Last year brought deep sadness and great grief to many people – including and especially the students, parents and staff in schools across Pakistan and across the world in response to children being massacred brutally at a school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Schools, colleges, and universities, as a result, have been converted into fortresses and a thriving business for security-wallas. It is said that the country ran out of barbed wire because it was in such high demand.
Due to globalization and the mass media, tragedies anywhere in the world are no longer distant events but personal sorrows. They are no longer stories that travel by word of mouth; rather they are transmitted into our very bedrooms and sitting rooms. This means we live the story of “The Other” every day, every hour. Many viewers personalize and internalize these tragedies, which in turn affect moods and memory. The world media, perhaps, does not realize the heavy burden of responsibility it shoulders, and consequently places upon the collective memory of its consumers. Tragedies, especially man-made, are accumulative problems on the conscience of humanity. Yet victories too are a collective triumph – for example, knowledge and discoveries benefit us all across borders. Despite the terrible tragedies in Pakistan, and the rising unease in the world with “The Other”, thankfully, nature has its way of lightening up the human mood. The warming sunshine, the birds singing in the air against azure blue skies, and the colours that fill our senses are a much-needed uplifting balm for the soul.
We talked about the difference between religion and culture
Also in spring, a new term begins for university and college students. At Forman Christian College University, the Centre for Dialogue and Action has started the third cycle of peace building classes named, “Ilm, Adab aur Insaaniat” (Knowledge, Mutual Respect and Humanity). This is yet another batch of male and female undergrad students we hope to cultivate as Pakistan’s peace builders. Last year, my team and I taught students – many from the Punjab, as well as those from Quetta, South Waziristan and from the northern areas of Pakistan. Unlike this year, last year they were all boys about to graduate from FCCU. Young, enthusiastic, and eager to absorb knowledge and learn a different way of looking at their world.
Yet, many came into class with negative perceptions of not only themselves but also The Other. One boy misunderstood “dialogue” to be an aggressive act, not what it is meant to be in actuality – as peaceful negotiation. Another boy from the tribal belt said he did not feel included by the central government as a citizen and felt left on the periphery of the society. His behavior in class often showed signs of unease with himself. Another Punjabi student of the course confidently told me at the beginning that his uncle from the village said to him that all non-Muslims were “wajib ul qatal” (wajib equates to: necessary or compulsory religious task; and qatal means to kill). This statement by a third year student reflects how pervasive these extreme thoughts are in the region and how necessary ideas of ilm, adab, and insaaniat are across the board in Pakistani educational institutions. We hope that other universities will open their doors to these courses. Many of my colleagues and other students were horrified at this extreme perspective but I stressed that the classroom was a “safe space” and students could voice any opinion, which we would then discuss and debate.
At Cambridge University, where I taught “Introduction to Islam” at Ridley Hall, the young students (often of Judeo-Christian background) also had their vision of Muslims that was more often than not coloured negatively by the media. There too, through dialogue and discussion, we would talk about the difference between religion and culture (their first image of Muslims was “honour killings”. In class we discussed that this was not Islam, it was culture – which is unfortunately practiced by people who happen to be Muslims, Hindus or Christians). We discussed the variety of Muslims from America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Far East: Islam was not a monolith. This helped my students understand Muslims better.
Here in Pakistan, I want my students to understand their own history, themselves, and others better with the tools of mutual respect and deeper understanding. Through the term’s interactive course, taught by a variety of scholars using a variety of interdisciplinary teaching methods, we studied Islam’s inclusive approach, especially as conveyed by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who was Rehmat al Alamin (Mercy unto all of humankind). We also studied the education-oriented and progressive attitudes of the founding fathers of Pakistan – Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan, Allama Iqbal, and the Quaid-e-Azam. We looked at how “the dialogue of civilizations” was far better for the future of humankind than the idea of “clash of civilizations”. We looked at the building blocks of dialogue: learning to understand what others believe and value; avoiding violent action and language; and preventing disagreement from leading to conflict. We looked at examples from history that worked – Al Andalus – the shining bright star for the idea of dialogue and spread of knowledge from Spain to the rest od the world. We looked at the roots of Pakistani history – from Taxila to the Mughals, to the contemporary and so forth. The contents of this course gave the students rich material to feel a sense of identity and pride in themselves, which they eventually projected in their perception of “The Other”. At the end of the course, when students gave their feedback, predominantly positive, the student who thought all non-Muslims should be killed, said, “I am a changed man!” With this enhancement of perspective, he now wanted to change his world by the pen (the qalam), certainly not by violence.
It is the young and their vision of the world that will determine our world’s future and its direction. Parents, teachers, and policy makers must instill the attitude of being positive and constructive for the bright future of their nation. This is the Pakistan many of us know and believe in – of literature and great poetry, of knowledge and discovery, of Allama Iqbal, Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan, and the Quaid-e-Azam and many remarkable others.
Spring is a reminder of how valuable all that we have is, and the reasons we have to struggle to keep it, and to work peacefully to continue building it. It is the reason for new life, a reason to live, a reason for hope, a new way of seeing, and a new beginning.
Dr Amineh Hoti is the executive director of the Centre for Dialogue and Action at Forman Christian College, Lahore