Where are the leaders – Yawar Baig & Associates: Recent Episodes

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We confuse earning a living with living itself. Life is not only about earning a living. Life is about something much more important than earning a living or making money. Life is about living with honor and about leaving a legacy to be remembered by. Life is not about competition but about having an impact on the hearts of others. Life is not about consumption but about contribution. Because power comes with territory and contribution defines territory.

I want to share with you three points we must never lose focus on, if we want to live a life where you will be influential while we live and remembered after we’re gone.

The three points in one sentence: Stand for justice, with compassion and courage.

Remember that all goodness begins with justice. Justice means you give everything it’s due. To respect elders, to be kind to the young and weak, to stand up against oppression, to help someone in need, to comfort someone in grief, to walk the path that others don’t want to, are all signs that you are focused on justice. Look into your life from time to time to see if you’re still on the path to establish justice.

Remember that what’s legal and what’s right are not always the same. Slavery was legal. Colonialism was legal. Racial and religious discrimination and segregation was legal. Apartheid was legal. The Holocaust was legal. Disparity of wages for men and women was and sadly still is legal. But not a single one of them is right or just. To fight against these or not is your choice and your meter to show whether you’re still on the path of justice.

Compassion is the foundation. It is the bedrock in which justice is rooted. If that cracks or dies, then justice dies with it. Justice without mercy is cruelty with a mask. Compassion is the result of empathy. It happens when we see ourselves in the position of others, not with pity for them but with gratitude at having been spared that test. That’s when we start to see life through their lens and understand that we were not created to be spectators but to be players in the game. You win that game also in the same way, by helping each other, taking care of each other and protecting each other. Knowing that a culture of compassion is our best safety net. You help them not because they need that help but because you need it more.

Finally, and most importantly, the single most critical quality that enables compassion to sustain and justice to thrive is courage.

Courage is not an absence of fear but the willingness to continue. Courage is what enables us to put self-interest behind and stand up for the rights of others because we understand their pain and are willing to take the pain to alleviate their suffering. That’s justice. And courage enables it to be established.

Courage is honor. Courage is to stand up for the truth even if I stand alone. Courage is to stand up for the truth, especially if I stand alone. Courage is to ask, “If not me, then who? If not now, then when?”

Courage is to know that it doesn’t matter whether we win or lose the battle. What matters is which side we fought on. We all live, and we will all die. Every single one of us will die one day. That doesn’t matter. What matters is how we live and how we die.

That is why the cardinal principle in Islam is to stand for justice.

Qur’an 4: 135 O believers! Stand firm for justice as witnesses for Allah even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or close relatives. Be they rich or poor, Allah is best to ensure their interests. So do not let your desires cause you to deviate ˹from justice˺. If you distort your testimony or refuse to give it, then ˹know that˺ Allah is certainly All-Aware of what you do.

And in the famous words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr:
“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But Conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.”

Remember, in the end, your choices define your brand-value and character. Choose wisely because that is how you will be remembered.

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You worked hard to apply to the college you wanted to join. You passed the exam, the interview and you got admitted. Maybe you even got a scholarship. You were excited, you made friends, you played sports, you partied, you joined different extracurricular clubs, you also studied. A year passed. Another year passed. Now you are in your third year, and you suddenly wake up to a nightmare when you ask yourself, ‘What have I learned until now which will get me a job?’ You panic and go to your advisor and ask what you should do. Which courses do you need to take, and which to drop? What should you do about the extracurricular activities that you are involved in and are very popular in them? And he tells you, ‘Do what you like.’ That is when you come to me, because you know that what you are hearing doesn’t sound right. It isn’t. It is wrong but understandable because people love those who tell them what they want to hear. Not what they may hate, but what they need to hear. So, here is what you need to hear and since I don’t care about being popular, get ready to hear some truths about life and about yourself.

The first thing to understand is that just like there are Fundamental Laws of Physics which describe and govern how the world runs, like the Law of Gravity, Law of Thermodynamics, Law of Aerodynamics and so on, there are Fundamental Laws of Success. And just like the laws of physics are independent of time and place, so also the laws of success are also independent of time and place. The Law of Gravity that operated when Ibn Firnas took to the air still operates on the A-380 or F-16. The Laws of Success that enabled Ibn Sina, René Favaloro, Mehmet I, Kobe Bryant, Mohammed Ali, and Salahuddin Ayubi to succeed still remain the same. Here they are:

1. What you like is immaterial. What you like doesn’t matter. It never did. What anyone in the world likes, doesn’t matter. But you have been fed this lie all your life until now, that somehow all decisions must be made based on what you like. This is how animals operate. They go for what they like. Nothing else. They don’t plan. They don’t postpone gratification. They don’t take pain today for the pleasure tomorrow. They do what they like without a thought about the consequences. That is animal behavior. That is not how a thinking human is supposed to behave. To succeed you need to do what is necessary, which is often not what you like to do. As Mohammed Ali, one of the greatest athletes of modern times said, ‘I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’ And he said, ‘I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. When I feel pain, that’s when I start counting, because that’s when it really counts’. When asked what the most important part of his training was, he said it was ‘dodging the nightclubs and parties and girls… and being in bed by yourself at 9 o’clock at night’.

Kobe Bryant, when his team returned from a game that they had won, and everyone either went home or to celebrate, would go to the gym and for the next two hours, to practice the two shots that he had missed. To him, the fact that missing those shots had not affected the outcome of the game and his team had still won the game, didn’t matter. What mattered was for him to learn how to correct his mistake so that it could never happen again. He did it on his own, and not because anyone told him to. He said, ‘I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand you’. Someone said, ’Hard work beats talent when talent is not working hard.’ There’s no substitute for hard work. To succeed you need to work very hard for an insanely long period of time. That is how you learn to work smart.

