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: Article ! 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 Article '()* 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. ./omparati#e religion0 is essentially a .history of religion.0 &t is not comparing religions1 we aim to educate about &slam* /hristianity...2oing so* we belie#e* will enlighten our students about the importance of peaceful coe3istence. This is in accord with the fre"uent references in the 4uran to the histories of se#eral Hebraic and pre5Hebraic prophets mentioned in the 6ible. A te3tual study of the 4uran shows that it constantly urges belie#ers to learn from history and* in particular* from the e3periences 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 Arabian tradition % it does so e3clusi#ely with a #iew to bringing out elements that are rele#ant to the ethical teachings it propounds. As a conse"uence* many of the most outstanding 4uran commentators* both classical as well as modern* ha#e relied on 6iblical accounts and Talmudic te3ts for the elaboration of some of the 4uranic passages* particularly those pertaining to the earlier prophets. 8or instance the 4uran 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 me1 unto him ye shall hearken '2euteronomy 3#iii* (!)* and* by the /reator Himself* & will raise them up a prophet from among thy brethren* like unto thee* and will put my words in his mouth '2euteronomy 3#iii* (;). All &slamic scholars are con#inced that the .brethren0 of the children of &srael '<acob) were the Arabs* and particularly the .mustaribah0 or Arabianised group among them which traces its descent to &shmael and Abraham. &t is to this group that the tribe of the last of the prophets* the 4uraysh* belonged and all commentators concur that the 6iblical passage foretells his ad#ent. Another e3ample is that the 4uran affirms that some of the earlier prophets were slain but does not name them ' :=(* ;>* ?(1 @: (( * (;(* (;@1 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 33#iii* @>). The murder of Bachariah is referred to in 9atthew 33#iii* @A5@! and :uke 3i* !(* 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 Arabian prophet after Hud* who belonged to the Nabataen tribe of Thamud. 8rom theDncyclopaedia of &slam &+* >@=* for instance* one learns that the >(! 6/ inscription of Cargon speaks about the Thamud as a tribe of eastern and central Arabia who were o#erwhelmed by the Assyrians. The tribe is also mentioned as Thamudaei and Thamudenes in the works of the stoic philosopher Aristo ' !E 6/)* the Foman philosopher Pliny 'A2 @5>?) and the 7reco5Foman writer Ptolemy 'A2 ?E5(=;). &slam has ne#er claimed to be a new religion. -ne of the functions of the 4uran is to confirm the truth of whate#er still remains of the earlier scriptures and to correct the distortions that had come into their te3ts. &t accepts all the prophets of pre#ious ages and says clearly: And* indeed* '- 9uhammad*) Ge ha#e sent forth apostles before thy time1 some of them we ha#e mentioned to thee* and some we ha#e not mentioned to thee... 'AE:>;1 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:(! 1 : ;!). Gith this emphasis on the acceptance of all the prophets e#er sent to mankind* and not merely the ! named in the 4uran* it becomes ob#ious that a study of other faiths does not undermine but reinforces and e3plains 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#ernment0s decision to also confiscate the biology te3tbook because it contained material that could pro#oke se3ual 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 beliefs0 are completely at #ariance with what a respected modern scholar describes as the many references in the 4uran to the positi#e* 7od5 ordained nature of se3uality. The outrageous reaction to the biology te3tbook 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. According to a :ahore5based educationist &slamic and Pakistan studies are mandatory courses for a local and o#erseas e3amination and* as such* cannot be dropped.

6ut there is a problem insofar as non59uslim children are obliged to learn &slamic principles in public schools. The te3tbooks currently being used in all the four pro#inces #iolate Article '() 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 right5wing 6haratiya <anata Party was recently constrained* because of stern criticism by 9uslim organisations* to rescind its order aimed at introducing te3ts from the 6haga#ad 7ita into school curriculums. 6ut here non59uslim 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 /riterion 4uarterly. Dmail: iftimurshedIgmail.com