Following the Sachar Committee Report on Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community, a series of debates and discussions has started on Madrasa and its education system. Some time the issue of amendment to Madrasa syllabus made headlines in newspapers especially in the Urdu media, and some other times national level seminars were organised in this regard. Recently there was a two-day national seminar on Madrasa and Educational Need of the Indian Muslims organised by Ark Foundation in coordination with National University of Educational Planning on March 29-30, 2008 at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. This seminar was attended by a number of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars, who articulated their views and ideas related to Madrasa curriculum and its contribution in spreading knowledge and education.
But this is a pity to mention here that most of the Muslim intellectuals and scholars adopted a dual approach to the issue of amendment to the syllabus of Madrasa. They supported the idea of amendment to the syllabus and at the same time opposed it also by making inflammatory speeches in which they tried to convince the audience that they are either supporters or against the idea of reformation of the syllabus. In this way, they succeeded in making people confused with the aim of exploiting them politically. This hypocritical nature of Muslim leadership is responsible of social, economic and educational backwardness faced by the Muslim community today.
The main target of Muslim leadership is to woo the people and to play sycophant to the government through such kinds of seminars so that the government will give them higher positions in any minority commission or in any other department which looks after the Muslim affairs.
Very honestly we can say that there were only three Muslim personalities in the seminar who were very clear in their stand and sincere to solve the Muslim issue, as reflected in their speeches made by them in the seminar. They are: Prof. Bashir Ahmad Khan, PVC IGNOU, New Delhi, renowned journalist Syed Zafar Agha, and Prof. Faizanullah Farooqui, Chairperson of Arabic and African Studies Centre, JNU, New Delhi. The last of them constituted in coordination with two of his counterparts, Prof. Aslam Mahmood and Prof. Quraishi a committee to examine the Madrasa education system, and this team recently had carried out a survey of the madarsas located at Bihar and U.P. and submitted their report to the JNU administration recommending approval of certificate of some Madrasas for admission to B.A. in JNU. Although the certificate of some Madrasas are recognised in Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University where the “Almiat” and “Fadilat” degree holder is given admission to B.A. on the basis of this Madrasa degree, but these degrees are not accepted in JNU. So this team had worked hard to facilitate admission of the “Almiat” and “Fadilat” degree holders to B.A. in JNU and finally their demand were fulfilled. Now the door of JNU is open for Madrasa degree holders also.
As far as this seminar is concerned, we cannot call it a successful seminar, because in this seminar no article reviewing the historical background of Madrasa and its syllabus was presented. The fact remains that the curriculum of Madrasa has witnessed changes and amendments throughout the ages as per the need of hours since its coming into existence. For example, when in the Abbasid Period philosophy and logic books were translated into the Arabic language. These books have changed the life of Muslims to such an extent that everybody started debate and discussion on the religious affairs in the light of philosophy and logic and raised doubt about the credibility of Islam and generated confusion in the Islamic creed. This situation of doubt and confusion deprived the Ulama of sleep and made them worry. In this situation a group of Ulama came forward with the idea of amendment to the syllabus, and philosophy and logic were made compulsory subjects of the Madrasa curriculum. So the Ulama can be able to remove the cloud of doubt and confusion occurred due to these two branches of modern education of that time. By virtue of this amendment to syllabus, Madrasa produced a number of great, renowned and outstanding philosophers like Imam al-Ash’ary, Imam Maturidy, Imam Razi, Imam Gazali, who explained the principle of Islam in the light of philosophy and logic and gave satisfactory answers of all objections to the enemy of Islam and made them silent for ever.
In the present era, when western education flourished, Egypt has opened its door widely for modern education. Mohammad Ali, who was the ruler of Egypt towards the end of the 19th century, sent students to Europe for receiving these branches of modern education and invited the experts of these branches of education to teach Egyptians, and inaugurated a number of schools, colleges and universities and made significant amendments to the syllabus and introduced a few new subjects to the curriculum of Madrasa. This amendment to the syllabus led to the educational renaissance in the Arab world. Let me make it clear that the oldest University of Muslims viz. Jamia Al Azhar built by Muslim General Johar Al-Saquli in the Fatmid period, exposed itself to the amendment to the syllabus in the hand of great Arab writer Mohammad Abdahu.
