On the Single National Curriculum, Islamic Studies Component

 

                                                                                TEACHING RELIGION

Maryam Sakeenah

Most of the criticism to the Single National Curriculum relates to the Islamic Studies syllabi. There is paranoia about it being ‘bloated’ and ‘overzealous.’ This concern stems from the idea that religion and its education are invariably regressive and degenerate. Given our long and morbid history of the political abuse of religion, sectarianism and violence, this is not without grounds. But we will come to that later.

The Western colonial project had deep ideological underpinnings. Post Enlightenment Europe had liberated itself from a degenerate religious orthodoxy after centuries of struggle, hence it emerged as stridently secular. The narrative of religion being essentially regressive, anti intellectual and anti scientific is steeped in the experience of centuries of European history. In the historical experience and cultural consciousness of much of the non Western world, however, this Eurocentric narrative does not hold, at all. It was under the religious state with the Shariah as the law of the land that culture, critical inquiry and scientific development thrived during the Muslim Golden Age in the Middle Ages. This also was the precursor to the Western Renaissance. Elsewhere, such as in Latin America, Protestant Churches and their religious discourse (liberation theology) became the driving force for progressive social change.

Originating from the British colonial masters whose purpose was served well through the systematic marginalization of the madrassah as a centre of enlightenment in pre colonial Indian society, the madrassah and its affiliates have suffered structural exclusion from society. Religious violence involving seminaries and, following the War on Terror coming home, an active campaign of negative stereotyping maligned the Madrassah further. This explains the fears regarding the recruitment of madrassah-qualified religious instructors at schools, and vice versa. Alongwith a lack of acknowledgement of the positive social contribution of the Madrassah, there is also a lack of understanding of the complex historical, social, economic and political factors that have led to this gradual deterioration of the Madrassah. Consequently, there is no realization of the urgent and pressing need to reverse this process.

How pressing this need is can be gauged from the fact that the school and the Madrassah embody two widely differentiated education systems, set upon a head-on collision course. This creates two ideologically opposed social subcultures which overlap the stratification of the society along the lines of social class. The university graduate possesses the cultural capital that eventually makes him gain access to the avenues of power. On the other hand is the deprived religious seminary graduate whose fewer career prospects and the constant fear of poverty breeds resentment which may easily flare into violence. Including secular learning as a necessary part of the Madrassah system and facilitating the interaction and exchange between the seminary and the school may well work as a means to bridge the gaping divides and begin the healing process for a deeply fractured society.  

Memorization is not a skill exclusive to Islamic Studies. Nor does memorization of some course contents preclude independent thinking, critical engagement and logical reasoning. It is a necessary tool for gaining knowledge and complements other skills. So many individuals throughout Islam’s history, having gone through traditional learning, emerged as the greatest minds spearheading critical reform, discovery and innovation: Ghazali, Ibn Tayimiyyah and Ibn Khaldun immediately come to mind in this regard.

Traditionally, Islamic Studies courses taught at Madrassahs have been broadly categorized between the ‘Maqulat’ (rational sciences) and the ‘Manqulat’ (transmitted classical learning). Both are integral to the study of Religion, but just like in the heyday of Muslim civilization the ‘Maqulat’ stood  prioritized, a return to that model can provide space for critical engagement and analytical reasoning within the purview of religion.

Concerns regarding the promotion of sectarianism through the teaching of religion can be addressed by prioritizing the ethical content of Islam over issues of juristic difference, form and ritual. Rights of fellow beings must be highlighted, including for those of other faiths- for which there exists voluminous content in religious sources. Anyone who has read through the Single National Curriculum will know that these contents have been included.

As a teacher of Islamic Studies for many years, I have encouraged critical engagement with religious texts, contextualization of religious interpretations and given space for discussion, debate and questioning. I have encouraged the appreciation of the internal diversity of religion and facilitated the understanding of the relevance of religious ethics and values in our society and the wider world. My students come from a variety of sectarian backgrounds. I enable them to understand differences without judgement. I encourage them to feel free to profess fidelity to personal convictions while respecting the convictions of others different to theirs. I am not an exception. Numberless individuals in the Muslim world and beyond have endeavoured to make faith come alive for seekers of knowledge as a means to positive personal and social change.

