in the world, that in order to bring out the Muslims in the bright day-light of modem civilization, they have introduced a modern education system in pursuance of the West. Their sole aim is modernization by all 81
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means. Yet, for the lack of spirituality and Idealism, they are gaining a merely imitative Westernization. Yet whereas the Western education systems are science-oriented, the Muslim modern education systems are art-oriented. Our elites are unable to think that the Muslim scholars in the past built up or invented all sciences (ulum) and no arts what-so-ever with the solitary exception of Arabic, Persian, Urdu literature. On the other hand, Japan and China also introduced modern education in imitation of the West, but their education system turned out even more scientific in certain sectors than that of the West. Then who would ask as to why it is so? Whence arise the differences? From the respective systems (?), intention (?) endeavors? or faulty execution (?). Last but not least, the Prophet of Islam (sm.) urged upon the Muslims to seek the knowledge from the cradle of the grave. But now-a-days all the world over, the Muslims are more illiterate in greater proportion than other people everywhere. The elites talk about it in response to the demand of Christian missionaries and foreign governments to fill up the continuous widening gap with their help. But no effective measure is yet in sight. The Japanese National Institute of Educational Research (NIER) has recently adopted the policy of devising a 'life-long education' system for the people; whereas we are still lingering with our staggeringly unfulfilled objective of education for all' set up before us by UNESCO since long. Present political awareness of the Muslim masses around nearly sixty independent countries of the world, could well be a reminder of a famous saying that, universal suffrage, without universal education, would be a curse, We may close this foreboding by citing an example of the Qudrat-eKhuda Education Report of 1974 in Bangladesh aimed at (a) creating awareness amongst the students of the Sate ideology of socialism, democracy, secularism, and nationalism and (b) preparing them for fulfilling the national aspirations by their functional and professional 82
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education. In a word, it may be termed as 'useful education' in the language of W.W. Hunter. Hunter was appointed Chairman of the First Education Commission of British India in 1880. He submitted his report in 1882 with the Chairman's observations that the Indian education system " was a futile exercise to acquire useful knowledge instead of preparing the mind for creative thinking". That is to say, one hundred twenty years back, the learned circle of the West regarded, 'creative thinking' as the object of education and down-graded its mere 'utilitarian acquisition'. Measured by that old standard, the present-day educational system of Bangladesh that produces imitator graduates instead of creative thinkers, is that long out-dated. Indeed, in the Asian-African Orient, many civilizations have converged into one another and produced time-old full-blown social systems. In comparison, the Western societies are young and thriving with animation and half-bred ideas of conceptual philosophy. Consequently, every time the Muslim intellectuals set about reforming their education system during the last one hundred years, by way of synthesizing the cultural lores of the East and West, they invariably turned it less efficacious, less effective and even least world-widely competitive. Keeping the above practical insight in the back of our mind, we may set out to delve into the matter of Muslim education lock, stock and barrel. Nomenclature Education implies imparting lesson, learning and knowledge by the expert to the novice by means of mental and spiritual equipment; such as ideas, concepts, thinking and speech. But the literal meaning of 'education' as a Latin word, falls much short of this implication. The Latin-based word 'education' is derived from educo, educatum. which basically means to lead forth, to bring up, 'to rear, to instruct and remotely means to advance the mental, aesthetic, physical or moral development of, esp, by teaching or schooling, (The Lexicon Webster Dictionary .Vol. 1, 1983, p. 313). Education, however, philologically means 'training', such as training a horse. Literally it is , therefore, not comparable with the Bengali-Sanskrit words shiksha and diksha (wkÂśv I `xÂśv) and the Arabic ta'lim and tarbiyat (Zvjxg I ZiweqvZ) which are applied alone on human beings and never on animals. Nevertheless, by implicational usage 'education' has latterly come to be used as the equivalent of its Arabic and Bengali counterpart of Shiksha and ta'lim. Yet, the conjugational part of diksha and tarbiyat which stand for 'moral preparation for proper education' is missing in the connotation of 'education'. Because, in the 83
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Oriental concept good conduct and refined manners are pre-condition of good education. The Oriental concept of education is wedded to the training of manners and morals, the right conduct, etiquette, humility and overall good living which are implied by diksha and tarbiyat and when such trainings are willingly and voluntarily received. Amongst the Western Christians, this is imparted by the priest and not by the teacher as 'counseling'. In the East, it is generally held that education, without the proper training of manners and morals, produces unbridled power, daitya,giant, demon rather than well-mannered learned person, wholesome man or woman and a man or woman with well-round personality. Realizing the above differentiation, the Westerners have begun saying that animals can only be trained but cannot be educated although the original meaning of education, educo and eductum, is training. Even so, they hold that 'knowledge is conceptual' as Socrates said it in the early stage of his career. Yet Socrates latterly realized his mistake and propounded the motto "Know thyself"; that is, self-knowledge, which he was unable to propagate as he was soon killed by the representative Assembly of the Athenians, who condemned him to die by drinking (he juice of poisonous hamlock for the offense of propagating the doctrine of pure religion amongst the young, people of the pagan idol-worshiping Greek society. This motto was an exact translation of the Sanskrit dictum : atmanong bidvi (AvZ¥bswewØ) which is a piece of Vedic philosophy propounded forcefully in "Mandukya Upanisada", which, however, is extended from self-knowledge towards the knowledge of the Supreme Lord : Brahma Gnana (eªþÁvb). Thus, self-knowledge leads to God's knowledge, the knowledge of God. In this context,we are reminded that, wisdom in the West-comes from philosophy, the Greek sweet-heart " philoe sophia (gnanpriti : love of knowledge), which, in the Orient, falls in line with the third digit of knowledge tatva gnana (ZË¡Ávb). Whereas in the Orient wisdom flows from practical experience, at the fourth digit of knowledge, called ma'rifat, in Arabic and turja in Budduttar aagam Shastra and divya gnana in Vedic Sanskrit. No wonder, therefore, we hear of Oriental wisdom and Western statesmanship. Wisdom seems to have been borrowed from the East by the West. Hence, while the Westerners 84
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speak of the 'philosophy of education', the Easterners speak of the 'systems of education'. We might, however, speak of a 'basic concept, underlying a given system of education and loosely call it 'educational philosophy' rather than the umbrella concept of 'philosophy of education'. Our object is to mean principles of education and the philosophy behind a given system of education. For instance, in the classical Chinese world-view 'human nature' is conceived to be radically 'good', which may be corrupted not by a breaking out of an internal taint (or propensity), but by external infection (cf. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, 1981. Vol. 5, P. 183). Hence the orthodox Chinese education system endeavored to preserve the 'naturality' of man and to protect him from anti-natural influences. Whereas the Vedic and Buddhistic education system endeavored to elevate man above the lower nature of the natural propensities and to draw him nearer to the higher self; the devine nature of man, the soul. Nevertheless, all the Oriental systems of education are objective, truth-oriented vis-a-vis Western systems, which are subjective, ism-oriented, ideal or ideology-oriented and befoolingly they often speak of ideals (in the Platonic sense) and soon enough reduce their ideas to ideologies (in the capitalist or socialist mould) and turn their ideologies to philosophy and philosophy to isms, which are in fact individual broodings of great thinkers. Definition and Aims: The Western Perspective If we begin our deliberations with 'education' and apply it for mankind, it would certainly require a definition of the Western type; that is to say, responding to the Aristotelian question of'what (it is called)? visa-vis the Oriental question of what (it is)? Nominalistic versus realistic question of What is. What of what, as it is called in the Holy Qur'an: ma. adraka ma hiya? That is, going one step forward to say, What makes it what it is? If we ask then: What is education? Its answer would descend upon the matter, carrying the literal meaning of 'rearing' with it, but by convention, aspiring to impart mental ideas or exchange views. Hence, it would need he conceptualized with a definition setting forth its aims and objects. But if we start asking: what is Shiksha or ta’lim(?), in the Oriental sense, and look forward towards its complimentary counterpart of diksha or tarbiyat,, it would lead us to a processual base. In that case, we may simply describe education as "the process through which older people endeavour to pass on to the younger 85
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generation their hard earned ideas, fruitful experience and practical wisdom with a view to render it easier to the latter to face the problems of life and to aspire for a better world" (adopted with modification the view of Compton's Encyclopedia, vol.7, 1986, p.74). In similar view, the Encyclopaedia Britannica describes, "Education can be viewed as the transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge of a society". Likewise to some of the Westerners "Education includes all the forces that influence human development." According to others, as it is limited lo something so narrow as to be equivalent to nothing more than teaching" (Ency. of Rel & Ethics, 1981, vol. v, p. 166). The Westerners, however,view education as bound up with the human development, improvement of life and attainment of happiness in this earthly life alone vis-a-vis the Oriental religious outlook of viewing education as a potent means of attaining happiness in this mundane life as well as in the life hereafter. For instance, Plato amongst the ancients regards the main intention of education as to teach (worldly) virtue all through man's life from birth to death (ibid. P.186). In the classical modern age John Stuart Mill says that education "includes whatever we do for ourselves and whatever is done for us by others for the express purpose of bringing us nearer to the perfection of our nature. The 'nature' concept was further developed and elaborated by the modern Western idealists, such as, Pestalozzi, Froebel, Kant and Hegel, who generally regarded man as though constant in personality, yet always progressively developing. They compare human child with a plant: "it can grow and develop, it is growing but in a determinate way; true education, therefore, must aim at permitting and encouraging the child to develop in the greatest possible freedom " (ibid. pp. 166-67). They then bring into play the deliberate purpose to help develop by means of modifying the process of development with the least interference with the child's growing nature 'by means of knowledge systematically imparted' (ibid.). Hence, connotatively education brings forth four dominating ideas viz. (a) education (b) instruction (c) teaching and (d) self-realization (ibid).
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As regards education as a wholesome design, the Encyclopedia of Education (Torsten Husen et al ed., Oxford, 1985, p. xiii) says that, education is a continuing process throughout life. However, as a science or an art "it includes mainly formal experience designed to provide the young with knowledge, skill, attitudes and values for competence in future roles as individuals, citizens and workers". It also concerns with the educational needs of adults in all their roles as workers, spouses, parents, citizens in social and working life, in retirement as well as with the individuals seeking personal development. The above Western modern trends of thinking in this field have instilled into the modern education a multidisciplinary nature which has given rise to various theories methods and practices in different countries and nations. In this respect the U.K. system is said to be largely pedagogic laying emphasis on grammatical norms and historical tradition. The German system is generally described as operating in pursuance of an idealistic, humanistic, paradigmatic framework largely in the light of the philosophy of Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911) that lays emphasis on inventiveness of unique goal-seeking individuals (ibid.) On the other hand, the United States, in collaboration with the Scandinavian countries, lays greater emphasis on psychology in building theories, devising methods and putting them into practice in conformity with the popular philosophy of pragmatism. Yet another trend of thinking about education in the West has grown out of the impact of modern science. It is of "an experimental nature following the paradigm of the natural sciences. It combines both pragmatic and empirical traditions and emphasises on child development cum learning as well as attempts at measuring human intelligence by means of quantitative surveys, statistical and applied psychological methods (ibid.).
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All these Western view-points regard man as a part of nature and long for finding what Nature intends for the children as well as the growing individuals and to follow that up. It says: Only by rightly guiding the pupil can the master himself be right. If the boy`s nature and the master's (nature) are each developing freely, then their actions must of necessity fit into each other and produce a harmony, erstwhile inherent rationality of the wholesome universe (ibid. p.161). It generally leads to free society. Being conjured by the term 'education' the Westerners introduce the assumptions of 'capacity' along with the acts of training and instruction (educo) and make a distinction between simple instruction and educational instruction. They hold in this context that animals cannot be educated, but can only be trained (ibid. p. 170). The above unilinear naturalistic notions of man in nature as a part and parcel of it, represents a naive or artless-pre-Socratic and post-Renaissance conceptual point of view. Therein the latterly Socratic deeper insight regarding 'know thyself’’ of the self knowledge corresponding to the Sanskrit Upanishadic ‘atmanong bidvi' was completely overlooked, and as we have shown elsewhere (The Origin and Development of Experimental Science, BIIT, 1997), it emanates from an empirical philosophical ground of erroneously regarding sense-perceptual knowledge as itself knowledge (knowledge per se), rather than raw material of knowledge. In the view of the Orient, instead of it, 'man confronts nature,' man is not merely a part of Nature, but above that, man has a discretionary power and a utilizational prowess over all natural objects. Man's relation with nature is not so simple; rather, it is complex, wherein man stands confronting nature with power and responsibility. Secondly, it discloses a definitional attitude of knowledge which is untenable in the Oriental point of view, since definition or sanga 88
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(sangya) is useful in naming an object but is useless in delineating the function and activities of it. Thirdly, the science of definition is an acquisitional type of learning in the literal sense, which is called bidya in Bengali and Sanskrit and ilm-i-kasabi in Arabic, pointing to Gnosis in Greek and Gnana (Ă vb) in Sanskrit (kn=gn=Ă ), meaning real knowledge. Therefore, the definitional process of Aristotelian logic or its other correlates, would lead us nowhere in our search for a potent educational system suitable for our times for the Oriental peoples. Simpleton simplicity, naivity, superstition and rigidity of all kinds are to be avoided, if we are to face the real problems of a complex life. An Objective Question of What? Instead of asking the Aristotelian definitional question of what (it is called)? if we ask an Oriental question of what it really is ?; that is to say, what education is? It will ipso facto take us to the pros and cons of it; to the origin of human species and the spring of knowledge and education, on the one hand, and to the latest contemplation in the area of human tradition, culture and civilization, on the other. Thereupon, we may draw our mental agility back and forth to size up the process of the development of education from time to time, and clime to clime, to arrive at a reasonable, well-balanced and comprehensive idea of education as a means of modeling the life and thought of human beings throughout the world, as per human being. We are to be constantly reminded that the human nature comprises two mutually opposing aspects, which we realise, in the depth of our experience, as the urge of desire or propensity versus the bid or urge of conscience. All through human civilization in the Orient, these urges have been recognized as lower animal nature and upper divine nature of man. Totally engrossed in the speculation of ideas and unattentive to the actual experience of human life, this dichotomous nature of man did not properly crystallize in the tapestry of young and thriving Western civilization. We must not, therefore, sacrifice human conscience of the Oriental civilizations at the altar of animal desires of Western civilization.
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Hence in search of such an objective and meaningful education, we step upon three types of educational systems at three slightly different levels of human life. These are (a) historical, (b) rational and (c) spiritual. a. Historical Perspective of Education From what tit-bits of evidence available to us regarding the ancient Orient, it has been calculated by the scholars that, in all primitive societies some sort of education was present, which took the form peculiar to the prevailing tribal, racial, caste, colour or even class consciousness and the ideals entertained by the people concerned. For instance, in China education became a media of maintaining tradition and promoting ancestor-worship in ancient times; in the Middle East, at early times, education followed the astral worship, political influence and commercial transaction; in India Brahmanism and caste polution became the dominant features, dualism in Persia, practical wisdom in China, and else where 'king-worship and common sense had their respective marks along the lines in which education developed. Probably the earliest sign of a systematic educational instruction we come across, was at Mesopotamia of the ancient Iraq around 2000 B.C. as deciphered by S.N. Kramer: (Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol.69, 1949, p. 199 ff. "School days, a Sumerian composition relating to the Education of a Scribe"), which runs as follows: "Schoolboy where did you go?" "I went to school". "What did you do in school?" "I read my" tablet, ate my lunch, prepared my tablet, wrote it, finished it, then upon the school's dismissal, I went home entered the house, (there) was my father sitting. I spoke to my father; read the tablet to him,, (and) my father was pleased; truly I found favor with my father. (I said) I want to go to sleep; wake me up early, in the morning; I must not be late, (or) my teacher will cane me. When I awoke early in the morning, I faced my mother, and said to her; 'give me my lunch, I want to go to school'. My mother gave me two rolls. I went to school. In the tablet house, the monitor said to me; "Why are you late?" I was afraid, my heart beat fast, I entered before my teacher, took (my) place. My school father read my tablet (and) caned me. The teacher in supervising 90
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the school duties, 'looked into house and street in order to pronounce upon someone, (and) caned me. (He) who was in charge of the drawing (said); "Why when I was not here did you stand up (He then) caned me. He who was in charge of the gate (said); "Why when I was not here did you go out? "(He then) caned me." (cf. Edna E' Kramer: The Nature and Growth of Modern Mathematics, Princeton University Press; N. J., U.S.A., 1951, P.1). With a view to getting rid of the torture of caning, the family arranged for the entertainment of the teacher. Being pleased at the end: "The teacher with a joyful heart gave speech to buck him up, "Young man, because you did not neglect my word, did not forsake it, may you reach the pinnacle of the scribal art, achieve it completely. May Nidaba, the queen of the guardian deities, show favor to your fashioned read. Of your brothers, may you be their leader. Of your companions, may you be their chief, may you rank the highest of (all)' (ibid.). For appeasing the teacher further, there is a hint at engaging him in extra-curricular tutoring as it has now-a-days become rampant in our country. It is often said that civilization grows and changes fast; but culture persists. For, civilization is time-bound and culture is timeless, value-oriented. Perhaps, since more ancient times, education was considered as an important matter in China. The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (vol. 5, p.183), states that, since time immemorial kings and people of China laid greatest emphasis on education. Kings themselves started with education and schools. They believed that human nature was originally good and without education his nature deteriorates. The aim of education was "the formation of character so as to fit a man to play his part in the society and more particularly in the State employment." The Chinese divided human beings into four classes, viz. Scholars, agriculturists, artisans and traders and amongst them the scholars took precedence. Chinese morality demanded that "a scholar may be killed but cannot be disgraced", "The scholar learns extensively but never allows his researches to come to an end." The scholar, when he hears what is good tells it to his friends and when he sees what is good, shows it to them. "Gentleness and 91
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goodness, respect and attention, generosity and large mindedness, humality and courtesy, the rules of ceremony, singing and music" were the subjects of study and matters of acquisition, "These are the qualifications and manifestations of humanity". The scholar possesses all these qualities in unison, yet on account of them, he will not venture to claim for him a perfect humility. "Such is the honour he feels for the ideal and for humanity, with which he declines it for himself." The scholar is not cast down or cut from his root, by poverty and mean condition; nor is he elated or exhausted by riches or noble condition; hence he is styled as scholar" (cf. Li Chi xxxviii, 3-9). Since very ancient times, there was a Minister of Instruction in China. His function was to teach the multitudes all moral and social duties, how to discharge their obligations to men living and dead, and to spiritual beings" (cf. S. B. E. xxvii, 23 In.). We can imagine the means and mode of his instruction from the Analects recording the intercourse between the great sage Confucius and his disciples. "At the 2oth year of his age Confucius taught all who, attracted by his reputation, were willing and able to receive his instruction, however, small the fee they could afford. His school was peripatetic (that is teaching while walking along the garden as was done by Aristotle in later times at Greece), and the teaching was conversational." "His themes were Book of Poetry, Book of History, and the maintenance of the Rules of Propriety. He taught ethics, devotion of soul and truthfulness." In the case of his disciple Mencius, we hear of education from pre-natal behaviour of the mother, home-training and school teaching." At the time of Han dynasty (Han Wen-Kung 768-824 C. E.) we hear of flourishing government schools, Chao-Chow Prefecture and the examination system for choosing suitable personnel for State service. Education started there at 7/8 years of age and were gradually taught what was popularly known as eight-legged-essay. Hanlin Papers (1st series p. 58) say : " a ripe Chinese scholar is in knowledge a child, in intellectual force a giant, his memory is 92
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prodigious, his apprehension quick and his literary matters exquisite" (ibid. p.184). In ancient times Buddhist system of education was also lessonable and instructive. For well-calculated reasons, Buddhism, as a way of life revolved round Monasteries. Hence Buddhist system of education was elaborate and monastic. In quest of knowledge, the Chinese traveller Fa-Hien (400-450 C. E.) visited Pataliputra (Patna), Tamralipi (Tamluk in West Bengal), the Punjab and Ceylon (Srilanka), Nala, Nalanda (Gaya). He found that the Buddhist instruction was oral and imparted by the words of mouth. But in the further East (Indonesia) Vinaya and Abhidhrma were imparted from written texts. Another Chinese Traveller, Hiuen Tsiang visited India (629-645 C.E.) and went to Central Asia. He also visited the important Buddhist education Centres at Ceylon and Nalanda. In the later part of the century C.E.,Chinese Traveller I-Tsing visited the Buddhist empire Srivijaya (Indonesia). From their travel reports we come to know that: (a) The course of instruction for boys began at 10 years of age, with the study of grammar, which was a three-years' course,(b) Reading of Commentaries; and works of more advanced character on grammatical science, logic and philosophy committed to memory followed. This was meant for both layman and devotee (c) The devotees further studied works on Vinaya with the. Sutras and Shastras. (d) The Treatises on Abhidarma were also made the subject of study at higher stages and public discussions were held at which heretical opinions were taken into consideration and refuted. In the ancient West, the Greek trading nations received the contagion of the pursuit of education by coming into close contact first with the Phoenicians, then gradually with Iran, Mesopotamia and Egypt. It was an isolated case in Europe. Her educational endeavor was, however, highly restricted. In ancient Greece, individual had no separate existence apart from the State. Hence education to the Greeks was meant for preparing the individuals for the benefit of the State. The aims and objects of human being were completely subjugated to the ideals of the State. State was above all and nothing was above that. It was secularism, pure and simple, which guided the steps of the Greeks. 93
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Therefore, the subjects taught were classed under two heads: music and gymnastics, corresponding generally to literary and physical training. As such, the training of citizens fell into four periods: (a) childhood: up to 7 years of age (b) boyhood: public training school 8 to 18 years (c) youth: training of war; over 19-30 years and (d) practising what they were trained to do (cf. Ency. of Rel. & Ethics, vol.5, p.172). The Sophists were the intellectuals of the Greek society. They are regarded by the above authority as "teachers rather and educators." It is said that, "they professed to communicate a certain amount of valuable knowledge rather than to form character" (ibid). Moreover, the Greek education was closely related to the Greek idea of citizenship. Hence education was restricted to the free population possessing full civic rights (ibid. p.1.286). Nevertheless, Socrates attempted to introduce virtue into education and Plato regarded "to teach virtue as the main intention in education and man's life from the birth to death, to be one round of instruction and admonition (ibid). As a matter of fact, the free citizens who controlled political power were less than half in number. In Athens, the citizens counted about one-third of the whole population, the remaining two-third being slaves and aliens who were deprived of all rights and facilities. In India, education was a matter of highest devotion and dedication of life. The Vedic and Brahmanic education was, however, restricted. Education was the special prerogative of the Brahmins and consisted of recitation of hymns and memorization of Vedas and Commentaries. Latterly the high caste Kshtriyas were allowed to read and write; but they were not allowed to touch, read or even hear the recitation of the Vedic hymns. For their entertainment story-books, Puranas, dramas and even great epics like Mahabharata and Romayana were composed. Yet the lower castes and outcastes who formed the overwhelming majority of the populace were discouraged to read and write and even prohibited to hear sacred recitations on sufferance of severe punishment. Nevertheless, the Brahmins and Kshatriyas maintained an high standard of education and enlightened culture within a narrow restricted circle. Buddhism was a revolt to it and the Muslims, having conquered India, opened the gate of education to all and sundry. 94
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All these attempts at developing suitable educational facilities and systems in ancient times, were prompted by the respective philosophy of the peoples concerned and their enthusiasm to promote discipline, peace, prosperity and happiness in life. Only on one point their thoughts were in unison, viz. all of them regarded themselves as a part and parcel of Nature and they earnestly, endeavored to fit in themselves along with the remaining objects of the universe in the harmony of Nature merely as superior animals; rational animals, political animals, economic animals, speaking animals and so on. In one word, they felt themselves as man in Nature' b. Rational Perspective of Education During the medieval period of Europe, as the Greek philosophy combined with Roman political domination and Christian religiohumanitarian ideology to produce the Christian world-view and Christian theology, the education system was radically changed. It came to be known as medieval scholasticism or the Roman system of education. It was formed by seven Liberal Arts - divided into two groups of subjects, viz:. Trivium and Quadrivium. The Trivium Arts consisted of Grammar, Rhetoric and Dialectic or Logic; and Qiiadrivium Arts were Geometry, Arithmetic, Astronomy and Music. These were developed by Saint Augustine and Capella the Carthaginian. Side by side, the Monastery systems which gradually grew into Universities under the impact of the Islamic influence had entertained seven free Arts, e.g. Riding, Shooting, Hawking, Swimming, Boxing, Chess-playing and Verse-making (ibid. p. 172). The above authority contends that a similar position continued to flourish in the West till the time of Renaissance, which divided the scholars into three groups, viz. (a) Humanists, who leaned upon words, (b) Realists, who leaned on things more than on words; and (c) Naturalists, who laid less emphasis on mere subjects to be taught and more emphasis upon the training supplied by life itself. They aimed at, not so much to teach this or that subject, but really at bringing the pupil into direct contact with life at the proper points and thus enable him to work out for his own. We must, however, be reminded that the Western pursuit for knowledge still remained skin-bound with conceptual knowledge, that is bidya as we say in Bengali, moving around in the world of ideas, far above the
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practical experience, the world of actualities or tajribah (in Arabic) whence arose the experimental methodology of Muslim sciences. We come to know through more comprehensive later research of Gordon Leff (Medieval Thought, St. Augustine to Ockham, Penguin,1958,1965), that independent philosophical speculation in the Roman empire came to an end with St. Augustine (354-430 C.E.) and his disciple Boethius (470-525 C.E.) whose pupil Cassiadorus founded a monastery in South Italy known as Vivarium. He formulated the dual system of Divine and Secular literature viz. Trivium and Quadrivium. The Trivium dealt with the three subjects of grammar, rhetoric and logic and the Quadrivium with the four sciences (sic!) of arithmetic, astronomy, geometry and music (p.50). In fact Martianus Capella, from whom Boethius had drawn his Quadrivium wrote "a hand book on the liberal Arts grouped into three and four". The word science came into use in England about the middle of the 19th century C. E. (as we have conclusively shown elsewhere). Gordon Leff says: "This was the foundation of Cassiadorus's own educational principles, and through him and his (above) predecessors they formed the basis of learning throughout much of the Middle Ages" (p. 51). With the eleventh century, "medieval society". Leff says, "began to come into its own. The following cultures present an almost new world in comparison with the past" (p.62). In fact, the 12th century, the Crusading Century (Crusade ended in 1204) played the role of a catalyst in the cultural history of Europe; it opened a flood-gate of dazzling Islamic civilization to the West; and before and after that, thinking, ideas, education and culture were never the. same". To quote again the above authority; "Yet this contact with the Moslem world by Crusade, pilgrimage and trade had a fruitful influence upon the West, it introduced it to a higher civilization and helped it to regain the full heritage of Greek culture as well as the riches of the Moslem world. Without these sources scholasticism would have had a very different history and probably an incomparably poorer one. Just as the West was dependent on the East for so much of its trade and luxuries, it owed it a debt also for its civilization" (p.86). Indeed, this latterly debt of culture and civilization was enormously larger than the former. They gained the new life-blood of culture and civilization in the form of the University System of education and
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Experimental Sciences from the Muslims, which they found readymade in the reconquered Institutions in Sicily and Spain. He further says: "The Universities themselves were another creation of the Second Medieval Age". That is to say, this catalyst ended the first medieval Dark Ages of Europe and gave birth to a Second enlightening Medieval Age wherein the old Monasteries and Castle schools gradually turned into Universities by imitation of the Muslim higher Madrasahas, Jamiahs and Shamsiyahs (the Observatories cum Laboratories). He says: "In thought, the eleventh and twelfth centuries were the centuries of re-wakening everywhere (in Europe). Whatever the subject, and whatever the region, there was a universal sense of discovery" (p.89). “Intellectually, the difference between the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries was at its broadest, the difference between isolation from the Islamic world and contact with it. Islam provided the West with the twofold benefit of Aristotle's work and of its own philosophical systems. Both were of inestimable importance for the development of Western thought in the thirteenth century" (p. 141). Confined to seven liberal Arts, the people there knew nothing of 'sciences'. They had no idea of research methodology or experiment. They had very little idea of logic, philosophy, medicine, literature, and religion. They had turned the Semitic Christian religion of One Supreme Lord into a superstitious (Devalogy,>Dieu>Theo=) Theology, which actually means Devatatva in Bengali and Sanskrit. In their seven liberal Arts, they were pursuing a sort of speculative logic. Gordon Left says, "From an intellectual point of view they [Monasteries] represented the older tradition, their approach to theology was still by meditation rather than by dialectics" (p.89). Dialectics, indeed, they borrowed from the Muslim Kalam, Islamic religious philosophy, that deals rationally the Articles of Faith. The transition of early Medieval Age to the later Medieval Age, which is regarded as the first Renaissance of the West, marked a passage from the speculative logic to rational logic. Hence, the subject of study 97
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profusely borrowed from the Muslim world was divided into Arts and Philosophy and Philosophy, in its turn, was divided into rational philosophy, and natural philosophy, which was, in fact two branches of the borrowed Philosophical and Experimental Sciences taken from the Muslims. But they did not understand the real import of Experimental Sciences yet, since they took only its experimental methodology without the evidential logic (burhan) on which it was based. They further mixed up experimental science, which they called natural philosophy, with he inductive logic of the Greeks and continued to call it philosophy till after 1830 C. E. (as conclusively shown by us elsewhere). Consequently, Experimental' Science has become devoid of spiritual and moral imperatives and has turned into a tool of exploitation and of prosperity of a few and destruction of many. c. The Spiritual Perspective of Education In the historical perspective, we have seen 'man in Nature' as a part and parcel of it, wherein man roamed about in the world, seeking his proper place in the midst of other creatures. In the rational perspective, a modern man regards himself strugglingly disposed against Nature. He regards Nature as a hostile entity putting him into a perpetual struggle for survival. The former regards ‘man in Nature` and the latter 'man against Nature'. In contrast, the great religions of the world, namely Zoroastrianism, Vedas, Judaism, Christianity and Islam regard man as 'confronting Nature' with power and responsibility. All of them propound a 'purposive creationism'. According to all of them, in the process of human creation, education was next to life. The Lord created man and taught him the science of naming all things (The Bibe of the World, edited by Robert 0. Ballow, N.Y., 1961,p. 561: Zend Abesta, p.644: Genesis; and Al-Quran, Surah Baqarah 2:31-33). By means of most ordinary experience we realise that. Nature made man physically tender, beautiful, attractive but weak and made him mentally strong. Hence, man has to protect his body and life by his mental equipment of thinking, feeling and mental expression, that is, speech. Thinking, revolves round perception, ideas and concept objectifies in names, which is (the function of mind; whereas the mental expression crystallizes in speech. And the sum-total of thinking, feeling and speech is education. The latest of the scriptures, the Quran, clearly
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states that soon after creation, Allah taught Adam, the science of naming things (ilm al-asma'a). Education is, thus, a basic equipment for the preservation and promotion of human life as well as for the transmission of ideas, tradition, culture, wisdom mutually amongst themselves and also more importantly, of heritage to the progeny. The end result is culture and civilization, which turn human animals into rational beings. The creationist point of view also introduces a third element of 'soul', which is superadded to the mind-body complex of man. It is held to be specially breathed by the Lord into the human heart, which endows man with the Vicegerency of the Lord Himself. It makes man a unique creation: a superior rational being on the one hand and the spiritual representative or Vicegerent of the Lord, on the other. As rational being he dominates all the creatures of the universe by means of the education of sciences imparted to him by the Lord and as Vicegerent he judges freely between good and bad while utilizing them to satisfy his needs. Thus, his power is wedded with responsibility. According to the Scriptures, the Lord made power and responsibility mandatory to him subjecting his ultimate future to a Final Judgment in a new eternal life after death, whence emanate morality and religion along with the power roles in this present mundane world of society and politics. Thus, the human life is juxtaposed between the two poles of religion and politics. To contemplate from the known to the unknown, let us be reminded that in ancient Greece, the pre-Socratic knowledge was based on speculative or meditational logic; while the post-Socratic, Platonic, specially Aristotelian logic, was syllogistic, inductive and deductive, in reality rational, based on articulated and systematic reasoning. The holy Quran brought in its train the 'evidential logic' based on objective reality, which was called, burhan. Ibn Sina, the great Muslim philosopher, held that the function of logic is to help one to reach the reality of hadd and the reality of burhan, haqiqat-ul-hadd wa haqiqat-ul-burhan (cf. Islami Bishwa Kosh: Islamic Foundation Bangladesh, Vol 4, p. 195-205). To amplify the matter, it may be said that, in the process of human knowledge from end to end, the bodily needs are fulfilled by speculative logic, and mental needs by rational logic and moral and 99
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spiritual needs by the evidential logic. The Islamic system of knowledge, as it developed from time to time, from century to century, by assimilating previous heritage,borrowal from conquered alien traditions by and large by means of internal creative efforts, which gradually brought into full play all the three logical equipments in proportional combination to make up the warp and woof of Islamic culture and civilization. The speculative logic was two digital: subject and predicate oriented, profit and loss thinking; rational logic was three digital: syllogistic major, minor, consequence-oriented heading towards definition; and evidential logic, in comparison, is four digital: riwayat, dirayat, jarah or tajrihah, and tadil,, meaning collection of information, examination and classification of data, experimentation, justified synthesis or conclusion, oriented to experiment.The last helped develop the Experimental Methodology of Science (conclusively demonstrated in our "Origin and Development, of Experimental Science" published by B.I.I.T.) In pursuance of the three fold logic and threefold methodologies of learning and knowledge (bidya and gnana in Sanskrit and Bengali, alilm a1-kasabi wa '1-ilm al-ladunni in Arabic), the Muslim. Scholars in course of time developed a four tier education system with the Quranic inspiration of seeking after knowing the unknown (ma lam yalam), in Baghdad, Cairo and Cordova, which was assiduously imitated by the modern West as depicted below:
Modern Western System of Education 1. Iblidaiyah consisting of three 'r' writing, 1. Primary: consisting reading and arithmetic (kitabat-matan- of three 'r', correctreading,-writing and hisab), It varied from 3 to 5 years. arithmetic. Muslim System of Education
2. Awwaliyat, the First Courses of Studies 2.a Lower Secondary consisting of grammar, rhetoric Grammar School ‘O’ andprosody(saraf,nahu,fusahatwabalaghat), level. demonstratively teaching in the fields of literature,Quranic text and exegesis, Hadithtext, and sharh or critical analysis; elements of principles, of 100
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sifting information, such as, riwayat- 2b. Higher Secondary dirayat-Jarah-ta'dil; Hadith or Fiqh and Grammar School: 'A' Jurisprudence, rhetoric, prosody. Lcssions level From elements of philosophy, logic, sciences (hikmah and mantiq) and correlative subjects. It covers the present dakhil, alim, fazil and kamil of Bangladesh. It absorbed 6 to 8 years. 3. al-ulum al-nazariyat'. the intellectual sciences, i.e. rational sciences. This section was probably called al-fadil or fazil, meaning 'honors' 'graduation'. It began with logic and mathematics, and proceeded through two types of Logic. Aristotelian syllogism and Islamic evidential' together called tarif and hadd on the one hand, an hikmat or elements of experimental sciences along with arithmetic, geometry, algebra, reaching out towards philosophy and dogmatic (falsafa and aqaid and kalam). Kalam was translated by the Western scholars as dialectics and is equivalent to Western theology (Devatatva). It may have covered four years or more.
3. Graduate courses both ordinary and Hons. : Teaching of these subjects is calculated in the West as dealing with collection of material and and integration' of ideas, resgarding the arts and sciences taught in this stage, which ordinarily deals with isms and theories. It covers 3 to 4 years in the West.
4. al-ulumal-tajribiyah: Experimental Sciences wherein all branches of subjects were experimentally taught. It covered comprehensive study of any one subject, such as, al-ulum al-tabiyah (Physical Sciences), al-ulum al-kimiah (Chemistry), al-tibbiyah (Medicine), al-falsafah (Philosophy), ul-ulum as-siyasiyah (Political Sciences). al-ulum al-diniayah (Religious Sciences), ul-ilm at tarikh (Science of History) and so on so forth. It aimed at a comprehensive study of any one subject and attainment of mastery over it.
4. This fourth stage is devoted to 'collection and integration of sourcematerials' derived from all possible sources. It aims at a comprehensive study and mastery over any one subject and is called Master's Degree.
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5. Over and above the four stages, there was arrangement for. research studies, which involved more than one subjects. Hence those who attained proficiency in research was conferred the title of Allamah.
5. This research degree was translated into Latin as Doctorate or Ph.D. i.e. Doctor of Philosophy.
Factual Observations: The above evidences draw our attention to the fact that Islamic education system was an ever-growing dynamic process. It started with the clarion call of the Prophet of Islam to seek knowledge from the craddle to the grave; and in course of time, proceeded to the evidential logic. The Muslims formulated the basic dictum of al-ibratu bil-khwatim, i.e. in education the last or the end products come first, a tree is known by its fruit and, the lessons about it proceed from the fruit to the root in order to discover what the thing really is. It points to the' real quality. The second step consists of quantitative measurement (haqiqat-ul-hadd) by the estimation of its length and breadth, warp and woof. The third step is formed by experiment (taribah or jarah) which delineates its function and classification; and lastly the fourth and final step reaches out towards the origin and development of itself. The end-product of knowledge and experience being always in a flux, the Islamic education system has to ceaselessly grow and move forward. It can never be at stand-still. In respect of religious sciences first counts sciences of the holy Quran, in particular Tafsirs, science of exegesis of the Quran and the second in the series comes the Tradition of the Prophet, Hndilh; at the third stage comes the Fiqh or legal sciences which were developed at an early stage of Islamic history. At that time, the dynamic science of logic, namely al-hadd wa’l- burhan, the evidential logic, was not invented, so that, al-Fiqh had moulded up in the tradition of Aristotelian static syllogistic logic of induction and deduction methodology. As a consequence, the legal sciences of the Muslims had grown into fixed problematic mas’ala- masail, which actually stalled its dynamism even to the extent of declaring the door of ijtihad closed. This closed circuit of the Muslim way of life and thinking need be drastically remoulded in order to make the Muslim way of life once again dynamic and progressive.
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Moreover, on account of this blind staticness, the learned doctors of Islam looked down upon the Muslim scientists with dubiousness and rejected outright, and still continue to reject, the scientific methodology and scientific logic which they themselves had developed from the base of the holy Quran. This retrogressive attitude must be radically changed before the Muslim way of life and thought could be made really dynamic once again. Besides, as it is demanded by Islamic spirit, the education system of the Muslims needs be continuously build up with the latest results of the human thought, the practical wisdom and the newer invention and discoveries of experimental sciences in order to make it ceaselessly dynamic befitting the constant curiosity of seeking knowledge from the craddlc to the grave. In the education system, the last must come first and the first come last. The education system, following the principle of al-ibrutu bil-khawatim, i.e. lessons beget from the latest wisdom, needs be continuously moulded and remoulded in order to make it progressive and to set it on the track of continuous progress for the life and thought of humanity, Last but not least, it must always be reminded that Islam started from religion and ends in religion; hence in matters of education, the Muslim needs take into serious consideration sthe four digital sources of knowledge like other great religions which are known as shariat, tariqat, haqiqat and ma’rifat in Arabic; bibhu, taijasa, pragna and turjya in Buddhuttar Aagam Shastra (cf. Gaudapadacharjya: Agam Shastra, ba Buddhuttar Vedanta, trans. by Bhikshu Shilachar Shastri, Nandankanan Bauddha Vihar, Chittagong, Bangladesh, 1974, pp.1-3). The same is held by Christianity, Judaism and Vedas only with the difference of words and names (cf present writer’s; ‘Typology of Knowledge in the East and the West’ in 21st Century challenges for the Global Muslim Community,pp.33-43, Renaissance Foundation publication, Dhaka,2006; the Hindu religious terminology call it Vashonar, Taijasa, Pragna and Turja; in plain Bangla language we call it: Anubhuti, Jukti, Satya and Dibya ganana). Hence, knowledge supplied by the first source, sense perception, which is by itself deceptive must not be taken for granted, but needs be judged by the other three internal sources of knowledge, perceptions in order to maintain the original and abiding religious character of Islamic knowledge.
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Lastly, unity of the scholars in search of truth, and unification of knowledge in search of wisdom, must be animed at, if the humanity is going to realise the Unity of Allah, the Supreme Lord of the Universe (cf. Ibid. pp. 21-23 present winters� The concept of Knowledge in the Quran : as a Pricaple of Unification�). Conclusion To devise a suitable education system for the Muslims is a gigantic task. For its accomplishment, the task has to be first of all (a) to delineate an internationally competitive multiple structure for child education, young man and young woman's education for preparing them to face life, feed-back institutions for the youth and old and research institutions at voluntary levels to watch over smooth functioning, to pick at impediments, initiate suitable changes and ensure dynamism and continuous revision and progress. Secondly, in the light of the Quran, the primary assumption of Islam has to be grasped, as a universal religion and as such, education is to be seen as next to human life at large. Hence the education system of the Muslims has to be devised with universal Islamic values for humanitarian progress, not merely for the progress of the Muslims alone, but for that of humanity in general . The serial has to be: human life-oriented education system with Islamic values. Thirdly, in the spirit of the Quranic 'iqrah bismi rabbika 'l-ladhi khalaq, reading by the observation of the mysteries of the creation of the Creator-Sustainer- Rearer-Providence-Lord, the structure of the education system must be based on scientific progress of knowledge in the light of which the. Quran and Sunnah must be read. Fourthly, the Quranic spirit of Sharh (Resolve) vis-a-vis the code of Law, as dynamism over and against staticness, must be clearly grasped, in that sprit all judgments must be based on the QuranSvnnah-Ijtihad as clearly chalked out by the holy Prophet (sm) as the dynamic processual methodology. In that sence it is suggested that the above Ijtihad- based methodology should replace the medieval Aristotelian syllogistic logic based on the static methodology of Quran-Sunnah-Ijma-Qiyas. Fifthly, Muslim way of life must be based on Taqwa: fear of the Merciful Lord (Khashiya-r-Rahmana bi 'l-ghaybi) and not on the Ibahat: the lowly level of lawfulness, on which the presently 104
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conventional Fiqh is based, out of which the salt of taqwa has been taken off to separately constitute Aqaid (Articles of Faith), by the process of which the tarbiyat (manners and morals) of the Muslims has been grossly lowered. Sixthly, as directed by the Quran and practiced by the holy Prophet (sm) all social and political decisions have to be arrived at by Shura (mutual consultation) and by no means on the basis of loyalty between man to man bai'at). The holy Prophet took bai‘at at the religious level as fidelity to the Lord and not as a fealty to the ruler or king. He taught us to organise society on the basis of ideal: one ideal one society, two ideals to society; constitute State on the basis of collective pact (mithaqMadinah), and to adopt foreign policy on the basis of negotiated treaty. The holy Prophet (sm) decided all political problems by calling into session Shura Majlis (al-Majlis al-Shura) of the Khas (special') for adopting ruling principles and of the Aam (general) for conducting administration. The first Khalifah Abu Bakr as-Siddiq followed closely this practice and the second Khalifah Umar al-Faruq constituted. a bicameral Shura Majlis of the Khas and Aam, which were adopted by the Englishmen at Parliament, House of Lords and House of Commons; and it logically led them to democracy and Commonwealth. The holy Prophet (sm) aimed at unfettered welfare of the people in politics and society and as such, shasan, prashasan and janakalyan(kvmb,cÖkvmb, RbKj¨vY) i.e. ruling-administration-people's welfare constituted the Prophet's politics. Why cannot the Muslims adopt the Shura democracy and follow it? The education system of the Muslims must, therefore, be Shura and democracy oriented. Seventhy, the Muslim education must be a continuously inventive, revisionist and adaptive system with futurist and dynamic outlook aiming at going at the front line of competition at the shortest possible time. It may be well advised to start with a multiple international and national essay competition, with one each first prizes of a substantial value and weight. Appended herewith a 10 point proposition forwarded by Professor Dr. Muhammad Azhar Ali, ex- Director of the Institute of Education and Research, Dhaka University, as points of emphasis. 105
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Points to emphasise 1.
To believe in dynamism and continuous revision of education.
2.
To develop human life education system with Islamic Values-
3.
To enhance the scientific progress of knowledge in the light of the principles of the Quran and Sunnah.
4.
To believe in the Muslim way of life based on taqwa, the high loyalty to Allah, and not on the Ibahat the low level of mere lawfulness.
5.
All social and political decisions should be taken through mutual consultation. Muslim education must continuosly be inventive, revisionist and adaptive.
6.
Regidity in belief should be avoided.
7.
Education should be the integration of all good things and ideas of the world.
8.
Education should not be left to the people who do not believe in religion.
9.
Education should be made open to accept all changes beneficial to mankind and integrated morality. Therefore, should it be left uncared for any more? No, it should be enriched with the ideas of philosophy, enriched with Islamic ideals and equally enriched with experimental wisdom.
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Need of Islamization of Education for Sustainable Development Dr. Md. Abdullahel Baqui* Abstract: At the beginning, the paper discussed about the Position of human being in the universe according to modern science and islamic perspective. Secondly, Significance of knowledge is highlighted as the main reason behind man’s highest status among the creations. Brief description is given on how knowledge came to man and what are the basic issues. Thirdly, the most notorious barrier against man’s knowledge gain is identified and a short account on the mechanism of its action is given. Then came, how man’s enemy starts setting its trap by distorting the Education System. How his desires are reflected in the concept curriculum teaching techniques and evaluation of almost all modern academic institutes together with its tragic impact on Development of man and society are exemplified. Critical evaluations are done on the role of traditional Islamic institutes and finally, suggestions are given on how to bring back the scenario of real development through islamization of education.
Man and knowledge Man is the most supreme creation. Because he has knowledge. Man can not produce knowledge by himself. Creator gives him knowledge. The most significant instances are: The first instance-Immediately after creating Adam the first man Allah (swt) taught him the names of all things. The second instance-Allah (swt) demonstrated that Adam is better than the Angels and He (swt) asked the Angels to bow down to Adam.
*
Professor, Department of Zoology, Jahangirnagar University.
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The third instance- Allah (swt) also demonstrated in front of Adam that Iblis is his clear enemy as he did not bow down to Adam The forth instance-Allah (swt) taught Adam how to live in the paradise. He (swt) also told him not to eat from the forbidden tree. He (swt) clearly mentioned that do not listen to Iblis, then he will misguide you. The fifth instance-When Adam ate from the forbidden tree he was ashamed and did not know how to return, then Allah (swt) taught him again the way out, Adam followed it and was forgiven. The sixth instance-When Adam with his wife were coming to this earth, Allah (swt) assured them that He (swt) will be sending His knowledge to them as He (swt) gave it in the paradise. The Creator continued sending His knowledge/guidance to mankind from time to time through His most faithful servants the Prophets, and the Holy Quran is the last and final guidance given to mankind through the last and final Prophet Muhammad sas. So, Quran is the purest complete and absolute source of knowledge for man on earth. All other sources of knowledge are impure and incomplete. Salient features of Quranic knowledge It is pure complete and absolute. It describes the identity responsibility and ultimate fate of man. It indicates who are man’s friends and how man can exploit benefit from them. It gives clear pictures about the enemies of man and the ways and means to avoid them. It declared that Iblis is no. 1 enemy of man. It gives detail account on how Iblis originate, how he misguides man, and how man can escape from his trap. It gives detail account of the various human nations who were developed and how they were destroyed. It also mentioned about the most successful groups of people in the human history. Man and development Man is a moral being. He contains several distinctly different values than other organisms. Development of man means developing his human values. Real human development is not possible if the value is not improved, despite all other subsidiary issues attained the highest pick. There could be big variations in the biological and economical features among man, but the moral configurations of man will never change. 108
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Man can manipulate the physical and biological features of materials but he has no capacity to design or decide about the moral values. Only the creator decides and directs the moral aspects. Without morality resources will be misused by man. If man is not a man, no meaning of having a nice house good vehicle or beautiful wife/husband. Only a better man with sufficient human values can ensure sustainable development. Quran deals with development of a complete man. It gives information about the phases of life before it began in the form of zygote in the mother’s ovary. It talks about the times when the child not started talking or not been admitted to schools. It continues dealing him when he is too old to understand anything. It goes speaking about his position in the grave, it is determined to save his lovers from fire and it will struggle to take his followers in the paradise. Education and development Education play vital role to learn how to earn peace and happiness in life. Iblis, man’s great enemy tries his best to misguide Adam every moment. Iblis went astray due to his ignorance. So, he plans to destroy man’s education system to disturb man’s learning. He interferes both into the management and curriculum. His curriculum include everything except Quran. He knows if man does not learn QuranMan will be ignorant about Himself – his identity, responsibility and fate. Even he will not be able to define what is life. How then he will plan to develop life? Man will not know his real friends and the mechanisms to gain benefits from them. Man will not be able to identify his enemies including Iblis and the manipulation techniques to avoid losses. Man will differ about concept of creator, this will reflect on their actions and characters, which will result disunity and discomfort among people and all these will finally disrupt man’s future and fortune, peace and development. Under this curriculum man will feel unlimited affection for materials, and will be ignorant about the importance of morality and human values.
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Since all materials in this world are limited, unlimited desires for limited materials create higher competition, create more conflict, more crime and finally more sins. Iblis gets victory over man. Other outcomes of Iblis’s education are Disobedience, Proud and haughtiness, Assumption and falsehood, Liar, Pretender and Cheater, Ungrateful, non-repenting, Harsh and hard, and Furious envy and enmity. Iblis’s education will produce very attractive and expensive vehicles for us, but it will not produce suitable drivers. Our life is more valuable and attractive than the vehicles. We cannot enjoy traveling in a costly vehicle with a wrong driver. Situation of Modern education It is totally devoid of Quran. About 75% people of the modern world do not know what Quran is. Majority think it is the religious book of the muslims, but it is the book of the creator for the whole mankind. Many muslims are not convinced that Quran can play important role to improve our life. Among the mass people no one is interested to study Quran as there is no good job. Knowledge of Quran is not required anywhere. Even the most pious director of an industry will not select a candidate with beautiful recitation or understanding about Quran. No encouragements what so ever from the parents, teachers, office managers or friends are found towards understanding, extension or research aspects. Iblis’s most effective trap is that he has been keeping many muslims happy just because they perform traditional pray, fast, do hajj and give zakat fitra and charity but are not ready to take Quran completely. How Iblis interfere in the curriculum of islamic institutes Importance is given only on the correct recitation, no meaning and understanding of the message is done. Many hafez do not know even how to read and write their names in their mother language. No elaborate lessons are included in the syllabus about Iblis- the most devastating enemy of mankind and similar other topics. Many chief coordinators can not recite Quran correctly, fluently and nicely. Many heads of institutes do not understand the meaning, can not extract the message and also can not organize the teachings of Quranic verses. Ability to speak fluently and attractively by the heads/organizers of our islamic institutes are still not above average. The life styles and manners of the bosses in the islamic institutes do not reflect Quranic principles. Efforts are emphasized on the physical and external extension along with material attractions compared to academic and human rectification and social reform or practical life changing issues. Recently developed modern institutes clearly demonstrate 110
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commercial targets. Some people work there only for higher salary and better worldly facilities. Finding sincere dedicated and really knowledgeable teachers and organizers is almost impossible. Islamization of education It does not mean establishing the idea of an islamic scholar. Islamization is not an effort to uphold the interests of the muslims. It is not a struggle to achieve the kingship or making rulers from among the muslims. Islamization is the state or phase where man will enjoy peace and happiness by surrendering their will to the will of creator. Islamization of education will help man to learn how to surrender his will to creator. Since Quran describes all wills of creator required to develop man’s life, learning Quran is the most important criteria of islamization. What should be done now Most of the developed countries are against Quran, we should not follow them at all. Stop rushing towards western institutes or programs. Also reduce affection for eastern or western non-muslim experts. Intensify Quran study understanding and message extraction. We must read Quran correctly fluently and nicely. We should know the meaning of Quranic verses in our own mother language. We should try our best to understand the messages of Quran, and follow it in daily life. We should be giving our time money and energy to spread the message of Quran. Start with a small project. For example – Develop Imams of Masjid: Improve their Quranic perception and teaching quality, Purification of daily rituals like prayer, fasting, hajj, dua or supplication etc, Develop their ability to give attractive jumma khutba and lectures in public occasions, Improve their behavioral parameters and social responsibility issues. We can not achieve any significant progress of the Ummah if the quality of our Imams are not improved. This is Iblis’s strategy to keep aside the masjid and the imams from playing roles towards development of man and society. We must realize that masjid is our primary source of learning and practicing. Secondly, we must improve the quality of our teachers of all levels. Together with developing their perception about Quran we should enable them to islamize their own topics of interest and exposures. They must see the lapses between their religious rituals and professional performances. These people should not continue the great crime of hiding the views of their creator about the topics of their
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career. We should be able to motivate them that sins of this kind will not be compensated through prayer, fasting or doing hazz. Establish research institute and or laboratories of world reputation in some selected Universities of the muslim world. No need now building new university while universities established before could not bring any outcome yet. Develop coordination and communication net work among interested institutes and personnel. We will need unbiased nongreedy halal sources of money. Foul money will spoil our faith, weakness towards Hijab will destroy our resources, illegal material greed will damage our energy. Conclusion Look at the creator’s description about development of human embryo in the mother’s womb. Is there any mistake or anything missing? NO. Look at the creator’s description about the development of earth and sky. Can we see any wrongness there? NO. Let’s accept that creator’s idea in Quran about economic social political development should also be absolutely ok for us? The development science of human embryo proves the control of a central power at each and every stage. If all issues of our life are followed under His control it will generate a fruitful life. Any external interference will create tremendous reactions and will cause great sufferings. Don’t feel satisfaction that the Conference is gone without trouble and do not wait until the 6th Conference next year. Please take necessary action with the materials we receive here. Let us meet once a month and prepare action plan. We must be able to sponsor ourselves towards the cost of travel and the food. If we can make commitment now I am pretty sure Allah (swt) will fulfill His commitment. And Allah (swt) never breaks His commitment.
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Essence of, Approaches to and Transformation Process in Higher Education for Sustainable Development: A Critical Review Dr. Farid A. Sobhani* Dr. Azlan Amran** Abstract: The study aims at reviewing the essence of sustainable education, highlighting its different approaches and analyzing transformation process of higher education for sustainable development (HESD). Since there is lack of sustainability research in the developing countries, the study addresses the issues of higher education towards sustainability from the perspective of a developing nation. This research is qualitative and descriptive in nature. It considered extensive literature survey to meet the research objectives. The study found that the issue of higher education for sustainable development got global attention especially in the Western society. In Mexico, many public universities introduced sustainability education as core course at the graduate and post-graduate level. Among the Asian nations, Malaysia has set an example taking initiative to transform higher education for a sustainable society. Universiti Sains Mlaysia (USM) got APEX status incorporating that dimension in the program. Bangladesh, the local context of the study, is lagging far behind in attempting to sustainable education. Both public and private universities are facing many challenges towards that dimension, which are highlighted in this study.
Keywords: Sustainable development, higher education, transformation process, Bangladesh 1. Introduction Sustainability is a most crucial global agenda of the day (Porritt, 2007). The issue of sustainable development came into light at the end
* **
Professor, Faculty of Business Studies, IIUC, Bangladesh. Associate Professor, Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
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of 1980s. There is no clear cut definition of the term sustainable development. It carries different meaning to different individuals, groups and organizations. However, no one denies to accept the general idea of “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of the future generations� (WECD, 1987). Global society today achieves neither ecological nor social sustainability (Unerman et al., 2007). Rapid industrialization along with greater consumerism has led to increased levels of environmental pollution and waste. Dust, gas and smoke are discharged into the air by factories and food processing plants. Harmful chemicals are dumped into the seas and rivers especially in the developing countries. Lack of sustainability knowledge seems to be fundamental issue behind the negative impacts on environment and society. Higher education for sustainability that is, sustainable development has become an emerging issue of research (UNESCO, 2009). The avenues of higher education that is, universities either private or public hold a unique position in society. These are critically important places in view of knowledge production, knowledge perpetuation, and knowledge dissemination (Stephens et al., 2008). Due to climate change effects the environmental protection and the implementation of the sustainability concept is of growing international importance (Wehrmeyer & Chenoweth, 2006). UN Conference in Rio De Janero first highlighted the issue of environmental education for sustainable development in 1992 (Down, 2006). Though enormous researches have been conducted in the field of sustainable development throughout the world, but the research on higher education for sustainable development especially in the developing nations is very limited. The essence and various approaches of sustainability education, and its transformation process are not obvious that requires further attention. The study aims at reviewing the essence of sustainability education, highlighting its different approaches and analyzing transformation process of higher education for sustainable development (HESD). Since there is lack of sustainability research in the developing countries, the study incorporated a case of sustainability education at tertiary level in a local context. Bangladesh has been selected for the case as it is the first victim of climate change affecting sustainable development of the country (Daily Star 2009, December 20). Moreover, due to severe environmental pollution, Bangladesh runs to facing ecological catastrophe (Inam, 1995). This study is qualitative 114
Essence of, Approaches to and Transformation Process in Higher Education for Sustainable Development: A Critical Review
and descriptive in nature. It has critically reviewed the desk-based findings that is, secondary sources of information. Next section of this study is related to essence of sustainability education followed by different approaches to sustainability education and transformation process of HESD. The study comes to an end with a case from local setting followed by concluding remarks. 2. Essence of Education for Sustainable Development The concepts of sustainable education and sustainability education, though interrelated, are not same. Sustainability education basically refers to incorporation of environmental education, community development approaches, human rights, human resource development, good governance, and economic impact into academic curricula (Sobhani et al., 2010). Besides, sustainable education usually refers to strategic development of university along with human resources for a sustainable tomorrow. It requires quality intakes, skilled & experienced teaching resource, sufficient infrastructure, updated and standard curricula, and available logistic support that facilitate learning process (Lalwani, 2009). Sustainability education is an interregnal part of education for sustainable development. This paper includes both sustainable as well as sustainability education under the purview of higher education for sustainable development (HESD). Before going to discuss about HESD, it is better to have a look at sustainable development. Sustainable development encompasses restoring environmental integrity, improving economic prosperity and promoting social equity. The important issue of sustainable development is to reach balance between economic, social and environmental goals (Jones, 2007). Development of human resource may be considered as the basis of sustainable development that may bring remarkable benefits to promote cultural, ecological, economic, social and political development (Yee, 2009). “Sustainability” and “education” have always had an interactive influence over each other. The goal of education is to urge humankind being ethical, responsible, better informed and more knowledgeable (Weenen, 2000). Higher education institutions like universities have all the expertise necessary to develop the conceptual framework for sustainability. This could help the sustainable trend of the day. Universities are the avenues of producing future decision makers in both public and private sectors. Higher education for sustainability, gained the scientists' interest, institutes and public seriously. It started from Talloires declaration as a first official statement, in France in 115
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1990 and proceeded to Johannesburg summit in 2002. After that, the importance of the tertiary education in aiding societies to move toward sustainability, worldwide, was emphasized. To support this agenda United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) took the first pace on a worldwide basis to foster the movement to Higher Education for Sustainability. For this purpose, they designed a framework entitled Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, which officially launched in January 2005, and be completed by December 2014 (Huisingh et al, 2006). Consequently preliminary researches were conducted by many organizations such as, UNESCO and individual researchers throughout the world. Finally, an approach to education that strengthened the application of social values, particularly integrity and fairness, came out as the most important parameter of sustainability education. Many researchers have focused on sustainable and sustainability education (Bringer, 2006; Tahir & Saadatian, 2009). The beginning of the new millennium saw the boom of education for sustainable development (ESD) articles on developing understandings of ESD definitions, policy, curriculum, and theory (Wright and Pullen, 2007) followed by the publications on global research agendas on ESD (Wright, 2007; McKeown, 2007), summaries of ESD research approaches in different countries (Hansjo¨rg & Werner, 2006; Heimlich, 2007) and conceptual analysis of the ESD research (Breiting, 2009). (Cited in Reunamo & Pipere, 2010) They intended to explore the route of embedding environmental literacy, into every segment of operations or curricula as the main attempts of sustainability. These researches, aim to point on policy, considering environmental issues in the context of economy, equity, health and safety (Weenen, 2000). The direction of these researches related to speculation of different higher education organizations with different cultures, environments, geographical boarders and policies. For instance, Waterloo University focuses on awareness, efficiency, equality, cooperation and natural system (Weenen, 2000). In Fachhochschule Alan in Germany, it is more on usage of paper, heating, lighting, water and procurement. Another example is Amsterdam University, which looks to sustainability in “LIFE” as “L” means limits in resource, “I” means being independent, “F” means fundamental changes, and “E” means equity. However, the inefficient progress in higher education for sustainability has been assessed and yield more frustrating results (Jenks, 2000). The slow processing is being referred to universities management and their strategies. 116
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Richards (1999) believes that to ensure higher education for sustainability, university authorities should make systematic change and actively consider transformation process towards sustainable development (Tahir & Saadatian, 2009). 3. Approaches to Sustainable Sustainability Education Global trends affect education and educational systems to adapt, change, and anticipate the social and economic needs of the day for sustainable society. A key challenge in any educational reform is the methodological considerations or approaches. There are many approaches introduced by the recent researchers regarding sustainable education (see for example, Cheong, 2009; Yee, 2009). Some approaches seem to be theoretical and some of them are imaginative (Yee, 2009). Some approaches, as rephrased below, generate important ideas in formulating the transformation policies for higher education towards sustainability. 3.1 Freedom of Choice: No Choice, No Freedom Yee (2009) introduced Freedom Vs. Restriction as an approach in higher education for sustainable development. Yee defined freedom in education as about giving people choices, aimed to educate individuals on freedom of choice and freedom to be themselves with their own brand of personalities that can be nurtured via indoor and outdoor classrooms. Key expected outputs are individuals who: (i) appreciate the freedom of choice; (ii) free themselves from restricted choices made for them; (iii) think for themselves about the cost of making wrong choices; (iv) feel grateful for who they are in terms of their uniqueness while accepting others who are different from them; (v) help others to see the value-added by freedom of choices. Hence, freedom of choice is vital for basic well-being and democracy because “no choice, no freedom� (Cookson, 2002, p. 57). In the western society, students have the freedom to choose universities because they have the ability to pay for their education through expensive tuition fees (Vedder, 2005), which is unlike some countries across the world where universities are subsidized by governments. 3.2 Free from Politics and Market Based System As noted by De Wit (20060, higher education should be independent from the power of politics. In the past, in many countries like France, Italy, Spain and Germany, efforts to reform higher education by the politicians failed because they were not able to involve and commit the higher education community (Cited in Yee, 2009). To De Wit, the 117
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European higher education reform was due to the fact that [it] was lagging behind its competitors – especially the USA - in R&D, with regard to innovation and change. The US is ranked the world’s top for efficiency enhancers and innovation factors according to GCR (2009). There is growing dissatisfaction with the results of the political processes that dominate the schooling production decisions and access issues throughout most of the world that could create the culture of polarization (Merrifield & Salisbury, 2005). This is especially true for the K-12 education system in the U.S. as the present US education system is shaped by a political process in which constitutes collectively determine how to produce education. Unlike the K-12, American universities are mostly operating under a competitivemarket with the freedom to decide. That is why Merrifield & Salisbury supports market-based system that is responsive to market forces. American universities are recognized as being of high quality relative to K-12 because the former are privately-controlled and reflect greater innovation due to the “freedom from some bureaucratic structures and regulations” (Vedder, 2005, p. 280). 3.3 Liveliness Approach According to Yee (2009), the concept of Liveliness vs. Dullness can be applied inside and outside classrooms. Liveliness refers to the quality or state of having abundant or intense activity and dullness refers to the quality or state of lacking quickness of mind. The environment within classrooms and the campus is critical for the development of a person not only in terms of the development of his own knowledge and learning but also in the development of his soul, spirit, senses, mind and emotional health. Therefore, the environmental effect on the wellbeing of a person should not be underestimated. The environment of the academic institutions should be open, spacious, lively and natural. As for learning and teaching in classrooms, students and instructors of the new century are expected to be soft, warm, mobile, flexible, expressive, responsive, yet spirited and enlightened. It is important to understand that education is more than taking exams and passing exams. Exams limit students’ creativity, imagination and ability as they have no control over what and how they are tested. In Japan, for instance, as cited in Doyon (2001, p.446) Sugimoto wrote, “Exhausted students both mentally and physically by examination hell seek relaxation, enjoyment and diversion in their university life” due to the strict Japanese schools system. Thus, education is about Liveliness, relating life to living, and not about Dullness.
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3.4 Approach of Mobility The purpose of mobility is to support students and staff mobility within and outside the country for international understanding, cooperation and networking in higher education. Staff mobility is good for innovation in teaching and research. Instead of keeping them, better to set them free. In Europe, one of the main focuses of the Bologna Process and the Lisbon Strategy under the European higher education reform is to promote staff and students mobility. The Lisbon Strategy and the Bologna Process, the development plan for the European Union, setting 2010 as the final step for Europe to become the world’s most competitive economy is in fact, the first step for continuous improvement of higher education for graduates interacting from a global perspective (Yee, 2009). 3.5 Social Justice: Equality of Chances The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon (2009) stresses that social justice for all people to achieve a satisfactory level of well-being and equality of chances is at the heart of the UN’s global mission to improve development and human dignity. Likewise, the rd President of the 63 Session UN General Assembly Peace, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann (2009) indicates that respect for all human rights is a pre-requisite for social justice. It requires policy making that recognizes the human rights as full members of society, however, one must remember that making a policy that recognizes the human rights as full members of society to work effectively is harder than making a policy for the sake of making a policy. How to integrate social justice in higher education? What about introducing a social justice course to all students across all disciplines in institutions of higher education? A good example would be Columbia University, Lee Bollinger, who is passionate enough to teach a class entitled “Freedom of Speech and Press” every year to undergraduate students (Office of the President, Lee. C. Bollinger, 2008). However, nothing can be changed in higher education overnight because different countries have different policies. One must remember that to promote social justice, human rights are needed and before human rights, freedom is required. 3.6 Goal Setting: Maximizing Efficiency What should be the ultimate goal of a university? Learning? Teaching effectiveness? Research? World Ranking? Top 5? Top 10? Top 50? Top 100? Meeting political needs? Yet, are these needs parallel to those needs of higher education key players - students, parents, industries and the universities themselves? Leonhardt (2009), for 119
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instance, compares higher education to health care and observes that, “there is a real parallel here to health care. We pay doctors and hospitals for more care instead of better care, and what do we get? More care, even if in many cases it doesn’t make us healthier” (p. B1). What is the main purpose of higher education in any society? Advanced knowledge? Private return? Economic growth? The betterment of society? The betterment of the world? Global recognition? What do leaders of a university want? Is there a tradeoff between what they want and to whom they are accountable? Who are universities accountable to? Students? Staff? Society? Industries? Politicians? Tax payers? Is it not the sustainable goal to make the best use of resources? How can universities make the best use of their resources? Is it efficient if a teacher teaches the same course in the same department at the same university for years using the same technique? Indeed, the teacher is not keeping up with the discipline and not able to animate his own teaching with that experience. 3.7 Community Engagement Learning Since universities do not exist as a separate entity from their communities; institutions of higher education have begun to look not only at learning outcomes but also at whether students’ volunteer work would make a difference in people’s lives in the community (Ashburn, 2009). Among the many questions that are worth considering by universities regarding community engagement and community learning are: (i) Do a university really care about what is going on with people in the community? (ii) What does the community need rather than what does a university want to give? (ii) How serious are university authorities to sit down and talk with the people of community? As for the case of Malaysia, some university top executives have participated recently in community projects of experiencing the lives of indigenous families in Malaysia (USM, 2009). As for American universities, community services have long been part of their social commitment and learning culture. For instance, during the administration of President George W. Bush, the U.S. President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll was launched to recognize universities’ achievement in community services. In 2008, three universities under the category of general service and another three under the category of leadership for helping disadvantaged youth were awarded the US President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll (Learn and Serve America: Corporation for National and Community Service, 2009).
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3.8 Quality with Morality: Islamic Approach How quality education can serve for society without morality? Moral degradation is not a vital reason behind social injustice, violation of human rights, environmental pollution, economic depression and…..? Is religion not the principal source of morality and ethics? There is a concrete and detailed instruction in Islam to preserve the society and environment. The main theme of Quran is man, in defining him, explaining his nature, enumerating his status, attitude, aptitude, guiding his conduct, manner, morals and ethics (Sulaiman, 2005). Islam intensifies the feelings of societal obligations in an individual person by specifically providing for the fulfilment of contractual obligations. As indicated in the holy Qur’an, “all natural calamities in the land and seas are originated by the human society” (Al-Qur’an, 30:41). It is further stated in the holy Qur’an, “Oh ye who believe, fulfil (all) obligations” (Al-Qur’an, 5:1). Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said, “Every one of you is a guardian and is responsible for his charge. The ruler (leader) is a guardian; the man is a guardian of his family; the lady is a guardian and is responsible for her husband’s family and offspring; and so all of you are guardians and are responsible about your wards” (Al-Hadith: Sahih al-Bukhari, 7:62:128). It is clearly mentioned in the holy Qur’an, “Oh, believers! Fear Allah as one should fear (about his or her deeds) and do not die unless you are a perfect Muslim” (Al-Qur’an, 3:102). There are many verses in the Qur’an that talk about fear of Allah as a basis of Islamic responsibility (see also Al-Qur’an, 1: 196-198; 33:70; 49:13; 59:18; 47:36; 3:76; 39:20). It is the faith of all Muslims that they will be asked to account for each and every deed and responsibility (AlQur’an, 99:7-8). Hence, the faith of ultimate accountability to Allah can serve ensuring sustainable development on this earth and hereafter. 4. Transformation Process towards HESD In transforming higher education towards sustainable development, a university needs to review all approaches as stated before. It has to revise its all activities in all areas including teaching and learning, research, innovation, curricula and studies, consultancy and services, students and alumni. Sustainable development is not only a topic responding to a global challenge but also picking up the interests and needs of the students and teachers (Barth, 2009). Indeed, transformation plan towards HESD is a rigorous process that must vary from one institution to another based on time, institutional goal, and its financial sustainability. According to Salmi (2006), the 121
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transformation strategy consists of two primary foci, namely (i) transforming the output/outcomes necessary to be world renowned in sustainable development, and (ii) transforming the three pillars of higher education, namely the concentration of talent, the abundance of resources and the acculturation of supportive governance (Cited in USM, 2008). In transforming Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for the APEX program, the university had to review particularly addressed the seven thrusts of the National Higher Education Action Plan (MoHE, 2007), in terms of: • • • • • • •
Widening access and enhancing equality; Improving the quality of teaching and learning; Enhancing research and innovation; Strengthening the institution; Intensifying internationalization; Enculturation of lifelong learning; Delivery system.
