RSS FeedDon’t ask, don’t think: The problem with schools in Muslim countries
Guest post by Soroush Seifi
Originally published in the Toronto Star, May 21, 2006, D11
My name is Soroush. I was born in Iran 21 years ago and now reside in Toronto. I lived through the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. But this article is not about me. It is about a disturbing trend in education in Muslim countries.
I hope to draw a correlation between the education system in Iran and the recruitment of angry, young and easily manipulated individuals by terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda.
The ruins of Ground Zero are proof that we no longer live in an isolated box. The problems of people on one side of the world can bring destruction to people on the other. I say this only to reiterate former secretary of state Colin Powell’s statement in 2004:
To eradicate terrorism, the United States must help… alleviate conditions in the world that enable terrorists to bring in new recruits.
It seems that conditions in the Middle East are not being “alleviated,” as the U.S. administration had planned. Even Republican senators disagree with U.S. President George W. Bush on the war in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ annual surveys consistently show a lack of freedom of expression, human rights, access to resources, economic stability and technological innovation in societies where most terrorists come from.
So perhaps there are more effective ways than military force to fight terrorism. The failure of American military intervention should prompt us to look at other dimensions of the conflict.
The school system of countries like Iran, where I was educated, is a good place to start.
To be a terrorist, it is not enough to be poor and angry. Otherwise, many more terrorists would originate from places like sub-Saharan Africa, where the rates of poverty are much worse than in Saudi Arabia, the homeland of 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 terrorists. Those terrorists were predominantly from middle-class families.
The more interesting issue is why these individuals were unable to think for themselves and find better ways of showing displeasure than through terrorism. My personal school experience in Iran offers a clue.
My education there was a military-like experience. The vice principal would stand in front of students lined up in formation and ask us to repeat pro-government propaganda, such as “Long Live Hezbollah” (a Middle Eastern paramilitary group with a strong presence in Iran and Lebanon). I was only 10 back then.
I remember that the teacher was similar to a God figure. We accepted his/her words without a grain of salt. Students were not encouraged to think for themselves or come up with our own solutions. On the contrary, we were spoon-fed information.
In religion and Qur’an classes (mandatory for all students), we learned the “correct” way of speaking, reading and acting. The incessant declaration of the importance of tradition helped students conform to what the authorities considered “Islamic.” For example, it was blasphemous to dress in “feminine” colours, have a fancy haircut or, in general, think outside of the box. Such transgressions were often met with physical abuse.
I remember one of my close friends, Ali Esmaili, asked our Grade 5 teacher,
Miss, is it true that Ayatollah Khomeini only had an elementary school education?
The teacher immediately got up from her chair and her glare became fixed on Ali’s eyes. She asked him to stand up. When he did, she hit him. After three blows, the teacher told Ali to go to the office and call his parents because he was going to be expelled from school.
Ali was not expelled in the end, but I learned never to question authority again. I can only assume that the other 41 students in that class continue to believe that very same message today:
Never think for yourself.
When it came to mathematics and science, those subjects were no more than a struggle through theoretical concepts in books that we bought at the beginning of each school year. I never had to do research, look through dictionaries and encyclopedias, or go to the library to learn things on my own.
I remember that teachers constantly reviewed many of the political experiences of the nation in a certain framework. We were taught to accept some values and reject others. For one reason or another, the teachers, despite their own personal opinions, usually promoted the status quo.
In Grade 7, my teachers told me and other students to tell our parents to “vote for Nouri,” the conservative opponent of the former Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami.
My experience in Canadian schools has been entirely different. I moved here in 1997 with my family and went into Grade 8 in the Toronto public school system. The teachers there taught me to understand things through various creative activities and to think for myself.
I sometimes wonder whether young Muslims who become terrorists are trapped by the limits of their education. Like me and my classmates in Iran, they don’t question anything; they merely do what others tell them to do for no other reason than to simply obey orders.
To alleviate terrorism, it will be necessary to create educational systems in Muslim countries like Iran that allow the harvest of children’s creative ideas. Allowing thought to grow will give these children the opportunity to imagine and be innovative as adults; they will find new ways to solve their problems. These solutions will stem from within and most likely match their culture, as well.
