Daniel Johnson, journalist and editor of what he calls the “not very right-wing” magazine Standpoint, called Islam “the most direct threat to Western civilization in the world today”.
Johnson deplores the lack of “freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, equal rights, and separation between church and state” in Islamic countries, emphasizing that “all these ideals emerged in the West.”
Johnson claims that a university like Oxford, with its tradition of free academic inquiry, could not exist under the conditions of an Islamic state and that “there is no university in this sense in the Islamic world”.
Watch
Oxford Union Video: Islam Is A Peaceful Religion – Mehdi Hasan
Jamal / July 18, 2013
Mehdi Hassan has replied sufficiently to call this Bluff off.
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Jim Beam / July 21, 2013
YES AND CHRISTIANITY IS ??!!
FOR EVERY ‘MUSLIM’ CRIME THERE PERHAPS WERE TWICE AS MANY ‘CHRISTIAN’ ONES
CHRIST AND CHRISTIANITY IS ALSO IMPORTED FROM THE MIDDLE EAST, THEN HIJACKED BY ‘WEST’.
(Just like SL & Buddhism)
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Point of View / July 18, 2013
Oxford Union Society proved Daniel Johnson is wrong by voting for ‘Islam is a peaceful religion’ !
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Taraki / July 18, 2013
So that’s your idea of ‘proof’ is it? Pathetic.
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Point of View / July 19, 2013
Difficult to digest ?
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Taraki / July 19, 2013
No, just pathetic.
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Point of View / July 19, 2013
Very true, it is pathetic for you.
It was the Oxford Union not a politicised University of Sri Lanka !
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Taraki / July 19, 2013
The Oxford Union does not decide what ‘proof’ is. Unfortunately you don’t understand the principles of a debate. The result of the vote is not proof of the proposition.
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Ammata Siri / July 19, 2013
Eureka Taraki; the result of the vote is not proof of the proposition, so (while slightly off-topic) in a Lankan context, it follows that the elected government (the result) is not proof of the proposition, so there is no legitimacy to the scandalous stuff being perpertrated out here with Islamophobia being one!!
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Taraki / July 20, 2013
The elected government is just the result of the individual voters’ actions at the polling booth (nothing to do with propositions as in a debate). Of course this result assumes the poll was fair and free, a very unlikely event in Sri Lanka!
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Dancing Lights of Abraham / July 18, 2013
How dangerous is the Sickness of Heart really is than any illness that has touch human kind!!!!!!!!!
Good Lord!
What a Terrible sickness it is to generalize a faith for the action of a few , and to look straight at The color white & still believe is black…
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Europe owes a great debt to Islamic spain for bringing Europe out of darkness to light -during The dark ages of Europe. Prejudice dies hard !
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Islam has, from its inception, placed a high premium on education and has enjoyed a long and rich intellectual tradition. Knowledge (‘ilm) occupies a significant position within Islam, as evidenced by the more than 800 references to it in Islam’s most revered book, the Koran. The importance of education is repeatedly emphasized in the Koran with frequent injunctions, such as “God will exalt those of you who believe and those who have knowledge to high degrees” (58:11), “O my Lord! Increase me in knowledge” (20:114), and “As God has taught him, so let him write” (2:282). Such verses provide a forceful stimulus for the Islamic community to strive for education and learning.
Islamic education is uniquely different from other types of educational theory and practice largely because of the all-encompassing influence of the Koran. The Koran serves as a comprehensive blueprint for both the individual and society and as the primary source of knowledge. The advent of the Koran in the seventh century was quite revolutionary for the predominantly illiterate Arabian society. Arab society had enjoyed a rich oral tradition, but the Koran was considered the word of God and needed to be organically interacted with by means of reading and reciting its words. Hence, reading and writing for the purpose of accessing the full blessings of the Koran was an aspiration for most Muslims. Thus, education in Islam unequivocally derived its origins from a symbiotic relationship with religious instruction.
History of Islamic Education
Thus, in this way, Islamic education began. Pious and learned Muslims (mu’ allim or mudarris), dedicated to making the teachings of the Koran more accessible to the Islamic community, taught the faithful in what came to be known as the kuttāb (plural, katātīb). The kuttāb could be located in a variety of venues: mosques, private homes, shops, tents, or even out in the open. Historians are uncertain as to when the katātīb were first established, but with the widespread desire of the faithful to study the Koran, katātīb could be found in virtually every part of the Islamic empire by the middle of the eighth century. The kuttāb served a vital social function as the only vehicle for formal public instruction for primary-age children and continued so until Western models of education were introduced in the modern period. Even at present, it has exhibited remarkable durability and continues to be an important means of religious instruction in many Islamic countries.