In general, a university can develop its transformation process adopting a number of steps, which are stated below. 4.1 Introducing a General Study Module The need to consider and integrate aspects of sustainability into higher education is a generally accepted mandate of the day. Many universities have offered courses on Environmental Laws, Environmental Management, Corporate Governance, Business Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Corporate Social Responsibility, Development Studies and so on that incorporated vital issues of sustainable development (Mohammad, 2009; Sobhani et. al. 2010). Some universities in the Western world attempted to introduce a general study module on sustainability issues. In Mexico, some public universities have considered praxis of the sustainability education like a process that comprises of the non-formal education (Vázquez & Villaseñor, 2009). As reported by Barth (2009), a general study module is feasible but it requires a long run effort to make it really sustainable. Implementation of such restructure comes along with a threefold challenge: (i) Students need learning settings on offer which on the one hand can be linked to their real-life experiences, and on the other hand support the development of competencies in interdisciplinary settings with innovative learning approaches. (ii) 122
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Teachers are faced with the challenge of a changing role from someone who imparts knowledge to a moderator of learning processes. Thus, the didactical design, considering the heterogeneity of their students and the necessity to create learning environments that support individual competence development on the one hand and allow still some guiding on the other hand, is getting increasingly important. And finally (iii) such a redesign in curricula needs an organizational umbrella, which allows for such new learning approaches, supports the additional expenses both for learners and teachers and considers the important function of the University as a “life world� in which competence development takes place. In sum, an integration of sustainable development in higher education is still an option for the universities globally though the challenges described can be handled. 4.2 Undertaking Community Problem Solving Projects Universities may undertake community problem solving (CPS) projects to prepare students to promote education for sustainable development. In conducting CPS projects there is no need to make drastic changes to the curriculum but to allow time for the CPS projects to be conducted by all students as a core course, not as an elective. A CPS project was undertaken at the graduation level as course requirement by Cheong (2009) and found that participation in CPS projects is a viable and rapid way to promote education for sustainable development. In a CPS project, students are allowed to work in groups intending to solve a specific problem in a selected community. They need to develop their own strategies and action plans to solve the problems identified. Finally, each group is required to submit a project report and present their CPS projects orally for evaluation purpose (Cheong, 2009). 4.3 Integrating Sustainability into Teaching Taking cognizance of the need to navigate institutions of higher learning toward sustainability-led education, Chong (2009) focused on six magic keys for the formulation of the teaching and learning environment that will ensure sustainability of present and future learners. The instructional framework for nurturing future learners need to focus on sharpening the right-brain aptitudes of the learners. Reynolds (2008) has succinctly summarized these six aptitudes as shown below: i. Design - (Not just function but also Design) - Design is a combination of utility and significance. One very central 123
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prescriptive guideline is to design instruction that is learnercentric instead of content-centric. ii. Story – (Not just argument but also Story). Story is context enriched by emotion. It in an effective strategy for teaching content in instruction is through the use of stories or scenarios. iii. Symphony – (Not just focus but also Symphony). A symphonic approach is the ability to bring the pieces all together for the learners to see the gestalt or the whole. It is about utilizing whole mind — logic, analysis, synthesis, intuition — to make sense of the whole world (i.e., topic), finding the big picture and determining what is important and what is not. iv. Empathy – (Not just logic but also Empathy). It is the capacity to go beyond logic and understand others and forge relationships. Empathy is the ability to experience the world from another person’s perspective. v. Play – (Not just seriousness but also Play). Play includes games, humor and joyfulness. Seriousness has its place but everyone needs some light heartedness and time to play. Games have become a large and influential device that is teaching wholeminded lessons to learners and foster thinking styles characteristic of the brain’s right hemisphere. vi. Meaning – (Not just accumulation but also Meaning). Meaning is the ability to find purpose in life. In the designing of meaningful events in instruction, one important role is to constantly look for ways to avoid fashioning boring and frustrating learning experiences. 4.4 Integrating Alternative Teaching Model In the present context in many universities the teacher is the authority who knows what that truth is and imparts that knowledge to his students through a one way flow of information. In other words, the teacher stands in front of a large hall and gives a lecturer, making little or no effort to engage the audience in a discourse. The emerging alternative learning model is built on the constructivist paradigm in which learning is a facilitated social and cognitive activity with multiple ways of interaction between the teachers and the learners. Knowledge has multiple meanings in different contexts and at different stages in the learning process which is centered on the learners rather than the lecturers. This is a model more suited for the rapid changes of
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the knowledge society, which provides a comprehensive framework for both lecturers and students to understand their roles in the university as an institution of higher education. The new focus of education for sustainable development is not only to educate students about what sustainable development is, but also to educate so that they can achieve sustainable development. It desires to bring a change in students so that they can take action rather than to simply absorb information for examinations (USM, 2008). 4.5 Raising Diversity of Talents The main challenge currently confronting universities is how to accurately anticipate and most effectively foster innovation in research and teaching (USM, 2008). A university needs to be turned into a temple where supremacy of ideas reign while working hard at creating the environments that are supportive of idea generation and the innovation system. Creative and innovative people normally stay at places that are more in tune to their needs. The opportunities for discovery in today’s era of information technology are more promising than ever especially if there are outstanding talents within university population or those closely linked with the university. Talents are not only limited to academicians but also supporting staff and students. Quality of teaching resources is a vital factor towards producing quality graduates and high quality research. This can be done by recruiting the best possible high quality candidates as well as improving the caliber of the current faculties and students. 4.6 Changing Evaluation Procedure As stated by USM (2008), students now study mainly to pass examinations, not to gain or develop knowledge for the benefit of humankind. Hence, alternative assessments need to be introduced. Other than examinations there are methods or approaches, which are studentcentered such as, use of portfolios, rubrics, matrices, peer assessments and personal reflections. These approaches may offer greater flexibility and creativity for evaluation suited to each student’s learning style, multiple intelligences, analytical capabilities and interests.
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4.7 Career Designing Program The intention would not to be market or industry driven but graduates unable to secure meaningful employment are a drain on resources. Practical and industry experience must go hand-in-hand with the theories and knowledge acquired in the classrooms. Career designing program (CDP) need to be conducted for the outgoing students so that they can make necessary preparation to compete in the competitive job market. Training modules need to be developed based on the questions of national and international competitive examinations. Mock interviews may be arranged to prepare the graduates for the real life interviews for job. Workshop may be organized on preparation of individual Curriculum Vitae. Job fairs may be organized on a regular basis to deploy the qualified graduates in the right places. Apart from job placement, students should be encouraged to become entrepreneur that will lead them to become employer rather than employee. 4.8 Other initiatives There are some other initiatives that need to be attempted in the transformation process, which are as follows: a. There is a need to eliminate unnecessary and irrelevant policies and bureaucracies that are existed in practice towards a sustainability-led university. b. University should disseminate quality education with morality. Quality without morality can never ensure sustainable development. Hence, emphasis should be laid on ethical education and research. c. University should have ‘environment preservation and beautification committee’ or a separate division to protect and preserve its natural environment. Tree plantation programs need to be undertaken on a regular basis within the university campus. d. Students’ involvement and participation in intellectual, cultural, and social activities should be increased up to a satisfactory level. These can enhance the awareness of students on various national and global issues. Sufficient autonomy should be given to them in exercising their perceived rights and actions by expanding their skills on leadership, creativity, innovation towards sustainability. e. Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) needs to be introduced to enhance the learning experience for the digital natives familiar with podcasting, blogging, massively multiplayer on line role 126
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playing games (MMORPG), electronic forums, multitasking, instant gratification and so on (USM, 2008). f. Editorial assistance and linkages is also an important component to increase the amount and quality of research output. For example, editors of high raking international journals may be invited to provide regular training in scientific writing as well as to personally guide researchers on their manuscripts (on a consultancy basis) (USM, 2008). g. It is badly needed for linking research and its findings for the betterment of the society. Neither research should be conducted for academic promotion, exposure, or ritualistic purpose nor its findings be disseminated amongst academic peers only in obscure or high impact factor journals. Research findings must be circulated for the benefit of the humanity or local community through monographs or mass media for the general public. The community can ultimately be benefited thorough application of research findings in the real life situations. 5. Contextual Discussion Bangladesh, a developing nation in South-East-Asia, is lagging far behind in comparison with developing nations from taking initiatives for sustainable development. The country has been facing severe economic, social and environmental problems, which are the crucial sustainable issues. In view of economic status, the country has a per capita income of only US$554 (Bangladesh Ministry of Finance 2009). Feeding 150 million people with a piece of land measuring 0.15 million square kilometers is really challenging. Having an annual budget of AUD $ 10.2 billion (Bangladesh Ministry of Finance 2009) the country is struggling to meet the basic needs for its citizens (EPB 2009). There are a number of social problems in the country. Two million female workers are employed in Bangladesh in its export oriented garments sector, where the pay structure is very low and barely meet the day to day expenditure (Burns, 2005). Women workers in the garment industries have to survive particularly harsh working condition (Afrin 2002). Child labor is another major problem in the country. Among factors contributing to child labor are rapid population growth, adult unemployment, bad working conditions, lack of minimum wages, exploitation of workers, low standard of living, low quality of education, lack of legal provisions and enforcement, low capacity of institutions, gender discrimination, conceptual thinking about childhood, etc. One or more of the above contribute to the large 127
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numbers of children working under exploitative or hazardous conditions (ILO, 2009). Another major social problem is acid attacks on women, mainly due to refusal of marriage proposal and failure to give dowry to the husband. These attacks are increasing at alarming rates as government has failed to prosecute the attackers (Anwary, 2003). Drug addiction is gradually being increased (UNDCP 1997). In addition to socio-economic problems, the country has a number of environmental issues which are mostly hindering the sustainable development. It is the most vulnerable country to climate change impact (USAID, 2009). Being the largest delta in the world located at the downstream of the second largest river system, the country is subject to a series of climatic events. The probable impacts of global climate change (GCC), particularly sea-level rise and the associated impact on ecosystems and economic loss, adds to the already daunting array of environmental issues. Climate change will change the physiography and demography of Bangladesh. By 2050, 70 million people could be affected annually by floods; 8 million by drought; up to 8% of the low-lying lands may become permanently inundated (USAID, 2009). Bangladesh has been high risk prone area for last couple of years, for arsenic polluted water due to arsenic release in groundwater from the sediments deposited during the Holocene period (DPHE, 2001). So, supply of safe drinking water remains the most crucial issue in a large area in Bangladesh (Jakariya et. el., 2005). In addition to its human caused environmental problems, Bangladesh has been severely affected by natural disasters in last few years. For example, in 1991, nearly 150,000 lives were taken by a cyclone. Hundreds of natural disasters, both large and small, occur each year in Bangladesh (Dilley et. el., 2005). Bangladesh is a country where 40 percent of the people go to bed hungry every night, where 40 percent of the people are chronically malnourished and stunted. It is a country where too many mothers die in childbirth, where too many infants die before they reach their first birthday (US Department of State, 2009). From the above contextual highlights of socio-economic and environmental issues, it is evident that Bangladesh is more vulnerable in sustainable development. To mitigate the social, economic and environmental problems, it is essentially required to create awareness among the people where sustainability education at the universities can play a vital role.
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As noted by Sobhani et al. (2010), higher education for sustainable development is surrounded by a number of challenges in Bangladesh. There is a lack of sustainable plan in both public and private universities of the country. Higher education in Bangladesh has been offered and solely controlled by the public universities, even today to a great extent. But unfortunately these public universities failed to accommodate the big flow of interested participants for higher education. At the same time, the standard of education in the public universities was found to be deteriorating and not so promising to complete globally (Mamun et al., 2008). In view of sustainability study so far the public universities introduced got poor attention due to continuous fall in quality level of education, involvement of students into ill politics. Student politics under the guidance of national political parties has become a major problem to ensure leaning atmosphere in the public universities. Due to high freedom in Public University Act 1973, teachers are not being made accountable to their academic and societal responsibilities. Opportunities for research are also insufficient. Research is being conducted mostly for promotion to senior position, academic exposure, and utilization of allocated funds. Research findings are rarely applied for societal benefits. Aiming at educating human resources at the tertiary level, Bangladesh introduced higher education in the private sector under the Private Universities Act in 1992. Since then fifty four (54) private universities have been established in the country. Interestingly all the private universities of Bangladesh offer business education, namely BBA and MBA programs. Although the business education in the private sector has expanded rapidly since 1992, sustainable development in the education sector is lagging far behind. A study conducted by Sobhani et al. (2010) revealed that lack of knowledge and environmental awareness; understanding the conceptual framework of sustainability education, problems of introducing general module, scarcity of competent faculty members; limited infrastructure and institutional support; lack of government policies and financial support; offering need-based education only; lack of motivation of the students to learn sustainability issues; high tuition fees; and dependency on foreign grant and so on are the main challenges behind sustainable education in the private universities of Bangladesh. Indeed, it has become a need of the day to overcome all challenges in order to ensure sustainable development. Developed countries like Australia, Japan and the UK have been undertaking different measures 129
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to ensure sustainability education at the tertiary level. Environmental study has become a common course of learning in the Western countries. It seems that Bangladesh lacks in planning, policy developing and strategy formulating in introducing sustainability education. Though some of the public and private universities have introduced environmental education in Bangladesh but these are highly insufficient to protect the society from unjust, inequality, violation of human rights and environment from various types of pollution like water contamination, air pollution, sound pollution, destruction of natural beauty etc. Government along with University authorities should move forward against the challenging future. Joint efforts are required to take necessary measures for keeping the environment free from pollution, society from unjust and economy from imbalanced distribution. 6. Concluding remarks The study was an attempt to reviewing the essence of sustainable education, highlighting its different approaches and analyzing transformation process of higher education for sustainable development. Due to lack of sustainability research in the developing countries, the study contributed significantly in addressing education for sustainable development at tertiary level in a local context. The study reveals that higher education can play vital role in ensuring sustainable development in a nation. There are various approaches towards education for sustainable development, which are mainly principle based and policy oriented. A university may consider these approaches in formulating transformation process, policies and strategies towards a sustainability-led university. There is no unique transformation process of higher education towards sustainability that could be followed by a university. It depends on the sustainable plan, policy, objective and nature of a university. Mostly the processing plan should be guided by the crucial sustainability need in a local setting. Bangladesh is lagging far behind in planning and making efforts behind education for sustainable development at tertiary level. Since there are a lot of challenges, combined efforts of the Government and University authorities are required to ensure sustainable education in both public and private universities in Bangladesh. The study conducted literature survey that limited it to secondary sources of data and information. Hence, the study generates scope for further research through empirical investigation. A comparative study in education for sustainable development between public and private universities may be of significant contribution.
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Mamun, M. Z., Ahmed, N., & Faiz, S.B.S, (2008), “Customer focus of the Private Universities of Bangladesh: A TQM Perspective”, Journal of Business Administration, University of Dhaka, Vol.34 No. 1 & 2, pp.1-2 McKeown, R. (2007), “Setting the stage for a strategic research agenda for the UNDESD: a joint UNU-UNESCO workshop”, Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 91-6. Merrifield, J. & Salisbury, D. (2005). The competitive education industry concept and why it deserves more scrutiny. CATO Journal, 25 (2), 181 – 195. Mohammad N. (2009), “The environmental law in higher education of Bangladesh and Malaysia: An approach for sustainability”, Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Higher Education for Sustainable Development, Malaysia MoHE (2007), Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia Office of the President Lee, C. Bollinger (2008, April). Biography. Available online at: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/president/docs/bio/ (Accessed 13 October 2009). Porritt, J. (2007), Forward. In Unerman, J., Bebbington, J., & O’Dwyer, B. (Eds.), Sustainability Accounting and Accountability (p. xvii). London and New York: Routledge. Reunamo, J. & Pipere, A. (2010), “Doing research on education for sustainable development”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 12 No. 2, 2011, pp. 110-124 Reynolds, G. (2008). Presentation Zen : Simple Ideas on Presentation, Design and Delivery. Berkeley, CA: New Riders. Richards, D. (1999). Sustainability metrics for the business enterprise. Quality management, 11-20. Salmi, J. (2006), “The challenge of establishing world class universities”, Washington, D.C.: The World Bank Segovia, V.M. & Galang, A P. (2002), “Sustainable development in higher education in the Philippines: The case of Miriam College”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp.288-296. Sobhani, F. A. & Rahman S. (2010), “Challenges of Sustainability Education: The Case of Private Universities in Bangladesh, Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, Vol. 2 No. 5 Stephens, J.C., Hernandez, M.E., Roman, M., Graham, A.C., Scholz, R.W. (2008), “Higher education as a change agent for sustainability in different cultures and
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contexts”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 317-338. Sulaiman, M 2005, ‘Islamic corporate reporting–between the desirable and the desire’, Research Centre, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia. Tahir, O. M. & Saadatian, O. (2009). “Sustainability in higher education in 24 different universities, Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Higher Education for Sustainable Development, USM, Malaysia The Commonwealth (2009), London, available at: http://www.thecommonwealth.org/gtinformation/164419/164436/164438/garment_wo rkers_in_bangladesh/ (accessed on 6 September 2009). The Daily Star (2009, December 20), International full text of Copenhagen Accord 2009, available at: http://www.thedaily star.net/ story.php? nid=118437 (accessed on 20 December 2009). U.S. Department of State (2009), Washington D.C., available at: http://dhaka.usembassy.gov/16_aug_09_moriarty_remarks_amcham_event_ppp.html (accessed on 20 August 2009) Unerman, J., Bebbington, J., & O’Dwyer, B. (Eds.) (2007). Sustainability Accounting and Accountability. Oxon: Routledge. UNESCO (2009), Review of Contexts and Structure for Education for Sustainable Development 2009, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, France. USAID (2009), Dhaka, available at: http://www.usaid.gov/bd/programs/environ.html (accessed on 17 September 2009) USM (2008). Transforming higher education for a sustainable tomorrow. Penang, Malaysia. USM (2009), MBA in Sustainable Development, Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, p. 5 USM (2009, September 15). USM provides assistance to indigenous community. Available online at: http://www.usm.my/bi/berita-penuh-en.asp?id=7159 (Accessed 14 October 2009) Vázquez, M.C.E.R & Villaseñor, E. L. (2009), “Mainstreaming of environmental dimension in mexican public universities”, Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Higher Education for Sustainable Development, Malaysia
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Vedder, R. (2005). Market-based education: What can we learn from universities? Cato Journal, 25 (2), 279 – 295. Verbitskaya, L. A., Nosova, N. B., Rodina, L. L (2002), Sustainable development in higher education in Russia: The case of St. Petersburg State University, Higher Education Policy, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 177-185. WECD (1987). Our Common Future. Oxford University Press: Oxford.. Weenen, V. H. (2000). Toward a vision of a sustainable university. Sustainability in higher education, 1(1), 20-34. Wehrmeyer, W. & Chenoweth, J. (2006), “The role and effectiveness of continuing education training courses offered by higher education institutions in furthering the implementation of sustainable development”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp.129-141. Wright, T. (2007), “Higher education for sustainability: developing a comprehensive research agenda”, Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 101-6. Yee, O. P. (2009), “Running Head: Imaginative approaches in higher education for sustainable development, Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Higher Education for Sustainable Development, USM, Malaysia
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IIUC STUDIES ISSN 1813-7733 Vol.- 9, December 2011 (p 137-160)
SCIENCE AND SCIENCE IN MUSLIM THEOLOGY Exploratory Study from Contemporary Books of Tafsīr Dr. Sohirin Mohammad Solihin* Abstract: The paper attempts to reveal the relation between science and religion from Islamic perspective by referring to the views of contemporary Qur'anic exegesis. In addition, it also highlights the sources of sciences based on the divine concept. Moreover, it discusses the status and task of Muslim scientists in developing the civilization. The Qur'ān supports the use of intellectualism to come out with the concept of sciences on the basis of divine guidance. There are many directions in the message related to sciences of biology, preservation of ecology, and medicine.
Definition In Muslim theological doctrine, the word ma‘rifah can be given the meaning as science. Another synonymous term is the word ‘ilm and its derivation which occupies the most parts of the Qur’ān. The word al‘ālim is mentioned in one hundred and forty times while al-‘lim twenty-seven times.1 The other aspects which are related with science such as pen, book, and ink occupy the big number of verses. While the word al-qalam is mentioned in two places and the world al-kitāb is repeated in two hundreds-thirty times.2 Other words which have close relation with ‘ilm is tafaquh (comprehension), ‘aql (intellectualism), al-nażr (observation), and altafakkur (thinking). While the words al-jahl (ignorance), al-safīh
* Associate Professor, Dep. of Qur’an and Sunnah Studies, IIU Malaysia 1
2
Baqī, Muĥammad Fuād ‘Abd, Al-Mu’jam al-Mufahras li al-alfāż al-The Qur’ān alKarim, Dār al-Fikr, Beirut, 1995. The words al-Qalam is mentioned in these two verses, Sūrah al-Qalam, No.2, and Sūrah al-‘Alaq no.No.4. While the words al-kitāb is mentioned, among other things, in these following verses: The Qur’ān, 2: 2, 2: 44, 2: 79, 2: 85, 3:7, 3:72, 3:100.
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(foolish), al-dalāl (astray), al-ifk (false claim), and al-bāţil (false) are considered the things that contradict al-‘ilm. In terminological aspect, there is diversity of definition in the hands of Muslim scholars. Some of them define science as realization of something through cognition and comprehension. Others even hold that science is related with the belief which is in conformity with reality. Hence, those who posses science should have strong conviction and prove it with the reality of lives. It is inevitable that science is considered as product of learning about all kinds of things, which requires the cognition. Al-Ghazālī is of the view that science is acquisition of information through which one can successfully attain the goal of life. Moreover, science is to guide people successfully in this world and the hereafter. He supports his argument with textual evident which says, Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the East nor of the West, whose Oil is well nigh Luminous, though fire scarce touched it: light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.3 God as source of science and He is the one who enlightened everything with science. In that verse, it mentions about the likeliness of His light which He enlightened in the heart of Muslims through His book as the verse says, ‘We sent you the real light’ (wa anzalnā ilaykum nūran mibīnan).4 The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is also called as nur (light) as the verse says, ... Arabic type .... .(It has come to you from Allah the light and the clear book (kitāb al-mubīn).5
3 4 5
The Qur’ān, 24: 35. The Qur’ān, 4: 17. Abū ‘Abdullah Muĥammad b. Aĥmad b. Abī Bakr b. Farah al-Anŝārī al-Khazrazī Shamsuddin al-Qurtūbī, al-Jami Ahkam al-The Qur’ān (Tafsir al-Qurtubi), (Cairo: Dār al-Kutub al-Misriyyah, 1384H/1964), Vol.12, p.233.
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Sayyid Quţb is of the view that human beings can comprehend so many things in this universe due to the science that God granted to them. He holds that all science that they possess should be utilized in a way to obey God’s rules.6 Science and science are system of learning which need to be developed and disseminated in a manner that recognizes God as creator of the universe and man as His vicegerent on earth. The use of science should be in line with His will and any effort in this regard is considered as an act of ‘ibādah (worship). Status of Science Muslims believe that the words of God which were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as source of guidance. Their theological concept asserts that the spirituality should manifest in social activities. God declares that human beings are in state of ignorance until He bestowed the science to them. None of them became knowledgeable following their birth without His mercy to grant him the science as the verse says, It is He Who brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when ye knew nothing and he gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affections: that ye may give thanks (to Allah).7 Sheikh Mutawalī Sha‘rāwī (1911-1998) viewed that when a person was born his senses still do not function yet. It is intentional that God made such kind of thing as instrument to seek the science. It is something natural, he says, that all new born babies do not know anything as their senses are not yet functioning. Through gradual process such kinds of organ start functioning to familiarize objects around him. Through the growing process, hearing, seeing and discerning are supposed to be utilized for the purpose of gaining science which is very essential in the life of mankind.8 There is something amazing with regard to the sequence of mentioning the words related with ability of a person to hear, to see the word
6
7 8
Sayyid Quţb Ibrāhīm Ĥusein al-Shādhlī, Fī Żilāl al-The Qur’Ān, (Cairo: Dār alShurūq, 1412H), Vol.5, p.282. The Qur’ān, 16: 78 Muíammad Mutawallī Sha‘rāwī, Tafsīr Sheikh Mutawallī Sha‘rāwī,(Cairo: Maţābi Akhbār al-Yawm, n.d.), Vol.1, p.4987.
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intelligence (al-sam‘u wa al-abŝār wa al-af‘idah) as indicated in the above textual evidence of the Qur’ān. He refers to the view of scientists on organ of human beings in which, according to him, that such kind of the sequence is due to the natural on the composition of human organ. A child when he was born first he or she can hear. Then, after a few days his eyes starts functioning. This can be proved in which when there is strong voice the baby will be struck surprisingly. But, when we show an object in front of the face, he could not respond which indicate that eyes could not see anything. So, the word al-sam‘ (hearing) and al-baŝar (viewing) are seen as the main instruments to recognize something which will come into their mind. He ensures that the sequence of mentioning those organs, he says, complies with the finding of modern science.9 God obliges each individual to seek science and the duration is not limited to certain degree. It goes beyond the limitation and until the end of his life in this world. Islam is very keen to educate its followers to achieve the progress of human civilization. The result of thinking which have been put into the concept of science or science should be used as the main instrument to elevate their status in the community. The civilization is determined by the science and at the same time should be understood in the light of observing the truth. If a certain nation wants to achieve the progress, it depends on how people have positive response to pursue the science. Again, the textual evident gives glad tidings for those who possesses the science and science to reach high level of civilization as the text says, Allah will rise up to (suitable) ranks (and degrees), those of you who believe and who have been granted (mystic) science. And Allah is well acquainted with all ye do.10 In one of the passage of the Qur'ān God elevates the status of scholars and scientists which says, There is no god but He: that is the witness of Allah, his angels, and those endued with science, standing firm on justice. There is no god but He, the exalted in power, the wise.11
9
10
Muíammad Mutawallê Sha’rāwê, TafsÊr Sheikh Mutawallê Sha’rāwê,(Cairo: Maïābi Akhbār Al-Yawm, N.D.), Vol.1, P.4987. The Qur’Ān, 58:11
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Again, we take the view of Sheikh Mutawalli Sha‘rāwī in which he says that on the first part of this verse, God gives witness about Himself. The word shahida, he holds, means ‘alima (lit. knows). In this way He informs all human beings that all creatures in the universe are regarded as signs signifying that there is no god but Allah. When He created all planets in the heaven as covered in this textual evident .... Arabic Type .... 111 } means confirmation that there is no single being could compete His power. After He gave witness that there is no god but Himself, such kind of behavior was also followed by Angles in which all of them also gave witness on oneness of His entity and no other being share His power. Sha‘rāwī holds that all Angles only receive the truthful command from Him according to the task given to them. Then, it comes into the certain members of human beings who have been granted with science known as ūlū al-‘ilm (men of science or scientist). God elevates men of science into high rank as they are put next to Angles and Allah. The reason is that they keep on utilizing their intellectual to ponder upon His creation to come out with the concept of science for the benefit of mankind. Through reflection and study on this phenomenology they should come to their mind that all facilities in this world including their expertise come from their Creator. Thus, toward the end, they should dedicate their works to His will to follow the truth and establishing justice.12 The witness that Allah, Angles and men of science give is not just related with existence only Allah Who could not be associated in His lordship by others. It also links with justice (qāiman bi al-qisţī) which characterizes His attributes. Since God posses such character, men of science who is dignified in term of ranks next Allah and His Angles, then, they should become role model to observe justice and peace throughout their lives.13 Due to that importance, then, God even makes men of science as ideal example in the community, And such are the Parables We set forth for mankind, but only those understand them who have science.14
11
The Qur’ān, 3: 18 Muíammad Mutawallê Sha’rāwê, Tafsêr Sheikh Mutawallê Sha’rāwê,(Cairo: Maïābi Akhbār al-Yawm, n.d.), Vol.1, p.870. 13 Ibid. 14 The Qur’Ān, 29:43 12
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Science in Islam is to distinguish between the right (al-Íaq) and false (al-bĀŢil). A person who has been granted with science should use it in support of the truth. A lawyer should be concerned to establish justice and a businessman should make sure not to deceive others in the commercial transaction. Similarly, a physician should work in defense on the interest of patients and should not be motivated with material greediness by making forgery of prescription. Other important aspect of science is that human beings are given responsibility to undertake the task as God’s vicegerent on earth. All raw materials that God provides must be utilized to actualize garden of paradise. The first revelation remarkably gives an honor on 'ilm and the objective of seeking the science to glorify God, Proclaim! In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, who created. Created man out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood. Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful, He Who taught (the use of) the Pen, Taught man that which he knew not.15 Sayyid Quţb is of the view that the main theme of that particular sūrah is direction of Lord to his Prophet at the first moment he got link with Supreme Being (Allah) to appoint him as His Prophet with the main task of conveying the message to all mankind. God asked him to read in the name of your Lord (bi ismi rabbik). The second part of the verse discusses about the creation of human being from clot of congealed blood (min‘alaq). This indicates, he holds, the might of God to create a person from such congealed blood which was firstly stick on the womb of a women which was later changed through gradual process into the level of human being who was elevated and given the science through learning. Then, God declares on the reality of leaning (ta‘līm) with the use of pen as a tool for learning in the life of human beings. Due to that importance, God informs us on the first of the revelation given to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Then, the next verse discusses about the source of science (maŝdar al-ta‘līm) which come from God in which human beings are powerless. God give them ability or competency to reveal different secrets of science and sciences in this universe. Hence, all activities of mankind, he said, must be started with an acknowledgment to start reading with bi ismillah as the goal in which
15
The Qur’Ān, 96:1-5
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all Him all human beings will return to Him. The last part of the first revelation is to confirm that only God is only the source of science. He is the one who grants science to all mankind on the thing that they do not know it before (‘allama al-insān mā lam ya‘lam). They must be thankful to Him to admit and devote their activities only to the Creator by observing His rules and law to reach into the perfection of life with peace, tranquility, and justice. The Prophet (pbuh) is the best example to keep remembering God. All what he said is in a way he remembered Allah, all his command, prohibition and legislation reflect remembrance of God. His praise and glorification are meant as zikr, his news related to attributes of God, His law, behavior, promises and threat (wa‘duhu wa wa‘īduhu) are manifestation of his zikr toward Him. The Prophet used different kinds of du‘a as narrated by ‘Āysah that when he woke up from sleep he said, ‘Praise be to Allah who rose up from dead (of sleeping) and to him we will return’.16 Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) made compulsory pursuit of science which could be considered as the main impetus for the nation in reaching into high level of civilization. The reason behind such obligation is that as a matter of fact, those who have been granted with science can differentiate the right and wrong, truth and false, as well as the good and evils. The Prophetic tradition says, ‘seeking science is compulsory upon every Muslim’. Moreover, the task of vicegerent cannot be done haphazardly rather to be conducted with the use of science to come out with good result. This can be seen in the matter of creation of Adam to undertake the task as vicegerent on earth as stated in this verse, And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: "Tell Me the names of these if ye are right."17 Sheikh MutawwalĪ ShaÑrĀwĪ is of the view that God granted Adam science through intellectualism which distinguished him from the rest of other creation. He excelled Angles due to his competency in knowing something which Angle did not grasp in this universe.
16
17
Sayyid QuŢb IbrĀhĪm ×usein al-ShĀdhlĪ, FĪ ÚilĀl al-The Qur’Ān, (Cairo: DĀr alShurËq, 1412H), Vol.8, pp.67-68. The Qur’Ān, 2:31
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ShaÑrĀwĪ gives reflection and comparison between Adam as the father of the whole mankind and the Angle. In fact, if we look at the beginning of creation, Angle was much more superior compared to Adam. The first was created from the light (al-nËr) while the second was created from the clay (al-ŢĪn). God granted competency to Adam in knowing so many things instead of to Angles. It is entirely the will of God to make him superior in term of competency and science. Another example can be referred to the story of Sulayman who was appointed as Prophet but at the same time as al-mĀlik (king).18 Yet, the bird called hodhod knew certain things that he could know as mentioned in this textual evident, But the Hoopoe tarried not far: he (came up and) said: I have compassed (territory) which thou hast not compassed, and I have come to thee from Saba with tidings true.19 It should be born in mind that God’s science surpasses the science of human beings as the textual evidence says, And he is Allah in the heavens and one earth. He knoweth what ye hide, and what ye reveal, and he knoweth the (recompense) which ye earn (by your deeds).20 Even in another place God declares that human beings get very limited science, Science it is only a little that is communicated to you, (O men).21 In this particular part, again, we refer to the views of Sheikh MutawallĪ ShaÑrĀwĪ in giving the commentary of this textual evident in very convincing way. Whenever someone asked on certain thing which is beneficial for his life and to avoid on the danger thing, then, the Qur’Ān responds it in more positive way. The example can be found in this evident which says,
18
MuÍammad MutawallĪ ShaÑrĀwĪ, TafsĪr Sheikh MutawallĪ ShaÑrĀwĪ,(Cairo: MaŢĀbi AkhbĀr al-Yawm, n.d.), Vol.1, p.128. 19 The Qur’Ān, 27:22 20 The Qur’Ān, 6: 3. 21 The Qur’Ān, 17:85.
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They ask thee concerning women's courses. Say: they are a hurt and a pollution, so keep away from women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean. But when they have purified themselves, ye may approach them in any manner, time, or place ordained for you by Allah. For Allah loves those who turn to him constantly and he loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.22 If the question is related to certain thing which will not cause any harm, then, the Qur’Ān turns it away on other thing which will bring benefit to people. This can be found, he said, in this particular aspect related to different size of the moon which starts from little tiny and gradually changes into bigger and bigger until reaches into the full shape and demise again toward the end. The verse says, They ask thee concerning the new moons. Say: They are but Signs to mark fixed periods of time in (the affairs of) men, and for pilgrimage.23 But sometime there is a question from a person to others with the purpose of giving a test as it was the case of unbelievers of Makkah who collaborated with the Jews to test the Prophet (pbuh) regarding the soul (al-rËÍ). This is, in fact, ShaÑrĀwĪ adds they realized that there is no one who could answer the question. It was a tactic in which when the Prophet (pubh) could not answer it, it might cause the effect with regard the acceptance of people toward his call (al-daÑwah). Hence, the question was responded with the arrival of the revelation which says, They ask thee concerning the spirit (of inspiration). Say: the spirit (cometh) by command of my Lord: of science it is only a little that is communicated to you, (O men).24 He said in further that when People of the Book heard such kind of response through the revelation, many of them converted into Islam as
22
The Qur’Ān, 2: 222. The Qur’Ān, 2: 189. 24 The Qur’Ān, 17: 85. 23
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they realized that human beings are incompetence to know the position of al-rËÍ (the soul) which is entirely in the hands of God. Here ShaÑrĀwĪ convinces on weakness of human beings whatever the science may gain compared with the science of God. They may know a lot of thing but once the soul comes out from their physics, then, they become helpless indicating their cessation with this world.25 God describes Himself as source of science, If all the trees on earth were pens and the Ocean (were ink), with seven Oceans behind it to add to its (supply), yet would not the Words of Allah be exhausted (in the writing): for Allah is Exalted in power, full of Wisdom.26 Sayyid Quţb is of the view that human beings are weak and their science which is in reality derived from God, are not possible to record the whole science of God which is unpredictable by human mind. Human beings keep of trying to predict through their intellectualism what will be happening in this world but their prediction in many cases will not avail due to their weaknesses. In this case, God challenges them even if they try to record what will be happening in this universe with regard to the will of God with maximum effort as if the whole tries would become pens and the ocean as ink and even added with another seven oceans, they will not be in position to do it. In fact, in such situation, human beings should admit their weaknesses and offer the respect on the mighty of God which unrivalled by any human beings on earth.27 The terms used to denote about the universe is al-kawn which can be translated into either the universe or the phenomena. This al-kawn (lit. phenomena) represents the field of the natural sciences (‘ulëm alŢabīÑiyyah). The Qur’ān mentions repeatedly concerning the foundation of sciences in different forms such as the process of creation of human beings which later emerged the concept of science
25
26 27
Muíammad MutawallĪ ShaÑrĀwĪ, TafsĪr Sheikh MutawallĪ ShaÑrĀwĪ,(Cairo: MaŢĀbi AkhbĀr al-Yawm, n.d.), Vol.1, p.5292. The Qur’Ān, 31:27 Sayyid QuŢb ×usein al-ShĀdhilĪ, FĪ ÚilĀl al-The Qur’Ān, (Beirut: DĀr al-ShurËq, 1412H), vol.5, p.2795.
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of biology, the growth of plantation that later human beings conceptualized the science of botany, animals, outer space etc. The Qur’Ān is not the book of science that describes the detail of all disciplines. It only gives the main ideas to be thoroughly studied pertains to different aspect of the life in this world to come into the thought that can stimulate the consciousness to follow His rule, and utilize all bounties to be devoted toward seeking His pleasure. The study of natural sciences is equal with the study of religious texts with the aim of seeking the truth. The study on the universe and phenomenology is to prove whether the finding on certain field comply with the message contained in that revelation. In other word, the revelation could be considered as mind opener not only in legal aspect rather it includes other field of sciences such as medicine, astronomy, biology, engineering etc.28 The word ‘ulama (lit. Muslim scholars) is not confined to those who mattered Islamic law or Shari’ah rather it includes to those who study about natural sciences. This can be referred to this evident which says, And so amongst men and crawling creatures and cattle, are they of various colours. Those truly fear Allah, among His Servants, who have science: for Allah is Exalted in Might Oft-Forgiving.29 It should be noted that God created so many things in this universe in different forms whether in the aspect of fruits, plantation, animals, and human beings. Even in term of competency they are at level of understanding and thinking. Thus, al-ÑulamĀ (lit. scholar) is highly respected as they have responsibility to teach them about the science and goodness which, at the end, is to train them with God’s consciousness through their study on everything in this universe. The word ÑulamĀ as contained in the above evident is not confined on those who specialized in their study about religious text and Islamic jurisprudence. It goes beyond the coverage of the meaning which expands on those scientists and experts in different field of disciplines through study of the universe. The result of their research and study
28
29
HanĪdĪ, Jamal MuÍammad, Tarbiyyah ‘UlamĀ al-ŢabĪÑiyyah wa al-Kawniyyah alMuslimĪn, DĀr al-WafĀ, ManÎËrah, Egypt, 2000, p.92-93. The Qur’Ān, 35: 28.
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should lead them to obey the divine rules and regulation.30 The evident that the word ÑulamĀ is not confined to those who specialize in the field of legitimate science (ÑulËm al-sharÑiyyah) it can be referred, among other things, to this verse, And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colours: verily in that are Signs for those who know.31 Conception of Science To discuss the conception of science is closely knit with the status of human beings and intellectualism (al-‘aql). The angel offered bowing down to the Adam due to his competency in identifying certain objects when they were fail to do it. The textual revelation invites the intellectualism to ponder upon the phenomenology (al-kawn) through the intellectualism to develop the science and sciences. The natural sciences is linked with its application either beneficial or causing destruction. The mind is regarded as an instrument to understand the truth and those who think objectively might come to an understanding about the truth even without formal guidance of the religious text. All human beings may share the universal values although without following the formal belief. Intellectualism is regarded as the greatest favors as a way toward God through the conception of science and science. The Qur’Ān condemns those who spoil the intellectual power as mentioned in this verse, For the worst of beasts in the sight of Allah are the deaf and the dumb, those who understand not.32 Human beings are required to use the mind and give evident on all activities. During the Makkan period, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) simply focused the da’wah to eliminate all kinds of superstitious and myth which dominated the people of Arabia. Those who believe in superstition they never think rationally. It should also be born in mind that the concept of ‘ilm (lit. science) covers all kinds of human science
30
Darwazah MuÍammad Izzat, al-TafsĪr al-×adĪth, (Cairo: DĀr IÍyĀ al-Kutub alÑArabiyyah, 1383H), vol.3, pp.120-123. 31 The Qur’Ān, 30:22. 32 The Qur’Ān, 8: 22
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whether its source comes the intellectualism (‘aql) such as math and the science, which its sources are based on senses and experimentation. In view of this, Ibn Taymiyyah produced the book entitled ‘refutation on the contradictory between the intellectualism (al-‘aql) and textual revelation (al-naql). He discussed at length the relation between two sources i.e. intellectualism and revelation. The intellectual power is given to mankind with the aim of at acquiring science through the study of phenomena to see the greatness of their Lord and, at the end, will offer obedience to Him. Scientists and scholars are given the task to conceptualize sciences, which comply with the principles of divine message. The first revelation discuss about the concept of science that will make people reach higher status in term of community development. It is agreeable that the science and science is to determine the future shape of civilization. Those who have been granted that science is elevated into higher status as mentioned in this verse, Allah will rise up (to suitable) ranks (and degrees), those of you who believe and who have been granted science.33 The concept of science and science should be based on divine norms to bring about the goodness in the community. Those who follow the desire to conceptualize the science which will not bring about harmonious life as Allah remind them in this verse, Then seest thou such a one as takes as his god his own vain desire? Allah has, knowing (him as such), left him astray, and sealed his hearing and his heart (and understanding), and put a cover on his sight. Who, then, will guide him after Allah (has withdrawn guidance)? Will ye not then receive admonition? It is viewed by certain Muslim mufassir that the above evident is related to standpoint of unbelievers of Makkah who exposed arrogant against the message given to the Prophet (pbuh). They humiliated him as if the divine message is irrelevant and false.
33
The Qur’Ān, 59:11
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They never believed in the day of judgment which all human beings will be asked accountability on what they did during their lifetimes in this temporarily world. The word ... arabic type ... (a person who takes as his god his own vain desire) is considered as strong humiliating question addressed to them as they simply follow their desire without logical argument. The desire cannot bring them into the right thing as it is baseless and human thought, in many cases, are characterized with weaknesses. Thus, they need the divine guidance to come into the right thing in term of way of life. MuÍammad Darwazah ensures on segment of human intellectuals who eulogize their thought and even become so fanatic without having any desire to turn to the idea of others which has stronger argument. So, the above evident is an admonition given to all Muslims to refrain from such kind of tendencies and to turn into the law given by God instead making their desire as the replacement.34 God consciousness could be regarded as important factor which represents as gift to those who observe His rules in term of conceptualizing the science. The evident that science is granted through inspiration can be seen in this verse which says, So fear Allah; for it is Allah that teaches you. And Allah is well acquainted with all things.35 The above evident indicates that the key to the science a believer by utilizing his intellectualism will be granted the science. Ibn Taimiyyah confirms on the important of that ilhĀm in which he said, The study or learning cannot entirely be achieved through preparation and seriousness of efforts in fact there is undeniable part of natural aspect which be achieved through the inspiration of Allah.36 Likewise, Ibn Sina confirmed on the importance of ilhĀm in conceptualizing the science in which in he said,
34
35 36
MuÍammad ÑIzzat Darwazah, al-TafsĪr al-×adĪth, (Cairo: DĀr IÍyĀ al-Kutub alÑArabiyyah, 1383H), vol.3, pp.85-86. The Qur’Ān, 2 : 282 AÍmad FuĀd BĀshĀ, MuÍĀÌarah al-Ta’ÎĪl al-IslĀmĪ li al-‘UlËm al-Kawniyyah, IIIT, Cairo, 1993, pp.5-6
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At home (during the study) I put the light in front of me before started reading and writing. Whenever I felt sleepy and tired I had a drink until I regained my strength then I returned to read. During the sleep I saw the dream on the problem which I encountered during the study until everything became so clear in my eyes and was able to conceptualize the science of logic, natural science, and math.37 In another occasion, Ibn Sina told his experience in the conception of science in which whenever he was encountered with certain problem he took an ablution and went to the mosque to offer two rakaÑah of prayers. He invoked God to make it easy and open up his heart through the inspiration. The purpose of taqwĀ' is to get the guidance with the truth in term of study pertains to the natural world. The natural sciences from the Islamic perspective should be linked with the belief as it is conceptualized through their mind as a gift from the God. All sciences such as the physics, chemical, science of anatomy, medicine, astronomy, botany, etc. all of them give proof which caused the belief to the Creator of the universe. Human beings after their creation have specific mission to undertake the task of establishing the truth, justice, and virtues to secure peaceful atmosphere. In order not to go into the wrong direction, they are equipped with Ñaql (lit. mind). The science given to Adam is, among other thing, due to the excellence to distinguish the true and false. The character of the intellectualism occupies the highest level of perfection as God ensures ‘We have indeed created man in the best moulds/best stature’,38 which clearly indicates that human intellectualism is superior upon all other creatures. On the first place, the function of human mind is to comprehend the divine message which gives the detail about the guidance. It is inevitable that all human beings share the same feelings about the truth. Even without religious guidance they may be aware what the truth is all about. The only one thing is that the concept of the truth
37 38
Ibn Abi ‘Asiah, ÑUyËn al-AnbĀ fĪ ÙabaqĀt al-AŢibbĀ, p.437 The Qur’Ān, 95:4.
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which may be discerned by intellectualism is not equal as it has been outlined in the revelation. Even in religious matter, Muslims are not allowed to follow blindly. God condemns taqlĪd (lit. blind imitation) which can be seen in this textual evident that says, And pursue not that of which thou hast no science; for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the day of reckoning).39 The intelligence that is given to mankind is basically due to the fact that undertaking the task as vicegerent will encounter with delicate situation in which, they will not be able to cope unless through the use of intellectualism. Apart from that, that this worldly temporarily life represents the test to achieve the eternal happiness in the Hereafter. Thi is the evident from the Qur’Ān which says, He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed: and He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving.40 Science and Belief Muslim scholars divide science into the legitimate (Ñilm al-sharÑĪ) and the science of the universe. The first is the science, which its sources come from the revelation. This is mainly related with ‘aqĪdah, values, general concept of existence, and human relation in the society. The second deals with the universe and the use of senses to come out with the true concept of science. Some scholars view that one-eight of the Qur’Ān deals with general science, while the rest mainly deal with Islamic creeds, devotion (‘ibĀdah), legal aspects, history, and moral values. It is not strange that Islam is very much concerned with the science to guide mankind into the right path, to confirm oneness deity, sovereignty, and to take benefits from what God’s creation to achieve happiness in this world and hereafter. According to YËsuf QaraÌĀwĪ the science includes the study of natural sciences (ÑulËm al-ŢabĪÑiyyah), chemical, biology,
39 40
The Qur’Ān, 17:36. The Qur’Ān, 62: 2.
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astronomy, medicine, and engineering which are mainly based on experimentation. The true science is the one, which causes the belief.41 It is unfortunate that some scholars view the science which is limited in the study of religion. The word ‘ilm includes the study of the universe, biology, chemistry, as well as other branches of sciences. To study the relation between sciences and religion is much more important than the deepening one aspect of religious studies. The field of astronomy was also given sufficient attention by Muslim scientists. Ibn al-Haytham was so much concerned toward the link of religion with science. He was scienceable and highly respected the Shari’ah. He invented the compass to know the direction of the qiblah. In addition, he ascertained the prayer times and the time of appearing of the moon at the first month of Ramadan. Such kind of thing cannot be done unless a person has great ambition to offer obedience toward God through prayer, fasting, and devotion. Musa al-Khawarizmi he invented the math to fulfill the needs in term of calculating distribution of inheritance and the will, laws and commercials. All books written by Muslims on natural sciences give indication on the link of the authors with the belief. Ibn Sina, for instance, said, ‘We asked Allah SWT to protect us from the wrong direction and to guide us into the right path as He is the only One Who offers His mercy.’ Whenever he was encountered with any difficulty he took an ablution and then went to the mosque to offer the prayer. He invoked Allah to open up his heart and make it easy for him. One of the doctors in the fourth century of hijrah elaborated the importance of sincerity for the cause of Allah SWT in which he said, ‘I have great ambition in knowing the right medicine until Allah opened the way for my desire to reveal the hidden aspect to study the thing which is beneficial for mankind. Allah had provided the cure through the plantation on earth, the animals that work on earth and those who live in the ocean, and also from the mining in the earth all of them contained the cure as token of mercy and kindness of Allah SWT. In view of this, Ibn Sadr al-Din, one of the experts on the anatomy of
41
Views of QaraÌĀwĪ quoted by Jamal MuÍammad MuÍammad al-HanĪdĪ in Tarbiyyah ‘UlamĀ al-ÙabĪÑiyyah wa al-Kawniyyah, DĀr al-WafĀ, 2000, p.43
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animal organs said, ‘Those who do not know the shape and anatomy will be difficult in knowing the Lord’.42 Muslim scholars regard the important link between the legitimate science (‘ulËm al-sharÑiyyah) and the natural sciences. The science of anatomy, according to them, is one of the means to reach understanding about maÑrifatullah. One of great expert on the astronomy said that the science of astronomy is to be studied by everyone as all Muslims should be concerned in matter of the religion and its rules as the astronomy will lead to identify the signs of unity of God, knowing His mighty, wisdom, and perfection of His creation. It is unknown in the history of Islam that an expert in the field such as the physic, chemistry, and medicine exclude themselves from the Islamic tenet (al-‘aqĪdah al-IslĀmiyyah). Medical Science The Islamic religion highly emphasizes the importance ŢahĀrah (lit. cleanliness or hygienic). It has been made as obligatory task that a Muslim must do it before performing the prayer. The concept of ŢahĀrah (lit. hygiene) is binding upon individual in which the ritual service will be considered invalid without doing it. This is the evident from the Qur’Ān, which says, O Ye who believe when ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bath your whole body. But if ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sands or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands. Allah doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete his favour to you, that ye may be grateful.43
42
43
Haji Khalifah, ‘Kashfu al-Dhunun’, Dar al-Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, Lebanon, n.d., vol.1, p.409. The Qur’Ān, 5:6
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The Prophet (pbuh) even ensured that cleanliness is a part of the belief. While in the community level, the Prophet requires to make the beauty of environment in which he said, ‘God looks handsome (jamĪl) and loves the beauty (yuhib al-jamĀl), good and loves the goodness (Ţayyib yuÍibbu al-Ţayyib), clean and loves the cleanliness (naÐĪf yuÍibbu al-naÐĀfah)’.44 Islam which is considered as natural religion, in the field of medicine initially focuses on the prevention by following the divine precepts in consuming the food. Based on the Prophetic tradition the belly of human beings is regarded as source of decease (bayt al-da). Regardless of achievements of in the hand of scientists to discover the medicine in fact, in many cases, may cause side effects. More importantly, human beings metabolically have different system in the sense that not all medicine which is suitable for a person could give the remedy to others. We found in the Muslim religious text to maintain the physical fitness a person should take precaution in consuming the food as the evident says, Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah; that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form).4545 In order to reach into the perfection, human beings are advised to be excessive in consuming food the text says, O Children of Adam Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: but wast not be excess, for Allah loveth not the wasters).46 The Prophet describes that physical aspect of human beings should not be annihilated or even tortured rather it needs the proper care. The physical fitness is ultimately aimed at struggling to establish justice,
44
45 46
MuÍammad b. ÑÔsĀ b. Sawrah b. MËsĀ b. ÖahĀk al-TirmiÐĪ AbË ÑÔsĀ (d.279H), Sunan al-TirmiÐĪ, tahqĪq wa taÑlĪq AÍmad MuÍamamad ShĀkir wa MuÍammad ÑAbd al-BĀqĪ, (Cairo: Shirkah wa Maktabah MuÎtafĀ BĀb al-HalabĪ, 2nd edition, 1395H/1975M), vol.5, p.111. The Qur’Ān, 5 : 3 The Qur’Ān, 7 : 31
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goodness, and peace in the community. JihĀd gives the sublime meaning, which is not related with extremism. According to the Prophetic statement a Muslim should maintain the physical fitness, as the work of jihĀd needs great effort to eradicate all kinds of negative attitude in this world. A person who enjoys physical fitness can only do this. The Prophet encourages taking the healthy food to consume the things which have been declared as lawful. The status of those who enjoy the physical fitness is at higher level compared with those who are weak. The Prophetic tradition says, ‘A believer who has physical fitness is better and much favored by God compared to those Muslims who are weak’.47 There are ample evident from the tradition to undertake the physical exercise such as ‘teach your children about archery and swimming’. The benefit of exercise is not just related with physical maintenance but it is the one which determines the intellectual power. Intellectualism may not be functioning to come up with new ideas whenever physical organs are in limbo. In view of this, the Prophet (pbuh) said, ‘Intellectual safety is highly dependent on physical fitness (al-Ñaql al-salĪm fĪ al-jism al-salĪm). Medical science or science as framed within the Prophetic tradition is mostly related with al-Ţib alwaqĀĪ' (medical prevention). All senses that God created need to be fed sufficiently to maintain the healthiness. The Prophet (pbuh), again, remind us on the importance of taking care on each organ by giving them their rights as the tradition says, ‘your body has its own right, eyes have their own rights, etc.48 The example of medical prevention, it can be referred to the ÍadĪth of the Prophet (pbuh) in he said, ‘We are the nation in which we never consume any food unless we feel hungry. Whenever we consume the meal we never let our belly becomes full’.49 At present, medical doctors are of the view that within
47
48
49
Muslim b. al-×ajĀj AbË al-×asan al-Qusheiri al-NisĀbËrĪ, al-Musnad al-SaÍĪÍ alMukhtasar bi Naql al-ÑAdl IlĀ RasËlillah Øallallahu Ñalayhi wa sallam, tahqĪq MuÍammad FuĀd ÑAbd al-BĀqĪ, (Beirut: DĀr IÍyĀ al-TurĀth al-ÑArabĪ, n.d.), vol.4, p.2052. MuÍammad b. ÑIsmĀÑĪl AbË ÑAbdullah al-BukhĀrĪ al-JaÑfĪ, al-JĀmiÑ alMusnad al-ØaÍĪh al-Mukhtasar min UmËr al-RasËlillah Øallalahu Ñalayhi wa sallam wa sunnanihi wa ayyĀmihi (ØaÍĪh al-BukhĀrĪ), (Beirut: DĀr ÙËq al-NajĀt, 1422H), vol.3, p.29. Ibn MĀjah AbË ÑAbdullah b. YazĪd al-Quzwainy, Sunan Ibn Majah, (Cairo: DĀr IÍyĀ al-Kutub al-ÑArabiyyah, n.d), Vol.2, p.1093.
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the belly of human beings should be made into three compartments for the air, food, and water. Healthiness is the greatest niÑmah that God granted to mankind. They are required to maintain it to perform the task of fighting against evil deeds, injustice, and exploitation. In the light of this, Ibn al-Qayyim says, Whoever takes the reflection on the nature of guidance given by the Prophet, a person will find it the most complete one to maintain the healthiness based on precautionary measure of consuming the food, drinking water, housing, air, sleeping and awakening. Whenever it is done fairly that complies with physical aspect, environment, age, and tradition, it will lead into perpetual physical fitness.50 One of the Prophetic statement describes on the first question will accounted to a person in the Day of Judgment says, ‘have you protected your body by drinking cold water’? The body of human beings need proper care and should not be forced to do the job beyond the capacity. The Prophet (pbuh) denied three companions who, one of them made vow to observed the whole night performing the night vigil prayer. The second, promised to do fasting continuously without having any break, and the third wanted to get abstain from getting married. Then, the Prophet said to them, ‘I am the closet person among you to God. I stand up to pray at night and also sleep, I perform fasting and also make it break for ifŢĀr, and I also got married. Whoever is against my way of life, then, he will not be regarded as my followers’. Ecology and Environment Another contribution given by the message of Islam is related with preventive ecological system. To attain the happiness, human behavior should maintain modernization and environmental preservation. There are certain rules and principles to be observed to maintain ecological balance. Again, maintaining environment is closely related with hygienic and cleanliness. The example can also be referred in the ÍadĪth of the Prophet prohibiting people to do urine in the static water, in public place, shadow of trees which will lead the curse from Angles
50
QarĀÌawĪ, YËsuf, op.cit., p.148.
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and other pious people in this world. During the hajj season all pilgrims are not allowed to contaminate the environment by cutting trees and killing animals. YËsuf QaraÌĀwĪ views that the city of Makkah and its surrounding areas need to be preserved. Neither animals nor trees to be cut unless it is felt needed. If we look at the climate in gulf countries with high heat of sons, then, it is dire need to preserve to maintain greenery to give benefit to people.51 Environmentalists can take a lot of benefit from HadĪth of the Prophet which highly support their program to maintain the good condition. In one occasion the prophet tradition says, ‘Who cut the trees of sidrah, he will be flushed his head with fires.52 Sidrah is the name of a tree which only grows in the desert in which, people take benefit as shadow especially in high temperature. It becomes more obvious that to let the trees grow and not to cut it without any reasons, indicates that the Prophet (pbuh) idea proceed other human theory to keep ecological balance. The concept of fasĀd (lit. corruption) in the Qur’Ān is also related with the corruption of ecological system and environmental pollution. It gives an illustration on the attitude of previous nation such as Thamud who misused the bounties that God gave simply because following their whim and desires. The consequences of misusing the God’s facilities caused, at the end, curse for them as we found in this evident, (All) these transgressed beyond bounds in the lands. They heaped therein mischief. Therefore did thy Lord Pour on them a scourge of diverse chastisements: For thy Lord is (as a Guardian) on a watch tower.53 Similar case which happened to other nation as they were heedless to follow the truth in using the bounties of God,
51
See QaraÌĀwĪ, YËsuf, al-Sunnah Masdaran li al-MaÑrifah wa al-×aÌĀrah, DĀr alShurËq, Cairo, 1998, pp.142-143. 52 MuÍammad b. ÑIsmĀÑĪl AbË ÑAbdullah al-BukhĀrĪ al-JaÑfĪ, al-JĀmiÑ alMusnad al-ØaÍĪh al-Mukhtasar min UmËr al-RasËlillah Øallalahu Ñalayhi wa sallam wa sunnanihi wa ayyĀmihi (ØaÍĪh al-BukhĀrĪ), (Beirut: DĀr ÙËq al-NajĀt, 1422H), Vol.3, p.67. 53 The Qur’Ān, 89:11-14.
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There was for Saba, aforetime, a Sign in their home land two Gardens to the right and to the left. Eat of the Sustenance (provided) by your Lord, and be grateful to Him: a territory fair and happy, and a Lord OftForgiving. But they turned away (from Allah), and We sent against them the flood (released) from the Dams, and We converted their two garden (rows) into: gardens producing bitter fruit, and tamarisks, and some few (stunted) Lote trees.54 The Prophet (pbuh) encouraged human beings to plant trees in their environment and to make greenery which complies with the concept of maintaining the environment as the tradition says, ‘Any Muslim who plants the plantation (man gharasa gharsan), the fruit which is produced and later consumed becomes a part of charity (îadaqah), and even some of them are stolen, again, it becomes îadaqah until the Day of Judgment’.55 This Íadīth talks about the behavior of one of the companions who was seen by others. Conclusion All the injunction and prohibition in the Qur’ān represent the absolute truth as it represents the words of God. The divine guidance is not confined in the right and wrong in terms of social conducts and interhuman relations. It expands beyond the concept of science. The prohibition of consuming pork and drinking alcohol, for instance, it brings the negative implication related with the health aspect of human beings. Likewise, earning the livelihood based on lawful and truthfulness will bring about happiness. A person who ignores the truth and exploit others will lead him into the mental disorder. The Qur’ān provide the complete guidance in which the concept of worship known as Ñibādah. The conception of science in the hands of
54 55
The Qur’Ān, 33: 15-16. MuÍammad b. ÑIsmĀÑĪl AbË ÑAbdullah al-BukhĀrĪ al-JaÑfĪ, al-JĀmiÑ alMusnad al-ØaÍĪh al-Mukhtasar min UmËr al-RasËlillah Øallalahu Ñalayhi wa sallam wa sunnanihi wa ayyĀmihi (ØaÍĪh al-BukhĀrĪ), (Beirut: DĀr ÙËq al-NajĀt, 1422H). Vol.3. p.103.
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scholar could also be considered as an act of worship. In view of this, the Prophet made clear that there will not be anything left after the death of a person which would bring the reward for him except three things. One of them is the science which gives benefit to others. All legal injunctions pertaining to the al-halāl and al-íarām are to be observed in all space and times to give guarantee of reaching into the perfection of humanity. Since the Qur’ān embodies the words of God, then, it has no shortcoming in terms of edifice, concept, and legal aspect. It has been agreed by Muslim scholars and scientists whenever there is contradiction between scientific discovery, the Qur’ān always prevails in responding the issue.
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Causes and Consequences of Western Extreme Negativism against Islam – Will Such Negativism Ever End? How? Why or Why Not? Ghyasuddin Ahmed Ph. D.* Abstract: Human bad manners of blame games, corruptions, crimes, deceptions, dislikes, greed, hate and turns and twists divide people and create most problems in the society. Since the beginning of industrialization human bad manners have increased many folds in recent years and perhaps reached the highest level resulting in the demise of Soviet communism in early 1990s and the free market economy or capitalism in 2008. After communism Islam became the undeclared enemy of the West that led to the tragic events of terrorism on September 11, 2001. No doubt such heinous acts are absolutely unacceptable and unjust, these gave the few most influential and powerful people in the West to demonize Islam and dehumanize the Muslims for their vested interests. These are the tiny ‘invisible’ interest groups of who come from different sectors of the society and they always benefit from societal chaos, conflicts, confusions and even wars. Justifiably the West went to war to punish and eliminate the terrorists ignoring totally the other side of story that made Muslim world hostile with the West – the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. This is the major cause of Muslim dissatisfaction around the world. To show their anger and dissatisfaction with the USA we saw people dancing and showing their happiness and joy on the streets in the Middle East immediately after destruction of the Twin Towers after the 911 attacks! The truth on Muslim anger was best enumerated by the Pew Research Centers and in a few interviews to the media by a top ranking ex-CIA agent, Michael Scheuer who was
*
Faculty & Sociology Program Coordinator, Dept. of Sociology, Social work and Criminal Justice, Virginia State University.
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assigned to monitor and track bin Laden. In one interview he says, “We have yet to find a politician who is willing to tell the American people the truth” on the causes that divide the Muslims and the West. Instead of seriously trying to resolve the differences between the Muslims and the West, those tiny but most powerful interest groups are heavily engaged – more openly in slandering and smearing Islam and have launched propagandas 24/7 to destroy any good images and names that Islam ever had. This paper discusses the causes and consequences of the prevalence of extreme negativism against Islam in the West through a theory that he calls the Residual Rules. Two systemic models have also been developed to show the various linkages that led to such extreme negativism against Islam. President Clinton’s recent remark on the Middle East Conflict that Netanyahu killed the peace process and a large section of evangelical US Congressmen are making it impossible to end the conflict. The paper also raised many important issues and suggested few measures to improve relationships between the Muslims and the West. Key Words: Extreme Negativism; Jefferson and the Quran; Residuals Rules Theory; Tiny Vested Interest Groups; Competing Religions; Invisible Coalitions; Muslim distrust; Jihad; Coercive Diplomacy; Women’s rights; Presidents Carter & Clinton, Scheuer.
Backgrounds Islam Before September 11, 2011 Before the terrorist attacks on September 11, popularly known as 911 Islam was seen and relatively tolerated more positively in the USA but after these attacks Islam is now considered most negatively by the vast majority of the people not only in the USA but also around the world. The following are few positive aspects about Islam in the USA, since its independence more than two hundred years ago: The founders of the US Constitution studied all major religious and legal histories of the world including that of the Holy Qur’an (or Koran/Coran). Thomas Jefferson, according to Hayes, 2004, (as well as George Washington) bought English translation of the Holy Quran2
2 After the spread of the news that Jefferson studied the Quran those who dislike and hate Islam started to flood the internet Websites with only one side of the story that
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(spelled as the Coran) to study Islamic Laws popularly known Sharia when Jefferson was a Law student at William and Mary College to study Islamic family laws (Hayes) [1]. Later Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence that included the provision equality between all human beings. This idea of Jefferson might have come from his in-depth study of the Quran. This is because the Old Testament or Taurat made the Jews as the only chosen people of God, while the New Testament or Injil considers ‘Eve’ as the original sinner that brought us in this corrupt and tempted world from the Heavens. This makes women inferior to men in Christianity. Contrary to the above inequity clauses in the Old and New Testaments, the Holy Quran most explicitly made equity, fairness, freedom, and justice for all as the basic Islamic ideals but very few people know or admit this obviously either to benefit from their views due to dislikes, egos and lack of knowledge on or about Islam. Jefferson also used the Quran to know more about Islamic culture and laws in his dealing with the North African blockade in collecting ‘bribe’ or fees from the Americas and the Europeans [2]. Ironically the Declaration of Independence was recognized by the founders of the US constitution but equality between people was not given to the minorities for nearly 200 years after the declaration. Only the Social Revolution, successfully led by the late Reverend Martin Luther King. Jr. changed the situation towards equality between races. Islam however remains attractive to many people because of its provisions of equity, fairness, justices, peace, righteousness, simplicity and tolerance. Whether or not all or few followers of Islam practice these provisions are different – one always finds differences between idealism and its practices by people of all backgrounds – irrespective of age, ethnicity, race, religion or any other backgrounds.
he bought the Quran as a preparation to go to war with the North African countries as they were involved in piracies with Western Ships passing beside Muslim territories. They are totally ignoring the fact that Jefferson bought the Quran when he was a law student. According to Hays he also bought an Arabic Quran to learn the language. No doubt Hays made a very negative comment on Jefferson’s classification and treatment of Islam, his paper provided many positive information of why Jefferson really read the Quran. The first elected Muslim Congressman (Ellison) took the Oath of Office by holding Jefferson’s copy that is preserved in the US Library of Congressmen.
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Because the Holy Quran challenges the Christians and Jews on the two basic principles (i.e. Jews as God’s only chosen people and Eve as the original sinner) and the concept that Jesus as the Son of God are most contagious issues between these three religions. For these reasons some religious leaders in the West want Islam to be destroyed or eliminated and some of them openly show their anger by burning the Qur’an, making caricature of the Prophet Mohammed or openly declare that it is the “responsibility of America to destroy Islam” [3]. Islam around the World after 9/11 Attacks Since these tragic events Islam is labeled and viewed by those who dislike and hate Islam as the most dangerous, militant, terrorist’s and a violent religion. Some Muslims having very little and no knowledge on their religion take sides the people of other religions to demonize and criticize Islam! Now it almost stands alone against all major faiths - as if it is a ‘cult” and these people also say that Islam is not even relevant to the 21st century post-modern world! Islam is labeled today as antidemocratic, anti-development, anti-modern education, anti-equal rights or anti-women’s right and anti- to anything good in the society! The Sharia or Islamic law is labeled as most barbaric! All these are contrary to the basic ideals / tenets of Islam. Knowing the true ideals of Islam is utmost important and therefore obligatory to people of all faiths and more so by all educated and influential people around the World – the capitalists, educationists, intellectuals, media personalities, politicians, religious leaders and even those who do not even believe in any religion. Living and working with people of different or no faith requires one to know, tolerate and understand the true cultures and ideals of all background faiths and people. If we know the culture, religion and tradition of other people that will be true diversity – because ‘knowledge is power’. Knowing other people, their culture, religions and traditions does not mean that one has to accept or practice those. However, it is needed for accommodation, assimilation, harmony and peace among and between different peoples in this global society. Because people lack knowledge on religion and more so they know very little, if any of Islam knowing the true ideals of this religion will remove the usual negativity against it. For this reason the vested interest groups of all walks of life take advantage of common people’s ignorance to propagate ideals that are not true of all backgrounds. The vested tiny groups’ propagate 24/7 (24 hours) to convert or make people to believe in whatever is propagated against any ideal, issue or problem.
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Fitting the Residual Rules Theory to Explain the Causes of Extreme Negativism against Islam Because of few tiny groups’ vested aims, goals, interests, missions, greedy-needy objectives Islam is extremely negativity portrayed by all possible ways by the interest groups. Misunderstanding against Islam therefore, remains high and it will remain as such as long as those groups’ gain from such activities, efforts and wrongful deeds directly or indirectly benefits them. These few groups constantly abuse or use fear and scare tact against Islam that the Muslims are going to do harm or kill all non-Muslims or forcefully convert them to Islam or will establish Muslim Sha’ria Laws in the West! In fact such residual groups mostly ‘rule’ the society directly or indirectly. In a normal curve the few people always reside at the two ends of the normal curve & these are the people rule the society directly or indirectly that I call the ‘residual rules theory’. It is being analyzed and discussed in this paper. I have introduced this concept in 2002 while writing a research paper on ‘police brutality, as perceived and experienced by the minority Students of Virginia State University. This I introduced as a theory in the Annual meetings of the Southern Sociological Society held in Atlanta, GA in 2004[4]. Since then I have used this concept to explain some other societal phenomena and most recently in the paper entitled “Human Bad Manners are Great Hurdles for President Obama to Bring the Changes He Promised” during his election in 2008 and presented it at the annual meeting of American Sociological Association’s refereed roundtable held in August 2011 at Las Vegas, Nevada [5]. How Residual Rules Theory [5] Works As has been stated before, only a tiny fraction of the total population of the country is usually responsible for bringing and initiating changes in the society. The two tiny groups of total population represent the extremely bad and the good; the negative or the positive or the non-righteous and the righteous humans in all societies and they reside at the two extreme ends of a normal curve – call the residuals. These residual people or entities gear and steer the vast majority of the people by their bad or good activities, deeds and manners that directly or indirectly rules the societies. The bad or wrong actions of people require the good people or management groups to make constitutions, laws, policies, regulations and rules to govern the groups, institutions, organization and societies. On one side reside the negative residuals those who are always busy in doing bad or wrongful acts or deeds that require the criminal justice systems. So, the actions of bad residual group necessitate the societies establish / make laws, norms, 165
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regulations and rules. For this reason I call this process as the residual rules theory3. Various Interest Groups’ Work against Islam The various tiny negative residual groups representing the economic, intellectual, media, political, religious (including sects) or social entities are constantly busy in doing harm or good to the common people. Such tiny groups’ actions later become the common culture of the society as most people are too busy with their hustle and bustle of normal day today activities and do not have interest or time to know or validate what is being depicted, needed or said in the media by those interest groups. In reality these tiny vested interest groups become the breakers and makers of culture, norms, traditions and values – they even change or use the religious ideals that may not be supporting their corrupt and deceptive agendas. However, one should remember that there are good and bad people among all populations in all societies. Let us examine such groups’ activities. 1. Economic Groups – the Unfair Capitalists [See the Systemic Model A on Page 6]: Freedom is human nature (the wild self) as well as human manner (the socialized or rationalized self). So, the free market economy is both human nature as well as manner but any freedom must be come with responsibilities and this is when human natures split from human manners. Human manners are therefore, to be exercised most cautiously and responsibly to keep the tempted people away from doing wrongful acts that not only harm the general masses but also the ‘bad guys’. For this reason societies make constitutions, laws, norms, regulations and rules to control the greedy-needy selfish desires, goals, interests, natures, temptations and wants. Because of the ‘tempted unholy human
3 Abbott Ferris, a sociology professor of Emory University asked the same question that people have been asking about the Functional Theory that it was developed without any formal research. My reply to the audience was current events or phenomena can be explained or theorized as they unfold without any formal research through obtrusive, personal or ‘empirical observations’ in the media or professional discourses and interactions. However, this concept was recognized while writing the research report on ‘police brutality’. For a tiny few brutal policemen the whole police force gets the blame. The audience seemed to be satisfied with the answer as there was no counter question or discussion.
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manners’ the free market capitalism failed in 2008. Even after the failure of capitalism such ‘practitioners of freedom without responsibility’ are arguing or insisting that there should be no regulations and regulators. If regulations and regulators are in place and those are implemented we would not have ended up with all economic messes found in most advanced societies. Regulations and regulators are needed to check our corrupt, deceptive and irresponsible behaviors in all societies. We only want to make money or wealth by all possible means but are forbidden to use illegal paths to achieve such goals or success. Unfortunately such regulations even do not stop those who only want to adventure or take chances so that they cannot be caught or they use corrupt means to evade laws, regulations and rules to gain money, resource and wealth by all possible means. For this reason the Holy Quran, Chapter 84 (Dealing with Fraud) opens up with such bad human manner,… ‘Woe to those that deal with fraud, those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure, but when they have to give by measure or weight to men give less than due’ (84:1-3) [6a]. Due to lack of knowledge most people do not agree or know or understand that Islam is pro-capitalism, pro-democratic, pro-modern or even pro-secularism4 or even socialism. Islam does not prohibit people to become rich as long as it is achieved through most equitable, honest, just, responsible and righteous ways. According to Islam rich persons have to look after the well beings of all disadvantaged or poor people of the society. Islam, like all other religions forbids bribery, cheating, cooking of the books or corruptions, deceptions, gambling or making excessive profits or forbid taking or giving usury (popularly known as interest) or any other wrong doings of corruption, deception and unjust acts. Both righteous and wrong doing people are found in all religions. Therefore those who are righteous they always tend to follow that path but the super rich wrong doers do not like or want such righteous people because of their business and trade interests or goals. Containing the corrupt and deceptive wealthy is almost impossible in any society irrespective of religion or other backgrounds of the population of that society because money and wealth can buy almost anything or almost everything in this greedy-needy world. So, the
4 Religious tolerance is explicit in Chapter 2 Verse 256 and the whole Chapter 109. No doubt non-Muslims are critical of ‘Jijia’ tax levied to them they should know that Muslims are required to pay Zakat or poor taxes that is not obligatory to non-Muslims.
