| 26 November 2004 | Friday | 13 Shawwal 1425 |
A great place to study
Republic of turmoil
If the dialogue has to continue
Muslims are monotheists and believe strictly in one God, Almighty Allah, Who is Omnipotent and Omnipresent. They also believe that He is the creator of the universe. They have faith in their book, the Quran, bestowed upon them through Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
History bears it out that the Muslims were the most advanced in civilization and scientific research until the 15th century (700 - 1500 AD). During this period, academic and intellectual activities were fully supported and encouraged.
There was freedom of expression and the scholars were recognized on the basis of merit and contribution irrespective of their affiliations and religious considerations.
As a result of this academic and scientific environment, a number of breakthroughs, especially in the sciences, were made by the Muslims. A few of the luminaries of that period include Al-Razi (chemistry and medicine); Al-Beruni (physics and medicine); Al-Khawarizmi (mathematics); Ibn-Al-Haitham (optics); Al-Ghazali, Ibne-Rushd, Al-Kindi (philosophy).
The gradual degeneration of the Muslim society from the 17th century onwards was caused by several factors, but mainly due to a change in the policy of liberalism and logic-based decisions to religion-based conservatism accompanied with intolerance. Economic losses through the colonization of Muslim lands by western powers and the continued neglect of most needed corrections was another reason.
Unfortunately, the situation has not yet improved. Sectarian murders, even in places of worship, are common and terrorism is at its height. It has been said in the Quran (Sura 4, Verse 105) that Allah does not like the treacherous or the sinful. Furthermore, in the Quran (sura 2, Verse 111), it is said "who is more unjust who seeks to destroy the mosques of Allah and forbids His name to be mentioned in them?"
The question arises as to why we are so ignorant and divided while there is a greater need today for stronger unity among Muslims especially after September 11, 2001. We have to consider that if we continue declaring other Muslims as "kafirs" and killing each other, we will become weaker and liable to further exploitation by our enemies. It may pose ultimately a risk to our own existence.
We have to remember a few facts: (1) Our enemies are technically and economically stronger and (2) Allah is always just in applying His natural laws uniformly for all His creations without discrimination or favour.
As such, it is essential that Muslims take into consideration the rules governing their existence, e.g. survival of the fittest and struggle for existence. We should work hard for re-establishing credibility and make realistic efforts on a long-term basis for necessary economic stability and progress.
It seems that there are two main causes owing to which Muslims are lagging behind. These are (1) lack of knowledge, and (2) lack of understanding of the basis of Allah's creations. The following extracts from the Holy Quran may serve as an eye-opener and provide clear examples in favour of acquiring scientific knowledge.
Sura 2, Verse 164: "In the creation of heavens and earth; in the alteration of the night and the day; in the ships that sail the oceans with what is beneficial to man; in the water which Allah sends down from the sky and with which He revives the earth after its death, dispersing over it all manners of beasts; in the movement of wind, and in the clouds that are driven between earth and sky; surely in these there are signs for people who understand."
Sura 6, Verse 95: "It is Allah who splits the seed and the fruit-stone. He brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living, such is Allah. How then you can turn away from Him?"
Sura 13, Verse 3: "It was He who spread earth and placed upon it firm mountains and rivers. And all fruits. He has put in it couples (male and female) and drew the veil of night over day. Surely in these there are signs for thinking men."
Sura 16, Verse 11: "Therewith He causeth crop to grow with you, and the olive and the date-palm and grapes and all kinds of fruits. Lo! herein indeed a portent for people to reflect."
The emphasis given by Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) on knowledge used the creation of universe and thinking reflecting in the utilization of resources bestowed by Allah for the betterment of humanity provide a clear indication of the importance of knowledge especially of the sciences which have been neglected by Muslims all over the world. We are perhaps punished for the same.
If one looks into dictionaries and encyclopaedia for the meaning of the word Ilm (frequently used in the Quran) meaning knowledge and compare it with the meanings of the word "science", one would realize the importance of science.
We can see that Pakistan has been saved by a single breakthrough in atomic research by our scientists and engineers. This is the real potential of scientific research.
All facts of the universe lead to a definite conclusion that Allah has used natural laws (scientific laws) in His creation (structure and working) of the universe and every thing included in it.
