Ulemas stress on the need for learning English and European languages.
By Manzar Imam, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: The stories of bearded ulemas delivering speeches in English are no more new. The trend was set in 1994 when Maulana Badruddin Ajmal Qasmi started training graduates of madrasas in English, computer and other contemporary subjects at Markazul Ma’arif Education & Research Centre (MMERC) at South Delhi’s Jamia Nagar area.
Few early batches that successfully completed the two-year diploma started expanding the initiative and now there are five such centres of learning and training in different parts of the country.
Maulana Salman Nadwi speaking to the audience.
The Institute of Higher Studies (IHS) is one such centre being headed by Maulana Mohammad Inam Qasmi Nadwi. At the completion of the two-year diploma of the first batch, the IHS held a convocation programme on 6 June to give certificates to successful candidates.
Speaking on this occasion Mohammad Umar Gautam, chairman of Islamic Da’wah Centre and former Director of MMERC Delhi appreciated the effort of Maulana Badruddin Ajmal for establishing MMERC, part of Markazul Ma’arif, a well-known registered NGO, whose products are now rendering valuable services in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, South Africa and other African countries. Iman (faith) is the biggest need of humanity and Da’wah the biggest duty of believers, said he.
Maulana Syed Salman Husaini Nadwi, a teacher of Hadith at Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow presided over the programme. In his presidential address he said that peoples were sent guides in every age in their own tongue so that the message of the Creator could be easily communicated. After the finality of messengership with Prophet Mohammad this duty of guidance became the shared responsibility of the ummah of Prophet Muhammad. It is therefore necessary that ulama should learn different languages to communicate the message of Allah to people speaking different languages.
Maulana Inam Qasmi Nadwi, director of IHS is seen addressing at the convocation programme.
He further said that language was a medium, not the message. It is therefore important for countering the challenges coming from different sources of media and academia that ulama must understand those issues so that they can provide better explanation.
Maulana Essa Mansuri, chairman, World Islamic Forum, London; Maulana Burhanuddin Qasmi, editor of Eastern Crescent, Mumbai; Maulana Hamid Hasan, rector, Madrasa Islamia Arabia Khadimul-Uloom, Muzaffarnagar; Prof. Abdul Allam Mujibi, formerly associated with the Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia; Shah Ebadur Rahman Neshat; Chaudhary Iqbal; Markaz alumni Muhammad Sadaqat Qasmi (World Assembly of Muslim Youth), Mufti Obaidullah Qasmi, Manzar Imam, Abdul Malik, Sikandar Azam and others were present in the programme.
Maulana Inam Qasmi Nadwi, director of IHS coordinated the programme starting with a brief introduction of the Institute.
(Manzar Imam is a freelance journalist based in Delhi.)