Much of the criticism to the Islamic Studies curriculum is based on our unfair biases, negative stereotypes and preconceived notions. These arise from a prejudiced view of religion which is the legacy of our colonial past that still holds some of our most popular academics intellectually hostage. In a country that has suffered religious violence and where instances of religious and sectarian intolerance are not rare, the teaching of religion sincerely, judiciously, insightfully and authentically can show us a way out of the dark alley of obscurantism, hate and ignorance. 

 

The writer teaches Islamic Studies and Social Sciences in Lahore and can be reached at meem.seen@gmail.com.

 

Eid ul Fitr

                                                                THE MUSLIM EID

Maryam Sakeenah

The Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) is reported to have said, ‘there is a festival for every nation, and this (Eid) is our festival.’

There are two Eids in the Muslim lunar year, essentially about thanksgiving, sharing and strengthening communal ties. The first of these (Eid ul Fitr) is celebrated at the close of Ramadan (the fasting month), as an expression of thanksgiving for all that Allah has blessed us with, particularly the Divine Guidance in the Quran the revelation of which began in the month of Ramadan. It is also a thanksgiving for having received the blessed month and acquired spiritual reward through spending it in intense worship and self-restraint.

The second Eid (Eid ul Azha) celebrates the end of the pilgrimage season and the Abrahamic legacy of sacrifice that Islam revives. Both emphasize on giving and including others in joy and festivity by making charity on the occasion a compulsory religious obligation.

On both Eids, the day begins with special prayers performed in congregation in which God is glorified and the prayer leader (imam) engages in ritual invocation to God before the congregation. This invocation calls upon God to ease the suffering of Muslims in specific and mankind in general, to keep one guided and accept one’s effort in His way. At the end of the service people meet and greet each other and give charity to the poor, many of whom congregate to mosques to receive their share to be able to partake of the festivities. Hence a day of celebration commences.

Celebrations on each Eid have unique cultural aspects all over the Muslim world. While the essence is the same, the expression varies across cultures. In my culture, some of the interesting and spectacular Eid day practices include the Pakistani ‘three step hug’ and eating sweet vermicelli cooked in milk for breakfast. For the ladies it means dressing up in glittery traditional clothing- the ‘shalwar kameez’ and ‘dupatta’, which consist of loose pantaloons and flowy long shirts draped with a long traditional scarf. Ladies also wear coloured bangles and paint their hands in intricate patterns with henna. For children Eid means getting pocket money from all uncles and aunts called ‘Eidee.’

One beautiful experience exclusive to Eid ul Azha is the distribution of sacrificial meat. I remember family elders gathering to do the annual ritual efficiently and zealously. According to Islamc tradition, the meat is to be divided into three parts: the first for oneself and one’s family, the other for relatives and neighbours and the third for the poor and needy in one’s community.

One of my Eid day moments is when the door bell rings... I rush to the door and find some hungry old man with sunken eyes or a ragged woman with her malnourished children wanting to know if they could get a share of the meat. The act of giving of what has been entrusted to you by the True Giver, and which is to be spent in His way for His people is spiritually fulfilling.

Having studied at a Catholic convent, as a child I always found Christian celebrations more grandly ritualistic and colourful. I now realize that the simplicity characteristic of Islamic festivals is beautiful in its own quiet way. Islamic sources strongly condemn extravagance, pomp and luxury as ingratitude to God and a sign of selfish arrogance. The simplicity levels all to reinforce Islamic fraternity and egalitarianism. The simple joys of Eid are affordable to all.    

Venturing out in the streets of my city on Eid day is a heartening experience- I see, for once, smiles and laughter- little girls all dressed up, children at the park flying kites and holding balloons waiting for the ice-candy man. I let my spirit join in, my heart light and celebrating a vicarious happiness. It comforts me with the illusion I wish to hang on to just a while longer- the world is a happy, sunlit little home, after all!

