Over the centuries people from different cultures
& regions have always given more importance to the prevalent religion in
that particular region at that particular time.
Christianity which has its roots in the Middle-East
and South Asia was peacefully preached & practiced in Europe while Islam
which too has its origins in the Middle-East found a permanent foothold in Asia
& Africa. To openly claim that ones religion is superior to the other is in
itself an act of blasphemy.
Muslims live in North America, Europe, Australia and
other non-Muslim countries, but never have the education system in these
countries ever tried to impose an alien religious subject on their children,
nor have the Muslim children ever been brainwashed into believing that their
religion is inferior to those of other religions. As a matter of fact all children in
non-muslim countries are taught the importance of national unity, patriotism,
love for humanity & economic development of their respective countries.
In Pakistan, since the last 67 years special emphasis
is given to Islamayat (Islamic studies) in all educational institutions from
primary to under-graduate level. Diverse
subject such as Mathematics, Science, Geography, History and even language
subjects such as Urdu, Punjabi and Sindhi have Islamic concoction in them. Alternative subjects such as Civics &
Ethics are given little or no importance and even in these subjects, 75%
teaching of Islam is present. This is well and okay if all the students in
Pakistan come from Islamic backgrounds – What happens to children from
Christian backgrounds? What alternative subjects are taught to them that do not
include Islam? I am afraid the answer to the above two questions is not
positively reassuring.
Islamic Studies is taught to Christian children from
Kindergarten level and when these children reach the upper primary level, they
are reasonably brainwashed by then into believing that Islam is the only
superior religion and that their belief in Christ or Christianity is wrong-the Holy
Bible unlike the Holy Quran has been amended and due to this fact it is no
longer accurate and an inferior religion.
Teachers also coax these Christian children (05 years old and above) to
renounce Christianity & embrace Islam to redeem themselves from sin and
promises of a place in paradise. Our
Christian children when at home pose serious & misinterpreted questions to
their parents about the activities that took place in their respective school
and begin to question their faith creating an atmosphere or uncertainty, alienation
& inferiority complex which later in life causes entrenched doubts about
their religious convictions and even a switch to Islam, based on the earlier
misinterpreted version imparted by their Islamic Studies teachers. It is no
secret that these Islamic Studies teachers are in fact aggressively promoting
Islam with the tacit approval of their respective educational hierarchy, which
is turn are taking their instructions from the Government. Is this approach
correct?
Let’s take another example. There was a hue & cry in France about the
issue of Muslim female students not allowed to wear the scarf while in
School. The Government of France made it
amply clear that all students in France must follow rules & regulations and
that the dress code did not include religious insignia or restrictions. The point is that Muslim prefers to adhere to
their religious values in non-muslim countries but force Islamic value to
non-Muslims in their own countries. Why the double standard? Can Pakistani
Government justifiably prove that Islam is in fact more superior to other
religion? Pakistani print and electronic media always claim that the Holy Quran
explicitly forbids Muslims from discriminating against other religions. Why
then the unnecessary discrimination? Pakistani Government boast about the
rising number of converts to Islam but in reality, other religions are not
allowed to flourish, instead other religions are demonized here. Pakistani government
never provides a level playing field and usually resorts to unethical &
provocative methods to inflict physiological torture on Christians.
Religion can never be forced onto others, Christians
in Pakistan are guaranteed religious freedom both by the Constitution of
Pakistan as well as the United Nations (Pakistan is a veteran member of the
United Nations) but this guarantee only exists on paper – the reverse is
actually applicable.
To compound problems Islamic studies is taught in the
Arabic language – once again an alien and irrelevant language both for Muslim
& Christian students alike, whom face extreme difficulty in comprehending
this language. Then there are a few
schools that teach Civics or Ethics instead of Islamic Studies but it becomes
difficult for children whom are studying these particular subjects to
successfully pass their examinations.
This is another hand twisting methods adopted by the educators into
compelling students from opting out of Civics/Ethics in favor of Islamic
Studies.
Interestingly enough Christian students, who complete
Islamic Studies examinations, are given good grades, even though they may not
have made a serious attempt to pass.
I strongly urge the Government of Pakistan both at
Federal & Provincial level to cease teaching Islamic Studies to Christians;
instead appoint teachers from Christian background to teach Holy Bible to
Christian students. This will improve
the unemployment situation for the Christians, create an atmosphere of
tolerance & brotherhood and will give Christians a sense of security-
sorely missing in Pakistan.
Pakistani Christians applaud the Government
into allowing Aga Khan Board to be established; similarly I recommend that a
Christian Board too be created to facilitate children from Christian
background.
Forcibly eradicating other religious values &
beliefs will only create an atmosphere of distrust, contempt, intolerance,
discrimination & loss of self-esteem, a situation currently in existence in
Pakistan. Wake up Government of Pakistan
before it is too late.
written by
Hector Aleem
Chairman
Peace Worldwide