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economically dishonest and powerful people hate or do not want to see a religion that has many restrictions against their businesses (at times cheating or fake businesses), interests and trades - they would rather be happy if most people of all religions reject all or any restrictions that forbid them to earn as much as possible so as to sale their products or interests – even those that are forbidden in any religion. Furthermore, faith in religion has weakened a lot around the world – more so among the people who are intelligent, rich and want to acquire excessive profits and wealth illegally. Also because of their worldly success many rich people have little or no faith in religion or god as was the case in most societies where Prophets were sent – these are the people who rejected true faith and persecuted those who brought religions. In fact many use religion as a cover to do the wrongful acts through various means. Some (Muslims as well as others) even intentionally commit sins with the hope that in old ages they will repent and seek God’s forgiveness as He is most Forgiving, Generous and most Merciful. So the practice of all wrongful acts is rationalized and used by different people in different ways. Also, most Christians believe that their and Muslim God are two separate entities and Jesus took away the sins of his followers. This later concept is likely to be misunderstood by most common people in that they can do anything legal and illegal and Jesus will save them for any wrong deeds’! With such assurances some people are likely to violate the moral codes. Common sense understanding of this message clearly gives the wrong message that whatever and whenever anyone is engaged in sinful or wrongful acts, they are being saved by Jesus! The concept of Repentance is another factor that is abused or used by both Christians and Muslims to do bad or wrongful deeds that will be forgiven by God when repented. However, repentance and forgiveness are among the highest virtues in both these religions but very few people practice these ideals in their day today dealings. In fact revenge became a popular culture among most people around the world. No doubt human dishonesties prevailed throughout human history it seems to have increased many folds in the recent times that also failed the two economic systems – the capitalism and the communism. The definition and concepts of chastity, equity, fairness, justice and morality are being abused, changed and used in all societies mainly due to greed and temptations. Greed and temptations first come in fulfilling the basic needs but later ends up in greed. Because Islam wants its followers to 168
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strictly follow its ideals or prohibitions that made the corrupt and the deceptive super riches in all societies. The increase of dislikes and hates of Islam and the Muslims clearly suggest that this religion is the target of those who benefit mostly from their dislike and hate. Anti-Islamic activities have increased many folds since the demise of communism and the West allowed few individuals to say or do anything against Islam under the cover of ‘freedom of speech’ without any regard to the fact that ‘any freedom comes with responsibility’5 (“one’s liberty ends where another person’s nose starts”). In reality this definition of liberty is not being practiced by most people around the world. It is being used or abused depending on issues or problems at hand with most governments and people around the world. Any top executive (President or Prime Minister) of the government who is religious will let his / her ‘diehard priests’ and followers to do or say anything against other ideals or faiths behind the back of ‘secularism’, openly using appeasing rhetoric to their followers. President W Bush’s administration violated many principles of secularism against Islam and the Muslims. If the situation advantages the leaders and their ‘diehard’ followers the leaders will allow its followers to do anything to damage, destroy and harm the other ideals and their followers. His administration at times played the role of silent spectators but openly appeased the Muslims with rhetoric that Islam is a peaceful religion! If such leaders truly practiced freedom with responsibility the world would have been a much better or peaceful place. Therefore, our leaders do not hesitate to take cover of secularism totally ignoring the responsibility attached to it. Most of these tiny deceptive groups are the unfair capitalists, and the same tiny competing religious groups in association with their allies are also demanding that Muslims must change Islam’s Holy Book – the Quran. In essence what they are indirectly demanding is to remove all prohibitions / restrictions so that their unfair market practices can easily be expanded or used throughout the world.
5 The protest marches in Islamic societies due to the demonization of Islam and demonization of its Prophets by few individuals, before and after the turn of the 21st centuries, caused many deaths, destructions and loss of properties in Muslims countries. These are the examples of freedoms that were allowed or practiced without responsibilities that caused lots of harms to others!!
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Model A: How and Why Extreme Negativism Against Islam Became the Culture - Theoretical Model. Human Nature (the Wild Self) Versus Human Manners (Nurture) (the rationalized self)
Religions are the Moral Fibers of Society: Always Expect Followers to Practice Righteousness Competing & Conflicting Religious Groups and Sects keep Negative Attitudes & Behaviors towards Other Religions / Sects.
Greedy CapitalistsRationalize Wrongful Acts of Corruptions Cover-ups, Deceptions etc. for their Maximum Benefits & Profits.
3) Historical Religious Conflicts 1) Tiny Economic Groups (EC): Few Small Groups of Vocal Religious Leaders + their Zealots & Few Silent Followers Constantly Demonize other Religions.
EC Groups Goals: Want no Regulations and Regulators to earn Limitless Profits – Little or no Concern for General Populations’ Well Beings. Money and Wealth is ‘god’ to them – Practice Freedom without Responsibility.
4) Formation of Invisible Coalition between the Vested Interest Groups
2) Other Groups Used by Capitalists
Each Group Works Independently - Spreads Turns and Twisted or False Ideals of Islam on 24/7 basis by the Vested Interests groups that Making Common Muslims Angry & Dissatisfied, among other causes.
Hire, Own or Use Media, Lobbyists & Leaders, Educated and / or Any Other People with Whatever Resources are Needed to Defend and Get Engaged in Vested Interests & Illegal Acts Wherever & Whenever Needed.
5) Change Culture in Favor of Interests Groups: Common people believe & depend on the Media & Leaders for their knowledge on ideals not known to them & These in turn Make Capitalists’, Religious & other Leaders’ Actions and Opinions as Common Peoples’ 6) 911 Gave the best Opportunity to all interest groups to “Demonize Islam” by Unfair Capitalists, their Agents & Media, Few Competing Religious Leaders & Their Zealots. Islam is made the “Fall Guy”. Criminals are found in all populations & should have been treated that way. Religious identification of the criminals made Islam almost a ‘Cult’ in the West.
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7) Extreme Negativism against Islam is the Outcome that resulted in Endless Conflicts and (Cold and Hot) Wars with the Muslims.
8) Endless Conflict / Terrorism
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These powerful tiny groups also expect that everybody must ignore and overlook their unholy practices of blame games, cheatings, corruptions, deceptions and turns and twists on all of their other wrongful acts, behaviors and deeds. In other words they want such greedy, selfish and unholy acts should go unchallenged so that they can practice their deceptive acts and can take away every penny of the consumers by hook or by crook that consumers are currently earning or even will earn in endless future times! 2. Other Groups Being Used by Capitalists: a) Highly Paid Loyal Agents: Economic power houses or the groups that practice ‘governance of the rich, for the rich and by the rich (GOTRICH) behind the back of Lincoln’s ideal definition of democracy (or government), use a tiny group of highly intelligent people who claim to be highly loyal, moral and extremely patriotic by arguing and presenting right facts to be fiction and false to be true. Their appealing arguments seem so plausible that many common people believe and support those tiny deceptive people. These hired individuals are busy 24/7 to demonize Islam and dehumanize the Muslims. These include a section of the media that become most popular as they are genius in making or telling right to be wrong and wrong to be right. The “Lobbyists” also fall into this category – they are educated, intelligent, motivated and paid (by the vested interest groups) agents of the corrupt and deceptive Capitalists. But they are intellectually corrupt and immoral. They get engaged in influencing and motivating the leaders of economic, media, political and religious sectors so as to break and make laws, rules and regulation in their favor for maximizing their benefits and profits. President Obama is also failing due to the acts of these (agents, lobbyists and few ‘one eyed’ media) most corrupt and powerful actors’ behaviors and their rhetoric. The honest or righteous people cannot operate like these wrong doers. This is because corrupt and deceptive actors are able to change societal cultures according to their likings and wishes. b. Personal or Hired Media and other Leaders for the Interest of the Unfair Capitalists Media is strong force that have changed culture and traditions of the society and some leading media are fiber of the society but the corrupt and unfair capitalists’ and their invisible coalescent groups take it for guaranteed that all their wrongful acts must be tolerated by everybody, 171
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including their governments. So they demand for ‘small governments’ so that these people can continue to practice freedom without responsibility and continue to take away every penny of the common people’s pocket forever as well as every penny the government treasury has. No wonder such ‘deceptive and fake patriotic’ people are allergic to regulations and regulators! These collaborators or their henchmen act according to the guidelines and wishes of their employers. Therefore, econo-politico power houses that dislike and hate Islam or any other faiths or ideals act according to the vested interest groups’ likings and wishes but not for the benefits of the nation or the common people. They usually fail when there is mass movements or revolutions that seem to have already begun – the ‘Middle Easter or Arab Springs’ and protest marches in Europe and it seems to be hatching in the USA too - most large cities are being occupied by angry protest groups who believe that GOTRICH people are most corrupt and deceptive. Print media has declined a lot and the most recent British media demise of Murdoch’s is the best example. People are becoming fed-up with so many media that increase the cost of our living since the same advertisements are shown on many channels of the same owned media groups that increase the cost of products. So more and more media failure is likely and these communications may be taken over by Face Book, Internet, Twitter and all similar social media. These new media are probably going to eliminate the old and traditional media that dominated the society throughout the modern era. Therefore, breaking and making of individuals, culture, democracy or social networks or any other ideas or ideals are likely to be taken over by the social media of the future! The demise of powerful media will change the characters of political landmarks and lobbyists of the country. Elections will be less costly and politicians will not be getting nor needing huge amounts of money to contest elections. Lobbyists will perhaps survive but it will also undergo changes reducing the extreme corrupt practices. Government regulations and regulators need to be more effective and efficient in all societies. The demise of powerful media will change the characters of political landmarks and lobbyists of the country. Elections will be less costly and politicians will not be getting nor needing huge amounts of money to contest elections. Lobbyists will perhaps survive but it will also undergo changes reducing the extreme corrupt practices. Government regulations and regulators need to be more effective and efficient in all societies. 172
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3. Competing Religious Ideals and Values There are serious conflicts between the three Monotheistic Religions, even though they have the same roots and many commonalities. According to the Holy Quran the Jewish claim of “God’s only Chosen People” and the Christian concept of Trinity are not correct. Also Jews and Christians do not accept Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) as the Messenger of God. Conversion to Judaism is not acceptable to the orthodox Jews, while Islam and Christianity are competing religions. It will remain so and will be in conflict with each other as long as human beings live in this world. So the religious leaders of these faiths wish that the other religions did not exist and will try to do anything – some with extremely negative agenda to destroy or eliminate the other religions. The tragic events of 9/11 gave the best opportunity to all religions to demonize Islam and dehumanize the Muslims. Also within each religion and its sects one finds different levels of intolerances between and within or outside of one’s own faith. The 9/11 events made all other religions to take Islam on and demonize it in any manner they or their agents can. Few Christian Priests came up openly and declared that “it is America’s obligation to see that Islam is destroyed” (Presidential Candidate McCain’s Priest Rod Parsley [3], during the 2008 Presidential election). He declared while McCain was present with him that Islam is a false religion and it is American obligation to destroy it! There are other Christian teleevangelists who constantly demonize Islam, 24/7 basis and narrate many stories that are not true of Islam but their convincing arguments, fake presentations and status make people to believe them. Similar attitudes and behaviors were also observed among the Bush administration, including among his cabinet members during his eight years of Presidency. In fact Bush’s slip of the tongue at the Islamic Center of Washington DC that the war on terror is a crusade created doubts about Bush’s sincerity of purpose as he was a ‘born again Christian’ – the most anti-Islamic vocal group in the USA that wants to see the demise of Islam. His administration’s use of illegal ‘torture’ was a ploy to make the Muslims fearful to practice their religions openly. It was a sign “Muslims be careful, you must not practice Islam and if you do you will face the same torture’. Torture was done violating American on legal principle of ‘you are innocent unless proven guilty’ – it was not the case with Muslim suspects and 173
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prisoners. Ironically the Bush administration also used the Muslim countries to ‘torture’ their own citizen without knowing whether or not those were guilty – what a irony! There is no dearth of religious ‘zealots’ in any faith – they view Islam most negatively and will do anything to demonize or destroy Islam. These religious zealots and their leaders in the West that continuously insight the common people against Islam with rhetoric that it is a barbaric, false, militant, terrorist and violent religion. Some such zealots are also engaged heavily in the media to insight the public by misinterpreting the true ideals of Islam. Last but not the least there are also so called Muslims who do not know their religion and are convinced about the propagation against Islam by the West and hardly practice their faith. Such people also like to see that Islam is destroyed. In reality most of us also fail to appreciate and see that whoever follows whatever religion he / she find happiness and peace with that. 4. Invisible Coalition of Interest Groups While demonizing Islam and dehumanizing the Muslims all groups have one common goal – to benefit from it. However, the economic groups, their agents, media and political leaders coalesce for the same monetary and other benefits and goals. All religious groups’ goal is to get or recruit more people to believe in their religions. Also by recruiting more people in their religion the Priests will earn more income from their monthly contributions / donations. Together they form an invisible coalition, though work independent of one another. During this post modern period people are more engaged in entertainments and f.uns than spending times in some constructive or spiritual activities. Therefore, they mostly depend on the Churches, media and their leaders for education and knowledge on religion than from authentic sources. Also people trust their religious leaders for gaining knowledge about other religions and following their own religions. This last fact is the worst situation that a competing religion faces from the religious leaders of other religions as well as from the people who do not want to follow one. Dislike of other cultures and religions is as old as human beings in spite of the fact that most religions have provisions of tolerance as their ideals. The discussions in the preceding pages provide clear ideas and information why Islam is demonized, disliked and misinterpreted intentionally to deceive and fulfill the powerful people’s vested goals, interests and motives. Among all other hurdles religiosity prevents 174
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many – especially the people who follow Islam, not to consume / use many goods and services like alcohol, certain kind of foods, deceptive or fake goods and services, gambling and usury produced or provided by the unfair capitalists. For these reasons the same tiny residual and interest groups interpret or present Islamic ideology by quoting Quranic Verses out of context or by referring to a little or irrelevant verse or verses that do not carry the true messages of Islam. Here is a small example of misinterpretation and misuse of Islamic ideals that I heard in the American media on Jihad. Quranic verses are usually quoted out of context by using less than even a single Verse (9:5) or even a lot of Verses (of the Chapter At–Tauba No. 9 Verses 1 16) and al-Bakara (2: 190-94) [6a. & b] are to be used to truly understand the message(s) on the subject or topic. As we all know and remember that Quranic Verses are not like the 10 commandments, though the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments are incorporated in the Holy Quran. Clearly such short hand explanations or interpretations are done to demonize the religion or to confuse people about Islam because most of those tiny residual groups want Islam to be destroyed or Muslims to leave Islam for the vested interest groups’ goals, missions and objectives discussed throughout this paper. Conclusion [See Systemic Model B Page 12] 1. Reasons for not Winning the War on Terror Like the two sides of a coin terrorism also has two sides – the causes and the effects. President Bush recognized the affects only and waged wars against the actors, ignoring the other side of the issue without any serious attempt for its resolution of the causes of terrorism. It is done under the pretext of our (American) strategic and vested interests in the Middle East. The Bush administration thought that by fear and scare tact and by killing the so called terrorists (many of these people were peace loving innocent people caught by bribing some of the criminals of each country) it will be possible to ‘the Muslim world’ – the sophisticated word for it is: “neo-colonialism”. He was also able to bring Pakistan on his side through ‘coercive diplomacy’ (Collins, 2008) [7] against the will of the common people of that country. So, we got an unwilling partner, Pakistan on American side but that made the war on terror more complex. Only after a decade it became clear now that coercion, fear, scare tact and even torture really do not work. This war also proved that committed but stateless entities, without any conventional weapons can
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keep the superpower and its allies engaged as long as they want through their Improvised Explosive Devices (IED)!! However, some concerned and truly patriotic Americans tried to convince the Bush administration that we needed to address the causes of terrorism as well but Bush was firm in his belief and continued the wars resulting deaths and destruction to thousands of people on both sides that also drained trillions of dollars and probably the current economic crises in the USA as well as elsewhere. Of the groups and individuals that tried to convince the Bush administration for taking actions on two fronts (i.e. causes and actions on terrorism) is the Iraq Study Group (or Baker-Hamilton Commission) representing one each an ex-Supreme Court Judge, an ex-Secretary of State, ex-Congressman and many other influential people [8]. President Carter [9] wrote a book on Palestinian rights and President Clinton recently (September 2011) remarked that Netanyahu killed the peace process. Clinton also believes that peace cannot be achieved because of the US Evangelical Christian Congressmen’s stand that Palestine belongs to the Jews – making peaceful settlement impossible. He further said that ‘those (the US) Congressmen that were over there (in Israel) and working with Netanyahu during the break at the time of his comment, that they’re (US Congressmen) more militant than the orthodox Jews in Israel [10a & b]. The ex-CIA agent responsible to monitor and track bin Laden, Scheuer [11 a & b], enumerated the causes of Muslim dissatisfaction and the cause of terrorism against the West in one of the NBC Meet the Press interviews in 2004 and an another interview in 2006 with the “Frontline” Program of the National Public Radio entitled, ‘Spectacular Hypocrisy" on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East (2006). In this interview Scheuer concluded: “I also think the Israelis are wrong in not looking for a change in the relationship with the United States that would put it more in perspective -- that we are the great power, they are the minor power. I don't think there are a great many American parents who will want to sacrifice their soldiers and children so Israel can maintain the West Bank.
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When that becomes clear, I think Israel's days are numbered as an ally that is never questioned or criticized”. At times the Bush administration talked about Muslim dissatisfaction with the West but did not do anything meaningful to remove such dissatisfaction – behind his back he was a born again Christian that wants to see Islam destroyed. Pew Research Center conducted time series research and found consistently that most Muslims are dissatisfied with the USA in terms of their attitudes and relations (Pew Research Center Reports from 2002 to 2011) [12]. Bush’s actions and utterances probably angered more Muslims than with any other American President. However, he made a declaration for a two state solution of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict – the most important reason for Muslim dissatisfaction. Coming to President Obama era – he has also failed to fulfill the promise he made at his inaugural address as well at the Cairo Speech that he would treat the Muslims with respect and try to resolve America’s problems with the Muslim world. All these failures have also occurred due to the vested interest groups’ concerted efforts. Resolving this conflict will diminish Muslim anger and acts of terror but we in the USA are living in complete denial about the causes and consequences of this straightforward problem. Because we have failed so far to resolve this critical problem it is now taking the tool in terms of uprising – the ‘Arab Spring’. If this trend continues and I believe it will, the sidelining of this problem by the USA will even be very costly for both the USA and the Israelis. I believe that the “Arab Spring” is the outcome of our policies in the Middle East. Youths will be playing greater roles in electing / selecting and running the future governments in the Middle-East and North Africa and our old policies will not be acceptable to the new leaders and rulers in Arab countries. 2. Negativism against Islam is not Justified Some Islamic Ideals and Values that the vested interest groups criticize about, are: 1) Jihad; 2) Women’s rights and status; 3) Islam’s positions on other religions; 4) Islamic laws or Sharia etc. 1) Contrary to the common belief, rhetoric and understanding that Islam’s Jihad is to kill all non-Muslims irrespective of age, gender or 177
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any other backgrounds the Holy Quran prescribes extreme caution and tolerance towards people of no or all faiths. In one Chapter (2: Verse 256) the Holy Book states, ‘there is no compulsion in religion….’ and a short Chapter (#109) devoted to religious tolerance that states, ‘you have your religion and I have mine’ allowing people to practice any religion they choose. Jihad is an Arabic word and it has more than one meaning and the best is the ‘lifelong striving’ (22:78; 25:52; 29:69 & 71:11) so that one can remain steadfast and righteous in this tempted world. Jihad as holy war (2: 190-94 & 9:1-21) occurs rarely while lifelong struggles are human companions that continuously follow us so as to lead a righteous life. To be righteous requires one to constantly be careful, have patience, tolerance, vigilance and the will to keep the actor away from all wrong doings like backbiting, blame games, cheating, corruptions, deceptions and temptations - to name a few. Following a righteous path is the goal of not only in Islam but in all established religions. From these perspectives life struggle is the best type of Jihad for Muslims because that will save them from doing bad or wrongful acts. However, Jihad as Holy War becomes mandatory when Islam or Muslims are oppressed, suppressed or thrown out of their homes (2:190-94) to defend and protect the believers and their religion. From this perspective the Palestinian struggle qualifies them for the Holy War. On the contrary, for common Muslims when asked to state whether they believe in Jihad, they cannot say no because everybody is striving to be on the righteous path in this tempted world. So, as soon as a person says that he or she believes in Jihad, those who extremely dislike or hate Islam, label the person as extremist and ready to ‘kill any innocent people of all other religions’!! Clearly this labeling is wrong and probably intentional on the side of hate mongering people just to prove and show how bad the religion of Islam is. Jihad as holy war cannot be pre-emptive and it cannot be fought when such oppressions or suppressions stop. In religious wars Muslims are also asked to stop fighting when their enemy stops and if the enemy offers peace that must also be accepted by them, if and when such offers are just and equitable. 2) Coming to the question of Women’s rights the West does not want to believe or know that of all the leading religions only Islam gave women the equal rights and the most practical status (2: 228) given to Muslim women some 1400+ years ago. So, when Muslims treat their women unequally it is not Islam that should be blamed – it is the bad mannered Muslims who are to be blamed. Islam is also the only religion that provides property rights to women, though there is controversy about the unequal shares sisters get that needs to be seen from the perspective of 178
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duties, obligations and responsibilities given to men and women in the society. In Islam man is made the provider and protector of all women in the family. So, when sisters get half the property or wealth compared to brothers they do not have any economic burden, obligations or responsibility towards the family. She can use her share of the property on anything she wants, while her brothers are to carry out all the economic, health, security and social burdens, obligations and responsibilities for all in the family. Women’s incomes or wealth or the shares only belong to them and cannot be asked for by men until the women voluntarily give their share or wealth to anybody. Also, in marriage Muslim men are required to pay Mohr or ‘dowry’ (2:229, 23637 & 4:4 & 25) to the wife in accordance with the status or wealth of the ‘would be husband’ and this money can only be spent or used by the wife and cannot be taken back (4:20-21) by the husband. In other culture or religion dowry or bride price goes to the family or the husband. Polygyny or men marrying more than one wife (4:3) is not a free license to Muslim men - rather it is for honoring, respecting and providing shelters to disadvantaged women who might otherwise be mistreated by the adult males of the household [10]. 3) Islam’s Holy Book – the Quran treats the Jews and Christians with special reverence but it is totally ignored by those Christians and the Jews who demonize Islam and dehumanize its followers. Good Christians and Jews are called ‘the People of the Book’ meaning that their Bibles were revealed by the same God that Muslims Worship (2:62, 82 &84). The vested interests groups pick up the Quranic messages that are directed towards the wrong doers, totally ignoring the many extremely positive messages in the Quran about Righteous Jews and Christians. The Quran also divides the Muslims into two groups – the Momin (the righteous Muslims) and the Monafiq (the hypocrite Muslims) who are going to get maximum punishment on the Day of Judgment – even more than those who associate partners with God. In other words the Quran recognizes that there are good and bad believers in all religions. These clearly suggest that it is better to be a ‘non-Muslim’ than a ‘hypocrite Muslim’. The Quran clearly states not to fight the Christians and the Jews on Small matters (29:46) but when they try to oppress or suppress Islam or throw the Muslims out of their homes the Muslims must defend themselves by fighting back and this is Holy War or the Jihad that is the greatest concern of the non-Muslims. Thus the Jihad is for self protection and not for harming and killing anybody of any faith or culture. Living under the domain of one God means that we need to tolerate all human beings as God does – He protects and provides sustenance to all humans and other beings irrespective of castes, creeds or any other 179
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backgrounds. It is like an extended family under the head of one entity. Different members may pursue their ideals that make them different. If they want to live in peace and harmony they have to respect and tolerate one another’s ideals. If they don’t then conflicts and destructions are the outcome and this is what is happening between the people of different religions in spite of the facts that all religions have the provision of tolerance. When God tolerates everybody, as His vicegerents in this corrupt and tempted world human beings are to do the same.
Need for Regulations & Regulators to Control Human Lapses due to the Practice of Freedom without responsibility (due to human
Ideal Responsibility: + Acknowledging and Dealing with the True Problems [causes of terrorism and terrorism itself - we only got engaged in war on terror that made Pakistan the Unwilling Partner*] + Knowledge & understanding of democracy, diversity, freedom and secularism. + Respect and practice of human dignity, equity, honor, justice, mutual care and respect for people of all backgrounds. + Belief, knowledge and respect of different ideologies – more so of religions even if one does not believe in any religion. + Not to blame any ideology or system without checking the human bad behaviors. + Control greed and temptations of blame games, cooking of the books, corruptions, deceptions etc.
Need for Continuous monitoring of individuals, groups and institutions by consumers & the dedicated & honest
Freedoms with Responsibilities must be Practiced to Sustain a Good Society [Definition: ’Ones freedom stops where another person’s nose starts’]
Need for Action Programs + To educate at all levels or reeducate on true ideals and cultures of other people not known to common people. + New educational programs to practice freedom with responsibility
Implement Social Control 1. Religious / Social Ideals and Moral Codes including systems and
Role of lifelong (re-) socialization, (re) education, and (re-) training from Reward and Punishment Perspectives Sum total of Social Environments & Discourses: Actual State of the Society at any Given Time: Too Few Bad and
2. Criminal Justice Systems: Constitution, Laws, Norms, Regulations, Rules and Values for Controlling Corporations & Institutions
Legend: Characteristics, Materials and Situations are described inside the Rectangles showing ‘ideals or true situations’, the same inside the ‘Eggs’ or ‘Circles’ are the needed acts and behaviors to stop people from doing harm to humans who are different in terms of beliefs, cultures, faiths, race and traditions.
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3. Is it Possible to Change Negativism against Islam? a. Regulations and Regulators: Because the cheating and deceptive people always are busy in blame games, cooking of the books and turns and twists to achieve their hidden goals and tempted motives it is the responsibility of the governments to strictly control, monitor, regulate and implement the rules ‘with iron fist’ no matter how much they want to practice freedom irresponsibly. Strict adherence of laws, morals and regulations must continuously be carried out so that cheaters, corrupters and deceptive people are identified and prosecuted on regular basis. Any hidden corrupt, deceptive and hurtful agendas directed towards other people or organization must be continuously monitored, detected, investigated and taken care of by the Judicial system with the assistance and help of the regulators as well as the common people. It is clear that most influential and rich people do not want regulations and regulators so that they can continue to successfully implement their hidden agendas and corrupt and deceptive goals and practices through all possible means. If regulations can be strictly followed and implemented the wrongful activities of the tiny groups can be checked or stopped. But even this measure may not work if the regulators themselves are corrupt or could be influenced through bribery, corruptions, deceptions and nepotism of the vested interest groups as is the case with lobbyists in the USA. This will require another level of regulators and then another … another… there will be no end to this cycle. In essence we have to have more than one check and balance points to find human rationalized bad manners at one of these levels, such corrupt and deceptive people will be caught and brought to justice. b. Education – Both Formal and Informal: Knowledge is power but given the state of affairs with respect to Islam in the West most people will oppose any such attempt to introduce education on Islam but those who do not like this religion is likely to use the cover of secularism to stop any education on Islam or other ideals. No doubt some higher educational institutions have already started courses on Islam and Arabic languages in the USA but their impact will probably be very little. However, something is better than nothing. In the field of sociology a courses on Sociology of Islam in all colleges and universities will be extremely helpful. Many sociology programs have a course on sociology of religion. Efforts must be made in these courses to compare and discuss all religions comparing the true ideals of all established faiths or even no faith. Extreme care needs to be 181
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taken while teaching these courses so that only true ideals are incorporated. Instructor’s biasness must be controlled so that these courses do not become propagation tools of any religion. Even those who do not believe or practice any religion need to have minimum knowledge of all major religions so that people can practice diversity in its true perspective. I believe that studying the basics of all religions will bring better harmony, peace and tranquility between the people of different or no religion and that will be true diversity and will encourage people to show respect for people of all cultures, ideals, religions and traditions’. Today it is a global need to believe and practice true diversity in all societies. Also, education, through mass media, is likely to make better impact in the short run. But most media belong to those who dislike and hate Islam for their vested interests and this is the biggest problem to know and understand Islam better. c. Need to Practice Secularism in its Right Perspectives: Secularism if practiced in its right perspectives will help reduce / remove some negativity and this will make some people to practice diversity in its right perspective. Interest groups and their agendas are the greatest hurdles to achieve or do anything the right ways and those are to be achieved, responsibly. For this reason we have the Criminal Justice system in place in all societies but when most people are misguided or misinformed justice cannot also be carried out the ways it to be practiced. Like religion, the practice of secularism is also done in some irresponsible or wrong ways. And it occurs more when the top executives of the country are more religious minded, as was the case with President W. Bush – a born again Christian, and most of his cabinet and advisors. Secularists believe that governments should not be involved in any religious activities but unfortunately religion is being practiced behind the back of secular ideals when religiosity is strong among the governing group. Because most people (85%+ people of the world) believe in one or the other established religions and it is a part of most of these people’s life. Therefore, governments have the responsibility to maintain harmony and peace between all people and this is diversity. In order to practice diversity all people should know the basics and basis of all religions of the world. People should rather be encouraged to know the true ideals of all religions because knowledge makes people to be more tolerant and understanding. True diversity will work better if people know one another’s culture, religion and tradition. Lack of knowledge inhabits doubts, fears, dislikes and hatred between the people of different 182
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backgrounds and ideals and this is what is happening today, people are fighting one against the other religion without knowing what such conflicts bring dislike, disrespect, distrust and suspension between and among peoples. Continuous and frequent interfaith dialogues and discourses are other means that also help to change peoples’ negative attitudes and views about different cultures and faiths. Such activities have already been started among and between all religious in the USA, expect for those who keep extreme views against one or the other religion. Extreme views are usually formed either due to competition, envy and loss of gains and profits, as is depicted in the two System Models - A and B presented in this paper. d. Violence Begets Violence: We know that violence and unjust acts bring problem and more violence. If we follow the true ideals of any religion we are unlikely to face any problem because most religions have the provision of tolerance but religious zealots do not follow such tolerances. Forgiveness is the highest virtue in almost all religions, Islam included. But people create agendas, issues and plans distorting their religion’s true ideals or misinterpreting the messages so as to get maximum personal / corporate gains and profits out of such acts. In a paper this author enumerated and discussed the various causes and consequences of terrorism and the action needed to control these and presented the paper in the 2007 “Peace Section” of the American Sociological Association’s annual Conference [13] held at New York. 4. Bad Rationalized Manners are Responsible for all Evils – There Cannot be a Utopian Solution Four simple words are utopian solutions – human beings will never achieve such solution and that is why this idea is an Utopia! The four simple words are: “practice freedom with responsibility”. The practice of freedom with responsibility is missing in our selfish and tempted world. Human natures are wild, like all irrational animals’ natures but human manners are polished selves [56] that are modeled on the basis of the ideals of their cultures and those are learned. But we do not always follow the ideals that make our conduct bad or wrong and we
6 Clear distinctions between human natures and manners are made in the paper under Ref [5].
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take such paths when we find that the true ideals cannot or do not let us fulfill the expected ambitions, goals or outcomes. However, the society always expects all human to do good or right or follow the righteous paths. But we have seen in this paper that some people do not follow good or right paths most of the times and most people at different stages of life also do something bad or wrong because of their convenience, greed, needs and temptations. Without rationalization people cannot practice wrongful deeds and once successful in achieving the desired goals with bad or wrongful deeds that become the culture of those who mostly tend to practice non-righteous acts. This way after achieving vast wealth such people also gain powers in the society and believe that money can buy anything and they behave that way. This had been the trend before and this will be the case in future but the difference in its magnitude has increased many folds over time. GOTRICH people will try to the hold their corrupt and deceptive cultures long as they can. But they should look into the current worldwide econo-political-socioreligious environments and trends. We are fighting wars that have deep religious connections or connotations. Western economy is scrambling, ‘Arab Springs’ are changing the political dynamics, fields and environments in the Middle-East, and we have not been able win the hearts and minds of the Muslim as well as the wars on terror. More chaos, confusion, protests and even revolution are hovering around the world – more so around the advanced countries. Successes of globalization seem to have stagnated and at stake and if the world fails to contain the tiny vested interest groups’ to practice their corrupt and deceptive methods of achieving more success and wealth, civil strife and revolutions are on their ways to invade the world. It will be best for them and for the good of the world if the GOTRICH people realize their mistakes and problems and bring back honesty and idealism into their business and other day today practices. Let us close our eyes and try to see the realities of how the home made Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) kept us - the only super power engaged in for a more than a decade and drained trillions of dollars but still we could not be victorious. This calls for true realization of the causes and consequences to take positive steps to resolve the true problems that are haunting us for too long – this is needed for better and peaceful world!! The following Verses reveal; “They (non-Muslims) but wish that you (Muslims) should reject faith……”.(4:89) and “The Unbelievers spend their 184
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wealth to hinder (humans) from the path of God, so they will continue to spend; but in the end they will have (only) regrets and sighs;……” (8:36); “their (non-Muslims’) intention is to extinguish God’s Light (religion) with their mouths: but God will complete His Light even though the Unbelievers detest (it)” (61:8). Muslims find these verses as prophecies and the current extreme dislike, hatred and spending of resources to destroy Islam as the fulfillment of the above prophesies. We have spent trillions of dollars and have lost thousands of lives in wars but instead of destroying Islam more people are now accepting it. These seem to be fulfilling the forecasts made in the Quran that Islam cannot be destroyed – instead more and more people are now accepting it. So, some Muslims are also becoming more religious. However, few are also leaving Islam.
References 1.
Hayes, Kevin J. 2004. How Thomas Jefferson Read the Qur’an. Early American Literature. Vol. 39, No. 2. Pp 247- 261.
2.
Blumenfeld, Samuel L. 2010. Thomas Jefferson’s Quran. New American. TNA Newletter. This is the counter view of why Jefferson bought the Quran (in response to President Obama’s remarks during the Iftar Party at the White House given to Muslims).
3.
Mother Jones Media. Corn, David. 2008. McCain’s Pastor Problem: The Video – a taped Sermon by the Preacher (Rod Parsley) of Republican Presidential Candidate calls on Americans to see the “false religion” - Islam that must be “destroyed”.
4.
Ahmed, Ghyasuddin. 2004. Residual Rules Theory Combines the Functional and Conflict Theories. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Sociological Society held at Atlanta.
5.
Ahmed, Ghyasuddin. 2011. “Human Bad Manners are Great Hurdles for President Obama to Bring the Changes He Promised” presented at the American Sociological Association’s refereed roundtable held in August 2011 at Las Vegas, Nevada. Department of Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice, Virginia, State University (VSU), Petersburg.
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6.
6a. Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. 1989. Translation of the Holy Qur’an (Koran) with Arabic Original Qur’an. Durban, South Africa, Islamic Propagation Center International. [I have mostly used this translation that is published for the nonMuslim readers that replaced the word “Allah” to “God” for non-Muslim readers.]
7.
6b. Pickthall, Mohammed Marmaduke. 1994. The Meaning of the Glorious Qur’an. Falls Church (VA), Halalco Books. [I have also a copy of this translation – I might have used this translation in some quotations from the Quran]
8.
Collins, Liam. 2008. United States Diplomacy with Pakistan Following 9/11: A Case Study on Coercive Diplomacy. WWS 547: The Conduct of International Diplomacy.
9.
Baker and Hamilton Commission Iraq Study Group. 2006. Vintage Books – A Division of Random House, Inc., New York.
10. Carter, Jimmy. 2006. Palestine: Peace not Apartheid. Google eBook. 11. [10a] Clinton, William. 2011. Netanyahu killed the peace process. Roundtable with Bloggers on September day 22, 2011 (Posted By Josh Rogin). 12. [10b] Clinton, William. 2011. Clinton Links Perry’s Views On Israel To ‘Some of the More Militant Settler Groups’. MSNBC September 22, 2011. (By Ali Gharib) 13. [11a & b] Scheuer, Michael. 2004. NBC’s Meet the Press with Tim Russert, November 21 2004, and PBS Frontline Interview with Michael Scheuer. September 2006. 14. [12] Pew Research Center. 2002 – 2012. Pew Global Attitudes Project. There are numerous researches done by this center on American and Muslim relations and those are easily available in the Internet Site “Pew Research Center”. 15. [13] Ahmed, G. 2007. Beyond the Baker-Hamilton Recipe for Honorable and Peaceful End of Iraq War and Other Related Conflicts – Sociological Theories of Endless Conflicts and Peace. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association held at New York. Department of Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Virginia. The paper can be found in the Web ‘All Academic Research’.
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Accounting in Islamic Perspective: A Timely Opportunity, a Timely Challenge Dr. Alim Al Ayub Ahmed Arif Billah* Md Alidul Islam** Abstract: Accounting from Islamic Perspectives (AIP) is an emerging field. Recent years have attracted scholars from around the world who have contributed their thoughts about how accounting can be seen from the Islamic lens. However, the efforts so far are rather fragmented and without a clear agenda for future research. This paper presents a review of the literary achievements made in the field and the areas of current focus. Although the field carries a huge growth potential, the author argues that there are several challenges and problems that the proponents of AIP will face as the field develops further. This paper outlines these problems and challenges and makes suggestions to surmount the potential pitfalls. It is argued herein that, in order to develop AIP as a formal discipline and integrate it within real-life business practices, the research efforts need to be more organized through an international consortium of researchers. A brief proposal for such consortium is included here. Finally, recommendations are made for potential research directions in which future research on AIP can be pursued. Keywords: Accounting, Islamic Perspective, Business, Organizations
I. Introduction Islamic world has been lagging behind in contributing towards scientific and technological advancement. There is reality in the truth as statistics show that the Muslim world has so far produced only two Nobel Laureates; there are only two universities in the Islamic world
* **
ASA University Reader, Innovation in Marketing and Accounting
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that are ranked among top 500 universities of the world; there are less than 600 universities in the member Islamic states of Organization of Islamic Countries; and 41 predominantly Muslim countries– that constitute 20% population of the world–produce less than 5% of the science (see: Segal, 1996; and Schopper, 2006). Segal (1996) lamented that the Islamic world produces a disproportionately small amount of scientific output, which is relatively very low in quality. This is an alarming situation. However, there seems some light in the end of the tunnel. Currently, there are many attempts underway to improve the situation in various academic disciplines where Muslims are coming upfront to contribute to various knowledge domains, sometimes from specific Islamic perspective. Accounting from Islamic Perspectives (AIP) is one such knowledge domain, which has recently attracted many Muslim scholars to pay a serious attention. Conventional accounting is a well-established field; although there is no doubt that a major contribution to the extant body of knowledge on accounting comes from the West rather than the East. Most theories and frameworks in contemporary body of knowledge on accounting come from the West without any reference to practices in the East. Also, most Western perspectives on ‘accounting’ are predominantly secular and capitalistic in nature. Such underlying convictions of contemporary accounting theories have resulted in growing incoherence within Eastern societies, which are more religious and socialistic. On the other hand, there is much less contribution from the East, particularly from the Muslim world. Moreover, there is an obvious scarcity of literature on Islamic viewpoint on management (Kazmi, 2003; Ismail and Sarif, 2007). At individual or small group level, the work on accounting from Islamic viewpoint can be traced back to authors such as Bani-Sadr (1980), Ezzati (1982), Fariduddin, Sharfuddin (1987), Shirazi (1988/1408), Chapra (1992), Rahman and AI-Buraey (1992), Faridi (1995), Beekun (1997), Beekun and Badawi (1998), Al-Buraey (2003), Kazmi (2003); and more recently, Ather (2005), Abuznaid (2006) and Beekun (2006), and Ata al-Sid (2007), who have explored the field of accounting in a direct or indirect relation to Islamic teachings. In addition to these works, some rare PhD dissertations that address management from Islamic perspectives include the works of Gahein (1986), Khalifa (2001) and Mohiuddin (2004). At relative large scale, some notable endeavors to explore management from Islamic lens include a Seminar on Islamic Management held by IRTI (Islamic Research and Training Institute) in
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Malaysia in 1987 and International Conference on Management from Islamic perspectives (ICMIP) in 2007. A recent exploratory study of Sobhani and Ather (2007) has shown that the development and practices of Islamic Management in Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country, is very insignificant and incommensurate to the population and that the concept of Islamic Management in largely unknown. On the other hand, conventional accounting practices are widely known and practiced. This example shows that AIP is not even a commonly known discipline in the Islamic societies. Though some organizations would like to claim that their accounting practices follow the Islamic principles, such claims are without an explicit recognition of AIP as an established set of principles driving the everyday life of such organizations. However, with spreading awareness about important role that different cultural norms, language, spirituality, religiosity, social values, literary expressions and symbolic modes play in the business environment, researchers are diverting their focus on understanding the businesses in an entirely different way. This movement is called postmodernism and it accepts the possibility that several theories, which can conflict, can still have a legitimate place in a social discourse (Goulding, 2003). Under the influence of postmodernism and more importantly, a soaring interest in Islamic banking and finance around the world has opened the doors for Muslim scholars to think how other disciplines of accounting can complement the developments in Islamic economic systems. Toor (2007) observes that the spreading awareness about Islam, escalating demand for management in Islamic way, growing focus on Islamic banking systems, emerging concept of Shariah compliance, evolving notion of dispute resolution in Islamic way, and prolific wave of Islamic revival are some factors that have gradually accentuated a need for formulation, testing, and validation of the Islamic leadership construct, and steadily integrate it within Islamic management practices. There have been debates and discussions in the literary circles around the world, particularly in the Islamic nations, as to how accounting can be viewed from the lens of Islamic teachings, and how modern accounting practices can be transformed to synchronize with Islamic philosophy of life. This paper is a review of the extant body of knowledge on accounting from Islamic perspectives. It draws attention to certain issues with the hope that any further initiatives in the field effectively contribute to the 189
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development and growth of AIP as a formal discipline. The author develops the case to argue that AIP scholars must be cognizant of the history of the field, motives that are driving the development of the field, contemporary issues that need priority attention in terms of research, directions in which the future research can be directed, and issues and challenges that are likely to emerge in developing AIP as a formal discipline that is likely to result in the emergence of “Islamic Accounting Theory” in the future. The field is still at a nascent stage and is developing gradually. As research in this area grows further, the existing body of knowledge will mature, new sub-disciplines will emerge and the field will grow. However, for sustainable development of AIP as a discipline, researchers need to take adequate steps to avoid potential pitfalls and problems that can hinder the growth of the field after it has gained certain momentum. Recommendations made in this paper are with to initiate a dialogue to highlight more potential issues, problems, challenges, areas of general focus, areas of priority, and areas of caution. Discussion in this paper is very timely, given the field is emerging rapidly and the future potential is very promising. II. Why Accounting from Islamic Perspectives? Describing the challenges of modern business enterprises, Professor William George (2003) at Harvard observes that measures of business development such as growth, cash flow, and return on investment are fading away, and new criterion of success is “meeting the expectations of security analysis”. To reach the earning targets, investments are cut back resulting in the growth potential of company. To achieve the targets, investments are cut back resulting in the growth potential of company. To achieve the targets of profit maximization and to satisfy shareholders, CEOs go to extreme measures. They have become forgetful of human and social capitals, which earn long-term success for the companies. They are anxious about profit maximization at the expense of their employees and organizational values. Businesses of today are undoubtedly going through a tumultuous era and markets are more challenging than ever before. Such situation is no less than a management and accounting crisis in the contemporary business world, which is built on the model of capitalism. Apparent divorce of spirituality from workplace is due to implicit or explicit assumption those workplaces or other social institutions are secular (Hicks, 2002) and secularism attempted to keep religion a personal matter. George even goes to saying that capitalism has become the victim of it own success. Modern organizations seem to suffer from so-called “management crisis” due to every day corporate scandals, where leaders 190
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betray their own people and strive for worldly benefits. They are only concerned about shareholders’ satisfaction and forget about their other moral and ethical obligations to their organizations, followers, and society at large. This leads to every materialistic approach to management and accounting in the secularist and capitalistic systems, which have successfully penetrated the many Islamic societies as well. This is largely due to the curriculum of the schools and universities in the Muslim countries that teaches various modern European arts and sciences, which are far the most part alien to the Islamic perspective, has to a large degree injected an element of secularism into the mind of fairly sizeable segment of Islamic society (Nasr, 1961, cited in Ataal Sid, 2007). However, Yom (2002) argues that secularism is increasingly less relevant in the globalizing world, where religious identities have strengthened and believers have grows in perpetuating and sharing their narrative visions of the past, present, and future. Weary of the secular models, a widening circle of scholars is now considering religion as a viable alternative (Rae and Wong, 1996). In this respect, accounting from Islamic perspectives is more relevant. Abuznaid (2006) argues that though Islam does not provide a comprehensive theory in accounting, nevertheless, it does provide set of general guidelines that can be applied to achieve the fundamental goals of management that are not fundamentally materialist (Rice, 1999). Primary goals of Islam are based on the concept of human well being and good life, which stress brotherhood/ sisterhood and socioeconomic justice, and require a balanced satisfaction of both the material and spiritual needs of all humans (Chapra, 1992). In the Islamic ethical system, specific guidelines are available for achieving the moral filter and for conducting business. (Toor, 2007) also observes “Islam provides the most comprehensive understanding of leadership through its highly developed and modern ethical system that seeks guidelines from Quran, Sunnah, and sayings of Prophet Muhammad [PBUH]” (Toor, 2007, pp. 1). Others also note that Islam provides comprehensive guidelines in all facets of life–be it religious, moral, ethical, social–cultural, economic, political, or legal–to underpin the foundations of a strong Islamic society, which is built upon complete submission to Allah and teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)” (Toor, 2007; Beik and Arsyianti, 2007). In this respect, spirituality and religion in Islam are not two separate entities; they are rather branches of the same tree. Scholars have argued that many of the characteristics of spirituality in the workplace 191
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are basis themes of Islam. These characteristics may include the building of community, concern for social justice within the organization and its vision, and equality of voice (see Kriger and Seng, 2005). “The values of service, surrendering self, truth, charity, humility, forgiveness, compassion, thankfulness, love, courage, faith, kindness, patience, and hope, in the workplace spirituality literature (see Fry, 2003) are to be found not only in the Quran, but also in popular Islamic wisdom literature, philosophical debates and the mystical guidance of esoteric Islam, Sufism” (Kriger and Seng, 2005). From Islamic perspectives, therefore, accounting is all about practicing the positive norms and bringing self-transcendent values in everyday life, while seeking the will of God and following his orders in form of Prophet’s (PBUH) Sunnah. Goals of Islamic accounting and management are not merely worldly and money-oriented; rather they endeavor to seek a long-term intrinsic reward, the pleasure of God. Islam holds all leasers and followers responsible for societal building and for spreading the rule of Allah on earth. Both sides are equal in the eyes of Allah and hence should perform their roles with greatest integrity and dedication. Under such a accounting system, where only positive organizational behaviors are encouraged and performed in everyday life, there is high chance that a positive organizational scholarship (see Cameron et al., 2003) can be obtained where “organizations are typified by appreciation, collaboration, virtuousness, vitality and meaningfulness. Creating abundance and human well-bring are key indicators of success…members of such organizations are characterized by trustworthiness, resilience, wisdom, humility, and high levels of positive energy…social relationships and interactions are characterized by compassion, loyalty, honesty, respect, and forgiveness. Significant attention is given to what makes life worth living.” In the above vision, which Professor Kim Cameron has presented in his book: “Positive Organizational Scholarship”, is fully in line with what the current paper discusses as “Accounting from Islamic Perspectives”. III. Literary Achievements The author has argued in the previous pages that AIP is an emerging field. However, very recent endeavors in the area have focused on diverse subjects. Particularly, the International Conference on Management from Islamic Perspectives (ICMIP) has been able to attract rich perspectives from around the world resulting in a 192
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significant volume of works on various subjects within the domain of AIP. Though a large body of knowledge exists on Islamic banking and Islamic finance, literary attempts have been made in other directions including, but not limited to, concept of management without punishment (Dewi and Tanjung, 2007), organizational decision making (Ismail and Ibrahim, 2007), corporate governance (Amer, 2007; Mat and Ismail, 2007; Dusuki, 2007), quality management (Youssef and Al-Buraey, 2007), administrative theory (Sharfuddin, 1987), enterprise design (Chatha, 2007), management style of some Prophets (Shirazi, 1988), management of non-profit organizations (Kadi, 2007), and managerial and business ethics (Beekun, 1996). The review from the literature (Toor, 2007 and Saleh, 2007) illustrates that AIP has triggered discussions in many parts of the world resulting in works in diverse areas where scholars have tried to view various disciplines from Islamic viewpoint. Although literature on Islamic perspective is just beginning to explore various dimensions of accounting, there is an obvious promise in the attempts made so far. Frameworks, constructs, theories, and proposals related to AIP are all in a very nascent form with enthusiastic future research plans by their proponents. However, before the research on AIP has gained full momentum, the pioneers of the field need to take a pause and discuss the issues that can have long-term repercussions on the field. IV. Religious (Cultural) Based Accounting Japan that has a strong commitment to its traditional culture has a strong ability to formulate, to implement, its own accounting philosophy and principles difference from that of capitalistic society. Shinto for example has a potential drive to establish a Shinto based Accounting. V. Developing AIP as A Formal Discipline Scholars have emphasized on development of management in Islamic perspective as a formal academic discipline (Ismail, 2007). However, this aspiration needs in-depth analysis and pragmatic considerations. There are many questions that the researchers in this area will have to address while taking up this task. The following section elaborates on the challenges that are likely to emerge while developing AIP as a formal discipline. VI. Defining AIP ‘Islamic accounting’ as an emerging discipline, which deals with the financial reporting of organizations from the perspective of the 193
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knowledge acquired from the revealed and other Islamic sources of knowledge, and results in applications compatible with the Islamic beliefs and practices. Of course, the aims, objectives, operational activities and results of ‘Islamic accounting’ are determined according to Islamic Aaqida’ and Shari’ah. Christopher Napier christopher.napier@rhul.ac.uk, Royal Holloway, University of London, note that the emergence of Islamic banks and other financial institutions since the 1970s has stimulated a modern literature that has identified itself as addressing "Islamic accounting". Much of this literature is prescriptive, though studies of actual practice, and of attitudes to proposed alternatives, are beginning to emerge. Historical research into Islamic accounting is still in a process of development, with a range of studies based on both primary archives and manuals of accounting providing growing insight into accounting in state and private contexts in the Middle East. Other parts of the Muslim world are also the focus of historical accounting research. There is still much to discover, however, before historians can determine the influence of Middle Eastern accounting ideas and practices in other parts of the world. Moreover, the term "Islamic accounting" may simply be a convenient label to group together quite disparate accounting practices and ideas across time and space. According to Hayashi ‘Islamic Accounting’ (1989), “is an integrated discipline with social, political and economic domain ruled by Allah or “meta rule”. Islamic accounting should regulate and establish a harmonious integration among the parties of these diverse domain”. Hayashi continues that the Islamic accounting which has implicit economic, political and religious meaning (an integrated world view system, author), has the possibility to show the key to a post Newtonian Accounting (Western Secular based accounting, author)”. Islamic accounting is generally defined as an alternative accounting system, which aims to provide users with information enabling them to operate businesses and organizations according to Shariah, or Islamic law. ………With little doubt, the greatest challenges to Islamic accounting and finance in the new world stem from a lack of knowledge and understanding of Islam and the intricacies of its financial laws. (October 5, 2006 http://www.accountingweb.com/cgibin/item.cgi?id=102651,) Dr. Shahul Hameed bin Mohamed Ibrahim says in http://islamic-finance.net/islamic-accounting/, both conventional and Islamic accounting provides information and define 194
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how that information is measured, valued, recorded and communicated. Conventional accounting provides information about economic events and transactions, measuring resources in terms of assets and liabilities, and communicating that information through financial statements users, typically investors, rely on to make decisions regarding their investments. Islamic accounting, however, identifies socioeconomic events and transactions measured in both financial and non-financial terms and the information is used to ensure Islamic organizations of all types adhere to Shariah and achieve the socio-economic objectives promoted by Islam. This is not to say, or imply, Islamic accounting is not concerned with money, and rather it is not concerned only with money. The purpose of shariah (Islamic law) is to promote the welfare of the people which lies on: Safeguarding of their faith; their life; their intellect; their posterity and their Wealth. (Al- Gazali: 1058-1111) Islamic accounting, in many ways, is more holistic. Shariah prohibits interest-based income or usury and also gambling, so part of what Islamic accounting does is help ensure companies do not harm others while making money and achieve an equitable allocation and distribution of wealth, not just among shareholders of a specific corporation but also among society in general. Of course, as with conventional accounting, this is not always achieved in practice, as an examination of the wide variances in wealth among the populations of Arab nations, particularly those with majority Muslim populations shows. In addition, because a significant part of operating within Shariah means delivering on Islam’s socio-economic objectives, Islamic organizations have far wider interests and engage in more diverse activities than their non-Islamic counterparts. Researchers exploring various sub-disciplines of AIP do attempt to define the key terms in sub-disciplines–such as Ownership, Debt Contract and Accounting, Trusteeship of Mankind, Inequality Natural, Record Book – Audit, Meeting Account, Verification of Information, Fulfill Contract, Full Measure and Weight in Just, Dealing in Fraud who give less in measure, quality management, corporate governance–it seems as if no deliberate attempt has been made to formally define AIP. Most researchers seem to have added the word “Islam” or “Islamic perspective” with the conventional definitions of accounting, which itself 195
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seems to have been defined in several different ways and has no ‘agreedupon’ definition. Nevertheless, since AIP is just beginning to emerge, it seems plausible to have formal and agreed-upon definition of AIP to achieve coherence in ideas and to direct the efforts in one direction. In view of Cooper et al., (2005, pp. 478), “a refined definition must include a specification of the nature of the dimension (e.g., trait, behavior, attribution, etc.), the observer/perspective of the persons(s) providing the report (e.g., self, subordinate, peer, etc.), the level(s) of analysis involved (e.g., individual, dyad, group, organization, etc.), the response category measurement units to be employed (e.g., frequency, magnitude, extent of agreement, etc.), and the dimension’s content domain (including whether there are sub-dimensions involved).” In order to establish a formal definition of AIP, researchers will need to specify full set of dimensions, underlying concept, and sub-divisions of AIP. For this purpose, use of qualitative procedures is recommended. Such approaches include case studies of the organizations that claim to be implementing Islamic ways of accounting and interviews of practitioners, entrepreneurs, leaders, and managers, who appear to be following more Islamic approach of accounting. Input of Muslim religious scholars and accounting experts can also provide useful insights to develop and sharpen the definition of AIP. VII. Islamic Accounting Web – (http://www.iiu.edu.my/iaw/) The Islamic Accounting Website is a project of the Department of Accounting, Kulliyah of Economics and Management Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. This project is under the direction of Dr. Shahul Hameed bin Mohamed Ibrahim, Assistant Professor and the current Head of the Department. The philosophy of the University is to Islamize knowledge to solve the crisis in Muslim thinking brought about by the secularization of knowledge and furthermore contributing as a centre of educational excellence to revive the dynamism of the Muslim Ummah in knowledge, learning and the professions. The Department of Accounting is fully committed to this vision and strives to Islamise Accounting. VIII. Bases of Islamic Accounting: Al Quran Islamic accounting can be defined as the “accounting process” which provides appropriate information (not necessarily limited to financial data) to stakeholders of an entity which will enable them to ensure that the entity is continuously operating within the bounds of the Islamic Shari’ah and delivering on its socioeconomic objectives. Islamic 196
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accounting is also a tool, which enables Muslims to evaluate their own accountabilities to Allah (in respect of interhuman/ environmental transactions). A. Ownership To Him belongs what is in the heavens and on earth, and all between them, and all beneath the soil. (Surah Ta- Ha:6) B. Debt Contract and Accounting “O ye who believe! When ye deal with each other, in transactions involving future obligations in a fixed period of time, reduce them to writing let a scribe write down faithfully as between the parties; let not the scribe refuse to write: as Allah has taught him, so let him write. Let him who incurs the liability dictate, but let him fear his Lord Allah, and not diminish aught of what he owes. If the party liable is mentally deficient, or weak or unable himself to dictate, let his guardian dictate faithfully. And get two witnesses, out of your own men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her. The witnesses should not refuse when they are called on (for evidence). Disdain not to reduce to writing (your contract) for a future period, whether it be small or big: it is juster in the sight of Allah, more suitable as evidence, and more convenient to prevent doubts among yourselves but if it be a transaction which ye carry out on the spot among yourselves there is no blame on you if ye reduce it not to writing. But take witnesses whenever ye make a commercial contract; and let neither scribe nor witness suffer harm. If ye do (such harm), it would be wickedness in you. So fear Allah; for it is Allah that teaches you. And Allah is well acquainted with all things.” (Surah Al-Baqarah:282) C. Trusteeship of Mankind Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood? Whilst we do celebrate Thy praise and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not.” (Surah Al- Baqarah:30)
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D. Inequality - Natural And it is He Who hath made you (His) agents, inheritors of the earth: He hath raised you in ranks, some above others: that He may try you in the gifts He hath given you: for thy Lord is quick in punishment: yet He is indeed Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surah Al-An’am:165) E. Record Book - Audit Then he who is given his Record in his right hand, Soon will his account be taken by an easy reckoning, And he will turn to his people, rejoicing!, But he who is given his Record behind his back, Soon will he cry for Perdition, And he will enter a Blazing Fire. (Surah Al-Inshiqaq:7-12) F. Meeting Account Then he that will be given his Record in his right hand will say: "Ah here! Read ye my Record!, "I did really understand that my Account would (one Day) reach me!”. (Surah Al-Haqqah:19-20) G. Don’t Mix Truth with Falsehood And cover not Truth with falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when ye know (what it is). (Surah Al-Baqarah:42) But verily it is Truth of assured certainty.
(Surah Al-Haqqah:51)
H. Verification of Information O ye who believe! if a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done. (Surah Al-Hujurat:6) I. Fulfil Contract Come not nigh to the orphan's property except to improve it, until he attains the age of full strength; and fulfil (every) engagement, for (every) engagement, will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning). (Surah Al-Isra:34) J. Full Measure and Weight in Just Give full measure when ye measure, and weigh with a balance that is straight; that is the most fitting and the most advantageous in the final determination. (Surah Al-Isra:35) K. Dealing in Fraud Who Give Less in Measure Woe to those that deal in fraud, Those who, when they have to receive by measure, from men, exact full measure, But when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due. Do they not think 198
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that they will be called to account ? On a Mighty Day, A Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds ? Nay! Surely the Record of the Wicked is (preserved) in Sijjin. And what will explain to thee what Sijjin is? (There is) a Register (fully) inscribed. (Surah Al-Mutaffifin:1-9) L. Which is Left by ALLAH is Better To the Madyan people (We sent) Shu'aib, one of their own brethren: he said: "O my people! Worship Allah: ye have no other god but Him. And give not short measure or weight: I see you in prosperity, but I fear for you the Penalty of a Day that will compass (you) all round. "And O my people! give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due: commit not evil in the land with intent to do mischief. "That which is left you by Allah is best for you, if ye (but) believed! but I am not set over you to keep watch!� (Surah Hud:84-86) IX. Distinguishing AIP from Conventional Accounting After researchers have defined and sharpened the definition of AIP, they will need to take a clear and elaborate stance as to how AIP differs from conventional accounting or emerging forms of accounting, which drive their inspiration from spirituality and servant leadership. If they are not able to distinguish AIP from existing and other emerging forms of accounting, this would imply that it is either equivalent to the conventional accounting with add-on of spirituality or a simply redundant concept. Researchers will also need to identify and focus on the points of divergence and accentuate these in their conceptualization and measurement of AIP. Though some scholars have already given some attention to the issue arguing that conventional accounting and AIP are distinct, there are many who note both similarities. For example, Loqman and Bulbul (2007) note that the 14 principles of conventional management given by Henri Fayol; are alike the principles of Islamic Management. Some assertions, however, show that Islamic perspective offers distinct way of accounting. Loqman and Bulbul (2007) call these points of distinctions as additional principles of management. These include: khilafa (vicegerency), honesty, truthfulness, promise keeping, moderation, sincerity, timeliness, efficiency, patriotism, exemption, accountability in this world as well as in the life hereafter and more over Tawakkul (depending upon Allah SWT). These principles are not present in the conventional accounting approaches and therefore make 199
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AIP a unique perspective. Toor (2007) joins this stance and argues that Islam provides “extra dimensions” that are likely to enhance the positive nature of Islamic leadership. The most important “extra dimensions” in this regard include: surrendering to Allah SWT, trusteeship of Allah SWT, accountability to Allah SWT, obedience of Allah SWT and the Prophet, following the Shariah, virtuosity, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, social justice and consideration, service of mankind, righteousness, humility, positive firmness, inner struggle against the self, honesty, truthfulness, and positive organizational scholarship (hope, optimism, self-efficacy, and resiliency) from Islamic viewpoint. It also argues that Islamic accounting seems to differ on the worldview of accounting, its concepts and issues. They further note that Islamization of accounting is basically the need for a tauhidik approach based on social justice, fairness in managing people, and to seek the will of Allah SWT. Despite these claims, there is a further need to distinguish how AIP differs from existing forms of accounting. This distinction will not only have an favorable impact on furthering the research on AIP, but it will also help in making a better understanding of the work that has already been done in the field. Distinguishing AIP from existing forms of accounting will also help to send the message across that AIP offers something unique and extra, and that the organizations can develop a sustainable competitive advantage from this something unique and extra. On a practical level, any misunderstanding or confusion of AIP with conventional accounting might hinder the development of AIP as a discipline. If researchers argue that AIP is a new discipline and is substantially different from the conventional accounting, clear lines of boundaries need to be drawn as to how both fields differ, although they may complement each other in many ways. These boundaries need to be drawn beyond definitional differences, by including conceptual distinctions, and functional divergence between conventional accounting and AIP. Such discussions can also address behavioral differences between a conventional accountant or and an AIP-accountant. X. Measuring AIP This is probably the biggest challenge that will confront the proponents of AIP. Current body of knowledge on AIP bases itself on integration of spirituality and religiosity within accounting practices. However, in the mainstream, there remains a debate on whether spirituality and religiosity represent one construct or they are two different constructs that cannot be combined together. There have been claims that 200
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religiosity is a very complex construct and is extremely hard to measure (Hashim, 2007, Muhamad, 2007), though some researcher have attempted to develop and validate such measures. Researchers have similar views about spirituality that it is complex and hard to measure (see: Fry, 2003; Fry et al., 2005; Dent Barrett, 2003; Ashmos & Duchon, 2000; MacDonald et al., 199; Elkins et al., 1988). However, all such measures of religiosity and spirituality have been established outside the Muslim world. Therefore, researchers will need to establish measures of religiosity and spirituality from Islamic perspective. As researchers of AIP currently argue that it is an integration of spirituality and religiosity, they will need to establish valid measures through which AIP can be assessed. For this purpose, it is important that two separate standardized quantitative measures are developed to assess AIP in the financial reporting. For this purpose, extensive labor and collaborative projects will have to be designed to develop and validate these measures across different cultures. Researchers will need to begin the work using qualitative approaches to eventually arrive at quantitative measures. XI. Regulatory Issues The regulatory environment, Islamic individuals and organizations are most concerned with, considering the current political climate, are those relating to anti-terrorism and antimoney laundering. Yet the tensions arising from regulatory requirements within the American business practices often prove more difficult to resolve. It is in trying to balance the expectations of distinct business cultures that the differences between conventional and Islamic accounting are most notable. For instance, depending upon the type of transactions the organizations are engaged in, the roles, responsibilities and rights assigned to each party can be contradictory and even in direct conflict. In some situations, such as transactions involving private equity, venture capital, profit sharing and liquidations, organizations and individuals employing conventional accounting may actually find they prefer Islamic accounting. Other issues, such as those related to taxation, require significant effort to resolve. The inherent flexibility of Shariah is a benefit under these circumstances, since the complexity of the contemporary tax code is highly inflexible. Although demand for Islamic financial products and services has increased, both the supply and the number of providers remain 201
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insufficient. It should also be noted that Islamic orthodoxy, expressed as the desire to implement Shariah as the sole legal foundation of a nation, is actually associated with progressive economic principles, including increasing government for the poor, reducing income inequality and increasing government ownership of industries and industries, especially in the poorer nations of the Muslim world. While it is common to associate traditional religious beliefs with conservative political stances on a wide range of issues, this is only partly true, said Robert V. Robinson, Chancellor, Professor and chair of Indiana University. XII. Implementing AIP in Practice Any discipline in the making is not a smooth path to walk on. The next challenge is to first sell and then implement and further develop the AIP practices in organizations. This will need a fundamental shift in accounting in many organizations; as it will depend upon the preparedness and capability of the organizations to accept an entirely new system, and quickly shift to AIP practices. How this shift of accounting can be smoothened and how desired results can be obtained is another question that needs to be addressed. For this purpose, case studies can be conducted on the organizations that claim to be, or are reputed as, close to AIP in terms of their management systems. Some examples of such studies in the existing literature include works of Mohiudding and Amin (2007) and Barhem and Muhamad (2007). In their exploratory study in Bangladesh, Sobhani and Ather (2007) ascertain a number of factors that are perceived as causing the lack of awareness about management in Islamic perspective. These include: lack of knowledge on Islamic management; effects of western education and culture; lack of true practicing Muslims; lack of research on Islamic management; absence of Islamic environment & culture; effects of globalization; effects of secular NGOs; lack of teaching & practices of Holy Qur’an and Hadith; environmental bottlenecks; lack of institutional support; and lack of media coverage of Islamic management issues. In order to make AIP as a principal way of management in Islamic societies, there is a need for a macro-scale movement. AIP would not be able to find its sterling routes unless there is supportive societal and organizational context. Its practices would not be implemented with the will of a single person but with readiness of everyone in the system. Sobhani and Ather’s (2007) study highlights the issues in their order of preference that need to be addressed to solve the problems of awareness include: Islamization of knowledge and 202
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education; creating public consensus; reformation of the Government; adjustment of globalization with Islamic values and norms; putting restriction of NGOs, Islamizing educational models and procedures; removing corruption; establishment of Islamic accounting research centers; formulating rules and regulations for following Islamic values and norms; establishing Shari’ah based accountability, administration and communicating Islamic accounting through media. These recommendations provide useful insights for policy makers in the Islamic countries to seriously look into the issues and formulate adequate strategies so that Islamic societies can benefit from AIP. It will be relatively easy to convince Muslims about the inherent benefits and implications of AIP. However, task will be much harder in non-Islamic lands. Therefore, in order to promote AIP as a viable alternative for the organizations, the researchers will need to present it as a source of competitive advantage so that organizations in both Islamic and non- Islamic countries can seriously consider it as an alternative management system. The will need to highlight why and how AIP is highly unique, more sustainable, long-term, hard to imitate, cumulative, valuable, and non-substitutable source of competitive advantage. They will also need to provide empirical evidence to demonstrate the validity of their claims. Perhaps a long way to go, but researchers of AIP will come across these challenges one by one. Thinking about these challenges in this very beginning is likely to result in formulation of a comprehensive long-term strategy to build AIP as a competitive and sustainable discipline. XIII. Researching AIP From methodological point of view, the researchers of AIP will need to consider which methodologies are suitable for research. The choice of research methods is most often shaped by aims, epistemological concerns, and norms of practice, as well as organizational, historical, political, ethical, evidential, and personal factors, typically treated as problems to be overcome (Buchanan and Bryman, 2007). In addition to the nature of research question, Bryman (2007) claims that other reasons such as disciplinary requirements–what should pass as acceptable knowledge, policy issues–expectations concerning the kind of knowledge they require for policy, and funding expectations of funding bodies also play a role in choosing the research methodology. Yet another possibility is personal interests, preferences, biases, prejudices, and creativity in addition to technical skills, knowledge, and competence of the researcher to conduct a particular kind of research. 203
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Current research on accounting is dominated by positivist or quantitative approaches. Quantitative research methods are characterized by the assumption that human behavior can be explained by social facts. Such research methodologies employ the deductive logic of the natural sciences. Quantitative methods were vastly used for accounting studies during 1960s and 1970s. Proponents of qualitative research argue that it allows richer descriptions, sensitivity of ideas and meanings of the individual concerned, increased likelihood of developing empirically supported new ideas with practical relevance and increased interest of practitioners (Martin and Turner, 1986). Qualitative approaches also help in discovering new ideas and phenomena rather than verifying the old and existing theories (Bryman, 1984). Bryman (1984) suggests linking of more abstract philosophical issues with questions of research practice. He thinks that it is a better and sophisticated way of treating the comparability of different methods of investigation than direct juxtaposition in terms of relative superiority. Rocco et al. (2003) argue that ‘mixing methods that bring together the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative methods will enhance research in the field’ (Rocco et al., 2003, p. 604). However, AIP being a discipline in-making needs to establish its epistemological grounds and constructs in the beginning, which can then be tested and validated at a later stage. Therefore, it seems to the current author that the researchers need to use all quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method approach with maximum methodological inventiveness. According to Buchanan and Bryman (2007), organization research is a meeting point for numerous disciplines including psychology, social psychology, sociology, economics, public policy, history, anthropology, and the business areas of strategy, finance, marketing, human resources, and operations management. Research on AIP will also see integration and interplay of many disciplines with in its scope. Therefore, a debate on methodological issues to research AIP can be beneficial in the beginning to choose appropriate research methodologies. This will help the researchers to avoid any methodological dilemmas at a later stage that might otherwise result in another war or paradigms. Furthermore, while conducting research on AIP, the researchers will need to consider the intertwining effect of local cultures and norms in different countries around the world. 204
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Current debate in accounting research has repeatedly highlighted the crosscultural issues and alerted about the cultural consequences. Measurements and conceptual issues related to AIP will be most crucial in cross-cultural setting. XIV. Priority Areas of Focus Recent attempts of research from the perspective of AIP seem to be highlighting issues such as Ownership, Debt Contract and Accounting, Trusteeship of Mankind, Inequality - Natural, Record Book– Audit, Meeting Account, Verification of Information, Fulfill Contract, Full Measure and Weight in Just, Dealing in Fraud who give less in measure,, corporate governance, and quality management. Existing research on AIP also appears to be without an explicit intention to develop constructs, theories, and frameworks that can lead to development of a comprehensive “Theory of Accounting from Islamic Perspectives”. In order to establish AIP and its sub disciplines, it is important that organized efforts are undertaken instead of randomly choosing the areas for research under AIP. Body of knowledge on conventional accounting has developed organically over almost a hundred years. Even today, many more disciplines continue to emerge and attract the attention of scholars. However, researchers of AIP will have to prioritize the knowledge areas they would like to focus in the beginning, until the field is relatively established, and there is substantial number of qualified and established academics extensively working in the field. If AIP research continues to grow organically and at random choices of sub-disciplines, there is likelihood that many researchers will be distracted or they will duplicate each other’s efforts or will simply explore the areas, which do not contribute to a coherent effort of developing AIP as a discipline. There is also a possibility that research efforts on AIP in different parts of the world are totally unaware of each other, and they lose the opportunity of mutual sharing and complementing of the ideas and perspectives of the subject. Therefore, proponents of AIP will need to organize the efforts and more importantly prioritize what they want to research, and the beginning, and what sub-discipline would then be explored after constructs on the prioritized themes have been well established. Only then the lessons learnt from the initial phase of the research can be taken forward to address other issues that need to be investigated at later stages. Few initial sub-disciplines that can be explored in the beginning can include, but not limited to, Ownership, Debt Contract and Accounting, Trusteeship of Mankind, Inequality 205
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Natural, Record Book – Audit, Meeting Account, Verification of Information, Fulfill Contract, Full Measure and Weight in Just, Dealing in Fraud who give less in measure, corporate governance, and accounting ethics. In order to develop and grow these sub-disciplines, researchers will need to assemble the existing body of knowledge, write inclusive literature reviews, conduct dialogues and debates, and finally, establish research agendas as to how to approach these disciplines from Islamic perspectives. Further sub-disciplines can then be explored in the pipeline. XV. Potential Opportunities There are a number of steps that need to be taken while establishing AIP as a formal academic discipline, and produce a useful and rigorous research on the subject. Preceding sections discuss in detail the achievements that have been made in the context of AIP. The author has also highlighted multitude of challenges that face AIP research and development. In the midst of these challenges, however, there lie numerous opportunities. It is a very timely prospect for scholars in the Islamic world to make use of those opportunities. They can come up front and contribute their efforts for developing and flourishing the field. However, their efforts need to be well planned, systematically organized, thoroughly contemplated, and more importantly pragmatic. Since much needs to be accomplished in this regard, the author proposes the formulation of an international consortium on AIP, comprising the established researchers in Islamic studies, accounting, basic sciences, sociology, anthropology, statistics, and other relevant discipline to formulate and drive an organized research effort on AIP. The consortium can establish the priority themes for research, develop a detailed research agenda, and decide methodologies can establish the priority themes for research, develop a detailed research agenda, and decide methodologies to be used. To effectively divide the tasks, such consortium can establish various task groups and working commissions of sub-disciplines of AIP. These research groups can then pursue their own agenda under the guidelines of consortium. Approaching the task in this manner would decrease the burden of this undertaking falling on only one group. This will also ensure that there is no duplication of research endeavors by various researchers of AIP around the world.
