February 9, 2025
Today I will review our religious schools (or Madrasas), which were our best asset and the graduates there have accomplished countless feats. Of course, what is the condition of the system of these valuable schools today and what is the attitude of our society towards them? No child takes admission in any school or Madrasa of his own free will, it is the parents who take him there by holding the hand. Therefore, the choice of religious education or contemporary education is made by the parents. What are the reasons for their choice? Of course, the first is that some parents want their children to become Aalim, Faazil or scholars, or memorizers or Hafiz-e-Quran and benefit from religious education. Of course, it is a bitter truth that some are admitted here so that they can get three meals a day and clothes, not have to pay thousands of fees like in schools, not have to pay tuition, books, bags, slippers, umbrellas, everything is available free of cost. Well, today, millions of students are receiving religious education in thousands of our religious schools. Now we have to think anew about these schools, what are their goals for earning a living after graduating from them? They will lead the prayer, become muezzins or servants, they will become religious teachers from religious schools, or they will only lead Taraweeh. Of course, all these are very good and rewarding works and this is what makes our mosques populated. But we all know and are also witnessing this unfortunate reality that mosques made of marble worth two to three crore rupees are being built in our neighborhoods, of course the salary of the Imam of this mosque is five thousand rupees per month and the salary of the Muezzin and the servant is two and a half thousand rupees. And some offerings are given to those Hafiz who are appointed to lead Taraweeh on the twenty seventh night of Ramzan.
If we consider our marble mosques as our glory and honor, of course the Imams and the servants of the mosques are not even taken into account, then we can well imagine the future of this community. Today, here we have no way for the employment of these Imams, their treatment, the education of their children. There is no fund, no bed is reserved for them in hospitals. These people live in their ancestral homes in the villages and in the cities, either rented or a room is made for them under the stairs of the mosque. After all, how can we and our conscience accept that the imams who lead or prayers, the muezzin’s voice at which we rush to the mosque and when a servant cleans the mosque, we get great joy in prostrating there. All those precious people live such a miserable and helpless life. If we want a pleasant change in this regard, then the first thing we will have to do is find ways to connect the graduates of religious schools to the mainstream of life. This is something to think about and every concerned and compassionate person among us should think about that those students studying in religious schools are our own, they are the asset of the community, because these students
The idea of connecting these valuable students with life and employment came to us in the last century after the disaster, and then in order to connect the students of all the madrasas with employment, carpenter work was taught. Or, by buying a few sewing machines, an attempt was made to make them tailors. In the eighth decade of the last century, when computers became common, computers replaced sewing machines in those madrasas. After buying eight or ten computers, it was said that now these esteemed, learned and erudite gentlemen are being taught computers, although only data entry operator education was given there. That is, computer literacy has come to be called computer skills. The question arises that these highly intelligent and serious graduates of religious schools are only qualified to:
Connecting the graduates of our religious educational madrasas with modern education is not impossible, it is not difficult, it is just hard work. Every good and welfare project always requires good intentions and sincerity. We now need to create a bridge course of at least two years to connect the students graduating from religious madrasas with the stream of modern education and employment. A course that will lead to broadmindedness, broad-heartedness and broadmindedness in these students. A course that plays a significant role in inter-religious and inter-faith understanding. This is the important need of the hour. Today, our sectarian and jurisprudential differences are clearly visible. We are witnessing how minor sectarian differences among Muslims are taking on a horrific form. We are witnessing that some Muslim countries are not only shedding blood in other Muslim countries based on beliefs alone, but are even carrying out drone attacks. World powers are happy that based on these beliefs and sectarian differences, these Muslim countries have become the biggest buyers of their weapons factories. The only cure for this extremely sad and painful situation is that we should now establish an atmosphere of civilized and healthy understanding here because today, based on sectarian and ideological differences, not only dislike but even hatred are being created among our students towards each other. The solution is that before we build a bridge connecting religious and contemporary education, we must build a strong bridge for unity among Muslims. Therefore, the first subject of our bridge course should be called ‘Unity Despite Differences’. What should be the syllabus of this subject? And what should be taught in it?
(1) A brief review of the beliefs of all schools of thought should be taken.
(2) Understanding and respecting the beliefs of others.
(3) Avoiding the atmosphere of argument, repetition and debate.
(4) Students of different faiths should sit on one bench.
For example, a graduate of a Deobandi madrasa should sit with a student of the Barelvi faith or a student of the Hanafi faith should share a bench with a student of the Ahle Hadith faith. During the practical parade of the course, they should say these words to each other in a very pleasant atmosphere: “I raise my hands in prayer, you don’t, still you should become my friend” or “I recite Amen loudly, you don’t. Will you accept me?” We hope from Allah that after hearing these sentences, they will not only accept but also embrace each other with moist eyes. Before talking about brotherhood on a global scale, we have to put our homes in order. If we succeed in this, rest assured that we will be able to make the best use of our resources, strength and time because at that time our goal will be only one: ‘community building’. Details of other subjects of this bridge course will be presented sometime in the future.
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