The millions of galaxies (each containing millions of stars), the movement of the sun, moon and other planets, the complex structure and working of unicellular and multi cellular organisms (plants, animals, etc.) are based on scientific laws. It defies one's sense of logic as to why Muslims (57 countries) who believe in one Allah are so indifferent to the natural laws (natural sciences).
As an example, it would be worthwhile to mention that the working of our body is also based on scientifically oriented systems, e.g. nervous system, respiratory system, blood circulatory system, digestive system, excretory system, reproductive system, audio-visual systems, etc.
Our body is the most complicated biological machine engineered by Almighty Allah and its functioning is based on integrated application of the majority of sciences we know till now.
One gets a basic medical degree (MBBS) after five years and this provides only a preliminary knowledge. Specialized training in several advanced branches of medicine are on the increase every day.
The secrets of nature will continue to be investigated and unearthed by the scientists as long as our planet earth exists. It is, therefore imperative for Muslims to understand Allah's message and get closer to Him.
It is necessary for our existence that the Muslims should study the scientific rules governing our lives and this universe, make efforts to achieve scientific progress and ultimately re-establish our credibility in the comity of nations. It is gratifying that in this context reasonable progress has been made with reference to "information technology" but there is still a long way to go.
In the modern world, the progress of a country is essentially knowledge-based. We, therefore, cannot afford to neglect the need for acquiring technical knowledge if we have to face the existing challenges of the developed world to secure our future. Properly trained manpower is a must for the success of any research organization.
It is important that higher education be improved up to the required standard so that it may produce the requisite manpower. Special and advanced institutions may be developed for this purpose but finances have to be used wisely and honestly.
The manpower with the requisite qualifications would definitely add to our intellectual capital and would enhance our prestige and importance in international forums.
It is, therefore, necessary that Pakistan does not miss the chance provided by Allah and make full efforts to narrow the scientific and technological gap existing between the developed and developing countries.
A great place to study
The international student population in the United States over the years has been a source of pride and benefit to our institutions of higher education. In my diplomatic career, I have met the leaders of a number of American colleges and universities, and to the person, they have stressed the importance and contributions of foreign students in their respective academic environments. As last week was International Education Week, this is a good opportunity to discuss studying in the United States.
According to the Institute of International Education (IIE), an independent non-profit exchange organization based in New York, the number of international students in the United States grew from about 34,000 in the 1954-55 academic year to nearly 600,000 in 2002-2003.
The United States is home to many of the world's finest educational institutions, and our colleges and universities remain eager to accept qualified students from abroad.
International students - including Pakistanis - bring cultural and intellectual diversity to our campuses and communities and promote greater understanding between US citizens and people in other societies.
Education USA advising centres around the world provide advice and assistance to students wishing to study in the United States. These centres assist millions of young people every year around the globe.
The centres and their respective e-mail addresses in Pakistan are the Full bright Commission in Islamabad - the US Educational Foundation in Pakistan (info@fulbright.org.pk); the American Centre at the US Consulate in Lahore (AnwarL@state.gov); and World Educational Services in Karachi (WES@cyber.net.pk).
We welcome and encourage international students to come to the United States to study. While we have implemented new measures to make our borders and the travelling public more secure, we have not changed the basic criteria for visa eligibility to visit or study in the United States.
We are working to make the process of acquiring a student visa to study in the United States easier and quicker. The new SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) programme electronically links the college and university admission process directly to our consular offices around the world, ensuring that this key information about student admission flows smoothly and quickly.
Now, thanks to a special programme developed specifically for international students, our embassy in Islamabad, like its counterparts around the world, makes special arrangements to ensure that all applicants for student visas receive expedited processing for an interview.
The goal is to enable students to arrive in the US in time to participate in international orientation programmes at their institution and, of course, to attend the first day of class.
As US ambassador, I want to ensure that Pakistani students continue to study in America. I know there is keen interest. A recent embassy Internet webchat focused on studying in the US. Three educational advisers, two consular officers, and the Ful-bright director fielded more than 100 questions from across Pakistan during the one-hour session.