All this can be condensed into one word – FOCUS.

2. Focus requires a target, so write down your goal. Write it on paper with a pen. Not on a device. There is a positive correlation between physically writing goals and committing to achieve them. Now you can see how silly the advice, ‘Do whatever you like’ truly is. Imagine you asked me, ‘Which road should I take?’ And I answer, ‘Take whichever road you like.’ That would be insane, right. I should have said, ‘That depends on where you want to go. Where do you want to go?’ Once you state that clearly, I can advise you which road would be the best route for you. But without that, how can anyone answer your question about the road? Write down your goal. It all begins with that. Until you write the goal down it will all seem to be a mystery. Once you write it down, doors will open and the path will be clear.

3. Then write down what it will take to reach your goal. Take into account everything that is necessary and seek advice from others if you like. But write it all down. How much knowledge, influence, and money do you need? What technology, what network, what kind of team? How will you get each of these? The more detailed your plan, the easier it will be to execute it. So, take your time and plan well. But have a deadline by when you should complete the planning. There is such a thing as overthinking and analysis paralysis, and you don’t want to get caught in that.

4. Arrange that list as a flowchart with timelines showing what comes first and what next and how each stage is related to the other. Most importantly, write a time by when you need to complete each stage. If there are things to be done in parallel, indicate that. The flowchart is very important because it brings to the fore what differentiates a dream from a goal – a timeline. By when?

5. Then do a Gap Analysis. See where you need to be – your goal – and where you are now and determine what you need to do to bridge that gap. Then make a timetable. Print it out and stick it to your wall or wherever you can see it. And follow it religiously. That is the key to success – to follow the timetable without fail.

6. And finally, get off social media. All social media. Maybe keep one chat to make free calls. But get out of Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, everything. Listen, if you are using social media, if you are a consumer, then you are the product. Someone is using you for free, without your explicit consent, without compensation and without your awareness (or deliberate blindness) to become humongously wealthy. You are enabling it because of your addiction. Save yourself. Get off all of it. It is all a distraction and will sabotage your success as surely as the sun rises every morning. Get off means totally. Unsubscribe, uninstall, remove, delete, and forget. Those who love you will call you or write to you which is far better than anything else. Those who don’t, wont and that is even better.

Remember that excuses don’t change reality. It is as simple as that.

In conclusion let me share with you a personal story.

I started working in Guyana in 1979 in Kwakwani, a bauxite mining town on the bank of the Berbice River in the middle of the Amazonian rain-forest. I stayed there for five years and returned to India in 1983 and joined the plantation industry in the Anamallais, in South India. In the same year I decided to make a career as a Leadership Consultant. I wrote my goal as:

‘I will be a leadership consultant with a global practice and clients for whom I will be the natural and only choice.’

Writing this was easy. Achieving the first stage of it by launching my consulting practice took me 12 years of working every weekend, every vacation and spending every penny on learning consulting skills. Remember, at the time I started, I didn’t know that it would take me 12 years and investment of time, money and effort and the hard choices that I had to make. Maybe that was a good thing, because I am not sure if I would have had the courage to take the first step, if I had known the whole score in advance. During this period, I earned an Executive MBA (MEP from IIMA) from the premier business school in India, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. This happened in the year I got married, one month after our wedding. My wife spent that time with her parents, and I didn’t see or speak to her until I completed my course. That was not because I didn’t want to but because I didn’t have the money to travel or make an international telephone call. The pace was grueling. We worked 16 – 18 hours every day and 20 hours on weekends. We had surprise tests. We had CPs (Class Presentations) where we presented a concept or solution before the entire class and people delighted in taking our solution apart. If you survived that, the professor did the deed. But that was the price of being taught by the best minds in the world and having as classmates people you would pay to listen to. So, when in the middle of the course when they announced that we could have a week off to go home, everyone was delighted. Except me. My wife was in Leeds, England and I was in Ahmedabad without the money to go or even to make a telephone call. This was 1985. Long before chat apps and free calls. Everyone went home and I spent that week alone on campus. The dining hall staff, very kindly, cooked for me. The only people on campus were the gardeners, janitors, security guards, and professors who lived in campus housing. IIMA was empty and I was alone. But I was determined to succeed and so I stuck to my guns.

It took my life savings, I sold my car, took a loan, took leave without pay because I was in a full-time job otherwise, to pay the fees for the course. None of this was a surprise. My wife and I spoke about this and decided that I needed to do this if I wanted to be a consultant. In this case, the tough choices, and their cost was for both of us to bear. We did. Was this easy? Success is not easy. If you don’t want to pay the price of success, try failure.

Today, at age 70, I am recreating my career as a Confidential Advisor to Boards and Founders, bringing to bear and leveraging over 40 years of global experience in Leadership Development, Succession Planning, and Family Business Transformation across three continents.

This, in addition to wildlife photography, and writing; my two passions.

You ask, ‘What about retirement?’ I say, ‘What about it?

For more on the choices I made in my life, please read

https://yawarbaig.com/winning-is-a-personal-choice/

Choose wisely because it is your life that we are talking about.

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Modern manhttps://nypost.com/2025/06/25/tech/educators-warn-that-ai-shortcuts-are-already-making-kids-lazy

Before you read my post, please read this article. Well worth your while, I can assure you.