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Such consortium can also organize an annual congress where debates and dialogues can be invited to share the knowledge. From different disciplines, share the achievements that are made by various research groups, and plan the future goals in accordance. Independent and joint conferences and symposia of research groups can also facilitate the knowledge sharing process. Dialogues and knowledge exchanges between experts of AIP and conventional accounting should also be a part of this overall endeavor so that AIP can gradually become a mainstream discipline to benefit the entire world, be it Muslims or non-Muslims. Organizing such activities in different parts of the world will also help to spread the awareness about AIP within and beyond the Islamic countries. The consortium can also extend its efforts to issue literary journals and magazines to share the research achievements. Additionally, the consortium can also think to establish research centers in various Islamic countries to consolidate and streamline the research process. The forum can be either established independently or under the research arm of an already existing international organization such as Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC). This will not only be helpful in drawing capable researcher from around the word but will also be useful in rapidly establishing the credibility of the research that stems from the consortium efforts. Such large-scale consortium-based effort will also be helpful in drawing funds that will be required for developing AIP. Given the soaring interest in Islamic Banking, Islamic Finance, and Shariah Compliance, the author is hopeful that industry funding can be attracted for research on AIP. Various governments can also be instrumental in driving this undertaking by allocating research funds. As a part of this whole effort, universities across the Islamic countries can also offer joint courses on both Islamic Studies as well as Accounting to establish and grow the discipline of AIP. These research endeavors can then be closely observed by the above consortium, which can act as an overall accrediting body for such academic efforts. Although some universities are pioneering such efforts by offering such courses–for example, Bachelor of Islamic Finance and Banking (BIFB, Hons) at University Utara Malaysia–these courses are at undergraduate level. More efforts at graduate level need to be undertaken. AIA joins forces with BIBF to launch diploma in Islamic Accounting and Compliance. The Association of International Accountants (AIA) has joined forces with the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) to officially launch its Diploma in Islamic Accounting and Compliance at the World Islamic Funds and 207
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Capital Markets Conference to be held in Bahrain on 26 and 27 May 2008. AIA Chief Executive attends Bahrain conference to officially launch new joint BIBF Diploma in Islamic Accounting and Compliance. Aimed at employers, the new qualification provides a thorough understanding of the Islamic Accounting and Governance Reporting requirements as set by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and a comparison with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The graduates of the AIA and BIBF Diploma in Islamic Accounting and Compliance (DIAC) will enable Islamic financial institutions to access global markets while maintaining the substantial processes and forms of Islamic transactions. PhD research projects and postdoctoral fellowships can be instrumental to accelerate the research output and to establish various sub-disciplines. Given the current drive in AIP research, it carries a significant potential to grow as a formal discipline. However, this aspiration can be materialized more effectively and efficiently, if researchers of AIP join their hands for a larger collaborative research endeavors instead of disintegrated and fragmented attempts, which can considerably slow the momentum that can otherwise be achieved. XVI. IFRS for Merger of Islamic Accounting Standards According to Karen Remo-Listana (2009), the proponent of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) will be in talks with Islamic finance authorities this year and will be ready to modify the existing system to accommodate Islamic finance standards. According to Robert Garnett (2009), board member of International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), there may be "slight differences" but they can be resolved through critical judgment. "We have to embrace all financial products so we will need to change our standards," Garnett told Emirates Business on the sidelines of the IFRS breakfast briefing in Dubai. "To converge with Islamic finance standards we need to have some detailed discussions with AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions) so we can have a better understanding of their concerns and how we can accommodate those within a revised IFRS," he added. XVII. Concluding Remarks Accounting from Islamic perspectives (AIP) is a nascent discipline with a considerable promise. The extant body of knowledge is largely 208
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fragmented and research efforts are apparently disorganized in reference with AIP. In order to develop AIP as a formal and accepted discipline, there are both challenges and opportunities that lie ached. To ensure a healthy growth and expansion of the discipline, researchers of AIP will need to integrate and streamline their efforts to ensure that there is a constructive growth of knowledge in the discipline before any significant split or divergence of focus can find its roots. This paper presents a summary of literary achievements that have been so far made in the field of AIP. It also lists and discusses the challenges and opportunities that proponents of AIP will confront in the future. A proposal for an international consortium has been briefly presented to conduct organized research and establish AIP as a mainstream discipline, which can benefit the whole world. After a long halt of research in the Islamic world, there seems some light in the end of the tunnel. It provides an historic opportunity for the scholars to revive and contribute to the grand tradition of knowledge generation and sharing that Islam encourages. It also provides an impetus for scholars in all other disciplines to start thinking about how, as Muslims, we can contribute to the well being of humanity. References 1.
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The Need of Ijtihad for Sustainable Development in Islam Arshia Javed* Muhammad Javed** Abstract: Education has been a central feature of Islam from the very beginning. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) stressed on the acquisition of knowledge and sustainable development of islam. The Quran has given the fundamental education and knowledge but the Muslim scholars must interpret this fundamental knowledge wisely in accordance with the spirit of the time in which we live. Shariah (Islamic law) is subject to interpretation in order to meet the ever-changing needs of society. Muslim jurists and scholars have relied on the well-established process of change known as ijtihad. The process of ijtihad allowed Muslims and Muslim societies to continually adapt in the face of changing societal conditions and new advances in knowledge. However, declaring the shariah complete and announcing of the closure of the gate of ijtihad turns the great thinkers into idols. In this paper, we stressed on the evolutionary aspects of the knowledge & education (ijtihad) in Muslim society and answered the questions regarding closure of the gate of ijtihad, how important the concept of ijtihad is. As there is an urgent need for the Muslims to realize their failures and deal with the stagnation exist within their minds, how can ijtihad be used to address the needs of muslim societies with reference to contemporary world? Index Terms: Ijtihad, shariah law, gate of Ijtihad, taqlid.
I. Introduction Islam, the fastest growing religion in the world, with over 1.2 billion followers has the astounding capability of adapting to ever changing conditions. Recent international events have intensified interest among
* **
Department of Politics & IR, IIUniversity, Islamabad, Pakistan. School of Computing, Dublin City Univeristy, Dublin, Ireland.
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religious leaders, scholars and educational professionals about the way Shariah (Islamic law) is taught & adopted in Muslim society. [1]. The Quran has given the fundamental education and knowledge but the Muslim scholars must interpret this fundamental knowledge wisely in accordance with the spirit of the time in which we live [2]. Shariah (Islamic law) is subject to interpretation in order to meet the everchanging needs of society. Its guiding principles were designed to protect the individual and the society so that it was not established as a set of fixed rules. To respond to the changing needs of muslim societies, muslim jurists and scholars have relied on the wellestablished process of change, ijtihad. This process is based not only on the holy book (Qur’an) and religious tradition (Sunna), but also on reason, deduction, and prioritization. Ijtihad is practiced by the jurisprudent to discover secondary divine legislation (laws). Ijtihad is defined in different ways [3-5]. A comprehensive definition is given as the exertion of mental energy in the search for a legal opinion to the extent that the faculties of the jurist became incapable of further effort or in the other words ijtihad is the maximum effort expanded by the jurist to master and apply the principles and rules of usul al- fiqh (legal theory) for the purpose of discovering God’s law [3]. The process of ijtihad allowed muslims and muslim societies to continually adapt in the face of changing societal conditions and new advances in knowledge. As it constitutes a bridge between eternally valid divine injunctions and time specific requirement of every age, it is the key to provide an islamic interpretation of modern developments and circumstances. Moreover, it also serves as a mean through which religion can become intricately interwoven with politics [4]. Scholars considered the time, place norms and prevailing conditions while rendering their religious advice and opinions. Ijtihad enabled muslims to be flexible and to learn from other cultures and civilizations. Without the process of ijtihad, a faithful muslim will find himself in a dilemma. Unfortunately, autocratic behavior of muslim caliphs and rationalist movements lead the muslims to adopt more conservative stance in an attempt to preserve traditional values and institutions. As a result, many scholars became inclined to view ijtihad negatively and it was assumed fit for the muslims to declare the shariah complete, thus 216
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announced the closure of the gate of ijtihad. This closure led the muslims towards gradual decline from being a superpower to mere disoriented people subjected to humiliation in every field of life only because they stopped questioning and started on a way of blind following (taqlid) and taqlid itself is a symbol of stagnation. Closing the gate of ijtihad turns the great thinkers into idols [5]. Muslim thinkers from 18th to 20th century were on the view that to regain the glory and to revive islam, muslims must return to critical thinking and a process of adapting to the modern world and the key to these remains in the practice of ijtihad. But, a number of questions arise here (which are also the areas of consideration in this paper) i.e. • • • •
How can the door of ijtihad be reopened? Was it really closed? Why did muslims scholars raise the subject of the gate of ijtihad? Why did muslim become fail in performing ijtihad effectively to meet the challenges of the contemporary world? • How can it be used to address the needs of muslim societies with reference to contemporary world? The rest of the paper is structured as follows. A brief history of Ijtihad is given in Section 2. In Section 3, we argue and discuss about the closure of the gate of Ijtihad in the light & viewpoints of the great Islamic scholars. Section 4 describes about the necessity of Ijtihad in this contemporary world and we end with some concluding remarks. II. Ijtihad and its Brief History Ijtihad derived from the Arabic word jahada which means “attempts”. The term is used particularly in such occasions where hard ship and efforts are involved. According to Imam Ghazali (a philosopher of islamic golden age), ijtihad means to expand once capacity in certain matter and use it to the utmost. Some scholars have defined it as a mean of expanding to the fullest capacity by the mujtahid in seeking the knowledge of shariah. The perfect definition of ijtihad would mean that one has spent so much effort in pursuit of the knowledge of shariah that further pursuit is humanly impossible [5]. Sayf al-Din al- Amidi (a jurist of the shafi school) define ijtihad as the total expenditure of effort in the search for an opinion as to any legal rule in such a manner that an individual senses (within himself) an 217
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ability to expand further effort [6]. The definition emphasizes that the search must be total, involving the jurist utmost energies. If the jurist has failed to discover evidence, which he was quite capable of discovering, his opinion is void. The practice of ijtihad remained the norm rather than the exception during the era of Khulifa-e-Rashideen and the lifetime of the companions of the Prophet (PBUH). These companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were in a position to interpret and apply the principles of sunnah with the least possible error. Therefore, ijtihad that was performed by the Prophet’s companions is not subject to reinterpretation. But unfortunately, few centuries ago the activity of ijtihad had been exploited, which lead the muslim scholars to a rigid reading of the Quran. This was mainly because of the behavior of rationalist movement and muslim caliphs, which became increasingly autocratic, as they began to use their power negatively to fulfill their interests. So, as a result many scholars became to view ijtihad negatively. In [3], author mentions that scholars of all schools felt that all essential question had been thoroughly discussed and finally settled and a consensus gradually established itself to the effect from that time onwards no one might be deemed to have the necessary qualification for independent reasoning in law, and that all future activity would have to be confined to the explanation, application, and at the most, interpretation of the doctrine as it had been laid down once and for all. From the moment the gate of ijtihad considered to be closed in the views of many scholars, the concept of taqlid (stagnation, blind imitation) was introduced in the world of islam. In [7], author expressed that the exercise of independent judgment in early days produced a rich flowering of scientific activity and discovery but as soon as the gate of ijtihad was subsequently closed, a long period followed during which muslim science consisted of entirely of compilation and repetition. III. The Gate of Ijtihad There is a contradiction among some muslims and western scholars of islam about the notion that gate of ijtihad was closed or not. Traditionally, Sunni muslims believed that revelation stopped with the death of the prophet and the gate of ijtihad (independent interpretation) closed in the tenth century [4]. Some scholars believe that gate of 218
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ijtihad was closed in thirteenth century rather than in tenth century. With reference to this, muslim scholars were on a view that this was mainly because of the belief that all the answers were already there and all that was needed to follow and obey [7]. But the movement for the revival of ijtihad began with Ibn-Taymmiyah who negated the concept of taqlid as for him taqlid was deviation from the Quran and Sunnah and was therefore an innovation, even polytheistic [5]. Some other scholars of Islam from 18th to 20th century also believed on the closure of the gate of ijtihad and stressed that it must be reopened in order to meet the challenges that were faced by Islam. For example, Shah Waliyullah remarks that “i am convinced for various reasons that today the door of ijtihad is completely closed”[8]. Taqlid led to the stagnation of mind and made muslims incapable of defining themselves according to the conditions prevailing in the world. Another great Muslim scholar Jamul al- Din Afghani with reference to this notion was on a view that the gate of ijtihad is not closed at all, it is not only a duty but also a right to implement the principle of the Quran on the problem of our time continuously. Its refutation is tantamount to taqlid and stagnation [5]. According to Allama Muhammad Iqbal, in his famous publication Reconstruction of Religious thought in Islam [9], he declared that the closing of the door of ijtihad is pure fiction suggested partly by crystallization of legal thought in islam and partly by the intellectual laziness which, especially in the period of spiritual decay, turns great thinkers into idols. If some of the later doctors have upheld this fiction, modern islam is not bound by this voluntary surrender of intellectual independence. To prove his point, he gave an example of Turkey. The act of Turkish assembly by which they change caliphate from an individual and personal institution into a collective one by delegating the power of caliphate to the assembly. He calls this reform as an ijtihad. Iqbal admire the Turks for this great achievement as they were the first muslims to abandon taqlid. On the other hand western scholars like Hallaq, W. Montgomery Watt, and H.A.R. Gibb have challenged the notion of “closure of ijtihad”. They believe that the gate of ijtihad could not really be closed and the tradition of ijtihad was never abandoned. There are so many explanations about the notion of closing of the gate of ijtihad. As for some scholars, closing of gate of ijtihad meant that there is no possibility of establishing of new school of thought and the 219
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opening of the door of ijtihad meant to found a new school of law. In fact, the door of ijtihad was never closed, so for as working within the limits of a certain school of law was concerned. Historically, this term developed only as a statement to express the historical fact that after a particular period no new school of law can be established. However, it is perceived by some scholars like Hallaq that the door of ijtihad is not closed, as there is a possibility of forming another school of law other than the four-school of thought, which should have the capability to solve the problem of the modern time faced by islam, as the traditional school of thought emphasizes on taqlid. It is perceived by some scholars that in the past the door of ijtihad was considered closed because it provided immunity to the shariah against the interference of government and rationalist movement. There is another explanation or perception behind this notion that the practice of ijtihad was abandoned because the qualification requires for its practice were made so immaculate and rigorous and were set so high that they were humanly impossible to fulfill [6]. But these notions are also rejected by Hallaq as he argue that the vast bulk of fatwas (legal opinion) that appeared from fourth to tenth century prove that activity of ijtihad was never stopped. Hallaq in his article presented four points to prove that the gate of ijtihad was not closed in theory nor in practice [5]. • Jurist capable of ijtihad existed all the time • Ijtihad was used in developing the positive law after the formation of schools • Up to 500 AH, there was no phrase ’insidad bab alijtihad’ or any other expressions pointing towards closure • The controversy about closure of gate of ijtihad and extinction of Mujtahid prevented jurists reaching a consensus to that effect In the relevant literature on this subject, from fourth/tenth century it is clear that the gate was not closed. In practice and theory, the activity of ijtihad was uninterrupted throughout the history, as there is no phrase which is available about insidad bab al- ijtihad or any other expression that may allude to the notion of the closure. But the confusion emerged in this area when the term of ijtihad came to be defined with reference to schools of law by ignoring its actual meaning and associate number of secondary meaning with it.
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The concept of modern state also becomes another important reason which brought changes in the activity of ijtihad. According to this concept, the right of making and enforcing law vested with the state and its institution alone. Individuals are entitled to express their opinions, but opinions became law only after they had been enacted by the legislature. According to Joseph Schacht (a british-german professor of arabic and islam), some muslim scholars raised the subject of the gate of ijtihad only because by the beginning of the fourteenth century, islamic law had been elaborated in detail and thus muslim scholars came to the conclusion that all essential questions had been thoroughly discussed and finally settled [10]. Schacht believed that this was the basic reason behind the raising of the question of who was qualified to practice ijtihad and who was not and above all, the reason behind the perception of closure of gate of ijtihad. In reality the activity of ijtihad was never stopped. The underline reason behind this is, the practice of ijtihad was declared to be a religious duty incumbent upon all qualified jurist whenever a new case appears. The survival of ilm and in turn of the shariah depends on continued functioning of ijtihad and this is one of the important reasons because of which ijtihad is practiced by muslim scholars in the past without any break (although it was done at smaller scale). Blocking the gate of ijtihad would have meant for muslims a partial and imperfect mastery of ilm and thus a deficient and incomplete shariah. Inability to extend the precept of sharia to newly arising problems would have also meant that Islam was utterly inadequate. Thus, activity of ijtihad was done in the past without any break, but on the other hand, muslims performed this activity on a small scale or it was done on individual or domestic level. Infect from the last two centuries, efforts of muslim scholars to deal with stagnation and to upraise their conditions with the help of critical thinking were not remarkable at all. This is one of the important reasons behind the assumption that in the past gate of ijtihad was closed. IV. Ijtihad and Contemporary World The world of Islam after about six centuries of intellectual advancement, during which it produced a most illustrious galaxy of scholars, began to decline. With reference to this, Afghani was on a view that the blame for our decline does not lie elsewhere; it lies on us because we ceased to be dynamic as the Quran wanted us to be. 221
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Muslims became static and began to rest on our laurels. The Quran called on us to engage in a continuous struggle. While we began to think that we had reached to the limit and began to rest intellectually, while others were marching on [11]. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) had given the basic principle only to the muslims, which are in the Holy Quran and His own example (Sunnah). He had directed the muslims to use their judgment in working out details according to the changing circumstances and rising exigencies. For this, as the benefit of the whole ummah lies in the activity of ijtihad, Allah promised a reward to a mujtahid. As there is hadith with reference to this that “when a judge makes ijtihad and reaches a correct conclusion, he receive a double reward; and if his conclusion is incorrect, he still receive a reward�. The decline of muslims started gradually from superpower to mere disoriented people and becomes subject to humiliation in every field of life and this is only because they stopped questioning and started on a way of blind following or in other words they stopped critical thinking in order to meet the challenges of the modern world. As human society is a developing entity and human actions, relationships and activities are ever increasing and ever expanding. Many things are invented that were not existed before. Therefore, the process of ijtihad is responsible for catering to all the needs of the human society and to provide answers to all questions, which may arise. Without the process of ijtihad, many human activities are difficult to develop in the sphere of an Islamic life. One question arises here, why it becomes difficult for the muslims in contemporary world to perform activity of ijtihad with its full dynamics? so that it could bring solution of all those problems faced by the muslims from the last few years. Perhaps there are so many reasons, which are responsible for ineffectiveness of ijtihad in the present era. As for example, abolishment of caliphate in its true sense and the emergence of the concept of the nation states becomes huge hurdle in the path of this activity. As because of these two reasons a question arises in the world of islam, who have authority to perform ijtihad? Some says that ijtihad cannot be performed effectively in the present time because no one fulfills the requirements of mujtahid in the present time. The old interpretations no longer provide suitable answers to the difficult questions faced by the muslim world. Thus, muslims must try to deal with the stagnation existing within their minds. They must try to reinterpret (but within some limitations), which can give them suitable answers with reference to contemporary challenges. As it seems 222
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impossible for the muslims to get rid of all existing problems and go back to the caliphate, which can resolve the issue of authority. For the better performance of ijtihad Afghani recommended that ulma should establish regional centers in the various countries where ijtihad could be exercised for the guidance of common man. These regional centers should be connected with a global center, which may be established in any one of the holy places. According to him the representative of various centers may foregather to exercise ijtihad for the whole Ummah and will prepare it to withstand foreign challenges [5]. V. Concluding Remarks Islam the fastest growing religion in the world, with over 1.2 billion followers has the astounding capability of adapting to ever changing conditions. The basic aim of islamic shariah is to provide guidance and way of life to its followers. The star of islam was at its rise and islam crossed borderers from Asia to Africa and then Europe, when the tradition of ijtihad was at its height. However, selfish behavior of rulers, rationalist movement and abolishment of caliphate in its true sense lead the muslims towards gradual decline because they stopped questioning and critical thinking. This ultimately led the muslims from superpower to mere disoriented people subjected to humiliation in every field of life. As with reference to this Abduh was on a view that decline of muslim societies is because of their ignorance and misunderstanding of the faith and because of taqlid (blind imitation) [4]. Thus, to regain their eminence power and glory, muslims must return to critical thinking and the key to this remain in the practice of ijtihad. This is the only way through which muslims can make themself compatible with the existing world and can cope with the challenges presented by contemporary world. Without the tool of ijtihad, the gap between islamic theory or aspirations and contemporary reality or constraints becomes impossible to bridge.
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References 1.
Zia, R.:Transmission of Values in Muslim Countries: Religious Education and Moral Development in School Curricula. In CERC Studies in Comparative Education, Springer Netherlands. pp. 119–134, volume 18, number 3,2007.
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Al-Attas, F.: Interview on Islam and Education. In Islamic Perspective Journal, Volume 1, Number 2, pages: 7–16, 2009.
3.
Hallaq, W.B.: Was the gate of ijtihad closed? In Journal of Middle East Studies. volume 16, number 1, pages 3–41, 1984.
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Rahnema, A.: Pioneers of Islamic Revival. Zed Books Ltd Publishers, London, UK edition, 1995.
5.
Mas’ud M.K.: Iqbal’s reconstruction of Ijtihad. 2nd edition, Iqbal Academy Publishers, Lahore, Pakistan, 2003.
6.
Weiss, B.: Interpretation in Islamic Law: The Theory of Ijtihad. In The American Journal of Comparative Law., volume 26, number 2, pages 199–212, 1978.
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Lewis, B.: The Muslim Discovery of Europe. 2nd edition, London Redwood Burn Ltd. Publishers, UK. pages 230, 1982.
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Jalbani, G.N.: Teaching of ShahWaliyullah of Delhi. 2nd edition, Ashraf Printing Press, Lahore, Pakistan, pages 199, 1967.
9.
Iqbal, M.: Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. 2nd edition, Ashraf Printing Press, Lahore, Pakistan, pages 178, 1982.
10. Hallaq, W. B.: On the origin of the controversy about the existence of mujtahid and the gate of ijtihad. In Journal of Studies Islamica, volume 24, number 63, pages 129–141, 1986. 11. Malik, C.: God and Man in Contemporary Islamic Thought. Centennial Publishers, Beirut, pages 228, 1972.
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IIUC STUDIES ISSN 1813-7733 Vol.- 9, December 2011 (p 225-232)
Scientific Research; Instructions from the Holy Quran Muhammad Athar Uddin* Fouzia Ferdous** Abstract: Science is the branch of knowledge that deals with the material world. In scientific research it is necessary to know "How does our knowledge of physical world expand?" and "What are the principles of scientific research?" In fact scientific research is a combination of experimental works and intellectual activity. The Almighty Allah has given specific fundamental properties to every materials of the universe. The Scientist can only discover very few of those properties and apply them in integrated form when and where necessary. Continuation of scientific research and advancement of the technology is possible only because of the unchangeable fundamental properties of all materials of the universe formulated by the Almighty Allah. As per Quranic instructions no scientific research is accepted without proven reason and the scientific theories contradictory to the Holy Quran must be rejected. Index Terms: Science, Research, Quran.
I. Introduction The Almighty Allah is the creator of the whole universe. He maintains it from the very beginning in a systematic way. He creates human beings and gives them specific guidelines to lead their life. He will give them reward or punishment in the hereafter depending on their deeds. He never makes himself diverted from His own administrative or ruling policy, His ideology, methodology or strategy. Like His administrative policy He also gives specific fundamental properties or characters to every creation of the universe and no changes or alterations are found in of those properties or characters [1]. These
* **
Associate Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, IIUC, Dhaka Campus Assistant Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, IIUC, Dhaka Campus
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unchangeable phenomena are very strong tools for scientific research for the human beings with having very limited knowledge. The advancement of scientific research so far in finding the properties given by Allah in this universe may not be treated even like a single drop of water in the sea in comparison with Allah's true position of knowledge. Besides this is the kindness of Allah to make a door for mankind into the sea of Allah's knowledge and that door is nothing but the unchangeable fundamental properties of all creations. On the other hand if the Almighty Allah does not maintain these unchangeable fundamental behaviours, no scientific research was possible. But Allah does not do that and due to that He inspires the mankind in the Quran several times for scientific research [2]. Interestingly we find many direct scientific indications in the Quran [3]. Actually day by day the more we enter into the depth of knowledge more scientific indications are found from the Quran from its old verses revealed 1500 years ago. The Quran is the only pure revealed source of knowledge in the present world [4], so any law, theory, hypothesis of scientific research contradictory to the Quran must be rejected. Instructions for scientific research will be described below as per Quranic References. II. Instructions from The Holy Quran for Scientific Research We find instructions from the Holy Quran regarding (A) Possibility of scientific research (B) Possibility of progress in scientific research (C) Acceptability of scientific research with proven reason and (D) Possibility of wrong justification in scientific research. A. Possibility of scientific research Science is the branch of knowledge that deals with the material world [5]. The scientists find scope for scientific research in the nature only because of unchangeable fundamental properties of all creations of the universe. When similar causes are observed repeatedly from similar incidences, researchers try to give some explanations and these explanations are nothing but the unchangeable properties set by the almighty Allah. Truly the integrated forms of these types of explanations are treated as the scientific research. The Holy Quran gives us proper guidelines for scientific research. We find several verses from the Holy Quran related to these matters.
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The Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran; 35:43 (ﻼ ً ﺖ ٱﻟﱠﻠ ِﻪ َﺗﺤۡﻮِﻳ ِ ﺴﱠﻨ ُ ﺠ َﺪ ِﻟ ِ ﻼ َوﻟَﻦ َﺗ ًۖ۟ ﺖ ٱﻟﱠﻠ ِﻪ َﺗﺒۡﺪِﻳ ِ ﺴ ﱠﻨ ُ ﺠ َﺪ ِﻟ ِ ﻦ َﻓﻠَﻦ َﺗ َۚ ﺖ ٱﻟَۡﺄ ﱠوﻟِﻴ َ ﺳ ﱠﻨ ُ ن ِإﻟﱠﺎ َ ﻈﺮُو ُ ) َﻓ َﻬﻞۡ ﻳَﻨ
"Then should they wait for aught except the way of former people? For you shall not find any alteration in the Course of Allah." Also described in the Holy Quran; 2:117 (ن ُ ل َﻟ ُﻪ ۥ آُﻦ َﻓ َﻴﻜُﻮ ُ ﻀﻰٰٓ َأﻣۡ ًﺮ۟ا َﻓِﺈ ﱠﻧﻤَﺎ َﻳﻘُﻮ َ ض َوِإذَا َﻗ ِۖ ۡت َوٱﻟَۡﺄر ِ ﺴ َﻤـٰ َﻮٲ ) َﺑﺪِﻳ ُﻊ ٱﻟ ﱠ
"The Originator of the heavens and the earth! When He wants a thing, He says unto it only: Be! and it is." Also described in the Holy Quran; 7:54 ﻞ ٱﻟﱠﻨﮩَﺎ َر َﻳﻄُۡﻠُﺒ ُﻪ َ ۡش ُﻳﻐۡﺸِﻰ ٱﱠﻟﻴ ِ ۡﻋﻠَﻰ ٱﻟۡ َﻌﺮ َ ٰﺳﱠﺘ ِﺔ َأﻳﱠﺎ ٍ۟م ُﺛﻢﱠ ٱﺳَۡﺘ َﻮى ِ ض ﻓِﻰ َ ۡت َوٱﻟَۡﺄر ِ ﺴ َﻤـٰ َﻮٲ ﻖ ٱﻟ ﱠ َ ﺧَﻠ َ ن َرﺑﱠ ُﻜ ُﻢ ٱﻟﻠﱠ ُﻪ ٱﱠﻟﺬِى )ِإ ﱠ (٥٤ ﻦ َ ب ٱﻟۡ َﻌـَٰﻠﻤِﻴ ك ٱﻟﻠﱠ ُﻪ َر ﱡ َ ﻖ َوٱﻟَۡﺄﻣۡ ُۗﺮ َﺗﺒَﺎ َر ُ ۡﺨﻠ َ ۡت ِﺑَﺄﻣۡ ِﺮ ِﻩ ۗۦۤ َأﻟَﺎ َﻟ ُﻪ ٱﻟ ِۭ ﺨ َﺮٲ ﺴﱠ َ ﺲ َوٱﻟۡ َﻘ َﻤ َﺮ َوٱﻟﱡﻨﺠُﻮ َم ُﻣ َ ۡﺸﻤ ﺣﺜِﻴًﺜ۟ﺎ َوٱﻟ ﱠ َ ۥ
"Look! Your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, and then mounted He the Throne. He coverts the night with the day, which is in haste to follow it, and has made the sun and the moon and the stars subservient by His command. His verily is all creation and commandment blessed be Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!" From the above verses the following matters are understood. • Allah is the creator of all creations of the universe. • The whole universe is obeying the rules and regulations of Allah continuously. • We find no changes or alterations in these rules and regulations. Examples; (i) Air is a good electrically insulated material Air is a good insulator. Almost no current passes through it. It possesses very high resistance [6]. In electric power generation and distribution system very high voltage sources are created in domestic areas keeping them open in the air. If from now on the air behaves like a good conductor, what will happen? All the living beings in the air on the surface of the earth will die within a few minutes. From the very beginning the air is an insulator and will continue behaving like insulator by the will of the almighty Allah.
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(ii) Fundamental properties of electro-magnetic induction According to Faraday's laws of electro-magnetic induction [7], if magnetic flux cuts the conductors of a coiled inductor with having N numbers of turns in the coil and the flux ( ) changes with time (t) a voltage (E) will be induced in the coil and is given by the formula [E = - N(d /dt)]. The fundamental properties of electro-magnetic induction have been created by the almighty Allah from the very beginning of the creation of the universe; and discovered by the scientists7 at the beginning of the nineteen centuries. No alteration in the fundamental properties of electro-magnetic induction is observed and we hope that unchangeable properties will continue till the eternity of the universe as per will and strategy of the almighty Allah. Using the fundamental electro-magnetic properties transformers, electric motors, generators and lot of similar drives, equipments and accessories are designed. If frequent changes in fundamental electro-magnetic properties are observed, the total electrical engineering system will collapse. Allah is capable to do that. So it is a great mercy of Allah to his creations to maintain this constancy, give the scope of scientific research. B. Possibility of progress in scientific research Day by day we find lot of progresses in the research of science and technology. This is not a short-time work, and credit does not go to a single person for all of these advancements in the research of science and technology. We find linkage between the previous and present research works. A new research is established on the foundation of previous research, and normally the latest is treated as advancement in the same goal. This progress in scientific research will not be possible if frequent changes are observed in the rules, characters or fundamental properties of the materials or systems of the universe. The Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran; 30:30 (ﻖ ٱﻟﱠﻠ ِۚﻪ ِ ۡﺨﻠ َ ﻞ ِﻟ َ ﻋَﻠﻴۡﮩَﺎۚ ﻟَﺎ َﺗﺒۡﺪِﻳ َ س َ ﻄ َﺮ ٱﻟﻨﱠﺎ َ ت ٱﻟﱠﻠ ِﻪ ٱﱠﻟﺘِﻰ َﻓ َ ) ِﻓﻄۡ َﺮ
"The nature made by Allah in which He has made men; there is no alteration of Allah's creation." So the almighty Allah's will of making the fundamental behaviours of all creations of the universe unchangeable is a gate way for the researchers for having scopes in scientific research as well as progress in scientific research.
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Example; Invention of computer and progress in computer technology It is impossible to give all credit to a single person for the invention of computer. It is actually step by step progress by thousands of scientists from the very beginning of the human civilization to the modern age and still research is in progress. Initially it was a mechanical device [8]. Blaise Pascal first invented the mechanical calculating machine in 1642. Besides lot of scientists from Greek, Chain, India and other parts of the world have contribution in developing calculation system. In 1937 the first electro mechanical computer (Mark I) was invented by a group of researchers in Harvard University. After the invention of transistor in 1947 at Bell Labs a computer was developed using transistor instead of vacuum tube. Then lot of progress achieved in computer technology in the modern age improving the electronic technology. In this regard Boolean a famous scientist contributed a lot in developing Boolean algebra for binary system in electronic devices. Now generally development in mathematics is a development in computer technology and vice versa. In modern computer technology controlled and efficient use of conductivity/resistivity of semiconductors is one of the main focusing matters. If from now on, the semiconducting materials (the designing material of the modern computer) do not behave properly what will happen? The system of computer technology will collapse. As the fundamental properties of all creations of the universe are unchangeable, so continuation of research by the new researchers from the ending works of earlier researchers are possible and in this way improvement of technology are achieved. This continuation is the key point for swimming in the sea of knowledge of the almighty Allah. If continuation becomes impossible every individual will have to work from fundamental position and progress in research and technology will be impossible. The reason for possibility of progress of research in science and technology is the same, as discussed earlier, the Allah's strategy of maintaining unchangeability of fundamental properties of all creations of the universe. So invention of computer is one of the finest examples of possibility of progress in scientific research. C. Acceptability of scientific research with proven reason Scientific research is a combination of experimental work and intellectual activity [9]. Certain experimental justification is required to establish any theory or hypothesis. We cannot confirm or reject any thing without a reason. 229
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The Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran; 17:36 (ﻻ ً ﻋﻨۡ ُﻪ َﻣﺴۡـُٔﻮ َ ن َ ﻚ آَﺎ َ ِٕ ٰٓﺼ َﺮ َوٱﻟۡ ُﻔﺆَا َد ُآﻞﱡ ُأ ْوَﻟـ َ ﺴﻤۡ َﻊ َوٱﻟۡ َﺒ ن ٱﻟ ﱠ ﻋﻠۡ ٌۚﻢ ِإ ﱠ ِ ﻚ ِﺑ ِﻪۦ َ ﺲ َﻟ َ ۡﻒ ﻣَﺎ َﻟﻴ ُ ۡ) َوﻟَﺎ َﺗﻘ
"(O man), follow not that whereof you have no knowledge. Look! The hearing and the sight and the heart of each of these it will be asked." One of the main sources of errors in justification of research is due to the replacement of knowledge by conjecture. The Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran; 53:28 ٢٨( ﺷﻴًۡـٔ۟ﺎ َ ﻖ ﺤﱢ َ ۡﻦ ٱﻟ َ ﻦ ﻟَﺎ ُﻳﻐۡﻨِﻰ ِﻣ ﻈﱠ ن ٱﻟ ﱠ ﻦ َوِإ ﱠ ۖﻈ ﱠ ن ِإﻟﱠﺎ ٱﻟ ﱠ َ ﻋﻠۡ ٍﻢۖ إِن َﻳ ﱠﺘ ِﺒﻌُﻮ ِ ۡ) َوﻣَﺎ َﻟﻬُﻢ ِﺑ ِﻪۦ ِﻣﻦ
"And they have no knowledge thereof. They follow but a guess, and a guess can never take the place of the truth." So as per Quranic instruction no research is accepted without proven reason. D. Possibility of wrong justification in scientific research The human knowledge is limited. No research is final. Frequently we find changes in theorem, hypothesis, and laws of scientific research. The Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran; 17:85 (ﻼ ً۟ ﻦ ٱﻟۡ ِﻌﻠۡ ِﻢ ِإﻟﱠﺎ َﻗﻠِﻴ َ ) َو َﻣﺎٓ أُوﺗِﻴﺘُﻢ ﱢﻣ "And of knowledge you have been vouchsafed but little." The only pure knowledge is the revealed knowledge, and at present no doubt that is the Holy Quran. The Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran; 2:2 ( ﺐ ﻓِﻴ ِۛﻪ َۛ ۡﺐ ﻟَﺎ َرﻳ ُ ٰﻚ ٱﻟۡ ِ َﺘـ َ ) َذٲِﻟ
"This is the Scripture where of there is no doubt." So the only way of staying in the right path in scientific research is to believe and obey the Holy Quran as a complete guide line for our worldly life and the life hereafter, and to follow its instruction for scientific research. Any scientific theory contradictory to the Holy Quran textually or philosophically must be rejected. Example;
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Regarding movement of the sun Several times the scientists give several contradictory theories regarding movement of the sun [10]. As per Ptolemy's theory (200 BC) "the earth is at the centre and all the other creations of the universe including the sun are moving around the earth. As per Nicholas Copernicus's theory (1512 AD) "the sun is at the centre at rest position and all the other creations of the universe including the earth are moving around the sun. As per Yohannus Keppler's theory (1609 AD) "the sun is at the centre, all the other creations of the universe including the earth are moving around the sun and at the same time around their own orbital paths. Now at the modern age it is established that, both earth and sun and other planets are moving, in our nearest sky, an orbital system is there around the sun, all planets including the earth is moving around the sun and around their own centres, the sun is also moving around its own centre and in the similar way there are unlimited numbers of solar systems as well as unlimited numbers of milky ways in the universe. Now what Quran says about the movement of all objects of the universe around fifteen hundred years ago! The Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran; 21:33 (٣٣ ن َ ﻚ َﻳﺴۡ َﺒﺤُﻮ ٍ۟ ﻞ ﻓِﻰ َﻓَﻠ ۟ﺲ َوٱﻟۡ َﻘ َﻤ َۖﺮ ُآ ﱞ َ ۡﺸﻤ ﻞ َوٱﻟ ﱠﻨﮩَﺎ َر َوٱﻟ ﱠ َ ۡﻖ ٱﱠﻟﻴ َ ﺧَﻠ َ ) َو ُه َﻮ ٱﱠﻟﺬِى
"And He it is who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They float, each in an orbit." So it is observed that the scientific theories cannot be treated as absolute truth. There are the possibilities of wrong justifications in scientific research. The Quran is the only absolute truth. III. Conclusion As Muslims we should think about every creation of the almighty Allah, how it sustains, with what systematic way "Governed by Allah" it is running and what material properties it possesses. The Holy Quran inspires us to this. The Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran; 3:190 (ﺐ ِ ٰﺖ ِّﻟُﺄ ْوﻟِﻰ ٱﻟَۡﺄﻟۡ َﺒـ ٍ۟ ٰﻞ َوٱﻟ ﱠﻨﮩَﺎ ِر َﻟَﺄ َﻳـ ِ ۡﻒ ٱﱠﻟﻴ ِ ٰض َوٱﺧۡ ِﺘَﻠـ ِ ۡت َوٱﻟَۡﺄر ِ ﺴ َﻤـٰ َﻮٲ ﻖ ٱﻟ ﱠ ِ ۡﺧﻠ َ ن ﻓِﻰ )ِإ ﱠ
"Look! In the creation of the heavens and the earth and (in) the difference of night and day are tokens (of His sovereignty) for men of understanding." 231
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In scientific research priority should not be to get benefit from materials rather to take smells of the greatness of the Almighty Allah and to be submissive to Him. The Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran; 3:191 ض َر ﱠﺑﻨَﺎ ﻣَﺎ ِ ۡت وَٱﻟَۡﺄر ِ ﺴ َﻤـٰﻮَٲ ﻖ ٱﻟ ﱠ ِ ۡﺧﻠ َ ن ﻓِﻰ َ ﺟﻨُﻮ ِﺑ ِﻬﻢۡ َو َﻳ َﺘ َﻔ ﱠﺮُو ُ ٰﻋَﻠﻰ َ ن ٱﻟﱠﻠ َﻪ ِﻗ َﻴـٰ ًﻤ۟ﺎ َو ُﻗﻌُﻮ ًد۟ا َو َ ﻦ َﻳﺬۡ ُآﺮُو َ )ٱﱠﻟﺬِﻳ ( ب ٱﻟﻨﱠﺎ ِر َ ﻋﺬَا َ ﻚ َﻓ ِﻘﻨَﺎ َ ﺤـٰ َﻨ َ ۡﺳﺒ ُ ﻼ ً۟ ﻄ ِ ٰﺖ َهـٰﺬَا َﺑـ َ ۡﺧَﻠﻘ َ
"Such as remember Allah, standing, sitting, and reclining, and consider the creation of the heavens and the earth, (and say): Our Lord! You created not this in vain. Glory be to You! Preserve us from the doom of Fire" Though The Quran is not a book of science, we get a lot of direct scientific indications from it along with general instructions and inspirations for scientific research. We should believe and follow the Holy Quran as the guidelines for our worldly life and the life hereafter and to follow the Quranic instructions to stay in the right path for scientific research.
References 1.
Surah Fatir 35: 43.
2.
Surah Al-Imran 3: 190-191.
3.
Surah Al-Anbiya 21: 33.
4.
Surah Al-Baqara 2: 2.
5.
Mehdi Golshani, “Philosophy of Science from the Qura`anic Perspective,” Toward Islamization of Disciplines, IIIT, p. 73, 2nd ed, 1995.
6.
B. L. Theraja, A. K. Theraja, A Text Book of Electrical Technology, vol. 1, 23rd ed., pp. 3-5, 2004.
7.
B. L. Theraja, A. K. Theraja, A Text Book of Electrical Technology, vol. 1, 23rd ed., pp. 279-280, 2004.
8.
Mohammed Alamgir, Introduction to Computers, 1st ed., pp. 7-10, 2004.
9.
Mehdi Golshani, “Philosophy of Science from the Qura`anic Perspective,” Toward Islamization of Disciplines, IIIT, p. 81, 2nd ed, 1995.
10. Zakir Naik, Quran and Modern Science: Compatible or Incompatible?, 2nd ed. (Translated into Bangla), pp. 23-25, 2010.
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Toward Islamization of Science and Technology Fouzia Ferdous* Muhammad Athar Uddin** Abstract: The attitude and knowledge of Muslim Scientists can play an important role in the efforts for Islamization of Knowledge. Unfortunately, all sciences including Engineering and Technology of today which flourished at the hands of Muslim scholars in the medieval age are void completely from Islamic attitude and spirit. The Muslim Scientists of today are obligated to the Muslim Ummah to bring the spirit of sciences back in accordance with the spirit of Islam. Concrete proposals with specific plans should be further pursued, both academically and practically in the process of Islamization of Science and Technology. Index Terms: Islamization, Science, Technology, Muslim Ummah.
I. Introduction Scientific credibility emanates from the axiom that Science is the body of knowledge which is gathered by the use of scientific method. Since such a phenomenon is only possible while dealing with the material things, Science means that branch of knowledge which deals with the material world. Scientific method should be value dependent. Values vary from place to place, science does not. However the implementation of the fruits of scientific method can be and are valueoriented [1]. Six hundred years of scientific discoveries cannot be considered an accident. A good portion of this earth slept through these discoveries, which flowed from the Islamic culture that was profused with the spirit of thinking, discovery and free expression. Others were trying to free
* **
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, IIUC, Dhaka Campus Associate Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, IIUC, Dhaka Campus
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their societies from pernicious clutches of the clergy which was trying hard to inhibit scientific development. When logic reason and freedom to do scientific research were being curtailed, inhibited , questioned and persecuted by others, the Muslim civilization had embarked upon a journey set in motion by the Quranic attitude [2]. Muslims of today have come around a circle trading places with others. Now it is the Muslims who lack the Quranic attitude while others have borrowed and effectively adopted this attitude to their advantage. II. Causes of Decline Some of the historical causes that led to the decline of science in our countries and continue to retard its progress today are easy to recognize. In common with most countries in Asia and Africa, the Muslim world remained under colonial rules for the better part of the past century. Characteristically, the educational system was designed to produce low level bureaucrats needed to run the colonial administration. Scientific education received low priority and, worse yet, was often spurned by Muslims themselves who viewed all forms of western education as anti-religious. This bias against the new knowledge, although understandable, was incompatible with the teachings of the Prophet (saws) who urged Muslims to acquire knowledge even if it meant travelling to China, one of the most difficult-to-reach countries in his day. Besides an aversion to science, there were other practical problems. Most of Muslim institutions have traditionally lacked adequate facilities for the teaching of sciences. Even today, many laboratories are poorly equipped, teaching methods are antiquated and the material taught frequently out-dated. One cannot entirely fault the teachers for the poor quality of education because they rarely have access to modern textbook and exposure to new techniques [3]. The poor quality education is not the only problem. In these countries, most students far more interested in promoting political and regional causes than in pursuing knowledge. For if the faculty members are not actively involved in research, the younger generation will receive neither the motivation nor necessary training to pursue research. In our estimation, it is the lack of a truly Islamic approach to the academic disciplines that is at the core of the crisis confronting the Ummah today. While it is true that the majority of the Ummah is uneducated, and that basic literacy is a problem in its own right, the 234
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problem is compounded when we see that those who do manage to acquire. For themselves an education, acquire with it the biases and attitudes that come part and parcel with the curricula and syllabi that frame that education [4]. While the majority of the Ummah is simply ignorant, the majority of Ummah’s educated lacks an Islamic identity or sense of Islamic individuality. And this is the result of an educational benefit of even the least significant Islamic inputs. A Western observer, commenting on the state of education in Turkey during the last years of the ’Uthmani Khilafah’ wrote, "if the dead point of a society is reached when the educational forces are no longer effective to influence or direct its development, it must be admitted that the dead-point was long since passed in Islamic society” [5]. Our countries are, by and large, ruled by dictatorial regimes having a greater stake in self –preservation than in scientific development. A major share of financial resources goes to military establishments while only a minor portion is invested in education and science. Occasionally, even the meager sums earmarked for scientific institutions are not wisely spent [6]. III. How Can We Develop The Muslim World stretches from Morocco to Indonesia and beyond; and, consequently, each country has its own unique social, political and financial considerations that shape its policy toward science and technology. Because of this vast diversity, effective solutions have to be individually tailored. For the present, a closer collaboration among the Muslim countries would be beneficial. For example, a free and open exchange of scientists and scholars within this community should be encouraged and hands-on workshops aimed at teaching specific methodologies to investigators should be organized [7]. The present trend in some of our countries is to hold annual conference to which Western scientists are principally invited and treated like royalty does not benefit indigenous. Science even though it may promote some interest in tourism, most of the local scientists do not contribute significantly to these seminars and do not absorb what is presented by the outsiders. For a limited period, it would be more advantageous to invite scientists primarily from third-world countries with whom we can relate somewhat better and can engage in healthy competition [8]. Library facilities at most of our academic and research facilities are woefully inadequate, making it almost impossible for scientists to stay abreast of the latest progress in their research areas. 235
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Our library facilities should be enhanced, library should be enriched and internet facilities must be obligatory. It is unrealistic to expect all universities to become centres of research. Most should concentrate on achieving excellence in teaching while a few should be designated as research universities. The latter should be provided with the best affordable facilities and staffed with the most talented researchers available. It is absolutely essential some systems for accountability in research [9]. With the perseverance of the scientists and the consistent support from governments, .the future of science in Muslim countries will be bright. One day, in the not too distant future, we shall reclaim some of the eminence in the sciences that Muslims once enjoyed and cherished. IV. Islamization of Science and Technology If something is to be accepted in science, it must be established by means of proof, it must have a source and the method or methods used to reach it must be valid. Indeed, the same is true with regard to the sciences of Shariah. For anything to be valid it must have its basis in either the Quran or Sunnah, or in the Ijma or Qiyas. Moreover, all such details in the Shariah-sciences must have been obtained by valid methods. What we mean by the Islamization of knowledge, it should first be clear that the sources of knowledge should be Islamic sources, i.e. revelation as represented by the Quran and Sunnah, and nature as manifested in the natural universe. [10] Secondly, the methods for obtaining knowledge must be Islamic methods, so that the God –given faculties of reason and the rest are used alongside the Fitrah-powers of discretion [11]. Finally, the results obtained by this formula must be consistent with the following criteria: • Human nature • The natural laws of the universe • Islamic teachings: principles and injunctions • Islamic values: both moral and aesthetic Indeed, the Islamization of Knowledge is something that we feel to be the duty of everyone capable of contributing to it. In order to revitalize the Ummah, it is essential that its educational processes be revamped to reflect its own identity rather than the Pythagorean world view of 236
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the available Western models. The following guidelines may prove to be beneficial: •
Whatever knowledge can be proven to be scientific fact may legitimately be accepted as Islamic.
•
All knowledge must be fixed in the overall framework of The Islamic scheme of things with regard to life in the universe. In other words, the Muslim should never be allowed to lose his perspective. Indeed, the Quran is severe in its condemnation of the disbelievers over their inability to understand natural phenomena within the larger context of Allah’s world-order.
•
Anything found contrary to the universal principles of Islam must be rejected. This is where the efforts of Muslim social scientists will contribute to those of Muslim scientists and technologists in the establishment of an integral Islamic society by means of which man may fulfil his mission on earth.
Of a certainty, when Allah is the Creator and Author of both the universe and the universal religion, no article of religion will ever be found contradictory to the laws of the universe. The implications of this simple truth on entire scope of academic and intellectual activities are legion. Indeed, we are charged with putting to use the social and material imperatives governing life in the universe for the purpose of doing the will of Allah. But, unless the Ummah is infused with the spirit and dynamism of Islam, it will never realize its goals. Thus, the burden to be shouldered by the Muslim scientist is indeed a ponderous one; as it is his or her task to acquire knowledge, to interact with it, and then to put it in a proper Islamic perspective so that it may be imparted thereafter from an Islamic point of view to younger, and increasingly more Islamically oriented minds. In the evolution if Muslim attitudes the very first development was the transformation of Quranic attitude into the scientific habit. Let us first look at the Islamic basis of such a transformation and the forces behind it. This will not only absolve Islamic heritage from being responsible for the ailments of Muslim attitude but will also re-establish the premise of Islamization of attitudes that once prompted development. The best Quranic term that invites human intellect to react with the processes of cause and effect, to our mind, is tadabbur. That is the Quranic invitation to the development of the scientific attitude. This prompted the human being to question his surroundings and base his inferences 237
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upon solid and legitimate grounds [12]. Exercising more common sense that dogma, observation than blind faith intellect (al’aql) became prerequisite of inquisition of knowledge. Time and again the Quran invited, moreover challenged humans to reason and to arrive at the concept of Tawhid via observation and logic. It constantly reflected upon the laws of nature that operate in this universe and which are accessible to every human being. “A token unto them is night. We strip it of the day, and see! They are in darkness. And the sun runs on unto a resting place for him. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise.” [13] “Surely in the creation of the Heavens and of the earth and in the alternation of the night and of the day are there signs for men of understanding.”[14] “Such as remember Allah, standing, sitting, and reclining, and consider the creation of the heavens and the earth, (and say): Our Lord! You created not this in vain. Glory be to You! Preserve us from the doom of Fire” [14] “Surely; there are signs in this for those who have aql” [15]. The Quran even challenged human intellect and experience to find any flaw in the universe and assured man that such will not happen [16]. The Quran ask of the disbelievers to offer their reasoning [17]. Whoever died, died after (being exposed to) the clear reasoning [18]. The Quran instructed its followers to speak to others in such a reasonable manner that it shall reach their very souls of understanding [19]. Then came a simple but profound challenge to the power of human tadabbur about the Quran itself. “Why don’t they exercise tadabbur over Quran; if it were from any one but Allah, they would have found many inconsistencies in it” [20]. In spite of excellent performance by individual Muslim scientists and engineers in foreign countries, the research output of Muslim universities is today negligible. This can only change by allowing more free competition and rewarding innovation rather than resisting it through fear that one will be required to learn more things to teach. Innovation is not to be achieved by simply copying the West. The
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crushing weight of blind adherence to Islamic orthodoxy which emphasizes rigid observances of ritualistic ceremonies as a mechanistic formula for salvation was a major factor in the decline of Islamic science and this should be excluded from the Islamic universities [21]. The desire of getting into the main stream of science and technology, if there is any, is achievable within the resources and assets of the Muslim World. What is needed to achieve this goal can philosophically be described. It requires only long sightedness, perseverance and the order of priority. This matter (of getting into science) is of such great significance to the future of the Muslim Ummah that it should be regarded as vital as its security and stability itself. This issue is of no less importance if not more, or so it seems to us. What should be the attitude of a Muslim scholar is no secret today. The great master, Muhammad (saws) has conveyed to it disciples in totality. What his disciples have acquired is very subtle and critical. What is critical is the use of skill, how to asses their potentialities and their limitations, how to improve, to rejuvenate. •
Scientific research method should be reviewed and integrated with Islamic thought.
•
We need institutions for studies in Quran, Hadith, Shariah as well as science and technology in a mutual reinforcing environment.
•
In reading the Quran and literature on Hadith of the Prophet (saws), the basic sources of information on Islam, one finds a great deal of emphasis on knowledge and the special position given to those with knowledge. One, therefore, wonders as to why the Muslims, professing
•
Islam, do not appear to be the leaders in knowledge. In this case however it is not only necessary to understand why that may be the case but also to search for ways to correct the situation.
•
The administration of science or engineering research centre can have a great influence on the quality of work done there. For the centre to be successful in the professional sense, at list a majority of the staff must have a sense of mission and must work toward the common good in line with Islamic values. This requires considerable self-discipline, suppression of self-interest, 239
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and honest work for honest pay. Their goal should be advancing the state of knowledge, not personal advancement. They should recognize that the wealth and trappings of this world are nothing compared to the true rewards of service to science and service to community. •
A systematic plan should be discussed for The Muslim World to invest in the “knowledge business” the most prospering of all businesses.
•
Textbooks can be written to teach science, at least in some areas, which carry an Islamic flavour. These text books can help a young scientist get a sense of his ideology and feel at home while studying science.
•
The world civilization lacks very badly a universal benefactor. Islam can provide this. This is exactly the kind of negative environment. Islam came to correct. Any development on the part of Muslim countries must include such international leadership. Not only should the developing nations receive relief, the millions of common citizens of the West, who are tired of the vested interests in their midst, should feel relief and be grateful.
V. Overall Attitudes One would say that it is in perfect with the spirit of Islamic philosophy as far as seeking of knowledge, evolving of new knowledge, sharing it with others and applying it to the betterment of mankind is concerned. Most of the Muslim countries adopt or have adopted the research model followed by one of the developed countries which are, without exception, all secular in their approach to their life. This model may be suitable for a given developed nation from which it is borrowed. It may not be necessarily as effective for the country which borrows it if it is implemented without any modification suitable for its ideological and governmental objectives and to the needs of the society. In this context we must first understand what research is, how it is carried out in some developed countries, how and at what stages the Islamization can be instilled. VI. Conclusion No doubt, science and technology have rendered great services to man in raising his standard of living, and they have, above all, served the 240
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need of satisfying man’s quest of knowledge; there can be no two opinions on this issue. Yet, the absence of proper values to direct its development has led among other things, to an unprecedented arms race, producing enough arsenals to annihilate man’s own existence. This is underscored by the fact that funds being spent on destructive capability by the major world powers are several times higher than those required for solving man’s food, health and educational problems. All this should compel us to pause for a moment, search our consciences, and decide to do something in earnest to check our progress in directions that may ultimately destroy all progress. This brings us to the point of adopting a radically different approach. The search for this approach has become all the more necessary in Muslim world, which finds itself sandwiched between the need for rapid progress in science and technology with a view to harnessing these for the basic needs of its teeming millions, on one hand, and the desirability of preserving the high ideals of its cultural, social and environmental systems, on the other. This can be done only by the way of Islamization of Science and Technology.
References 1.
[1] Mehdi Golshani, "Philosophy of science: A Quranic Perspective" Al-Tawhid (Tehran) vol. 2 (1), 13, October 1984.
2.
[2] Unus, Iqbal J., "Toward the Assimilation of Islamic Values in Scientific and Technological Development," 10th International Conference, Univ. Tech., Malaysia. p. 5, June, 1983.
3.
[3] [12] M.Yameen Zubairi. “The Principle of Intrinsic Opportunity: It's Role in Islamization of Scientific Development,” Islamization of Attitudes and Practices in Science and Technology, March 27, 1987.
4.
[4] [7] [8] [9] Syed M. Amir, "Science Research in Muslim Countries," Islamization of Attitudes and Practices in Science and Technology, March 27, 1987.
5.
[5] [10][11] Taha Jabir al Alwani. "Islamization of Attitudes and Practices in Science and Technology," March 27, 1987.
6.
[6] Gibb, H. A. R., Bowen, Harold, Islamic Society and the West, vol. 1, Part-II, p.159-160, Oxford University Press, UK, 1957.
7.
[12] Surah Al-Gashiya 88: 17.
8.
[13] Surah Ya Seen 36: 37-38.
9.
[14] Surah Al-Imran 3: 190-191.
10. [15] Surah An-Nahl 16: 12.
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11. [16] Surah Al-Mulk 67: 3. 12. [17] Surah Al-Baqara 2: 111. 13. [18] Surah Al-Anfal 8: 42. 14. [19] Surah An-Nisa 4: 63. 15. [20] Surah An-Nisa 4: 82. 16. [21] Ali Kyrala, “The Islamic Basis of the Coming Muslim Technological Renaissance,” Islamization of Attitudes and Practices in Science and Technology, March 27, 1987.
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Information Technology (IT) Ethics in the Light of Islam Abdul Kadar Muhammad Masum* Md. Cholem Ullah** Md. Abul Kalam Azad*** Abstract: Globalization and digital convergence in the emerging knowledge society has raised complex ethical, legal and societal issues. We are faced with complex and difficult questions regarding the freedom of expression, access to information, the right to privacy, intellectual property rights, and cultural diversity. To overcome these issues, it requires qualified and educated IT (Information Technology) beneficiaries professionally and ethically. Professional organizations like ACM, IEEE and ABET have established codes of ethics to help IT professionals, specially end users to understand and manage their ethical responsibilities. Islamic ethics comprise moral principles and guidance that differentiate between right and wrong, which are comprehensive, stable, fair, and historically proved success in building ethically great societies. The estimated 1.5 billion of Muslims should have an effective role in IT related activities and life, which requires them to understand and implement ethics, specially the Islamic ethics in their IT related works. This paper is a roadmap for modeling the IT user principles, which show the main phases for solving such problems. It focuses mainly on adopting a new version of IT user principles based on Islamic ethical values.
Index Terms: Information Technology (IT), Ethics, Islamic Ethics, Principles.
Introduction You are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah. (Qur’an 3:110)
*
Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, IIUC. Lecturer, Center for University Requirement Courses (CENURC), IIUC. *** Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, IIUC. **
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We live in an era of superlative technological advances. We have reached a new height of development in our life. Information and communication technology is the overriding factor. Information technology (IT) has become all pervasive in the lives of millions all over the world. It has become an instrumental need of all humans to gather knowledge as well as information. A person can learn or garner anything he or she needs by clicking on the mouse of a personal computer with internet connectivity. Internet has ushered in a new dimension in our life. But everybody in the Islamic world wants a guaranteed right in the ethics of using information technology. IT is frequently used illegally infringing its ethics all over the world. Its rights, which are already legally recognized, are being violated daily in the name of economic advancement, political stability, religious causes, campaigns against terrorism or for personal greed and interests. Violations of these rights have created new problems in human social systems, such as the digital divide, cybercrime, digital security and privacy concerns. All of those have affected people’s lives either directly or indirectly. Such hitech advances sometimes deny the underlying IT ethical issues. Though our information systems have evolved from data processing, through information systems, to artificial intelligence and embedded systems, there has not been sufficient advancement in dealing with the ethical issues these technologies have spawned [1]. Ogburn’s cultural lag theory suggests that technology is advancing faster than the ethical infrastructure necessary to control and support these gains [2]. That’s why, ethics are necessary to check IT-related abuses. So, Islamic ethics are, therefore, vital to expand the ethical research to help bridge the gap between behaviour and information science advances. Even there are many people who take a chance to visit various stock market websites to easily identify them as bullish or bearish. Many are very intruder in nature. They secretly visit other people’s personal files and data which is a total violation of Amanah in the light of Islam. This is totally unethical. Understanding unethical IT behavior can have tremendous returns. There are many recent examples of the impacts of unethical IT behavior, including problems such as software piracy, virus development and illegal access. Such unbecoming behavior cost a lot per year [3]. Many ethical issues have been identified as emerging from the tremendous growth of electronic commerce.
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Objectives of the Study The foremost objective of the study is to incorporate Islamic ethics with conventional IT ethics. In addition, this paper will give intent look at; 1. To review the underlying concepts of ethic and Islamic ethics for IT related resources in a workstation. 2. To develop some principles for IT professionals including end users, especially the Muslims, both from Islamic and general perspectives. 3. To diagnose present challenges of IT ethics and to propose some suggestions to overcome the hindrances. Methodology of the Study This study is a desk-based and library-oriented research. To find out the development in IT ethics and related Islamic issues, the authors consulted available published literatures, research monograms, journals and magazines in the field of Information Technology. The secondary data are derived from both Islamic and conventional literatures in this regard. It is worth mentioning here that the Qur’an and Hadiths are used in this study as original and primary source of data for the respective theme and concept. Other relevant literatures are also studied and examined carefully to fulfill the defined objectives taken in the present study. Research Rationale The new media, which is an emerging mass media largely based on electronic communication, is critical to the field of Islamic ethics because information is increasingly being processed electronically, from storage and retrieval to sharing and usage. The pervasiveness of indecent content, which was once disseminated locally, has become an issue of national and international concern with the development of the Internet [4]. The new media, which is a catch-all term for the Internet, email, blogs, social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook and Twitter, digital TV and mobile phones, is fast becoming a popular global information platform. It is the new form of mass media uniquely mediated by technology, especially the Internet. Unlike the traditional print and electronic media, the new media is interactive and user driven. The users themselves, rather than editors, determine the content. It poses a great threat to new users, especially children, because of the unwanted contents on the net.
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Technology is a double-edged sword. A student can go online for gainful research or spent his or her time on phonographic sites or the “phonosphere” [5]. An attempt to control a student misusing the online facility could easily be repulsed by a claim to rights of privacy. When used appropriately, the new media promotes learning and research. But they could also be misused, often inadvertently by the users resulting in the compromising of their privacy, fraud and even harm to children by pedophiles. Rarely does a student, who posts his photographs, address and other personally identifiable information (PII) on Facebook, think of the invaluable trails he or she is leaving behind for a kidnapper or a fraudster to exploit. The new media also ruffles the fabrics of a country’s social networks. Children are expected to keep company with the aged who would then impart the wisdom of the land to the younger generation. But this may not be possible when the children chat online or text friends. By engaging more with the “strangers without” than the “friends within”, the young make the elderly lonely and desperately excluded in the high-tech world. There are some justified reasons to study IT ethics. The underlying reasons are in the following: i. Islam forbids all types of unethical activities in every sphere of human life. ii. Most of the people, including IT professionals, are unfamiliar with the ethical violations of information technology. iii. Making us behave like responsible professionals in the workstations. iv. We should study IT ethics which will teach us how to avoid computer abuses and catastrophes. v. Controlling the access of IT resources for children and motivating them for rational access to IT resources. vi. IT ethics are vitally important for users to avoid using illegal IT resources permanently and require some ethical issues independently. Literature Review The concept of information ethics, developed in the 1980’s, seeks to address the issues of values and traditions, desired or derided by a 246
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given society. It attempts to create “the standard for judging behavior of an individual or a member of community and classifying these as moral or amoral [5]. Information ethics is a relatively new area of study comprised of several distinct yet interrelated disciplines, including applied ethics, intellectual property, privacy, free speech, and societal control of information [6]. The information technology profession does not currently have such a strong self-regulatory organization, but there are some groups that have developed Codes of Ethics. One of the most widely recognized and publicized is the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct enacted in 1992. The ACM Code of Ethics is the most comprehensive guideline to bridge the gap between information technology and ethics. Its content is studied in this manuscript. Culture has been found to be more important than codes on influencing behavior [7]. However, it has been found that IT ethics can be successfully taught [8]. Vitell and Davis [9] found that ethics can improve “when top management makes it clear that ethical behavior will be rewarded and unethical behavior will be punished.” Hoff [10] suggests that individuals can be trained in ethical decision making in order to make proper ethical decisions. Therefore, exploring the nature of IT ethics and determining both its underlying elements as well as its demographic variability are productive efforts. Understanding these issues can lead to better programs to foster ethical education and improve ethical behavior. Beginning in 1997, conferences on the Ethics of Electronic Information in the 21st century were held at the University Memphis [11]. The subject of information ethics has also gained international interest as demonstrated by recent activities, starting with the first UNESCO Conference of InfoEthics in 1997 [12]. In 2003, an invitational conference was held in Karlsruhe, Germany under the leadership of the ICIE with support from the Volkswagen-Stiftung [13] in 2004. The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS 2003) developed the “Declaration of Principles: Building the Information Society: A Global Challenge in the New Millennium,” and in February 2007, the First African Conference on Information Ethics was held in South Africa (First African Conference on Information Ethics) [14]. Building on the 2007 conference, in August 2008 a UNESCO and the South African government sponsored 247
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training workshop on IE and E-Government in Sub-Saharan Africa will be held in South Africa. Over the past nearly 20 years, several schools have incorporated information ethics in their curricula, both as stand-alone courses and as part of other courses, many of which are required core courses. Ethics & IT Ethics Ethics may be defined as the set of moral principles that distinguish what is right from what is wrong. It is a normative field because it prescribes what one should do or abstain from doing. Ethics are moral standards that guide behavior, actions, and choices. Ethics are grounded in the notion of responsibility (as free moral agents, individuals, organizations, and societies are responsible for the actions that they take) and accountability (individuals, organizations, and society should be held accountable to others for the consequences of their actions). In most societies, a system of laws codifies the most significant ethical standards and provides a mechanism for holding people, organizations, and even governments accountable [15]. IT ethics are not exceptional from the above-mentioned view of ethics. In a world where information technology has come to define how people live and work, and has critically affected culture and values, it is important for us to review ethical issues, as well as social responsibility, in the present world. This is a difficult task because of the diversity in creed, class, caste, dialect, language, culture and race throughout the region. Ethics as reflection on morality is widely accepted among philosopher beginning with Aristotle, the founder of ethics as an academic discipline. As Rafael Capurro, who heads the International Center for Information Ethics (ICIE), reminds us: As a self-referential process ethics is an unending quest on explicit and implicit use of the moral code, that is to say of respect or disrespect, with regard to individual and social communication. In other words, ethic observes the ways we communicate with each other as moral persons and the ways this moral identify is understood [16]. There is, indeed, no unbiased ethical observer [17]. Ethics in Islam Islam is the last religion revealed by God (Allah-the almighty) to people. Allah said in the holy Qur’an [20] “This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as religion” [Quran 5:3]. The holy Qur’an consists of more than 6,000 verses; with hundreds of verses focusing on ethical 248
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aspects. Islam is basically based on two sources: The Holy Qur’an [20] and Sunnah of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). Sunnah is mainly defined by Muslim scholars as “all what prophet Mohammed says, acts, or agreed on”, which is mainly documented in six authenticated resources (Sahih al-bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan AbiDaud, Jamea al-Termethi, Sunan Ibn-Maja, and Sunan al-Nisaae). The general understanding of ethics in Islam can be express as a “set of moral principles and guidance that recognizes what is right behavior from what is wrong or what one should do or not”. Qur’an and Sunnah, show that all the Muslims’ life should be guided by Islamic ethics [21-24]. Allah said “Verily this Qur’an Doth guide to that which is most right (or stable)” [Qur’an 17:9]. Allah uses the term Akhlaq or khuluq in the Holy Qur’an to refer to the ethics. The importance of ethics in Islam is shown when Allah prescribes Prophet Mohammed that he is with great ethics “Prophet of Allah had been raised to a great spiritual dignity” [Qur’an 68:4]. Also Prophet Mohammed said “I was sent to complement the best of ethics”. The Qur’an represents the main dimension for the concept of ethics in Islam. The Islamic ethical system differs from secular ethical systems and from the moral code advocated by other religions. Throughout civilization, these secular models assumed moral codes that were transient and myopic since they were based on the values of their human founders, for example, Epicureanism or happiness for happiness’s sake. By contrast, the moral code embedded in Islamic ethics emphasizes the relation of man to his Creator. Because God is perfect and omniscient, Muslims have a code that is neither timebound nor biased by human whims. The Islamic code of ethics is enforceable at all times because the Creator and Monitor is closer to man than his jugular vein, and has perfect, eternal knowledge. The Qur’an and Sunnah use set of ethical terms to describe the concept of goodness such as: Sidq (Truth), Khayr (Goodness), Birr (Righteousness), Qist (Equity), ‘Adl (Equilibrium and Justice), Haqq (Truth and Right), Ma‘ruf (Known and approved), Amanah (Honesty), Ikhlas (Sincerity), and Taqwa (Piety). Pious actions are described as Salihat and impious actions are described as Sayyi’at. Some of these terms are repeated in tens (10s) of Qur’anic verses as well as Sunnah. A survey result (term based frequency) for sample of ethical related terms used in Qur’an is shown in the following table. It shows a
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survey result (verse and hadith based frequency) for sample of ethical characteristics used in Qur’an and Authenticated resources of Sunnah. Table 1 Frequency Of Good Ethical Characteristics In Quran And Sunnah Good Ethical Characteristic Ihsan (beneficence) Ikhlas (sincerity) Istighfar & Tawba (forgiveness) Amanah, Nazaha, Istiqama (honesty) Iswa Hasana, Irshad Islah (good model & Guidance) Wafaa Ahd, Ketman Ser (Keep promise and Secrecy) Amr maarof Nahi munkar (order goodness, prohibiting badness) Eman & Taqwa (Believe & piety) Morality, Husn alkhulug walmuamalah (good ethics and dealing) Hikmat & hulum (wisdom) Alhamd, Alshukr, Althanaa (Thankfulness) Sabr, Musabara, Kathm ghaidh (patient) Adl, Insaf) (fairness) Sidq (Truth) Rahma, Raafa, Rifq (Merciful) Takrem Insan (Mankind priority) Ilm, Amal (Science, Work) Tafakr, Tadabr, Taaml (thinking)
No of No of Verses Hadith 66 29 23 34 202 100 65 66 67
82
31
50
13
33
595
145
61
250
129 235 108 23 92 227 96 530 83
31 142 64 62 44 124 24 139 48
These surveys show that Islam supports and rewards people for all goodness and warns, prohibits or punishes people for badness. Islam considers ethics as an essential factor in developing or rebuilding the society based on understanding of the Qur’an and Sunnah. This ethical rebuilding of human behavior will bring benefit, peace, and prosperity to mankind. Proposed Principles of IT Ethics There are many reasons for creating a code of ethics that specifically apply to information technology (IT), including the prevalence of invisibility, inherent anonymity, and the unique malleability (ability to 250
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be “morphed” into whatever we can imagine) of technology compared to anything in our history. The Code of Ethics was created to provide principles to guide you in dealing with the complex situations of the information age that eclipse the level of your previous experiences and knowledge. Applying principles requires one to draw on their experience and come up with a fair judgment on how the broad principle may be applied to a specific situation [18]. As an IT professional, there are many ethical and moral values that you must adhere to. You are not only expected to have the highest degree of integrity and honesty, but to act in a responsible and lawful manner when accessing electronic private information. You must assume the custodial obligation to protect data, personal information, and identities from unauthorized access or disclosure, and respect the ownership of information in any form. This requires you -- as an IT professional or organization -- to display a greater amount of self-discipline. The proposed ethical principles are guidance for IT professionals including end users, especially the Muslims, can be divided into two parts: A. Islamic principles for IT Ethics: This set of principles is for all mankind, including computer and software professionals. Holding to these beliefs and values, you are expected to adhere to the following: 1.
Work as vicegerent of Allah: The main objective of creating all mankind by God (Allah) is to warship him; by developing and reconstructing the earth for the best (as vicegerent or Caliph) through their good acting and deeds. Allah said, “I have only created Jinn and Men that they may serve me” [Qur’an 51:56]. “Allah they Lord said to the angels: I will create a vicegerent on earth” [Qur’an 2:30].