If we take a look at the history of Indian Madrasa and its curriculum, we come to know that Indian Ulama also carried out changes and amendment to the curriculum of Madrasa according to the need of hours. In the time of well-known Indian scholar Sheikh Shah Waliullah, the syllabus of Madrasa included science, mathematics and astronomy, as Sheikh Mohammad Wazeh Nadwi writes in his Arabic book, The Indian Islamic education movement and development of its curriculum : In the time of Sheikh Shah Waliullah, a few books on medicine, science and astrology like Mojaz-al-Qanoon in medicine by Ibn Sina and Al-Rasail al-Mukhtasara in mathematic and astronomy, were part of the Madrasa curriculum, and after then Shaikh Nizamuddinn Sahalvi made some reform in the syllabus and added to this syllabus some new books like Khulasatul-Hisaab, Tahreere Iqlidi, Tashrih-ul-Aflaak and Qaushijia. This amendment to the then syllabus is known now as the “Darse-Nizami” which is followed by most of the Madrasas existing now in the Indian peninsula, including Darul Uloom Deoband which is considered Jamia Al Azhar of India. But this syllabus was implemented with the omission of books on mathematics, science and astronomy.
Apart from these fundamental changes, the Persian language was taught in these Madrasas in the Mughal period as a compulsory subject despite the fact that Islamic education has nothing to do with the Persian language. Probably the Ulama of the Mughal period made it a compulsory subject because the Persian language was the official language of the Mughal government, and it was one of the helping tool to provide the bachelors of Madrasas good job opportunities in the government sector, as the English language is today.
One of the biggest drawbacks of such seminars is that they are organised in the Universities and other places where Ulama and those who run the Madrasas are not able to reach. This seminar is the best example of this drawback, which was attended by Sheikh Salman Hasani Nadwi only, who belongs to Nadwatul Ulama Lucknow. He made an inflammatory speech in which he described the syllabus followed by most of the Madrasas now as up-to-date and much more advanced, which does not require any change and reform. When he was asked that Madrasa had produced a number of big scientists and philosophers like Ibne Rushd, Ibne Haitham in the past; what is the reason the Madrasas today are not capable of producing anyone like them in this present era. In response to this question, he said that we were talking about the contribution of Madrasa. This is Madrasa which produced Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who established Anglo-Oriental College, which now became a central university and is known as Aligarh Muslim University which is active in spreading knowledge and science in the world especially in India.
I agree with Sheikh Salman Nadwi in his point that Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was from Madrasa, but I want to raise some question here: what is the reason these Ulama have given a blind eye to the views and ideas of Sir Syed Ahmad khan related to the modern education? Why do they not follow his path of promoting sciences? Why are they against his beautiful saying in which he said that “the Philosophy will be in our right hand, natural science will be in our left hand and Kalima Taiba will be crowned on our head?”
At the time of enumerating the contributions, these Ulama did not hesitate to include Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in their list, but this is a fact also that they were Ulama who had issued countless fatwas against him declaring him “Kafir” (infidel). And 18 of these fatwas pronounced his death.
There is no doubt that Sir Syed Ahmad received his education from Madrasa, and was influenced by the thoughts of the Wahabi movement, especially its spiritual leader Sheikh Shah Abdul Aziz. It is noteworthy to mention here that Shah Abdul Aziz was very much advanced in his thinking, as Sir Syed Ahmad Khan himself writes about him in the context of threat posed by Christian missionaries in his famous book Causes of the Indian Revolt of 1857: in this period Sheikh Shah Abdul Aziz, who was a famous Alim or Islamic scholar, was alive. Muslims asked him a Fatwa related to English education. He clearly gave the answer that there is no problem to go to English School and to learn English as a language, according to the religion of Islam.
No doubt this kind of personalities who were rich and advanced in their thinking, and the curriculum of Madrasa which comprised scientific educations also, created Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and made him able to get a job in the government of East India Company immediately on completion of his education in Madrasa, where he started his career as Secretary in 1838 and gradually reached the post of chief justice. Apart from it, in 1862 he constituted a scientific society in order to translate scientific books from English into Urdu, in 1866 he established bilingual Urdu-English “Aligarh institute gazette newspaper”, and in 1870 he established a monthly magazine “Tahzibul Akhlaque” to generate awareness among the Muslim community, and finally in 1876 he established Anglo-Oriental College, which now became a central university and is known as Aligarh Muslim University.
In light of these achievements made by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, we should think about the Madrasas which produced the big scholars and pioneers like Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, due to its advance curriculum comprising modern education, which helped the bachelor of these Madrasas to get a job in the government sector, as Sir Syed Ahmad Khan did. Then what is the reason that today the curriculum of Madrasa does not fulfil the requirements of the time? And why Ulama are rigid in their stand, why they are not eager to reform it so that it keeps pace with the time? Why do they not want that Madrasas produce such Ulama who can get a government job after completing their education in Madrasa?
So need of the hour is to bring significant changes and amendment to the syllabus in order to keep pace with the time and fulfil the requirements of the modern age. And this is possible only by making English, Political Science, History and Mathematics compulsory subjects according to syllabus of N.C.E.R.T. In such a way Madrasas can produce such Ulama as can play a significant role to save the Muslim community from the social, economic and educational backwardness and can kindle among them the light of knowledge and learning.