Madrassahs should teach modern disciplines of knowledge

Rawalpindi : Religious educational institutions and Madrassahs should teach modern disciplines of knowledge including various subjects of science, engineering, medicine and philosophy while modern educational institutes including universities and colleges should teach ‘Fiqh’ and ‘Usuluddin’ to students of medicine, engineering and economics to make them better human beings.

International Islamic University Islamabad Rector Professor Dr. Masoom Yasinzai expressed this while speaking at launching ceremony of a thematic calendar titled ‘Great Muslim Explorers’ here on Thursday.

The thematic calendar containing biographies and travelogue of 12 great Muslim explorers was formally launched by the Jahan-e-Maseeha Adbi Forum (JMAF) in a colourful ceremony that was attended by educationists, top physicians, healthcare professionals, writers, poets and professionals from different walks of life.

The thematic calendar is based on the biographies of 12 known and relatively unknown Muslim travellers and explorers including Ibne Batuta, Al-Bairuni, Yousuf Khan Kambal Posh, Al. Masoudi and Zheng He, Chinese Muslim explorer and traveller.

“Great Muslim explorers and travellers like Ibne Batuta and Al-Bairuni were not only scientists, philosophers, physicists and mathematicians but they were also religious scholars and spread Islam to new lands and territories they visited. We need to understand that religious and modern education is equally important for students and they should excel in both the fields of knowledge,” said Dr. Yasinzai.

He said that he was a biochemist by profession though many people consider him as a religious scholar but deplored that he was not taught Islamic subjects and various fields of Islam simultaneously at the higher educational institution.

“But in the glorious days of Islam, students were taught both Islamic teachings as well as science, mathematics, philosophy and other modern subjects at the Madressahs where they used to learn knowledge of Quran and Hadith, ‘Fiqh ‘and various fields of religion,” he added.

Dr. Yasinzai mentioned the Imam Hatip School System in Turkey where young students are not only taught modern disciplines of knowledge but they are also trained in different fields of Islamic education, saying these schools also produced great leaders and statesmen like Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“We need such types of educational institutions which produce quality human beings, experts of all fields and disciplines and persons of high moral characters who could defend Islam in these days of turmoil,” he said.

He lauded Jahan-e-Maseeha Adbi Forum for producing such high quality and informative calendars, book fairs, ‘mushairas’ and other literary activities. Other companies and organisations are treating the disease and illnesses of body but you people, by promoting literature, history and knowledge are treating sick minds and souls, he said. He added that there is need to do more such activities to establish a healthy society.

He urged Jahan-e-Maseeha Adbi Forum to provide this year’s thematic calendar to all the educational institutions including universities, colleges and schools of the capital and other cities so that not only students but their faculty could learn about life, struggle and characters of great Muslim scholars, travellers and explorers.

Eminent poet, writer and Director Quaid-e-Azam Academy Khawaja Razi Haider said JMAF was producing these thematic calendars for the last 19 years and at a time when other people use models, cars, planes and landscapes on their calendars, their research-based calendars are awaited by the people and they are kept as souvenirs and pieces of art and literature by them.

Syed Jamshed Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the pharmaceutical company which sponsored the literary activities of Jahan-e-Maseeha Adbi Forum said it was a non-profit activity aimed at creating a healthy society.

Other speakers including Haroon Qasim and Dr. Mazhar Hussain Raja from Shifa International Hospital Islamabad, Professor Shahbaz Qureshi, Dr. Shahzad Tahir, Dr. Munir Akram Lodhi, Tausif Tabassum and others also spoke and lauded JMAF for continuing with its tradition of promoting Islamic history and culture, Eastern disciplines of knowledge and literature through its activities.