The article begins with :

“A new MIT study suggests that AI is degrading critical thinking skills — which does not surprise educators one bit. “Brain atrophy does occur, and it’s obvious,” Dr. Susan Schneider, founding director of the Center for the Future Mind at Florida Atlantic University, told The Post. “Talk to any professor in the humanities or social sciences and they will tell you that students who just throw in a prompt and hand in their paper are not learning. “

Please read the article and reflect on the fact that those writing it are quoting experts in AI. That way you’ll see that I’m not alone in my fears. We’re facing a world in which some very smart people are pushing a technology and bull dozing us to accept it. Those who resist, those who want to spend some time to think, to reflect, to anticipate possible problems and think of ways to prevent harmful impact, are shouted down as being backward, ignorant old fogies. The harm of the technology is phupooed as just an example of alarmist attitudes.

I’m not surprised to read this article. The tragedy is that children getting lazy in school because they have access to AI is only the beginning of the problem. The purpose of AI is global domination not physical but mental emotional and spiritual. Not by force because force is always resisted. But by temptation and subtle persuasion such that people welcome the chains with open arms. The testing ground was Facebook and later other forms of social media which persuaded people to give up their most private information to strangers to do with as they pleased. The Strangers could not be blamed for using that data nor could they be billed because that data was willingly given free of cost. Or rather I should say at the cost of The Giver, not free of cost. The Givers of the data remained poor, while those to whom it was donated bought super yachts.

The fact is that use of AI for most people will never get beyond “Hey Siri.” But the packaging in which it is sold is that of super accuracy and super speed. The fact is that super accuracy is needed only by scientific researchers and comes at the cost of routine jobs which put food on the tables of those who do them today. High speed is once again beneficial only to researchers. But both are sold as the shiny, sexy packaging of AI. To understand this all we need to do is to look at the features of the phones that we use today and then ask ourselves how many of those features we use on a daily basis . And ask another question which is what will happen if we are unable to use those features. How will that negatively affect our lives? The real answer is that it will not affect our lives.

We don’t need that speed. If we got the answer to a question in one minute instead of in two microseconds it does not add any value in any way. But in the process we lose our ability to think, imagine, reason and decide. We get used to asking questions and then accepting the answers as if they come directly from God. We forget that every convenience is paid for with disability. When we got wheels on carts and cars and didn’t need to walk anymore those wheels transferred to chairs very useful to wheel couch potatoes into operating theaters for bypass surgery, the primary cause for which is a sedentary lifestyle.

To give you just two examples of how AI has and continues to change our lives not for the better: Ask yourselves what is the first thing that most people do when they go to a restaurant and order a meal? Taste the food? Do they smell the aroma, do they enjoy the visual presentation or do they take photographs to post on Instagram for strangers to look at and ‘Like’? Don’t they know that the person who likes your picture has no clue who you are, has probably never eaten that food and may not even like that food but he posts a ‘Like’ because he wants you to post a ‘Like’ on his picture for the same reason; that is, no reason.

A more sinister, more destructive use of AI is what happens today when you post pictures of your little children and grandchildren on the internet. AI gives unscrupulous criminals the ability to take your child’s picture keep the face and undress the child and take that naked picture of your child and trade it; sell it on the internet to pedophiles. There is a market for this and that is why it is so dangerous to post pictures of your children and grandchildren on the internet. What enables that is AI in the hands of people who have no values no ethics and no morals. As they say, ‘Go figure!’

So, when you get a machine to think for you, your mind loses the ability to think. Such minds will believe whatever they’re told, act whichever way they are ordered, and vote for whoever they’re commanded to. They will be unable to differentiate between fake and real because they’ve never seen the real. They will not even consider this to be wrong because AI has been packaged as a tool. But remember a gun is a tool. A sword is a tool but in the hands of those who cannot recognize their danger both can and do kill.

But all this will be presented to them to resemble their choice. They will be convinced that it is smarter to chose a machine to think for them rather than to take the trouble to think for themselves. They will be made to feel good about this and to consider themselves to be highly intelligent because they chose AI over natural. They will be trained to look down upon those who disagree with them and try to open their eyes to the voluntary slavery that they are condemning themselves into. Like rats walking into a trap, they’ll go in without looking back and be surprised when they hear the trap door slam shut behind them. Then they will lo and behold the leader they elected and will wonder how that had happened.

Minds devoid of imagination can not only not paint, masterpieces but they can’t solve problems, invent solutions, or conceptualize the future and prepare for it. You build imagination just as you build muscle, by working the mind hard. When you get AI to do that for you it is like going to the gym and watching a film on weight lifting. You may know a great deal about weightlifting but you would not have lifted any weight yourself. It is lifting weight that builds muscle not watching a film about weightlifting. It is thinking, reflecting, agonizing over creating solutions, losing sleep over the difficulty of doing all this, weeping in frustration, that generates neurons, creates new neuron networks in the brain, and increases brain capacity. It may be painful but no pain no gain.

Just like our legs lost strength and muscles atrophied and we found ourselves at the mercy of those who push our wheelchairs; just as we lost the ability to memorize numbers when we started using smartphones; just like we lost the ability to read maps when we started using GPS; most people will lose the ability to think, write and speak, without the aid of AI. With such atrophied minds differentiating between AI generated pictures and messages and reality will go from being difficult, to becoming impossible. Such minds and such people will become the raw material for the manipulators who will use them as coal is used in a furnace. The furnace can’t function without the coal but the coal only burns to ashes. It’s the blacksmith who owns both the furnace and the coal, who walks away with the product.

PostScript : I had a very interesting experience as I was writing this article as a response to a message from a friend of mine, in WhatsApp. As I had almost completed the article I remembered that I needed to send him the link to a map. I clicked on the link and to my horror I discovered that the AI in WhatsApp had deleted the entire article and substituted it with the map link. I laughed at myself and I laughed at the AI and simply rewrote the article from memory. So I can assure you that this article is the product of my mind and my writing and not AI.