Also last week, the Ful-bright office here concluded interviews for the last round of applicants competing for scholarships in 2005 under the new Ful-bright/USAID master's programme.
Over the next five years, the US Agency for International Development intends to provide millions of dollars to the Ful-bright programme so hundreds of Pakistani students can pursue master's degrees in America.
This major expansion means the Fulbright student programme in Pakistan will be one of the largest such Fulbright programmes in the world. It will benefit the US and its universities and especially Pakistan, as these trained graduates will return to their country to begin or renew their careers.
We want students from Pakistan and other countries to take advantage of the exceptional educational opportunities in the United States. Among these are universities and colleges of all descriptions and types, from rural institutions to urban campuses, from small two- and four-year colleges, and women's colleges, to large research universities.
Although US colleges and universities are diverse, they do share many common attributes - flexibility, individual attention, close collaboration between students and professors, hands-on learning and access to the best facilities in the world. International students who enrol in a US educational institution will also have the opportunity to live in and learn about our open and culturally diverse country.
For Pakistanis thinking about your own educational future, I strongly recommend that you consider higher education in the United States. With more than 3,600 fully accredited institutions of higher education, America offers numerous options from which to choose.
Please contact the appropriate Education USA advising centre cited above for more information. When you do, you will find that the United States is not only a welcoming, safe place to visit, but a great place to study.
The writer is US ambassador in Pakistan.
Republic of turmoil
Picture yourself in the mid-1840s. It's an exciting time. Fifteen years earlier, railroads barely existed. In 1830 there were only 23 miles of track. By 1840 there were 2,818; by 1850, 9,021.
Steamboats ply major rivers - another recent development. In 1844 Samuel Morse had introduced the telegraph by sending this message from Washington to Baltimore: "What hath God wrought!" For some, it was all too much.
"This world is going too fast," wrote one old-timer, a 64-year-old former mayor of New York named Philip Hone. "Railroads, steamers, packets, race against time. . . . Oh, for the good old days of heavy post coaches and speed at the rate of six miles an hour!"
Hone apparently coined the phrase "good old days" - and we've been chasing them unsuccessfully ever since. It's not simply that you can't turn back the clock. The larger difficulty is that the "good old days" never were.
The supposedly placid past, once probed and explored, usually turns out to have been as jarring as the disruptive present. Something is always assaulting our sense of security and stability.
We Americans say we like change, but we want it without troubling side effects. This is a mirage. Anyone who doubts that should read John Steele Gordon's superb, just-published book "An Empire of Wealth."
Gordon has written the best one-volume economic history of the United States in a long time, and perhaps ever. Highly readable and fact-filled, it's basically optimistic.
Gordon argues that America's success is rooted in a society that rewards people for being ambitious, taking risks and trying new ideas. The story has much continuity: from Francis Cabot Lowell, who expanded New England's textile industry in the War of 1812; to Cyrus McCormick, whose mechanical reaper revolutionized American agriculture in the 1840s and 1850s; to Henry Ford, who introduced the Model T in 1908; to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, who've popularized the personal computer.
All aimed to succeed by satisfying demands of the mass market. "With McCormick's reaper, one man could harvest eight acres a day, not one, and the American Middle West could become the breadbasket of the world," writes Gordon. "In 1839 only eighty bushels of wheat were shipped out of the infant town of Chicago. Ten years later Chicago shipped two million."
In 1908 the Model T cost a dirt-cheap $850; by 1916 it was $360, and Ford sold 730,041 of them. Gordon also shows that the messy past often confounds common myths. One is this: In the 19th century, government wasn't much involved in the economy. Not so. Consider the Erie Canal, which Gordon calls "the most consequential public works project in American history."
Connecting Lake Erie and New York City, it engendered much ridicule. "You talk of making a canal three hundred and fifty miles through wilderness!" Thomas Jefferson wrote DeWitt Clinton, the main advocate. "It is a splendid project, and may be executed a century hence. It is little short of madness to think of it at this day."
But Clinton, once elected governor, pressed ahead. The digging took from 1817 to 1825. The canal succeeded instantly. In its first year, boats carried 221,000 barrels of flour, 435,000 gallons of whiskey and 562,000 bushels of wheat.