2.
Performing duty is a warship: Software engineering professionals have to know that, performing their duty is a warship and Allah will reward them for goodness and punish them for badness. Allah said in Qur’an “Then shall anyone who has done an atom’s weight of good, see it and anyone who has done an atom’s weight of evil, shall see it” [Qur’an 99:7-8]. Prophet in his Hadith said “work is warship”.
3.
Understand and follow the standard ethics, especially Islamic ethics: IT professionals including end users have to understand 251
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the standard Islamic ethics (based on Quran and Sunnah). They have to consider it as the highest standard that they should follow in their life and work. 4.
Remember the Judgment day: IT professionals including end users have to know that doing goodness and producing useful knowledge will be rewarded by Allah in their life and after death to the Day of Judgment.
5.
Management with honesty: IT professional managers and leaders have to subscribe to and promote an ethical approach to the management of software and hardware development and maintenance. They have to show the honesty (Amanah) and equity in performing their duty.
6.
Work with highest profession: IT professionals including end users have to advance the integrity and reputation of the profession consistent with the Ummah (nation) interest. They have to do their best using their highest profession.
B. Professional principles for IT Ethics: This set of principles is dedicated for all kinds of IT professionals. It is an enhanced version for IEEE/ACM version. It includes: 1.
Do no harm: Never intentionally allow harm to come to others as a result of your actions, or inactions.
2.
First, seek to understand, then to be understood: Expand your empathic abilities to understand and internalize the affects your actions may have upon others.
3.
Fair Representation: Fulfill the promises you make - do as you imply. In essence, people need to be motivated to stop finding excuses, and to take on greater personal and social responsibilities.
4.
Do not abuse your privilege of access to private information: IT professionals have unprecedented access to private information requiring a higher level of self discipline.
5.
Make every effort to prevent unauthorized disclosure of private information: Ensuring legitimate, authorized access and security of data that has been accessed properly is of paramount concern, and should be taken very seriously.
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6.
Utilize available technology to protect private information: Help to advance and make use of technology developed by our peers to provide protection for data, and the medium that transports it. Using technologies such as encryption, Secure Socket Layer, and Pretty Good Privacy are a necessary part of our everyday lives.
7.
Strive to improve on the protection of private information: Avoid distributing information that is known to be incomplete, incorrect, inaccurate, or inappropriate. If you know of incorrect private information, or notice data which is not being properly handled or secured, it is your obligation to correct any instances of incorrect, unprotected, or improperly handled private information - or notify someone who can.
8.
Do not pass as your own the work of others without proper credit to the author: Regardless of copyright status, it is unacceptable for using the work of others for professional or personal gain without the author, owner, or copyright holder’s exclusive permission.
9.
Stay abreast of public policy and changes in social theory: Moral values are universally structured by concepts of justice, rights, harm, welfare, and fairness. Expand your own moral reasoning by taking the time to understand these concepts, making a habit of frequent personal reflection to analyse your experiences, and recognise opportunities for improving upon future decisions dealing with moral dilemmas and conflicts.
10.
Only access that information which is required to complete your task: It is not necessary to peruse through all available data to complete your job, however, it is up to you to decide what data is needed. With this in mind it is your responsibility to ensure you only use what is needed.
11.
Do not attempt to access computers or networks on which you are not authorized: As an IT professional, you realize the importance of computer and network security, therefore attempted access to computers and networks you have no authorization to is viewed as being unethical.
12.
Actively educate, and correctly inform those whom are inspired by the populism’s of information technology based on ignorance: You must confront those who practice unethical acts
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based on social norms, and inform them of potential harm it does to others, as well as the natural, logical, and legal consequences of doing so. Never attempt to create or increase the dependence of users for the sake of personal gain, such as job security. 13.
Do not attempt to gather information for the purpose of identity discovery: There is an unspoken expectation for privacy and protection through anonymity. IT professional’s access to multiple databases with private information allows them the ability to discern someone’s identity. The only exception to this code will be for legally authorized law enforcement purposes.
14.
Foster “voluntary cooperative action of individuals and groups” in complying with the code, because it is key to the success of any Code of Ethics: Individuals and organizations (corporations, institutions, governments, etc) both share the moral and ethical responsibilities of their conduct and activities among each other, to the people affected directly by their actions, and to the general public whom may be affected by those actions in the future.
Challenges and Issues of IT Ethics Through information technology, it has now become possible to engage in ethical or unethical business practices electronically any where in the world. For example, should you electronically monitor your employees' work activities and electronic mail? Should you let employees use their work computers for private business or take home copies of software for their personal use? Should you electronically access your employees' personnel records or workstation files? Should we sell customer information extracted from transaction processing systems to other companies? These are a few examples of the types of decisions you will have to make that have a controversial ethical dimension. So let's take a closer look at ethical considerations in business and information technology. Identify ethical issues in how the use of information technologies in organization affects employment, individuality, working conditions, privacy, crime, health, and solutions to societal problems. Some ethical issues are discussed below: Accessibility: What information does a person or organization have a right or a privilege to obtain, under what conditions, and with what safeguards? Now accessibility is one of the major concerns for practising IT ethics. Computer Monitoring: One of the most explosive ethical issues concerning the quality of work is computer monitoring. Computer 254
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monitoring has been criticized as an invasion of the privacy of employees because, in many cases, they do not know that they are being monitored or don't know how the information is being used. Since computer monitoring increases the stress on employees who must work under constant electronic surveillance. In effect, computer monitoring creates an "electronic sweatshop," where workers are forced to work at a hectic pace under poor working conditions. Computer Matching: Unauthorized use or mistakes in the computer matching of personal data are another controversial threat to privacy. Individuals have been mistakenly arrested and jailed, and people have been denied credit because their physical profiles or Social Security numbers have been used to match them incorrectly or improperly with the wrong individuals. Another threat is the unauthorized matching of computerized information about you extracted from the databases of sales transaction processing systems, and sold to information brokers or other companies. Computer crime: Computer crime is the threat caused by the criminal or irresponsible actions of computer users who are taking advantage of the widespread use of computer networks in our society. It thus presents a major challenge to the ethical use of IT. Computer crime poses serious threats to the integrity, safety, and quality of most business information systems, and thus makes the development of effective security methods a top priority. Computer crime involves the theft of money, services, software, and data; destruction of data and software, especially by computer viruses; malicious access, or hacking on the Internet or other computer networks, and violations of privacy. Privacy Issues: IT makes it technically and economically feasible to collect, store, integrate, interchange, and retrieve data and information quickly and easily. This characteristic has an important beneficial effect on the efficiency and effectiveness of computer-based information systems. However, the power of IT to store and retrieve information can have a negative effect on the right to privacy of every individual. For example, confidential E-mail messages by employees are monitored by many companies. Personal information is being collected about individuals every time they visit a site on the World Wide Web. The unauthorized use of such information has seriously damaged the privacy of individuals. Errors in such databases could seriously hurt the credit standing or reputation of an individual.
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Data Alteration or Theft: Making illegal changes or stealing data is another form of computer crime. For example, an employee of the International Islamic University Chittagong was convicted of taking payments from students and using the university's computer system to change their grades in return. Computer virus: Computer viruses enter a computer system typically through illegal or borrowed copies of software or through network links to other computer systems. Thus, a computer virus or worm can spread destruction among many users. Though they sometimes display only humorous messages, they more often destroy the contents of memory, hard disks, and other storage devices. As a good end user computing practice, we should avoid using software from questionable sources without checking for viruses. Intellectual property: Unauthorized copying is illegal because software is intellectual property that is protected by copyright law and user licensing agreements. Millions of dollars of software is illegally copied each year all over the world. This phenomenon has a great impact on the software industry in the region. Most importantly, for the sake of growth in indigenous ICT innovation and invention, local software industries in Asia-Pacific need local support in protecting their intellectual property rights and investment. Pornography: Pornography, which is a moral crime in most societies, has started to attract millions of internet surfers from all over the world, including from the Asia-Pacific region. Software piracy: Computer programs are valuable property and thus are the subject of theft from computer systems. However, unauthorized copying of software, or software piracy, is also a major form of software theft. Several major cases involving the unauthorized copying of software have been widely reported. Health Issues: The use of information technology in the workplace raises a variety of health issues. Heavy use of computers is reportedly causing health problems like job stress, damaged arm and neck muscles, eye strain, radiation exposure, and even death by computer caused accidents. For example, computer monitoring is blamed as a major cause of computer-related job stress.
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Recommendations 1. Takwah (fearness of Allah) must be achieved as the main characteristic of a Muslim so that he/she doesn’t deed any offence which harmful for others. 2.
Islamic moral values should be practiced in family life thus a child can grow up with Islam from his early life.
3.
Tracking softwares can be installed to monitor and to control IT users’ daily activities with IT resources.
4.
Several types of courses can be introduced based on Islamic ethics from primary to higher education level.
5.
Recognition in educational systems that computer literacy is a basic and necessary skill and incorporating the ethical issues in IT related subjects.
6.
High levels of awareness of information security and cybercrime issues amongst users at home, in government and educational institutions, in the private sector, and amongst legal officers;
7.
Increased exchange of information on information security and cybercrime at the regional and national levels;
8.
Policies and legal regulatory frameworks at the national level that are consistent with existing or developing international legal instruments;
9.
Effective regional mechanisms for preventing cybercrime and improving protection against, detection of, and responses to, cybercrime; Secure information systems, networks and transactions in the public and private sectors;
10. Safe and secure environments for users, especially children and
young persons; 11. Effective mechanisms for detection of, and responses to,
cybercrime at the national and regional levels, including the creation of environments that are conducive to the reporting of cybercrime; 12. Widespread adoption of, and compliance with, relevant codes of
conduct and best practices at the national level; 13. Promotion of fundamental understanding of the destructive
nature of piracy in terms of hindering the following: the progress in the ICT industry, wealth creation, employment 257
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opportunities, knowledge creation, and national status and reputation; 14. Regulation and control of software prices commensurate with
national per capita incomes; 15. Enforcement
of penalties for crimes committed against copyright and intellectual property protection laws; and Encouragement of indigenous IT to maintain availability of software products at local affordable price.
Conclusion We are living in a networked environment (infosphere) that is becoming increasingly synchronized (time), delocalized (space) and correlated (interactions). Previous revolutions (especially the agricultural and the industrial ones) created macroscopic transformation in our social structures and physical environments, often without much foresight. Now the growth of informational revolution is dramatic. We shall be in deep trouble if we do not take seriously the fact that we are constructing the new environment that will be inhabited by future generations. Although ethical and professional principles for IT users including professionals were adopted by professional organizations and committees such as IEEE, ACM, ABET; but some international survey results show that IT users including professionals still facing many ethical related problems. Islamic sources (Holy Qur’an and Sunnah) provide a high standard of ethics for individual, communities and Ummah (nation) levels. Islamic ethics are stable, comprehensive, fair and standard which are suitable for all nations and times; and when followed leads to create an ethically great society. The paper adopting the main roadmap steps as well as the new principles for IT users, which based on Islamic ethical values. This effort can help in solving many of the current ethical related IT users’ problems. It offers a good opportunity for IT users specially Muslims to understand and implement such standard and comprehensive ethical values in their life as well as having their right role in workstations.
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References 1.
M. Abi-Read, “Code or ethics? Which one?” SIGCSE Bulletin, 31(2), 1999, pp.73-77,
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K. Marshall, (). “Has technology introduced new ethical problems?” Journal of Business Ethics, 1999, pp- 19, 81–90.
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D. Peterson, (2002). “Computer ethics: The influence of guidelines and universal moral beliefs”, Information Technology & People, 15(4) , pp-346-361.
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J. Couger, Preparing IS students to deal with ethical issues. MIS Quarterly, 1989, 13(2), pp- 211-218.
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S. Vitell and D. Davis, “Ethical beliefs of MIS professionals: The frequency and opportunity for unethical behaviour”, Journal of Business Ethics, 9, 1990, pp- 63-70.
10. J. Hoff, “Students, ethics, and surveys”, journal of Business Ethics, 8, 1989, pp823-825. 11. V. Hoesle, “The third world as a philosophical problem”. Social Research, 1992, pp- 59, 227-263. 12. B. Paterson, “We cannot eat data: The need for computer ethics to address the cultural and ecological impacts of computing”, Idea Group Reference, Hershey, PA, 2007, pp- 153-168. 13. V. Mbarika, F. Payton, L. Kvasny, and A. Amadi, 2007. “IT education and workforce participation: A new era for women in Kenya?”, The Information Society, pp- 23, 1, 1-18. 14. L. Kvasny, “Let the sisters speak: Understanding information technology from the standpoint of the 'other'”, The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems 2006, pp- 37, 4, 13-25. 15. K. C. Laudon, Traver, C.G. and J.P. Laudon 1996. Information Technology and Society, pp.513.
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16. E. G. Seebauer , Robert L. Barry, “Fundamentals of Ethics for Scientists And Engineers”, Oxford university press, NY, 2001. 17. S. A. Hameed, “Toward Software Engineering Principles based on Islamic Values”, ICCCE08, Malaysia 2008. 18. L. D. Introna, "Privacy and the Computer: Why We Need Privacy in the Information Society," Metaphilosophy, Vol. 28, No. 3, 259-275, 1997.
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English Literature from the “Other” Perspective: A Thought and an Approach Umme Salma* Abstract: English Literature as the knowledge of the former master is an exclusively challenging discipline to be focused from “the Other” perspective, from Muslim perspective, one among many Others. It is a bellicose field because in the postcolonial world its presence reminds of the colonial past, and declares the continuance of the myriad ideological projections and paradigmatic speculations of that past in the neocolonial form. Still postcolonial Indian Muslim societies are promoting and propagating English knowledge in every stage of educational institutions, and thus creating a culturally hybrid/syncretic nation which can neither accept Englishness entirely nor reject its own cultural inheritance and realities totally. Whereas other postcolonial nations can approve, accept and accelerate the mixed-up jumbled cultural syncretism gradually losing or conforming their native cultural signifiers with Western culture, Muslims cannot because the ideology and approach to life of Islam are straightly opposite to the English knowledge, emanated from the Judeo-Christian and Greco-Latin cultural heritage. Keeping in view the aforementioned ideas, the paper argues that this is high time to review this epistemological crisis from historical set up and to read English literature from the “Other” point of view. Therefore, it proposes some ways to re-read the English canonical compositions and puts forward as specimen the re-reading/teaching method of ENG: 2420, titled “English Poetry: 17th &18th Centuries” from the undergraduate syllabus of IIUC. Key words: English literature, Muslim, the “Other”, hybridity/syncretism, cultural identity.
*
Lecturer, Department of English Language and Literature, IIUC
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Introduction: English Literature as the knowledge of the former master is an exclusively challenging discipline to be focused from “the Other” perspective, from Muslim perspective, one among many Others. It is a bellicose field because in the postcolonial world its presence reminds of the colonial past, and declares the continuance of the myriad ideological projections and paradigmatic speculations of that past in the neocolonial form. Still postcolonial Indian Muslim societies are promoting and propagating English knowledge at every stage of educational institutions, and thus creating a culturally hybrid/syncretic nation which can neither accept Englishness entirely nor reject its own cultural inheritance and realities totally. Whereas other postcolonial nations can approve, accept and accelerate the mixed-up jumbled cultural syncretism gradually losing or conforming their native cultural signifiers with the Western culture, Muslims cannot because the ideology and approach to life of Islam are straightly opposite to the English knowledge, emanated from the Judeo-Christian and GrecoLatin cultural heritage. Keeping in view the aforementioned ideas, the paper argues that this is high time to point out this epistemological crisis from historical set up and to read English literature from the “Other” point of view. Therefore, it proposes some ways to re-read the English canonical compositions and puts forward as specimen the rereading/teaching method of ENG: 2420, titled “English Poetry: 17th &18th Centuries” from the undergraduate syllabus of IIUC. Occasion for thought: In an international conference, arranged by Bangladesh Institute of Islamic Thought (BIIT), on the Islamization of knowledge held in October 2008, I was first triggered by the idea of reading English Literature as a Muslim. The usual answer to the question- How can we Islamize English literature, a knowledge-bank totally different from that of Islam?—which I asked in that conference, was to develop the branch of Comparative literature. But I was not satisfied, though as a student I had often tried to read English history or philosophy comparatively. Since then as a teacher of English Language and Literature I have been finding ways to re-read/teach it from another perspective, from the “Other” perspective—a code, encoded by Edward W. Said, to identify the Non- Europeans. I was thinking about it considering three matters: firstly, the historical trans/formation of our identity in Indian Subcontinent –once the inhabitants of pre- and post- British ruled Indian Subcontinent; then, of East Pakistan and finally, of Bangladesh. Secondly, as the postcolonial beings we share 262
English Literature from the “Other” Perspective: A Thought and an Approach
and at the same time as Muslims we dispel our experiences with the entire postcolonial world; Finally, our understanding of the English life and culture is unlike that of the settler Muslims living in the English societies—either European or American or that of the Muslims in the Middle-eastern countries. Flow of discussion: As such this paper comes up with three parts: firstly, it dismantles the history and purpose of placing English literature in the colonial India and focuses on the drastic up and down of the Muslims’ fortune in India and the subsequent consequences of it on their identity formation; in the second part, it will propose some views of re-reading/teaching English literature from perspective of the “Other”; lastly, it offers a pragmatic approach to re-read/teach a particular course in IIUC. Thus I would indicate how, being fragmented to the vein, intensely we are suffering the pain of epistemological predicament. Part I English literary studies in India are the by-product of the British Imperialism. As “education effects, in Gramsci’s terms, ‘domination by consent,’” (Ashcroft, Bill et al 425) introduction of English literature was a safe route to rule the Indians culturally along with politically. Literature, peopled by “the best and wisest Englishmen,” (qut. Viswanathan 437) influenced the internal mind of the Indians so profoundly that no missionary or political process could do so. Because literature is the meeting place of personalities “of a more personal kind” ( qut. Viswanathan 437) that makes the readers verify, justify and rectify the situations and events from an inward comprehensiveness. It is never easy to upset since literary world virtually removes the readers from the material world, the world “of ongoing colonialist activity—of commercial operations, military expansion, administration of territories,” and forces them to forget the identity of the Englishmen “as a subjugator and alien ruler.” Literature with its “humanistic functions” shapes character and develops an aesthetic and ethical thought (Viswanathan 437,431). It makes the natives “willingly submit from a conviction that we[the British] are more wise, more just, more humane, and more anxious to improve their condition than any other rulers they could have”(qut. Viswanathan 436). With this view, Thomas Babington Macaulay, “the architect of English education in India” in his 1835 “Minute on Indian Education” informs the government about its responsibility to create a class of interpreters who would be glorified by being taught in 263
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English the Englishness and happy to serve the interest of the Imperial power: We have to educate a people who cannot be at present be educated by means of their mother-tongue. […]. The claims of our language it is hardly necessary to recapitulate. It stands pre-eminent even among the languages of the west […] It may safely be said, that the literature now extant in that language is of far greater value than all the literature […] We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect. (428-430) Thus “imperial education systems interpellated a colonialist subjectivity not just through syllabus content, or the establishment of libraries within which the colonial could absorb ‘the lesson of the master’, but through internalizing the English text, and reproducing it before audiences of fellow colonials” (Ashcroft, Bill et al 426). This can be phrased, as Gandhi, the scheme to have ‘English rule without the Englishman’ (Chakrabarty 230). The history of the initiation of the English literary studies in India is interesting to read. The most effective account comes from Gauri Viswanathan compiled in his “The Beginnings of English Literary Studies in British India”. After the battle of Plassey the profitable trade of the English turned to a horrific political dominance. At that time still both Hindus and Muslims could maintain their own cultural practices without any interference of the English culture. Gradually the Orientalists, directed by the East India Company, mastered the indigenous languages through the linguistic and philological study of the East. Through this linguistic knowledge they became familiar with the Indian literature, customs and religion and that was the beginning of the effective Imperial rule (O’Reilly 16-17). Effective rule meant control by full consent—internally and externally, and nineteenth century saw it in its full bloom. Gauri Viswanathan relates: “English literature made its inroads in India, albeit gradually and imperceptibly, with a crucial event in Indian educational history: the passing of the Charter Act of 1813” (431). It focused on the role of Britain in the field of education in India: one was an expression of responsibility towards the education of the natives and the other was to permit the missionary activities here under the supervision of the authority. But when the missionaries entered India after 1813 the English parliament 264
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in order to preserve ‘religious neutrality’ strictly controlled the widespread preaching and teaching of Christianity here. The government only encouraged Oriental studies as an effectual way to secure control over the Indians. But that did not prove enough for ‘moral and intellectual improvement’ of the natives which was the target of it. To achieve that end, after the passing of the English Education Act in 1835, English literature, along with the Oriental studies, was introduced in the educational institutions. Nevertheless, not only the missionaries but also all the English world could not accept the reading/ teaching of their literature from secular perspective. They considered it a fruitless effort pinpointing that “texts read as a form of secular knowledge were ‘a sea in which the voyager has to expect a shipwreck’” (433). Such texts could not have any moral impact on the reader. Furthermore, it was a strong belief that to study English literary texts demanded “a high degree of mental and moral cultivation” (433) that could come only from the amalgamation of Christianity with the textual basis and interpretations. The authority compared the colonial subjects with the lower classes people of England who must have been educated in religion only. They felt that both Hindus and Muslims were living in darkness, in “ignorance and degradation” (434) from which their respective religions could not rescue them. English literary study then was proposed as a remedy where secularism and religion could be fused harmoniously without being provocative to the natives’ feeling for their own religion. Surprisingly enough, it was the period when in the British Curricula English Literature as a discipline had “no firm place” (434). It was introduced in London and Oxford universities after the induction of a 1000 paper on English literature in the Indian Civil Service examination. The imperial authority started to analyze English texts surfacing Christian elements subsequently. Missionaries expressed their high estimation of English literature in the following way: […] as the ‘grand repository of the book of God’ England had produced a literature that was immediately marked off from all non-European literatures, being ‘animated, vivified, hallowed, and baptized’ by a religion to which Western man owed his material and moral progress” (qut.435).They compared other literatures with the Cave of Plato where the inhabitants are chained and devoid of the true light of knowledge. Macaulay told “[…] a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia” (O’Reilly 17). Accordingly, in the Indian curriculum those
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texts are incorporated which “upheld the Christian faith” (435).It is reported in this way: “The process of curricular selection was marked by weighty pronouncements of the ‘sound Protestant Bible Principles’ in Shakespeare, the strain of serious piety in Addison’s Spectator papers, the ‘scriptural morality’ of Bacon and Locke, the ‘devout sentiment’ of Abercrombie, the ‘noble Christian sentiments’ in Adam Smith’s Moral Sentiments” (qut.435). Bill Ashcroft et el in their The Empire writes Back: Theory and practice in Postcolonial Literature also provide an insightful analysis of the colonial education policy. They affirm that Victorian Britain through colonial education system reinforced centre/periphery dichotomy hugely in its disparate empire. It set for the in-school ‘readers’ a normative core of British literature, landscape and history through Browning’s thoughts in exile, Wordsworth’s daffodils, and Sir Philip Sydney’s chivalry, and through Stanley’s explorations or Newbolt’s desperate cricketers presented stories of colonial adventure which asserted British values against a hostile physical or human environment (18). Thus English course became a part of the Indian curricula that “enjoyed a different status” and was turned out to be a subject to be “attended by a different set of students”, especially students of high caliber and talent (433). This emphasis on studying English Literature “rather than studying issues such as grammar or diction” (McLeod 141) in Indian curricula became synonymous to study and acquisition of morality. John McLeod tells that during colonial regime English literary texts were interpreted in moral terms as the conveyers of universal and timeless truths, endowed with Christian values. To study those texts meant study of models of morality lied at their heart. Thus the moral behaviour and English behaviour became one and the same and “the English texts became a surrogate Englishman in his highest and most perfect state.” In this way, while reading this body of texts Indian students met a code of values –simultaneously Christian and universal. In this context we can remember Jamaica Kincaid. He shared his experience as a student of reading English ‘classics’ telling that they used to study the Brontes, Hardy, Shakespeare, Milton, Keats sitting under a tree in Antigua with the understanding that western nations
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could produce ‘the very best in art and learning’, the value of which could survive in faraway places from the land of production (140-142). English literature and culture thus claimed its superiority over all the other cultures in the colonial period: “it represents the colonized to themselves as inherently inferior beings- ‘wild’, ‘barbarous’, ‘uncivilised’” (Ashcroft, Bill et al 426). For this there was an unbridgeable gap between the giver and receiver of the knowledge. The receivers- Africans, Chinese, Indians, Muslims and women- are presented in most of the authoritative English texts as passive, dull, lusty, inferior and wild. Literary studies inject such assumptions so minutely in the plot, action and development of the story that the native readers nourished and are still nourishing “the greatest desire to raise themselves to the level of moral and intellectual skills of their masters; their most driving ambition, to acquire the intellectual skills that confirmed their rulers as lords of the earth” (Viswanathan, Gauri 436). Ziauddin Sardar also pointing to the ‘suffocating past’ and ‘fragmented present’ of Asia, tells that colonial powers consciously and systematically suppressed the Asian culture and replaced it with their own cultural characteristics with a dominant image, that is, the image of western culture as a standard for civilization. The colonized societies hence started to think that the only way to dignity and identity was to be like the west (Islam, Postmodernism and Other Futures 264-265). After this colonial domination the postcolonial era started with seemingly political independence, not with the hegemonic freedom. Elleke Boehmer in his Colonial & Postcolonial Literature opines “making a postcolonial world meant learning how to live in and represent that world in a profoundly different way. But that was far from easy” (178).To be independent meant “purna swaraj” (complete independence),as Gandhi, with “a cultural identity” and to search for roots, origins, myths and history for having an authentic selfdefinition, self-making and nation-building by insulting and vomiting, as Fanon, the white man’s values (174-177). Raymond F. Betts expresses the same thing thus: “[…] decolonization required much more: a fundamental change of outlook and attitude, of heart and mind. […] a ‘bush clearing’ (88). Yet the west left, but left two cultural legacies in Asia that have given birth a melancholic instability and fragmentation in individual, communal, national and regional level. The first colonial legacy is the 267
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eighteenth-century European concept of nation-state and the other is the rule of the nationalist bourgeoisie that ‘internalized the image of the west as the yardstick of cultural behaviour’. The crisis of the formation of nation-states was that they were created with fabricated boundaries combining a diverse array of communities and ethnic cultures. Yet as nations were artificial and not natural entity, it scattered the same ethnic and religious communities into a number of different states. Therefore, both the physical and mental geography of the nations became an unending battlefield. In the one hand, the various nations claimed their right over each other’s territories and on the other hand, each ethnic group wanted to achieve their cultural autonomy through the established national identity. Nations did not prove a harmonious balance of many into one (McLeod 72) with the aim to prosperity. On the other hand, after independence when the nationalist elite got the state power, it ‘with its occidental worldview and images,’ followed a westernized pattern of cultural and political ‘progress’ and ‘development’. The word development became synonymous to modernization and the belief in the scientific power and application of the technology in all levels. Through this development the ruling class tried to transform the whole societies including their culture and belief systems. To the ruling elite the west was the peak of civilization and the local cultures were at the bottom of this hierarchy. At any cost it preserved this image because the destruction of it meant the damage of self-image and self-satisfaction. In the midst of this the group that reserved the traditional cultures and beliefs felt out of water and there arose a constant tension between the elite and the common citizens with their traditional outlook and images (Sardar 265-267). Hegemonic dominance ensued and consolidated thus and like Frankenstein neo-colonialism ‘played havoc with the defining parameters of the identities’ through ‘the imposition of the western framework of culture’ (Sardar 265) here. We cannot deny that the attempt of making and remaking identity was very much present in the post-independence era. In order to repair the damaged self of the nation, there came an overwhelming uprising and popularity of the revival of legends of “historical atonement,” that is, “the account of a community’s coming-into-being” (Boehmer 188) and the rich and fruitful existence of the past, tales of heroic deeds, bold story of the nationalist leaders and martyrs, portrayal of the mythic figures, description of the native nature, landscapes, love 268
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stories, loss and sorrow. But that romantic revival became fruitless when the neo-colonial aggression directly and indirectly, consciously or unconsciously affected it making the country a cauldron of corruption, division, injustice and chaos. Under these circumstances, education system remained in the previous place with the permanent traces of colonialism. There came a little or no change in the epistemological schema of the pre-established curricula: “Political independence changed relatively little educationally in most developing countries. Few countries, despite the militancy of nationalist movements or deep feelings of enmity toward the former colonial powers, made sharp breaks with the educational past. In most cases, for example, India, Pakistan, Burma, and Singapore, the educational system expanded quantitatively, but did not alter much in terms of curriculum, orientation, or administration” (G. Altbach 454). Both traditional and modernized educational policies prove inadequate and partial and are continuously at war against each other. Moreover, in the university syllabus anglocentric assumptions gets stronghold. It imparts that ‘standards’ can only be formed by studying the great tradition of English literature, from Chaucer on […] Metropolitan literature is universal, […]. The consequence of the anglocentric assumption is that English literature must remain as the ‘core’ of a student’s courses” (Docker 443-444). Ngugi Wa Thiong’o could not support this centrality of the English department in Africa when the Acting Head of the English department presented a paper in a Board meeting on the 22th September 1968 declaring it as “the central root of our consciousness and cultural heritage” (On the Abolition of the English Department 439). Instead he proposes the abolition of the English Department and placement of the Department of African languages and Literature there as the centre. Hence the native students, readers and writers are exposed to the modern poets and writers from the West included in the university syllabuses and become syncretic and culturally hybrid. Hybridity is a technical term that means ‘a cross between two different species’ (qut.McLeod 173), by grafting to form a third one. In postcolonialism 269
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it refers to ‘the creation of new transcultural forms within the contact zone produced by colonization’. Hybridization can take many forms— Linguistic, cultural, political, and racial (Ashcroft et el 118). Benedict Anderson finds the idea of ‘mental miscegenation’ in colonial education policy that aimed to create Europeanised natives Macaulay dreamt of in his Minute. The underlying assumption of this syncretism is the Indians will mimic, but would not be able to reproduce English values exactly and thus there would remain a gap that would ensure their subjection (Loomba/Ania 173). So with the mark of colonial assumptions on the forehead, the newly-independent nations of Indian Subcontinent created culturally hybrid peoples. They became ambivalent in their creed and manner “with the concepts of the anarchic postcolony, the transgressive trans-local, and the infinitely co-optable multi-cultural” (Boehmer, Elleke 247) and produced and are producing syncretism—“the blending of their different cultural influences, an upfront and active syncretism”—splitting themselves between their traditional identity and a modernized environment that labels the former as intrinsically inferior (Sardar 267-268). The Case of the Indian Muslims: Against this general background I want probe into the matters of Indian Muslims separately that will justify my attempt to propose new ways to re-read/teach English Literature. The fortune of the Indian Muslims underwent drastic changes from the British colonial to Bangladesh period. Here, as a result of the wide-range invasion of Arabian and Persian Muslims—for trade or business—Islam got its strong foothold as one of the most populous religions. For more than nine centuries, Muslims ruled this region with glory and splendor. The first comers of the British honoured its glorious power, elaborate rituals, courtly manner, hospitality and magnanimity with awe. When in 1608 the first ships of the East India Company anchored in India, the Mughal Emperor Jahangir welcomed them as guests and accepted them as traders with magnanimity. As this was ‘a land of exile’, unfamiliar and far away from their home, they adapted themselves to the laws and customs of Indian society for the next two centuries. The British felt comfort in their dealings more with Muslims than Hindus because of their shared religious background and higher social status. But this harmony did not last longer. The relationship between the West and Islam was ‘protracted’ and ‘tumultuous’ before the former became a colonial power. It used to view Islamic world with suspicion as political and economic rival since the Middle Ages when Islamic civilization tried to expand its light into the Dark Europe. The bloody Crusades were the 270
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beginning of the animosity and policy of ‘mutual defensiveness’ of these two cultures. So, while the British was entering India for trade or missionaries, Islam was ‘hardly strange and incomprehensible’ to them. Moreover, it was the only religion that had strength and valour to have existence outside the national boundary. Hence, so far the British felt the power of Muslim rulers, they remained tame and gentle. But the Industrial revolution, technological advancement and later on, the opening of Suez Canal in 1896 changed their attitude towards their land of exile. Their scientific advancement and faster communication with home through Suez Canal removed the need to adapt to the Indian cultural aspects. They emerged as ‘a real military and political threat to the local princes’ who in turn fought continuously till 1857 Mutiny. But by this time the face of India had totally been altered. All the high posts of government and legislation were replaced by the English leaving only ‘the Indian servant, the clerk, the merchant and the banker as representatives of India and Indian cultures’. Nevertheless, despite the failure of this Mutiny, Muslims with the hatred to the Dar-ul-Harb, the land of the unfaithful, continued their violent attack on and fighting against the British under the leadership of Shah Waliullah, Shah Abdul Aziz or Titu Mir etc at intervals. Soon the British felt the necessity of relaxation and ‘enticement’ to take control over the discontent and militant Muslim population. They offered them the boon of English education and then promised the establishment of Dhaka University in East Bengal as it was a Muslim majority area. Gradually the colonial government recognized ‘the Muslims as a separate nation entitled to a homeland of their own’. Accordingly, in 1906 came the Partition of Bengal giving the Muslims a land of their own. But when it was annulled on the pretext of violent opposition of Bengali Hindus, Muslims became bitterly resentful. They realized the need for a ‘more concentrated effort for their rights’ and kept themselves aloof from Swadeshi Movement of Hindus. They founded a separate political forum named All India Muslim League to exert their rights from the colonial master. Thus, when demand for separate home for two nations was accumulating, the parting British imperial power in 1947 divided India in two uneven halves—India and Pakistan. Nevertheless the unity of two disparate land and culture under ‘the banner of Muslim nationhood’ failed to bring what had been hoped for. Within five years the blood of East Pakistani Muslims was dropped on language issue and then injustice, economic oppression and inhumane genocide of the Military Junta gave the birth pangs of a regional independent nation Bangladesh (Durdana, Benazir 3-38). 271
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This turbulent period of the fate of Indian Muslims had a significant impact on their identity. Actually, India was a place of diversity and difference with cultural pluralities. Here ‘language-based regional subcultures’ were as prominent as many sectors in Muslims and Hindus. Moreover, Islam here became ‘stamped with certain distinct characteristics of indigenous culture of India’ and following the basic Islamic teachings, ‘Bengali Muslims shared many social practices with Bengali Hindus. This produced a ‘hybrid self-identity’ that was ‘perpetually confronted with a crisis of identity involving regionalism, state nationalism and pan-Islamic internationalism.’ For this reason, the totally culturally disparate two wings of Pakistan, united only on the basis of same religion, could not cling to each other, and for ‘another national identity’ there arose the necessity of the Liberation War in 1971. Nevertheless, this did not end the identity crisis. Still, after forty years of independence, ‘ethnicity and religious sentiment continue to be uneasy consorts in Bangladesh’s concept of nationhood’ (Durdana, Benazir 49-53). Recently, the identity of Bangladeshi is a warlike field. In one hand, the Hindu culture as a form of ancient heritage of ‘Hindustan’ before the conversion of this region to Islam and demonization of Islam as a dangerous influence are trying to be prevalent and on the other hand, the continuous assault is leashing on Muslim self due to the random incorporation and assimilation of English literary and linguistic practices in every stage of educational institutions. So, Muslims are always in perpetual confusion about Islam, its relationship with the colonial masters or the war of Independence or the neo-colonial West and considering it totally obsolete in the modern era ends up in neither this nor that but something culturally hybrid, yet unlike the hybrid in the colonial era. Under the roller of triple pressures of Hindu rituals, Westernization and misrepresentation of Islam they are gradually losing their cultural signifiers related to Islam and thus virtually segregating their practical relationship with it. A Muslim can be hybrid, but not at the expense of the basic faith and essential practices. Whereas other cultures and religions can open up a reconciliatory and compromising mixed up route, randomly infusing English culture and value with its cultural signifiers, Muslims cannot but mock it in so doing, because Muslim cultural symbols and signifiers come always in conflict with the Englishness. So at present to be hybrid means for Muslims to be a modern man shedding their Muslim identity. They do not realize that hybridity is the state of being that acknowledges 272
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the existence of two antagonistic cultures in self as a part of each other. It does not a condition for deculturation of Islam or acculturation of the Englishness, but transculturation of both with careful selection of values and practices from each. For this reason, they are in a painful ‘inbetweenness’ losing in-place identity as Muslims. Part II In today’s in-betweenness of Muslims, the call for in-place identity is a difficult path to follow. I am placing here only one way to do so in the academic level, specifically in the English Departments, that is, to reread/teach English literature from a hybrid perspective, integrating Islamic truths with other cultural assumptions that solely are reining this field. This integration will give the gradual-lessening Islamic ideas and ideals to come in view of Muslim students of English Literature. As the Imperial power could not remain religion-neutral, nor can the Muslim societies. Meenakshi Mukharjee puts an interesting concept about this re-reading of English literature in postcolonial condition: it [postcolonialism] makes us interrogate many aspects of the study of literature that we were made to take for granted, enabling us…to reinterpret some of the old canonical texts from Europe from the perspective of our specific historical and geographical location’(qut. McLeod 138). About the methods of this re-reading postcolonial scholars like Edward Said or Chinua Achebe have some proposals. As re-reading will be resistance to the assumptions of colonial discourses, ‘interrogation’ about the literary texts is one of them. Interrogation can take many forms –it can be ‘the questioning of the value specific literary texts’ as Achebe did with Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness or putting ‘the literary classics to new uses for which they were scarcely intended’ as George Lamming and Aime Cesaire did with Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Edward w. Said, on the other hand, puts forward a style of contrapuntal reading-one which remains simultaneously aware both of metropolitan history that is narrated and of those other histories against (and together with which) the dominating discourse acts (McLeod 142-147). Besides, appropriation of Shakespeare / Joseph Conrad / Kipling in the anti-colonial discourse inside and outside the educational systems is also a favourite formula-to upset the coded meaning of the writings. David Johnson did not support this saying, “to appropriate Shakespeare will only retard the move towards a fresh, more meaningful curriculum.” Decolonization demands the rereading/teaching of the texts of both Western and non-Western writers 273
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“to revise our view of European culture” and to create knowledge with our cultural belongings (Loomba, Ania 93-94). Keeping in consideration the re-reading methods of these scholars, I will propose here some ways to re-read/teach English literature from hybrid viewpoint integrating Islamic one with them. They are the following: re-reading/teaching a) based on difference; b) based on the representational politics; c) based on a historical approach; d) with focus on identical human elements. The first way will focus on differences invoked in the literary textsgeographical, social, cultural and linguistic differences. English literary texts place a stony area to trip for the outsiders of Europe. Though they start with the prepared mind to meet something universal, the books remain hazy, unfamiliar and inaccessible. Some teachers and students of this field express their experiences of reading/teaching in different places outside English arena. Charles Larson in his “Heroic Ethnocentrism: The Idea of Universality in Literature” relates that in Nigeria he was teaching English Literature in 1962. The students were reading Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd. They asked a number of questions which were unimaginable to be asked by such adult students, such as, “Excuse me, sir, what does it mean ‘to kiss’?” or “What is a flush toilet” or asked about the page after page long description of the unfamiliar landscape in Hardy’s novel (62-67). Ngugi Wa Thiong’o describes the lack of correspondence between colonial education and the students. To his son “the daffodils of Wordsworth’s poems are ‘just little fishes,’” or Alofa, a schoolgirl, considers these mythic flowers dancers living in the sky, or Lucy, a Caribbean in the USA, cannot realize the beauty of the daffodils. Naipaul also expresses that as a Trinidadian man when he heard the line ‘lowing herd winding o’er the lea’ from Gray’s Elegy, he could visualize only the cows on the condensed-milk tins, because their island had no such cows (Boehmer, Elleke 180). When I teach English history in the classroom, I find students puzzled over the repetition of names of English Kings and queens just only with changes in their numbers as I, II, or V. Therefore in the classroom a teacher can focus on these differences related to socio cultural practices and geographical location in the very beginning of and along with the reading of the texts, and during reading s/he can ask questions on what type of disassociated images are gathering in their minds. In examination he can set at least 10% questions on this explicit use of differential symbols and signifiers. This process I think will be able to help the natives to overcome sense of dislocation and grasping 274
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the differences and diversities, they will be able to relocate them in their own space. English literature is abounding in representations of the “Other” in accordance with the nature/culture, primitive/developed, we/the Other, rational/irrational etc. binary oppositions. Elleke Boehmer tells that the processes of othering are fundamental in colonization and in literature representation of the inhabitants of the colonized lands is stereotypical as well as metaphorical .This representation defined the self of the colonized “as lesser: less human, less civilized, as child or savage, wild man, animal, or headless mass” (75-76). Moreover, during eighteenth century the scientific explanations of racial hierarchy started marking the white as superior and the others—black; brown etc.—as inferior and savage. In re-reading/teaching literary texts—like Heart of Darkness, A Passage to India, Othello, Robison Crusoe, The Tempest, Kim, etc—we have to dismantle and resist the sketches of Muslims, Hindooes, Africans, Arabians minutely. It will establish a strong self with a ‘sense of difference which is not pure “otherness”’ (Loomba, Ania 182) in regard to own cultural assumptions. The next approach is the historical approach-to teach English history with reference to its colonial days and to read history as a cotext in reading a literary text. Ngugi Wa Thiong’o expressed his surprise at teaching European ‘Renaissance,’ ‘Reformation,’ or ‘Enlightenment’ isolated in the postcolonial societies. The Indians have a long history of origination, development, and resistance in the pre, during and post British era. The Muslims have a glorious history of preaching, conversion, and affluent Empires here. We have to take into account that history of informal schooling of the Indian Muslims, and try to relate it with the British educational assumptions we find in “Idea of a University” or Areopagitica or Bacon’s essays etc. This will give us scope to have a glimpse into our belongings and to enumerate and assess the historical mistakes that have led us to these anarchic concepts of ourselves. I named the final mode the study based on identical human elements. This does not mean similarity between the natives and the West, if any. It is sameness in difference, similarity rooted in the rudimentary human feelings, passions and emotions irrespective of the time and space. This strategy will raise questions like that: What would you do if you were Hamlet whose father was unjustly murdered and then his mother got married again? Or what would you feel if you were 275
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Heathcliff treated like ‘a thing’ in a fostered house? Or what does Donne implicate when he utters “Nowhere /lives a woman, true and fair.” Or does a mother having five young daughters think and behave in the manner Mrs. Bennet does? Such questions will bring literary studies near to life, disseminate the human and humane approach to life, and focus on the internal contradictions, incongruities, and deficiencies— natural or artificial— of society and state apparatus. This will pave the way to go beyond narrow, blind and parochial chauvinistic approach to literature. Part III In this section I will place a proposal to apply the above-mentioned strategies of rereading/teaching English literary texts in the universities having English departments in postcolonial Muslim societies. It is a specimen about what changes we can bring in our dealing with English canonical texts. My attempt is only to provide a ‘superstructure’ that can remake and reset ideas in the minds of the Muslim students of English, not any technical methods, as without a specific purpose techniques are useless. The chosen course is ENG: 2420, titled “English Poetry: 17th &18th Centuries” from the undergraduate syllabus of IIUC. It includes four poets: 1. The Metaphysical Poets: a) John Donne: selections from Song and Sonnets b) Andrew Marvell: “To His Coy Mistress” “The definition of Love,” “The Dialogue between Body and Soul”& “Bermudas” 2. John Milton: Paradise Lost, Book Iⅈ 3. Alexander Pope: The Rape of the Lock. ♦ The superstucture/ ideological basis of re-reading/teaching can be the following: a) Outline for Paradise Lost: 1. The legend of the fall of man: a. The truth of the creation and fall of man in Islam; b. The myth of the creation and fall of man in Christianity; c. The idea of the evolution in Indian Hindoo mythology & Darwin’s theory of evolution; .d. The myth of that from Greco-Roman world.
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2. Cosmology: Hell, Heaven & Earth—a. Islamic cosmology; b. The Greco-Roman ideas; c. Milton’s epic employed which tradition? Discrepancies and conceptions. 3. Character analysis: a. Satan—from Islamic view; discussion on interpretations of him in Renaissance as a hero, and formation of counter-discourse. 4. Epic Simile: a. Mythic, Natural, Biblical & Imperial; b. natural scenarios invested in epic; c. remote geographical and cultural sites 5. Sketch of Hell—Islamic, Biblical and Miltonic: Similarities and differences b) Outline for The Rape of the lock: 1. The Role of women in the society—Idea of Hellenic period, Christian era and Islamic philosophy; 2. The legacy of Empire: trade, luxury and moral values; 3. Man-woman & woman-woman relationship in Pope’s World and keys for a harmonious relationship; 4. Theme of beauty, value and violation in the context of this mock-epic. c) Outline for the metaphysical poems: 1. The view towards human life: Hedonism and Islamic view; 2. The place of love in human life: compare and contrast spiritual & physical bond between manwoman; 3.origin & history of scientific development in the world: body of scientific knowledge in the seventeenth century used by Donne & Marvell. 4. Religion and the understanding of the metaphysical poets: compare and contrast with Islamic idea.5.Representation of women in the poems and agreement with or resistance of those ideas. This ideological basis will work to restructure and renovate the mind of the students illuminating their internal territory. They thus will be able to think from the very near of their own cultural heritage and out of the trendy mental slavery offered by the neocolonial ways of thought. Conclusion: The above discussion—analysis of the placement of English literature in India and the turbulent up and down of fortunes of Muslim and their identity crisis—along with the proposals and pragmatic approach, would be able to construct a counter-discourse on face of the counterwave pulling towards an anarchic identity of Muslims in postcolonial societies. Muslim students of English literature would find food for their intellect from this and would attempt to remake an in-place cultural hybridity without epistemological predicament. And with this 277
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formation of cultural identity, the Muslims, one of many ‘Others,’ will speak back. Works Cited Altbach, Philip G. “Education and Neocolonialism.” Bill Ashcroft et al 452-456. Ashcroft, Bill et al.Ed. The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. London and New York: Routledge, 2003. Ashcroft, Bill et al. The Empire Writes Back: Theory and practice in Post-colonial Literatures. London: Routledge, 2002. Ashcroft, Bill et al. Key Concepts in Post-colonial Studies. London: Routledge,2004. Benazir, Durdana. Muslim India in Anglo-Indian Fiction. Dhaka: writers.ink,2008. Boehmer, Elleke. Colonial & Postcolonial Literature .New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Chakrabarty, Dipesh.Postcoloniality and the Artifice of History: Who speaks for ‘Indian’ Pasts? Padmini Mongia 223-247. Docker, John. “The Neocolonial Assumption in University Teaching of English.”Bill Ashcroft et al 443-446. Inayatullah, Sohail and Gail Boxwell. Eds. Islam, Postmodernism and Other Futures: A Ziauddin Sardar Reader.London: Pluto Press,2003. “Introduction.” Education. Bill Ashcroft et al 425-427. Larson, Charles. “Heroic Ethnocentrism: The Idea of Universality in Literature.” Bill Ashcroft et al 61-65. Loomba, Ania.Colonialism/Postcolonialism.London:Routledge,2001. Macaulay, Thomas. “Minute on Indian Education.” Bill Ashcroft et al 428-430. McLeod, John. Beginning Postcolonialism. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2007. Mongia, Padmini. Ed. Contemporary Postcolonial Theory: A Reader. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1997. O’Reilly, Christopher. Post-Colonial Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2001. Thiong’o, Ngugi Wa.“On The Abolition of the English Department.” Bill Ashcroft et al 438-442. Viswanathan, Gauri. “The Beginnings of English Literary Studies in British India.” Bill Ashcroft et al 431-437.
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Role of Mosque for Human Resource Development Imran Mahmud* Shahriar Rawshon** Md. Jahidur Rahman*** Abstract: In this research, an attempt was made to highlight the role of mosque to help build an Islamic HR environment in the society from moral and spiritual perspectives. It also focused on an extensive strategy to be applied by the concerned business people for Islamic HR practice in the organization effectively. If certain contents of HR practice were discussed in the jamat or the Friday khutbah at the Mosque addressing the terms Islamic HR practice would reflect the mind of the people working in different sectors. The research outlined here, if implemented, the Islamic HR would surely function as an effective means of building the stable business and the Islamic HR practice in the society. That type of step is an immense need in the age of the moral and spiritual crises when there is not enough scope to know that information about Islamic practice in business. The survey was based on primary and secondary data both. And this research WAS is developed in the context of Quran and Sunnah. The research is WAS based on mainly the Bangladesh perspective which reach that the 50% respondents strongly agreed that they would like to know about the Islamic Human Resource Management in the mosque where 70% respondents thought that the Mosque is a place for not only prayers but also a training centre of Islamic values. Another interesting outcome was 50% respondents are strongly agreed that it is important to bring Islamic scholars cum employers to share their knowledge about different disciplines at the mosque. Such a Mosque can help the Muslims to learn the views and thoughts of Islam and that can help the people live harmoniously and peacefully, and achieve salvation from Allah in the their life hereafter.
* ** ***
Faculty, International University of Business Agriculture and Technology Research Assistant, International University of Business Agriculture and Technology Student, International University of Business Agriculture and Technology
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Keywords: Mosque, HR, Islamic Values, Human Resource Development, Role of Mosque.
INTRODUCTION ‘Masjid’ is the place for Muslim worship to the Almighty Allah. In English, it is called ‘Mosque’. Literally this word means a place of prostration. According to ‘Lisan Al Arab’, one of the most authentic sources of Arabic language focused on various meaning of the word ‘Mosque’. According to one lexicographer, ‘Masjid’ is the name of a place and a noun. Zajjaj, referring to a tradition of the Prophet, defines ‘Masjid’ as a place where God is worshipped. According to Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood (2005), Since worship of God has WAS always been the cornerstone of every religion, places of worship occupy an important position in the daily life of a religious community. There is a long history of the importance and usefulness of the Mosque in the society of Muslims. According to Islamic history, the mosque played a vital role in the cultural and social life of Muslims as an institution. Although its role has undergone profound changes from the position it held during the Prophet’s time, it still has a great impact on the life of Muslims. Nowadays the Mosque, in certain respects, is different from the places of worship of other communities due, mainly, to its influence on each and every aspect of Muslim society. The Mosque was the centre of all such activities in the past for two reasons: Firstly, because the Prophet (S.A.W.S) himself associated it a pivotal role in his life. This naturally led to his companions and followers to give it the same recognition. It may be mentioned here that Muslims are commanded to follow the Prophet (S.A.W.S) in every sphere of their lives, as to them he is an ideal example of religious and spiritual practice. Secondly, the Mosque gained a special place due to a distinctive character of the Islamic faith. Islam requires that its followers shape their lives on the principle of obedience to Allah and, since worship in Islam, is not an isolated act, rather it is an integral part of one’s whole life; the entire life of a Muslim, must thus, be based on a moral foundation, and an ethical and moral standard and must be evident in every aspect of the daily existence of both the community and the individual. It was, therefore, natural for the Mosque, as a symbol of morality and piety, to become the centre of all activities, coloring the social and material life of the community. Human capital development highly depends on corporate culture that relates to value-based management system. This concept encompasses all the definitions of universal purpose enshrine within civilizations 280
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that studied human values. For the Muslim societies, it must be consistent with the Islamic worldview. The contemporary management is facing diversified issues relating to human resource (recruitment, equal opportunities, and fair remuneration schemes despite different genders etc.) across civilizations shall establish the normative standards in the organizations to ensure good corporate governance based on the core purpose and values [2]. This paper focused the value of mosque as an ideal place for human resource practice and learning by which Muslim employers and employees can share their knowledge about Islam and work related issues. HUMAN RESOURCE PROBLEMS IN DEVELOPING SOCIETIES The major hindrances to human resources in the developing societies are many and varied. The most common ones are: -
• Rapidly growing population; • Expansion in educational institution; • Mounting unemployment in the modern sector of the economy as well as widespread underemployment in the traditional sector; • Shortage of persons with critical skills and knowledge required for effective national development; • Inadequate and underdeveloped organizations and institutions for mobilizing human efforts; • Inadequate incentives for persons to engage in particular activities. To undertake a systematic assessment of human resources and problems confronting a society, it is necessary to determine the objectives of human resources development: i. Identification of the principal critical shortages of skill manpower in each major sector of the economy and analysis of reasons for such shortages; ii. The identification of surpluses, both of trained and untrained; iii. Setting priorities and targets based upon reasonable expectation of growth
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Once the problems of human resources have been determined, a strategy must be put in place to overcome them effectively. The strategy, of necessity, must comprise of the following:i. Building of appropriate incentives; ii. Effective training of the employed human resources; iii. Rational development of formal educational resources. These three components are interdependent, because progress in one area is dependent upon progress in other two areas. It is important to mention that investment in formal education alone is not sufficient to solve either critical skill shortages or persistent labor surpluses in modernizing societies. As a result, the mosque could be an ideal place, where Imam and Islamic scholars could discuss about Islamic HR values and encourage the devotees to practice these in their work places. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Researchers developed a research question to identify the importance of mosque for human resource development. A survey has been conducted to do this research, where sample size was 30 devotees from three different mosques. Seven different questions have been asked to find out research answer. The research question of this paper was How does mosque offer a better place to train in Islamic Human Resource Development? To answer the research question, researchers broke down the research issue with the following specified objectives: 他 Identify Islamic views of human resource development 他 Identify religious requirements into human management practice with the emphasis on value-based management as enshrined in Islamic worldview that promotes taqwa, akhlaq, itqan and good universal values 他 Identify devotees opinion as regards learning about Islamic human resource development values at mosque 他 Develop a framework for system approach for HR development at mosque
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TABLE II: List of Hypothesis Hypothesis No H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7
Description Does Devotees need to learn about HRD at mosque? Does Mosque is not only for prayer but for learning and training Islamic values? Does Khutbah represent perfect occasion to learn more about Islam? Do all devotees know about Islamic rules and laws about employee- employee relationship? Do devotees want to practice Islamic HR at work place? Do devotees know about Taqwa, Akhlaq and Itqan? Do devotees need to bring Islamic scholars at mosque to know about Islamic HR values?
DOMAINS OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN ISLAM After the secondary data analysis, the researchers identified five different domains of HRD in Islam. These are: • • • • •
Personal Development (Taqwa, Akhlaq, Itqan) Political Development (Shoora) Social Development (Izzath) Organizational/Administrative Development (Nazm) Economic and Spatial Development (Maal and Makaan)
A. Personal Development As a spiritual development, personal development is the key issue of Islam. . Quran says: “Believers! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and see that you do not die save in the state of submission to Allah”. [3].
Fig. 1 Personal development map
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1. Taqwa: It is an Islamic term denoting piety. The word is derived from the root verb “Waqa” which means self defense and avoidance. Depending on the context, the denotation of the term in classical Islamic religious literature includes godliness, devoutness, piety, God-fearing, pious abstinence and uprightness [4]. One can establish taqwa by true iman (faith), which in return, will cause great love and fear of Allah. Taqwa will purify ones heart and soul and will lead him to do righteous deeds and avoid the evil ones. In Islam, taqwa is the only and greatest standard of one’s nobility and worth as Allah says: “The noblest, most honorable of you in the sight of God is the most advanced of you in taqwa “[5]. 2. Akhlaq: The word akhlaq is the plural for the word “Khulq” which means innate disposition [6], inner thought, feeling and attitudes. Akhlaq or moral is an important aspect of Islam and this could be implicitly understood through the mission of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.S) itself that is to perfect morality and mannerism (makarim al-akhlaq). Islamic education provides great emphasis on good morals and character, making it a comprehensive mode of living. The model for Muslims in this regard is the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.S) himself whom Allah has addressed: “Indeed, you have such a great character “[7]. 3. Itqan: The term itqan derived from the root word “atqana” which means to make things thoroughly [8] or to dispose of things in perfect order [9]. In Arabic, the word “itqan” is used to indicate the level of quality. The only place in the Quran whereby Allah specifically uses the word “atqana” is in Surah an-Naml. The word is used to describe a scene in the hereafter, which says: "And you see the mountains and think them firmly fixed, but they shall pass away as the clouds pass away. (Such is) the artistry of Allah, who disposes of all things in perfect order, for He is well acquainted with all that you do [10]. B. Political Development The political development in Islam depends upon equal participation in decision making process i.e. SHOORA system. The verse from Quran reads: who conduct their affairs by consultation [11].
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C. Social Development The social development in Islam ensures equal status of human beings irrespective of their religion, region, caste, language and belief i.e. IZZATH. Quran says: “Human beings, we created you all from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another” [12]. D. Organizational Development The organizational or administrative development in Islam means the shared role of efficient and effective system i.e. NAZM. In Quran we find: Hold fast together to the cable of Allah and be not divided [13]. E. Economical development The economic or financial development ensures the sharing of wealth among people, i.e. MAAL. Just as constipation is bad for stomach, concentration of wealth is disease for any economy. Quran says: “whereas Allah has made trade lawful and interest unlawfull” [14]. On the other hand, spatial development ensures the shared land among people, i.e. MAKAAN. Quran says: “and will then cause you to settle in the land as their successors. That is the reward for him who fears to stand for reckoning and holds My threat in awe “[15]. MOSQUE AS A LEARNING PLACE OF HR The Mosque is a place of congregational prayer. This includes the daily, Friday, and ‘Idayn (the two festivals of Islam) prayers. Such occasions strengthen the sense of equality and solidarity among the Muslims. - They also provide an opportunity for mutual understanding and recognition. - The Mosque is a place of peace and tranquility. - The Mosque is a place of spiritual purification, meditation, and remembrance of God. - The Mosque is a symbol of the Islamic faith. - The Mosque provides a basis for understanding and solving each other’s problems through mutual trust. - The Mosque is a place where sermons are delivered, propagation of Islam is done, and where the community is reminded of its spiritual and religious obligations [16] Mosques and other Islamic organizations are very important place for Muslims for the process of ‘self-categorization’ because among 285
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community members Muslims positively see themselves and also regard themselves and their group in relation to other groups which brings strength to them [17]. However, it also important to know the difference of what different group memberships mean for Muslims. Therefore, in this part, we will look at mosques as a place of memory and history of Muslim community. A conceptual framework has been developed to illustrate role of mosque for HR development. A. Role of Salat at Mosque Muslims perform prayers regularly to remember God and to thank Him for all His blessings and giving. This repeated reminder, five times a day, is to bring them closer to God and to have a good relationship with Him. No matter how faithful and religious conscious Muslims are, this repeated reminder is still essential. Salat encourages punctuality, self-discipline, self-control and cleanliness. It helps Muslims to build good characters and develop qualities of patience and honesty. It also teaches Muslims tolerance, unity, equality and co-operation. 1) Punctuality: Punctuality is needed to perform the five times daily prayers at the appointed times. This is at dawn before the sunrise, at noon, mid afternoon, evening at sunset and at nightfall. The Quran[18] refers to this by saying: “Establish regular prayer, for it restrains from shameful and unjust deeds.�
Fig2: Action Framework 286
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2) Self-discipline: Self-discipline can be learnt from the regularity of performing prayers at the proper times as well as the ablution, which precedes the prayer. Getting up in the early morning to perform dawn prayer when one is still drowsy and during the day when one is busy with work and at night when one is preoccupied with family and other activities is a good example of self-discipline. “…God intends every facility for you; He does not want to put you to difficulties [19].” 3) Patience Salat develops in Muslims another quality of good character. This is patience, which is the source of strength needed to face the hardships of life. The Qur’an repeatedly encourages Muslims to get help and strength from regularly praying in any kind of stress or trouble. “…Seek God’s help through patience and prayer [20].” “O you who believe. Seek help with patience, perseverance and prayer; for God is with those who patiently preserver [21].” 4) Equality: The congregational prayer on Friday and the two festivals is a sign of brotherhood and equality, where Muslims stand before God as equal. They all stand together in straight rows shoulder to shoulder to offer their prayer to God. 5) Unity Muslims are provided with many opportunities for gathering in various occasions. The mosque is open for individuals to pray voluntary the daily prayers and obligatory for Friday prayer and annual prayers at the two Feasts. Muslims assemble in the mosque and meet each other in these occasions with the feeling of unity and brotherhood regardless of their social or economic status. It is an opportunity to know each other and to share their opinion and to co-operate to solve their problems. B. Role of Imam Imams of mosques can play a very central role in promoting social reforms and human resource development among Muslims, but, sadly, this is a task that has not been given the attention that it deserves. In popular perception, the role of mosque imam is seen as limited only to 287
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leading prayers, solemnizing marriages, conducting burial services and so on. The imams of mosques have much greater opportunities to closely interact with ‘ordinary’ people—to address them, as during the Friday congregational prayers, and to participate in their occasions of joy and sorrow. C. Role of Juma The Qur’an states the importance of Salat-ul-Jumu‘ah and therefore Muslims accept that Friday prayers are significant. The Qur’an is the word of Allah and Muslims accept its authority and obey what it says. Experience proves that there is wisdom in what the Qur’an says. Meeting regularly as a community is helpful and often there are practical matters to discuss and problems to be solved. Having prayed together there is a sense of unity, co-operation and singleness of purpose. The sermon may have directed people’s thoughts towards the celebration of some events, such as the annual festivals, or to some issue which affects the whole of the ummah (the Islamic global community). Talking together in the mosque afterwards, the men can discuss how this issue might affect the local Muslim community and the religious principles involved. This opportunity may be very important for the Muslim communities, particularly those in nonMuslim countries. Afterwards, Muslims return to their ordinary daily lives. Friday is not a day of rest for them. Religion is part of everyday life, not separate from it [22]. D. Role of Khutbah It is one of the basic requirements of the Friday prayer that it should bе preceded by а Khutbah delivered by the Imam. It is Wajib (mandatory) for every Muslim to attend the Khutbah from the very beginning. Being а part of prayer, it has some special rules and traits which distinguish it from the normal lectures given on other occasions. It is а mandatory requirement for а valid Khutbah оn Friday to contain at least one verse from the Holy Qur'an without which the Khutbah is not valid. E. Training Programs Various kinds of training program like mosque management, leadership training, ICT training for Islam awareness, imam training could be conducted in mosque. In UK, the Faith Associates team have frequented for the best period of three decades in the capacity as worshipers. The purpose of these kinds of training, support and advice 288
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focus to help foster better governance, increase the quality of the HR services and to start the process of encouraging a greater vision of increase management skills. 1) Mosque Management: - Schedule - Fund rising - Facilities management - Health and Safety plan - Developing mosque development policies 2) Leadership and management - Quran and Hadith training - Discussion on social and family issues 3) Imam Training - Khutbah training - Ethics - Current Affairs - Islamic Law 4) ICT training - Office package for office management - Internet and Email for communication DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS After the survey, significant result was found by which a Z test has been conducted to make the result statistically valid. In the table given below, result has been shown • 50% respondents strongly agreed that they would like to know about the Islamic Human Resource Management in the mosque. • 70% samples strongly agreed that the Mosque is a place for not only prayers but also a training centre of Islamic values. • 57% respondent strongly agreed that the Friday Khutbah is an effective time to learn about Islamic employee to employee relationship from The Holy Quran. • 42% samples agreed that they knew all the laws and rules of Islam related to workers.
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• 50% respondents agreed that they wanted to practice Islamic HR at my work place. • 45% survayed people agreed that about their awareness on taqwah, akhlaq and itqan. • 50% respondents strongly agreed on importance of bringing Islamic scholars cum employers to share knowledge about different sectors at the mosque. Table II: Hypothesis Analysis in Z-test Five point liker Scale
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
a. strongly agree (5)
20
28
23
6
15
10
19
b. agree (4) c. neither agree nor disagree (3) d. disagree (2) e. strongly disagree (1) Total Average (Sample Mean) Population Mean
16
6
14
17
20
18
20
3
3
2
10
3
11
0
1
3
1
7
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
175
143
179
142
168
157
177
4.38
4.48
4.48
3.55
4.2
3.93
4.42
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
Variance
6.17
7.58
4.46
0.89
0.61
0.62
0.39
Standard Deviation
2.48
2.75
2.11
0.95
0.78
0.78
0.63
Z- value (cal)
4.79
4.55
4.13
6.99
13.78
11.59
19.27
Z- value (tab) Z-cal >Z Tab Null hypothisis
1.96 Rejec ted
1.96 Rejec ted
1.96 Rejec ted
1.96 Rejec ted
1.96 Rejec ted
1.96 Rejec ted
1.96 Rejec ted
CONCLUSION A reformed system of mosque is the need of the hour and it should be based on the following principles: “All mosques when built and opened should be publicly owned and based on a system of community control. Defined mosque areas, which the mosque is supposed to serve, would elect the mosque committee, run the mosque and define and appraise the work of the moulvi. The case for another mosque in the mosque area should be very carefully made. The use of a loudspeaker should be carefully
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regulated for azaan (the call to prayer) only and loud enough only to cover the immediate mosque area. The community uses for the mosque should be clearly defined. Learning activities at mosques should be actively encouraged. A hierarchy of mosques should be developed on the basis of size and the area that they serve. Smaller mosques that are in the area of larger mosques should not be allowed to use loudspeakers; their roles should be confined to the service of tight-knit communities on a one-to-one basis. The larger mosques should have libraries, internet and learning facilities. All mosques should display a learning calendar based on professional seminars and training delivered by professionals in the community. Bangladesh is a Muslim country. Most of the people in Bangladesh are following the rules and regulation of Islam. As per this research is conducted the most thoughtful think is HRM practice the view of Islam and the process how the people can get the laws of Islam in terms of justice and law of labor. An initial challenge for employers will be to overcome anti-Muslim sentiment in the workplace. Distrust and limited understanding often characterize Americans' perceptions of Islam. Surveys have shown that saying that Islamic HR practice is possible in the Mosque and people are interested to know about the thoughts of Islam in terms of HR and the law of labor management.
REFERENCES 1. 2.
3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood(2005), The Role of the Mosque in Britain,Published by The Muslim Parliament of Great Britain Dr. Khaliq Ahmad (2004)Challenges and Practices in Human Resource Management of the Muslim World, Management Centre, International Islamic University Malaysia Surat 'Ali `Imran [3:102] The Encyclopaedia of Islam, pg 325 The Encyclopaedia of Islam, pg 325 F. Khalid Baig. On Arrogance, Humbleness and Inferiority Complex. http://www.albalagh.net/general/kibr.shtml accessed on 27 July 2007 at 5.11 pm The Encyclopaedia of Islam, pg 325 Translation by Shakir. See http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/027.qmt.html (Surah An-Naml:27:88)
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9. 10. 11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
Transaltion by Yusuf Ali. See http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/027.qmt.html (Surah An-Naml:27:88) Translation by Shakir. See http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/027.qmt.html (Surah An-Naml:27:88) Translation by Yousuf Ali. See http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/qur an/042.qmt.html(Surat Ash-Shuraa :42:38) Translation by Yousuf Ali. See http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/qur an/042.qmt.html .(Surah al-Hujurat:49:13 ) Translation by Pikthal. See http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/qur an/003.qmt.html (Surat 'Ali `Imran:3:103) Translation by Pikthal, See. http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/qur an/002.qmt.html (Surat Al-Baqarah :2:275) Translation by Yousuf Ali, See. http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/qur an/014.qmt.html (Surat Ibrahim:14:14) Translation by Shakil, See. http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/qur an/028.qmt.html (Surat Al-Qasas :28:26) Translation by Yousuf Ali, See. http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/qur an/049.qmt.html (Surah al-Hujurat :49:130) Translation by Yousuf Ali, See. http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/qur an/029.qmt.html (Surah Al –Ankabut 29:45) Translation by Yousuf Ali, See. http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/qur an/029.qmt.html( Surah Al –Ankabut: 29:45) Translation by Yousuf Ali, See. http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/qur an/002.qmt.html(Surat Al bawarah 2: 185) Translation by Yousuf Ali, See. http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/qur an/002.qmt.html(Surat Al bawarah:2: 4
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Auditing in Islamic Perspective and Auditing as Practiced in some selected Islamic Banks Operating in Bangladesh Muhammad Showkat Imran* Afzal Ahmad** Md. Zahid Hossain Bhuiyan*** Abstract: The study is on “Auditing in Islamic perspective and auditing as practiced in some selected Islamic banks operating in Bangladesh”. The study was conducted on total number of 5 Islamic banks operating in Bangladesh. The study was based on primary data, collected by interview method on the basis of a structured questionnaire. The main findings of the study are: i) identifying objectives and principles of Islamic auditing, ii) analysing the procedures of conducting auditing in the selected banks, iii) focusing on the major responsibilities and role of an auditor in the eye of Islam, iv) identifying qualities of an auditor in the eye of Islam such as righteousness, trustworthiness, professional behaviour, fairness, proficiency and efficiency, honesty and confidentiality etc., v) identifying major problems involved in conducting Islamic auditing in the selected banks are reported as: auditors specially external are not very much familiar with rules and regulation of Shari’a Council, the bank authority disagree that auditors (external) are quite independent body, the concerned management feel discouraged to help the auditors by providing necessary information and data as well as document, non-standardization of Shari’a compliance and regulation for Islamic finance. Not well equipped with knowledge of Shari’a Council on the part of
* ** ***
Lecturer in Marketing, Dept. of Business Administration, IIUC, Dhaka Campus Lecturer in Accounting, Dept. of Business Administration, IIUC, Dhaka Campus Lecturer in Management, Dept. of Business Administration, IIUC, Dhaka Campus
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the employees, accounting systems and procedure are not fully in compliance with Islamic Shari’a, vi) The probable measures to overcome the problems are identified as : proper implementation of accounting systems as permitted by Islamic Shari’a, proper training to the accounting personnel regarding knowledge of Islamic Shari’a, supplying the auditors necessary information and data willingly by the Accounts personnel, recognizing purity of transaction, proper standardization of Shari’a Council rules and regulations etc. Index Terms: Auditing, Islamic Auditing, Auditors responsibility.
1.0: Statement of The Problem Islam does not recognize the separation between spiritual and temporal affairs, and considers commerce as a matter of morality and subject to the precepts of Shariah [1]. Hence Islamic banks (and indeed any Islamic business organizations) must abide by Shariah precepts in all their business and financial transactions. In Islamic history, the institution of Hisbah and the role of the Muhtasib –to monitor, control and prevent fraudulent exploitations on consumers in the marketplace go back to the time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the first four Caliphs. The function was linked to Quranic verses that urge Muslims to promote right and prevent wrong. For instance in Quran [2]: “Let there arise out of you, a band of people, inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones, to attain felicity.” According to Imam Ghazali, the Hisbah practice must be seen as a fard kifayah for Muslims; where every Muslim is expected to play a positive role in the propagation of good (maaruf) and suppression of evil (mungkar). However, it has been made an obligation on a section of society to remain engaged in it. The Muhtasib is the official appointed by the ruler to implement Hisbah on behalf of the state. Note that the institution of Hisbah moved along with Muslims into the Western provinces of Spain and remained an integral part of the state [3]. However, according to him, with the arrival of Western colonialism and the simultaneous eclipse of Islamic political strength,
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most of the Muslim institutions underwent drastic decline. The institution of Hisbah also declined in effectiveness and virtually disappeared. The effectiveness of Hisbah was directly related to the strength of governance. The audit function in an Islamic state is thus important and mandatory as it reflects the accountability of the auditor not only to the users of the financial statements, but more importantly, to the Creator, Allah SWT. This is because Muslims believe that one’s actions and thoughts are always being watched by Allah (Muraqabah). Fundamental to Islam is the edict that “…surely Allah takes account of all things” Quran [4]. It is to be noted that these references to “account” are in the generic sense i.e. reference to one’s obligation to “account” to God on all matters pertaining to human endeavour for which every Muslim is “accountable” [5] Against the above backdrop, it is imperative to examine the audit practice in case of the Islamic financial institution of Bangladesh. To this end, the present study on “Auditing in Islamic perspective and auditing as practiced in some selected Islamic banks operating in Bangladesh” is an attempt, which is the part and parcel of Islamic financial institutions. 2.0: Objectives of the Study The main objective of the study is to examine the “Auditing in Islamic perspective and auditing as practiced in some selected Islamic banks operating in Bangladesh”. To achieve the main objective the following are the specific objectives: 1. To know the objectives & principles of Islamic auditing. 2. To examine the procedure of conducting audit in the selected banks. 3. To examine the auditors responsibility. 4. To identify the qualities of an auditor in the eye of Islam. 5. To identify the problems while conducting Islamic auditing in selected banks. 6. To suggest probable measures to remove the aforesaid problems.