PPS: A suggestion from a dear friend who read this and commented: Please watch this film https://g.co/kgs/TZVbPSv

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Taigo Forte : @fortelabs (X)

Fascinating to see that the big change in family income over the last 200 years wasn’t the shift from male breadwinners to dual-income or female breadwinners. It was the dramatic decline of the “clan-based” economic unit, such as family farms or family-owned stores

The quote above from Twitter in interesting (to put it politely) because it glaringly shows how a change in values has changed societal demographics so significantly and perhaps even permanently. When you move from a Clan-based economic unit to a nuclear family and now to the single individual living on their own, it indicates a fundamental change in our value system from the clan being responsible for the individual to the alienation of the individual from the collective. We have several nice names for this, since we have several nice names for every negative thing in modern society from the mildest to the most horrific. To use one, we call it ‘Individualism’ or freedom of the individual to live as they want without reference to anyone else. We conveniently ignore the fact that except for the person who chooses to live completely off-grid alone, unknown, uncelebrated and to die alone, unmourned, there is no such thing as living without reference to others. Except in exceptional cases even the one who decides to live totally off-grid, is likely to have some family member or friend, worrying about him.

Whether we like it or not, we are herd animals and are responsible for the herd and the herd is responsible for us. This means that we have some duties of behaving in ways that don’t hurt others and take care of other members of the collective who need it. Our desire to be independent doesn’t absolve us of this responsibility or free us from the burden of the duties that entails. We benefit from society, and we are duty bound to return that favor. All individualism is constructive only within the boundary of benefit to the collective from which every individual has benefited before they discovered that they were individuals and decided that they didn’t need anyone else in their lives.

The problem is that this mindset – I don’t need anyone else – though it is false and unreal, produces an attitude of not caring for others. It deletes compassion and kindness from our lexicon and makes helping others a crime. That is how in the 70’s in many European countries including the UK, farmers were paid not to grow crops and to leave their fields fallow year after year so that the price of grain was not destabilized because of over production. That went on for over three decades. That means that the wealthy who have the money to buy grain at high prices can make money playing the commodity market while those who need the grain for food because they are starving are left to starve.

Joint families and family-owned businesses are what keep society together and are sources of mutual care and concern. Likewise, family farms. There are a few around here – most prominently of the Amish people. If you visit one of them – they are open to visitors – or shop at their farm stores and look around, you can see and feel the difference. My wife and I visited one in Pennsylvania. They had a model house in which we were told about the Amish way of life and shown around what we were told was a typical Amish home.

It is not in the scope of this article for me to talk about that but suffice to say that the word that came to mind was simplicity. Simplicity is possible. It is possible to live simply and gadget free, healthy and happy, even today in America. And of course, anywhere else in the world. After the house tour, we were free to wander around the farm and eventually to go to the farm store to see, sample and buy fresh non-pasteurized milk, free range (no need to say that because there are no other kind) eggs, honey, cheese, butter, corn on the cob, fresh farm made ice cream (good enough to die for), and souvenirs.

The farmhouse was across the street, without electricity or running water. But a very cleverly designed self-propelled ceiling fan. Once again, an example of how inventive and creative people can get if you take Amazon out of their lives. Convenience is truly not a worthwhile lifegoal. The price it extracts in loss of human enterprise, problem solving, the ability to concentrate, focus attention for a long time, and simply think, wonder, imagine, is far too high for the ease of clicking a link to get what you need. Only someone who worked to make something useful knows the joy of using it, improving it and eventually handing it over to others. Buying the latest gadget doesn’t even come close.

Women in long ankle length skirts and full sleeved shirts with scarf covered heads, bustled in and out of the farmhouse and other buildings, cheerfully completing different tasks. Men, young and older, in black waistcoats and straw hats went about their business with cattle and in the surrounding farmland. Walking behind plough horses, driving buggies or working in the carpentry, dairy, stables, and barns. There was a shepherd in a far field with his Border Collie herding sheep. Or rather the dog was herding the sheep while the shepherd commanded it in magical language that only the two understood. Truly it is magic in motion to see shepherds working with their dogs. I can watch that all day. Children were in the poultry enclosures, cleaning, feeding, watering, and some playing with the chickens, some Muscovy and Khaki Campbell ducks, geese, and turkeys who seemed to be friends, more than just poultry. These enclosures were large yards, fenced off to keep out foxes with a mixture of poultry and living harmoniously together. There were nesting houses to which the hens repaired when they felt the need to pay for their keep. The ducks simply did the deed on the edge of their large pond and little boys went around a few times a day with baskets and collected the eggs. Turkeys were too busy, looking either busy or just vacant while the Gobbler regularly gobbled to pretend to be in charge.

The real Ruler of the Roost was the massive Asil Game rooster whose deafening crow at dawn announced to all concerned that the new day had begun. His blood red comb was his crown, his magnificent flowing tail, his train, his wickedly hooked beak and razor sharp spurs, demanded and enforced obedience. Notwithstanding his self-important gobbling, the Gobbler knew very well who the Ruler was and kept well clear of him. The poultry enclosure was big enough for both. The farm bordered on a lake on which I could see a family of swans, with the Cob alert for any threats to his brood, mainly from Red-tailed hawks while the Pen swan shepherded her little clutch of newly hatched signets into patches of grass which promised the best feed. A scene of tranquil peace that left me wishing I lived there.

