FM na Wanaukumbi tumlaani shetani sisi ndiyo "great thinkers" sasa tuendelee na mjadala. Naweka hapa chini kipande cha paper niliwasilisha siku za nyuma kuhusu elimu:
The ‘Madras' and Muslim Initiative in Establishing Educational Institutions
It is a misnomer to classify education into compartment such as 'Islamic education,' or ‘ilm dunia' and ‘ilm akhera.' Muslims are required to pursue education in its totality. In Islam education is ‘fardh'. Probably the problem encountered by the uninitiated is the correct meaning of education. Ahmad ibn Naqib Al Misri in his book Umdat al salik, Dubai (1991), has given the correct meaning of education in an Islamic perspective. In short he has stated that there is no way one could profess to be a Muslim and at the same time profess ignorance. Islam and ignorance, the two paradigms are mutually incompatible. To be a Muslim the prerequisite is to be knowledgeable.
Since Islam was compatible to knowledge it was difficult in areas where Islam was established to encounter illiteracy. In Tanganyika the predominant Muslim ethnic groupings are the Manyema, Digo and Rufiji. These are the tribes which the missionaries failed completely to baptise. It is from these areas and from the ‘madras' that the country produced its best Muslim scholars and poets. Poetry reflects the philosophy and intellect of society as well as personal emotions of the composers. It is not possible to compose poetry in absence of the ability to scribe. Literacy levels in these areas were very high both among men and women. It is interesting to note that most of the poets of that time had also excellent religious knowledge. The ‘madras' system of education is easy to institutionalise because it does not depend on expensive built structures. An important precondition for a ‘madras' is the ‘maalim' and students willing to study. In this way an ‘ulamaa' was in himself a walking school.
Missionaries became envious of the level of civilisation and literacy advancement achieved by Muslims through the Arabic script taught in the ‘madras' system of education not only at the coast in Zanzibar, Bagamoyo, Kilwa or Mikindani but also in far way places in the interior, like Usambaa, Tabora Kigoma, Ujiji were Islam was firmly established. Missionaries in collaboration with the colonial government initiated plans to subvert whatever progress Muslims had made. The first step taken by the British when they took over the country from Germany after the First World War was to abrogate the Arabic script, which was in use for many years in favour of the Roman script. By a mere stroke of a pen people who were educated were overnight reduced to illiterates. These instant, British and missionaries made illiterates were the poets of yesterday and the ‘ulamaa' who had intellectually held their own against missionaries defeating them in debates with ease. The vacuum created by the abrogation of Muslim education system was filled with missionary education with the British colonial government as the overseer. Knowledge was now disseminated from the class room with missionaries as teachers instead of the ‘maalim' in the ‘madras'. Tanganyika was now open for evangelisation.
The Church had now a free hand to provide education with the support of the colonial government. The Church in Tanzania is a government within a government. But this is beyond the scope of this paper. However it is very difficult to present any paper on Islam in Tanzania without mentioning the influence of the Catholic Church on the political system. Insha Allah we will touch upon that as we discuss other issues. The Catholic Church, which is the most influential, is the most dominant. White Fathers were and still are in Tabora, Karema, Kigoma, Mbeya, Mwanza and Bukoba; Holy Ghost Fathers - Morogoro and Kilimanjaro; Benedictine Fathers - Peramiho and Ndanda; Capuchin Fathers - Dar es Salaam; Consolata Fathers - Iringa and in Meru; Passionist Fathers - Dodoma; Pallotine Fathers - Mbulu; Maryknoll Fathers - Musoma; and Rosmillian Fathers - Iringa.
Colonial education in Tanzania was characterised by a three tier - system, European, Asian and African. European schools being the best in terms of the quality of education imparted followed by Asian and African occupying the lower strata that is with inferior quality of education in terms of teaching staff, equipment, financing, etc. Where as missionary schools were being provided with assistance by the government known as grant-in-aid, this privilege was denied to Muslim schools. Due to this privilege mission schools were well equipped and could afford well-trained teachers. It was therefore impossible for schools run by Muslims to compete with missionary schools. But within this discriminatory system there was a fourth system which was reserved for Muslims. Missionaries in collaboration with the British made conceited effort to subvert Muslims from acquisition of higher education.
