Foundations of Secular Educational System

While nineteenth century materialism closed the mind of man to what is above him, twentieth century psychology opened it to what is below him (René Guénon)

The ‘eclipse of human soul and intellect’ by secular thought has brought disastrous consequences not just at pure intellectual level, but at societal and practical level as well. The change agents have been ‘false prophets of modernism’ (i.e., modern philosophers and theorists). At intellectual level, they’ve lost the traditional, religious view of nature and knowledge, and created false alternatives – the cause of mass misguidance. Not only that, these handful of men have produced this ‘Dark Age’, a material civilization, in which both human actions and intellectual efforts are profane and cut off from Divine guidance. At practical level, though they have discovered in their way great deal of facts about human mind and body, but still paved way to moral degradation, materialism and suffocation of public morality.


Read full article here.

Sentimentalism vs Lack of it: Pakistan's "Liberals" vs Reality Checkers

Word liberal is disgraced when used with pesudo-liberals of Pakistan who worry most about the vested interests of their spiritual masters in the West, then Britishers now Amerikanos. They occupy the English public discourse not through their scholarship, but pure sentimentalism; and as for the books, their credibility as scholars ranks much lower than Orientalists as perceived by Edward Said. One of my academic goals to write books debunking their self-esteem in their very own eyes and those they lead astray, inshaAllah.

Here's a uni-phase 'debate' between a fiery-some response to a column by Orya Maqbool by an aspiring Native-orientalist, followed by a response who upholds the views of Orya with no sensationalism as such. Orya is Islamic-minded and anti-imperialist (hence much closer to western liberals).

Source: The Difference? Mosaafir e Dasht

1. Mr Native Orientalist: Well...ISI helps Haqqani network and for obvious reasons, given the fact that Pakistan army is 'concerned' about Kabul's future after US leaves. The likes of Orya Maqbool Jan who apologize for the army and ISI more than they themselves would do so, need a reality check. I come from a family hosting a number of military officials (and I take no pride in that) and all of them very frankly admit that army has always been in bed with Haqqanis and a number of other Afghan militant factions.
   
   Oh and our Afghan brothers did 'defeat' three super-powers within a century - only, they lost just millions of life, life is no longer normal there, peace and tranquillity is a forsaken dream and we, the proud Muslim neighbours (alhamdulillah) have reaped the benefits in the form of terrorist bombings within our lands, the millions of Afghan immigrants and a culture of arms and drugs. The kind of intellectuals who want to brand this as a great 'fatah' are as deluded as they love to brand those who called US the 'saviour' when it attacked Iraq and Afghanistan. Critical eye and a knack for not 'adjusting' facts to suit one's ideology are pertinent for a rational discourse - sadly, the author of the article cited merits none of these qualifications.

   Reply
2. 
   Jehanzeb Idrees10:35 PM

   Realpolitik cannot be adjudged by personal accounts it always has a historical perspective without which the understanding of an issue can always fall short. Giving opinions and making judgments are expressions crafted carefully by nuanced words which can either be based on emotional inclination or factual deliberation. However, the subtleties of logic shouldn’t be irresistible enough to end up resisting the very grounds which form a sound judgment or a safe opinion.
   
   After reading the article and the comments I have a few questions to ask from Mr. Salman to learn exactly where his objections actually lie: -
   
   1. ISI helping Haqqani networks OR not helping Americans against Haqqani networks?
   
   2. Pakistan’s concerns about Kabul’s future in US absence OR Kabul’s future with complete absence of anyone?
   
   3. Demands for the likes of Orya Maqbool Jan for the need of reality check OR for the pay cheques of Ahmed Rashids, Hassan Askaris, Hoodbhoys, Aisha Jilanis or Marvi Sirmeds?
   
   4. Army being in bed with the Haqqanis OR not in bed with the Yankees?
   
   5. That Afghan brother did ‘defeat’ 3 super powers within a century OR that they were thrice occupied by 3 different arrogant powers?
   