The curriculum of the kuttāb was primarily directed to young male children, beginning as early as age four, and was centered on Koranic studies and on religious obligations such as ritual ablutions, fasting, and prayer. The focus during the early history of Islam on the education of youth reflected the belief that raising children with correct principles was a holy obligation for parents and society. As Abdul Tibawi wrote in 1972, the mind of the child was believed to be “like a white clean paper, once anything is written on it, right or wrong, it will be difficult to erase it or superimpose new writing upon it” (p. 38). The approach to teaching children was strict, and the conditions in which young students learned could be quite harsh. Corporal punishment was often used to correct laziness or imprecision. Memorization of the Koran was central to the curriculum of the kuttāb, but little or no attempt was made to analyze and discuss the meaning of the text. Once students had memorized the greater part of the Koran, they could advance to higher stages of education, with increased complexity of instruction. Western analysts of the kuttāb system usually criticize two areas of its pedagogy: the limited range of subjects taught and the exclusive reliance on memorization. The contemporary kuttāb system still emphasizes memorization and recitation as important means of learning. The value placed on memorization during students’ early religious training directly influences their approaches to learning when they enter formal education offered by the modern state. A common frustration of modern educators in the Islamic world is that while their students can memorize copious volumes of notes and textbook pages, they often lack competence in critical analysis and independent thinking.
During the golden age of the Islamic empire (usually defined as a period between the tenth and thirteenth centuries), when western Europe was intellectually backward and stagnant, Islamic scholarship flourished with an impressive openness to the rational sciences, art, and even literature. It was during this period that the Islamic world made most of its contributions to the scientific and artistic world. Ironically, Islamic scholars preserved much of the knowledge of the Greeks that had been prohibited by the Christian world. Other outstanding contributions were made in areas of chemistry, botany, physics, mineralogy, mathematics, and astronomy, as many Muslim thinkers regarded scientific truths as tools for accessing religious truth.
Gradually the open and vigorous spirit of enquiry and individual judgment (ijtihād) that characterized the golden age gave way to a more insular, unquestioning acceptance (taqlīd) of the traditional corpus of authoritative knowledge. By the thirteenth century, according to Aziz Talbani, the ‘ulama’ (religious scholars) had become “self-appointed interpreters and guardians of religious knowledge.… learning was confined to the transmission of traditions and dogma, and [was] hostile to research and scientific inquiry” (p. 70). The mentality of taqlīd reigned supreme in all matters, and religious scholars condemned all other forms of inquiry and research. Exemplifying the taqlīd mentality, Burhän al-Din al-Zarnüji wrote during the thirteenth century, “Stick to ancient things while avoiding new things” and “Beware of becoming engrossed in those disputes which come about after one has cut loose from the ancient authorities” (pp. 28, 58). Much of what was written after the thirteenth century lacked originality, and it consisted mostly of commentaries on existing canonical works without adding any substantive new ideas. The lethal combination of taqlīd and foreign invasion beginning in the thirteenth century served to dim Islam’s preeminence in both the artistic and scientific worlds.
Despite its glorious legacy of earlier periods, the Islamic world seemed unable to respond either culturally or educationally to the onslaught of Western advancement by the eighteenth century. One of the most damaging aspects of European colonialism was the deterioration of indigenous cultural norms through secularism. With its veneration of human reason over divine revelation and its insistence on separation of religion and state, secularism is anathema to Islam, in which all aspects of life, spiritual or temporal, are interrelated as a harmonious whole. At the same time, Western institutions of education, with their pronounced secular/religious dichotomy, were infused into Islamic countries in order to produce functionaries to feed the bureaucratic and administrative needs of the state. The early modernizers did not fully realize the extent to which secularized education fundamentally conflicted with Islamic thought and traditional lifestyle. Religious education was to remain a separate and personal responsibility, having no place in public education. If Muslim students desired religious training, they could supplement their existing education with moral instruction in traditional religious schools–the kuttāb. As a consequence, the two differing education systems evolved independently with little or no official interface.
Aims and Objectives of Islamic Education
The Arabic language has three terms for education, representing the various dimensions of the educational process as perceived by Islam. The most widely used word for education in a formal sense is ta’līm, from the root ‘alima (to know, to be aware, to perceive, to learn), which is used to denote knowledge being sought or imparted through instruction and teaching. Tarbiyah, from the root raba (to increase, to grow, to rear), implies a state of spiritual and ethical nurturing in accordance with the will of God. Ta’dīb, from the root aduba (to be cultured, refined, well-mannered), suggests a person’s development of sound social behavior. What is meant by sound requires a deeper understanding of the Islamic conception of the human being.