Muslims had to adapt to the new changes. Realising the importance of education and being aware of the danger, which was facing them, Muslims initiated their own schools. In 1933 the Muslim leadership in the African Association (formed in 1929 mostly by Muslims) formed the Al Jamiatul Islamiyya fi Tanganyika (Muslim Association). Soon after its formation the Al Jamiatul Islamiyya leadership with the help of the Aga Khan built the first Muslim school in Dar es Salaam. After the formation of the East Africa Muslim Welfare Society (EAMWS) with the Aga Khan as the Patron, Muslims under the EAMWS built many schools throughout Tanganyika. These came to be known as Muslim schools. The Church provided education for a specific purpose. It educated Christians to assume administrative positions in the colonial government. I have discussed the Muslim plight in education in Zanzibar. To avoid repetition I will conclude by the facts which I made then, and that is, the Christian dominated government in Tanzania even after independence has consistently subverted efforts by Muslims to develop educational institutions. The following are but few examples:
a. The government has refused to redress the imbalance in education between Muslims and Christians contrary to the promises it made at independence.
b. In 1968 the EAMWS was declared by the government as an 'unlawful society' because it was building and was planning to establish a Muslim University.
c. In 1980's the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) was refused permission by the government to build a Muslim University in Tanzania and as a result the university was built in Mbale, Uganda.
d. In mid 1990s Darul Iman from Saudi Arabia was refused permission by the government to build a technical secondary school in the Coast Region, Mainland.
e. In 1993 the government signed an agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) and the Christian Council of Tanzania (TCC). The agreement provided that the government with the two Christian institutions would jointly provide education and other social services. The agreement rendered that it would allocate funds each year to the Church to implement the agreement. Muslims were not consulted nor included in the agreement and their petition to the government was ignored.
f. There is evidence that the Ministry of Education is discriminating against Muslim youths barring them from higher institutions of learning and also frustrating career advancement of Muslims functionaries in the ministry.
This negative attitude shown by the government has given Christians undue advantage over Muslims. In his book Mwembechai Killings and the Political Future of Tanzania which was banned by the government, Dr. Hamza Njozi's has further evidence:
…Arabia (May, 1985) wrote under the heading "A Closed Door to the Corridors of Power": ‘The majority of pupils in Tanzanian primary schools are Muslim (80 percent), a percentage which dwindles to 15-20 percent in secondary schools, sinking to a mere five percent at University level'. Almost fifteen years later, on 2 February, 1999 the Member of Parliament for Kigamboni Hon. Kitwana Kondo told the parliament that out of every 100 students who sat for the standard seven examination in Dar es Salaam in the year 1998, 71 were Muslim and 29 Christian. But out of every 100 students selected to join government secondary schools only 21 were Muslim while 79 were Christian. The MP wanted to know whether Muslim children were inherently dull (An-Nuur, February 5-11, 1999).
The examples I have given and those provided by Njozi have proved the fact that Muslims have not been able to establish educational institutions because the Church which controls the government subverts their efforts since Muslims are perceived as "enemies." To date not the government or the Church has made any comment to deny these allegations. Muslims have always taken the authorities on an intellectual plane arguing their case on facts and figures trying to avoid confrontation hoping the government would see sense and hence redress the balance to avoid inevitable future conflicts.
You are at it again Maalim , Sheikh Mohammed Said.
Uongo unaporudiwa rudiwa hata facts zinapindishwa kwa ajili ya kuutukuza udini.
Udini ni ugonjwa unaojitokeza kama imani.
Ugonjwa wa udini ukimpata mtu hata yeye kujitambua inakuwa shida.Na huu ndio ugonjwa unaomsumbua mwenzetu huyu Mohammed Said.
Katika nchi yenye makabila mengi , imani tofauti na vile vile rangi tofauti ni ukosefu wa upeo wa yajayo kujikita katika utetezi wa udini, kwa luelemea dini moja.
Now lets get back to what has been said by our writer MS
1.Islam and ignorance, the two paradigms are mutually incompatible. To be a Muslim the prerequisite is to be knowledgeable.
How true!!
But what is the reality?
The writer goes back to blame the Church and government for his own under achievement.
It is not a secret that up to now as we speak,wherever you find a church , a school will be in the vicinity, but look at our mosques, it is as if madrassa schooling is incompatible with modern formal education.
If Islam was in East Africa well befaore the 16 th Century where are the formal Islamic school schools that one can brag about?