As I stood outside the store watching this beautiful scene, I noticed a young man, about 6 years old, with his own little business between the store and an adjacent barn. He was selling horseshoes. He had a little stand which was a beautifully made wooden mini wagon filled with his ware, silver painted horseshoes. He sat on a three-legged stool, also clearly handmade without a single nail in it, held together by very clever joints and wooden pegs. I walked up to him and asked, “How much for a horseshoe Sir?” He replied, “Three dollars, Mister.” I asked him, “Do you have one which is not painted?” “Yes, Sir. Give me a minute.”

He sprang up and sprinted on bare feet (that is when I noticed that almost all the children were barefooted) for the farmhouse. And back, he came a few seconds later with a horseshoe that had come off the horse not too long ago. Very satisfactorily it came with a bit of earth on it. I paid him and he said, “Thank you very much Sir.”

I noticed then that there was another young man, this one not more than perhaps four, standing by looking on. I asked the Horseshoe Business Owner, “Who is that?” “My partner,” he replied. “Is he your brother.” “Yes. When I need to go somewhere he takes care of our business.” I stood there thinking that in a society which inspired the book, ‘Anxious Generation’ by Jonathan Haidt, and the Netflix film, ‘Social Dilemma’; a time where terms like ‘helicopter parenting’ were invented to describe the paranoid behavior of parents, it is possible to live close to the earth, free from imaginary anxieties, eat chemical free clean food, and raise children who understand responsibility, caring, compassion, kindness and respect. Those who learn business at age 4 and 5 by doing it and not at age 20 by taking out loans to pay through their noses to be taught about doing business by professors who never did any business in their lives themselves. No wonder that they are shocked when they get out of Business School. Most cop out and settle to stand in the grub line with CV in hand, begging for employment. Forget business.

In this Amish world, everyone knows everyone else and is responsible for them. They know how they are related, address each other by their relationship; Uncle, Aunt, Mom, Dad, Grandad, Grandma. Even the few employees are addressed respectfully as Mister or Missus by youngsters and not by first name as is the norm in this culture. Everyone knows their place in the overall scheme of things and from the day they are born to the day they die; they never lose their relevance or purpose. They are never useless to be shunted off to a soulless place, no matter how luxurious, to be cared for by strangers. They know the meaning of ‘family’ and remain contributing members to their last day. The nature of contribution changes, ever more valuable with age. The family, the clan, the community, takes care of its own. They know it and they love it.

As they grow from infancy to childhood and youth, through maturity to old age, they know that others will look out for them, and they in turn look out for others. They are a part of a single organism, a single entity, the family, which gives them their identity, safety, and purpose. Each child is raised by the whole clan. Parents don’t live in anxiety about their children and children don’t feel neglected and abandoned, left to their own devices, or to devices they own. What a curse we have made of technology! This is another world from the cold, steel and glass apartment buildings full of people who don’t even greet each other in the lift because they have no idea who the other person is. And they don’t care.

This is in short, the triumph of the individual ego over social responsibility. Freedom at the expense of mutual care and concern. Institutions and structures were created to compensate for familial responsibilities – enter social security, old age care facilities, day care centers, hospices and so on. All functions which the family was supposed to and did provide until a generation ago. The problem is that these institutions can take care of only one aspect of the problem – the economic angle. A social security cheque can’t talk to the recipient or hold their hand. The care givers in an elderly care facility or hospice are not the inmates’ children. We forget that societal needs are not only economic. People need other people because they have emotional, intellectual, and spiritual needs that can’t be satisfied by machines and technology. I have seen enough old parents look up with hungry expectation every time the hospice or elderly facility door opens, to know that having the money to live comfortably is not the only need and may not even be the most important one. I say that after seeing elderly grandparents caring for infant and toddler grandchildren in joint families, who feel needed, loved and appreciated, which someone in an elderly care facility yearns for.

Similarly, clan-based businesses have a sense of pride and commitment in the locality. They pay local taxes, participate in local government, pay for and participate in schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure projects. They represent the town or village and have a stake in its welfare. They are a part of its history and have stories to tell, which give the community its identity. Large multinational corporations may at best pay some tax but have no interest in the local government or economy. They are interested in shareholder return only and usually don’t buy or employ locally. The business they do impacts GDP but not necessarily local prosperity. The death of clan-based or family businesses is not only an economic loss but a loss of heart and soul of the community. That means a change in culture making it more heartless, cold, calculating and trying to put a dollar value on everything from love, to caring, to respect, to warmth, to friendship. Trying to put a price on the priceless, destroys its value. Will we realize this while there is still something that can be salvaged or after it is all gone forever?

Who is the winner? Work out the ROI – the Cost : Benefit.

It all comes down to how you define progress and what you are willing to pay to get it. About a year ago I sat by the bed of an old Muslim man in the last hours of his life in the local Hospice, at 11:00 PM in winter. It was freezing cold outside with the temperature plummeting to 20 degrees below zero on the Celsius scale. The ground was covered in over a foot of snow and where it had been flattened by cars, it had frozen into black ice. Lethal for walkers and the ideal setup for hip fractures and worse. The man was sedated but could still recognize faces. I spoke to him and asked if he would like me to recite some Qur’an. He indicated with his eyes and a very slight nod of his head (he could only do that) that he would like that. And so, I did. He smiled.

But throughout the whole time, he kept looking over my shoulder towards the door, as if waiting for someone to come. I asked the nurse about this later as I was leaving and she said that he had a son who was in another part of the country but couldn’t come because he was in a high-flying job there and couldn’t take the time off. What is the value of a job where you can’t come to be with your father when he is dying? Do we even pause to think of what we are giving up for the things we consider essential to our lifestyle? That is the real cost. Not the dollar value. We must realize that the truly valuable things in our life are priceless. You can’t buy them, no matter how much money you have. That is why we must treasure them and jealously protect them and not sell them for some shiny trinket, because once lost, they can never be regained. I left the hospice past midnight. The next morning, I got a call from the hospice to say that he had passed … alone. The son came on the weekend for the funeral. I led that prayer.