   6. Or that Afghan brothers’ victory came after losing millions of lives OR those millions of lives were lost under a foreign occupation?
   
   7. Afghan immigrants (along with their culture of arms and drugs) coming to Pakistan because WE invited them OR we invited the Russians to occupy Afghanistan and send all those immigrants to our lands?
   
   8. On the intellectuals who want to brand a certain kind of ‘fatah’ OR the pseudo-intellectuals who drum it as the ‘freedom for democracy’ when Iraq and Afghanistan went into occupation?
   
   9. Does a critical eye need to adjust on ‘known facts’ OR the critical eye needs to adjust on ‘hidden facts’?
   
   10. And finally how a rational discourse should base upon?
   
   i. Personal opinions based on certain ideologies.
   ii. An original analysis based on historical facts.

Rumors of worthlessness of Social Sciences

This post is only in regard to Pakistan.

Social sciences (SS) include as you know from pure philosophy, literature to techno-economics. I've not given any time trying to understand what differentiates it from physical sciences, after all psychology today take great pains to present itself as scientific, i can't pass a judgement over it having no working knowledge of it even.

The concern of this post is not to reflect on the definition of it, of which all of us considerable intuitive understanding. The concern is concerning the lack of concern about it in Pakistan. And given the fact that nobody reads this blog (except few special nobles), i face a dead end: i've to talk to myself. Talk to Pakistan's faux-liberal-elitists in academia and newspapers and they'd lament over Pakis not getting themselves trained in Western social sciences. Its not that concern i'm concerned about here, rather what Dr Asad Zaman, primarily a math-stats-economist from Ivy Leagues, argued in his paper Improving Social Sciences in Pakistan that in a post-positivist world Muslims have a great opportunity to offer world a perspective in nearly all major SS fields from economics to education. The reason for this is that we've not committed and invested in building SS based on rationalism and logical positivism, and that our religious tradition is still intact which is the fountain of all sciences concerning humanity, man, society, law and afterlife.

i just reiterated his position without adding anything to it, simply because this viewpoint is least heard in academic circles, and certainly doesn't resonate well with those trained in Western thought who cannot see anything beyond it. The second-hand commitment to falsehood of slaves can be more enduring than those of the leaders. This is exactly why muslims have to be at the fore-fronts of all supposedly "secular/profane" fields of knowledge. (Its only the perspective and the methodology (perhaps) that make it profane. For more clarification i should read S Hossein Nasr's Need for a Sacred Sciences, and chapter, "Profane and Sacred Science," in rene guenon's Crisis of the Modern World.)

On low perceptions about SS in Pakistan. Those who don't see anything more worthy that fruits of modern technology deny the importance of less or non-productive fields of knowledge like philosophy, literature, etc. They do not know that they themselves are the very product of some world-view and a combination (perhaps) of various SS ideas, ideologies, etc., of which they've no khabar (news). This is not to deny what Hamza Yusuf said that these modern universities are teaching many programs that are just fluff and cut from the cheapest cloth. This is a misery too. Nonetheless, one should not comment on something one has not understood, let alone mastered. I cannot express how often times i've been shook by power of SS world-view or even, to be modest, a set of  ideas that shape and carve whole societies in a given direction when adaptation of a different world-view or set of ideas could have driven them somewhere else. Where are you going? We must invoke this Qur'anic verse, i.e. sign, every time we do something, or even think.

And as for the greatest myth that hard social sciences (as opposed to some time-pass programs, if any) require less exertion and utilization of brain cells and hardship of soul: it's just plain wrong! Give them a 100 page scholarly book and see how they sweat...

What i need to be doing is to articulate in laymen terms the importance of major fields of SS of which i've little acquaintance...

And Allah knows best.

