I am amazed how they can even remotely relate such an ignorant statement to Islamic teachings. Islam lays great emphasis on education and declares it is of equal importance for both men and women.
Source/Credit: Stafford County Sun
By Shehla Ahmad | May 14, 2014
Boko Haram should pray, “O my Lord, increase me in knowledge”
I was shocked and disturbed when I first read the news that around 200 girls were abducted by some terrorist/extremist group from their dormitories, in Nigeria. The first and foremost thing one can think to help those innocent girls is to pray for them.
As these girls are still not free, we need to continue our prayers for their freedom. As a woman I can imagine the most important thing for them is to get back to their homes as soon as possible. I hope it happens soon.
Boko Haram can be loosely translated from local language to mean "western education is forbidden." I am amazed how they can even remotely relate such an ignorant statement to Islamic teachings. Islam lays great emphasis on education and declares it is of equal importance for both men and women.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him) said: "It is the d! uty of every Muslim man and every Muslim woman to acquire knowledge." He also said "Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.” And that “The word of wisdom is the lost property of the believer.” So much so, that he advised Muslims, men and women, to "Seek knowledge even if you have to go to China".
As one can imagine, at that time travelling to China was not easy due to unavailability of fast travel modes, so basically the message was that one should even travel to far off places to seek education if needed.
I was born to Muslim parents who were never against female education. On the contrary they always encouraged, supported and helped me in my educational pursuits. They taught me that getting the best education was my religious responsibility.
It was with this ideology that I did my MBA and Bachelor of Laws from Pakistan and then travelled to UK to pursue a Master of Science degree in finance on a scholarship. And I had many other Muslim female friends who took their pursuit of knowledge very seriously as well.
So Islam brought by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and taught by Qur’an is all for seeking knowledge and values education (not just religious education). Boko Haram is not Islam. I would rather remember this short prayer which Qur’an taught me: "O my Lord, increase me in knowledge" (20:115) and teach my daughter this prayer as well.
Shehla Ahmad,
Stafford County
Read original post here: Letter to the editor: Terrorists demean Islam
This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.