We must talk about these things. I am not under any illusion that we can turn the clock back much as some of us may wish. But we need to talk about what can be done to slow down the race towards total breakdown of family and society. It is almost over here in the West. But in India and Africa, there is still a chance. If we want to give it that chance.

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Six months from now, I will either have six months of excuses or six months of progress. And the only one who can decide that is me. As someone said, “The reality in life is that you can make progress or you can make excuses, but you can’t make both.”

Results come from sustained work over a long period of time. Dreaming about work is not work. Thinking about work is not work. Talking about work is not work. Writing about work is not work. Posting on social media about work is not work. Only working every day without fail, is work. Work is what you can measure, so ask yourself, ‘What are my metrics for my work?’ If you can measure it, you can improve it. Only if you can measure it, can you improve it. So, create metrics.

The greatest health hack is to walk 10,000 steps every day. That is five miles a day. If you did that for six months, you would have walked 900 miles. If you dream, think, talk, post or write about it, you will still be in the same place. If you walk five miles a day, you will feel the difference in your blood pressure, blood sugar, stamina, strength in your legs, your weight and muscle tone, a sense of well-being and energy. What’s more, you will see and be able to measure all these things. And you will be a healthier, happier, stronger, more energetic, more disciplined and productive person than you are today. What is that worth to you?

As I say to myself, ‘You want to walk? Walk. Don’t wait to see who wants to walk with you. All you need to walk is the earth. Not even a path. Just earth. So, walk.’ I live in West Springfield, Massachusetts. If I walk 900 miles from here, I could be in Cincinnati, Ohio, Charlotte, North Carolina, Nashville, Tennessee, or Louisville, Kentucky. But only if I walk. Not if I talk about walking.

That is the key. To act. When? As soon as you want results.

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I know people are painful. I won’t deny that. After all I am also people. And I also know that almost every other creature, except dogs, would love to have a world free of people. I clearly recall visiting, living in, and leaving places in the world and thinking, ‘What an amazingly beautiful place this is. If only there weren’t any people here.’ Indian tiger tourism is an example. But this article is not about tigers or tourism. This is a question which I am putting out there for someone to please explain to me.

It began with a friend sending me the following tweets or Xs. Take a look.

yesterday: anthropic's ceo predicted world's first single person billion dollar company.
2024: we started building the economic layer powering it.

the first single person billion dollar company wont look like a traditional startup.
no employees. no pitch decks. no cap table.… pic.twitter.com/nQe9VpG3bt

— sharvil (@sharvilmalik) May 23, 2025

yesterday: anthropic’s ceo predicted world’s first single person billion dollar company. 2024: we started building the economic layer powering it. the first single person billion dollar company wont look like a traditional startup. no employees. no pitch decks. no cap table. just one person. coordinating labor, capital, execution with agents. scaling with AI. users own it. agents run it. capx powers it. these aren’t tools. they’re singe person companies. agent native businesses built by AI builders co-owned by the users who use them. the AI builder economy is here. where solo builders vibecode their way into companies. some will hit $10K/month. few will hit $1M. and one will build a billion dollar company. capx will power them all. the app store for agent apps. the robinhood for their tokens. all under one roof. Capx

I can almost see him drooling and more while writing this tweet. My question is, ‘What will this single person billion-dollar company build?’

Here’s another tweet.

Anthropic researchers: “Even if AI progress completely stalls today and we don’t reach AGI… the current systems are already capable of automating ALL white-collar jobs within the next 5 five years”

It’s over. pic.twitter.com/LYxKx0tFx7

— NIK (@ns123abc) May 23, 2025

Anthropic researchers: “Even if AI progress completely stalls today and we don’t reach AGI… the current systems are already capable of automating ALL white-collar jobs within the next 5 five years” It’s over.

This one is not drooling. I think he just had an ……… ‘It’s over’, he says. For who? Obviously not for him, or he wouldn’t say that so glibly.

Let me illustrate with an example of how any economy works. GE Appliances produces refrigerators. For this it pays workers good salaries to build the refrigerators. These refrigerators are stocked in Walmart, Home Depot, Costco and so on. Who buys them? The same workers who built them. That enables GE to make a profit and build more refrigerators. And it enables the workers to have nice refrigerators in their homes and feed their kids ice cream, while paying their mortgages, food and utility bills and so on.

Now in the new AI scenario, you have a factory with no workers. You have robots which are 3D printing refrigerators and so the production of refrigerators has gone from say, 20 per hour to 20,000 and the cost has come down to $10 for a refrigerator. But who will buy them? Because the worker who was earning a living building refrigerators is now a homeless man with a shopping cart with all his worldly belongings in it, sleeping in a shop entrance in the night. He may have $10 to buy a refrigerator but he has nowhere to put it because he lost his house because he couldn’t pay the mortgage. To add to that you now have to stock millions of refrigerators. You can say that the solution to the stocking issue is to print on demand. But to demand, the person must have the money to pay which he gets by working, which he can’t get now as he has no work. So, who will buy the product?

In any economy, there are producers of goods and services, who employ people and pay them. These people are the buyers of the goods and services, and their money goes back to the producers. That is the virtuous cycle of any economy. If you remove one player from that cycle, the cycle breaks down and so does the economy.

