Turkish Schools Offer Pakistan a Gentler Vision of Islam

[mezeren]

:salam2:
i as a turk would like to give you some info about these schools.it is a civil movement backed by ordinary muslims.there are,i guess,hundreds of them thoroughout the world.they are not backed by goverments,besides,some former governments tried to close them down abroad.
there are some good and not so good things about the schools.because the schools connected with turkish education system they have to follow their pattern and it is not islamic because of its kemalist doctrine.
i do not think they are so happy about it,i think it is kind of taqiyya.
what is islamic about the schools is that,their teachers are young,intelligent,bright,pious and idealist people who go all over the world for the sake of islam,also who can earn much more if they stayed in turkey.they don't teach islam in classes but out of class they are teaching islam and most importantly living islam as an example.
that is what i know about them.although i am against any concession regarding islam,i can not question their intentions.only Allah(s.w.t) knows the unseen.

 

[abubaseer]

Philosophy, science, along with Quran and Sunnah should be heavily encouraged in Muslim countries.



I agree with you, but in reverse order. But not Philliosophy, atleast not Greek Phillospohy.

I would request you to read the following article on effects of Greek Phillosophy had on Islaam.
http://muslimmatters.org/2008/04/09/the-role-of-atomism-on-groups-of-kalam

Also, Ibn Taymiyyah Rahmimahullah wrote a book critisizing Greek Phillisophy.

 

[summertime]

I agree with you wholeheartedly. Firstly, I'm just as Pakistani as the next one and I can barely tolerate negative criticism of my country or my religion, but this is something that I not only acknowledge but also whose importance I cannot STRESS enough. It is a FACT that a huge majority of Pakistani citizens in Pakistan are illiterate and a significant number of these are also very "radical" muslims. The term radical is loosely defined because even though I reject any type of western imposition on Islam, I do believe that many of these individuals misinterpret many Islamic ideas based on a lack of education. And whether you liked him or not, Mr. Kacmaz stated that “How we interpret the Koran is totally dependent on our education” and I believe this is a valid statement. One relays the facts he or she is exposed to based on their knowledge of communication, elaboration, and interpretation of those facts. Intentional or not, if one is lacking in the proper ability to do any of those then it is highly likely that he or she will not interpret the fact correctly. The idea of giving Pakistani children Western education AND maintaining their Islam IMO is a stroke of GENIUS. It will not only empower them to stand strong against a "superior" nation (as the Western powers claim themselves in so many ways to be) but to also perfect their Deen to the best of their abilities and to further help the nation of Pakistan to prosper as hopefully one of "the frontier nations of Islam" InshAllah.:tti_sister:

I agree completely

Okay, but do you believe the PakTurk schools are the way forward? I dont, I'm not denying the problems in the Pakistani education system (though I haven't experianced first hand)

I think theyre distorting Islam, far from removing the problems which you guys have decribed. I dont like the supercillious atittude of the people who go in with their own doctrine calling it ''Islam'', I dont believe there IS a 'gentler version' of Islam, there are no versions, so what is really going on here? Replacing one evil with another? Thats not a solution. Reading between the lines, in fact you dont even have to read between them to see it, its blatant indoctrination.

The last thing we need is the next generation in Pakistan to lose their Islamic identity as the Turks did - I see too many similarities for my liking.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this ? maybe, but thats how I see it.

There are no versions of islam i agree, however we cannot deny that there are different interpretations if islam. As someone else here said, untill and unless the pakistani youth is given proper education they will blindly follow the present interpretation without using their own intellect to find the middle path. there is no gentler version of islam because classical islam was already gentle.

If islam is taught in schools in pakistan whos interpretation should be taught? which school of thought should be emphasised? which aqeeda should be emphasised?? you see sister by minimising the teaching of islam in schools and emphasising on other education this gives people the chance to go out and find for them selves what true islam is, rather than being spoon fed the interpretation considered most authentic by those in charge?


And to say that turks have lost their islamic identity is pretty harsh don't you think? You may not agree with the present system of government in turkey but to say that they have lost their islamic identity because thier interpretation of islam differs from others is not exactly fair. But perhaps i have misunderstood you. maybe you could explain in more detail what you mean by saying turks have lost their islamic identity.

Saalam

Well the Turk education movement that is described in the article, does not even have the support of the backing of the Turkish government.
According to the article, it is mainly business owners who support the expansion of Turkic school.

Having western education is not necessarily bad, I've learned much more about Islam after living in USA than I did in my Islamic country.
As a brother stated earlier, "There is only one required Islamic class in school" IMO such class does not really teach much, and the method of teaching is not productive at all.
If the Turkish schools do not harm Islam or Muslims, then I have no problem with it.

That being said.
Philosophy, science, along with Quran and Sunnah should be heavily encouraged in Muslim countries.
Every one should learn Arabic in school,so they will be able to understand and appreciate the Quran without relying on translation and Maolanas and Mullahs (referring to the ones in subcontinent).