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3.0: Methodology: The present study was limited to five Islamic banks operating in Bangladesh. These are: i) Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd. (IBBL), ii) Social Islami Bank Ltd. (SIBL), iii) Shahjalal Islami Bank Ltd. (SHAHJABANK), iv) First Security Islami Bank Ltd. (FSIBL), v) AlArafa Islami Bank Ltd. (AIBL).Out of the total number of 7 Islamic Banks independently working in the country, five (5) banks have been selected for study, thereby comprising 71.42% of the total Islamic banks. The banks were selected purposively for the easy and smooth collection of information. The study was mainly based on primary information .The required primary information were objectives of Islamic auditing, responsibility of auditors in case of fraud and errors, qualities of auditors and compliance, the problems in conducting auditing and proposed measure to overcome these. All the information’s were collected with the help of a structured questionnaire by direct interview method. The interview was conducted on a total number of 20 (twenty) respondents, taking four from each selected banks. Their rank and status were senior executives of the Accounts Department of these respective banks. Moreover, 5 (five) external auditors taking one from each selected banks were also interviewed to know the problems and the suggestions to remove the same. The main secondary sources of information were Al – Hadith, Al – Qur’an, published articles, and paper and text books on the related topics. The collected information’s were processed manually. These information were analysed critically and also in an analytical manner in order to make the study informative and valuable to the readers. 4.0: Findings & Their Analysis 4.1: Objectives and Principles of Islamic Auditing: Self responsibility, organizational responsibility as well as the responsibility to the Almighty Allah in hereafter should be the guidelines of Islamic auditing. Allah said, ‘That man can have nothing but what he strives for that the fruit of his striving will soon come in sight. Then will be rewarded with a complete reward” [6]. Therefore, the objectives and principles of Islamic auditing are as follows: 296
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Objectives: To enable the auditor to express an opinion as to whether the financial statements are prepared, in accordance with Shari’a Rules and Principles and the accounting standards of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). Principles: The auditor should comply with the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants which include: righteousness, integrity, trustworthiness, fairness, honesty, independence, objectivity, professional competence, due care, confidentiality, professional behaviour and technical standards. 4.2: Procedures of Conducting Audit: While auditing the books of accounts and affairs of an organization, we are to identify the procedure of conducting audit. It is reported that there are generally two ways of conducting auditing and this are: i. Internal Auditing ii. External Auditing Internal Auditing: Internal auditing encompasses the examination and evaluation of the adequacy and effectiveness of the organization’s system of internal control and the quality of performance in carrying out assigned responsibilities. The Institute of Internal Auditors Statement of Responsibilities of Internal Auditing indicates that internal auditors should do the following [7]: • Review the reliability and integrity of financial and operating information and the means used to identify measure, classify and report such information. • Review the systems established to ensure compliance with those policies, plans, procedures, laws, regulations and contracts, which could have a significant impact on operations and reports and should determine whether the organization is in compliance. • Review the means of safeguarding assets and, as appropriate, verify the existence of such assets. • Appraise the economy and efficiency with which resources are employed.
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• Review operations or programs to ascertain whether results are consistent with established objectives and goals and whether the operations or programs are being carried out as planned. Internal Control: Self Monitoring or Control: Self Audit is the best Audit; it indicates that self accountability to almighty Allah (SWT) is the best and beneficial guide for auditing. If a person is appointed as an auditor in any organization for auditing, he always feels that there is no scope for any fraudulent activities for the fear of punishment as the almighty Allah (SWT) always sees him, rather he can perform well for his Allah fearing accountability. Regarding the self audit, there are a lot of evidences in Al-Qur’an and Al-Hadith. In the Holy Qur’an Allah (SWT) says, “Truly nothing is hidden from Allah (SWT), in the earth or in the heaven” [8] “He is with you where so ever you may be” [9]. In the Hadith Prophet (SAW) said, “Judge yourself before you will be judged and weight your deeds before you will be weighted.” However, the following are the procedures of Internal Control as followed in the selected banks: i. Inspection by the internal auditors in authority. Responsibility for the performance of the job must be clearly stated so that there may be no room for doubt or confusion subsequently ii. Internal audit done by them who are not involved in any way with the work or project being monitored and refer to both internal and external checks. iii. To attain desires and happiness in this world and the next, success, prosperity, freedom from anxiety and others. Achievement of desire and happiness in this world & thereafter is a must for every Muslim. The success, prosperity, freedom are the pre-requisites of desire and happiness. iv. To achieve the goal, Islam has laid down well defined guidelines. Clear and well defined rules should be laid down and 298
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practically followed relating to dealing of the cash, ordering, receiving and issuing goods etc. instruction should be in written in the form of accounting manuals. v. Proper organizational structure. The arranged of the work should be in such a manner that written record of the part played by each employee should be maintained and the work should pass through several hands in a well-defined manner. vi. Division of work, specialization and responsibility. These are the important principles of management. These must be followed for the success any work or job whether accounting, auditing and so on. Rotation principle relating to transfer for an employee from one job to another should be the inflexible guiding rule. This is an effective safeguard against collusion and is recognized as an important canon of sound organization. vii. Check the work of account only to ensure that their reports are complete and accurate as applied in Baitul Maal. Complete and accurate audit reports are the core of audit works in any organization whether banks or others. Therefore accountant’s works should ensure completeness and accuracy in the report which are applied in Baitul Maal viii. Muslims are encouraged to take advantage of all advances in knowledge for one’s benefit as long as this is not forbidden in religion. Mechanization of the work wherever feasible and practicable, should be restored to. Mechanical devices such as cash register, recording time clocks, calculation machines etc., should be introduced. ix. To supervise every employees work by the other employee may be his/her immediate senior or boss. Employee must be in bond so that the tempted employee must be deterred from committing fraud and employer being protected. x. Every transaction regarding process is related with minimum two employees. The work should be so arranged that work done by one employee should be promptly checked by another independent employee. Such continuous and constant checking goods moral control and the errors and the frauds cannot go undetected.
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External Auditing: This is complied by conducting external auditing which is performed by Chattered Accountant farms of our country. This is the usual practice of Bangladesh. It is reported that the management of the organization is of the view that external auditors have nothing to do in respect of Shari’a Council. Shari’a Advisory is the final authority in respect of approval of financial statement of organization. The fact that an audit is carried out may act as a deterrent, but the auditor is not and cannot be held responsible for prevention of fraud and error, however, the auditor shall be held responsible for negligence and misconduct. Regarding to external auditing there are a lot of evidences in AlQur’an. In the Holy Qur’an Allah (SWT) says, “And cover not Truth with falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when ye know (what it is)” [10]. “But verily it is Truth of assured certainty” [11]. “O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done” [12] 4.3: Auditor’s Responsibility: The following are the major responsibilities of an auditor: First, the auditor is directly liable to his clients, who are owners of an organization. He has no liability towards creditors or financiers of the business (except in the limited sense). It is not his liability to see whether the money extended by the lenders is safe and protected - or that other people's money has been utilized prudently. Second, the auditor has no social obligations imposed by the norms of society. An organization may enter into such areas of business which may harm the collective interests of the society or lead to depletion of non-renewable resources, or add to ecological pollution or generate socio-economic externalities. The auditor has no responsibility to comment on these policies. Third, the auditor reports on compliance with the secular laws of the land. He is not guided by any religious law. Nor has he to report on compliance with any revealed religious code, so that he has not to
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comment on the ethical aspects of policies and practices of an organization. Fourth, the auditor is not responsible to report on the prudence and propriety of policies of an organization. The organization may handle its affairs in any manner it chooses and its decisions may lead to unwise and improper actions but the auditor is not required to comment on them. Role of Auditors in the Eye of Islam: Role of Auditors in the Eye of Islam is discussed below: • Allah SWT says in Quran that “Allah doth command you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due; And when ye judge between people that ye judge with justice” [13]. • According to the code of ethics for accountants and auditors, auditing is one of the professions that were required by Shari’a as a Fard Kifaya. • In the other words it is a duty which, if performed by some, would exempt others in the society. Otherwise, the whole society will be sinful. 4.4: Qualities of an Auditor in the Eye of Islam: The auditor should comply with the “Code of Ethics for Professional Accounts” issued by Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institution (AAOIFI) and the International Federation of Account which do not contravene Islamic rules and principles. The ethical principles governing the auditor’s professional responsibilities include: Righteousness: An auditor should be righteous in regard to his duty. Regarding to righteousness there are a lot of reference in Al-Qur’an and Al-Hadith. In the Holy Qur’an Allah (SWT) says, “He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive your sins. And what so ever obeys Allah and his messenger has indeed achieved a great achievement” [14]. There is a Hadith narrated by Abdullah Ibn Masud relates to the Prophet (SAW) used to supplicate,
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“Allah I beg of the three guidance of righteousness, chastity, and selfsufficiency” [15]. Trustworthiness: Without this quality, a person cannot be a good auditor. It is the prerequisite of an auditor. In the Holy Qur’aan Allah (SWT) says, “And put your trust in the ever living one who dies not” [16]. Allah (SWT) also says, “Allah (SWT) is sufficient for him who puts his trust in him” [17]. Hazrat Umar (R) relates that he heard the Prophet (SAW) said, “Were you to put your complete trust in Allah (SWT), He provides for you as He provides for the birds,” [18]. Professional Behaviour: In Islam, there are ample evidences about how the professional behaviour should be in particular job field. In this regard, we may mention the following two Hadiths about excellence in profession. “Allah Almighty wants that when one of you doe a job, he/she do it well” [19]. “Allah has decreased excellence for everything, when you kill, do it in the best way; and when you slaughter (an animal for sacrifice), does it in the best way. So, every one of you should sharpen his knife and let the slaughtered animal die comfortably” [20]. Fairness: A person who works for another person, a firm or an institution, has been commended by Allah (SWT) to perform his work efficiently and honestly. In the Holy Qur’an Allah (SWT) says “Oh you who believe! When you contract a debt for a fixed period writes it down” [21]. Proficiency and Efficiency (Ihsan): Ihsan is commonly understood as doing marginally more than the minimal requirements. Islam urges Muslims to do their jobs without any lapse or omission and to the best of their efficiency and competence. The Qur’an urges the believers to
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gain control over the universe and to move full use of its natural resources. Sincerity (Iklas): Sincerity is the key to all virtue because one cannot genuinely perform a task without sincerity. When an auditor is sincerely undertaking the task; he has to make sure that it is completed with the best of his ability [22]. Passion for Excellence: The most important ingredient for excellent performance is the existence of inherent passion within the individuals. Excellence is not achievable through impressive organizational charts, lofty positions or even handsome perk alone. Islam does not admit only excellence as a virtue but also encourages its adherence to excel in everything that they do [23]. Professional Competence: The auditor must be competent about the audit. He should have the ability to make any judgment on any occurring situation. For that he needs proper education, training and sufficient guidelines. In Islam, every profession is a trust to particular employee. It is religious duty for every Muslim jobholder to gather knowledge about his profession [24]. Honesty: The base of Islam is founded on honesty. In his childhood the Prophet (SAW) was well-known as ‘Sadik’ and ‘Al-Amin’. He said, “I am sent to explain in detail what honest character is.” The Qur’an has expressly forbidden the dishonesty: “Oh Ye who believe! Betray not the trust of God and the Postle, nor misappropriate knowledgably things entrusted to you” [25]. Confidentiality: During the audit period auditor should keep secret his observation. It is required for the effective audit. In the holy Qur’an Allah (SWT) says, “Whether you publish a good deed or conceal it or cover evil with pardon verily Allah both bolt out (sins) and hath power in the judgment of value” [26].
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4.5: Problems Involved in Conducting Islamic Auditing: While conducting Islamic auditing in the selected banks, it is reported that the following major problems are involved: i.
The management of the selected banks is of opinion that the auditors should go by the rules and regulation as framed by Shari’a Council since they were not very much familiar with.
ii.
The Islamic bank authority does not want to agree that external auditors are quiet independent than that of management and Shari’a Council.
iii.
The concerned management is not willing from its own to help the auditor by providing books of accounts and other affairs including any
iv.
explanation desired by the auditor.
v.
The bank management does not believe in the purity of transactions which in the long run ensures reliance of their customers in the model of Islamic financing and banking.
vi.
Till today standardization of Shari’a Compliance and regulation for Islamic finance has not been possible in Bangladesh.
vii.
All of the employees of the selected banks are not well equipped with the knowledge of Shari’a Council, which is a must in case of accounts department of the banks.
viii.
It is reported that the accounting system and procedure are not fully in compliance with Islamic Shari’a. This is because of a dearth of knowledge of accounting personnel in this field.
4.6: Probable Measures to overcome the Problems: In our questionnaire, we have requested our respondents to put forward some suggestions in order to remove the problems involved in conducting audit. Their major suggestions are as follows: i. Proper implementation of accounting system and procedure as permitted by Islamic Shari’a. By shari’a based accounting systems both the cash basis and accrual basis of accounting is meant. Again Shari’a based procedures, the procedures which are approved under Islamic Shari’a are meant.
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ii. Proper training should be given especially to the accounts personnel as regards the knowledge of Shari’a Council in respect of practicing accounting system and procedure. iii. The management of the selected banks should believe that the auditors are independent than that of management and Shari’a Council also. This mint that the concern management should recognize the auditors as independent agents other than the management & Shari’a. iv. The accounts personnel must provide the auditors with the books of accounts and others affairs of the banks. They should also give explanation to the auditors as and when required by them. v. The purity of transactions should be recognized by the accounts personnel who will ensure the reliance of the customers. The purity of transaction refers to correctness, validity and also accuracy of the transactions. vi. The banks authority should standardize the Shari’a Compliance and regulation for the banks as early as possible. Conclusion It is true that Islamic ways of auditing are not followed, in the real sense of the term, in our selected banks. The auditors both internal and external fail to possess all the qualities of an auditor in the eye of Islam. Therefore, in order to ensure the Islamic practice of auditing fully the management of the bank should be sincere and committed. Moreover, in order to strengthen the Islamic auditing practice in the selected banks the probable measures to overcome the problems as identified in this study should be undertaken by the management, as early as possible. Auditing is an important task for every organization. If it is not done effectively and efficiently, the main theme of an organization as well as its position cannot be determined. For this efficient and effective audit the Holy Qur’an and Hadith can be the best guide to perform it. A man with Qur’anic knowledge as well as traditional knowledge on auditing can do it well. Now-a-days, Islamic Financial Institutions are growing rapidly with success. This is an initial approach that Islamic auditing may play a vital role there. But there is a need for more comprehensive works for pious person. A separate compilation should be developed with the reference of selected Qur’an and Sunnah. 305
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References 1.
Karim, 1996 as quoted in Kasim Nawal, “Auditing from the Islamic Perspective”, Accountants Today, June, 2010.
2.
Al–Qur’aan, Sura Al–Imran - 104
3.
Murtuza, 2004 as quoted in Kasim Nawal, “Auditing from the Islamic Perspective”, Accountants Today, June, 2010.
4.
Al–Qur’aan, Sura An Nisa - 86
5.
Askary, S. and Clarke F., 1997. “Accounting in the Koranic Verse”, Proceeding of International Conference, the vehicle for exploring and implementing Shariah in Accounting, Commerce and Finance. University of Western Sydney Macarthur.
6.
Al–Qur’an, Sura Sura An-Najm - 39-41
7.
Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, Institute of Internal Auditors, 1980.
8.
Al–Qur’an, Sura Al–Imran - 5
9.
Al–Qur’an, Sura Al–Hudid - 4
10. Al–Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah - 42 11. Al–Qur’an, Surah Al-Haqqah - 51 12. Al–Qur’an, Surah Al-Hujurat - 49 13. Al–Qur’an, Surah Al-Nisa - 58 14. Al–Qur’an, Sura Al–Ahzab - 71 15. Al–Hadith, Muslim Sharif 16. Al–Qur’an, Sura Al–Furqan - 58 17. Al–Qur’an, Sura Al–Talq - 4 18. Al–Hadith, Tirmidhi Sharif 19. Md. Zafrullah Khan, Gardens of the Righteous (Riyadh as Salihin), Published from London (1987) 20. Al–Hadith, Muslim Sharif 21. Al–Qur’an, Sura Al–Baqarah - 282 22. Mustak Ahmed (d.1995), Business Ethics in Islam, Printed in Pakistan. Page # 98 23. Datuk Dr. Syed Othman Alhabshi (1995), Islamic values, its universal nature and applicability, Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM) 24. Naccur Jabnoun (1994), Islami Management, IKD Publication Malaysia, Page # 104 25. Al–Qur’an, Sura Al-Anfal - 27 26. Al–Qur’an, Sura An Nisa - 149
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The Need for Computer Ethics Course for the Students of CSE/CS or Equivalent Discipline in Bangladesh Md. Monirul Islam* Mohammed Shamsul Alam** Tanveer Ahsan*** Abstract: Ethics has long been a part of engineering education and practices. Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) is not an exception. In this study, however, it was revealed that very few universities of Bangladesh have a course on Computer Ethics in their respective curriculum of Computer Science and Engineering. But the scenario of other countries are completely different; many universities in the world offer courses like Computer Ethics, Social and Ethical Implications of Computing or courses with similar title and content. There is an increasing trend towards teaching ethics as a major course within CSE departments. This paper examines the necessity of incorporating a Computer Ethics course in the curriculum of CSE in the universities of Bangladesh and suggests an outline for the course. It suggests some topics that can be covered in a Computer Ethics course and offers some practical suggestions also for making the course an effective one. This study also examines ethics in computer education in the light of the Holly Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (S). Keywords: Computer Ethics, Internet Ethics, Computer Crime, CSE/CS, Islamic Ethics
I. Introduction Ethics deals with the standards of human conduct that direct the behavior of individuals and groups. These standards, in turn, are developed by the society within which the individual or group exists
*
Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIUC Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIUC *** Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIUC **
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[1]. Ethics are moral standard that help to guide behavior, actions, and choices. Everybody is responsible and accountable for his/her action and for the consequences it leaves on the society. So, action must be guided by some ethical values to ensure that it maintains certain moral, social and legal standards. Hence, ethics has a practical and significant role to play in engineering education and practice and CSE is not an exception. Computer Science has advanced rapidly in the last several decades, and this advance necessitates the continual revision of the curriculum for an evolving discipline. One of the fundamental changes in computer science in the last decade is the realization that the context in which technology is used must be taken into account in its design, partly because of the ethical implications of its use, and partly because understanding the context of use helps inform and improve the design [2]. This paper will discuss the importance of teaching Computer Ethics in the department of computer science in all universities of Bangladesh to overcome the ethical issues facing all over the world. II. Literature Review In order to receive accreditation by ABET’s Computing Accreditation Commission, a program must meet various intents. Standard IV-17 states, “There must be sufficient coverage of social and ethical implications of computing to give students an understanding of a broad range of issues in this area [3].� One of the study intend to expand to the contents of Computer Ethics Syllabus at the departments of Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Engineering in Computing, or similar departments at the universities in Spain and Portugal. This study has been focused on higher education, and therefore, analyzed the three degrees that are offered at Spain and Portugal universities: Computer Science, Management of Information Systems, Information Systems Engineering. The facts revealed on this study are that only 64 universities on Spain have Faculties or Schools of Computer Science. From these 64 universities 91% responded, drawing the following results: 53 percent of the respondent universities with Computer Science programs do not have Computer Ethics, Computer Law or similar courses. And only the 38 percent of the respondent universities with Computer Science programs have Computer Ethics and/or Computer Law. [4].
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Computer professionals have specialized knowledge and often have positions with authority and respect in the community. For this reason, they are able to have a significant impact upon the world, including many of the things that people value. Along with such power to change the world comes the duty to exercise that power responsibly. Computer professionals find themselves in a variety of professional relationships with other people, including: employer to employee, client to professional, professional to professional, professional to society. These relationships involve a diversity of interests, and sometimes these interests can come into conflict with each other. Responsible computer professionals, therefore, will be aware of possible conflicts of interest and try to avoid them [5]. Professional organizations in the USA, like the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), have established codes of ethics, curriculum guidelines and accreditation requirements to help computer professionals understand and manage ethical responsibilities. For example, in 1991 a Joint Curriculum Task Force of the ACM and IEEE adopted a set of guidelines (“Curriculum 1991”) for college programs in computer science. The guidelines say that a significant component of computer ethics should be included in undergraduate education in computer science [6]. In addition, both ACM and IEEE have adopted Codes of Ethics for their members. The most recent ACM Code includes “general moral imperatives”, such as “avoid harm to others” and “be honest and trustworthy”. And also included are “more specific professional responsibilities” like “acquire and maintain professional competence” and “know and respect existing laws pertaining to professional work.” The IEEE Code of Ethics includes such principles as “avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible” and “be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data.” The Accreditation Board for Engineering Technologies (ABET) has long required an ethics component in the computer engineering curriculum. And in 1991, the Computer Sciences Accreditation Commission/Computer Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAC/CSAB) also adopted the requirement that a significant component of computer ethics be included in any computer sciences degree granting program that is nationally accredited [7]. It is clear that professional
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organizations in computer science recognize and insist upon standards of professional responsibility for their members. III. Objectives of The Study Online fraud, software piracy, hacking, cracking, Phishing, Internet crime, cheating through email or social websites like Facebook etc. are the common problems facing all over the world. These problems are not created by the ordinary people but the computer experts. Besides cyber law and other cautions, to learn computer ethics is also one of the important factors to overcome the problems. This study aims to examine the perceived benefits of teaching Computer Ethics in the computer sciences curricula in Bangladesh universities. The study focuses on: 1. The negative impact of lack of ethics in computer professional on the society. 2. The amount of financial losses caused by ethical problems. 3. The list of universities currently teaching Computer Ethics courses. 4. Ethics in computer education in the light of the Holly Quran and the Sunnah. 5. Proposal of ‘Computer Ethics’ course for the CSE students in Bangladesh with subject matter. IV. Methodology Since our objective is to introduce Computer Ethics related materials to the CSE curriculum, so we have studied CSE department course curriculum of various universities in Bangladesh as well as other countries. This paper basically based on statistical data. It also makes a brief analysis of the traditional theories and fundamental concepts of ethics in general. First it will study the computer related problems currently we are facing particularly the economical losses and social disorders. The second part examines ethics in computer education in the light of the Holly Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (S). The last part attempts to propose Computer Ethics course with proper materials for making the course successful and for effective learning. V. Negative Impact of Lack of Ethics in Computer Profession on the Society The following ethical issues giving a negative impact to the user of computer and computer related technologies: 310
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5.1 Ethics in Systems and Network Administration System Administrator is a key person in every computer network and Internet environment. They will strive to build and maintain a safe, healthy, and productive workplace. They will access private information on computer systems only when it is necessary in the course of technical duties. But in our country we have experienced that some system administrators are keeping record of all personal uses of computer as well as Internet. 5.2 Ethics in Software Engineering Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interests of their client and employer consistent with the public interest. They shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible. But some of the software development organizations are making little or no modifications and selling the same products to others. 5.3 Ethics in Using Computer at Office or Educational Institute The users of computer will not divulge passwords, pins, private keys or similar elements to anyone else, and they will not exploit sessions left open or otherwise misappropriate or steal the identity of another user. But users are violating this ethical teachings most of the time. 5.4. Online Fraud Frauds in online commerce lead to lose billions of dollars. Here are the estimated revenues lost due to e-commerce fraud and the percent of total online revenues transacted they constitute. Table 1: Revenue lost through on line fraud [8] Year Billion US$ % of Total Fraud 2000 1.5 3.6 2001 1.7 3.2 2002 2.1 2.9 2003 1.9 1.7 2004 2.6 1.8 2005 2.8 1.6 2006 3.1 1.4 2007 3.7 1.4 2008 4.0 1.4 2009 3.3 1.2 311
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5.5. Complain of Internet Crime: In December 2003, the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) was renamed the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). These filings were composed of complaints primarily related to fraudulent and nonfraudulent issues on the Internet. These complaints were composed of many different fraud types such as auction fraud, non-delivery, and credit/debit card fraud as well as non-fraudulent complaints such as computer intrusions, spam/unsolicited e-mail, and child pornography etc. Table 2: Number of Complains of Internet Crime [9] Year Number of complaints 2000 16838 2001 50412 2002 75064 2003 124515 2004 207449 2005 231493 2006 207492 2007 206884 2008 275284 5.6. Using Pirated Software Unauthorized copying, installation, use, or sale of software is the software piracy. Using pirated software is not only unethical but also illegal. It is a moral and ethical issue. Software piracy takes several forms. The most common method involves making a copy of a program to give to a friend. Seems innocent enough but it is illegal. Table: 3 Ten Highest and Lowest Country Wise Percentage of Software Piracy [10]
No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Highest Country Armenia Moldova Azerbaijan Bangladesh Zimbabwe Sri Lanka Yemen Libya
% 93% 92% 92% 92% 91% 90% 89% 88% 312
No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Lowest Country Switzerland Austria Denmark Belgium Sweden Finland Japan New Zealand
% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 23% 22%
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9 10
Venezuela Iraq
87% 85%
9 10
Luxembourg USA
21% 20%
The piracy rate is the total number of units of pirated software deployed in 2007 divided by the total units of software installed. From the above chart we can see that the United States of America is the least pirated software user on the other hand Armenia has the highest number of pirated software user followed by Moldova, Azerbaijan, and Bangladesh. VI. Computer Ethics Courses Currently Teaching 6.1: Computer Ethics Courses Teaching in the USA About 200 colleges and universities in the United States have baccalaureate computer science programs accredited by ABET’s Computing Accreditation Commission. In order to receive accreditation, a program must meet various intents; one of the conditions is that they must be sufficient coverage of social and ethical implications of computing. The following table shows the name of the universities that are teaching computer ethics or related courses for CSE students. The numbers of universities teaching this course in all over the world are increasing day by day. Table 4: List of Universities Offering Computer Ethics courses in USA [11] Name Of The University Name Of The University Arizona State University University of Alabama Boise State University University of California Bucknell University University of Central Florida East Tennessee State University University of Colorado Eastern Washington State Univ. University of Idaho Florida Atlantic University University of Louisiana George Mason University University of Mississippi Grambling State University University of Nebraska Indiana University University of Nevada Kennesaw State University University of New Hampshire Millersville Univ. of Pennsylv. University of New Orleans Montana State University University of Oklahoma Nicholls State University University Pacific Northeastern University University South Alabama Radford University University South Florida 313
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North Dakota State University Oregon State University Southern Illinois University Southwest Missouri State Univ. Texas Christian University
Univ. of Tennessee University of West Georgia University of Wyoming Utah State University Winthrop University
6.2: Computer Ethics Courses Teaching in Bangladesh The scenario is completely different in Bangladesh. There are very few universities in Bangladesh offering ‘Impact of Computer on Society’ and ‘Special Topics in IT/CSE’ etc. courses to their CSE students. The following courses are currently teaching for CSE students in Bangladesh: Table 5: Common CSE Related Courses Teaching in Bangladesh [12, 13, 14] Course Title Course Title Intro. to Computer Systems Basic Graph Theory Discrete Mathematics Fault Tolerant Systems Structured Program. Language Digital Image Processing Object Oriented Programming Basic Multimedia Theory Data Structures Algorithm Engineering Digital Logic Design Wireless Networks Algorithms Computational Geometry Theory of Computation Machine Learning Assembly Language Computer Interfacing Database Business Law Computer Architecture Pattern Recognition Software Engineering Digital Image Processing Compiler Digital Signal Processing Data Communication Ecommerce Operating System Cryptography, Network Security Microproc. & Microcontrollers Communication Engineering Numerical Methods Parallel & Dist. Processing Computer Networks Simulation and Modeling Software Development Internet and Web Technology Artificial Intelligence VLSI Design Digital System Design Pattern Recognition Computer Graphics Project and Thesis
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VII. Computer Ethics from an Islamic View The Quran is a book of guidance, which contains general principles applicable to all times and places. Here we relate ethical and professional code of conduct with relevant verses of the Holly Qur’an and the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (S) [15]. ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct represents ACM’s commitment to promoting the highest professional and ethical standards, and makes it incumbent on all ACM Members to [16]: A). Contribute to Society and Human Well-Being. This principle concerning the quality of life of all people affirms an obligation to protect fundamental human rights and to respect the diversity of all cultures. An essential aim of computing professionals is to minimize negative consequences of computing systems, including threats to health and safety. Allah says in the Holly Qur’an: “Do not do mischief on earth after it hath been set in order, but call on him with fear and longing (in your hearts): for the mercy of Allah is (always) near to those who do good” (7:56). B). Avoid Harm to Others. This principle prohibits use of computing technology in ways that result in harm to any of the following: users, the general public, employees and employers. Allah says in the Holly Qur’an: “And withhold not things justly due to men, nor do evil in the land, working mischief” (26:183). C). Be Honest and Trustworthy. A computer professional has a duty to be honest about his or her own qualifications, and about any circumstances that might lead to conflicts of interest. Allah says in the Holly Qur’an: “Ye who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are truthful” (13:119). D). Be Fair and take Action not to Discriminate. Discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin, or other such factors is an explicit violation of ethical policy and will not be tolerated. Allah says in the Holly Qur’an: “O ye who believe! stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you 315
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swerve to do wrong and depart from justice. Be just, for this is close to piety: and fear Allah. For Allah is well-Acquainted with all that ye do (5:8)”. E). Honor Property Rights Including Copyrights and Patent. Violation of copyrights, patents, trade secrets and the terms of license agreements are prohibited by law in most circumstances. Copies of software should be made only with proper authorization. Unauthorized duplication of materials must not be condoned. F). Give Proper Credit for Intellectual Property. Computing professionals are obligated to protect the integrity of intellectual property. Specifically, one must not take credit for other's ideas or work, even in cases where the work has not been explicitly protected by copyright, patent, etc. Allah says in the Holly Qur’an: O you who believe! Do not consume your property among yourselves unjustly unless it be a trade amongst you, by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to you (4:29). The Prophet (S) says “Allah likes a person who masters his/her job or profession” (Al-Bukhari). G). Respect the Privacy of Others. There is increased potential for violating the privacy of individuals and groups. It is the responsibility of professionals to maintain the privacy and integrity of data describing individuals. Allah says in the Holly Qur’an: O ye who believe! avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: and spy not on one another, nor speak ill of each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it. . . But fear Allah: for Allah is oftReturning, most Merciful (49:12). H). Honor Confidentiality. The ethical concern is to respect all obligations of confidentiality to employers, clients, and users unless discharged from such obligations by requirements of the law or other principles of this Code. Allah says in the Holly Qur’an: “Those who faithfully observe their trusts and their covenants” (23:8)
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Prophet Muhammad (S) said “whoever guards the secret of a Muslim, Allah will guard his secret in this life and on resurrection day” As a computer professional, we must have good intention to contribute to the society and human well-being. Above Qur’anic verses and Hadith of the prophet Muhammad (S) is a clear emphasis on being ethical in all the circumstances while using the computer resources. VIII. Proposed Course ‘Computer Ethics’ and its Brief Outline 8.1 Title of the Course a) Computer Ethics b) Computer, Ethics and Society 8.2 Credit Hours and Contact Hours For the students of CSE/CS the course will be a 3 credit hours course. Typically the length of the course will be 14 weeks. Each week consists of three 50 minutes class periods. The course can be offered as 1 credit, 1.5 credits, 2 credits or 3 credits course for other departments. 8.3 Objectives of the Course The course is aimed at enabling students to focus on the humanitarian, social, and cultural impact of computer technology by focusing on ethical issues faced by and brought about by computing professionals, including those related to networking and the internet, intellectual property, privacy, security, computer risks and responsibilities, ethics in the work place and future technology. 8.4 Course Outline: ACM and IEEE adopted a set of guidelines (“Computer Science Curriculum 2008”) for undergraduate programs in computer science. [17] Cecil Schmidt and Robert J. Boncella also suggest a course outline in their paper. [18] Incorporating these guidelines/suggestions a course outline of Computer Ethics is proposed below assuming that it will be offered for senior students. Topic 1: Introduction Objective of this chapter is to understand the overall foundation of computer ethics course. The main topics will discuss are the History of computer hardware, software, networking; Overview of Technological Change; Discussion on some moral problems caused by information technology.
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Topic 2: Introduction to Ethics Objective of this chapter is to define computer ethics and to understand that the Computer Ethics is a branch of practical philosophy which deals with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct. The main topics will discuss here are what is Ethics? Basic Philosophical Ethics: Consequentialism, Deontologism, Social Contract Theory; Scientific ethics in historical perspective. Topic 3: Some Moral Problems related with Internet Internet Privacy is one of the key issues that have emerged since the evolution of the Internet. Internet users often expose personal information on the Internet in order to sign up or register for thousands of different possible things. The main topics will discuss here are Spam, Pornography, Censorship, Free speech etc. Topic 4: Intellectual Property The objective of this chapter is to discuss about Intellectual property (IP) which refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. The main topics will discuss here are: What is intellectual property” Copyrights, patents, and trade secrets; Software piracy; Software patents; What is fair use? Debate on Open source etc. Topic 5: Privacy The objective of this chapter is to discuss the privacy. Computer privacy can exist in many different forms. This refers to the security of the information on computer from files to what we do on the Internet. The topics will cover here are: What is privacy? How does computer technology effect privacy? To what moral problems does this lead? Ethical and legal basis for privacy protection; Privacy implications of database systems; Technological strategies for privacy protection; Freedom of expression in cyberspace. Topic 6: Computer Crime The objective of this chapter is to discuss about Computer crime which refers to any crime that involves a computer and a computer network. The topics will discuss are: History of computer crime; Different types of computer crime; “Cracking” (“hacking”) and its effects; Viruses, Spam, Fraud, Threats, Worms, and Trojan horses; Identity theft; moral issues related to these crimes.
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Topic 7: Computer & Software Reliability The objective of this chapter is to discuss about Computer and Software Reliability which refer the probability of failure hardware and software operation for a specified period of time in a specified environment. The topics will discuss are: How liability is determined when computer hardware and software fails? Responsibility vs. Liability vs. Accountability; Some historical examples of software risks. Topic 8: Computer in the Workplace. Today's offices look very different from those in the early days. Information technology is replacing energy as society's main resource. The objective of this chapter is to discuss what are the some of the ethical issues that have arisen as a result of using computers in the workplace? Are They Used Ethically? What are the effects of monitoring work place computer? What are employer obligations with regard to healthy computing environment (ergonomics)? What is the “digital divide?” Should it be resolved? Can it be resolved? Topic 9: Professional Code of Ethics A code of professional conduct is a necessary component to any profession to maintain standards for the individuals within that profession to adhere. Professional code of ethics is a necessary because it brings about accountability, responsibility and trust to the individuals that the profession serves. This chapter will Examine and discuss professional codes of ethics, conduct, and practice (IEEE, ACM, SE, AITP, and so forth). Are they fair? Are they effective? Topic 10: Computer Ethics: Islamic perspective. The purpose of this chapter is to study the ethical behavior in Islamic perspective in an attempt to stop many unethical practices such as software piracy, software intellectual property violations and general software development. It will also discuss: How law, ethics, and religion interlink? Islamic Ethics; Discussion on computer ethics based on the Holly Qur’an and the Hadith. 8.5 Instructor Ethics is a branch of philosophy. So there is a long debate that who will teach ‘Computer Ethics’ course, Philosophy teacher or CSE teacher. Many computer science faculty members may be reluctant to raise moral issues in the context of the computer science classes they are teaching. That being the case, there is the very real possibility that if ethics is taught by faculty members in philosophy, computer science students 319
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may never have the experience of seeing a computer science professor “doing ethics.� When computer science faculty members teach ethics, they serve as role models who demonstrate that contemplating the ethical dimensions of everyday decisions is something that everyone can and should do [19]. It is proper that the CSE teacher will teach the course and some may need special study on this topic. VIII. Conclusion Technology is something that changes rapidly. New tools and techniques are coming out every day. Consequently, people are faced with new ways of dealing with the society. However, it also makes possible doing thing in a wrong way which, as a whole, may not fit with the ethical standards the people in the society accept and adhere to. People generally are not very aware of the consequences of the use of a technology. But, they are affected and feel the result of applying a technology when it comes out. So, the duty to ensure that the things do not go in a wrong way primarily goes to the people who are technically sound and they must be aware of moral and ethical values as well. It would be better if departments view ethics course as important as other core topics in the computer science curriculum. Making ethics a priority would have a variety of beneficial consequences. It will enable the learners more motivated to improve their understanding of ethical theories and their ability to evaluate ethical dilemmas. In Bangladesh, Computer ethics course need to include in CSE/CS or relevant discipline because ethics is a motivation to do good. Besides that cyber law is not properly enacted here yet. If an ethics course is implemented and taught effectively it will make the proponents of technology socially more aware and will help to reduce the bad consequences the technology casts on the society.
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REFERENCES 1.
Bottorff, D.L., ‘How Ethics Can Improve Business Success’, in Annual Editions: Business Ethics 00/01, McGraw Hill, 2000, p.11-15.
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Bynum, T. W. and Maner, W. (Eds.). ‘Proceedings of the National Conference on Computing and Values’, 1991, New Haven, CT. 1991
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Computing Accreditation Commission. (2004). Criteria for Accrediting Computing Programs, ABET, Inc.
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Zanatta, Alexandre Lazaretti, ‘Teaching Computer Ethics at Spain and Portugal Universities’ . http://bibliotecavirtual.clacso.org.ar/ar/libros/raec/ethicomp5/docs/pdf_papers/40 Lazaretti%20Zanatta,%20Alexandre.pdf
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Johnson, D., Computer Ethics, 3", ed., Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 2001.
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Turner, A.J. (1991), “Summary of the ACM/IEEE-CS Joint Curriculum Task Force Report: Computing Curricula, 1991,” Communications of the ACM, 34(6): 69-84.
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Conry, S. (1992), “Interview on Computer Science Accreditation,” in T. Bynum and J. Fodor (creators), Computer Ethics in the Computer Science Curriculum (a video program), Kingston, NY: Educational Media Resources, Inc.
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Anand, E-commerce Fraud: Estimated Online Revenue Loss 2010 http://gorumors.com/crunchies/ecommerce-fraud-revenue-loss/
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Internet Crime Report, Bureau of justice assistance http://www.ic3.gov/media/annualreport/2008_IC3Report.pdf
10. http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_sof_pir_rat-crime-software-piracyrate#source 11. Michael J. Quinn, ‘On Teaching Computer Ethics within a Computer Science Department’ Science and Engineering Ethics, Volume 12, Issue 2, 2006 pp. 342 12. CSE Course Curriculum, BUET, http://www.buet.ac.bd/cse/undergrad/courses.php 13. CSE Course Curriculum, CUET http://www.cuet.ac.bd/course.php?dep_code=CSE 14. CSE Course Curriculum, DU http://www.univdhaka.edu/department/academic_program/index.php?bodyid=CSE 15. Mansoor Al-A'ali, "Computer ethics for the computer professional from an Islamic point of view", Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, Emerald Group Publishing Limited Vol. 6 Iss: 1, pp.28 – 45, 2008. 16. ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct http://www.acm.org/about/codeof-ethics
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17. Computer Science Curriculum 2008: An Interim Revision of CS 2001 http://www.computer.org/education/cc2008/ 18. C. Schmidt, R. J. Boncella, “A Framework for an Ethics Course for the Information Technology Students” www.iacis.org/iis/2006_iis/PDFs/Schmidt_Boncella.pdf 19. Michael J. Quinn, ‘On Teaching Computer Ethics within a Computer Science Department’ Science and Engineering Ethics, Volume 12, Issue 2, 2006 pp. 342 20. The Holly Quran, English meaning translation, By Abdullah Yusuf.
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IIUC STUDIES ISSN 1813-7733 Vol.- 9, December 2012 (p 323-334)
Economic Development of Bangladesh: The Role of IBBL Shafiqur Rahman* Nicholas McDonald** Abstract: This paper presents the role of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) to the recent economic development in Bangladesh. The study analyses published texts, articles, websites and annual report of this bank through a content analysis. Key findings of this study manifest the contribution of this bank in different areas of economic development in Bangladesh like generating employment, earning foreign remittance, strengthening rural economy, promoting ecology and green banking, boosting industrialization, developing the SMEs, assisting in foreign trade (import-export), developing the housing sector etc. This study also identifies IBBL’s significant contribution to the national exchequer. This paper contributes to the field of economic development of Bangladesh and the role of IBBL behind it and fills the gap of literature in this specific area. Keywords: Economic Development, Bangladesh, Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL)
1.0 Introduction: A bank is a financial institution, where people deposit their money and also use this institution as a source of possible finance. Banking in the form in which it exists nowadays is comparatively of recent origin [1]. Before the advent of modern banking, direct finance, where the owner of capital would deal directly with the user of capital, was the customary mode of transference of funds from savers to investors. Today, banks are organizations engaged in any or various functions
* MBA Coordinator, IIUC (Dhaka Campus) ** Management Consultant in Sydney, Australia
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i.e., receiving, collecting, transferring, paying, lending, investing, dealing, exchanging, and servicing money /claims to money both locally and internationally [2]. Bangladesh is a country suffering from immense social, political, economic and environmental issues and these issues need to be addressed for the overall development of this country. However, the economic development is one of the prime factors, which can resolve many of its current problems. The growth of business sectors and the open market economy has created a great opportunity for Bangladesh towards development. The contribution of the banking sector is playing significant role in the economic development of this country. However, the emergence of Islamic banking in Bangladesh has added a new height in the banking sector. The role of IBBL seems to be overwhelmingly surpassed all the banks in Bangladesh during the last one decade. Economic development refers to changes that affect a local economy's capacity to create wealth for local residents [3]. Economic development for Bangladesh can be identified through number of indicators, including GDP growth, poverty issues, employment, healthcare, environment, education, trade and commerce etc. This study clearly identifies that during last 29 years, IBBL has been contributing to improve Bangladesh economy through making positive changes to most of its economic indicators. The core question addressed in the study was: What role IBBL has been playing towards the economic development in Bangladesh? This study contains a few steps. Firstly, the introduction of this paper has been placed; secondly, the relevant literature has been reviewed; thirdly, the research context, Bangladesh has been presented; fourthly, the origin and development of Islamic banking and the commencement of IBBL’s journey has been briefed; fifthly, methodological framework of this study and its relevance has been explained; sixthly, the role of IBBL in different business sectors of Bangladesh has been described; seventhly, noted the limitations and finally, summarised and concluded the paper. 2.0 Relevant Literature review: Historically, banking system has significant role in the economic development (4). On one hand, banks give the security of savings of the general people; on the other hand, lend money to the entrepreneurs 324
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to start a new business or expand an existing one, which ultimately generate employment within an economic territory. Modern banking system is involved in numerous financial services activities starting from lending money to exchange money nowadays [5]. The aim of Islamic economics is not only the elimination of interestbased transactions and the introduction of the Zakah system, but also the establishment of just and balanced social order free from all kinds of exploitation [6]. The principles of Islamic economics recommend interest-free and equity-based financing through the Islamic banking system. A great scholar on Islamic economics, Ahmad says that elimination of interest does not mean zero-return on capital [7]. Rather, Islam forbids a fixed predetermined return for a certain factor of production i.e. one party having assured return and the whole risk of an entrepreneurship to be shared by others. Instead of interest, Islamic economics introduced profit and loss sharing based banking transaction that spreads the risk between borrower and the lender, which made Islamic banking fundamentally different from the conventional interest based banking. Referring to the existence of Islamic banking amid conventional banking system and economy, Sarkar expresses that Islamic banking system can provide efficient banking services if they are supported with appropriate banking laws, and regulations [8]. Islamic banks are facing immense national and global challenges, when it is making financial transactions, trading or as a working partner. However, if appropriate laws and regulations persist in a society or at the global level, Islamic banks can manifest its performance appropriately. Two prolific writers of Islamic finance, Ahmad and Hassan remark that Islamic banks in Bangladesh came into existence with certain objectives, in line with the philosophy of Islamic economics that imply a direct and specific responsibility on their part to play an effective role in the socioeconomic development of the country [9]. Islamic banks in Bangladesh following the Islamic philosophy of banking, performing better than many conventional banks, gained widespread support from the customers and contributing significantly in the socioeconomic development of Bangladesh. Defining economic development, Pokrant refers to the raising of the productive capacity of a country through the introduction of policies designed to enhance the productivity of land, labour and capital, raise 325
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standards of living and reduce or alleviate poverty of the inhabitants of the country [10]. Though there are a number of definitions exist, it is generally understood that economic development refers to the standard of living of the citizens improved through alleviating poverty and increased productivity. Also Kifle, Olukoshi, Wohlgemuth support this idea that there is a strong relationship between poverty alleviation and economic development [11]. Hassan views that the successful launching and operation of Islamic banks in Bangladesh has established that banking without interest is feasible. He also observes that Islamic banks have brought together many new depositors and entrepreneurs under the banking system [12]. It has been found that these depositors and entrepreneurs have got the opportunity to practice Shariah based banking and fulfil their religious obligation. Alam describes the reasons behind the success of IBBL and narrated that in addition of Shariah compliance, senior officials of the bank also keep a regular contact with customers and bank managers frequently visit them in their places of business. Referring to the chief of the Investment Department of the IBBL, Alam commented that though this bank initially faced some challenges, the situation is getting better than before [13]. 3.0 Contextualizing the Proposed Research: Bangladesh is a country, where IBBL operates, suffers from immense economic, social and environmental challenges. These challenges are described below: Economic challenges in Bangladesh: Bangladesh has been facing severe economic challenges. Total population of this country is 149 million; out of which approximately 50 million live below the national poverty line [14]. The Bangladesh economy suffers from half a billion dollar trade deficit in recent years [15]. Having an annual budget of USD 20 billion [16], the country is struggling to meet the basic needs for its citizens. Due to widespread poverty, 40 percent children and 30 percent mothers suffer from moderate to severe malnutrition [17]. Despite liberal policies, Bangladesh economy has been suffering due to a number of factors including poor infrastructure, absence of skilled labour and mid-level technical expertise, an underdeveloped legal system, constraints originating from the limited size of domestic market, the law and order situation, bureaucratic red tapping and weakness of institutions [18]. Moreover, widespread corruption in public sector is also hampering the growth of Bangladesh economy. 326
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Social challenges in Bangladesh: The country has also been suffering from severe social challenges. Bangladesh is a country where 40 percent of the people go to bed hungry every night; another 40 percent of the people are chronically malnourished and stunted; it is a country where too many mothers die at childbirth, where too many infants die before they reach their first birthday [19]. Disabled citizens are great burdens in many families, especially in rural Bangladesh [20]. Care of these disabled citizens on government funds appears to be impossible in a poor country like Bangladesh. Acid attack on women is another major issue, which is mainly due to the refusal of marriage proposal and failure to give dowries to the husbands. The rise in acid attacks needs to be understood not only in relation to existing gender inequality, but also within its complex and shifting socioeconomic, political, and cultural processes as they intersect with neoliberal development policies and globalization [21]. The banking sector of Bangladesh plays a vital role in the economy and can address some of the above challenges. Islamic banking system is becoming popular since 1983 over the conventional banks. In addition to the six Islamic banks in Bangladesh, almost all the banks (except Janata Bank) are having Islamic banking windows including the foreign banks. Most of the Islamic banks are performing well. IBBL is playing the leading role in the banking sector for last one decade due to its excellent performance. This bank also received widespread acceptance among its consumers through its quality services as well as through the wellbeing initiatives towards the society by the Islami Bank Foundation. 4.0 Origin and development of Islamic banking system and the commencement of IBBL’s journey: Islamic banking refers to a banking activity that is consistent with the principles of the Shari'ah (Islamic jurisprudence) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics [22]. Islamic banks have the following specialized characteristics: a) to achieve certain philosophical missions of Islamic banking (conforming with Islamic laws, practices and principles; b) to provide finance to those who have the talent and the expertise but unable to provide collateral to the conventional banks; and c) to create harmony in the society based on the Islamic concept to achieve economic, financial, and political stability. Dubai Islamic Bank, world’s first fully-fledged Islamic bank, was established in 1975. In the same year, Islamic Development Bank was established as a follow-up of decision of 327
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Conference of Finance Ministers of Muslim Countries. Today, Islamic banks and financial institutions are enjoying remarkable growth globally with estimated asset of US$1.1 trillion in 2012, a significant jump of 33% from 2010 level of US$826 billion [23]. Many conventional banks around the world opened Islamic banking windows. In Australia, both Westpac and National Australia Bank have taken steps to enter into Islamic banking parallel to their conventional system. Islamic banks are based on Profit and Loss Sharing (PLS) system, rather than interest. These banks are socially responsible while providing finance and are monitored by expert bankers side by side guided by the Shariah (Islamic law) Board. Islamic banks do not lend money to the tobacco industry, gambling industry, production of goods that damage physical or mental health or harmful to the environment or any product or service industry involve in unethical practices. These practices have close proximity to the SRI (Socially Responsible Investment) of the western world. 5.0 Methodological framework-Content Analysis: For the purpose of this study, Content Analysis has been considered as the most appropriate research method. Content analysis is a method used to record the extent and issues of different contents like relevant materials and documents. To understand the roles and contributions of IBBL in Bangladesh economy, we explored the contents of the ‘Annual Report– 2010’ of the bank including relevant articles, books, periodicals and websites. Content Analysis engages the identification of particular issue within the texts, which can be classified under headings, and then analysed. Conducting a content analysis in the current study involves the following steps: choosing the documents to analyse, selecting the categories/sections within the annual report/manuals/documents and measuring the reliability of data/information. 6.0 Finding and Analysis: The authors, through a detailed content analysis, found the pieces of information that have been placed below, which answers the research question, “What role IBBL has been playing towards the economic development in Bangladesh?” 6.1 Role Towards Employment Creation: IBBL has significantly contributed in the employment generation in Bangladesh. The bank has employed over 10,000 people directly and a 328
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few millions indirectly through financing in businesses including import-export, industrialization, SME financing and rural development projects. So, it can be apprehended that millions of families are directly and indirectly benefited from IBBL and these families are also contributing in Bangladesh economy in various ways. According to Rashid, Hasan and Ahmad, Islami Banks along with IBBL are providing satisfactory community service through job creation and ensuring consistency in service provisions [24]. 6.2 Role in Earning Foreign Remittance: Remittances by migrant workers’ play a vital role in the economies of many labour-exporting countries [25]. Remittances help in macroeconomic development process in the home country as it provides significant sources of foreign currency, increase national income, finance imports and contribute to improve the balance of payment situation. Demand for migrant workers remittances to Bangladesh has now increased tremendously. During FY 2010-11, remittance inflow to Bangladesh was 82,992 crore taka (US $11.53 billion). Because of clients’ confidence on the IBBL’s remittance management, it claimed 28% market share helping Bangladesh economy to become healthier. 6.3 Role in Strengthening Rural Economy: To make the rural poor self-reliant, IBBL has initiated Rural Development Scheme (RDS). During FY 2010, RDS performance became better than ever, which is operating in 12,000 villages, 21,000 centres, among more than 500,000 members and will expand to all over the Bangladesh in the coming years [34]. The amount of cumulative disbursement through this Scheme stood at Tk. 3,184 crore (US $400 million), up to December 2010. Through RDS, IBBL operates Humanitarian Assistance Program, Education Program, Capacity Building Program and Health & Medicare Program. A study conducted by Rahman, Jafrullah and Islam analysed many facets of the RDS and they conclude that IBBL’s RDS is a successful project. They also identified that household income and expenditure of the RDS participants had increased significantly and clients had a positive opinion towards this micro investment program as it improved their overall standards of living [26]. 6.4 Role in Promoting Ecology and Green Banking: Green Banking is known as ethical, social or sustainable banking concerned with the social and environmental impacts of its 329
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investments and loans. A truly green bank will reduce its carbon footprint by building more efficient premises, branches, implementing more efficient operational procedures promoting sustainable banking and increasing their investments in environment-sensitive industries. IBBL insists on going green to help the environment by promoting its Online Banking, Mobile Banking or the idea of socially responsible investment funds for sustainable/ eco-friendly project finance. IBBL’s Green Banking practices are connected with both internal operation and product ecology. Referring to its green banking initiatives, Hassan and Latif express that Islamic banks can develop Islamic financial products (such as green product), which will contribute to the environment, such as energy efficiency finance or leasing of environmental technology [27]. 6.5 Role in the Country’s Industrialization: As per investment policy of IBBL, top priority has been given towards the industrial development of the country. The bank’s Investment portfolio is gradually being increased towards industrial finance along with commercial investment. IBBL's investment in industrial sector is substantially higher compared with those of other commercial Banks. Total investment for projects finance together with working capital stood at Tk.14,911 crore as on 31st December 2010 as against Tk.11,488 crore as on 31st December 2009 resulting in 29.80% growth. IBBL has invested in a wide range of businesses including in textile & garments, steel & engineering, agro based industries, food & beverage, poultry & hatchery, chemical & petroleum, printing & packaging, plastics & ceramics and hotels & restaurants. A study by Alam supports the above notion [28]. 6.6 Role in the development of SMEs: The role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is indispensable for overall economic development of a country particularly for developing countries like Bangladesh. Since this sector is labour intensive, effective utilization of this sector can help increase national income, rapid employment generation, achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, gender equality and women empowerment. Considering the potential of the SMEs, IBBL has given due importance in the development of this sector. For example, total SME investment of IBBL reached to Tk. 78,456 crore (US $11 billion) during 2010 which was 37.26% higher compared to Tk. 57,159 crore (US $8 billion) during 2009. A study by Hamid
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reveals that IBBL provides the idea about how small entrepreneurs can be developed through an Islamic way [29]. 6.7 Role in International Trade: IBBL plays significant role in the Bangladesh’s international trade. IBBL is helping the economy by providing assistance in importing raw materials on one hand; helping the export businesses and earning foreign currencies for Bangladesh, on the other. Import: During the year 2010, IBBL opened 46,736 import L/C for Tk.24,628 crore against 38,717 L/C for Tk. 16,123 crore in 2009 showing 53% growth in amount. Major items of import were raw cotton, yarn, fabrics, capital machinery, fertilizer, metal, motor vehicle, chemicals, edible oil, rice, scrap ship etc. Export: During the year 2010, IBBL handled 46,699 export bills for Tk.14,842 crore against 44,291 export bills for Tk. 10,642 crore in 2009 showing 39.46% growth in amount. Major export financed items were readymade garments, frozen foods & vegetables, jute & jute goods etc. 6.8 Role in Housing Investment scheme: IBBL has taken massive initiative to invest under the Housing Investment Scheme for the eligible citizens in the major metropolitan cities. With limited income, upper middle class and middle class can take the advantage of this program. This program is popularly known as Hire Purchase under Shirkatul Melk. Investment through this mode is solving accommodation problems in the major cities and at the same time contributing to the economy through a wide range of backyard linkage industries including rod, cement, wood, tiles & fittings, equipment as well as employs a large number of construction related staff. 6.9 Contribution to the National Exchequer: IBBL has been able to contribute huge amount to the government exchequer as income tax out of its profit. The bank paid the highest tax to the Govt. in the banking sector by paying corporate tax Taka 411 crore (US $57 million) in the year 2010 and Taka 325.32 crore (US $45 million) in the year 2009. This revenue income is significant for Bangladesh government compared to its total review income, which is an indicator for the economic development of the country. 7.0 Limitations: Though IBBL is playing significant role in developing Bangladesh economy, but all relevant data could not be procured from the relevant 331
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industries, who were financed by IBBL and contributed to the Bangladesh economy as well. Authors could do more in-depth study, if they had more time to work on this project. 8. Summary and Conclusion: IBBL is one of the fastest growing and best performing banks in Bangladesh. Because of its excellent teamwork among the top management, staff, borrowers, depositors and other stakeholders as well as outstanding banking performance, this bank has secured a very strong position in Bangladesh banking sector. IBBL has invested in a wide range of areas that not only reduced the risk of investment, but also providing services to a large number of Bangladeshis in home and abroad. This study has portrayed clear a picture of IBBL’s role in the economic development of Bangladesh. If this trend remains continued, IBBL’s contribution will make significant impact on the social and environmental issues in the near future, in addition to the economic wellbeing of the country.
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10. Online available at: http://www.sueztosuva.org.au/south_asia/2007/Pokrant.pdf 11. KIFLE, H., OLUKOSHI, A., WOHLGEMUTH, L. (1997), A New Partnership for African Development: Issues and Parameters, Stockholm: Gotab 12. HASAN, K. (1999), ‘Islamic Banking in Theory and Practice: The Experience of Bangladesh’, Managerial Finance, vol. 25, no. pp. 60-113 13. ALAM, M.N. (2000), ‘Islamic Banking in Bangladesh: A Case Study of IBBL’, International Journal of Islamic Financial Services, vol. 1, no. 4. 14. Online available at http://www.undp.org.bd/projects/prodocs/PRS_MDG/Situation%20analysis_pove rty%20and%20Hunger.pdf 15. Online available at http://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/bgd_aag.pdf 16. Online available at http://www.mof.gov.bd/en/ 17. Online available at http://www.usaid.gov/bd/programs/pop.html 18. Online available at http://94.126.106.9/r4d/PDF/Outputs/Mis_SPC/R7893CSRBangladesh.pdf 19. Online available at http://www.usaid.gov/bd/programs/environ.html 20. SARANTAKOS, S. (2005), Social Research (3rd ed.), New York: Palgrave Macmillan 21. CHOWDHURY, E. H. (2007), Negotiating state and NGO politics in Bangladesh: Women mobilize agaist acid violence, Violence Against Women, pp. 857-873. 22. AHMAD, AUF AND HASSAN, K., above n 1 23. Online available at http://www.ey.com/EM/en/Newsroom/News-releases/22November-2011_Global-Islamic-banking-assets-with-commercial-banks-toreach--1-1-Tn-in-2012--up-33--from-US-826-Bn-in-2010--Ernst---Young 24. RASHID, M., HASSAN, K. and AHMAD, AUF. (2009), Quality perception of the customers towards domestic Islamic banks in Bangladesh, Journal of Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance, Vol. 5, no. 1. 25. PURI, S. and RITZEMA, T. (1999), ‘Migrant Worker Remittances, MicroFinance and the Informal Economy: Prospects and Issues’, Working Paper 21, Geneva: ILO 26. RAHMAN, M., JAFRULLAH, M. and ISLAM, ANM. (2008), ‘Rural Development Scheme of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL): Assessment and
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Challenges’, IIUM Journal of Economics and Management, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 139-163 27. HASSAN, A. and LATIF, S. (2009), Corporate Social Responsibility of Islamic Financial Institutions and Businesses: Optimizing Charity Value, Humanomics, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 177-188 28. Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (2011), Annual Report 2011, Dhaka: IBBL 29. HAMAN, MA. (2005), ‘The Role of Islamic Bank in the Development of Small Entrepreneurs’, Journal of Islamic Economics and Finance, vol. 1, no. 1.
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اﻟﺠﺎﻣﻌﺔ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺷﻴﺘﺎﻏﻮﻧﻎ ISSN 1813-7733
اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺪ اﻟﺘﺎﺳﻊ دﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮ ٢٠١٢م )ص (335-344
اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻢ وﺁﺛﺎرهﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ أﻣﻴﻦ اﻟﺤﻖ* ﻣﻠﺨﺺ اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻟﺔ :ﻟﻘﺪ ﺗﻘﺪم اﻟﻨﺎس ﻓﻲ هﺬا اﻟﻌﺼﺮ اﻟﺬي ﻧﻌﻴﺶ ﻓﻴﻪ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺘﻜﻨﻮﻟﻮﺟﻴﺎ واﻟﻌﻠﻮم اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺜﺔ ﺣﻴﺚ ﺑﻠﻐﻮا اﻟﻴﻮم إﻟﻰ اﻟﻘﻤﺮ ،وﻟﻜﻨﻬﻢ ﺗﺨﻠﻔﻮا ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ واﻷﺧﻼق؛ ﻓﻠﻌﺪم وﺟﻮد اﻟﻘﻴﻢ واﻷﺧﻼق ﻧﺮى اﻟﻔﻮﺿﻰ واﻟﻔﺘﻦ ﻓﻲ آﻞ ﻣﻜﺎن .ﻓﺄﺻﺒﺤﺖ ﺣﻴﺎة اﻹﻧﺴﺎن اﻟﻴﻮم أرﺧﺺ ﻣﻦ ﺣﻴﺎة اﻟﺒﻬﺎﺋﻢ؛ ﺗﻨﺘﻬﻚ ﺣﺮﻣﺎت اﻟﻤﺮأة ﻓﻲ آﻞ ﺣﻴﻦ ﻣﻦ اﻷﺣﻴﺎن ،وﻳﺬﺑﺢ أﺷﺮف اﻟﻤﺨﻠﻮﻗﺎت ﻓﻲ اﻟﻄﺮق واﻟﺸﻮارع ،وﻳﻤﻮت اﻟﻨﺎس ﺟﻮﻋﻰ .....ﻓﻤﺴﺖ اﻟﺤﺎﺟﺔ إﻟﻰ أن ﻧﺒﺤﺚ ﻣﻦ ﺟﺪﻳﺪ ﻋﻦ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ واﻷﺧﻼق اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻌﻄﻴﻨﺎ ﺣﻴﺎة ﺳﻌﻴﺪة وﻣﺠﺘﻤﻌﺎ ﺳﻠﻴﻤﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ آﻠﻪ. ﻓﻬﺬا اﻟﺒﺤﺚ ﺳﻮف ﻳﺘﻨﺎول ﻣﻔﻬﻮم اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ وﻣﺼﺎدرهﺎ وﺧﺼﺎﺋﺼﻬﺎ وأهﻤﻴﺘﻬﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻢ وﺁﺛﺎرهﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ وأهﻢ اﻟﻨﺘﺎﺋﺞ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻮﺻﻞ إﻟﻴﻬﺎ اﻟﺒﺤﺚ. Abstract: The technology has been developing tremendously in the modern world with remarkable contribution in various sectors of human life, but it has failed to address the most important issues of morality and ethics. The lack of which has resulted the killing, eve teasing, degeneration and life of human beings has become cheaper than anything else. This is why, the need for a study on the importance of Islamic Values has become essential to arrest the degeneration and lawlessness in the society and make the people aware about their duties and responsibilities afresh. This research Article is highly expected to address this problem.
اﻟﻤﻘﺪﻣﺔ: إن اﻹﺳﻼم دﻳﻦ ﺷﺎﻣﻞ وﻣﺘﻜﺎﻣﻞ ﻳﺸﻤﻞ ﺟﻤﻴﻊ ﻧﻮاﺣﻲ اﻟﺤﻴﺎة اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ .ﻓﺎﻹﺳﻼم ﻳﺮﻳﺪ داﺋﻤﺎ أن ﻳﺒﻨﻲ ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻌﺎ ﺳﺎﻣﻴﺎ وﺳﻠﻴﻤﺎ وﻧﺒﻴﻼ ،ﻓﻴﻐﺮس ﻓﻲ أﻓﺮادﻩ أﺧﻼﻗﺎ ﻣﺮﻣﻮﻗﺔ وﻗﺪوة ﺻﺎﻟﺤﺔ ﻣﻨﺬ ﻧﻌﻮﻣﺔ أﻇﻔﺎرهﻢ. ﻓﺈن اﻟﻘﻴﻢ واﻷﺧﻼق أﺻﻞ آﻞ ﺷﻲء ،ﻓﺈذا ﻓﺴﺪت اﻟﻘﻴﻢ واﻷﺧﻼق اﻧﻬﺎر اﻹﻧﺴﺎن وأﺻﺒﺢ ﺣﻴﻮاﻧﺎ ﻣﻔﺘﺮﺳﺎ .ﻓﺈذا ﻧﻈﺮﻧﺎ إﻟﻰ ﺑﻌﺾ اﻷﻗﻮام اﻟﻤﺎﺿﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺗﺎرﻳﺦ اﻟﺒﺸﺮ ﻓﺈﻧﻬﻢ هﻠﻜﻮا ﻷﺟﻞ اﻧﺤﺮاﻓﻬﻢ وﻃﻐﻴﺎﻧﻬﻢ وﻣﻌﺎﺻﻴﻬﻢ وﻓﺴﺎد أﺧﻼﻗﻬﻢ ،وﻗﺪ أﺷﺎر اﻟﻘﺮﺁن اﻟﻜﺮﻳﻢ ﻓﻲ أآﺜﺮ ﻣﻦ ﻣﻮﺿﻊ إﻟﻰ اﻧﺤﻄﺎط اﻷﻣﻢ وهﻼآﻬﺎ ﺑﺴﺒﺐ اﻧﻌﺪام اﻷﺧﻼق ﻓﻴﻬﺎ؛ *
اﻷﺳﺘﺎذ اﻟﻤﺴﺎﻋﺪ ،ﻗﺴﻢ اﻟﺪﻋﻮة واﻟﺪراﺳﺎت اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ،اﻟﺠﺎﻣﻌﺔ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺷﻴﺘﺎﻏﻮﻧﻎ.