Education in the context of Islam is regarded as a process that involves the complete person, including the rational, spiritual, and social dimensions. As noted by Syed Muhammad al-Naquib al-Attas in 1979, the comprehensive and integrated approach to education in Islam is directed toward the “balanced growth of the total personality…through training Man’s spirit, intellect, rational self, feelings and bodily senses…such that faith is infused into the whole of his personality” (p. 158). In Islamic educational theory knowledge is gained in order to actualize and perfect all dimensions of the human being. From an Islamic perspective the highest and most useful model of perfection is the prophet Muhammad, and the goal of Islamic education is that people be able to live as he lived. Seyyed Hossein Nasr wrote in 1984 that while education does prepare humankind for happiness in this life, “its ultimate goal is the abode of permanence and all education points to the permanent world of eternity” (p. 7). To ascertain truth by reason alone is restrictive, according to Islam, because spiritual and temporal reality are two sides of the same sphere. Many Muslim educationists argue that favoring reason at the expense of spirituality interferes with balanced growth. Exclusive training of the intellect, for example, is inadequate in developing and refining elements of love, kindness, compassion, and selflessness, which have an altogether spiritual ambiance and can be engaged only by processes of spiritual training.
Education in Islam is twofold: acquiring intellectual knowledge (through the application of reason and logic) and developing spiritual knowledge (derived from divine revelation and spiritual experience). According to the worldview of Islam, provision in education must be made equally for both. Acquiring knowledge in Islam is not intended as an end but as a means to stimulate a more elevated moral and spiritual consciousness, leading to faith and righteous action.
StateUniversity.com » Education Encyclopedia
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Ben Hurling / July 18, 2013
Dancing Lights,
All are entitled to their opinions.
How about a bit of space for other fellow readers to express themselves as well?
Cheers!
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reviewcric / July 24, 2013
Blablabla bla… cool story bro
Now how about freedom of speech? Yes can anyone make fun of the prophet without being killed? Can anyone make a joke without being killed? What kind of religion of tolerance is this ?
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Dancing Lights of Abraham / July 18, 2013
It is not a matter of Live & Let live -Prejudice has made sure it has sealed any possibilities to even dream of such!
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Zubi / July 18, 2013
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy9tNyp03M0&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJy9tNyp03M0
Please watch the other side as well.
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Taraki / July 18, 2013
It doesn’t matter whether Islam is peaceful or not or whether Christianity and Buddhism are peaceful or not. What matters is whether Islam, Christianity and Buddhism AS PRACTICED TODAY are peaceful or not.
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Zam Faiz / July 18, 2013
“If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” Malcolm X
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Jason Aluvihara / July 18, 2013
I think Mehdi Hassan took care of this joker succinctly in his rebuttal.
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Asanka / July 18, 2013
Islam is the only religion which can be used to justify crime.
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Alan / July 19, 2013
@ Asanka,
Not Buddhism???? R u living on the planet of earth?
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Asanka / July 19, 2013
No Buddhism cannot be used.
Why people only concern about Muslims Terrorists, All Middle east countries don’t have right to practice other religions than Islam in public. These countries clearly show Islam is not a peaceful religion.
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Tyrone / July 25, 2013
In Islamic Countries, you can even build one Buddhist Hindu Temples, Churches, You cant publicly read Bible or preach about their Religion except Islam.
Also it will put restrictions to muslim people not to convert to other religions, if anyone found, would be punished as per Sharia Law, but they will force other religious people to convert to their religion or they will kill them as Infidels or Kaffirs. It is written in Quran that they can kill Non-believers.
After 625 AD, when Islam started, it captured all the middle east including Isreal, Palestine and Syria (all until capture were christian / judaism) and forced every christian and jewish people to convert to islam or be killed, millions of Christian people died on this time of 600 AD – 1400 AD
Islam is never a Religion of Peace. Enuf said…
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Amarasiri / July 19, 2013
Asanka,
“Islam is the only religion which can be used to justify crime.”
You need to give support,to your claims, and the context in which it the crimes happened.
A quick review is given below.
Hinduism is one of the religions that justify crime.
Examples. Sathi, killing non-Hindus and lower caste people, when they step out of Hindu lines.
Judaism is one of the religions that justify crime.
Examples. Read the Bible. Full of them.
Christianity is one of the religions that justify crime.
Examples. Antisemitism, Crusades, Inquisition, New World etc.
