the self-assurance of a person mesmerised by the glitter of high office: No one would be allowed to change the basic ideology

of the education system of Pakistan and stern action would be initiated against people behind such a conspiracy. The minister could do with a crash course on the basic law of the land. He claimed unabashedly: rticle !" of the constitution of Pakistan is #uite clear about the pro$ision that no Pakistani citi%en should be taught a religion other than his own religion & 'slam. This is simply not true. The rele$ant clause is rticle !! ()*+ which is discussed later. The response of the school administration to the misguided messianic %eal of the T, anchor and the Pun-ab go$ernment was: .ur institution belie$es in inculcating $alues such as tolerance and empathy in all our students. /0omparati$e religion1 is essentially a /history of religion.1 't is not comparing religions2 we aim to educate about 'slam+ 0hristianity...3oing so+ we belie$e+ will enlighten our students about the importance of peaceful coe4istence. This is in accord with the fre#uent references in the 5uran to the histories of se$eral Hebraic and pre-Hebraic prophets mentioned in the 6ible. te4tual study of the 5uran shows that it constantly urges belie$ers to learn from history and+ in particular+ from the e4periences of the earlier prophets. 6ut the Holy 6ook does not go into details about the li$es of these men of 7od. Narrati$e is not its purpose+ and+ in the words of a respected scholar+ whene$er it refers to past e$ents & whether recorded in the 6ible or ali$e in rabian tradition & it does so e4clusi$ely with a $iew to bringing out elements that are rele$ant to the ethical teachings it propounds. s a conse#uence+ many of the most outstanding 5uran commentators+ both classical as well as modern+ ha$e relied on 6iblical accounts and Talmudic te4ts for the elaboration of some of the 5uranic passages+ particularly those pertaining to the earlier prophets. 8or instance the 5uran says the coming of Prophet 9uhammad (pbuh* was foretold in the earlier scriptures and this is confirmed in the 6iblical passage: The :ord thy 7od will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee+ of thy brethren+ like unto me2 unto him ye shall hearken (3euteronomy 4$iii+ )"*+ and+ by the 0reator Himself+ ' will raise them up a prophet from among thy brethren+ like unto thee+ and will put my words in his mouth (3euteronomy 4$iii+ );*. ll 'slamic scholars are con$inced that the /brethren1 of the children of 'srael (<acob* were the rabs+ and particularly the /mustaribah1 or rabianised group among them which traces its descent to 'shmael and braham. 't is to this group that the tribe of the last of the prophets+ the 5uraysh+ belonged and all commentators concur that the 6iblical passage foretells his ad$ent. nother e4ample is that the 5uran affirms that some of the earlier prophets were slain but does not name them (!:=)+ ;>+ ?)2 @: ))!+ );)+ );@2 A:)""*. This problem is again partially addressed by the 6ible. The story of the beheading of <ohn the 6aptist is gi$en in the New Testament+ and+ in more general terms+ by <esus: . <erusalem+ <erusalem+

thou that killest the prophets+ and stonest them which are sent to thee (9atthew 44$iii+ @>*. The murder of Bachariah is referred to in 9atthew 44$iii+ @A-@" and :uke 4i+ ")+ whereas+ the slaying of prophets is mentioned in ' Thessalonians ii+ )". 6eyond the earlier scriptures+ the scholars of 'slam ha$e e$en del$ed into the findings of historians+ and a case in point is the account of the Prophet Calih+ the second rabian prophet after Hud+ who belonged to the Nabataen tribe of Thamud. 8rom theDncyclopaedia of 'slam ',+ >@=+ for instance+ one learns that the >)" 60 inscription of Cargon speaks about the Thamud as a tribe of eastern and central rabia who were o$erwhelmed by the ssyrians. The tribe is also mentioned as Thamudaei and Thamudenes in the works of the stoic philosopher risto (!"E 60*+ the Foman philosopher Pliny ( 3 !@->?* and the 7reco-Foman writer Ptolemy ( 3 ?E-)=;*. 'slam has ne$er claimed to be a new religion. .ne of the functions of the 5uran is to confirm the truth of whate$er still remains of the earlier scriptures and to correct the distortions that had come into their te4ts. 't accepts all the prophets of pre$ious ages and says clearly: nd+ indeed+ (. 9uhammad+* Ge ha$e sent forth apostles before thy time2 some of them we ha$e mentioned to thee+ and some we ha$e not mentioned to thee... (AE:>;2 A:)=A*. 8urthermore+ 9uslims are told: 6ut as for those who belie$e in 7od and His apostles and make no distinction between any of them & unto them+ in time+ will He grant their rewards (in full*... (A:)"!2 !:!;"*. Gith this emphasis on the acceptance of all the prophets e$er sent to mankind+ and not merely the !" named in the 5uran+ it becomes ob$ious that a study of other faiths does not undermine but reinforces and e4plains the fundamental teachings of 'slam. The contro$ersy sparked by the o$er%ealous tele$ision anchor brings the rot that is progressi$ely contaminating Pakistani society into the open. This is again e$ident from the Pun-ab go$ernment1s decision to also confiscate the biology te4tbook because it contained material that could pro$oke se4ual desire. Githout batting an eyelid the pro$incial education minister announced: Ge will not allow anyone to teach our children with material which is against our social $alues and religious beliefs. These undefined /religious beliefs1 are completely at $ariance with what a respected modern scholar describes as the many references in the 5uran to the positi$e+ 7odordained nature of se4uality. The outrageous reaction to the biology te4tbook is summed up in the words of .scar Gilde: Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the culti$ated. 8or these there is hope. The allegation that the school no longer teaches 'slamiat is downright dishonest. ccording to a :ahore-based educationist 'slamic and Pakistan studies are mandatory courses for a local and o$erseas e4amination and+ as such+ cannot be dropped.

6ut there is a problem insofar as non-9uslim children are obliged to learn 'slamic principles in public schools. The te4tbooks currently being used in all the four pro$inces $iolate rticle !!()* of the constitution which clearly states: No person attending any educational institution shall be re#uired to recei$e religious instruction+ or take part in any religious ceremony+ or attend religious worship+ if such instruction+ ceremony or worship relates to a religion other than his own. 'n the central 'ndian state of 9adhya Pradesh+ the ruling Hindu right-wing 6haratiya <anata Party was recently constrained+ because of stern criticism by 9uslim organisations+ to rescind its order aimed at introducing te4ts from the 6haga$ad 7ita into school curriculums. 6ut here non-9uslim children are forced to learn about 'slamic tenets e$en in sub-ects as di$erse as general knowledge+ Hrdu+ social studies and Dnglish despite the pro$isions of the constitution. 8or them there is no hope so long as public opinion is swayed by the electronic media+ which is obsessed with ratings. The immediate casualty is in$estigati$e reporting+ -ournalistic integrity and professionalism. The writer is the publisher of 0riterion 5uarterly. Dmail: iftimurshedIgmail.com