ﺍﻟﺠﺎﻤﻌﺔ ﺍﻹﺴﻼﻤﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺸﻴﺘﺎﻏﻭﻨﻎ
ﺣﻴﺚ آﺎن هﻼك ﻗﻮم ﻧﻮح –ﻋﻠﻴﻪ اﻟﺴﻼم-؛ ﻷن اﻟﻤﻔﺎﺳﺪ اﻷﺧﻼﻗﻴﺔ دﺧﻠﺖ ﺣﺘﻰ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﻮاﺋﻞ واﻟﺒﻴﻮت ،آﻤﺎ ﺣﻜﻢ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻗﻮم ﻟﻮط –ﻋﻠﻴﻪ اﻟﺴﻼم -ﺑﺎﻟﻔﻨﺎء واﻟﻌﺬاب ﻻﻧﺤﺮاﻓﻬﻢ ﻋﻦ اﻷﺧﻼق ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﻼﻗﺎت اﻟﺠﻨﺴﻴﺔ ،وإﻧﻤﺎ هﻠﻚ أهﻞ ﻣﺪﻳﻦ ﻟﺨﻴﺎﻧﺘﻬﻢ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻌﺎﻣﻼت ﻻ ﻷﻧﻬﺎ ﺗﺒﻌﺖ أﻣﺮ آﻞ ﺟﺒﺎر ﻋﻨﻴﺪ وﻋﺪم وﻓﺎﺋﻬﻢ ﺑﺎﻟﻤﻜﻴﺎل واﻟﻤﻴﺰان ،وﻟﻢ ﺗﻬﻠﻚ ﻋﺎد إ ّ ﻣﻦ أراذل اﻟﻌﺒﺎد وﺷﺮار اﻟﺨﻠﻖ. ﻓﻜﻞ اﻷﻧﺒﻴﺎء واﻟﺮﺳﻞ أرﺳﻠﻮا إﻟﻰ أﻗﻮاﻣﻬﻢ ﻟﻴﺨﺮﺟﻮهﻢ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻈﻠﻤﺎت إﻟﻰ اﻟﻨﻮر وﻟﻬﺪاﻳﺘﻬﻢ إﻟﻰ ﺳﺒﻴﻞ اﻟﺮﺷﺎد وﻟﻨﺒﺬ اﻟﺸﺮك واﻟﻄﻐﻴﺎن .ﻓﻘﺎل اﻟﺮﺳﻮل –ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ١ ﺧﻼَق" ﻷْ ﻷَﺗ ﱢﻤ َﻢ َﻣﻜَﺎ ِر َم ا َ ﺖ ُ وﺳﻠﻢِ" -إﱠﻧﻤَﺎ ُﺑ ِﻌ ْﺜ ُ ﻓﻔﻲ هﺬا اﻟﺒﺤﺚ أرﻳﺪ أن أوﺿﺢ أهﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻢ وﺁﺛﺎرهﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﺑﺘﻮﻓﻴﻖ اﷲ ﻋﺰ وﺟﻞ. ﻣﻌﻨﻰ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﻟﻐﺔ واﺻﻄﻼﺣﺎ: آﻠﻤﺔ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘﻮاﻣﻴﺲ اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﺗﺪور ﺣﻮل "اﻟﻘﻮﻣﺔ" وﻣﻌﻨﺎهﺎ اﻟﻨﻬﻀﺔ ،واﻟﻘﻮﻳﻢ وﻣﻌﻨﺎﻩ اﻟﻤﻌﺘﺪل ،واﺳﺘﻘﺎم اﻋﺘﺪل واﺳﺘﻮى ،واﻟﻘﻮام وﻣﻌﻨﺎﻩ اﻟﻌﺪل ،وﻓﻲ اﻟﺘﻨـﺰﻳﻞ ﻚ َﻗﻮَاﻣًﺎ( ]اﻟﻔﺮﻗﺎن [٦٧ :واﻟﻘﻴﻮم اﻟﻘﺎﺋﻢ اﻟﺤﺎﻓﻆ ﻟﻜﻞ ﺷﻲء وهﻮ ﻦ َذِﻟ َ ن َﺑ ْﻴ َ )َ ..وآَﺎ َ اﺳﻢ ﻣﻦ أﺳﻤﺎء اﷲ اﻟﺤﺴﻨﻰ ،وأﻣﺮ ﻗﻴﻢ :ﻣﺴﺘﻘﻴﻢ ،وآﺘﺎب ﻗﻴﻢ :ذو ﻗﻴﻤﺔ ،و"اﻟﻘﻴﻤﺔ" ﻗﻴﻤﺔ اﻟﺸﻲء ﻗﺪرﻩ ،وﻗﻴﻤﺔ اﻟﻤﺘﺎع :ﺛﻤﻨﻪ ،واﻷﻣﺔ اﻟﻘﻴﻤﺔ :اﻟﻤﺴﺘﻘﻴﻤﺔ اﻟﻤﻌﺘﺪﻟﺔ .٢وﻓﻲ ﻦ ا ْﻟ َﻘ ﱢﻴ َﻤ ِﺔ( ]اﻟﺒﻴﻨﺔ ،[٥ :واﻟﻔﻌﻞ ﻗﺎم ﻣﻌﻨﺎﻩ اﻋﺘﺪل وزال اﻋﻮﺟﺎﺟﻪ ﻚ دِﻳ ُ اﻟﺘﻨﺰﻳﻞ ) َذِﻟ َ وﻣﻨﻪ اﺳﺘﻘﺎم اﻷﻣﺮ أي ﺻﻠﺢ وزال اﻧﺤﺮاﻓﻪ. ﻳﺬآﺮ اﻟﻔﻴﺮوز ﺁﺑﺎدي أن "اﻟﻘﻴﻤﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﻜﺴﺮ واﺣﺪة اﻟﻘﻴﻢ ،وﻗﻮﻣﺖ اﻟﺴﻠﻌﺔ واﺳﺘﻘﻤﺘﻬﺎ: ﺛﻤﻨﺘﻬﺎ ،وﻗﻮﻣﺘﻪ :ﻋﺪﻟﺘﻪ ﻓﻬﻮ ﻗﻮﻳﻢ وﻣﺴﺘﻘﻴﻢ"" .٣ﻓﻤﺎ ﺗﺸﻴﺮ إﻟﻴﻪ اﻟﻜﻠﻤﺔ وﺗﻮﺣﻲ ﺑﻪ ﻇﻼﻟﻬﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻠﻐﺔ اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ ،أن اﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﺟﻤﻊ ﻗﻴﻤﺔ ،وهﻲ ﻣﺎ ﻳﻜﻮن ﺑﻪ اﻟﺸﻲء ذا ﺛﻤﻦ أو ﻓﺎﺋﺪة ،ﻳﻘﻮل اﻟﻤﺜﻞ اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻲ" :ﻗﻴﻤﺔ آﻞ اﻣﺮئ ﻣﺎ ﻳﺤﺴﻨﻪ" ،وﺗﺸﻴﺮ اﻟﻘﻴﻤﺔ إﻟﻰ اﻟﺨﺼﻠﺔ اﻟﺤﻤﻴﺪة واﻟﺨﻠﺔ اﻟﺸﺮﻳﻔﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺤﺾ اﻹﻧﺴﺎن ﻋﻠﻰ اﻻﺗﺼﺎف ﺑﻬﺎ. ﺴ َﺘﻘِﻴ ٍﻢ دِﻳﻨ ًﺎ ط ﱡﻣ ْ ﺻﺮَا ٍ ﻞ ِإ ﱠﻧﻨِﻲ َهﺪَاﻧِﻲ َرﺑﱢﻲ ِإﻟَﻰ ِ وﺗﺮد اﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﻣﻔﺮدًا ﻣﺼﺪرًا ،وﻣﻨﻪُ ) :ﻗ ْ ﻦ( ]اﻷﻧﻌﺎم .[١٦١:ﻓﻲ ﻗﺮاءة ﺸ ِﺮآِﻴ َ ﻦ ا ْﻟ ُﻤ ْ ن ِﻣ َ ﺣﻨِﻴﻔًﺎ َوﻣَﺎ آَﺎ َ ِﻗﻴَﻤًﺎ ﱢﻣﱠﻠ َﺔ ِإ ْﺑﺮَاهِﻴ َﻢ َ ﺴ َﻔﻬَﺎ َء َأ ْﻣﻮَاَﻟ ُﻜ ُﻢ اﱠﻟﺘِﻲ ﻻ ُﺗ ْﺆﺗُﻮا اﻟ ﱡ ﺟﻤﺎﻋﺔ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻘﺮاء ،وآﺬﻟﻚ ورد ﻓﻲ ﻗﻮﻟﻪ ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰَ ) :و َ ﷲ َﻟ ُﻜ ْﻢ ِﻗﻴَﺎﻣًﺎ(]اﻟﻨﺴﺎء ،[٥:ﻓﻲ ﻗﺮاءة ﻧﺎﻓﻊ ،أي ﺑﻬﺎ ﺗﻘﻮم أﻣﻮرآﻢ .واﻟﺸﻲء اﻟﻘﻴّﻢ ﻞا ُ ﺟ َﻌ َ َ اﻟﺬي ﻟﻪ ﻗﻴﻤﺔ ﻋﻈﻴﻤﺔ ﻣﺒﺎﻟﻐﺔ ،وأﺻﻠﻪ ﻗﻮﻳﻢ ﻋﻠﻰ رأي اﻟﻔﺮاء ،وﻓﻴﻌﻞ ﺷﺎذ ﻋﻠﻰ رأي ﺳﻴﺒﻮﻳﻪ ،وﻗﺮأت ﻃﺎﺋﻔﺔ )دِﻳﻨًﺎ ِﻗ َﻴﻤًﺎ( أي ﻣﺴﺘﻘﻴﻤًﺎ أو آﺎﻓﻴًﺎ ﻟﻤﺼﺎﻟﺢ اﻟﻌﺒﺎد ﻳﻘﻮم ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ .ﺗﺒﻌًﺎ ﻟﻬﺬا اﻷﺻﻞ اﻟﻠﻐﻮي ﻓﺈن اﻟﻘﻴﻢ هﻲ ﺗﻠﻚ اﻟﻤﺒﺎدئ اﻟﺨﻠﻘﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻤﺘﺪح ﻼ ﻋﻨﺪ وﺻﻒ هﺬﻩ وﺗﺴﺘﺤﺴﻦ وﺗﺬم ﻣﺨﺎﻟﻔﺘﻬﺎ وﺗﺴﺘﻬﺠﻦ ،وﻟﻌﻠﻨﺎ ﻻ ﻧﺘﻮﻗﻒ ﻃﻮﻳ ً اﻟﻤﺒﺎدئ ﺑﺄﻧﻬﺎ ﺧﻠﻘﻴﺔ؛ ﻷن اﻷﺧﻼق ﺗﺤﺘﺎج إﻟﻰ ﺗﻌﺮﻳﻒ ،وﺑﺎﺧﺘﺼﺎر ﻓﻬﻲ ﺗﻠﻚ ٣٣٦
اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻢ وﺁﺛﺎرهﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ
اﻟﺴﺠﺎﻳﺎ اﻟﻜﺎﻣﻨﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻨﻔﺲ ،وهﻲ أﻳﻀًﺎ اﻟﻤﻈﻬﺮ اﻟﺨﺎرﺟﻲ ﻟﺘﻠﻚ اﻟﺴﺠﺎﻳﺎ .ﻓﻼ ﻳﺴﻤﻰ ﻗﻴﻤﺔ إﻻ ﻣﺎ آﺎن ﻣﺴﺘﺤﺴﻨًﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ أن ﻳﺤﻈﻰ ﺑﺎﺳﺘﺤﺴﺎن ﻋﺎم وﻣﺴﺘﻤﺮ ،ﻓﻤﺎ ﻳﺤﺒﻪ ﺷﺨﺺ ﻣﻦ ﻃﻌﺎم ﻻ ﻳﻤﻜﻦ أن ﻳُﺴﻤﻰ ﻗﻴﻤﺔ ،ﻟﻜﻦ هﺬا اﻻﺳﺘﺤﺴﺎن اﻟﻌﺎم ﻗﺪ ﻳﻜﻮن ﻗﺎﺻﺮًا ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﻣﻌﻴﻦ أو ﻳﻜﻮن ﻋﺎﻣًﺎ ﻟﻠﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ آﻠﻬﺎ.٤ ﻣﻔﻬﻮم اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ: اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ هﻲ: ﻣﺠﻤﻮﻋﺔ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﻌﺎﻳﻴﺮ واﻷﺣﻜﺎم اﻟﻨﺎﺑﻌﺔ ﻣﻦ ﺗﺼﻮرات أﺳﺎﺳﻴﺔ ﻋﻦ اﻟﻜﻮنواﻟﺤﻴﺎة واﻹﻧﺴﺎن واﻹﻟﻪ ،آﻤﺎ ﺻﻮرهﺎ اﻹﺳﻼم ،وﺗﺘﻜﻮن ﻟﺪى اﻟﻔﺮد واﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﻣﻦ ﺧﻼل اﻟﺘﻔﺎﻋﻞ ﻣﻊ اﻟﻤﻮاﻗﻒ واﻟﺨﺒﺮات اﻟﺤﻴﺎﺗﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﺨﺘﻠﻔﺔ ،ﺑﺤﻴﺚ ﺗﻤﻜﻨﻪ ﻣﻦ اﺧﺘﻴﺎر أهﺪاف وﺗﻮﺟﻬﺎت ﻟﺤﻴﺎﺗﻪ ﺗﺘﻔﻖ ﻣﻊ إﻣﻜﺎﻧﻴﺎﺗﻪ ،وﺗﺘﺠﺴﺪ ﻣﻦ ﺧﻼل اﻻهﺘﻤﺎﻣﺎت أو اﻟﺴﻠﻮك اﻟﻌﻤﻠﻲ ﺑﻄﺮﻳﻘﺔ ﻣﺒﺎﺷﺮة وﻏﻴﺮ ﻣﺒﺎﺷﺮة.٥ وﻣﻦ اﻟﺘﺼﻮرات اﻷﺧﺮى ﻟﻤﻔﻬﻮم "اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ" ﻣﺎ ذآﺮﻩ ﺑﻌﺾ اﻟﺒﺎﺣﺜﻴﻦ ﻋﻨﺪﻣﺎ ﻗﺎل :اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ: ﺣﻜﻢ ﻳﺼﺪرﻩ اﻹﻧﺴﺎن ﻋﻠﻰ ﺷﻲء ﻣﺎ ﻣﻬﺘﺪﻳﺎ ﺑﻤﺠﻤﻮﻋﺔ اﻟﻤﺒﺎدئ واﻟﻤﻌﺎﻳﻴﺮ اﻟﺘﻲ ارﺗﻀﺎهﺎ اﻟﺸﺮع ﻣﺤﺪدا اﻟﻤﺮﻏﻮب ﻓﻴﻪ واﻟﻤﺮﻏﻮب ﻋﻨﻪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺴﻠﻮك.٦ ﻓﻴﺘﻀﺢ ﻟﻨﺎ أن اﻟﻘﻴﻢ هﻲ ﺗﻠﻚ اﻟﻤﻌﺎﻳﻴﺮ اﻷﺧﻼﻗﻴﺔ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺴﻴﺮ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﺣﻴﺎة اﻟﻔﺮد واﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ ،وﻳﻤﻜﻦ ﺑﺎﺗﺒﺎﻋﻬﺎ أن ﻳﺼﻞ إﻟﻰ درﺟﺔ اﻟﻜﻤﺎل. ﻣﺼﺎدر اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ: ﻟﻠﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻋﺪة ﻣﺼﺎدر ،وهﻲ: -١اﻟﻘﺮﺁن: اﻟﻘﺮﺁن هﻮ آﺘﺎب اﷲ ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ اﻟﻤﻨﺰل ﻋﻠﻰ رﺳﻮﻟﻨﺎ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ –ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ.- هﻮ اﻟﻤﺼﺪر اﻷول واﻟﻤﻨﺒﻊ اﻷﺻﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ .إن اﷲ ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ وﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ أﻧﺰل هﺬا اﻟﻘﺮﺁن ﻟﻬﺪاﻳﺔ اﻟﺒﺸﺮ وﻟﺘﻨﺰﻳﻬﻬﻢ ﻋﻦ اﻟﺸﺮك وإﻧﻘﺎذهﻢ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻨﺎر .اﻟﻘﺮﺁن ﻳﺪﻋﻮ اﻟﻨﺎس إﻟﻰ اﻟﺨﻴﺮ وإﻟﻰ اﻟﺠﻨﺔ .ﻳﻮﺟﻪ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن اﻟﺒﺸﺮ ﺑﺄن اﻟﻘﻴﻢ واﻷﺧﻼق اﻟﺴﺎﻣﻴﺔ هﻲ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺠﻌﻠﻬﻢ ﺻﺎﻟﺤﻴﻦ وﻣﺴﺘﺤﻘﻴﻦ ﻟﻠﺪﺧﻮل ﻓﻲ اﻟﺠﻨﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ هﻲ اﻟﺴﻜﻦ اﻷﺑﺪي ﺼﻠﱠﻰ( ﺳ َﻢ َر ﱢﺑ ِﻪ َﻓ َ ﻦ َﺗ َﺰآﱠﻰ َ -و َذ َآ َﺮ ا ْ ﺢ َﻣ ْ ﻟﻺﻧﺴﺎن .ﻗﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘﺮﺁنَ ) :ﻗ ْﺪ َأ ْﻓَﻠ َ ﻦ ُه ْﻢ ن ) (١اﱠﻟﺬِﻳ َ ﺢ ا ْﻟ ُﻤ ْﺆ ِﻣﻨُﻮ َ )ﺳﻮرة اﻷﻋﻠﻰ .(١٥-١٤ :وﻗﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ أﻳﻀﺎَ ) :ﻗ ْﺪ َأ ْﻓَﻠ َ ﻦ ُه ْﻢ ﻟِﻠ ﱠﺰآَﺎ ِة ن ) (٣وَاﱠﻟﺬِﻳ َ ﻦ اﻟﱠﻠ ْﻐ ِﻮ ُﻣ ْﻌ ِﺮﺿُﻮ َ ﻋِ ﻦ ُه ْﻢ َ ن ) (٢وَاﱠﻟﺬِﻳ َ ﺷﻌُﻮ َ ﺻﻠَﺎ ِﺗ ِﻬ ْﻢ ﺧَﺎ ِ ﻓِﻲ َ ﺖ ﺟ ِﻬ ْﻢ َأ ْو ﻣَﺎ َﻣَﻠ َﻜ ْ ﻋﻠَﻰ َأ ْزوَا ِ ن )ِ (٥إﻟﱠﺎ َ ﺟ ِﻬ ْﻢ ﺣَﺎ ِﻓﻈُﻮ َ ﻦ ُه ْﻢ ِﻟ ُﻔﺮُو ِ ن ) (٤وَاﱠﻟﺬِﻳ َ ﻋﻠُﻮ َ ﻓَﺎ ِ ن )( ٧ ﻚ ُه ُﻢ ا ْﻟﻌَﺎدُو َ ﻚ َﻓﺄُوَﻟ ِﺌ َ ﻦ ا ْﺑ َﺘﻐَﻰ َورَا َء َذِﻟ َ ﻦ )َ (٦ﻓ َﻤ ِ ﻏ ْﻴ ُﺮ َﻣﻠُﻮﻣِﻴ َ َأ ْﻳﻤَﺎ ُﻧ ُﻬ ْﻢ َﻓِﺈ ﱠﻧ ُﻬ ْﻢ َ ن ﺻَﻠﻮَا ِﺗ ِﻬ ْﻢ ُﻳﺤَﺎ ِﻓﻈُﻮ َ ﻋﻠَﻰ َ ﻦ ُه ْﻢ َ ن ) (٨وَاﱠﻟﺬِﻳ َ ﻋ ْﻬ ِﺪ ِه ْﻢ رَاﻋُﻮ َ ﻦ ُه ْﻢ ِﻟَﺄﻣَﺎﻧَﺎ ِﺗ ِﻬ ْﻢ َو َ وَاﱠﻟﺬِﻳ َ ن( )ﺳﻮرة س ُه ْﻢ ﻓِﻴﻬَﺎ ﺧَﺎِﻟﺪُو َ ن ا ْﻟ ِﻔ ْﺮ َد ْو َ ﻦ َﻳ ِﺮﺛُﻮ َ ن ) (١٠اﱠﻟﺬِﻳ َ ﻚ ُه ُﻢ ا ْﻟﻮَا ِرﺛُﻮ َ ) (٩أُوَﻟ ِﺌ َ ٣٣٧
ﺍﻟﺠﺎﻤﻌﺔ ﺍﻹﺴﻼﻤﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺸﻴﺘﺎﻏﻭﻨﻎ
ﺳ َﻮ ٌة ن َﻟ ُﻜ ْﻢ ﻓِﻲ َرﺳُﻮ ِل اﻟﱠﻠ ِﻪ ُأ ْ اﻟﻤﺆﻣﻨﻮن .(١١-١ :وﻗﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ أﻳﻀﺎَ ) :ﻟ َﻘ ْﺪ آَﺎ َ ﺴ َﻨ ٌﺔ()ﺳﻮرة اﻷﺣﺰاب.(٢١ : ﺣ َ َ -٢اﻟﺴﻨﺔ اﻟﻨﺒﻮﻳﺔ: ﻻ ﺷﻚ أن اﻟﺴﻨﺔ اﻟﻨﺒﻮﻳﺔ ﻟﻬﺎ ﻣﻜﺎﻧﺔ ﻋﻈﻴﻤﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻹﺳﻼم؛ ﻷﻧﻬﺎ ﻣﺼﺪر ﺛﺎن ﺑﻌﺪ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن ﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ اﻹﺳﻼم واﻟﺸﺮﻳﻌﺔ واﻟﻘﻴﻢ واﻷﺧﻼق .إن اﻟﺴﻨﺔ اﻟﻨﺒﻮﻳﺔ هﻲ ﻣﺎ ﺻﺪر ﻋﻦ اﻟﻨﺒﻲ –ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ -ﻣﻦ ﻗﻮل أو ﻓﻌﻞ أو ﺗﻘﺮﻳﺮ .ﻓﺈﻧﻬﺎ ﺷﺎرﺣﺔ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن .اﻟﺸﻲء اﻟﺬي ﻻ ﻧﺠﺪﻩ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن أو ﻧﺠﺪﻩ ﻣﺠﻤﻼ ﻧﺠﺪﻩ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺴﻨﺔ ﻣﻔﺼﻼ. ﻓﻼ ﺑﺪ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺴﻠﻢ أن ﻳﺄﺧﺬ اﻟﺴﻨﺔ أﺧﺬا ﺗﺎﻣﺎ .ﻗﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰَ ) :وﻣَﺎ ﺁﺗَﺎ ُآ ُﻢ اﻟ ﱠﺮﺳُﻮ ُل ﻋ ْﻨ ُﻪ ﻓَﺎ ْﻧ َﺘﻬُﻮا()ﺳﻮرة اﻟﺤﺸﺮ .(٧:وﻗﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ أﻳﻀﺎ) :ﻳَﺎ َأ ﱡﻳﻬَﺎ ﺨﺬُو ُﻩ َوﻣَﺎ َﻧﻬَﺎ ُآ ْﻢ َ َﻓ ُ ﻋ ُﺘ ْﻢ ﻓِﻲ ن َﺗﻨَﺎ َز ْ ﻦ ﺁ َﻣﻨُﻮا َأﻃِﻴﻌُﻮا اﻟﱠﻠ َﻪ َوَأﻃِﻴﻌُﻮا اﻟ ﱠﺮﺳُﻮ َل َوأُوﻟِﻲ ا ْﻟ َﺄ ْﻣ ِﺮ ِﻣ ْﻨ ُﻜ ْﻢ َﻓ ِﺈ ْ اﱠﻟﺬِﻳ َ ﺧ ْﻴ ٌﺮ ﻚ َ ﺧ ِﺮ َذ ِﻟ َ ن ﺑِﺎﻟﱠﻠ ِﻪ وَا ْﻟ َﻴ ْﻮ ِم اﻟْﺂ ِ ن ُآ ْﻨ ُﺘ ْﻢ ُﺗ ْﺆ ِﻣﻨُﻮ َ ﻲ ٍء َﻓ ُﺮدﱡو ُﻩ ِإﻟَﻰ اﻟﱠﻠ ِﻪ وَاﻟ ﱠﺮﺳُﻮ ِل ِإ ْ ﺷ ْ َ ﻦ َﺗ ْﺄوِﻳﻠًﺎ()ﺳﻮرة اﻟﻨﺴﺎء.(٥٩: ﺴُ ﺣ َ َوَأ ْ -٣اﻹﺟﻤﺎع: هﻮ اﺗﻔﺎق ﻣﺠﺘﻬﺪي هﺬﻩ اﻷﻣﺔ ﺑﻌﺪ وﻓﺎة اﻟﻨﺒﻲ –ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ -ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﻜﻢ ﻚ ﺷﺮﻋﻲ .ﻓﻬﻮ أﻳﻀﺎ ﻣﺼﺪر ﻣﻦ ﻣﺼﺎدر اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ .ﻗﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰَ ) :و َآ َﺬ ِﻟ َ س()ﺳﻮرة اﻟﺒﻘﺮة .(١٤٣:ﻗﺎل ﻋﻠَﻰ اﻟﻨﱠﺎ ِ ﺷ َﻬﺪَا َء َ ﺳﻄًﺎ ِﻟ َﺘﻜُﻮﻧُﻮا ُ ﺟ َﻌ ْﻠﻨَﺎ ُآ ْﻢ ُأ ﱠﻣ ًﺔ َو َ َ ﻋﻠَﻰ ﺠ َﻤ َﻊ ُأ ﱠﻣﺘِﻲ َ ن َﻻ َﻳ ْ ﺟ ﱠﻞ َأ ْ ﻋ ﱠﺰ َو َ ﺖ اﻟﱠﻠ َﻪ َ ﺳ َﺄ ْﻟ ُ اﻟﺮﺳﻮل –ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢَ " : - ﻋﻄَﺎﻧِﻴﻬَﺎ".٧ ﻼ َﻟ ٍﺔ َﻓ َﺄ ْ ﺿَ َ -٤اﻟﻘﻴﺎس: وأﻣﺎ اﻟﻘﻴﺎس ﻓﺈﻧﻪ أﻳﻀﺎ ﻣﻦ ﻣﺼﺎدر اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ .وﻗﺪ دل ﻋﻠﻰ ذﻟﻚ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن ن()ﺳﻮرة ﻖ وَا ْﻟﻤِﻴﺰَا َ ﺤﱢ ب ﺑِﺎ ْﻟ َ ل ا ْﻟ ِﻜﺘَﺎ َ واﻟﺴﻨﺔ .ﻗﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ) :اﻟﱠﻠ ُﻪ اﱠﻟﺬِي َأ ْﻧ َﺰ َ اﻟﺸﻮرى .(١٧:ﻳﻘﻮل اﻟﺮﺳﻮل –ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ -ﻟﻤﻦ ﺳﺄﻟﺘﻪ ﻋﻦ اﻟﺼﻴﺎم ﻋﻦ ﻋ ْﻨﻬَﺎ؟. ن َ ﺖ َﻟ ْﻮ آَﺎ َ أﻣﻬﺎ ﺑﻌﺪ ﻣﻮﺗﻬﺎَ" :أ َرَأ ْﻳ ِ ﻚ َ ن ُﻳ َﺆدﱢى َذِﻟ َ ﻀ ْﻴ ِﺘ ِﻪ َأآَﺎ َ ﻦ َﻓ َﻘ َ ﻚ دِﻳ ٌ ﻋﻠَﻰ ُأ ﱢﻣ ِ ٨ ﻚ" . ﻦ ُأ ﱢﻣ ِ ﻋْ ل َ :ﻓﺼُﻮﻣِﻰ َ ﺖ َ :ﻧ َﻌ ْﻢ ﻗَﺎ َ ﻗَﺎَﻟ ْ ﺧﺼﺎﺋﺺ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ: ﺗﻤﺘﺎز اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﺑﻌﺪة ﺧﺼﺎﺋﺺ ،وهﻲ: .١اﻟﺮﺑﺎﻧﻴﺔ :إن ﻣﻦ ﺧﺼﺎﺋﺺ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ أﻧﻬﺎ رﺑﺎﻧﻴﺔ .ﻷن اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﺗﺼﺪر ﻣﻦ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن واﻟﺴﻨﺔ .اﻟﻘﺮﺁن آﺘﺎب اﷲ واﻟﺴﻨﺔ ﺷﺎرﺣﺔ ﻟﻪ .آﻼهﻤﺎ ﻣﻠﻴﺌﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﺘﻮﺟﻴﻬﺎت اﻟﺮﺑﺎﻧﻴﺔ. .٢اﻟﻤﻮاﻓﻘﺔ ﻟﻠﺸﺮﻳﻌﺔ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ :ﻓﺈن اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻣﻮاﻓﻘﺔ ﻟﻠﺸﺮﻳﻌﺔ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﺗﻤﺎﻣﺎ .اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻻ ﺗﺴﺘﻄﻴﻊ أن ﺗﺨﺮج ﻣﻦ داﺋﺮة ﺣﺪود اﷲ وﺷﺮﻳﻌﺘﻪ. ٣٣٨
اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻢ وﺁﺛﺎرهﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ
آﻞ ﻣﺎ ﺣﺮﻣﺘﻪ اﻟﺸﺮﻳﻌﺔ اﺑﺘﻌﺪت ﻋﻨﻪ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ وآﻞ ﻣﺎ أﺣﻠﺘﻪ اﻟﺸﺮﺑﻌﺔ اﻗﺘﺮﺑﺖ إﻟﻴﻪ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ. .٣اﻟﺸﻤﻮﻟﻴﺔ :ﻓﺈن اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﺗﻤﺘﺎز ﺑﺎﻟﺨﺼﻴﺼﺔ اﻟﺸﻤﻮﻟﻴﺔ إذ أﻧﻬﺎ ﺗﺸﻤﻞ ﺟﻤﻴﻊ ﻧﻮاﺣﻲ اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ .أﻧﻬﺎ ﺗﺮاﻋﻲ ﻋﺎﻟﻢ اﻹﻧﺴﺎن وﻣﺎ ﻓﻴﻪ ،واﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ اﻟﺬي ٩ ﻳﻌﻴﺶ ﻓﻴﻪ ،وأهﺪاف ﺣﻴﺎة اﻹﻧﺴﺎن ﻃﺒﻘﺎ ﻟﻠﺘﺼﻮر اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻲ. .٤اﻟﻮﺳﻄﻴﺔ :ﻓﺈن اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﺗﻤﺘﺎز ﺑﺎﻟﻮﺳﻄﻴﺔ .ﻻ إﻓﺮاط ﻓﻴﻬﺎ وﻻ ﺗﻔﺮﻳﻂ. ١٠ ﻗﺎل رﺳﻮل اﷲ –ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ" :-ﺧﻴﺮ اﻷﻋﻤﺎل أوﺳﻄﻬﺎ". .٥اﻷﺑﺪﻳﺔ :ﻓﺈن ﻣﻦ ﺧﺼﺎﺋﺺ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ أﻧﻬﺎ ﻟﻴﺴﺖ ﺻﺎﻟﺤﺔ ﻟﻠﺰﻣﻦ أو اﻟﺒﻼد ﻓﻘﻂ ﺑﻞ أﻧﻬﺎ ﺻﺎﻟﺤﺔ ﻟﻜﻞ زﻣﺎن وﻣﻜﺎن .ﻓﺈﻧﻬﺎ ﻻ ﺗﺘﻐﻴﺮ ﺑﺘﻐﻴﺮ اﻟﺒﻴﺌﺔ واﻷﻣﺼﺎر. أهﻤﻴﺔ ﺗﺪرﻳﺲ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻌﺎهﺪ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻤﻴﺔ: ﺗﺪرﻳﺲ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻌﺎهﺪ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻤﻴﺔ ﻟﻪ أهﻤﻴﺔ ﻗﺼﻮى ﻻ ﻳﻤﻜﻦ إﻧﻜﺎرﻩ .اﻟﻤﺪرﺳﺔ أو اﻟﻤﻌﻬﺪ هﻮ اﻟﻤﺮآﺰ اﻟﺮﺋﻴﺴﻲ واﻷﺻﻠﻲ ﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴﺔ اﻷوﻻد .ﻓﺈن اﻷوﻻد ﻣﻨﺬ ﻧﻌﻮﻣﺔ أﻇﻔﺎرهﻢ ﻳﺘﻌﻠﻤﻮن اﻷﺧﻼق واﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﻣﻦ ﻣﻌﺎهﺪهﻢ وﻣﺪارﺳﻬﻢ وﻳﺘﻌﻠﻤﻮن أﻳﻀﺎ ﻗﻮاﻋﺪ ﺣﻴﺎﺗﻬﻢ وﻧﻈﻢ ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻌﻬﻢ .ﻓﺈذا آﺎن اﻷوﻻد ﻟﻢ ﻳﺘﻌﻠﻤﻮا اﻷﺧﻼق اﻟﻨﺒﻴﻠﺔ ﻣﻦ ﻣﺪارﺳﻬﻢ ،ﻓﺈﻧﻬﻢ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﻘﺒﻞ ﺳﻮف ﻳﻜﻮﻧﻮن أﺳﺒﺎﺑﺎ ﻟﻠﺸﺮ واﻟﻔﺴﺎد ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ. روﺿﺔ اﻟﻤﺪرﺳﺔ أﺣﺴﻦ ﻣﺮآﺰ ﻟﻤﻤﺎرﺳﺔ اﻟﻄﻼب واﻟﻄﺎﻟﺒﺎت ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻌﺎدات واﻟﺘﻘﺎﻟﻴﺪ اﻟﻄﻴﺒﺔ .ﻓﺈﻧﻬﻢ ﻳﺘﻌﻮدون ﻋﻠﻰ اﻷﻋﻤﺎل اﻟﺨﻴﺮﻳﺔ ﻣﻨﺬ اﻟﺼﻐﺎر .إذا وﺿﻌﺖ اﻟﻤﻨﺎهﺞ اﻟﺪراﺳﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻌﺎهﺪ اﻟﻌﻠﻤﻴﺔ وﻓﻖ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن واﻟﺴﻨﺔ واﻟﻌﻘﻴﺪة اﻟﺴﻠﻴﻤﺔ واﻟﺘﻮﺟﻴﻬﺎت اﻟﻨﻴﺮة ﻓﺈﻧﻬﺎ ﺗﺴﺎﻋﺪ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺑﻨﺎء أﺟﻴﺎل ﻃﻴﺒﺔ وﻋﺮﻳﻘﺔ .وﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻘﺎﺑﻞ إذا آﺎﻧﺖ اﻟﻤﻘﺮرات اﻟﺪراﺳﻴﺔ ﻟﻢ ﺗﻮﺿﻊ وﻓﻖ اﻟﻤﻨﻬﺞ اﻟﺸﺮﻋﻲ ﻓﺈن اﻟﻄﻼب ﻳﻨﺸﺆون ﺑﻼ ﻗﻴﻢ وأﺧﻼق .وﻻ ﺷﻚ أن اﻹﻧﺴﺎن ﻟﻴﺲ ﻟﻪ ﻗﻴﻤﺔ إذا آﺎن ﻋﺪﻳﻢ اﻷﺧﻼق واﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﻖ ﺧ َﻠ َ ﻖَ - ﺧ َﻠ َ ﻚ اﱠﻟﺬِي َ ﺳ ِﻢ َر ﱢﺑ َ ﺑﻞ هﻮ أﺿﻞ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺤﻴﻮاﻧﺎت .ﻗﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ):ا ْﻗ َﺮ ْأ ﺑِﺎ ْ ﻖ( )ﺳﻮرة اﻟﻌﻠﻖ .(٢-١:ﻓﺄﺷﺎر اﷲ ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ وﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ﻓﻲ هﺬﻩ ﻋ َﻠ ٍ ﻦ َ ن ِﻣ ْ ا ْﻟ ِﺈ ْﻧﺴَﺎ َ اﻵﻳﺎت ﺑﺄن اﻟﻌﻠﻢ ﻻ ﺑﺪ أن ﻳﻜﻮن ﺑﺎﺳﻤﻪ. وﻗﺪ أﺷﺎر ﻣﺤﻤﻮد ﻋﻄﺎء ﻋﻘﻞ إﻟﻲ أهﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﻟﻤﺎ ﻟﻬﺎ ﻣﻦ دور أﺳﺎﺳﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺣﻴﺎة اﻷﻓﺮاد واﻟﺠﻤﺎﻋﺎت واﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻌﺎت إﻟﻲ ﺣﺪ درﺟﺔ أﺻﺒﺤﺖ ﻓﻴﻬﺎ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﻗﻀﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴﺔ ،ذﻟﻚ أن اﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺣﺪ ذاﺗﻬﺎ ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ ﻗﻴﻤﺔ ،ﻓﺎﻟﻘﻴﻢ هﻲ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺤﺪد اﻟﻔﻠﺴﻔﺎت واﻷهﺪاف واﻟﻌﻤﻠﻴﺎت اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻤﻴﺔ ،وﺗﺤﻜﻢ ﻣﺆﺳﺴﺎت اﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴﺔ وﻣﻨﺎهﺠﻬﺎ، ﻓﻬﻲ ﻣﻮﺟﻮدة ﻓﻲ آﻞ ﺧﻄﻮة وآﻞ ﻣﺮﺣﻠﺔ وآﻞ ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ ﺗﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ وﺑﺪوﻧﻬﺎ ﺗﺘﺤﻮل ١١ اﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴﺔ إﻟﻲ ﻓﻮﺿﻰ. ٣٣٩
ﺍﻟﺠﺎﻤﻌﺔ ﺍﻹﺴﻼﻤﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺸﻴﺘﺎﻏﻭﻨﻎ
دور اﻟﻤﻌﺎهﺪ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻤﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻏﺮس اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﻄﻼب: ﻟﻠﻤﻌﺎهﺪ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻤﻴﺔ دور آﺒﻴﺮ ﻓﻲ ﻏﺮس اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﻄﻼب واﻟﻄﺎﻟﺒﺎت .وذﻟﻚ ﻋﻦ اﻟﻄﺮق اﻟﺘﺎﻟﻴﺔ: -١اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻢ: اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻢ ﻋﻨﺼﺮ أﺳﺎﺳﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺗﺮﺑﻴﺔ اﻷوﻻد .وﻟﻪ دور ﻋﻈﻴﻢ ﻓﻲ ﺑﻨﺎء اﻟﺤﻀﺎرات. ﻓﺈﻧﻪ ﺑﻮاﺳﻄﺔ ﺗﺮﺑﻴﺘﻪ اﻟﺨﻠﻘﻴﺔ واﻟﻌﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻷﺑﻨﺎﺋﻪ ﻳﺼﻨﻊ ﺟﻴﻼ ﻣﺆهﻼ ،ﺟﻴﻼ ﻳﺨﺪم اﻷﻣﺔ واﻟﺒﻼد .ﻓﻌﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻢ ﻳﻌﺘﻤﺪ ﻧﺠﺎح وﻓﻼح اﻟﻄﻼب واﻟﻄﺎﻟﺒﺎت .ﻓﻬﻮ ﻣﻦ أهﻢ ﻋﻨﺎﺻﺮ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻢ ،إذا ﻓُﻘﺪ هﺬا اﻟﻌﻨﺼﺮ اﻟﻤﻬﻢ ﻓُﻘﺪ اﻟﻄﻼب أﻳﻀﺎ .ﻷن اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻢ ﻻ ﻳﺘﺮك ﻋﻠﻤﺎ ﻓﻘﻂ ﻓﻲ ﻧﻔﻮس اﻟﻄﻼب ﺑﻞ أﻧﻪ ﻳﻨﻔﺚ ﻓﻲ ﻧﻔﻮﺳﻬﻢ أﺧﻼﻗﺎ ﺣﺴﻨﺔ وﻗﻴﻤﺎ ﻋﺎﻟﻴﺔ .ﻗﻴﻞ ﻷﺑﻲ ﺣﻨﻴﻔﺔ ـ رﺣﻤﻪ اﷲ ـ :ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺴﺠﺪ ﺣﻠﻘﺔ ﻳﻨﻈﺮون ﻓﻲ اﻟﻔﻘﻪ .ﻓﻘﺎل: ١٢ أﻟﻬﻢ رأس؟ ﻗﺎﻟﻮا :ﻻ ،ﻗﺎل :ﻻ ﻳﻔﻘﻪ هﺆﻻء أﺑﺪا .واﻟﻤﻌﻠﻢ هﻮ اﻟﺮأس واﻟﻤﻮﺟﻪ. وﻣﻦ أهﻢ اﻟﻌﻨﺎﺻﺮ اﻟﻤﺆﺛﺮة ﻓﻲ ﺗﺮﺑﻴﺔ اﻟﻄﻼب هﻲ آﻤﺎ ﻳﻠﻲ: أ -ﺗﺮﺑﻴﺔ اﻟﻄﻼب ﻋﻦ ﻃﺮﻳﻖ اﻟﻘﺪوة: اﻷﺳﺎﺗﺬة هﻢ ﻗﺪوة اﻟﻄﻼب واﻟﻄﺎﻟﺒﺎت .إن اﻟﻄﻼب داﺋﻤﺎ ﻳﻼﺣﻈﻮن اﻷﺳﺎﺗﺬة ﻣﻦ ﺣﻴﺚ اﻟﻌﻘﻴﺪة واﻟﺴﻠﻮك واﻟﻌﻠﻢ واﻟﺜﻘﺎﻓﺔ .ﻓﺈذا رأوا ﻓﻴﻬﻢ ﻗﻴﻤﺎ ﻋﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﻳﺘﺒﻌﻮﻧﻬﺎ وﻳﺘﻤﺴﻜﻮن ﺑﻬﺎ .وآﺬﻟﻚ ﻓﺈﻧﻬﻢ ﻳﺘﺄﺛﺮون ﺑﺎﻷﺳﺎﺗﺬة ﻓﻲ اﻷﺧﻼق اﻟﺴﻴﺌﺔ .ﻓﺈﻧﻬﻢ إذا ﻻﺣﻈﻮا أن أﺳﺎﺗﺬﺗﻬﻢ ﻳﻜﺬﺑﻮن وﻳﺨﻮﻧﻮن اﻷﻣﺎﻧﺔ وﻳﺮﺗﻜﺒﻮن اﻟﻤﻌﺎﺻﻲ ﻓﻬﻢ أﻳﻀﺎ ﻳﺘﻌﻠﻤﻮن ذﻟﻚ ﺑﺎﺗﺒﺎع اﺳﺎﺗﺬﺗﻬﻢ .ﻓﻠﺬﻟﻚ ﻟﻸﺳﺎﺗﺬة دور آﺒﻴﺮ ﻓﻲ ﻏﺮس اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻧﻔﻮس اﻟﻄﻠﺒﺔ. ب -اﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﻘﺮﺁن واﻟﺴﻨﺔ: إذا آﺎن اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻢ ﻳﺪرس أي ﻣﺎدة ﻓﻲ اﻟﻔﺼﻮل اﻟﺪراﺳﻴﺔ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ أن ﻳﺪرﺳﻬﺎ ﻣﻌﺘﻤﺪا ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن واﻟﺴﻨﺔ .وهﻮ ﻋﻨﺪﻣﺎ ﻳﺒﻴﻦ ﺷﻴﺌﺎ أﻣﺎم اﻟﺪارﺳﻴﻦ ﻳﺒﻴﻨﻪ ﻣﺴﺘﺪﻻ ﺑﺎﻟﻘﺮﺁن واﻟﺴﻨﺔ. وهﺬا ﻳﺆﺛﺮ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻄﻼب ﺗﺄﺛﻴﺮا ﻋﻤﻴﻘﺎ وﻳﺼﻨﻊ ﻓﻲ ﻗﻠﺒﻪ روﺣﺎ إﻳﻤﺎﻧﻴﺎ واﺣﺘﺮاﻣﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن واﻟﺴﻨﺔ .إذا آﺎن اﻟﻄﻼب ﺗﺮﻋﺮﻋﻮا ﻋﻠﻰ ﺟﻮ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن واﻟﺴﻨﺔ ﻓﺈن أﻓﻜﺎرهﻢ ودﻣﺎﻏﻬﻢ ﺗﺘﺄﺛﺮ ﺑﻔﻜﺮة اﻟﻘﺮﺁن واﻟﺴﻨﺔ .ﻓﻴﺼﺒﺤﻮن ﺻﺎﻟﺤﻲ اﻻﻋﺘﻘﺎد واﻷﻋﻤﺎل. ج -اﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﻨﺼﺢ واﻟﻤﻮﻋﻈﺔ اﻟﺤﺴﻨﺔ: ﻋﻦ ﺗﻤﻴﻢ اﻟﺪاري أن اﻟﻨﺒﻲ -ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ -ﻗﺎل :اﻟﺪﻳﻦ اﻟﻨﺼﻴﺤﺔ ﻗﻠﻨﺎ ﻟﻤﻦ ﺣ َﻤ ٍﺔ ﻗﺎل ﷲ وﻟﻜﺘﺎﺑﻪ وﻟﺮﺳﻮﻟﻪ وﻷﺋﻤﺔ اﻟﻤﺴﻠﻤﻴﻦ وﻋﺎﻣﺘﻬﻢ ١٣.وﻗﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰَ ) :ﻓ ِﺒﻤَﺎ َر ْ ﻚ()ﺳﻮرة ﺁل ﺣ ْﻮِﻟ َ ﻦ َ ﺐ ﻟَﺎ ْﻧ َﻔﻀﱡﻮا ِﻣ ْ ﻆ ا ْﻟ َﻘ ْﻠ ِ ﻏﻠِﻴ َ ﺖ َﻓﻈﺎ َ ﺖ َﻟ ُﻬ ْﻢ َوَﻟ ْﻮ ُآ ْﻨ َ ﻦ اﻟﱠﻠ ِﻪ ِﻟ ْﻨ َ ِﻣ َ ﻋﻤﺮان .(١٥٩ :ﻓﻼ ﺑﺪ أن ﺗﻜﻮن اﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﻨﺼﺢ واﻟﻤﻮﻋﻈﺔ اﻟﺤﺴﻨﺔ .وهﺬا ﻣﻨﻬﺞ ﻣﺜﺎﻟﻲ ﻃﻴﺐ .ﻟﻮ دارﺳﻨﺎ ﺣﻴﺎة اﻟﺮﺳﻮل –ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ -ﻧﺮى أﻧﻬﺎ ﻣﻐﻤﻮرة ﺑﻬﺬا اﻟﻤﻨﻬﺞ اﻟﺴﻠﻴﻢ .ﻋﻦ اﺑﻦ ﻋﺒﺎس ﻗﺎل :آﻨﺖ ﺧﻠﻔﺖ رﺳﻮل اﷲ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ و ﺳﻠﻢ ﻳﻮﻣﺎ ﻓﻘﺎل ﻳﺎ ﻏﻼم إﻧﻲ أﻋﻠﻤﻚ آﻠﻤﺎت اﺣﻔﻆ اﷲ ﻳﺤﻔﻈﻚ اﺣﻔﻆ اﷲ ﺗﺠﺪﻩ ٣٤٠
اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻢ وﺁﺛﺎرهﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ
ﺗﺠﺎهﻚ إذا ﺳﺄﻟﺖ ﻓﺎﺳﺄل اﷲ وإذا اﺳﺘﻌﻨﺖ ﻓﺎﺳﺘﻌﻦ ﺑﺎﷲ واﻋﻠﻢ أن اﻷﻣﺔ ﻟﻮ اﺟﺘﻤﻌﺖ ﻋﻠﻰ أن ﻳﻨﻔﻌﻮك ﺑﺸﻲء ﻟﻢ ﻳﻨﻔﻌﻮك إﻻ ﺑﺸﻲء ﻗﺪ آﺘﺒﻪ اﷲ ﻟﻚ وﻟﻮ اﺟﺘﻤﻌﻮاﻋﻠﻰ أن ﻳﻀﺮوك ﺑﺸﻲء ﻟﻢ ﻳﻀﺮوك إﻻ ﺑﺸﻲء ﻗﺪ آﺘﺒﻪ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻚ رﻓﻌﺖ ١٤ اﻷﻗﻼم وﺟﻔﺖ اﻟﺼﺤﻒ. -٢اﻟﻤﻨﺎهﺞ اﻟﻤﻘﺮرة: اﻟﻤﻨﺎهﺞ اﻟﻤﻘﺮرة ﻟﻬﺎ دور آﺒﻴﺮ ﻓﻲ ﺗﻨﺸﺌﺔ اﻟﻄﻼب ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ .اﻟﻤﺪرﺳﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺮﻳﺪ أن ﺗﺒﻨﻲ ﺟﻴﻼ ﺻﺎﻟﺤﺎ ﻻ ﺑﺪ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ أن ﺗﻀﻊ ﻣﻨﺎهﺞ دراﺳﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻨﻔﺬ أهﺪاﻓﻬﺎ وﻣﺮاﻣﻴﻬﺎ .ﻓﺈذا آﺎﻧﺖ اﻟﻤﻘﺮرات اﻟﺪراﺳﻴﺔ ﻣﻜﻮﻧﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺻﻮرة إﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻓﺈﻧﻬﺎ ﺗﺴﺎﻋﺪ اﻟﻄﻼب أن ﻳﻜﻮﻧﻮا إﺳﻼﻣﻴﻴﻦ .ﻓﺈذا آﺎن اﻟﻄﻼب ﻳﺪرﺳﻮن ﻓﻲ ﻣﺪارﺳﻬﻢ ﻋﻦ اﻟﺨﺎﻟﻖ وﺣﻘﻮﻗﻪ وﻋﻦ اﻟﻤﺨﻠﻮق وﺣﻘﻮﻗﻪ وﻳﺪرﺳﻮن اﻹﻳﻤﺎن واﻟﻌﻘﻴﺪة واﻷﻣﺎﻧﺔ واﻟﺤﻼل واﻟﺤﺮام واﻷﺧﻼق اﻟﺤﺴﻨﺔ وﻳﺘﻌﺮف ﻋﻠﻰ ﻏﺎﻳﺔ ﺧﻠﻘﻪ ﻓﺈﻧﻬﻢ ﻳﺸﺒﻮن ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﺣﺴﻨﺔ ﺗﺠﻌﻠﻬﻢ ﺻﺎﻟﺤﻴﻦ ﻧﺎﻓﻌﻴﻦ ﻟﻸﺳﺮة واﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ واﻟﺒﻼد. -٣اﻟﺒﻴﺌﺔ اﻟﻤﻨﺎﺳﺒﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺪرﺳﺔ: اﻟﺒﻴﺌﺔ اﻟﻄﻴﺒﺔ ﻟﻬﺎ ﺁﺛﺎر ﻋﻈﻴﻤﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺗﻜﻮﻳﻦ اﻟﻄﻼب ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ .ﻷن اﻟﻄﻼب ﻋﻨﺪﻣﺎ ﻳﺄﺗﻮن إﻟﻰ اﻟﻤﺪارس ﻓﺈﻧﻬﻢ ﻳﺘﺒﻌﻮن أﺳﺎﺗﺬﺗﻬﻢ وزﻣﻼءهﻢ .ﻓﺈﻧﻬﻢ ﻻ ﻳﺪرﺳﻮن اﻟﻜﺘﺐ ﻓﻘﻂ ﺑﻞ إﻧﻬﻢ ﻳﺪرﺳﻮن ﺑﻴﺌﺔ اﻟﻤﺪرﺳﺔ أﻳﻀﺎ .ﻓﺈذا رأوا ﺗﻨﻈﻴﻢ اﻟﻮﻗﺖ وﻟﺰوﻣﻪ ﻓﻲ آﻞ أﻣﻮر واﻷﻣﺎﻧﺔ ﻓﻲ آﻞ أﺟﺰاء وﻣﻤﺎرﺳﺔ اﻹﺳﻼم ﻓﻲ آﻞ ﺷﻲء ﻓﺈﻧﻬﻢ ﻳﺘﺮﺑﻮن ﻋﻠﻰ ذﻟﻚ. ﺁﺛﺎر اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ: إن ﻟﻠﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﺁﺛﺎرا ﺑﺎﻟﻐﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ .ﻓﺈذا اﺳﺘﻄﻌﻨﺎ أن ﻧﻐﺮس اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ أﻓﺮاد اﻟﻤﺴﻠﻤﻴﻦ ﻳﺼﺒﺢ ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻌﻨﺎ ﺧﺎﻟﻴﺎ ﻋﻦ اﻟﻔﻮﺿﻰ واﻟﻔﺘﻦ واﻟﻤﻔﺎﺳﺪ اﻟﻜﺜﻴﺮة .ﻓﻔﻲ اﻟﺘﺎﻟﻲ أﻋﺮض أﻣﺎﻣﻜﻢ ﺑﻌﺾ ﺁﺛﺎر اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ: ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻊ رﺑﺎﻧﻲ: ﻣﻦ ﺁﺛﺎر اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ أﻧﻬﺎ ﺗﺠﻌﻞ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻌﺎ رﺑﺎﻧﻴﺎ ،ﻣﻌﻴﺎرﻩ اﻟﺘﻘﻮى. ﻓﺎﻟﻜﻞ ﻳﺘﻘﻲ اﷲ ﻋﺰ وﺟﻞ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺴﺮ واﻟﻌﻼﻧﻴﺔ .ﻓﻼ ﻳﻮﺟﺪ أي ﻓﺴﺎد ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ اﻟﺮﺑﺎﻧﻲ. ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﺧﺎل ﻋﻦ اﻹرهﺎب: ﻣﻦ ﻣﺸﺎآﻞ اﻟﻌﺼﺮ اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ اﻹرهﺎب ﻓﻲ آﻞ ﻣﻜﺎن .ﻓﺈذا آﺎﻧﺖ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﺳﺎﺋﺪة ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﻻ ﻧﺮى ﻓﻴﻪ أﻳﺔ ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ إرهﺎﺑﻴﺔ .ﻷن اﻹﺳﻼم ﻻ ﻳﺸﺠﻊ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻹرهﺎب واﻟﻌﻨﻒ واﻟﺘﻌﺼﺐ؛ ﺑﻞ اﻹﺳﻼم ﻳﺪﻋﻮ إﻟﻰ اﻟﺴﻠﻢ. ٣٤١
ﺍﻟﺠﺎﻤﻌﺔ ﺍﻹﺴﻼﻤﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺸﻴﺘﺎﻏﻭﻨﻎ
ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﺧﺎل ﻋﻦ اﻻﻧﺤﺮاف اﻟﺨﻠﻘﻲ: ﻗﺪ آﺜﺮت اﻟﺠﺮاﺋﻢ واﻟﻤﻔﺎﺳﺪ اﻟﺨﻠﻘﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ اﻟﺬي ﻧﺤﻦ ﻧﻌﻴﺶ ﻓﻴﻪ .وذﻟﻚ ﻷﺟﻞ اﻧﺤﺮاﻓﻬﻢ ﻋﻦ اﻟﻌﻘﻴﺪة اﻟﺴﻠﻴﻤﺔ واﻷﺧﻼق اﻟﺤﻤﻴﺪة .ﻓﻜﺜﺮ اﻟﺰﻧﺎ واﻟﻘﺘﻞ واﻟﺮﺑﺎ واﻟﻐﺶ واﻻﻏﺘﺼﺎب واﻧﺘﻬﺎك ﺣﺮﻣﺎت اﻟﻤﺮأة ﺑﻌﺪة ﻃﺮق وﻋﺪم اﻻﺣﺘﺮام ﻟﻠﻜﺒﺎر، وﻣﺎ إﻟﻰ ذﻟﻚ ﻣﻦ اﻷﺧﻼق اﻟﺬﻣﻴﻤﺔ. ﻓﺈذا آﺎﻧﺖ ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼم وﻗﻴﻤﻪ وأﺧﻼﻗﻪ ﻣﻮﺟﻮدة ﻓﻲ أﻓﺮاد اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﻟﺮأﻳﻨﺎ أن اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﻻ ﺗﻌﺎﻧﻲ هﺬﻩ اﻟﻤﻔﺎﺳﺪ اﻟﺨﻠﻘﻴﺔ. ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﻳﺮﺗﻘﻲ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻘﻤﺔ: اﻟﻤﺴﻠﻤﻮن ﻓﻲ هﺬا اﻟﻌﺼﺮ ﻣﻨﺒﻮذون ﻣﺸﺮدون ﻣﻦ آﻞ ﻣﻜﺎن .ﻓﺎﻟﻴﻬﻮد واﻟﻨﺼﺎرى ﻳﻠﻌﺒﻮن ﻓﻲ آﻞ ﻣﻜﺎن ﻣﻦ أﻣﺎآﻦ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ .وذﻟﻚ ﻷﺟﻞ ﺗﺨﻠﻒ اﻟﻤﺴﻠﻤﻴﻦ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﻠﻢ واﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ واﻟﺴﻠﻮك واﻟﻘﻴﻢ واﻷﺧﻼق. ﻓﺈذا ﺗﻘﺪم اﻟﻤﺴﻠﻤﻮن ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﻠﻢ واﻟﻌﻤﻞ واﻷﺧﻼق واﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﻟﻮﺻﻠﻮا إﻟﻰ اﻟﻘﻤﺔ ﻻ ﺷﻚ ﻓﻴﻪ. اﻟﺨﺎﺗﻤﺔ: أﺧﻴﺮا أﻋﺮض أﻣﺎﻣﻜﻢ ﺑﻌﺾ اﻟﻨﺘﺎﺋﺞ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻮﺻﻞ إﻟﻴﻬﺎ هﺬا اﻟﺒﺤﺚ: -١ -٢ -٣ -٤ -٥ -٦
إن اﻟﻘﻴﻢ هﻲ ﺷﻲء أﺧﻼﻗﻲ رﻓﻴﻊ ﻓﻲ ﻧﻔﻮس اﻟﺒﺸﺮ. أن اﻹﺳﻼم ﻳﺪﻋﻮ داﺋﻤﺎ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ واﻷﺧﻼق اﻟﻨﺒﻴﻠﺔ. آﻞ اﻷﻧﺒﻴﺎء واﻟﺮﺳﻞ دﻋﻮا اﻟﻨﺎس إﻟﻰ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ. إذا ﺳﺎدت اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻌﻨﺎ اﻟﺮاهﻨﺔ زاﻟﺖ اﻟﻤﻔﺎﺳﺪ اﻟﺨﻠﻘﻴﺔ. ﺗﻘﻞ اﻟﺠﺮاﺋﻢ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ إذا آﺎﻧﺖ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﺗﺴﻮد ﻓﻴﻪ. اﻟﻤﺴﻠﻤﻮن ﻳﺼﻠﻮن إﻟﻰ اﻟﻘﻤﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ واﻷﺧﻼق اﻟﻨﺒﻴﻠﺔ.
وهﺬا ﻣﺎ ﻋﻨﺪي واﷲ أﻋﻠﻢ ﺑﺎﻟﺼﻮاب.
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اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻢ وﺁﺛﺎرهﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ
ﻗﺎﺋﻤﺔ اﻟﻤﺼﺎدر واﻟﻤﺮاﺟﻊ ١
ﺍﻟﺒﻴﻬﻘﻲ ،ﺃﺒﻭ ﺒﻜﺭ ﺃﺤﻤﺩ ﺒﻥ ﺍﻟﺤﺴﻴﻥ ﺒﻥ ﻋﻠﻲ ،ﺍﻟﺴﻨﻥ ﺍﻟﻜﺒﺭﻯ ١٠ ،ﺃﺠـﺯﺍﺀ) ،ﺤﻴـﺩﺭﺁﺒﺎﺩ :،ﻤﺠﻠـﺱ ﺩﺍﺌـﺭﺓ
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إﺑﺮاهﻴﻢ ﻣﺼﻄﻔﻰ وﺁﺧﺮون ،اﻟﻤﻌﺠﻢ اﻟﻮﺳﻴﻂ) ،ﺑﻴﺮوت :دار إﺣﻴﺎء اﻟﺘﺮاث اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻲ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌ ﺔ اﻟﺜﺎﻧﻴ ﺔ ،ب.ت( ج،٢ ص.٧٦٨
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اﻟﻔﻴﺮوزﺁﺑﺎدي ،ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﺑﻦ ﻳﻌﻘﻮب ،اﻟﻘﺎﻣﻮس اﻟﻤﺤﻴﻂ) ،ﺑﻴﺮوت :ﻣﺆﺳﺴﺔ اﻟﺮﺳ ﺎﻟﺔ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺔاﻟﺜﺎﻧﻴ ﺔ١٩٧٨ ،م( ،ﺑ ﺎب اﻟﻤﻴﻢ ،ﻓﺼﻞ اﻟﻘﺎف ،ص.١٤٨٧
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اﻟﺪآﺘﻮر إﺑﺮاهﻴﻢ أﺑﻮ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ،ﻣﻨﻈﻮﻣ ﺔ اﻟﻘ ﻴﻢ ودورهﻬ ﺎ ﻓ ﻲ اﻟﺘﺠﺪﻳ ﺪ واﻟﻨﻬﻀ ﺔ) ،اﻟﻘ ﺎهﺮة :دار اﻟﻌﻮاﺻ ﻢ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌ ﺔ اﻷوﻟﻰ٢٠٠٩ ،م( ص.١٧ :
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ﻋﻠﻲ ﺧﻠﻴﻞ ﻣﺼﻄﻔﻰ ،اﻟﻘﻴﻢ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ واﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴﺔ) ،ﺑﻴﺮوت :دار ﻃﻴﺒﺔ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺔ اﻷوﻟﻰ١٩٨٠ ،م( ،ص .٣٤
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ﺼﺎﻟﺢ ﺒﻥ ﻋﺒﺩ ﺍﷲ ﻭﺁﺨﺭﻭﻥ ،ﻨﻀﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﻨﻌﻴﻡ ﻓﻲ ﻤﻜﺎﺭﻡ ﺃﺨﻼﻕ ﺍﻟﺭﺴﻭل ﺍﻟﻜﺭﻴﻡ) ،ﺠﺩﺓ :ﺩﺍﺭ ﺍﻟﻭﺴـﻴﻠﺔ ﻟﻠﻨﺸـﺭ
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ﺍﻟﺸﻴﺒﺎﻨﻲ ،ﺃﺒﻭ ﻋﺒﺩ ﺍﷲ ﺃﺤﻤﺩ ﺒﻥ ﻤﺤﻤﺩ ﺒﻥ ﺤﻨﺒل ﺒﻥ ﻫﻼل ﺒﻥ ﺃﺴﺩ ،ﻤﺴﻨﺩ ﺃﺤﻤﺩ ﺒﻥ ﺤﻨﺒل ،ﺍﻟﻤﺤﻘﻕ :ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺩ ﺃﺒﻭ
ﺍﻟﻤﻌﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻨﻅﺎﻤﻴﺔ ،ﺍﻟﻁﺒﻌﺔ ﺍﻷﻭﻟﻰ ١٣٤٤ ،ﻫـ ( ،ﺝ ،١٠ﺹ .١٩١
ﻭﺍﻟﺘﻭﺯﻴﻊ ،ﺍﻟﻁﺒﻌﺔ ﺍﻟﺭﺍﺒﻌﺔ ،ﺏ.ﺕ(،ﺝ ،١ﺹ.٨١
ﺍﻟﻤﻌﺎﻁﻲ ﺍﻟﻨﻭﺭﻱ ٦ ،ﺃﺠﺯﺍﺀ) ،ﺒﻴﺭﻭﺕ :ﻋﺎﻟﻡ ﺍﻟﻜﺘـﺏ ،ﺍﻟﻁﺒﻌـﺔ ﺍﻷﻭﻟـﻰ١٩٩٨ ،ﻡ( ،ﺝ ،٦ﺹ ،٣٩٦ﺭﻗـﻡ ﺍﻟﺤﺩﻴﺙ.٢٧٧٦٦ : ٨
ﺍﻟﺒﻴﻬﻘﻲ ،ﺃﺒﻭ ﺒﻜﺭ ﺃﺤﻤﺩ ﺒﻥ ﺍﻟﺤﺴﻴﻥ ﺒﻥ ﻋﻠﻲ ،ﺍﻟﺴﻨﻥ ﺍﻟﻜﺒﺭﻯ ﻭﻓـﻲ ﺫﻴﻠـﻪ ﺍﻟﺠـﻭﻫﺭ ﺍﻟﻨﻘـﻲ ١٠ ،ﺃﺠـﺯﺍﺀ،
)ﺤﻴﺩﺭﺁﺒﺎﺩ :ﻤﺠﻠﺱ ﺩﺍﺌﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﻤﻌﺎﺭﻑ ﺍﻟﻨﻅﺎﻤﻴﺔ ،ﺍﻟﻁﺒﻌﺔ ﺍﻷﻭﻟﻰ١٣٤٤ ،ﻫـ( ،ﺝ ،٤ﺹ ،٢٥٥ﺭﻗﻡ ﺍﻟﺤـﺩﻴﺙ: .٨٤٨٧ ٩
ﻧﻀﺮة اﻟﻨﻌﻴﻢ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻜﺎرم أﺧﻼق اﻟﺮﺳﻮل اﻟﻜﺮﻳﻢ ،اﻟﻤﺼﺪر اﻟﺴﺎﺑﻖ ،ج ،١ص.٨١
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ﻋﻼء اﻟﺪﻳﻦ ﻋﻠﻲ ﺑﻦ ﺣﺴﺎم اﻟﺪﻳﻦ ،آﻨﺰ اﻟﻌﻤ ﺎل ﻓ ﻲ ﺳ ﻨﻦ اﻷﻗ ﻮال واﻷﻓﻌ ﺎل) ،ﺑﻴ ﺮوت :ﻣﺆﺳﺴ ﺔ اﻟﺮﺳ ﺎﻟﺔ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌ ﺔ اﻟﺨﺎﻣﺴﺔ١٩٨١ ،م( ج ،١٠ص.١٣٢
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اﻟﺪآﺘﻮر ﺳﻠﻮى ﻋﺒﺪ اﷲ اﻟﺠﺴﺎر ،واﻗﻊ ﺗﻌﻠﻢ اﻟﻘﻴﻢ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻢ اﻟﻤﺪرﺳﻲ ،اﻟﻤﻨﺘﺪى اﻟﺜﺎﻧﻲ ﻟﻠﻤﻌﻠﻢ ،ص.٤:
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د /ﻓ ﺎﻳﺰ ﺑ ﻦ ﻋﺒ ﺪاﻟﻜﺮﻳﻢ اﻟﻔ ﺎﻳﺰ ،ﻣﻘﺎﻟ ﺔ :دور اﻟﻤﻌﻠ ﻢ ﻓ ﻲ ﺗﺮﺑﻴ ﺔ اﻟﻄﺎﻟ ﺐhttp://www.riyadh- ، south.com/articles.php?action=show&id=4
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ﺍﻟﻨﻴﺴﺎﺒﻭﺭﻱ ،ﺃﺒﻭ ﺍﻟﺤﺴﻴﻥ ﻤﺴﻠﻡ ﺍﻟﺤﺠﺎﺝ ﺍﻟﻘﺸﻴﺭﻱ ،ﺼﺤﻴﺢ ﻤﺴﻠﻡ ،ﺑﺎب ﺑﻴﺎن أن اﻟﺪﻳﻦ اﻟﻨﺼﻴﺤﺔ ،رﻗ ﻢ اﻟﺤ ﺪﻳﺚ:
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اﻟﺘﺮﻣﺬي ،ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﺑﻦ ﻋﻴﺴﻰ أﺑﻮ ﻋﻴﺴﻰ اﻟﺘﺮﻣﺬي اﻟﺴﻠﻤﻲ ،اﻟﺠﺎﻣﻊ اﻟﺼ ﺤﻴﺢ ﺳ ﻨﻦ اﻟﺘﺮﻣ ﺬي) ،ﺑﻴ ﺮوت :دار إﺣﻴ ﺎء اﻟﺘﺮاث اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻲ ،ب.ت( ،رﻗﻢ اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ ،٢٥١٦ :ج ،٤ص.٦٦٥
،٥٤ﺝ) ،١ﺒﻴﺭﻭﺕ :ﺩﺍﺭ ﺍﻟﻔﻜﺭ١٩٨٣ ،ﻡ( ،ﺹ.٧٥
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ﺍﻟﺠﺎﻤﻌﺔ ﺍﻹﺴﻼﻤﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺸﻴﺘﺎﻏﻭﻨﻎ
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اﻟﺠﺎﻣﻌﺔ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺷﻴﺘﺎﻏﻮﻧﻎ ISSN 1813-7733
اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺪ اﻟﺘﺎﺳﻊ دﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮ ٢٠١٢م )ص (345-354
ﻣﻮﻗﻒ اﻹﺳﻼم ﻣﻦ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ﻤﺤﻤﺩ ﻋﻠﻲ ﺤﺴﻴﻥ
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ﻣﻠﺨﺺ اﻟﺒﺤﺚ] :ﺑﺪأ اﻟﻌﻠﻤﺎء اﻟﻨﻘﺎش ﻋﻦ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ وﺗﻨﻤﻴﺘﻬﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﺼﺮ اﻟﺮاهﻦ ،وذﻟﻚ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺆﺳﺴﺎت اﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ واﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎدﻳﺔ واﻟﻔﻜﺮﻳﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﺴﻮاء، واﻋﺘﺒﺮوهﺎ أﺳﺎﺳﺎ ﻟﻠﻨﺠﺎح ﻓﻲ آﻞ ﻣﺠﺎل .وﻟﻜﻦ اﻹﺳﻼم ﺳﺒﻘﻬﻢ ﻓﻴﻪ ،ﻷﻧﻪ ﻗﺪم أﻣﺎم اﻟﻨﺎس – ﻗﺒﻞ ﻗﺮون آﺜﻴﺮة -ﻧﻈﺮﻳﺎت ﻣﺘﻜﺎﻣﻠﺔ ﻋﻦ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ﺑﺄدﻟﺔ آﺜﻴﺮة، وأوﺟﺐ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻢ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺘﻬﺎ ،ورﺗﺐ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ اﻟﻨﺠﺎح اﻟﺪﻧﻮي واﻷﺟﻮر اﻷﺧﺮوﻳﺔ .وهﻮ ﻓﻲ هﺬا ﻳﺪﻋﻮ اﻟﻨﺎس إﻟﻰ اﻟﻌﻠﻢ واﻟﺘﻔﻜﺮ ﺣﻴﻨﺎ ،وﻳﺸﺠﻌﻬﻢ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﺘﺨﻄﻴﻂ واﻻﺳﺘﻌﺪاد ﺣﻴﻨﺎ ،وﻳﺤﺎول ﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد ﺑﺈرﺳﺎل اﻷﻧﺒﻴﺎء ﻣﺮة ،وﺑﺎﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺾ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻌﻤﻞ ﻣﺮة أﺧﺮى ،وﻻﻳﺘﺮك ﻣﻊ ذﻟﻚ آﻠﻪ ﺗﺨﻄﻴﻂ اﻹﺻﻼح ﻟﻠﻨﻔﻮس ،ﻷﻧﻪ أﺳﺎس ﻓﻲ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ[.
اﻟﻤﻘﺪﻣﺔ: إن اﻟﺤﻤﺪ ﷲ اﻟﺬي ﺧﻠﻖ اﻟﺒﺸﺮ ورﻓﻊ ﻣﻜﺎﻧﺘﻪ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺟﻤﻴﻊ اﻟﻤﺨﻠﻮﻗﺎت ،واﻟﺼﻼة واﻟﺴﻼم ﻋﻠﻰ أﺷﺮف اﻷﻧﺒﻴﺎء ﻣﺤﻤﺪ – ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ – اﻟﺬي ﺑﻌﺚ ﻟﻴﺘﻢ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ﻓﻲ إدارة اﻟﻜﻮن وﺗﺴﺨﻴﺮﻩ ﺑﺄﻣﺮ اﷲ .ﻓﻘﺪ وﺿﻊ اﷲ ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ وﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻜﻴﺎن اﻟﺒﺸﺮي ﻗﺪرة واﺳﻌﺔ ﻟﻠﻌﻤﻞ ،وإﻣﻜﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻣﺪهﺸﺔ ﻻﺳﺘﺨﺪام اﻟﻮﺳﺎﺋﻞ اﻟﻜﻮﻧﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺗﻌﻤﻴﺮ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ ،واﻟﻌﻘﻞ اﻟﺤﺎآﻢ ﻟﻴﻔﺮق ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﻤﺼﺎﻟﺢ واﻟﻤﻔﺎﺳﺪ، ﺣﺘﻰ ﻳﺼﻞ إﻟﻰ ﻣﺮﺗﺒﺔ اﻟﺤﻴﺎة اﻟﻤﻄﻠﻮﺑﺔ. ﻣﻔﻬﻮم ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ: ﻣﻔﻬﻮم اﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ :ﻧﻤﺎ اﻟﺸﻴﺊ ﻳﻨﻤﻮ ﻧﻤﻮا )اﻟﻮاوي( :زاد وآﺜﺮ .وﻳﻘﻮل اﻟﺪآﺘﻮر ﻣﺼﻠﺢ اﻟﺼﺎﻟﺢ ﻓﻲ ﺗﻌﺮﻳﻒ اﻟﺘﻨﻴﻤﺔ " :ﻧﻤﻮ ،ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ (Development):وهﻮ ﺗﻌﺎﻗﺐ اﻟﺘﻐﻴﺮات ﺑﺸﻜﻞ ﻣﻨﺘﻈﻢ .آﻤﺎ ﻳﻘﺎل :ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ اﻟﻤﺤﻠﻲ (Development )Communityﻣﻌﻨﺎﻩ :ﺗﻮﻓﻴﺮ ﻣﺴﺘﻮى ﺣﻴﺎة أﻓﻀﻞ ﻟﻠﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ آﻜﻞ ﻣﻊ اﻟﻤﺸﺎرآﺔ ٢ اﻟﻔﻌﺎﻟﺔ ،وروح اﻟﻤﺒﺎدرة واﻟﺘﻌﺎون ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ". ١
ﻣﻔﻬﻮم اﻟﻤﻮرد :واﻟﻤﻮرد ﻣﻦ ورد ﻳﺮد ورودا :ﻣﻌﻨﺎﻩ اﻟﻤﻨﻬﻞ واﻟﻄﺮﻳﻖ ،وﻣﺼﺪر اﻟﺮزق ٣.وﺟﻤﻌﻪ اﻟﻤﻮارد.
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اﻷﺳﺘﺎذ اﻟﻤﺴﺎﻋﺪ ،ﻗﺴﻢ ﻋﻠﻮم اﻟﻘﺮﺁن واﻟﺪراﺳﺎت اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ،اﻟﺠﺎﻣﻌﺔ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺷﻴﺘﺎﻏﻮﻧﻎ.