Divorcing Iqbal from Pakistan: Secular, Nationalist Fundamentalism

Please go through following poem of Allama poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal on relation of nationalism and islam, may Allah bless his soul and spread his message in all corners of the world: Nationalism (courtesy Uni-aza blog) 

Alhamdulilah, secular-fundamentalist elites in academia and corridors of power are doing well to separate Iqbal from Quaid, Quaid's Pakistan and rest of the world, as if he didn't exist, as if he didn't and doesn't matter. A full-fledge study is needed to expose this myth. Saleena Karim struck well at the root of Jst Munir's hoaxes about "dream" of a "modern, secular democractic state" of Pakistan in her book: Secular Jinnah & Pakistan: What the Nation doesn't Know.

 Nonetheless, they keep on progressing in "revolutionizing" young minds, who're going to take the baton of leadership tomorrow. They're doing good at professing the following dictums blantly in the garb of reasonableness & scholarship: "Pakistan wasn't created as an Islamic state. But at least as a Muslim state. At best a modern, secular state. And you can't pass the exam without praying janaza over Objectives Resolution, at least theoratically before its actually dismantled." Not to speak of historical fallacies in their claims, the later have been well exposed as pure myths in Saleena Karim's book. Review of the book is highly due. PS: I do admit that term Islamic State is vague, and needs 'razor sharp' exposition from traditional Islamic quarters.

This caricature of Pakistan history is being created in more "open" and "modern" centers of learning such as LUMS, FC College Lahore [being run by Americans], and other places. Their victims are students who must take Pakistan Studies 100 course. Students, who don't have enough time to take their heads out of their specializations, are asked to relax, listen and argue using the information provided in the lengthy course readings. The course readings are the key. Readings are haphazard compilations. It's very selective and cleverly organized. It does much less to provide braod historical data from all point of views, so that students can swim through the history themselves; and do much more to provide interpretations of modernist, secular nationalists. Exam questions i experience were loaded, and do not allow any room for critique on the slanted questions. The claims of openness are back-fired. However, students are allowed to argue any point of view. One wonders, what instructors are there for?

Students are not the only victims. Some teachers are just forced to "inform" students the pre-ordained "agenda," whether they wish it or not. Certainly in FCC, where those minds having different perspective on Pak history were ex-coummincated [maybe not literally] from a new band of cohesive  ideological rockstar historians. One is appalled from same line of action, same arguments toed and uttered by half a dozen "scholars"! So much for their scholarship which argues about projecting marginal perspecives! Such is their obsesseion with newness and marginal viewpoints that mainstream views are thrown in the garbage, just because they're no more fresh and new. How true was Martin Lings when he said that there isn't much new to say in his profound work Ancient Beliefs & Modern Superstitions. I don't know whether LUMS tolerates dissent; certainly they're leaders in a more blatant anti-independence movement. This is a serious problem. And it needs to be addressed and i hope is being in scholarly journals, newspapers, certainly at PhD level.

Coming back to the relationship between iqbal and Pakistan, i'd like to mention that Muhammad Asad, the famous Jewish convert to Islam, in his autobiography's introduction mentions how Iqbal forced him to stay in India and work for a "future Islamic state" [Asad's verbatim words] ! How visionary. One wonders how the link between one of the greatest son of Brahamins, Muslims and Indians can be cut off from the dream which was actualized in the state of Pakistan; how can his voice be marginalized from the affairs of the nation begotten in his very 'poetic heart'. In reality, Iqbal's pertinence only increases by the day, much to the annoyance of worshippers of a mythical Secular Jinnah. Hence, divorcing him from something (aka Pakistan) that was born in his very heart - such is an example of just another modern, secular-nationalist fundamentalism of the worst sort... And i believe Allah shows the enemies of a nation with clear signs...

 And as for those ulema who opposed Pakistan, whom secularists never get tired of quoting - certainly their arguments were reasonable too in certain ways, but those arguments are history and were time-specific. But certainly it's high time to end this invokation of dead matters whose janaza was prayed even by many of those opponents of Pakistan in 1947.

Time to say 4 takbeerat for the the janaza of this recurrent, resurgent secular-nationalist fundamentalism by the 'sword of Furqan'. Before Iqbal is deleted from our collective memory. That will be the last attack to divorce Pakistan, Pakistanis and Muslims from creation of an Islamic polity.