A Secular State for Muslim Societies?

THE CASE FOR THE SECULAR STATE

Maryam Sakeenah

In a country plagued by violence in the name of religion and sect and infested with decadent religio-political outfits, secularism as a pillar of statehood comes to be seen as an ideal. The typical response by the religious to the eulogization of secularism in Muslim societies is to warn their followers that secularism is equivalent to unbelief and is a great evil against religion.

In understanding the secular state to be an ideal polity free of the tyranny of religious politics and based on pluralism and egalitarianism, we gloss over both its nuanced history and its practice in the present. On the other hand, viewing secularism as unbelief and as hostile to religious belief is not only inaccurate but also ignorant of the great ravages religious politics is capable of and has often unleashed, especially in European history.

More accurately, a secular state ideally entails the dissociation of religion from the state, guaranteeing religious liberties to all groups without prejudice and discrimination on religious grounds. It does not mean the elimination of religion, but its privatization.

In the European experience, the achievement of the secular state was indeed a liberation from the religious oppression of the Church throughout much of what is described as the Dark Ages. In pre Enlightenment Europe, religious politics were indeed unregulated and unaccountable, exploiting with impunity under the ‘Divine Right of Kings.’

Having said that, the universalization of the European secular experiment is a mistake we often fall into making, given the well entrenched Eurocentrism of education in postcolonial societies. Non Eurpoean societies had radically different approaches to and experiences with the question of religion and state.

Even a cursory glance at Muslim history makes it clear that the religious state was not always an instrument of corruption and abuse. It is difficult to contest the progressive and prosperous character of religious rule in the earliest history of Islam before the monarchical takeover of the Caliphate.  There is evidence attesting to how rights and privileges were accorded justly, the supremacy of law held high and protections extended to non Muslims.

In most of Islam’s history, involvement of religious scholars and religious leaders in politics checked, regulated and held governments accountable. In fact, religious leaders- specifically the great Imams of both the Shiite and Sunni tradition often became active forces of resistance to political excesses and abuse of religion. The example of Hussain R.A and the Imams of the Ahl ul Bayt as well as other Companions and Tabiyeen is a powerful legacy. 

The example of Al Andalusia under Islamic rule shines through history as a model of pluralism as well as intellectual, cultural and social progress. This is why the thesis that the secular values of egalitarianism and pluralism can in fact be accommodated within the ideal Muslim state exists. What needs to be understood here is that given this history, Muslims are entitled to conclude that the achievement of what are understood as secular ideals does not require the liberation of the state from religion. In other words, while standing as a refreshing exception, Andalusia shows that the achievement of a progressive, diverse and tolerant civilization is possible and has been achieved without going through the separation of church and state- unlike in the European experience.

In the Middle East, quite contrary to Europe, one finds that secularism has been a foreign implant and secular regimes have been backed by Western states with their own neocolonialist agendas. Such secular regimes in the Middle East have often been brutal and oppressive, corrupt, high-handed and even undemocratic. They have never really represented the popular will. This reality of secularism in the Muslim world is far from the ideal of secularism that fires our imaginations.

In fact the reality of secularism even in the West is anything but. It has assumed the character of a totalitarian ‘ism’ aggressively fanatical in its intolerance of religious belief.  According to Phillip Bond and Adrian Pabst writing for the International Herald Tribune, "European societies enshrine the primacy of secular law over and against religious principles. Far from ensuring neutrality and tolerance, the secular European state arrogates to itself the right to control and legislate all spheres of life; state constraints apply especially to religion and its civic influence.”

Karen Armstrong, referring to the concepts of ‘dharma’ in Hinduism and ‘deen’ in Islam asserts how secularism is a radical modern innovation as religion was always understood by human beings as a way of life without the public/private schism. She writes, ‘Questions like social justice or rights have always had sacred import.’

Whether we believe in the establishment of secular states in Muslim societies or not, we must accept that the case for secular states in Muslim societies is not only ahistorical, it is stridently Eurocentric at best, and neocolonialist at worst.