ﺍﻟﺠﺎﻤﻌﺔ ﺍﻹﺴﻼﻤﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺸﻴﺘﺎﻏﻭﻨﻎ
ﻓﺎﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ :آﻤﺎ ﻋﺮﻓﻪ اﻟﺪآﺘﻮر ﻣﺼﻠﺢ ﻗﺎﺋﻼ ":اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ :(Human resourcesذﻟﻚ اﻟﻘﻄﺎع ﻣﻦ اﻟﺴﻜﺎن اﻟﺬي ﻳﻤﻜﻦ اﺳﺘﻐﻼﻟﻪ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻨﺸﺎط ٤ اﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎدي". )
ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ أﻣﺮ ﻣﺴﺘﻤﺮ داﺋﻢ ،وﻗﺪ ﺗﻐﻴﺮ ﻣﻔﻬﻮﻣﻪ ﻣﻨﺬ ﻧﺸﺄﺗﻪ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻴﻮم، وآﺎن ﻳﺮى ﺑﻌﺾ اﻟﻌﻠﻤﺎء ﻓﻴﻪ اﻟﺠﺎﻧﺐ اﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎدي ﻓﻘﻂ ،وﺑﻌﻀﻬﻢ ﻧﻈﺮ إﻟﻰ ﺟﺎﻧﺒﻬﺎ اﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻲ ،وﻟﻜﻦ اﻹﺳﻼم وﺳّﻊ ﻟﻨﺎ اﻟﻤﺠﺎل وﺣﺪّد ﻣﻔﻬﻮم ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد ﺑﻨﻈﺮﻳﺔ ﺷﺎﻣﻠﺔ ﻟﺠﻤﻴﻊ ﺟﻮاﻧﺐ اﻟﺤﻴﺎة ﺑﺄﻧﻪ :ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ واﺳﻌﺔ ﺷﺎﻣﻠﺔ ﻣﺴﺘﻤﺮة ،ﻣﺘﻌﺪدة اﻟﺠﻮاﻧﺐ ﻟﺘﻐﻴﻴﺮ ﺣﻴﺎة اﻹﻧﺴﺎن وﺗﻄﻮﻳﺮهﺎ إﻟﻰ اﻷﻓﻀﻞ. أهﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ: إن اآﺘﺸﺎف أهﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻌﻨﺼﺮ اﻟﺒﺸﺮي ﻓﻲ اﻵوﻧﺔ اﻷﺧﻴﺮة ﻣﻦ اﻟﺰﻣﻦ أدت إﻟﻰ زﻳﺎدة اﻻهﺘﻤﺎم ﺑﻪ وﺗﻘﺪﻳﻢ اﻟﻌﻨﺎﻳﺔ واﻟﺮﻋﺎﻳﺔ ،ﻷن اﻟﻨﺠﺎح اﻷﺻﻠﻲ ﻳﻌﺘﻤﺪ ﺑﺸﻜﻞ آﺒﻴﺮ - ﻓﻲ ﻣﻨﻈﻤﺎت أو ﻣﺆﺳﺴﺎت أو ﺣﻜﻮﻣﺎت أو دول -ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻘﻮى اﻟﻌﺎﻣﻠﺔ ,واﻷﻳﺎدي اﻟﻔﻌّﺎﻟﺔ ،واﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ﻓﻲ آﻞ ﻣﺠﺎل ﻣﻦ اﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎد واﻟﺜﻘﺎﻓﺔ واﻟﺤﻀﺎرة واﻟﺴﻴﺎﺳﺔ واﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎع .ﻣﻌﻈﻢ اﻟﻌﻮاﻣﻞ اﻷﺧﺮى ﻗﺎﺑﻠﺔ ﻟﻠﺒﻴﻊ واﻟﺸﺮاء ﻓﻲ اﻷﺳﻮاق إﻻ اﻟﻌﻨﺼﺮ اﻟﺒﺸﺮي ،ﻷﻧﻬﺎ ﻣﻮهﺒﺔ رﺑﺎﻧﻴﺔ وإﻣﻜﻨﻴﺔ آﺎﻣﻨﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺒﺸﺮ ،اﻟﺘﻲ ﻻ ﺗﺒﺎع وﻻ ﺗﺸﺘﺮى ،وﻗﺪ أﺷﺎر إﻟﻴﻪ اﻟﺮﺳﻮل اﻟﻜﺮﻳﻢ -ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ – ﻗﺎﺋﻼ": اﻟﻨﺎس ﻣﻌﺎدن آﻤﻌﺎدن اﻟﺬهﺐ واﻟﻔﻀﺔ" ٥ﻓﺎﻟﺼﺪق واﻷﻣﺎﻧﺔ ،ووﻓﺎء اﻟﻮﻋﺪ واﻟﺸﺠﺎﻋﺔ ،واﻻﻋﺘﺰاز ﺑﺎﻟﻨﻔﺲ واﻟﺠﻮد واﻟﺴﻤﺎﺣﺔ ،واﻟﺸﻌﻮر ﺑﺄداء اﻟﻮاﺟﺒﺎت إﻟﻰ اﻵﺧﺮﻳﻦ واﻟﻘﻴﺎم ﺑﺎﻟﻨﺸﺎﻃﺎت اﻟﻤﺨﺘﻠﻔﺔ ،وﻗﻮة اﻟﻔﺮق ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﺼﻮاب واﻟﺨﻄﺄ، وﻣﻬﺎرات اﻷﻋﻤﺎل اﻟﻤﺘﻌﺪدة ،وﻣﺎ إﻟﻰ ذﻟﻚ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺼﻔﺎت اﻟﺤﻤﻴﺪة ،هﻲ اﻟﻤﻔﺘﺎح ي ﻣﺼﻠﺤﺔ ،واﻟﺘﻲ ي هﺪف ،واﻟﺴﻼح اﻷول ﻟﻠﺤﺼﻮل ﻋﻠﻰ أ ّ اﻷﺳﺎﺳﻲ ﻟﺘﺤﻘﻴﻖ أ ّ ﺗﻌﺘﺒﺮ ﻣﻜﺎرم اﻷﺧﻼق وهﻲ اﻟﻘﻮة اﻟﺤﺎآﻤﺔ اﻟﺤﻘﻴﻘﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ آﻞ ﺗﻘﺪم اﻟﺤﻴﺎة ،ﻓﻼ ﺗﻘﻮم أﻣﺔ ﺑﺮﻓﻊ رأﺳﻬﺎ إﻻ ﺑﺎﻟﺤﺼﻮل ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ ،وﻻﺗﺪوم ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺠﺪهﺎ وﺷﺮﻓﻬﺎ إﻻ ﺑﺎﻻﻟﺘﺰام ﺑﻬﺎ ٦.وﻻ ﻓﺎﺋﺪة ﻓﻲ اﻷﻣﻮال اﻟﻜﺜﻴﺮة واﻟﺜﺮوات اﻟﻬﺎﺋﻠﺔ إﻻ إذا آﺎﻧﺖ اﻵﻳﺎدي اﻟﻌﺎﻣﻠﺔ ﻓﻴﻬﺎ ﺻﺎدﻗﺔ وأﻣﻴﻨﺔ ،وﻻ ﺟﺪوى ﻓﻲ آﺜﺮة اﻟﻤﺼﺎﻧﻊ إﻻ إذا آﺎﻧﺖ ﻋﻤّﺎﻟﻬﺎ ﻗﺎدرﻳﻦ وﻧﺸﻄﺎء ،وﻻ ﺧﻴﺮ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﺪﻳﺪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﺪارس إﻻ إذا آﺎن أﺳﺎﺗﺬﺗﻬﺎ وﻣﺸﺮﻓﻮهﺎ ﻳﻘﺼﺪون – ﺑﻜﻞ إﺧﻼص وﺟﺪارة -إﻟﻰ ﺑﻨﺎء ﺟﻴﻞ ﻣﺜﺎﻟﻲ ﺑﺎﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻢ واﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴﺔ.٧ إذا ﺛﺒﺖ أﻣﺎﻣﻨﺎ أن اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ هﻲ أهﻢ اﻟﻌﻨﺎﺻﺮ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻜﻮن ﻟﻠﺘﺮﻗﻴﺔ واﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ آﻞ ﻣﺠﺎل ،وهﻲ ﺗﺴﺘﺤﻖ أن ﺗﻨﻈﺮ إﻟﻴﻬﺎ ﺟﻤﻴﻊ اﻟﻤﺆﺳﺴﺎت واﻟﻤﻨﻈﻤﺎت ﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺘﻬﺎ ﻗﺒﻞ آﻞ ﺷﻲء ،ﻟﺘﻜﻮن أﺳﺎﺳﺎ ﻓﻲ آﻞ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ وﺗﺮﻗﻴﺔ .ﻓﻠﺬا ﻳﻘﻮل اﻟﻨﺒﻲ -ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ": -ﺑﻌﺜﺖ ﻷﺗﻤﻢ ﻣﻜﺎرم اﻷﺧﻼق" ٨.وﻣﻦ هﺬﻩ اﻷهﻤﻴﺔ ﻟﻠﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ أﺧﺬ اﻹﺳﻼم ﻣﻮﻗﻔﺎ هﺎﻣﺎ ﻣﻨﻬﺎ ،وﻳﺘﻀﺢ هﺬا اﻟﻤﻮﻗﻒ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻨﻘﺎط اﻟﺘﺎﻟﻴﺔ:
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ﻣﻮﻗﻒ اﻹﺳﻼم ﻣﻦ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ
-١إرﺳﺎل اﻷﻧﺒﻴﺎء واﻟﺮﺳﻞ: آﺎن ﻣﻦ أهﻢ ﻏﺎﻳﺔ اﻹﺳﻼم ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ﺑﻄﺮﻳﻘﺔ ﻣﺜﻤﺮة وﻣﻔﻴﺪة ،ﻓﻠﺬا أرﺳﻞ اﷲ ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ وﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ اﻷﻧﺒﻴﺎء واﻟﺮﺳﻞ ﻓﻲ ﺟﻤﻴﻊ اﻷﻣﻢ واﻷﻗﻮام واﻟﻠﻐﺎت ﻟﺘﺮﺑﻴﺘﻬﻢ وﻹﻳﺼﺎﻟﻬﻢ إﻟﻰ هﺪف ﺣﻴﺎﺗﻬﻢ ،ﻓﻘﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰَ ] :وَﻟ َﻘ ْﺪ َﺑ َﻌ ْﺜﻨَﺎ ﻓِﻲ ُآﻞﱢ ُأ ﱠﻣ ٍﺔ ل ِإﻟﱠﺎ ﻦ َرﺳُﻮ ٍ ﺳ ْﻠﻨَﺎ ِﻣ ْ َرﺳُﻮﻟًﺎ[ ] ﺳﻮرة اﻟﻨﺤﻞ ،رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺔ [٣٦ :وﻗﺎل أﻳﻀﺎ ] َوﻣَﺎ َأ ْر َ ﻞ َﻗ ْﻮ ٍم هَﺎد ﻦ َﻟ ُﻬ ْﻢ[ ]ﺳﻮرة إﺑﺮاهﻴﻢ ،رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺔ [٤ :وﻗﺎلَ ]:وِﻟ ُﻜ ﱢ ن َﻗ ْﻮ ِﻣ ِﻪ ِﻟ ُﻴ َﺒ ﱢﻴ َ ِﺑِﻠﺴَﺎ ِ [] ﺳﻮرة اﻟﺮﻋﺪ ،رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺔ [٧ :وآﺎن ﻣﻦ ﻣﻬﻤﺔ اﻷﻧﺒﻴﺎء ﺗﻄﻮﻳﺮ ﺣﺎﻟﺔ اﻟﺒﺸﺮ ﻣﻦ ﺚ ﻓِﻲ اﻟﺴﻘﻮط إﻟﻰ اﻟﺼﻌﻮد ،وﻣﻦ اﻟﺴﻔﻠﻰ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻌﻠﻴﺎ ،ﻗﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰُ ]:ه َﻮ اﱠﻟﺬِي َﺑ َﻌ َ ن ﺤ ْﻜ َﻤ َﺔ َوِإ ْ ب وَا ْﻟ ِ ﻋَﻠ ْﻴ ِﻬ ْﻢ َﺁﻳَﺎ ِﺗ ِﻪ َو ُﻳ َﺰآﱢﻴ ِﻬ ْﻢ َوُﻳ َﻌﻠﱢ ُﻤ ُﻬ ُﻢ ا ْﻟ ِﻜﺘَﺎ َ ﻦ َرﺳُﻮﻟًﺎ ِﻣ ْﻨ ُﻬ ْﻢ َﻳ ْﺘﻠُﻮ َ ا ْﻟُﺄ ﱢﻣﻴﱢﻴ َ ﻦ[ ]ﺳﻮرة اﻟﺠﻤﻌﺔ ،رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺔ [٢ :واﻟﻨﺎس ﺑﺪون ل ُﻣﺒِﻴ ٍ ﺿﻠَﺎ ٍ ﻞ َﻟﻔِﻲ َ ﻦ َﻗ ْﺒ ُ آَﺎﻧُﻮا ِﻣ ْ هﺪاﻳﺔ إﻟﻬﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺿﻼل ﻣﺒﻴﻦ ،وﻓﻲ وﺣﺸﻴﺔ ﻗﺎﺳﻴﺔ ،وﻓﻲ ﻇﻠﻤﺎت هﺎﻟﻜﺔ ،وهﻢ أﻣﻮات دون أﺣﻴﺎء ،ﻓﺄرﺳﻞ اﷲ اﻷﻧﺒﻴﺎء واﻟﺮﺳﻞ ﻟﻴﺨﺮﺟﻮهﻢ ﻣﻦ ﻇﻠﻤﺎت اﻟﻀﻼﻟﺔ ﻦ س ِﻣ َ ج اﻟﻨﱠﺎ َ ﺨ ِﺮ َ ﻚ ِﻟ ُﺘ ْ ب َأ ْﻧ َﺰ ْﻟﻨَﺎ ُﻩ ِإَﻟ ْﻴ َ إﻟﻰ ﻧﻮر اﻹﻳﻤﺎن ٩.ﻓﻴﻘﻮل ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ ] :اﻟﺮِ .آﺘَﺎ ٌ ﺤﻤِﻴ ِﺪ[ ] ﺳﻮرة إﺑﺮاهﻴﻢ ،رﻗﻢ ط ا ْﻟ َﻌﺰِﻳ ِﺰ ا ْﻟ َ ﺻﺮَا ِ ن َرﱢﺑ ِﻬ ْﻢ ِإﻟَﻰ ِ ت ِإﻟَﻰ اﻟﻨﱡﻮ ِر ِﺑِﺈ ْذ ِ ﻈُﻠﻤَﺎ ِ اﻟ ﱡ اﻵﻳﺔ [١ : ﻳﻘﻮل اﻟﺸﻴﺦ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ اﻟﻐﺰاﻟﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮ هﺬﻩ اﻵﻳﺔ " :ﻓﻲ اﻟﺤﻴﺎة اﻟﺪﻧﻴﺎ ﻇﻠﻤﺎت آﺜﻴﺮة ،ﻇﻠﻤﺔ اﻟﺠﻬﻞ ،وﻇﻠﻤﺔ اﻟﻐﺮور ،وﻇﻠﻤﺔ اﻹﺛﻢ ،وﻇﻠﻤﺔ اﻟﻌﺼﻴﺎن .وﻗﺪ أﻧﺰل اﷲ آﺘﺎﺑﻪ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ -ﺧﺎﺗﻢ اﻷﻧﺒﻴﺎء -ﻟﻴﺨﺮج اﻟﻨﺎس ﻣﻦ هﺬﻩ اﻟﻈﻠﻤﺎت آﻠﻬﺎ، وﻟﻴﻌﻠﻤﻬﻢ أن هﺬﻩ اﻟﺤﻴﺎة اﻟﺪﻧﻴﺎ ﻣﺮﺣﻠﺔ إﻟﻰ ﻣﺎ ﺑﻌﺪهﺎ ،وأن اﻟﺬﻳﻦ ﻳﺴﺘﺤﺒّﻮن اﻟﺪﻧﻴﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻵﺧﺮة ﺿﺎﻟﻮن .وﻣﻦ ﻗﺒﻞ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ أرﺳﻞ اﷲ ﻣﻮﺳﻰ ﻟﻴﻨﻘﺬ ﻗﻮﻣﻪ ﻣﻦ ﻇﻠﻤﺎت ﻦ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻢ ﺑﺎﻟﺤﺮﻳﺔ اﻟﻤﻄﻠﻘﺔ ،ﺣﺮﻳﺔ اﻟﻌﻘﻞ واﻟﻀﻤﻴﺮ واﻟﺤﺮآﺔ. اﻟﺬل واﻟﻌﺒﻮدﻳﺔ ،وﻳﻤ ّ ت ِإﻟَﻰ ﻈُﻠﻤَﺎ ِ ﻦ اﻟ ﱡ ﻚ ِﻣ َ ج َﻗ ْﻮ َﻣ َ ﺧ ِﺮ ْ ن َأ ْ ﺳ ْﻠﻨَﺎ ﻣُﻮﺳَﻰ ِﺑَﺂﻳَﺎ ِﺗﻨَﺎ َأ ْ ﻳﻘﻮل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰَ ] :وَﻟ َﻘ ْﺪ َأ ْر َ ﺷﻜُﻮ ٍر[ ] ﺳﻮرة إﺑﺮاهﻴﻢ، ﺻﺒﱠﺎ ٍر َ ت ِﻟ ُﻜﻞﱢ َ ﻚ َﻟَﺂﻳَﺎ ٍ ن ﻓِﻲ َذِﻟ َ اﻟﻨﱡﻮ ِر َو َذ ﱢآ ْﺮ ُه ْﻢ ِﺑَﺄﻳﱠﺎ ِم اﻟﱠﻠ ِﻪ ِإ ﱠ رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺔ [٥ :ﻓﻘﺪ ﺛﺒﺖ ﻣﻦ اﻵﻳﺎت اﻟﻤﺬآﻮرة ﺑﺄن اﷲ ﺳﺒﺤﻨﻪ وﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ أرﺳﻞ رﺳﻠﻪ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻨﺎس ﻟﻴﺄﺧﺬوا ﺑﺄﻳﺪﻳﻬﻢ وﻳﺴﻮﻗﻮهﻢ إﻟﻰ اﻟﺘﻘﺪم واﻷﻣﺎم ،وﻳﺮﺷﺪوهﻢ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻜﻤﺎل واﻟﺘﻤﺎم ،وذﻟﻚ روﺣﻴﺎ وﻣﻌﻨﻮﻳﺎ ﻗﺒﻞ أن ﻳﻜﻮن ﺟﺴﻤﻴﺎ وﻣﺎدﻳﺎ ،ﻷن اﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ ١٠ اﻟﻤﻌﻨﻮﻳﺔ واﻟﺪاﺧﻠﻴﺔ ﻣﺆﺛﺮة ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﺠﻮاﻧﺐ اﻷﺧﺮى. -٢اﺧﺘﻴﺎر اﷲ ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ اﻟﺒﺸﺮ ﻟﺨﻼﻓﺘﻪ: ﻓﻘﺪ اﺧﺘﺎر اﷲ ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ وﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ اﻹﻧﺴﺎن ﻟﻴﻘﻮم ﺑﻤﻬﻤﺔ اﻻﺳﺘﺨﻼف ﻓﻲ اﻷرض ﺧﻠِﻴ َﻔ ًﺔ [ ض َ ﻞ ﻓِﻲ ا ْﻟَﺄ ْر ِ ﻋٌ ﻚ ِﻟ ْﻠ َﻤﻠَﺎ ِﺋ َﻜ ِﺔ ِإﻧﱢﻲ ﺟَﺎ ِ ل َرﱡﺑ َ اﻧﻄﻼﻗﺎ ﻣﻦ ﻗﻮﻟﻪ ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ] َوِإ ْذ ﻗَﺎ َ ]ﺳﻮرة اﻟﺒﻘﺮة ،رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺔ [٣٠ :وﺧﻼﻓﺔ اﷲ ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ أهﻢ اﻟﻮﻇﺎﺋﻒ ﻟﻠﻜﻴﺎن اﻟﺒﺸﺮي، آﺄن اﻟﺒﺸﺮ ﻣﺨﻠﻮق َﻣﻠِﻜﻲ ﻣﺘﻤﻴﺰ ُأﺧﺮج ﻹدارة اﻟﻜﻮن وﻣﺎ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺑﺈرادة اﻟﺨﺎﻟﻖ ،وهﺬا ﻳﺤﺘﺎج إﻟﻰ ﻗﺪرة آﺒﻴﺮة وﺟﺪارة ﻋﻈﻴﻤﺔ ،ﻓﻠﺬا ﻧﻔﺦ اﷲ ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ وﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ﻓﻴﻪ ﻣﻦ روﺣﻪ ٣٤٧
ﺍﻟﺠﺎﻤﻌﺔ ﺍﻹﺴﻼﻤﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺸﻴﺘﺎﻏﻭﻨﻎ
ﺳﻮﱠ ْﻳُﺘ ُﻪ ﻟﺘﺮﻗﻴﺘﻪ ﻓﻲ آﻞ ﺟﻮاﻧﺐ وﺟﻮدﻩ ﻓﻮق ﻣﺮﺗﺒﺔ اﻟﻤﻼﺋﻜﺔ ،وﻳﻘﻮل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ َ ] :ﻓِﺈذَا َ ﻦ[ ] ﺳﻮرة ص [٧٢ :ﻓﻘﺪ آﻠﻒ اﷲ ﺟﺪِﻳ َ ﻦ رُوﺣِﻲ َﻓ َﻘﻌُﻮا َﻟ ُﻪ ﺳَﺎ ِ ﺖ ﻓِﻴ ِﻪ ِﻣ ْ ﺨ ُ َو َﻧ َﻔ ْ ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ وﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ اﻹﻧﺴﺎن ﺑﻬﺬﻩ اﻟﻤﻬﻤﺔ اﻟﻌﻈﻴﻤﺔ ﻟﻠﻘﻴﺎم ﺑﺪورﻩ ﻓﻲ اﻷرض ،وهﻴﺄ ﻟﻪ ض ﺳﺒﻞ اﻟﻘﻴﺎم ﺑﻬﺬﻩ اﻟﻤﻬﻤﺔ ،وﻣﻜﻨﻪ ﻓﻲ اﻷرض ﺑﻘﻮﻟﻪَ ]:وَﻟ َﻘ ْﺪ َﻣ ﱠﻜﻨﱠﺎ ُآ ْﻢ ﻓِﻲ ا ْﻟَﺄ ْر ِ ن[ ] ﺳﻮرة اﻷﻋﺮاف[١٠ : ﺸ ُﻜﺮُو َ ﺶ َﻗﻠِﻴﻠًﺎ ﻣَﺎ َﺗ ْ ﺟ َﻌ ْﻠﻨَﺎ َﻟ ُﻜ ْﻢ ﻓِﻴﻬَﺎ َﻣﻌَﺎ ِﻳ َ َو َ ﺟﻌَﻞ ﻗﺎل اﻹﻣﺎم اﺑﻦ آﺜﻴﺮ ":ﻳﻘﻮل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ﻣﻤﺘﻨﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻋﺒﺎدﻩ ﻓﻴﻤﺎ ﻣﻜﻦ ﻟﻬﻢ ﻣﻦ أﻧﻪ َ اﻷرض ﻗﺮا ًرا ،وﺟﻌﻞ ﻟﻬﺎ رواﺳﻲ وأﻧﻬﺎرًا ،وﺟﻌﻞ ﻟﻬﻢ ﻓﻴﻬﺎ ﻣﻨﺎزل وﺑﻴﻮﺗًﺎ، وأﺑﺎح ﻣﻨﺎﻓﻌﻬﺎ ،و َ ﺳﺨﱠﺮ ﻟﻬﻢ اﻟﺴﺤﺎب ﻹﺧﺮاج أرزاﻗﻬﻢ ﻣﻨﻬﺎ ،وﺟﻌﻞ ﻟﻬﻢ ﻓﻴﻬﺎ ﻣﻌﺎﻳﺶ" ١١.وهﺬﻩ آﻠﻬﺎ ﺗﺪل ﻋﻠﻰ أن اﷲ ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ﻳﺮﻳﺪ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮ .واﻵﻳﺔ اﻷوﻟﻰ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن اﻟﻜﺮﻳﻢ اﻟﺘﻲ ﻧﺰﻟﺖ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻨﺒﻲ -ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ ]:ا ْﻗ َﺮ ْأ ﻖ[ ] ﺳﻮرة اﻟﻌﻠﻖ ،رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺔ [١ :إﺷﺎرة إﻟﻰ أن اﷲ ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ ﺧَﻠ َ ﻚ اﱠﻟﺬِي َ ﺳ ِﻢ َر ﱢﺑ َ ﺑِﺎ ْ هﻮ اﻟﺬي ﻳﻘﻮم ﺑﺘﺮﺑﻴﺔ اﻹﻧﺴﺎن وﺗﻨﺸﺌﺘﻪ وﺗﻨﻤﻴﺘﻪ ،آﻤﺎ أﻧﻪ ﻳﻘﻮم ﺑﺎﻟﺘﻌﻬﺪ واﻹﺻﻼح ﺳﻤَﺎ َء ﻋﱠﻠ َﻢ َﺁ َد َم ا ْﻟ َﺄ ْ واﻟﺮﻋﺎﻳﺔ واﻟﻜﻔﺎﻟﺔ ١٢.وهﻜﺬا ﻧﺮى اﻷﻣﺮ ﻓﻲ ﺑﺪاﻳﺔ ﺧﻠﻖ ﺁدم َ ] :و َ ﻦ. ن ُآ ْﻨ ُﺘ ْﻢ ﺻَﺎ ِدﻗِﻴ َ ﺳﻤَﺎ ِء َه ُﺆﻟَﺎ ِء ِإ ْ ل َأ ْﻧ ِﺒﺌُﻮﻧِﻲ ِﺑَﺄ ْ ﻋﻠَﻰ ا ْﻟ َﻤﻠَﺎ ِﺋ َﻜ ِﺔ َﻓﻘَﺎ َ ﺿ ُﻬ ْﻢ َ ﻋ َﺮ َ ُآﱠﻠﻬَﺎ ُﺛﻢﱠ َ ل ﻳَﺎ َﺁ َد ُم َأ ْﻧ ِﺒ ْﺌ ُﻬ ْﻢ ﺤﻜِﻴ ُﻢ ﻗَﺎ َ ﺖ ا ْﻟ َﻌﻠِﻴ ُﻢ ا ْﻟ َ ﻚ َأ ْﻧ َ ﻋﱠﻠ ْﻤ َﺘﻨَﺎ ِإ ﱠﻧ َ ﻋ ْﻠ َﻢ َﻟﻨَﺎ ِإﻟﱠﺎ ﻣَﺎ َ ﻚ ﻟَﺎ ِ ﺳ ْﺒﺤَﺎ َﻧ َ ﻗَﺎﻟُﻮا ُ ض ت وَا ْﻟَﺄ ْر ِ ِﺑ َﺄ ْ ﺴﻤَﺎوَا ِ ﺐ اﻟ ﱠ ﻏ ْﻴ َ ﻋَﻠ ُﻢ َ ﻞ َﻟ ُﻜ ْﻢ ِإﻧﱢﻲ َأ ْ ل َأَﻟ ْﻢ َأ ُﻗ ْ ﺳﻤَﺎ ِﺋ ِﻬ ْﻢ ﻗَﺎ َ ﺳﻤَﺎ ِﺋ ِﻬ ْﻢ َﻓَﻠﻤﱠﺎ َأ ْﻧ َﺒَﺄ ُه ْﻢ ِﺑَﺄ ْ ن[ ]ﺳﻮرة اﻟﺒﻘﺮة ،رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺎت [٣٣ ،٣٢ ،٣١ : ن َوﻣَﺎ ُآ ْﻨ ُﺘ ْﻢ َﺗ ْﻜُﺘﻤُﻮ َ ﻋَﻠ ُﻢ ﻣَﺎ ُﺗ ْﺒﺪُو َ َوَأ ْ آﺎن ﺁدم ﻻﻳﻌﺮف ﺷﻴﺌﺎ ﻣﺜﻞ اﻟﻤﻼﺋﻜﺔ ،ﻓﻌﻠّﻤﻪ اﷲ ﻣﻦ ﻓﻀﻠﻪ اﻟﻌﻠﻮم ورﻓﻊ ﺑﻬﺎ ﻣﻜﺎﻧﺘﻪ ﻞ ﻞ َه ْ ﻓﻮق ﻣﻜﺎﻧﺔ اﻟﻤﻼﺋﻜﺔ ،ﻷن اﻟﻌﻠﻢ ﻻﻳﻜﻮن ﻣﺜﻞ اﻟﺠﻬﻞ ،ﻓﻴﻘﻮل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰُ ]:ﻗ ْ ب[ ]ﺳﻮرة اﻟﺰﻣﺮ، ﻦ ﻟَﺎ َﻳ ْﻌَﻠﻤُﻮ َ ن وَاﱠﻟﺬِﻳ َ ﻦ َﻳ ْﻌَﻠﻤُﻮ َ ﺴ َﺘﻮِي اﱠﻟﺬِﻳ َ َﻳ ْ ن ِإ ﱠﻧﻤَﺎ َﻳ َﺘ َﺬ ﱠآ ُﺮ أُوﻟُﻮ ا ْﻟَﺄ ْﻟﺒَﺎ ِ ﻋﻠِﻴ ٌﻢ [ ﻲ ٍء َ ﺷ ْ رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺔ [٩ :وﻗﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ] وَا ﱠﺗﻘُﻮا اﻟﱠﻠ َﻪ َو ُﻳ َﻌﻠﱢ ُﻤ ُﻜ ُﻢ اﻟﱠﻠ ُﻪ وَاﻟﱠﻠ ُﻪ ِﺑ ُﻜﻞﱢ َ ]ﺳﻮرة اﻟﺒﻘﺮة ،رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺔ [٢٨٢ : وﺗﺘﻮاﻟﻰ اﻵﻳﺎت اﻟﻘﺮﺁﻧﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺘﺤﺪث ﻋﻦ اﻟﻌﻠﻢ واﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ ﻓﻲ إﺷﺎرة إﻟﻰ أهﻤﻴﺔ ذﻟﻚ ﻓﻲ ﺣﻴﺎة اﻹﻧﺴﺎن ،وﻟﺬا اﻋﺘﻨﻰ اﻹﺳﻼم ﺑﺎﻟﻌﻠﻢ ودﻋﺎ إﻟﻴﻪ ،وأﻣﺮ أﺗﺒﺎﻋﻪ ﺑﺘﻌﻠﻢ آﻞ اﻟﻌﻠﻮم اﻟﻨﺎﻓﻌﺔ. وإذا أراد اﻟﻤﺴﻠﻢ أن ﻳﻘﻮم ﺑﺮﺳﺎﻟﺘﻪ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺤﻴﺎة ﻓﻼﺑﺪ ﻟﻪ ﻣﻦ ﻋﻠﻢ وﻣﻌﺮﻓﺔ ﻣﺴﺘﻤﺮة وداﺋﻤﺔ ،ﻳﺘﺎﺑﻊ ﺧﻼﻟﻬﺎ ﻣﺎ اﺳﺘﺠﺪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻌﻠﻮم واﻟﻤﻌﺎرف واﻟﺤﺎﺟﺎت ،وذﻟﻚ ﻻ ﻳﺄﺗﻲ إﻻ ﻣﻦ ﺧﻼل ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﻬﺎراﺗﻪ وﻗﺪراﺗﻪ ،إن ﻏﻴﺎب اﻟﻌﻠﻢ واﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ ﻳﻔﺴﺢ اﻟﻤﺠﺎل ﻷن ﻳﺘﻘﺪم اﻟﺠﻬﻞ واﻟﺠﻬﻼء ،وﻓﻲ ذﻟﻚ ﻓﺴﺎد وإﻓﺴﺎد ﻟﻠﺤﻴﺎة .وﻗﺪ ﺣﺬر اﻟﻨﺒﻲ -ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ -ﻣﻦ ذﻟﻚ ،ﻓﻌﻦ ﻋﺒﺪ اﷲ ﺑﻦ ﻋﻤﺮو ﻗﺎل :ﺳﻤﻌﺖ رﺳﻮل اﷲ - ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ -ﻳﻘﻮل" :إن اﷲ ﻻ ﻳﻘﺒﺾ اﻟﻌﻠﻢ اﻧﺘﺰاﻋًﺎ ﻳﻨﺘﺰﻋﻪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻌﺒﺎد،
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ﻣﻮﻗﻒ اﻹﺳﻼم ﻣﻦ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ
وﻟﻜﻦ ﻳﻘﺒﺾ اﻟﻌﻠﻢ ﺑﻘﺒﺾ اﻟﻌﻠﻤﺎء ،ﺣﺘﻰ إذا ﻟﻢ ﻳﺒﻖ ﻋﺎﻟﻤﺎً ،اﺗﺨﺬ اﻟﻨﺎس رؤوﺳﺎ ١٣ ﺟﻬﺎﻻً ،ﻓﺴﺌﻠﻮا ،ﻓﺄﻓﺘﻮا ﺑﻐﻴﺮ ﻋﻠﻢ ،ﻓﻀﻠﻮا و أﺿﻠﻮا". إذن ﻳﻤﻜﻦ ﻟﻨﺎ أن ﻧﻘﻮل :إن اهﺘﻤﺎم اﻹﺳﻼم ﺑﺎﻟﻌﻠﻢ واﻟﻌﻠﻤﺎء ﺑﺎﻟﻘﺪر اﻟﻤﺬآﻮر دﻟﻴﻞ ﻋﻠﻰ أﻧﻪ ﺣﺮﻳﺺ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﻮارد اﻹﻧﺴﺎن وﺗﺮﻗﻴﺔ ﻗﻮاﻩ اﻟﻜﺎﻣﻨﺔ. -٣أﻣﺮ اﷲ ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺨﻄﻴﻂ واﻻﺳﺘﻌﺪاد: ﻻﻳﻤﻜﻦ اﻟﺘﻄﺮق إﻟﻰ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ إﻻ ﺑﻀﺒﻂ اﻟﺘﺨﻄﻴﻂ وﺣﺴﻦ اﻟﺘﺪﺑﻴﺮ ،و ﻳﻌﺘﺒﺮ اﻟﺘﺨﻄﻴﻂ أﻣﺮا ﺿﺮورﻳًﺎ وﺷﺮﻃًﺎ أﺳﺎﺳﻴًﺎ ،ﻟﺘﺤﻘﻴﻖ اﻟﻤﻘﺎﺻﺪ اﻟﻤﺮﺳﻮﻣﺔ واﻟﻨﺘﺎﺋﺞ اﻟﻤﻄﻠﻮﺑﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻀﻤﻦ ﻟﻨﺎ اﻟﺴﻌﺎدة واﻟﻨﺠﺎح ﻓﻲ ﺣﻴﺎﺗﻨﺎ اﻟﻴﻮﻣﻴﺔ واﻟﻤﺴﺘﻘﺒﻠﻴﺔ. وذﻟﻚ ﻳﻘﺘﻀﻲ دراﺳﺔ اﻟﻮاﻗﻊ اﻟﺬي ﻳﻌﻴﺸﻪ اﻟﻔﺮد واﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻌﺎت وﺗﺤﻠﻴﻠﻪ ﺑﺈﻳﺠﺎﺑﻴﺎﺗﻪ وﺳﻠﺒﻴﺎﺗﻪ ،ووﺿﻊ اﻟﺤﻠﻮل ﻟﻤﻌﺎﻟﺠﺔ اﻟﻤﺸﻜﻼت ،ودراﺳﺔ اﻟﺘﻮﻗﻌﺎت اﻟﻤﺴﺘﻘﺒﻠﻴﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﻤﻘﺎﻳﻴﺲ اﻟﻌﻠﻤﻴﺔ ،واﻗﺘﺮاح اﻟﺮؤى ﻟﺬﻟﻚ ،واﻹﻋﺪاد اﻟﺼﺤﻴﺢ ﻟﻠﺒﺮاﻣﺞ واﻟﺨﻄﻂ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﻘﺒﻠﻴﺔ ،وهﺬا ﻻﻳﻜﻮن إﻻ ﺑﺎﺳﺘﺨﺪام اﻟﻌﻘﻞ وﻣﻤﺎرﺳﺔ اﻟﻌﻠﻢ ،وﻗﺪ أﻣﺮ اﷲ ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ ط ﻦ ُﻗ ﱠﻮ ٍة َوﻣِﻦ رﺑَﺎ ِ ﻄ ْﻌﺘُﻢ ﻣ ْ ﺳ َﺘ َ ﻋﺪﱡوا َﻟﻬُﻢ َﻣّﺎ ا ْ وﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺨﻄﻴﻂ واﻹﻋﺪاد ﻗﺎﺋﻼَ ] :وَأ ِ ﻋ ُﺪوﱠ ُآ ْﻢ [ ]ﺳﻮرة اﻷﻧﻔﺎل ،رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺔ [٦٠ : ﻋ ُﺪوﱠ اﻟﱠﻠ ِﻪ َو َ ن ِﺑ ِﻪ َ ﻞ ُﺗ ْﺮ ِهﺒُﻮ َ ﺨ ْﻴ ِ ا ْﻟ َ وﻗﺪ وردت اﻵﻳﺔ ﺑﺸﺄن اﻟﺤﺮب ،إﻻ أن دﻻﻟﺘﻬﺎ ﻋﺎﻣﺔ ﻓﻲ وﺟﻮب اﻻﺳﺘﻌﺪاد واﻟﺘﺨﻄﻴﻂ ،ﻓﺈذا آﺎن اﻷﻣﺮ واﺟﺒﺎ ﻟﻠﺤﺮب وﻣﻮاﺟﻬﺔ اﻟﻌﺪو -ﻣﻊ أﻧﻪ أﻣﺮ ﻃﺎرئ وﻣﺆﻗﺖ -ﻓﺈﻧﻪ ﻟﻠﺤﻴﺎة ﻓﻲ ﻏﻴﺮ اﻟﺤﺮب واﺟﺐ آﺬﻟﻚ ،ﻷﻧﻬﺎ اﻟﻔﺘﺮة اﻟﺪاﺋﻤﺔ واﻟﻤﻤﺘﺪة، واﻟﺘﻲ ﻓﻴﻬﺎ ﻣﻌﺎش اﻟﻨﺎس وﺣﻴﺎﺗﻬﻢ ﻣﻤﺎ ﻳﺘﻄﻠﺐ اﻻﺳﺘﻌﺪاد اﻟﻤﺒﻜﺮ ﻟﻬﺎ. وﺣﺚ اﻟﻨﺒﻲ -ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ -ﻋﻠﻰ أهﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﺨﻄﻴﻂ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﻘﺒﻠﻲ ﺣﻴﺚ ﻧﺮاﻩ ﻳﻘﻮل ﻓﻲ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﺳﻌﺪ ﺑﻦ أﺑﻲ وﻗﺎص -رﺿﻲ اﷲ ﻋﻨﻪ -أﻧﻪ ﻗﺎل " :ﻋﺎدﻧﻲ اﻟﻨﺒﻲ ض أﺷﺮﻓﺖ ﻓﻴﻪ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﻮت، ﺻﻠﱠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﱠﻢ -ﻋﺎ َم ﺣﺠﺔ اﻟﻮداع ﻣﻦ ﻣﺮ ٍﻓﻘﻠﺖ :ﻳﺎ رﺳﻮل اﷲ ،ﺑﻠﻎ ﻣﻨﻲ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻮﺟﻊ ﻣﺎ ﺗﺮى ،وأﻧﺎ ذو ﻣﺎل ،وﻻ ﻳﺮﺛﻨﻲ إﻻ اﺑﻨﺔ ﻟﻲ واﺣﺪة ،أﻓﺄﺗﺼﺪق ﺑﺜﻠﺜﻲ ﻣﺎﻟﻲ؟ ﻗﺎل :ﻻ ،ﻗﺎل :أﻓﺄﺗﺼﺪق ﺑﺸﻄﺮﻩ؟ -أي: ﻧﺼﻔﻪ -ﻗﺎل :ﻻ ،ﻗﺎل :أﻓﺄﺗﺼﺪق ﺑﺜﻠﺜﻪ ،ﻗﺎل :ﻓﺎﻟﺜﻠﺚ ﻳﺎ ﺳﻌﺪ ،واﻟﺜﻠﺚ آﺜﻴﺮ ،ﻓﺈﻧﱠﻚ ١٤ ن ﺗﺪَع ورﺛﺘﻚ أﻏﻨﻴﺎء ﺧﻴ ٌﺮ ﻣﻦ أن ﺗﺪﻋﻬﻢ ﻋﺎﻟﺔ ﻳﺘﻜﻔﻔﻮن اﻟﻨﺎس" إْ ن ن ﻳَﺠﺐ أ ْ ن اﻹﻧﺴﺎ َ ط واﻟﺘﺨﻄﻴﻂ واﺟﺐ ،وأ ﱠ ن اﻻﺣﺘﻴﺎ َ وﻳﻮﺿﺢ هﺬا اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ أ ﱠ ﺶ ﻋﻴﺸﺔ ﻞ – ﻣﻊ اﻷﺧﺬ ﺑﺎﻷﺳﺒﺎب؛ ﻟﻜﻲ ﻳﻌﻴ َ ﺟﱠ ﻳﻌﺘﻤﺪ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﺑﻌﺪ اﷲ – ﻋ ﱠﺰ و َ آﺮﻳﻤﺔ ﺗﻘﻴﻪ ﻣﻦ ُذلﱢ اﻟﺴﺆال ،أو اﻻﻋﺘﻤﺎد ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻐﻴﺮ. وإذا آﺎن اﻟﺘﺨﻄﻴﻂ ﻟﻤﺴﺘﻘﺒﻞ اﻟﻮرﺛﺔ -وهﻢ أﻓﺮاد ﻣﺤﺪودون -ﻣﺄﻣﻮر ﺑﻪ ،ﻓﺈن اﻟﺘﺨﻄﻴﻂ ﻟﻤﺴﺘﻘﺒﻞ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻌﺎت واﻟﺸﻌﻮب واﻟﺪول أهﻢ وأآﺜﺮ ﺣﺎﺟﺔ. ٣٤٩
ﺍﻟﺠﺎﻤﻌﺔ ﺍﻹﺴﻼﻤﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺸﻴﺘﺎﻏﻭﻨﻎ
وهﻜﺬا اهﺘﻢ اﻹﺳﻼم ﺑﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻹﻣﻜﺎﻧﻴﺎت اﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ واﻟﺼﻼﺣﻴﺎت اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ﺑﺎﺳﺘﺨﺪام اﻟﻌﻘﻮل ﻓﻲ ﺳﺒﻴﻞ اﻟﺘﺨﻄﻴﻂ واﻻﺳﺘﻌﺪاد. -٤ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ﺑﺘﺰآﻴﺔ اﻟﻨﻔﻮس: ﻳﺮﻳﺪ اﻹﺳﻼم ﺑﻜﻞ ﻣﺤﺎوﻻﺗﻪ ﺗﺮﻗﻴﺔ اﻟﻨﻔﻮس اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ﻣﻦ ﺣﺎﻟﺔ اﻟﻀﻌﻒ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻘﻮة، وﺗﺼﻌﻴﺪهﺎ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﻜﺎﻧﺔ اﻟﺴﻔﻠﻰ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻤﻨﺰﻟﺔ اﻟﻌﻠﻴﺎ ،وذﻟﻚ ﺑﺘﺰآﻴﺘﻬﺎ وﺗﺼﻔﻴﺘﻬﺎ، ﺳﻮﱠاهَﺎَ .ﻓَﺄ ْﻟ َﻬ َﻤﻬَﺎ ُﻓﺠُﻮ َرهَﺎ َو َﺗ ْﻘﻮَاهَﺎ. ﺲ َوﻣَﺎ َ وﻧﺮى اﻟﺪﻟﻴﻞ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻓﻲ ﻗﻮﻟﻪ ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ] َو َﻧ ْﻔ ٍ ﻦ َدﺳﱠﺎهَﺎ [ ]ﺳﻮرة اﻟﺸﻤﺲ ،رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺎت ،٨ ،٧: ب َﻣ ْ ﻦ َزآﱠﺎهَﺎَ .و َﻗ ْﺪ ﺧَﺎ َ ﺢ َﻣ ْ َﻗ ْﺪ َأ ْﻓَﻠ َ [١٠ ،٩ﻗﺎل اﻟﻄﺒﺮي" :ﻗﺪ أﻓﻠﺢ ﻣﻦ زآﻰ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ،ﻓﻜﺜﺮ ﺗﻄﻬﻴﺮهﺎ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻜﻔﺮ واﻟﻤﻌﺎﺻﻲ ،وأﺻﻠﺤﻬﺎ ﺑﺎﻟﺼﺎﻟﺤﺎت ﻣﻦ اﻷﻋﻤﺎل ...ﻗﺎل ﻣﺠﺎهﺪ وﺳﻌﻴﺪ ﺑﻦ ﺟﺒﻴﺮ ﻦ زآﱠﺎهَﺎ[ أي ﻣﻦ أﺻﻠﺤﻬﺎ" ١٥.وﻗﺎل اﻟﺸﻴﺦ اﻟﺴﻌﺪي ":أي ﻃﻬﺮ وﻋﻜﺮﻣﺔَ ] :ﻣ ْ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺬﻧﻮب وﻧﻘﺎهﺎ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻌﻴﻮب ورﻗﺎهﺎ ﺑﻄﺎﻋﺔ اﷲ وﻋﻼهﺎ ﺑﺎﻟﻌﻠﻢ اﻟﻨﺎﻓﻊ ١٦ واﻟﻌﻤﻞ اﻟﺼﺎﻟﺢ" وﻗﺪ آﺎن رﺳﻮل اﷲ -ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ -ﻳﻘﻮل ":اﻟﻠﻬﻢ إﻧﻲ أﻋﻮذ ﺑﻚ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻌﺠﺰ واﻟﻜﺴﻞ واﻟﺠﺒﻦ واﻟﺒﺨﻞ واﻟﻬﺮم وﻋﺬاب اﻟﻘﺒﺮ ١٧".وآﺎن ﻳﻘﻮل آﺬﻟﻚ":اﻟﻠﻬﻢ إﻧﻲ أﻋﻮذ ﺑﻚ ﻣﻦ ﻋﻠﻢ ﻻ ﻳﻨﻔﻊ ،وﻣﻦ ﻗﻠﺐ ﻻ ﻳﺨﺸﻊ ،وﻣﻦ ﻧﻔﺲ ﻻ ﺗﺸﺒﻊ ،وﻣﻦ دﻋﻮة ﻻ ﻳﺴﺘﺠﺎب ﻟﻬﺎ" ١٨وهﺬﻩ اﻷﺣﺎدﻳﺚ ﺗﺪل -وﺿﻮﺣﺎ -ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﺮص اﻹﺳﻼم ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻨﻔﻮس ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺰآﻴﺔ ﻣﻦ اﻷﻣﻮر اﻟﻤﻜﺮوهﺔ. واﻟﺘﺰآﻴﺔ هﻨﺎ ﺑﻤﻌﻨﻰ اﻟﻨﻤﺎء واﻟﺰﻳﺎدة واﻟﺼﻼح واﻟﻄﻬﺮ ،وهﻲ اﻟﻤﻌﺎﻧﻲ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺘﻀﻤﻨﻬﺎ اﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ ﺑﻤﻔﻬﻮﻣﻬﺎ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻲ ،ﻓﻠﻴﺲ اﻟﻤﻘﺼﻮد هﻮ اﻟﺰﻳﺎدة ﻓﻘﻂ ،ﺑﻞ اﻟﻤﻘﺼﻮد أن ﺗﻜﻮن هﺬﻩ اﻟﺰﻳﺎدة ﺻﺎﻟﺤﺔ وﻧﺎﻓﻌﺔ .وﺑﺨﻼﻓﻪ ﺗﺪﺳﻴﺔ اﻟﻨﻔﺲ ،وﺗﻜﻮن اﻟﻄﺒﺎﺋﻊ اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ هﻨﺎ وﺟﻮدهﺎ آﻠﻬﺎ ﺷﺮا وﺿﺮرا ،ﻻﻳﻌﺘﻤﺪ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ أي ﺣﺎل ﻣﻦ اﻷﺣﻮال .وﻻﺗﻜﻮن ﺻﺎﻟﺤﺔ أﺑﺪا -ﻻ ﻟﻨﻔﺴﻪ وﻻ ﻟﻐﻴﺮﻩ .وهﺬا ﻣﺎ أﺷﺎر إﻟﻴﻪ ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ ﻦ َدﺳﱠﺎهَﺎ ( وﻗﺎل اﻟﺸﻴﺦ اﻟﺴﻌﺪي ﻓﻲ ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮ هﺬﻩ اﻵﻳﺔ ب َﻣ ْ وﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ﻗﺎﺋﻼَ ):و َﻗ ْﺪ ﺧَﺎ َ ":أي :أﺧﻔﻰ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ اﻟﻜﺮﻳﻤﺔ ،ﺑﻘﻤﻌﻬﺎ وإﺧﻔﺎﺋﻬﺎ ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺪﻧﺲ وﺑﺎﻟﺮذاﺋﻞ ،واﻟﺪﻧﻮ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻌﻴﻮب ،واﻻﻗﺘﺮاف ﻟﻠﺬﻧﻮب ،وﺗﺮك ﻣﺎ ﻳﻜﻤﻠﻬﺎ وﻳﻨﻤﻴﻬﺎ ،واﺳﺘﻌﻤﺎل ﻣﺎ ﻳﺸﻴﻨﻬﺎ ١٩ وﻳﺪﺳﻴﻬﺎ". ﺚ اﻹﺳﻼم ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻌﻤﻞ: -٥ﺣ ّ اﻟﻌﻤﻞ هﻮ اﻟﻤﺤﻮر اﻟﺬي ﺗﺪور ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ،إذ أن اﻹﻧﺴﺎن اﻟﺬي ﻳﺆدي اﻟﻌﻤﻞ ﻳﺤﺘﺎج إﻟﻰ آﻔﺎءة ﻣﻬﻨﻴﺔ وﻋﻘﻠﻴﺔ وﺗﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ ،ﺗﺆهﻠﻪ ﻟﻠﻘﻴﺎم ﺑﺪورﻩ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻮﻇﺎﺋﻒ اﻟﻌﻤﻠﻴﺔ ،وﺑﺎﻟﻌﻤﻞ ﺗﺰداد اﻟﻘﺪرة اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ،وﻳﻨﻀﺞ ﻋﻘﻠﻪ ،وﺗﻨﻤﻮ ﺗﺠﺮﺑﺘﻪ ،وﻟﺬا اهﺘﻢ اﻹﺳﻼم ﺑﺎﻟﻌﻤﻞ وﺣﺚ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﺳﻮاء آﺎن ﻋﻤﻼ ﺗﻌﺒﺪﻳﺎ أو ﻣﻬﻨﻴﺎ، ت ِإﻧﱠﺎ ﻻ ﻋ ِﻤﻠُﻮا اﻟﺼﱠﺎِﻟﺤَﺎ ِ ﻦ ﺁ َﻣُﻨﻮا َو َ ن اﱠﻟﺬِﻳ َ ورﻓﻊ ﻣﻦ ﻗﻴﻤﺔ اﻟﻌﻤﻞ ،ﻓﻘﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ]ِإ ﱠ ٣٥٠
ﻣﻮﻗﻒ اﻹﺳﻼم ﻣﻦ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ
ﻋﻤَﻼ[ ]ﺳﻮرة اﻟﻜﻬﻒ ،رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺔ [٣٠ :وﻗﺎل ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ﻦ َ ﺴَ ﺣَ ﻦ َأ ْ ﺟ َﺮ َﻣ ْ ُﻧﻀِﻴ ُﻊ َأ ْ ﺐ ن ِإﻟَﻰ ﻋَﺎِﻟ ِﻢ ا ْﻟ َﻐ ْﻴ ِ ﺳ ُﺘ َﺮدﱡو َ ن َو َ ﻋ َﻤَﻠ ُﻜ ْﻢ َو َرﺳُﻮُﻟ ُﻪ وَا ْﻟ ُﻤ ْﺆ ِﻣﻨُﻮ َ ﺴ َﻴﺮَى اﻟﱠﻠ ُﻪ َ ﻋ َﻤﻠُﻮا َﻓ َ ﻞاْ ] َو ُﻗ ِ ن[ ]ﺳﻮرة اﻟﺘﻮﺑﺔ ،رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺔ [١٠ : ﺸﻬَﺎ َد ِة َﻓ ُﻴ َﻨﺒﱢُﺌﻜُﻢ ِﺑﻤَﺎ ُآ ْﻨ ُﺘ ْﻢ َﺗ ْﻌ َﻤﻠُﻮ َ وَاﻟ ﱠ وﺣﺚ اﻟﻨﺒﻲ -ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ -ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻌﻤﻞ ﻓﻘﺎل" :ﻣﺎ آﺴﺐ اﻟﺮﺟﻞ آﺴﺒﺎ أﻃﻴﺐ ﻣﻦ ﻋﻤﻞ ﻳﺪﻩ ،وﻣﺎ أﻧﻔﻖ اﻟﺮﺟﻞ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ وأهﻠﻪ ووﻟﺪﻩ وﺧﺎدﻣﻪ ﻓﻬﻮ ﺻﺪﻗﺔ" ٢٠وﻣﻦ اﻷآﻴﺪ هﺬﻩ اﻟﻘﺒﻮﻟﻴﺔ ﻟﻠﻌﻤﻞ ﺗﺤﺘﺎج إﻟﻰ إﺗﻘﺎن اﻟﺮﺟﻞ ﻓﻲ ﻋﻤﻠﻪ ،ﻣﻦ إﺧﻼص اﻟﻨﻴﺔ واﺑﺘﻐﺎء ﻣﺮﺿﺎت اﷲ .وﻻ ﺷﻚ أن اﻹﻧﺴﺎن اﻟﺬي ﻳﺮاد ﻟﻪ أن ﻳﺆدي ﻋﻤﻠﻪ وﻳﺘﻘﻨﻪ ﻻﺑﺪ ﻟﻪ ﻣﻦ ﻣﻬﺎرة وإﻋﺪاد ،وذﻟﻚ ﺻﻠﺐ ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ . -٦ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ اﻹﺻﻼح ﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ: إن ﻣﻬﻤﺔ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ﺗﻘﻮم ﻋﻠﻰ إﺻﻼح اﻟﻔﺮد ﺑﺤﻴﺚ ﻳﻜﻮن ﻋﻨﺼﺮًا ﻼ ﻟﺨﺪﻣﺔ دﻳﻨﻪ وﻣﺠﺘﻤﻌﻪ واﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ﺟﻤﻌﺎء ،وﻗﺪ اﻧﺘﺸﺮ ﻣﻔﻬﻮم ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ ﻼ ﻋﺎﻣ ً ﻓﺎﻋ ً اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ﻓﻲ آﻞ ﺑﻠﺪان اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ ،وﺗﻮﺣﺪت رؤﻳﺔ اﻟﺠﻤﻴﻊ ﺣﻮل أن ﻏﺎﻳﺔ ﻣﺎ ﺗﺴﻌﻰ ﻟﻪ هﺬﻩ اﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ هﻮ إﺻﻼح اﻹﻧﺴﺎن ،إﻻ أن ﻣﻔﻬﻮم اﻹﺻﻼح ﻳﺨﺘﻠﻒ ﻣﻦ ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻊ إﻟﻰ ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻊ وﻣﻦ دوﻟﺔ إﻟﻰ أﺧﺮى ،وإذا آﺎن اﻟﻤﻘﺼﻮد ﻟﺪى اﻟﺠﻤﻴﻊ إﺻﻼح ﻣﻬﺎراﺗﻪ وﻣﻌﺎرﻓﻪ وإﻣﻜﺎﻧﺎﺗﻪ ،ﻓﺈن اﻹﺳﻼم ﻧﻈﺮ إﻟﻰ ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ اﻹﺻﻼح ﻧﻈﺮة ﺷﺎﻣﻠﺔ إذ ﻳﻤﺘﺪ اﻹﺻﻼح إﻟﻰ إﻳﻤﺎﻧﻪ وأﺧﻼﻗﻪ وﺳﻠﻮآﻪ وﻣﻌﺎﻣﻼﺗﻪ ،وﻟﺬﻟﻚ ن آﺎﻧﺖ رﺳﺎﻻت اﻷﻧﺒﻴﺎء ﺟﻤﻴﻌﺎ ﺗﻘﻮم ﻋﻠﻰ اﻹﺻﻼح اﻧﻄﻼﻗﺎ ﻣﻦ ﻗﻮﻟﻪ ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ]ِإ ْ ﺖ َوِإَﻟ ْﻴ ِﻪ ُأﻧِﻴﺐ[ ﻄ ْﻌ ُ ﺳ َﺘ َ ح ﻣَﺎ ا ْ ﺻﻠَﺎ َ ُأرِﻳ ُﺪ ِإﻟﱠﺎ ا ْﻟِﺈ ْ ﻋَﻠ ْﻴ ِﻪ َﺗ َﻮ ﱠآ ْﻠ ُ ﺖ َوﻣَﺎ َﺗ ْﻮﻓِﻴﻘِﻲ ِإﻟﱠﺎ ﺑِﺎﻟﱠﻠ ِﻪ َ ] ﺳﻮرة هﻮد ،رﻗﻢ اﻵﻳﺔ [٨٨ : ووﺿﻊ اﻹﺳﻼم ﻗﻮاﻧﻴﻦ واﻗﻌﻴﺔ ورﺳﻢ ﺳﺒﻼ ﻣﺘﻌﺪدة اﻟﺠﻮاﻧﺐ ،وآﺬﻟﻚ أوﺟﺐ اﻟﻌﻘﻮﺑﺎت واﻟﺤﺪود ﻟﺴﺪ اﻟﺬراﺋﻊ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻔﺴﺎد واﻹﻓﺴﺎد ،وآﻞ ذﻟﻚ ﻹﺻﻼح ﻣﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮ وﻹﻳﺼﺎﻟﻬﺎ إﻟﻰ اﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻄﻠﻮﺑﺔ.
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ﺍﻟﺠﺎﻤﻌﺔ ﺍﻹﺴﻼﻤﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺸﻴﺘﺎﻏﻭﻨﻎ
اﻟﺨﺎﺗﻤﺔ: ﻟﻘﺪ وﺻﻞ اﻟﺒﺎﺣﺚ ﻣﻦ دراﺳﺔ ﺣﻮل اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ وﺗﻨﻤﻴﺘﻬﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻹﺳﻼم إﻟﻰ ﻧﺘﺎﺋﺞ ﺗﺎﻟﻴﺔ: -١ﺳﺒﻖ اﻹﺳﻼم ﺟﻤﻴﻊ اﻟﻘﻮاﻧﻴﻦ اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ واﻷﻓﻜﺎر اﻟﻤﻮﺿﻮﻋﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻣﺠﺎل ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ. -١ﻟﻢ ﻳﻘﻒ اﻹﺳﻼم ﻋﻨﺪ ﺗﻘﺪﻳﻢ اﻟﻨﻈﺮﻳﺎت ﻟﺘﻨﻴﻤﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ﻓﻘﻂ ،ﺑﻞ ﻗﺪم ﻟﻬﺎ اﻷﺣﻜﺎم اﻟﻮاﻗﻌﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺴﺎﻋﺪ اﻟﺒﺸﺮ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻨﺠﺎح ﻓﻲ ذﻟﻚ. -٢أﻧﺰل اﷲ ﺳﺒﺤﻨﻪ وﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ أدﻟﺔ آﺜﻴﺮة ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن اﻟﻜﺮﻳﻢ ﻓﻲ ﺑﻴﺎن أهﻤﻴﺔ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮاهﺐ اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ،آﻤﺎ اهﺘﻢ ﺑﻬﺎ اﻟﻨﺒﻲ – ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ – ﻓﻲ أﺣﺎدﻳﺚ آﺜﻴﺮة. -٣إن اﻹﺳﻼم أﺧﺬ ﺧﻄﺔ دﻗﻴﻘﺔ واﻗﻌﻴﺔ ﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ،واﻟﺘﻲ آﺎﻧﺖ ﻧﺎﺟﺤﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺘﺎرﻳﺦ اﻟﺒﺸﺮي أﻣﺎم اﻟﺠﻤﻴﻊ. -٤إن اﻟﻘﺮارات اﻟﺘﻲ أﺧﺬهﺎ اﻹﺳﻼم ﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﺒﺸﺮ ﻻﻳﺘﻮﻗﻒ ﺑﺤﺪود اﻟﺰﻣﺎن واﻟﻤﻜﺎن وﻻ ﺑﺤﺪود اﻷﻗﻮام واﻟﻠﻐﺎت ،ﺑﻞ هﻲ ﺷﺎﻣﻠﺔ ﻋﺎﻣﺔ ﻟﺠﻤﻴﻊ أﺻﻨﺎف اﻟﺒﺸﺮ ،ﻓﻲ ﻣﻜﺎن أن اﻟﻘﻮاﻧﻴﻦ اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ ﻓﻲ ذﻟﻚ ﻣﺤﺪودة ﺑﺤﺪود آﺜﻴﺮة.
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ﻣﻮﻗﻒ اﻹﺳﻼم ﻣﻦ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ
اﻟﻤﺼﺎدر واﻟﻤﺮاﺟﻊ: -١اﻟﺰاوي ،اﻟﻄﺎهﺮ أﺣﻤﺪ -ﺗﺮﺗﻴﺐ اﻟﻘﺎﻣﻮس اﻟﻤﺤﻴﻂ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻃﺮﻳﻘﺔ اﻟﻤﺼ ﺒﺎح اﻟﻤﻨﻴ ﺮ وأﺳ ﺎس اﻟﺒﻼﻏ ﺔ، )اﻟﺮﻳﺎض :دار ﻋﺎﻟﻢ اﻟﻜﺘﺐ ﻟﻠﻄﺒﺎﻋ ﺔ واﻟﻨﺸ ﺮ واﻟﺘﻮزﻳ ﻊ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌ ﺔ اﻟﺮاﺑﻌ ﺔ ،ﺳ ﻨﺔ١٤١٧ :ه ـ( ،ج،٤ ص.٤٤٦ -٢اﻟﺼﺎﻟﺢ ،اﻟﺪآﺘﻮر ﻣﺼﻠﺢ ،اﻟﺸﺎﻣﻞ -ﻗﺎﻣﻮس ﻣﺼ ﻄﻼﺣﺎت اﻟﻌﻠ ﻮم اﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴ ﺔ) ،إﻧﺠﻠﻴ ﺰي –ﻋﺮﺑ ﻲ( )اﻟﺮﻳ ﺎض :دار ﻋ ﺎﻟﻢ اﻟﻜﺘ ﺐ ﻟﻠﻄﺒﺎﻋ ﺔ واﻟﻨﺸ ﺮ واﻟﺘﻮزﻳ ﻊ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌ ﺔ اﻷوﻟ ﻰ ،ﺳ ﻨﺔ ١٤٢٠ :ه ـ(، ص.٢٦٠ -٣ﻣﺠﻤﻊ اﻟﻠﻐﺔ اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ ،اﻹدارة اﻟﻌﺎﻣ ﺔ ﻟﻠﻤﻌﺠﻤ ﺎت وإﺣﻴ ﺎء اﻟﺘ ﺮاث ،اﻟﻤﻌﺠ ﻢ اﻟﻮﺳ ﻴﻂ ) ،دﻳﻮﺑﻨ ﺪ :آﺘ ﺐ ﺧﺎﻧﺔ ﺣﺴﻴﻨﻴﺔ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺔ اﻟﺴﺎدﺳﺔ ،ﺳﻨﺔ ١٩٩٤:م ،ص ،(١٠٢٤ﻣﺎدة" :ورد". -٤اﻟﺼﺎﻟﺢ ،اﻟﺪآﺘﻮر ﻣﺼﻠﺢ ،اﻟﻤﺼﺪر اﻟﺴﺎﺑﻖ ،ص.٢٦٠
-٥ﺣﺴﺎم اﻟﺪﻳﻦ ،ﻋﻼء اﻟﺪﻳﻦ ﻋﻠﻲ ﺑﻦ اﻟﻤﺘﻘﻲ اﻟﻬﻨﺪي اﻟﺒﺮهﺎن ،آﻨﺰ اﻟﻌﻤﺎل ﻓﻲ ﺳ ﻨﻦ اﻷﻗ ﻮال واﻷﻓﻌ ﺎل ، ﺗﺤﻘﻴ ﻖ :ﺑﻜ ﺮي ﺣﻴ ﺎﻧﻲ)،ﺑﻴ ﺮوت :ﻣﺆﺳﺴ ﺔ اﻟﺮﺳ ﺎﻟﺔ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌ ﺔ اﻟﺨﺎﻣﺴ ﺔ ،ﺳ ﻨﺔ ١٤٠١:ه ـ ( ،رﻗ ﻢ اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ٢٨٧٨١: -٦اﻟﻤﻮدودي ،اﻟﺴﻴﺪ أﺑﻮ اﻷﻋﻠﻰ ،اﻷﺳﺎس اﻟﺨﻠﻘﻲ ﻟﻠﺤﺮآﺔ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ،ﺗﺮﺟﻤﺔ :ﻣﻮﻻﻧﺎ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﻋﺒﺪ اﻟﺮﺣﻴﻢ) ، ،داآﺎ :اﻟﻤﻜﺘﺒﺔ اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺜﺔ أدوﻧﻚ ﺑﺮوآﺎﺷﻮﻧﻲ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺔ اﻟﺜﺎﻟﺜﺔ ،ﺳﻨﺔ٢٠٠٥ :م( ،ص .١٣ -٧ﺧﻮرّم ﻣﺮاد ،دور اﻷﺳﺘﺎذ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻨﻬﻀﺔ اﻹﺳ ﻼﻣﻴﺔ ،ﺗﺮﺟﻤ ﺔ :ﻣﻮﻻﻧ ﺎ ﻣﺰﻣ ﻞ ﺣ ﻖ) ،داآ ﺎ :دار اﻟﺴ ﻴﺪ ﻟﻠﻄﺒﺎﻋﺔ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺔ اﻟﺜﺎﻧﻴﺔ ،ﺳﻨﺔ١٩٩٣ :م( ،ص .٣٥
ق ﻓﻰ ﺸ ﺘَﺎ ِ ﺴﻤﱠﻰ ) َﺟ ﱠﻨ ُﺔ ا ْﻟ ُﻤ ْ -٨اﺑﻦ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ اﻟﻘﻤﺎش ،ﻋﺒﺪ اﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ ،اﻟﺤﺎوى ﻓﻰ ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن اﻟﻜﺮﻳﻢ ،و ُﻳ َ ﻚ ا ْﻟ َﺨﻠﱠﺎ ِ َﺗ ْﻔﺴِﻴ ِﺮ َآﻠَﺎ ِم ا ْﻟ َﻤ ِﻠ ِ ق () ،ﺑﺪون اﺳﻢ اﻟﺒﻼد :وﺑﺪون اﻟﻤﻜﺘﺒﺔ واﻟﻄﺒﻌ ﺔ ،ﺳ ﻨﺔ ٢٠٠٩ :م( ،ج،١٦ ص .٤٥٩ -٩اﻟﺒﻐﻮي ،ﻣﺤﻴﻲ اﻟﺴﻨﺔ أﺑﻮ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ اﻟﺤﺴﻴﻦ ﺑﻦ ﻣﺴﻌﻮد ،ﻣﻌﺎﻟﻢ اﻟﺘﻨﺰﻳﻞ ،ﺗﺤﻘﻴﻖ وﺗﺨﺮﻳﺞ :ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﻋﺒﺪ اﷲ اﻟﻨﻤﺮ -ﻋﺜﻤﺎن ﺟﻤﻌﺔ ﺿ ﻤﻴﺮﻳﺔ – ﺳ ﻠﻴﻤﺎن ﻣﺴ ﻠﻢ اﻟﺤ ﺮش) ، ،ﺑ ﺪون اﺳ ﻢ اﻟ ﺒﻼد :دار ﻃﻴﺒ ﺔ ﻟﻠﻨﺸ ﺮ واﻟﺘﻮزﻳﻊ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺔ اﻟﺮاﺑﻌﺔ ،ﺳﻨﺔ١٤١٧ :هـ( ،ج٤ص.٣٢٨ ﻮرة إﺑ ﻮﻋﻲ ﻟﺴ ﻴﺮ اﻟﻤﻮﺿ -١٠اﻟﺘﻔﺴ http://www.balagh.com/mosoa/tafsir
ﺮاهﻴﻢ ،اﻟﺸ
ﻴﺦ ﻣﺤﻤ
ﺪ اﻟﻐﺰاﻟ
ﻲ،
-١١اﺑﻦ آﺜﻴﺮ أﺑﻮ اﻟﻔﺪاء إﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻞ ﺑﻦ ﻋﻤﺮ اﻟﻘﺮﺷﻲ اﻟﺪﻣﺸﻘﻲ ،ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮ اﻟﻘﺮﺁن اﻟﻌﻈﻴﻢ ،ﺗﺤﻘﻴ ﻖ :ﺳ ﺎﻣﻲ ﺑ ﻦ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﺳﻼﻣﺔ) ،ﺑﺪون اﺳﻢ اﻟﺒﻼد :دار ﻃﻴﺒﺔ ﻟﻠﻨﺸﺮ واﻟﺘﻮزﻳﻊ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺔ اﻟﺜﺎﻧﻴﺔ ،ﺳﻨﺔ١٤٢٠:هـ( ،ج،٣ ص.٣٨٩ -١٢اﻟﻤ ﻮدودي ،اﻟﺴ ﻴﺪ أﺑ ﻮ اﻷﻋﻠ ﻰ ،اﻟﻤﺼ ﻄﻠﺤﺎت اﻷرﺑﻌ ﺔ ﻓ ﻲ اﻟﻘ ﺮﺁن،ص ، ٢١-٢٠ﻧﻘ ﻼ ﻋ ﻦ :ﻣﻨﺒ ﺮ اﻟﺘﻮﺣﻴﺪ واﻟﺠﻬﺎد www.tawhed.com.
-١٣اﻟﺒﺨﺎري ،أﺑﻮ ﻋﺒﺪ اﷲ إﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻞ ﺑﻦ إﺑﺮاهﻴﻢ اﻟﺠﻌﻔﻲ ،اﻟﺠﺎﻣﻊ اﻟﻤﺴﻨﺪ اﻟﺼ ﺤﻴﺢ اﻟﻤﺨﺘﺼ ﺮ ﻣ ﻦ أُﻣ ﻮر رﺳﻮل اﷲ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ وﺳﻨﻨﻪ وأﻳﺎﻣﻪ )ﻧﺴﺨﺔ ﻃﻮق اﻟﻨﺠﺎة() ،ﺑﻴﺮوت :ﻣﺆﺳﺴﺔ اﻟﺮﺳﺎﻟﺔ، اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺔ اﻟﺮاﺑﻌﺔ ،ﺳﻨﺔ ١٩٨٩ :م( ،ﺑﺎب آﻴﻒ ﻳﻘﺒﺾ اﻟﻌﻠﻢ ،رﻗﻢ اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ.١٠٠ -١٤اﻟﺒﺨﺎري ،أﺑﻮ ﻋﺒﺪ اﷲ إﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻞ ﺑ ﻦ إﺑ ﺮاهﻴﻢ اﻟﺠﻌﻔ ﻲ ،اﻟﻤﺼ ﺪر اﻟﺴ ﺎﺑﻖ ،ﺑ ﺎب ﻣﻴ ﺮاث اﻟﺒﻨ ﺎت ،رﻗ ﻢ اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ.٦٣٥٢ :
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ﺍﻟﺠﺎﻤﻌﺔ ﺍﻹﺴﻼﻤﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﺸﻴﺘﺎﻏﻭﻨﻎ
-١٥أﺑﻮ ﺟﻌﻔﺮ اﻟﻄﺒﺮي ،ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﺑﻦ ﺟﺮﻳﺮ ﺑﻦ ﻳﺰﻳﺪ ﻳﻦ آﺜﻴﺮ ﺑﻦ ﻏﺎﻟﺐ اﻵﻣﻠﻲ ،ﺟﺎﻣﻊ اﻟﺒﻴﺎن ﻓﻲ ﺗﺄوﻳ ﻞ ﺁي اﻟﻘﺮﺁن) ،ﺑﻴﺮوت :ﻣﺆﺳﺴﺔ اﻟﺮﺳﺎﻟﺔ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺔ اﻷوﻟﻰ ،ﺳﻨﺔ١٤٢٠ :هـ( ،ج ،٢٤ص .٤٤٩ -١٦اﻟﺴ ﻌﺪي ،ﻋﺒ ﺪ اﻟ ﺮﺣﻤﻦ ﺑ ﻦ ﻧﺎﺻ ﺮ ﺑ ﻦ ﻋﺒ ﺪ اﷲ ،ﺗﻴﺴ ﻴﺮ اﻟﻜ ﺮﻳﻢ اﻟ ﺮﺣﻤﻦ ﻓ ﻲ ﺗﻔﺴ ﻴﺮ آ ﻼم اﻟﻤﻨ ﺎن، ﺗﺤﻘﻴ ﻖ :ﻋﺒ ﺪ اﻟ ﺮﺣﻤﻦ ﺑ ﻦ ﻣﻌ ﻼ اﻟﻠﻮﻳﺤ ﻖ) ،ﺑﻴ ﺮوت :ﻣﺆﺳﺴ ﺔ اﻟﺮﺳ ﺎﻟﺔ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌ ﺔ اﻷوﻟ ﻰ ،ﺳ ﻨﺔ : ١٤٢٠هـ( ،ج ،١ص.٩٢٦ -١٧اﻟﺒﺨﺎري ،أﺑﻮ ﻋﺒﺪ اﷲ إﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻞ ﺑﻦ إﺑ ﺮاهﻴﻢ اﻟﺠﻌﻔ ﻲ ،اﻟﻤﺼ ﺪر اﻟﺴ ﺎﺑﻖ) ،ﺑﻴ ﺮوت :ﻣﺆﺳﺴ ﺔ اﻟﻜﺘ ﺐ اﻟﺜﻘﺎﻓﻴﺔ ،اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺔ ﺑﺪون ،ﺳﻨﺔ١٤٢١٠:هـ( ،ﺑﺎب اﻟﺘﻌﻮذ ﻣﻦ ﻓﺘﻨﺔ اﻟﻤﺤﻴﺎ واﻟﻤﻤﺖ،رﻗﻢ اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ.٦٠٠٦: -١٨ﻣﺴﻠﻢ ﺑﻦ اﻟﺤﺠﺎج اﻟﻘﺸﻴﺮي اﻟﻨﻴﺴﺎﺑﻮري ،اﻟﺠﺎﻣﻊ اﻟﻤﺴﻨﺪ اﻟﺼﺤﻴﺢ ،ﺗﺮﺗﻴﺐ :ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﻓ ﺆاد ﻋﺒ ﺪ اﻟﺒ ﺎﻗﻲ، )اﻟﻘﺎهﺮة :دار اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ ،ﺑﺪون اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺔ ،ﺳﻨﺔ ١٤١٢ :هـ( ،ج ،١آﺘ ﺎب اﻟ ﺬآﺮ واﻟ ﺪﻋﺎء اﻟﺘﻮﺑ ﺔ ،رﻗ ﻢ اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ.٢٧٨٨: -١٩اﻟﺴﻌﺪي ،ﻋﺒﺪ اﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ ﺑﻦ ﻧﺎﺻﺮ ﺑﻦ ﻋﺒﺪ اﷲ ،اﻟﻤﺼﺪر اﻟﺴﺎﺑﻖ،ج،١ص.٩٢٦ -٢٠اﻟﻘﺰوﻳﻨ ﻲ ،أﺑ ﻮ ﻋﺒ ﺪ اﷲ ﻣﺤﻤ ﺪ ﺑ ﻦ ﻳﺰﻳ ﺪ ،ﺳ ﻨﻦ اﺑ ﻦ ﻣﺎﺟ ﺔ ،ﺗﺤﻘﻴ ﻖ :ﻣﺤﻤ ﺪ ﻣﺼ ﻄﻔﻰ اﻷﻋﻈﻤ ﻲ، )اﻟﺮﻳﺎض :ﺷﺮآﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﺎﻋﺔ اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ ،ﺳﻨﺔ١٤٠٤ :هـ( ،ﺑﺎب اﻟﺼﺪﻗﺎت ،رﻗﻢ اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ .١٢٣٤ :
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