It is not possible to build a house without first laying the foundation. Hence, developed nations – instead of military intervention – have the responsibility to help lay the foundation and encourage education systems that foster creativity in Muslim nations.
Soroush Seifi is a Kinesiologist who graduated in the top 5% of his class during his final year at York University. He was the creator and president of Red Cross Society at York University when he wrote the piece above.
He was recently accepted to Whittier Law School in 2009 on a scholarship, and is currently working before starting law school.
Foreign state denies Canadians entry because of names
Israel targets Palestinian-Canadians
Since Americans appearing to have Palestinian heritage are hit also, the US Administration is twisting Israelis’ arms to change the policy. Predictably, the Canadian government is silent.
Comfortable in a kippa or a kaffiyeh
Published in today’s Star and reproduced here at the request of the authors.
Apartheid or no apartheid, what is going on across Canadian university campuses this week is not a mature and helpful way to promote dialogue and raise awareness.
In the standoffs that result year after year during this week, the people involved on both sides further alienate the public at large. For Osgoode Hall Law School students, this week means trying to avoid all the protests and counterprotests taking place around York University’s campus.
Thankfully, there are no protests at the law school and no posters to be found on any of its walls. The law school accommodates all of us so that everyone who walks around feels comfortable no matter his or her religion, political views or nationality.
As Osgoode students, we find the events at York to be strange. There is no discussion taking place, but rather two sides screaming at each other.
It is no surprise that these encounters frequently end with the police being called and both sides being charged by the university. It would be truly devastating if somewhere down the line these encounters result in violence or someone being seriously hurt, if that has not already happened.
At Osgoode Hall, the Jewish Law Students’ Association and Muslim Law Students’ Association may have different agendas and goals but we are all friends with each other. We do not all have to agree with each other’s views to respect one another.
When friends discuss politics, even such hot topics as Israel and Palestine, you are more open to listen to the other side and hear the points they are making. No megaphones, no flags, just two groups listening to what the other has to say.
Often, members of our associations have admitted that they have had to rethink certain issues and change certain opinions they held due to some of these open and collegial discussions.
Apartheid Week only seeks to divide the campus more than it already is. Whereas the JLSA and MLSA are open to working together to try to host events that speak to the students’ common goals, such as finding lawyers to come talk to our groups about difficulties maintaining our religious practices in the workforce, or issues of keeping kosher and Halal at law firms, the thought of something like this taking place at York is worrying.
Additionally, Osgoode Hall offers courses in both Jewish and sharia law. One need not be of any specific nationality or religion to attend, and it would not be considered strange if anyone took up the offer.
By learning about the history and background of the other, we see that other as a human being rather than part of an ideology, and the debate suddenly becomes more humane. The way that Israel Apartheid Week is conducted only seeks to exploit the differences between us and does not focus on any of the good that we can do together or that can be achieved by having proper discourse in a responsible, academic setting.
Until the activists on both sides of the debate realize this, nothing will be achieved and emotionally charged students will continue to yell and scream at each other while not being heard and achieving nothing.
Debate is never futile, but what goes on at York’s campus can hardly be referred to as anything resembling a debate. This only seeks to increase animosity between the two sides while ignoring the good that we can do together.
Let both sides cool off, and when they are ready to have a true dialogue, let it take place in a civil forum. Right now nothing is being gained, and so much is being lost.
We are thankful that the law school is a place where we can be comfortable walking around in both kippas and kaffiyehs, and where the two groups can talk and consider each other as friends.
We may be somewhat divided on the issue of Israel and Palestine, but we realize that there are reasonable arguments on both sides of the debate, and have tried to come to an agreeable position.
While this will not bring peace to the Middle East, it fosters an environment where everyone feels comfortable about who they are, something that is wholly lacking at York University currently.
Joseph Juda is co-president of the Jewish Law Students’ Association at Osgoode Hall Law School. Ahsan Mirza is president of the Muslim Law Students’ Association at Osgoode Hall Law School.
