PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS

(A Humble Effort)

Please allow me to list below some of the problems and proposed solutions as I have been able to put together in my humble way. I may be wrong in certain (or may be many) conclusions. More feedback from the learned members will help in crystallizing some of the ideas.

And those who strive in Our (Cause) – We will certainly guide them to Our Paths: For verily Allah is with those who do right. (al-‘Ankaboot, 29: 69)

Problem 1: Lack of a clear direction.

Solution 1: Brainstorming on what should be the direction.

Problem 2: Non-fulfilment of civilizational goals.

Solution 2: Deep realization of the need for having some civilizational goals in the first place.

Problem 3: Confusion (at best) about the definition of knowledge.

Solution 3: Popularizing (especially among University students) that true knowledge is: “Developing a coherent body of ideas and creatively reaching out to the unknown” (and not just knowing the known).

Problem 4: Lack of consensus on the objective of education.

Solution 4: Considering the “promotion of scientific and critical thinking and leadership qualities” as the objective of education.

Problem 5: Not being able to see the full picture and getting lost in partial aspects of our collective life.

Solution 5: Exerting our utmost to see the bigger picture (a veritable ijtihaad).

Problem 6: Less tolerance in our ranks and inflated egos.

Solution 6: Discussing about the reasons for intolerance and inculcating humbleness as the hallmark of a Faithful.

Problem 7: Rampant emotionalism as shown in our reactions to a variety of situations.

Solution 7: Creating a culture of more analysis of issues prior to concluding and reacting. Finding out the reasons of emotionalism and deliberating on how to curb it.

Problem 8: Communal outlook and blaming others for our ills.

Solution 8: Remembering that we are ‘salespersons’, Islam is the ‘product’ and the rest of the humanity is our ‘customers’. Also, trying to find out from the more informed among us about how the fellow countrymen have been to us and who has exacerbated the situation.

Problem 9: Only reacting to situations.

Solution 9: Developing a culture of proactiveness rather than only reacting to a situation.

Problem 10: Ignoring the laws of nature.

Solution 10: Discovering and acting according to the laws of nature.

Problem 11: Not being able to look beyond the immediate.

Solution 11: Having a higher goal behind all our efforts – beyond the worldly gain (which does and will automatically come).

Problem 12: A serious (and unjustified) division between deen and dunyaa.

Solution 12: Reflecting more about the fact that if deen is forsaken only deen is gone, dunyaa is still there. But if dunyaa is given up the deen and dunyaa both are gone. Knowing more deeply that it is the intention that determines the value of an action and makes the difference.

Problem 13: Undoing our own efforts in a variety of ways.

Solution 13: Being watchful for the situations where we may be contradicting ourselves and countering our own efforts.

Problem 14: Mired into smaller issues and not focusing on the wildly important (e.g. brainstorming on how to establish more Colleges and Universities).

Solution 14: Being watchful of the issues that may be whiling away our energies, resources and time.

Problem 15: Marginalization and lamenting on marginalization.

Solution 15: Creating awareness for the need of coming to the mainstream with the right kind of qualifications. Analyzing the factors behind marginalization. Also, trying to figure out which or if any of our actions reinforce marginalization.

Problem 16: Unpreparedness for the challenges of 21^st Century.

Solution 16: Having an aim of establishing Universities – proportionate to our number – as one of the effective ways to deal with the challenges.

Problem 17: Working ad hoc on many – especially educational – fronts.

Solution 17: Promoting a culture of doing things with utmost planning and with the ultimate objectives in view – at the very first step.

Problem 18: Believing in division and dichotomy of knowledge.

Solution 18: Popularizing the fact that the Islamic concept of knowledge is vaster than we can imagine of.

Problem 19: Disdain of traditionally educated and self-doubt of the modern educated.

Solution 19: Doing away with the duality of education system and having a uniform system till High School. Specialization only from the undergraduate levels onwards.

Problem 20: Lack of prioritization of issues.

Solution 20: Deciding how much time, resources and space to be allocated for which issues and purposes.

Problem 21: Atomistic approach and looking at each phenomenon piecemeal.

Solution 21: Imbibing a holistic approach as a culture. Our teachers to educate our youngsters for this approach for a change in the situation.

Problem 22: Shift of emphasis from individual to community.

Solution 22: Shifting the emphasis from community to individual by according her / him more genuine respect and listening to her / him more patiently.

Problem 23: Suppressed individualities.

Solution 23: Finding out the ways to spiritually liberate the individual and empower her / him giving her / him utmost dignity.

Problem 24: Insufficient dynamism and unclear direction.

Solution 24: Taking dynamism from Muhammad Iqbal and direction from Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.

Problem 25: Differences and disunity.

Solution 25: Popularizing the slogan: “Starve the differences and problems and feed the common grounds and opportunities”.

Problem 26: The downfall of Muslims as a people.

Solution 26: Finding out the natural laws that govern the rise and fall of nations and acting according to those laws.

Problem 27: Ineffectiveness of our efforts in certain fields and areas.

Solution 27: Encouraging more women to participate in all our endeavours.

Problem 28: The uphill task of establishing 120 Universities and 5250 Colleges as the share of Muslims (i.e. their initiatives) in the overall national targets.

Solution 28: Persuading the ‘Ulama to upgrade some of the madrasaahs with better infrastructural facilities into Colleges and Universities. A nationwide movement to create awareness about it. (It won’t be possible without some adjustments and sacrifices.) A ta‘leemee caravan for this purpose.

Problem 29: Inapplicability of beautiful Islamic ideals – capable of turning the Faithful into leaders in every field of life.

Solution 29: Developing a new scholasticism where the ideals of Islam are popularized with the same applicability and relevance as is the case with the instructions in the field of Information Technology, for example.

Problem 30: More areas of concern and work not thought of so far.

Solution 30: Thinking more to find out the areas of work for the betterment of the situation and adding those areas to this list.

So, verily, with every difficulty, there is relief: Verily, with every difficulty there is relief. (Soorah ash-Sharh, 94: 5-6)