Then you have someone like Marc Andreessen who has this to say:

Marc Andreessen explains how AI will amplify productivity to such an extent that the cost of everything from building a house to curing cancer will fall to a penny pic.twitter.com/R7s4TK3Yfp

— Tsarathustra (@tsarnick) April 14, 2024

Marc Andreessen explains how AI will amplify productivity to such an extent that the cost of everything from building a house to curing cancer will fall to a penny

To which I say: The cost of producing it may be a penny. But I am willing to bet my last penny that it will not be sold for a penny. And that is what matters. My question is, if you kill people’s capacity to buy by kicking them out of their jobs and replacing them with AI, robots or whatever, then who will buy your sexy products?

I see that there is someone on Twitter, who echoes what I said:

Geoffrey Miller Apr 14, 2024This propaganda from the AI industry that AI will inevitably lead to a fully automated luxury communist utopia is the most cynical, sociopathic gaslighting I have ever witnessed. Pro tip: they will not share their windfalls with others. Why would they?

The point that I am making is that unless we think holistically, we are going to find ourselves in a lot of hot water. Things don’t happen in isolation. Actions have reactions which are equal and opposite – Newton’s Law.

In my view the problem lies with two things: how we define or measure the economic well-being of a society and with the gross overestimation of the value of so-called productivity. Let me explain. Take the first one. What if instead of defining a society based on the top 1% we chose to define it based on the bottom 50%? What if instead of counting the number of mansions, Bugattis and Ferraris, we counted the number of homeless people? What if instead of counting the number of billionaires reported in the Financial Times, we counted the number of people sleeping on park benches using the Financial Times as their blanket? What if instead of having TV shows about the lives of the Kardashians and other denizens of Beverly Hills, we had TV shows based on the life of the little family sleeping in a tent under the bridge in LA? How would our world look? Not so nice perhaps, but much more real. Then it would become impossible to ignore all those millions who make up what we call our civilization. The character of a nation is not defined by its elites and their lifestyles. But by how that nation takes care of its weakest and most vulnerable.

The second thing is the overvaluation of productivity. The Holy Rule seems to be: “More and more for less and less.” Since labor wage tends to be a major cost, the focus is to try to eliminate it. AI aided automation gives the unique opportunity to do so and everyone is chasing that. I want to give two examples to illustrate that using productivity/unit blindly as our life-goal is a very bad idea.

Firstly, if we use this rule, then how can we evaluate original art, research, discovery, and invention? Michelangelo didn’t evaluate his work based on his ability to cover more square feet of ceiling per minute with paint than the next artist. And neither would you. When you look at his work on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel you are not thinking, ‘If he had used AI, he could have produced that in five minutes.’ You are marveling at the beauty and intricacy of his work, and you don’t care how long he took to do it. That it is unique is what gives it value.

Self-driving trucks will not only get rid of drivers but will reduce turnaround time because the truck can drive continuously without the driver having to take rest. The trucks will be safer, have fewer accidents, and will enhance profitability. What we don’t ask is, ‘For whom?’

Because converting all 16 wheelers in America today means that 5 million truck drivers will be out of work. Multiply that by 5 for average family size and you have affected up to 25 million voting citizens. These people will suddenly go from being household with incomes of between US $ 80-100 per annum to zero. But with the same bills, mortgages, utilities, health insurance, car payments, kids school fees, education loans, and let’s not forget food, but without the ability to pay for them. The AI propagandists glibly talk about retraining truck drivers and anyone who AI throws out on the street.

My question is, ‘Who will train them and in what?’ Weaving baskets won’t do. In the case of truck drivers it must be something that will give them an income to match the one they used to have so that they can continue to live in the style to which they had become accustomed. That is the twist in the tale that nobody has any clue about, but they don’t want to admit that. Without this you will simply have destroyed the lives of 25 million people so that trucking company owners can make more money. Believe me, these people will not silently disappear into thin air making it slightly thicker. They will first vote. Then they will fight. They will protest, riot, even kill. There will be civil war. Because you can’t simply wish away most of the population because they have suddenly become inconvenient for the top 1%.

Let me tell you a story which illustrates what I mean. In 1985, when I was studying at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, our Professor of Organization Behaviour (OB) Area was Prof. Pulin Garg. One day he told us a very interesting story which has remained in my mind all these decades. He said that Ford Foundation, did a project to help village farmers in India to enhance crop yields by using metal plowshares instead of their traditional wooden ones. They adopted a village in Uttar Pradesh and set up their experimental and control plots. The experimental plots were plowed using metal plowshares, made from cast iron, while the control plots were plowed in the traditional way using wooden plows. They monitored the crops over three cycles and proved to the villagers that simply by using the metal plowshare, their yield would be enhanced by over 20%. I won’t go into the scientific details of why this happens here but will suffice to say that this benefit was made clear to the villagers.

The day before they were to leave the village, the Ford Foundation people called for a meeting with the village Panchayat (governing council of elders) and asked them if they were happy with the experiment and believed that the use of metal plowshares would benefit them. The Panchayat members and all the villagers agreed that they had watched this experiment and had no doubt about the benefit of the metal plowshare. The Ford Foundation people were delighted and as a parting gift, gave the village a metal plowshare for each farmer. The villagers were very grateful and thanked them profusely for their generosity.

Three years later, Ford Foundation returned to the village to assess their project to see how successfully it was functioning. To their complete astonishment they discovered that nobody was using the metal plowshares. They asked the Mukhya (head of the Panchayat) what had been done with the plowshares that they had gifted the village with. They were taken to a storage hut and shown the plowshares, carefully wrapped in sackcloth and stacked in one corner.

‘They are safe Sir’, said the Mukhya.

