By: Syed Majid Gilani
Various Dar-ul-Ulooms across Jammu and Kashmir have been instrumental in producing a great chunk of scholars, Islamic luminaries, Hafiz-e-Quran students besides Moulvi Sahibs and Imaams. In fact, most of the mosques here have Imaams coming from one or the other Dar-ul-Uloom. What is however needed is to broaden the horizons of Dar-ul-Ulooms to introduce and appreciate modern education side by side. This would lead us to a position where our Imaam could be a Hafiz as well as a technocrat, a doctor or an engineer as well. Wouldn’t that be great?
Several things in our society call for a change and one among them is our revered Dar-ul-Ulooms the institutions that have a distinction of producing the religious luminaries, Imaams, scholars and thousands of Hafiz-e-Quran students. Isn’t it time to expand and broaden the scope of such institutions so that besides such religious luminaries, we also have a skilled lot in other matters of life as well?
We need to work towards making our youth not just religious scholars but also skilled teachers, administrators, university Professors, doctors, engineers, technologists and journalistsetc and all this is possible when all our institutions, including Dar-ul-Ulooms work towards this goal.
Currently,the Courses and syllabi offered by Dar-ul-Ulooms are solely based on religious education which is central and very important indeed. But we must also introduce modern education alongside it. By offering extra-curricular activities, vocationalcourses, technical training and skills development programs, we can make the whole education process more productive and job oriented.
In today’s world, job oriented education and training are in high demand, therefore it does not seem good to keep the students of Dar-ul-Uloomsaway from modem educational trends, as this could hinder their future job prospects. Instead,we should strive for a balanced mix of Islamic and modern education, making Dar-ul-Ulooms more desirable.
Imagine if these schools could be the institutions of both modern education and religions teaching, our youngsters would possess a balanced mix of worldly wisdom and spiritual depth. They would find themselves a step ahead in the job market and Molvis Sahibs, Mufti Sahibs and Hufaz Quran could serve the society in a much larger and profound manner. Instead of solely being Imams of mosques, let the pass outs of Dar-ul-Ulooms compete and occupy public and private sector jobs.
Combining religions studies with modern education can work wonders. It could infuse Islamic values including norms of humanism,compassion, hardwork, honesty, faithfulness and loyalty with the nuances of modern education. There is no need to separate these two forms of education when, they can complement each other.
Dar-ul-Ulooms need to become more attractive and organised. It should be their dream to see their students gaining admission in various professional colleges and eventually becoming professors, doctors, teachers, administrators, technologists and more. Let us encourage the heads of these institutions and the general public to ponder over this, and rise to the need. Together, let us create a human resource that can excel in both religious and modem education.Wouldn’t it be great if students from Dar-ul-Uloomslead prayers and deliver sermons while also being known for their profession and occupying prestigious positions in the society!
The writer is a GST Inspector, J&K Government.