Change has always been the economy's lifeblood - often with depressing side effects. Nowhere was the contradiction more fateful than with Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin in 1793. Before the gin, it took 25 man-days to separate out the seeds for 50 pounds of cotton; after the gin, it took a day.
The South's cotton production soared, from 1 percent of the world total in 1793 to almost 70 percent in 1850. This was an economic bonanza - and a national tragedy. Without the gin, Gordon suggests, slavery was uneconomical and might have died quietly. Other crops were less profitable and couldn't justify the cost of feeding and housing slaves.
America's dazzling post-Civil War industrialization was much the same story. By 1900 the United States had 193,346 miles of railroad track, up more than six times in four decades. Steel production jumped from 1,643 tons in 1867 to 7.2 million tons in 1897, which exceeded the combined total of Britain and Germany.
Americans could buy cheap farm implements and more food and consumer goods. But there were large social costs: depressions, city slums and labour strife. In 1877 many railroads cut workers' pay by 10 percent.
In retaliation, workers seized freight yards and destroyed railroad property. Only after President Rutherford Hayes dispatched troops was order restored. Compared with the past, some present upsets (job outsourcing, rising health costs, jeopardized pensions) seem tame. But the dilemma we face is the same. Suppressing change is a formula for economic stagnation or suicide. It kills the sources of growth. On the other hand, accepting all change as unavoidable and ultimately beneficial can be socially undesirable and politically unrealistic.
Gordon rightly argues that capitalism provides many benefits but that, without some government oversight and regulation, it's inherently unstable and unfair. The trick is to find the right balance between encouraging change and dealing with the nasty side effects. History suggests this was never easy; it still isn't. -Dawn/Washington Post Service
If the dialogue has to continue
It is to be hoped that we are not about to witness the fizzling out of yet another attempt at creating a climate of mutual trust and goodwill between India and Pakistan. There has been apprehension that the composite dialogue which began with much enthusiasm by both sides earlier this year is beginning to lose steam and could end up a soul-less exercise.
With India's prime minister not being able to find time to receive the Pakistan prime minister on the latter's arrival in New Delhi on Tuesday, even the diplomatic warmth which marked the beginning of the dialogue seems to have been diluted.
It is customary, for if not actually diplomatically incumbent upon, the head of the host government to greet his opposite number from a friendly government on his arrival. Mr Shaukat Aziz was in New Delhi as the head of Saarc but his visit has special significance in the context of the composite dialogue and the fact that he was to hold talks on matters of bilateral importance.
Surprisingly, New Delhi claims that the visit is only one in the nature of a working session. Mr Shaukat Aziz hoped that he would not only be able to promote the objectives of Saarc but also of greater stability in South Asia.
In an environment in which much significance is attached even to small diplomatic gestures, the Indian prime minister's absence from the reception line at Delhi airport has the potential of causing considerable misunderstanding.
The composite dialogue is of as much importance for Pakistan as for India. However, Dr. Manmohan Singh's welcome message to Mr Shaukat Aziz, inter alia, said that he was looking forward to his meeting with the latter, he expressed the hope that "India and Pakistan together could change (the course of) history."
Beginning with the visit of a senior officer of the Pakistan government's political department, Major A.S.B. Shah, to Srinagar even before the Maharaja announced Kashmir's accession to India, Pakistan has been engaged with India in a series of attempts to resolve the Kashmir dispute. Like many of the subsequent attempts, Major Shah's visit to Srinagar had also proved fruitless.
The first major series of talks between the two countries took place in 1962-63 and were described as the most intensive and long lasting. It was believed to have resulted from the combined efforts of Britain and United States, and came in the wake of what some western South Asian experts have called India's "defeat and humiliation at the hands of the Chinese communist army in the border war of October-November 1962."
It is well known that at the time India was faced with the need for the acquisition of arms and looked to the West for the necessary supply. According to an account of the talks (attributed to Sardar Swaran Singh who represented India) India at the time was prepared to concede up to 1,500 square miles of territory in Indian-held Kashmir in return for Pakistan's acceptance of the modified Line (of Control) as a permanent international border.
But the chief Pakistani negotiator at the talks, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, rejected the offer. Bhutto reportedly told Swaran Singh that "the Kashmir Valley was indivisible and that Pakistan had to have the whole of it."