We should not shy away from the realisation that there was a serious lack of vision by our Arabic visitors and their Islamic converts, and even when the European colonisers came to Africa, they RESENTED formal education, much to their own undoing.
Uislamu nchini umerealise kuwa elimu ya kikoloni ni mali wakati jua limeshakuchwa na uhuru upo mkononi.
Kasumba ya kutothamini elimu hata leo ipo sehemu tofauti nchini palipo na imani kali. Kuoza na kuozwa baada tu ya kumaliza mafunzo ya madrassa hutawala badala ya juhudi kubwa ya ushindani wa kupata elimu ya darasani.
Sasa wenzetu hawa wanarudi nyuma kuulaumu ukristo na serikali kwa wao wenyewe kuchelewa kuchangamkia elimu kwa karne nyingi tu.
The question that the colonial govt and christianity thwarted the efforts of muslims to study higher education leaves much to desire and is complitely false. One wonders why the muslims did not send students to Arabic countries for that matter, through their mosques to circumvent these restrictions?
Lets face it, the interest for formal education in many Islamic communities was not there in the first place.
2. d. In mid 1990s Darul Iman from Saudi Arabia was refused permission by the government to build a technical secondary school in the Coast Region, Mainland.
Maalim Mohammed Said, usipoteze muda kuandika untruths about your own under achievements na machafuko mengi tu katika organisations zenu za Kiislamu.
Pale Chang'ombe (opposite Chan'ombe Pr School)kuna Chuo ambacho kingekuwa kwa taaluma ya kuwajenga waislamu,kimejengwa nafikiri 1968 kwa msaada kutoka serikali ya Misri.
Mpaka leo it is a white elephant, na wajanja miongoni mwenu sasa wanauza eneo hilo kwa wahindi. Unauza sehemu ambayo ingewafaa waislamu wenzio halafu lawama kwa watu wengine.
Jichunguzeni kwanza , you guys are totaly unamanagable within and between yourselves, that is a fact.
3. Dr. Hamza Njozi's has further evidence:
…Arabia (May, 1985) wrote under the heading "A Closed Door to the Corridors of Power": ‘The majority of pupils in Tanzanian primary schools are Muslim (80 percent), a percentage which dwindles to 15-20 percent in secondary schools, sinking to a mere five percent at University level'. Almost fifteen years later, on 2 February, 1999 the Member of Parliament for Kigamboni Hon. Kitwana Kondo told the parliament that out of every 100 students who sat for the standard seven examination in Dar es Salaam in the year 1998, 71 were Muslim and 29 Christian. But out of every 100 students selected to join government secondary schools only 21 were Muslim while 79 were Christian. The MP wanted to know whether Muslim children were inherently dull (An-Nuur, February 5-11, 1999).
Now this may be characterised as a writing from a learned person but complitely lacking in logical objectivity and falsified facts. What a shame for a person masquerading as a PhD holder.
When you propound that 80% of ALL primary school goers IN TANZANIA ARE MUSLIMS and put it as a fact, then I am sorry only fools will believe this!
And bigger fools have the audacity of putting it on paper!!
Like I said, I am sorry, but my intellect does not allow me to stomach this and I have no further comment on this. With a wrong opening assumption one ends up with an equally wrong conclusion.
Njozi's claims will remain to be dreams, as a credit to his name sake, unless he and many others of his ilk, work on actively to build more primary and secondary school in their home steads.
Kitwana Kondo(KK wa Dar), is your wrong bench mark my dear Mohammed Said. Those who know this gentleman will attest to the fact that he is a murky character, often operating in shadowy circumstances both in politics and in life.
We will be more that happy Mr Mohammed Said if you will give us KK's shadowy life history. Remember his case with Martha Wejja? well it is said that the Judge in that case died in mysterious circumstances at Muhimbili.
As for the secondary school statistics statistics presented, it does not take very rocket science to figure out the obscure logic behind KK's assertations.
If his statistics are based on students from Chamazi or Mbagala Rangi Tatu Primary school and comparing it with St Josephs Pr School the one has to doubt ones level of intellectual representation in the Bunge.
Mohammed Said you can place all the blame on the Church and the government for the under achievement and under development in all muslim areas, but if at all that is the best you can do then you are probably lost and will rot in a religious jail of your own making.
A religious jail ffrom which a nobody will help you out
