By Syed Khaled Shahbaaz
Hyderabad: A panel of Muslim intellectuals may soon meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the current situation of thei community in the country. “Muslims are living in fear due to recent communal events and the way out of this is through dialogue,” the panel observed.
The top-drawer intellectuals like former Member of Parliament Shahid Siddiqui, former Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, educationists Sayeed Sherwani recently met RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat in an attempt to bridge the gaps between Hindus and Muslims. “We want to dispel the tension between the communities,” said India’s former Chief election commissioner S. Y. Qureshi.
Speaking at Masjid al Hassan, during an interaction with Muslim educationists, intellectuals, and academicians in Hyderabad organized by Alliance for Education and Economic Empowerment of the Underprivileged (AEEDU) in collaboration with Shaheen Group of Institutions and Shining Stars Education Foundation, Qureshi said, “this is the first step. We had an hour-long discussion with Mr. Mohan Bhagwat on issues like Hindu Rashtra, cow slaughter, and the myth of Muslim population explosion.”
He said, “Mr. Bhagwat assured that Hindu Rashtra cannot be imagined without Muslims, and an amicable solution concerning cow slaughter in states where it is not banned by law can be reached”.
The same panel, under the aegis of AEEDU, is currently visiting different States in South India to understand the gaps and study the model. They are currently meeting academicians and educationists from different states with the intent to replicate the best.
‘The organization’s focus is on modernization of madrassas’, said Shahid Siddiqui. As part of this learning drive, the panel visited Masjid al Hassan at Shadnagar town located about 50 km from Hyderabad where Madrassa students showcased their ‘modern schooling’ skills. Several students who had no prior schooling demonstrated excellent oratory skills in English, Urdu, and Arabic which they had learned during a year and a half of the COVID-19 lockdown at the mosque. They are learning mathematics, science, computer skills, and even sports like cricket, and football.
Khair ull Nissa Sheikh, Executive Director of World Trade Center Services (India) said ‘amplification of exemplary works is the need of the hour. Such composite education must also focus on not just educating boys and must also focus on girl education in equal measure.
Secretary TMREIS B Shafiullah presented the Telangana model of education for empowerment through which the government has established 204 schools in a span of 18 months where 1.25 lakh students are receiving quality education.
Maulana Azad Educational Trust Director Farhat Jamaal warned that without education, the next 10 years will be very difficult. The biggest challenge for any community is an irrelevance. We must identify, leverage, and capture the creative talent of the community to help it stay relevant to the changing times.
Iqbal Hassan, who was instrumental in the Masjid al Hassan project, Zaheeruddin Ali Khan, Managing Editor of Siasat.com, former Secretary Telangana Intermediate Board of Education Omer Jaleel, Farhat Jamaal, and educationists from different minority educational institutions were present on this occasion.
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