SOLUTION TO TERRORISM, “EDUCATION AN ANTIDOTE TO EXTREAMISM”
– YOU WOULD THINK!
Above is an article from The New York Times written by
Nicholas Kristof about Rafi, a young Pakistani who confesses that for a long
time he thought of the Taliban as freedom fighters and hated Americans. He
dictates how different realms of education influenced his beliefs and train of
thought. First, in a madrassa; where he was sent to memorize the Quran and be
his mothers golden ticket to heaven. Next, attending a public school in the
province of Balochistan; where he fell pray to political Islam – the worst kind
of Islam. As Nicholas Kristof says, you would think of education as an antidote
to extremism – but in fact it is not. All the education in the world means
absolutely nothing without the ability to critically think.
On the flip side, in no sympathy do I reason with Rafi’s
parents and the route that they chose for their children. However, I believe it
is important to realize that when you live in the outskirts of a poor rural
area with not much money and very little hope – religion is all you can hold on
to. With the combination of hard circumstance and lack of opportunity, religious
extremism can be nurtured through misinterpretation of the Islamic Sharia
(law). But to think that all Muslims
that have a steadfast faith are extremist is equal to thinking that all presidential
candidates for the United States of America are like Donald Trump.
“Religion”; the
belief in and worship of a God or Gods – THE OXFORD DICTIONARY GOT THAT WRONG! More
like, “Religion”; a political approach towards gaining power through devoted submission
from a group of people.
I feel this
article does a great a job in highlighting the importance of the “right” kind
of education; the one that allows intellectual growth and underlines the necessity
of empowering women. Unfortunately, the article doesn’t lay out what Islamic Sharia
(law) is truly about.
I leave you,
with teachings of Shams bin Tabriz, a mystic Sufi; “The sharia is like a candle…It
provides us with such valuable light. But let us not forget that a candle helps
us to go from one place to another in the dark. If we forget where we are
headed and instead concentrate on the candle, what good is it?”
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