By
Abdul Hannan Siwani Nadvi
As the age of research work, quality education and divine power that had been empowering Muslims to face the challenges of every era moved out from them, throughout the world, the tendency to push the blame on Ulema, holding them accountable for every failure, pointing the fingers toward some specific Islamic laws and declaring the syllabus are being taught in Madrasas and religious institutions as an outdated syllabus and terming Madrasas as a symbol of old age, grown very rapidly in Muslims, especially, in Muslim community in India.
When Sacchar commission report makes clear the air about Madrasas stating that the percentage of Muslims who approach Madrasas to get the education is just only 4%, even the financial conditions of Madrasas, teachers and students, who study there is not much better, as well as, it is known to all Muslims, Madrasas, except some, have no good infrastructure due to very bad financial condition as it is being run by the donation of Muslims only; does expecting from 4 % minority to solve all problems of Muslims, as there are a plenty of problems, justifiable?
Indeed, laziness, dullness, distancing themselves from hard working, selecting short-cut ways to make money, wasting the time in watching films and serials, or taking part in unnecessary works and making themselves busy in nonsense subjects, or trying to get awards, and fame by making comments against Ulema paved the way for majority of Muslims to put Ulema on target so that they can cover their failure and no one blame them for the deteriorating situation of Muslims in India.
Pushing the blame on Ulema and pointing the finger toward Madrasas is very easy work, but conceding our own faults and mistakes is very hard work for most of us. We forget what our behavior with Ulema and Madrasas are? How Madrasas people get donations, and how they collect it from every Muslim so that they can arrange a free education to poor Muslims in Madrasas?
Is collecting donation an easy work? When the representatives of Madrasas knock the doors of Muslim homes and ask some donation for Madrasas, during the month of Ramzan or in normal days, so what most of us do; did we imagine it? Why we misbehave with them? Why we treat them as they are the beggars? Even, my personal experience is very harsh, a very few people behave them with respect and dignity, most of us close the door before them, some of us make shill-shally, some of us say; come after two hours, when the representatives come after two hours, then it is said to them, there is nobody in the home, come tomorrow, when these representatives come again, we do not open the door, or it is said to them from window, go; and never come, some of us say to them; we are against Madrasas, hence we will not give the donation, if they agree to pay the donation so give them just 10 rupees, or 5 rupees, or 20, or 30 rupees and these representatives of Madrasas, despite of this misbehavior, go to door-to-door, room to room, house to house, knock every door to collect 5, or 10, or 20, or 50 rupees, some of us drive them off, some of us use abusive language against them, some of us advise them to leave the Madrasas, some of us say to them “you cheat the people” but no one ask them, please come in my home, take a tea, take a cold water, or pls take lunch with us today, or tomorrow; most of us; through out hundreds of thousands of questions on them for just giving 10 or 20 rupees; such as you are from where? Who are you? Which Madarsa is? And at last, unwillingly, grudgingly, and resentfully we become agree to give just only 10 or 20 rupees; while thousands rupees are being spent in just purchasing of only one item because our children likes it.
This is the harsh reality of Muslims behavior with the representatives of Madarasas; we feel hesitation in just donating 10 or 20 rupees; while a particular class in Muslim community always blames Ulema; targets Madrasas and its education system. This class always demands of computer education to be taught there, can any one let me know how much the cost of one computer? How much people from us gifted only one computer to any Madarsa; if any one gives computer or funds to Madrasas; so in response of it, he wants to be listed in members of Madarsa, wants to interfere in Madrasas education system, I ask common Muslim; how much they pay for his one children for his studying in English School? Five thousand per month, or 6 thousand per month or more, however, the cost of Madrasas student for one year exceeds not more than 5 thousand. Madrasas itself bears the cost of books, breakfast, dinner and lunch and so on; no one goes there to ask from officials of Madrasas how they arrange meals every day for hundreds and thousands of Madrasas students.
How much from us visited Madrasas? How much people from us tested the foods are being served to Madrasas students? How many organizations visited Madrasas? If some visited there so it was for his personal interest, for his popularity, for his fame; do these not the reality?
We want high class educated and well personalized graduate come out from the Madrasas, we, however, face trouble in just giving 10 or 20 rupees as donation, a family can spend thousands rupees for just happiness of their children; a family can purchase puppets; video games; CD players; and so on and so on but in donating just few rupees; they think these Madrasas people made them bankrupt and penniless.
The same situation is about Imam in our country, two thousand and three thousand, if Masjid is big so five thousand is the salary of Imam in our country. Most of Masjids are being run by the donation and with the help of Muslims. Sometimes, Masjids administration faces so many problems in giving this salary to Imam too; can anyone tell me a family can survive in this age of high price just only in this small amount?
No doubt, there are hundreds and thousands of Muslims whose donation, help and sacrifices are helping the owners of Madrasas to run these institutions without a hope of prize or award.
I would like to tell you, Ulema besieged themselves into the boundary of Madrasas and religious education only. Rest of fields is leaved and free for entire Muslim community. Why they are not trying their luck in these fields, Muslim community is in need of good Doctors, Engineers, Scientists, architects and so on.
When it has been made clear that only 4% or less than 4% approach to Madarasas; question itself arises, rest 96% goes where?
India, as an Independent country has completed its 63 years, on the other hand, Muslims bearing just two Universities on their shoulder, are moving on; one of it is Aligarh Muslim University and the second one is Jamia Millia Islamia.
There are various richest Muslims, and there are hundreds of scholars, professors and others whose salary and monthly income is above from more than one lack and who have great respect, relations and sources within, and outside of the community, why they are not trying to build another university, why the network of schools and Universities cannot be deployed across the country?
In these 63 years, Ulema, by collecting of one rupee and two rupees and despite of various difficulties, established a network of Madrasas throughout the country, then why these powerful leaders cannot gift any new university to Indian Muslims?
First we have to change our attitude, our behavior and our manner. Change our minds and be ready to make sacrifices; nothing will happen if blaming on Ulema and Madrasas remains to continue.
Muslims should leave the tendency of blaming Ulema or holding religious class accountable for the failure. What the reality is, this time, Muslims, by and large, are passing with fall. They are backward in every field. We could defeat this fall if every Muslim to be stand and fight with problems as per his capability. Differences and oppositions have a place in every community, but in Muslims, it is being used as a tool to escape from discharging the responsibilities.
If every Muslim does his own work, I think no one can stop them from arriving at higher position in the world. If every professional Muslim does his work in his field he will see the result in just few years. The society will be changed and Muslims will shine, if Muslims do this.
In this society in which voices arise against Ulema and Madrasas, we observe that two small children, who were living in slum areas and were from poor families, win the Oscar awards and find no problem in achieving these goals, how is it happened? Muslims have to think about it hundreds and thousands time.
Many times, we saw, in Delhi, boys and girls who were not Muslims and were from very poor families had been reading, studying and finishing their home work sitting on small but broken bed beside the road, where were noises and there were the crowds of Riksha pullers and passer by, in spite of, and under the heat of the sun these boys and girls were busy in studying, can Muslims take a lesson from them instead of blaming Ulema and Madrasas?
I would like to say to all Indian Muslims that their problems could be put on end within just few years if every Muslim decide to play a pivot role in building himself.
21-03-2011
