A Role Model Muslim University:

Ideals and RealitiesBy

Prof. Hamza Mustafa NjoziMuslim University of Morogoro

Introduction

In “The Great Heresies” Belloc underlined two points:

While Muslims are very weak today, they were a super power 100 yrs before the American Declaration of Independence.

Islam is poised to reclaim its former status.

Why? Because Islam is materially paralyzed but morally intensely alive.

Our Glorious Past

“1001 Inventions” captures the glimpse of the beauty & power of our glorious past.

It underscores the scientific heritage the world has benefitted from Muslim civilization.

It celebrates 1000 yrs of S&T in a wide range of intellectual pursuits, like Chemistry, Astronomy, Engineering, Medicine, Mathematics & Architecture.

Our Glorious Past Contd.

The organizers [FSTC] and the sponsors [AJF] deserve commendation for recharging the psychological motivation of the Ummah.

However, accountability is personal:

“That was a people that hath passed away. They shall reap the fruit of what they did, and you of what you do” [Qur’an, 2:134]

Our Unremarkable Present

Today the Ummah is defined by behavioural, technical and intellectual incompetence.

Ghulam Haniff found that Muslims lag behind all nations in virtually all areas of scientific and technical skills.

The Ummah’s numerical stength [22% of the world population] does not translate into proportional power.

Unremarkable Present Contd.

Abdulhamid says the GNP of the Ummah [i.e. one fifth of the human race] is USD 1,100 billion.

It is less than the GNP of France alone, and only half of that of Germany.

It is less than a quarter of the GNP of Japan whose population is only 120m people scattered in many islands, poor in resources and prone to earthquakes, volcanoes.

Causes of Our Backwardness

The Ummah stumbled upon one of the critical turning points in history and lost direction.

What is needed is to identify and remove the stumbling blocks.

Muslim scholars of first class minds like Imam Ghazali, Said Nursi Beddiuzaman, Abu ala Maududi, Sayyid Qutub and M. Fethullah Gulen have pondered over this problem.

Crisis in the Muslim Mind

According to Abdulhamid A. Abusulayman the Ummah’sbackwardness is a result and manifestation of a deep crisis in the Muslim mind.

The Ummah is afflicted with a wide range of ailments such as poverty, diseases, ignorance, disunity, tyranny, oppression and underdevelopment.

They reflect the Ummah’s deficiency in performance.

Crisis in the Mind Contd.

In all fields our performance bears the stamp of ineptitude and mediocrity.

Outstanding performance is propelled by an inner force and energy in a form of a granite will to achieve the highest pre-set goals.

The current aspiration of the Ummah and its people is no more than to survive with the least possible effort.

Why Are Muslims De-motivated?

Because their original vision has somewhat been distorted.

The cure lies in changing and reforming our minds and souls. The Qur’an says:

“Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves [with their own souls].

An ideal university has a pivotal role in purging the distortions & restoring the vision.

An Ideal Muslim University

To arm the young scholars with the basic principles that guide the intellectual and creative efforts of the Muslim mind.

The first principle is the unshaken conviction that the universe originated from a single source and represents a single reality and was created for a serious purpose by Allah who has no partner or equal

The Basic Principles Contd.

(2) The vicegerency of human beings [Khilafa] i.e. the world is a theatre for constructive action, for promoting justice, peace and order.

To facilitate the accomplishment of his mission everything has been made subservient.

Everyone is responsible and accountable for one’s conduct here on earth.

The Importance of the Framework

Only through the Tawhidic framework can Muslim hope to make a distinct and meaningful contribution to civilization.

Examples:

A marked difference in orientation and direction in personal conduct and scholarship btn one who believes life has a purpose which is moral good and one who does not.

Examples Contd.

When individual rights are regarded as absolute and inalienable, any attempt to subordinate social, political or economic activities to moral criteria is to violate human rights.

Such a view dissolves the distinction btn legitimate and illegitimate property, honest income and theft, a wife and a prostitute, an armed robber and an armed policeman.

Maqasid al Shariah

Since all pursuits are potentially acts of worship if they conform with the purpose of existence, it is important for staff and students to have a thorough grounding in Maqasid Shariah.

Maqasid would enable Muslims to employ a larger map in taking their moral bearings. [M. Kamali]

Proficiency in Arabic

Only those scholars who have a measure of linguistic authority in Arabic can seriously grapple with Maqasid.

Our universities should promote and facilitate the study and mastery of Arabic.

The need to hone and fine-tune the techniques of teaching Arabic to non-native speakers.

Integrative Approaches of Pedagogy

The need to develop and use a multi-pronged approach in teaching and learning.

For example; the interface btn theory and practice, to learn to ask the right questions for solving societal problems, volunteer service.

Students as active partners in the instructional process. [Encouragement vs. Disparagement]

The Centrality of Research

A robust intellectual tradition and superior teaching go hand in hand.

To do research is to search for knowledge through questioning and testing.

The faculty members should be role models.

Testimony by example is more powerful.

The Realities of the African Experience

To appreciate the challenges facing higher education in Africa it is useful to situate Africa in the global context in the critical areas of enrolment, research, funding and curricula development.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2007) sub-Saharan Africa has witnessed an “explosive growth” in higher education in the past four decades.

Enrolment

Enrolment swelled from 200,000 in 1970 to 4m students by 2007 (twenty fold).

And yet that growth represents on 6% of the higher education cohort!

In US &Western Europe the Gross Enrolment Rate is 71%; Central & Eastern Europe is 62%; Latin America is 34% and Asia is 31% [In Africa the problem begins at lower levels, i.e. the transition rate ]

Researchers

41.4% of all world researchers come from Asia.

Only 2.3% of world researchers come from sub-Saharan Africa.

If South Africa is excluded, the percentage dwindles to a mere 0.6%

Africa’s low showing in research corresponds with its funding pattern.

Funding

USA, Europe & Japan invest heavily in HE and they also profit overwhelmingly.

USA accounts for 37% of world Gross Expenditure on Research and Development [ GERD ]; Europe 27.3%; Asia 31.5% and Africa 0.5%.

South Africa alone is responsible for 90% of GERD in sub-Saharan Africa.

Funding Contd.

The lot of Africa could hardly be otherwise in a situation where the recurrent and development budgets of many African countries depend on a life-support of grants and loans from external donors and creditors.

Budgetary allocations for education at all levels are very modest.

Curricula Development

A more serious challenge lies in the relevance of higher education in Africa.

Higher education is the engine of socio-economic transformation.

HE in Africa does not seem to effectively play such a role partly because their curricula are modeled after Western universities.

Future Prospects

If the picture seems bleak, the aim is not to encourage despondency but to appreciate the enormous challenges ahead.

The Association of African Universities, the IUCEA, and regulatory bodies in respective African countries are addressing these challenges.

Conclusion

What is the solution?

That is what I am now eagerly looking forward to learning from you!

Wabillah Tawfiq

Thank you for your kind attention!