Wahabism in Centers of Learning

The state of the higher education system in Pakistan is in shambles. Instead of being centers of research and innovation, they are social forums for non academic matters such as religion and politics. Our education system has yet to establish a university with several faculties that is recognized internationally as being a center of excellence, innovation and research. Islam seems to be the dominating force nowadays in our universities. One just has to step through the gates of any university in Pakistan to find a deluge of green turban wearing students flocking together to one of the several mosques that seem to dot every campus. The mullah mafia is slowly and inexorably overthrowing the academic objectives of Pakistani universities and turning them into ideological breeding grounds for a new and more vitriolic brand of Islam.

A rigidity unseen before is now fast becoming the widely accepted adaptation of Islam in Pakistan. The rise of mullahism in Pakistan and Afghanistan can be directly linked to the rise of the extremely right wing school of thought, namely the school of Imam Wahab. Imam Wahab’s teachings, more widely known as wahabism, are inflexible in the extreme when compared to the other rather more understanding schools of thoughts in Islam. Wahabism’s rise to prominence was due to its rapid propagation in the lands of Arabia, home to Islam’s holy cities of Makkah and Medina and the wahabi preachers used this fact to their advantage.

The once celebrated diversity of Islam is now crumbling in the face of an onslaught by the proponents of wahabi intolerance. But the question is, how does the rise of wahabism relate to the present state of Pakistani universities? Well to find an answer one has to look no further than the millions of Pakistanis who flocked to the middle east during and after the oil boom years of the 70’s. Upon coming back to Pakistan, these workers brought back with them not only a deluge of foreign currency but also an entirely foreign set of traditions and customs.

A few years back it was a rare sight to spot an abaya, an all covering black cloth worn to completely cover a woman from head to toe in opaque black cloth, which is not indigenous to the subcontinent. However, the frequency of these sightings are rising at an alarmingly fast rate. The abaya is one of many customs that are being imported into Pakistani society and, under the guise of religion, supplanting the customs and traditions of our ancestors. The local mullahs when introduced to a new set of social norms and religious ideologies have their own way of analyzing and evaluating both their authenticity and their suitability for society. Due to their lack of a formal education and hence comprehensive understanding of societal frameworks, they are naturally inept to dispense this immense service. But in Pakistan a beard and topi are respected more than a formal degree in sociology or psychology or for that matter any degree in a social science that would make an individual competent enough to analytically and impartially reach an informed decision on such matters. The problem with our society is that when it searches for leaders, it emphasizes on the wrong issues. The presence or lack of religious background, knowledge or its visible manifestations have no bearing on an individuals suitability when being considered for positions of leadership in society. What matters is the individuals character, leadership capabilities and a sound professional background that would allow him/her to dispense their duties objectively and efficiently.

For centuries the duty of being the catalyst for change and evolution in Pakistani society has rested on the shoulders of the local mullahs who have perennially inhibited progress due to their ambulatory deficiencies. An educated and enlightened society would have no place for the traditionalist firebrand mullahs we have today in Pakistan. Hence, for the sake of the preservation of their radical ideologies and more importantly their positions as the self anointed judges of society,the mullahs are inhibiting the intellectual growth of society. After all it is far easier to hoodwink the illiterate than it is the educated. To bring about this state of mental dystrophy and degeneration, the mullahs have turned their energies to the centers of learning in our society and our schools, colleges and universities have been equally affected and this bottom up approach is ensuring that every upcoming pakistani generation will be less educated and more importantly less critical of the edicts issued by the religious clergy in our country. It is fast becoming taboo to question the judgement of any mullah lest one wish to bring upon oneself a violent reprisal. Where open discussions on social and religious issues were the norm, one sees a sudden aversion to any difference in opinion. One cannot even ask the mullahs to delineate their religious fatwas or edicts, for doing so nowadays is viewed by mainstream society as being a direct contradiction of Gods law.

But how can we counteract these elements who are bent upon bringing Pakistan back to the middle ages? Well for a start, the educated intellectuals of Pakistan must unite in the face of this scourge and this unity of objective must transgress all boundaries of gender, religion,race and colour. Secondly, the socio economic conditions in Pakistan must be improved. Poverty and illiteracy must be eradicated as it is the poor and destitute who look towards religion as a symbol of salvation. They look up to religious leaders as being their hope for a better life,i.e. if not in this world then atleast in the gardens of paradise which are abound with palaces and slave girls. Give these people a proper education and skills allowing them to succeed in society and to pull themselves out of their misery and money will soon replace the mullahs as the symbol of hope and people will flock not to blindly follow mullahs in street protests, but to the markets to conduct trade and generate precious capital.

Let the dream of capitalism replace wahabism as the new fad in Pakistan and people will soon begin to ignore the uneducated boors our present mullahs are and seek out new social leaders; individuals who are intellectually capable of steering society in the right direction. For Pakistan the right direction lies in taking a secularist approach when considering social and public issues as Pakistan is home to people of many different and diverse and often conflicting religious beliefs. Hence if we were to take into consideration the sentiments and beliefs of only one religion, or only one religious sect, we would be imposing a great injustice upon the rest.

We must begin to respect the difference in opinions that may arise due to differing religious beliefs. The religious minorities such as the Quadianis, Ahmadiyas and the Parsees must be allowed their freedom to follow and practice their religious beliefs publicly and the only solution to the sunni/shia conflict is for both sects to build on their common values for if they continue highlighting their differences they serve to undermine the stability of Pakistani society. It is time to leave religion aside as being a personal exercise and to build upon the shared dreams of making Pakistan a prosperous, safe and peaceful nation, for it is only in secularism that our hope for salvation lies and if we were to shun these cardinal principles in the futile perusal of attempting to mould Pakistan into a one religion state, then we shall be held accountable for the ultimate failure of a nation.