Professor Robert G. Wirsing in his account of the talks has quoted another Indian participant of the talks, without naming him as saying "that Swaran Singh, eager to achieve a breakthrough over Kashmir, in his territorial offer to Bhutto, also included "a toehold in the coveted valley of Kashmir the territorial offer made by India in these negotiations was the maximum offer it ever made on Kashmir." However, these talks too, ended without any tangible result.
Moscow sponsored the next major round of talks between Pakistan and India - the Tashkent Talks - which focused largely on troop withdrawal (after the 1965 war) and the restoration of the pre-war status quo.
In Tashkent, too, India and Pakistan failed to reach any understanding on Kashmir. In any case, the Indian prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, who was representing his country, died suddenly while the talks were in progress and the whole exercise ended rather abruptly.
Similar fate met the talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries in January 1994 which began on a somewhat optimistic note but failed to produce any constructive result.
This round talks had been prompted by a letter written by the then Indian prime minister Narasimha Rao to Ms Benazir Bhutto when she came to power in Pakistan. Mr Rao, in an unprecedented gesture, had offered a comprehensive dialogue on the Kashmir dispute. However, no progress was achieved and no further talks were scheduled.
Prof. P.N. Dhar, a former faculty member of Delhi University, and in the 1970s a close aide of Mrs Indira Gandhi in his comprehensive study of India-Pakistan relations, has suggested that the two countries came closest to an understanding on Kashmir during the Gandhi-Bhutto meeting in Simla in July 1972.
Dhar maintains that during the talks among those present in the Pakistani camp were several individuals like Wali Khan and Mazhar Ali Khan (former editor of Pakistan Times) who carried messages from one side to the other.
The messages were mainly meant for Mrs Gandhi and "emanated mostly from Pakistanis who were known for their advocacy of peace, or from Punjabi Pakistanis who were against military dominance in Pakistani politics."
DHAR ADDS: "The end result was that India accepted Bhutto's plea that the solution of the Kashmir problem should be implemented in a piecemeal manner and in step with an overall improvement in Indo-Pak relations."
Both sides also tacitly agreed not to alter the LoC unilaterally which they believed would gradually emerge "as the international border." Generally Pakistanis have maintained that there is no record of such understanding.
The last bilateral effort for peace and conciliation - before the present composite dialogue was proposed - was Gen Pervez Musharraf's visit to Delhi and Agra for extensive talks with the Indian leaders. He returned home rather abruptly at India's intransigence to show any flexibility on the disputed issues.
The composite dialogue commenced earlier this year as yet another attempt at reaching conciliation and peace with India. President Pervez Musharraf has also informally proposed certain options for arriving at an agreement on Kashmir.
However the Indian side is once again reticent and does not appear willing to consider the proposals insisting that they have not been formally placed on the negotiating table.
This cannot be regarded as a positive attitude and the Pakistani president has felt clearly discouraged by the Indian reaction. He has declared that unless India demonstrated flexibility in its traditional position on Kashmir, Pakistan would not agree to give up its known demand for a plebiscite in the territory.
He has been candid and said: "We will only leave it (the demand for plebiscite) if India is prepared to show flexibility." In his address at the Safma conference in Lahore he left no doubt that if India insisted upon describing Kashmir as its own territory Pakistan would also not yield. "It is not a song that one has to sit and listen."
As Mr Shaukat Aziz held his talks in India, the Kashmir problem appears to be stalemated if not deadlocked. However, President Gen Pervez Musharraf continues to look at the situation with an open mind.
He has declared that Pakistan would like to meet India halfway. Hopefully India too would realize the hazards inherent in a stalemated situation and travel its own halfway.
TAILPIECE: Seasoned observers of the Kashmir situation who were present at the Safma conference when the president gave his somewhat blunt rejoinder to India's continued obstinacy are rather unexpectedly still fairly hopeful of an ultimate understanding between India and Pakistan on Kashmir.
They maintain that the popular sentiment is strongly in favour of a peaceful resolution of the issue and even the traditionally hard-line elements now seem to be in a mellowed mood. People are up front, one observer said.