Rethinking Islam with Sultan Shahin

Urdu Section

17 Jan 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

	Duties of Madrasa Teachers in Social Reform
	In the light of the proverb, “Charity begins at home”, all Islamic scholars too, began their mission from their home. Such Islamic scholars have greater reach among masses as they become closer by dint of lectures and religious sermons. The rest of the teachers, who are more resourceful and effective, are confined to the world of class rooms, mosques and their abodes. If they come out with a little openness of mind to help the society in their struggle for survival, the society can benefit extraordinarily. -- Waris Mazahari (Translated from Urdu by Raihan Nezami, NewAgeIslam.com)

Duties of Madrasa Teachers in Social Reform

By Waris Mazahari (Translated from Urdu by Raihan Nezami, NewAgeIslam.com) A deep introspection into numerous social aspects is required to bring about religious and cultural awareness among the Muslim community. An important point for consideration in this regard is the role of the Madrasa teachers in social reform. Madrasas are a quintessential part of the Muslim culture and play an important role in the education and dissemination of Islamic teachings among the common masses. The places where madrasas do not exist are obviously in the darkness of illiteracy and ignorance. Some irresistible powers are afraid of the awareness in Muslim society, so they keep on trying to destroy this most important educational system. Therefore, hundreds of Muslim educational institutions have been closed in Egypt, Yemen and other Arab countries or their syllabi have been altered destroying the very basic purpose of their existence. Madrasas have been successful in their mission of imparting religious education to the common masses in the face of opposition. The madrasas should strive to reform the Muslim community and spread the light of true knowledge among them. The defects in the society are numerous which need immediate attention. For this purpose, the role of madrasas should be clearly defined. Now the question arises: what role should madrasa teachers play for the improvement of the society? A majority of madrasa educated students who become madrasa teachers carry out the same monotonous jobs. That should not be considered their limit of functioning. Their role in the duties of social rehabilitation must be designed and assigned. Teaching is one of the many aspects of their social role, which they perform as a robot, as is the case in various modern educational institutions. If they only repeat the same lessons taught to them by their predecessors, the nursery of Islamic education will remain cut off from the outer world. A journalist Celia W. Dugger wrote in New York Times that a certain madrasa gives a lot of importance to piety while teaching various Fiqhi book - full of lessons on cleanliness. But, there is no impact of this teaching in practical life. A sincere analysis will, obviously unfold the tragic situation in the environment of madrasas regarding hygiene, piety and cleanliness. The teachers who are imparting knowledge are solely responsible for the nourishment of the young generations being trained there. To a great extent, their responsibility is more than that of their parents as the students pass ten to twelve precious years in their company learning the practicality of life. They should be trained in such a way, when they grow mature, they should be able to shoulder the responsibility of reformation of the Muslim society. Apart from this primary duty, they should be trained to realize and identify the good and bad qualities of the community members. It will enable them to take appropriate action for their betterment. Different teachers perform different activities for the society. Some of them deliver lectures on demand, and others give pen-service. It is also good, but it should not be restricted to this much only as they are made for performing more important duties. They should take initiative for the removal of vices in the Muslim culture with the help of local people in their own locality. In the light of the proverb, “Charity begins at home”, all Islamic scholars too, began their mission from their home. Such Islamic scholars have greater reach among masses as they become closer by dint of lectures and religious sermons. The rest of the teachers, who are more resourceful and effective, are confined to the world of class rooms, mosques and their abodes. If they come out with a little openness of mind to help the society in their struggle for survival, the society can benefit extraordinarily. The corrective measures of Tablighi Jam’at are more effective as they reach far and wide and visit the people at their homes ignoring the disconcerting remarks and behaviours to accomplish their mission. In my opinion, there should be a Community Reformation Committee in all the Muslim areas comprising madrasa teachers and local inhabitants – old or young, especially qualified and cultured people. Tablighi Jam’at has greatly benefitted from the scholars of modern science and subjects. The Tablighi errand is a significant factor in the exemplary success of their mission; it is considered an individual duty of every member irrespective of age, class or status. This pattern of functioning is required for the reform and education of the Muslim masses. The work field can be extended to other castes also, as some issues are quite common in the society which requires diligent attention. The madrasa teachers will be more effective as they are non-political people. It is commonly known that political leaders hijacked Islamic heads of different religious organizations captive irrespective of whether they are Islamic scholars or general intellectuals. In case, their teaching assignments are being hampered, the number of teachers can be increased to make them available for social duties. In certain madrasas, there are some scholars appointed for this purpose, but they are simply good orators. In fact, this criterion is wrong; a person of ordinary merit can also be a good orator. The real criterion should have been the zest for social awareness and Islamic reform. The selection of the people should be done from this point of view as missionary zeal is the most important requirement. Islamic education and cultural reform should go hand in hand. Social welfare initiatives are considered to be an integral part of teaching. At first, the topics for reformation should be finalized as there is a lot of contradiction among the people. The Islamic preachers concentrate upon various topics such as: suppression of women’s rights, misuse of divorce (Talaq), deprivation of women’s rights to property, stigma of dowry, domestic violence or non-Islamic practices etc. These topics are not so important as to be given the sole attention. First of all, Muslim community should learn self-criticism or self-introspection. Only then the moral character can be improved. The Muslims lack in self-realisation making themselves unable to realize the vices of their culture and society. The present Muslim society is worse than others in its practice of moral values, truthfulness, cleanliness, decent behaviour, politeness, good behaviour with neighbours and religious pluralism. The statement of a Pakistani writer needs deep consideration: “The Muslims could not even adopt good behaviour practiced by the non-Islamic communities for centuries, so the practice of universal justice of Islam as practiced by Khilafat-e-Rashideh is out of question”. -- Manzoorul Hasan, Ashraque monthly, Lahore, Oct. 2002) It seems there is an absence of individual or collective structure of behaviour in our society. People have been practicing some hypocritical norms in the name of religion. They give no importance to the practice of moral values and cultural uplift of an individual which are basic things. In the absence of these factors, no plan or strategy for the improvement of the social character can be successful. It needs deep introspection and should be rectified before any other action taken. The madrasa teacher can be very effective in this mission of purification of the community, only if they realise the fact that their social and Islamic utilities are not limited to imparting the scholarly knowledge within the boundary of madrasas. They can help their fraternity in numerous ways. Source: Hamara Samaj, New Delhi URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamUrduSection_1.aspx?ArticleID=3948