Buddhism is one of the religions that justify crime.
Examples. Monk Mahanama, Sri Lanka Buddhist Riots killing Tamils,SL War Crimes, killing non-Buddhists, Sri Lanka and Burma.
Wahhabism or Salafism a violent strain of Islam is one of the religions that justify crime.
Examples. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia etc.
The non-violent Islam is Sufism.
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Michelle / July 18, 2013
Daniel Johnson has uttered sheer unresearched, bigotry that consists of cherry picked trash. Mehdi Hassan has done justice in style, in a way that was academically and intellectually befitting, laudable and factual while being to the point. No doubt Mr. Daniel Johnson’s substandard presentation failed tonconvince the audience that voted otherwise, thus decrying and deeming his point false.
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martin luther jr / July 19, 2013
it doesnt matter if Islam is a peaceful religion or not, what matters is Britain and USA peaceful countries waging war all over the world to rob minerals and oil wealth. should debate wheether the queen should be tried for genocide for not stopping the iraq war and libya to syria.
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dhammik a / July 20, 2013
religion is evil, both of the just proved that!!!
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Peace / July 20, 2013
You will see that once you die!
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Jasica David / July 20, 2013
[Edited out]
We are sorry, the comment language is English – CT
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gamini punchihewa / July 21, 2013
Daniel Johnson has displayed his ignorance of Islam which made Europe civiised.He should know it was the Muslim rule in Spain which brought Europe out of its darkness and taught what civlisation .Read Muslim rule in Spain Europe rather than being a propaganda tool for war mongers who ar destroying the Muslim world under the guise of fighting terrorism which is their discovery.
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Senguttuvan / July 22, 2013
Europe’s enlightenment was due to the (1) Ages of Reason (2) Enlightenment in which the Moors/Arabs played little part.
The pseudonym you have chosen, calculated to deceive, shows off
all too transparently.
Senguttuvan
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Jamal / July 27, 2013
Europe’s enlightenment was due to the (1) Ages of Reason (2) Enlightenment in which the Moors/Arabs played little part. The pseudonym you have chosen, calculated to deceive, shows off all too transparently.
Mr. Senguttuvan if you allude that Gamini Punchihewa’s pseudonym masks the fact that he is not a Muslim, then your contribution does not hide your distaste for Islam and your ridicule to the Islamic Contribution to Western Renaissance. I invite you to log into the interview of Justice Weeramantry in the web site
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTEObgSGx7o&sns=em
The Very Eminent Justice Weeramantry was the spokesman for the Third World, when he presented the contribution of the third world cultures towards Justice and Freedom, at the Bi-centenary celebrations of the US. Justice Weeramantry states It was Islam that brought up the value of human enquiry, which led to the resurgence of learning in the west after the dark ages. The doctrine of double truth was first enunciated by Islamic Scholars like Averroes and Avicenna. This was rejected at first by the Christian West but Father Thomas Aquinas had the depth of understanding to accept it. This virtually released the horse of REASON from the stable of ignorance never to return in the West . The first treatises on International law was written by Islamic Jurists in the 8th Century which preceded the works in the west by 800 to 900 years. Modern international law emanated from the works of the Dutch Jurist Hugo Grotius only in 1625. The Islamic jurists dealt with duties of Sovereigns between each other, the duties of respect for diplomats, the sanctity of treaties, conduct on the battle field- humanitarian conduct, duties towards children, duties towards future generations etc, etc., Alfonso X of Castile is credited with a famous Encyclopedia and the section on international law is virtually a reproduction of the treatise done by Islamic Jurists. The books of Medicine by Averroes was used for well nigh 400 years in the west!
And you still aver that the Moors/Arabs played little part.. Mr. Senguttuvan?
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Jamal / July 27, 2013
* masks the fact that he is a Muslim
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Jamal / July 27, 2013
My apologies the correct URL should read as
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ_rVHl2kMs&feature=relmfu
Jamal.
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Dr M L Najimudeen / July 21, 2013
Islam never creates problem to others. Tree wants to be motionless but the wind does not allow it to be silent. Unfortunately some terrorists carry Muslim names but Islam never permit harming others.
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Taraki / July 22, 2013
Nor do Christianity or Buddhism. That is why it is not the principles of Islam, Christianity or Buddhism that are causing problems, it is the way in which those principles are interpreted and practiced today that cause death and destruction throughout the world.
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R.M.B Senanayake / January 5, 2014
I agree with Taraki. I dont know about the teachings in the Koran. But I suspect the religion has been hi-jacked by extremists.
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