Just imagine this, if Muslim countries had a curriculum something similar to the following:
K-8: Strong emphasis on Arabic, religious studies, along with math, science, and english.
8-12, Required classes on Islamic history, culture, etc... (along with the standard math, science, art, etc..)
At the college level, if the universities offered curriculum similar to Al-Azhar University. That way, people have the option to receive a great secular and religious education according to whatever they choose.

I know it sounds wishy/washy, but if Muslim countries followed something along that line, I think illiteracy would be reduced dramatically at the same time we would have a strong educated class endowed with good religious knowledge and also secular education to compete in the workforce (domestically and internationally). Of course, education from k-12 would have to be free.


There is nothing wrong with trying to bring back the Caliphate, but I doubt such things will happen in our life time or our children's life time. I would actually be happy, in fact all Muslims should be happy if the Caliphate was to return.

Sorry if I didn't make any sense, it is really late here and I'm sleepy.


Wasalam,

Shoaib

Yes you are right. The way they taught that one islamic class never really was very productive. I took more interest in islam when i came back to the UK , where i was given free reign over my thoughts. I was able to come to conclusions using my own intellect rather than being spoon fed someone elses version of islam.

 

[al-fajr]

Assalamualaikum,

If islam is taught in schools in pakistan whos interpretation should be taught? which school of thought should be emphasised? which aqeeda should be emphasised?? you see sister by minimising the teaching of islam in schools and emphasising on other education this gives people the chance to go out and find for them selves what true islam is, rather than being spoon fed the interpretation considered most authentic by those in charge?

You have a good point, I never thought of it like that.

And to say that turks have lost their islamic identity is pretty harsh don't you think? You may not agree with the present system of government in turkey but to say that they have lost their islamic identity because thier interpretation of islam differs from others is not exactly fair. But perhaps i have misunderstood you. maybe you could explain in more detail what you mean by saying turks have lost their islamic identity.

The present system is actually a threat to the secular tradition, they did lose it through Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, he stamped everything Islamic out of Turkey to an extent that It hasnt been the same since. I want to emphasise though, I am not passing a judgement on every individual Turkish person, I was making the point that Ataturk messed it up.

I think theyre distorting Islam in a place where, like others have already stated, there are problems with the religious education:

Fethullah Gulen, a preacher with millions of followers in Turkey, Mr. Gulen, 69, comes from a tradition of Sufism, an introspective, mystical strain of Islam. He has lived in exile in the United States since 2000, after getting in trouble with secular Turkish officials.

If Pakistan has a major problem of so called 'radicalisation' then I dont see this as a viable alternative, this seems to me like the other extreme.

 

[ShahnazZ]

:salam2:
I have a question:

What kind of Farsi do Pakistanis learn? The kind that us Afghans and Tajikis speak or the kind that Iranis speak? I've never met a Pakistani that knew Farsi so that's news to me. I also want to compliment the Pakistani people, I've noticed that they are some of the most islamic-practicing people that I have ever met.

Well, when Farsi was first introduced it was during the time of the Mughal empire so I believe it was the original Farsi (Irani) dialect. However, today people believe that it would be more beneficial to learn Dari as there are many Afghans in Pakistan as well. There are actually many Farsi-speaking Pakistanis. For example, in Baluchistan, all you will find are Farsi-speaking Pakistanis.

 

[summertime]

Actually sister Isra you do have a good point....What we need to strive for is the middle path...It's up to us pakistanis though..we should promise our selves that once we are able to, inshAllah we will do something to change the situation of our country...

 

[ShahnazZ]

I think theyre distorting Islam, far from removing the problems which you guys have decribed. I dont like the supercillious atittude of the people who go in with their own doctrine calling it ''Islam'', I dont believe there IS a 'gentler version' of Islam, there are no versions, so what is really going on here? Replacing one evil with another? Thats not a solution. Reading between the lines, in fact you dont even have to read between them to see it, its blatant indoctrination.

I think calling it "a gentler version of Islam" was misleading and that I believe is their mistake. Of course I agree with the fact that there is only one Islam but maybe they're trying to play the game that Pakistani "radicals" are technically playing. IMO the unliterate and radical have transformed Islam into an extreme belief system based on their uneducated interpretation of it. And as the Quran is the most advanced and eloquent form of Arabic writing to date, I do believe that today's Muslim WILL have trouble interpreting it. Which is why I was raised with the idea that we should never attempt to interpret it ALONE. There should always be the assistance of an Imam or Alim. Thus, I believe that since those people have created a "harsher" Islam and not one in ENTIRE accordance with the Quran or Hadith, this is a counteraction in order to bring a "gentler" Islam and I guess they mean to say one that is closer to the truth. However, only Allah knows the intentions of everyone and all we can do is aspire to be great Muslims.