Can learning Arabic really prevent
terrorist attacks? PML-N surely thinks so
A bill
introduced by PML-N MNA, Naeema Kishwar Khan, resulted in discussions about
whether lack of Arabic teaching has caused increase in terrorism cases. PHOTO:
REUTERS
I suppose it is
reasonable to assume that the men and women in our National Assembly are
mentally fit – people who think and act rationally. We elect them every five
years, hoping that they will solve our problems and make us proud of being
citizens of Pakistan. But then, one of them says something completely absurd
which makes me want to bang my head against the nearest wall and regret not
going abroad after I graduated (those were the days when it was very easy to
get a US visa).
I am referring to a female member of the National Assembly who
claimed that the increase in terrorism is directly related to our children learning
English and not Arabic in
schools.
A
bill moved
by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA, Naeema Kishwar Khan, resulted
in discussions about whether the lack of Arabic teaching has caused an increase
in terrorism cases. To further substantiate this notion, another PML-N MNA,
Parveen Masood Bhatti, supported the bill, stating that terrorism was
increasing because students were not studying Arabic. According to her,
“We have started focusing on
the English language, and parents put their children in English-medium schools
and do not bother teaching their children the Arabic language. It is because of
this attitude that terrorism is increasing.”
I do not know whether the ladies think that not learning Arabic has
caused a rise in terrorism cases or if learning English is responsible for it.
I do think that our children need to learn to read, interpret and speak Arabic
as it will prevent them from being
brainwashed by
virtually illiterate clerics and their interpretations, but it cannot be done
for the simple reason that we don’t have enough teachers fluent in Arabic in
the country, and the ones we could employ from abroad are most likely not
fluent in Urdu. In fact, they would probably be able to teach only in English,
which means that our children would first have to learn English before learning
Arabic.
Furthermore, it is not as simple as it seems. If speaking Arabic
really prevents terrorism, how do you explain the fact that 15 of the 19
terrorists who carried out the 9/11 attacks were
Arabs and
spoke Arabic fluently, not to mention that the al Qaeda founder, Osama Bin
Laden was
an Arab and
spoke Arabic fluently as well. Moreover, there are only a few to zero terrorism
cases in countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where no one speaks
Arabic and English is the preferred language by most people. Hence, speaking or
teaching English does not cause terrorism. In fact, English has been the preferred
medium of language in
Pakistan since before its inception, and there was no terrorism until the
1990s.
As for Arabic, all madrassa students have to learn it, and some
of the arrested terrorists reportedly belonged to such
madrassas –
madrassas where they would learn and understand Arabic, interpreted by clerics
and their understanding of the Holy Quran.
Hence, it is safe to conclude that speaking and learning Arabic,
as taught in many madrassas, is where
the problem arises. Since they lack translation and interpretation skills, the
students believe whatever they are being taught and are brainwashed to believe
that they are serving a higher purpose.
Did it ever occur to the ladies to do some research and find out
which is the preferred and common language
for suicide bombers and
terrorists? Is it English? Yes, they do understand and speak English, but
have they ever heard any suicide bomber screaming “God is great” instead of
“Allahu Akbar” before blowing themselves up?
So, think again, ladies, it is
not language that causes men, women and children to indulge in terrorism, but
the environment in which they have been raised. Furthermore, I have a
suggestion for you, honourable ladies: why don’t you start learning and
speaking in Arabic? You will soon find out if it can prevent you from
terrorising those whom you come in contact with every day.
Shakir Lakhani
Engineer, former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College,
industrialist, associated with petroleum/chemical industries for many years.
Loves writing, and (in the opinion of most of those who know him), mentally
unbalanced. He tweets @shakirlakhani (twitter.com/shakirlakhani)
http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/46296/can-learning-arabic-really-prevent-terrorist-attacks-pml-n-surely-thinks-so/
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