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Youth with a
mission
By Hilal Bhat
Srinagar: Ajaz Ahmad Rather, final year
social sciences student in a college here, calls it 'literacy in the light of
Islam.' Three years ago, the idea of teaching English language to
underprivileged children of this village struck him and gradually he introduced
primers on basic tenets of Islam in English. Last month, when two of his best
students studying in Urdu-medium government schools bagged the first two prizes
in a district-level debate leaving behind competitors from convent schools, he
was a very satisfied man.
![Ajaz Ahmad Rather with his students]() |
|
Ajaz Ahmad Rather with his
students
(Pic: Javaid Dar) |
Uneducated parents of his students have
lauded his endeavor. "We saw English-speaking children only on television, but
now our own children can speak this language," Niyaz Ahmad Mir, a shopkeeper at
Bumthan said.
Aijaz says his efforts are aimed at removing the notion of
backwardness associated with any kind of instruction in Islamic teachings.
"Often inferiority complex is ascribed to students of madrasas and one of the
reasons for that is the lack of knowledge of English language," he
says.
Imparting Islamic lessons in English and keeping his students
rooted in Arabic and Urdu at the same time was a daunting task. Aijaz found
useful the primers on Imaan (belief) Ibadah (worship) and Salah (namaz),
published by a Delhi-based Islamic publishing house. His students speak the
'global language of science and commerce' like their counterparts in
English-medium and missionary schools.
"The way these Urdu-medium
students spoke English was a total surprise for me," says Iqbal Ahmad, a teacher
form one of the elite schools of the Kashmir Valley. Early in the morning, the
children gather in the village mosque and take the lessons from Aijaz, who
regularly updates himself on the nuances of the language. Students are also
encouraged to read natural sciences in innovative ways.
Aijaz procures
books from his well-off friends in college and has a collection of more than 600
books in the community library housed in the village mosque. "I lend these books
exclusively to those who cannot afford to buy them," Aijaz says.
Parents
are happy with the transformation brought about by Aijaz. Asim Ahmad, 14,
studies in a government school. Three years back he did not know the difference
between 'his' and 'her.' But now he not only understands the language but can
also speak it fluently. "His behavior changed ever since he started attending
classes in the mosque," his father, a truck driver, says adding, "he does not
roam aimlessly in the village and offers prayers five times a day besides
studying in a disciplined way."
His sister, a graduate student says, "He
knows the language better than me and it is the result of informal lessons he
receives from Aijaz." Aijaz invests even his pocket money for purchasing books
and to further his dream of 'literacy in the light of Islam' in his lesser-known
village. "My objective is to remove the disadvantages the children of low-income
families like drivers, hawkers and labourers are subjected to vis-a-vis the
children of affluent families," Aijaz added.
Students in his class are
charged a nominal fee of a hundred rupees per year. Last year Aijaz brought a
computer using the money collected over the last three years, with a generous
amount contributed from his own pocket. There is no computer teacher in the
village. Aijaz himself attended computer classes in a computer institute and now
teaches it to the children.
A shop has been donated by a villager which
is used as a lab-cum classroom for the students. "The larger objective was to
remove every speck of inferiority from the lives of these poor children," Aijaz
says adding, "children of well-to-do parents have easy access to these
modern-day facilities besides private tuition, but for the poor villagers who
cannot even afford a notebook and pencil, private tuition or coaching is a
distant dream." «
http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2004/16-30Sep04-Print-Edition/163109200413.htm
MYC: Connecting
Muslim Youths WorldWide
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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