‘But why are you not using them. We came all this way to teach you this better way of farming. We proved to you that this way is better, and you all agreed. We gave you the plowshares as a gift so that you wouldn’t need to spend any money to buy them. But you are still not using them, why?’ The Americans hit the proverbial Indian stonewall. I am convinced that stonewalling was invented in India because nobody does it better than us. ‘Sir we are so grateful to you for coming all the way from America to teach us. You are Mahan (great) people. We are nothing compared to you. Yet you took all this trouble for us. We are very grateful to you.’

The Ford Foundation project leader tried his best to get an answer out of the Mukhya but any Indian who knows our culture and the trouble we have with direct rejection or criticism will understand, he got nowhere. This is where my professor came into the picture. When he heard this story, he offered to go to the village and find out what was really going on. Ford Foundation needed an answer for their project report, so they hired Pulin. And therefore, one afternoon Pulin arrived in the village. Let me tell you in Pulin’s own words what he told us about this entire incident. It is a fascinating story which shows how culture trumps everything else.

Pulin told us, ‘I arrived in the village and the Mukhya welcomed me. Naturally we don’t simply start asking questions as soon as we arrive. So, I drank the water they gave me, then tea. I was honored by being invited to stay with the Mukhya in his home but opted for an empty house which they used for guests (usually Revenue Department officials) because when a stranger stays in a Jat home, it is a lot of hardship on the women, who are in purdah (veiled). I had a bath and changed into a new dhoti (Prof. Pulin Garg always wore a dhoti, even in the IIMA) and we met for dinner. We chatted about everything under the moon except the Ford Foundation experiment. They knew why I was there, but the propriety of the culture must be maintained. You don’t ask the guest any questions and the guest will not tell you why he is there until the basic hospitality is over.

After the evening meal was over, we sat and smoked a hookah when I opened the topic. ‘I believe the Americans were here to show you some new farming ways!’

‘Jee Sahib, such nice people. They came all the way from America to teach us how to plow our fields.’

‘What did they do?’

‘They took two fields for their experiment………….(he gave Pulin a detailed description of the entire experiment and admitted that the yield was 20% higher with metal plowshares)

‘Are you happy with what they showed you and are you using the new plowshares?’

‘Jee Sahib, we are convinced that their method is superior, but we can’t use the metal plowshares.’

‘Why can’t you use them? Is there any problem with the design? Is it difficult to use them? What is the problem?’

‘Sahib, there is nothing wrong with the design and it is not difficult to use them. But we have another problem if we use them.’

‘What problem?’

‘Sahib, we have a family of carpenters in our village. If we use the metal plowshares, they will lose their livelihood. So, we decided to remain with our traditional method because their well-being is our responsibility.’

Pulin told us, ‘Then I made the biggest blooper of my career. I spoke to them like a management consultant. I said to them, ‘But that is simple. You will get a 20% higher yield. Out of that just pay them what they normally earn by sharpening your wooden plows.

The Mukhya looked at him with a mixture of amusement and pity and said, ‘Sahib you are one of us, but it seems you don’t understand us. Forgive me for saying it, but you are not in touch with your culture. We can’t do what you said.’

‘Why not?’ Pulin was not one to accept defeat so easily.

‘Because Sahib, they are artisans (Kareegar) not beggars (Bhikari). We can’t simply give them money. They won’t take it. It is not a matter of money. It is a matter of dignity and pride. Izzat ka sawal hai Sahib. They are our brothers, and we can’t do this to them.’

And that is the core conundrum that AI evangelists will need to solve. Using AI to speed up processes, database searches, data-mining, generating alternatives, What-If Analysis and so on is useful and will work. But when it translates into replacing people we are looking at and people’s livelihoods, and well-being. Now that is another ballgame, which I would be very hesitant to deal with in the glib fashion that a lot of keyboard warriors on Twitter and LinkedIn seem to be doing. Helping people to work faster, easier, and more productively is one thing and most welcome. But taking away their livelihood is another matter. People will fight back and rightly so. I will leave you to imagine the possible scenarios. One is here:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/11/24069251/waymo-driverless-taxi-fire-vandalized-video-san-francisco-china-town

This one happened in San Francisco and should serve as a warning of how things can go wrong because all those shiny, AI champions forgot that there are other people in this world. And that they are at least as important as you.

I have nothing against AI or any technology for that matter. All I am saying is that we must remember that we live in an interconnected world in which we must learn to consider the effects of our actions on others. That is the meaning of social responsibility. Of citizenship. Of humanity.

I think it is good to remind and remember that at the end of the day, it is not about the technology or efficiency of using it. It is about why we use it at all. We use it for our benefit and the benefit of our families.

If that seems to be threatened, then we are looking at some ‘interesting times’, in the context of the Chinese curse, ‘May you have an interesting time.’

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In our time, the effectiveness of Ulama as teachers in Islamic schools is not merely a question of knowledge, but of relevance, impact, and transformation. Having studied the landscape of Islamic education for decades and engaged with countless educators, school leaders, and students, I propose five essential and prioritized criteria to train Ulama to become truly effective teachers in our Islamic schools. These criteria are rooted in my reflections, published writings, and extensive experience in both Islamic and secular education systems.

1. Pedagogical Excellence: Teaching with Purpose and PrecisionThe single biggest gap in the current formation of Ulama as teachers is a lack of training in teaching methods. Many are deeply knowledgeable, but struggle to convey that knowledge in a way that resonates with students, especially in a school environment. Effective pedagogy — the science and art of teaching — includes understanding learner needs, lesson planning, instructional strategies, student engagement, assessment, and classroom management.

Training must therefore begin with developing the skills of how to teach — not just what to teach. As Rasoolullahﷺ said, “Make things easy, and do not make them difficult. Give glad tidings and do not drive people away” (Bukhari, Muslim). Teaching must inspire, not intimidate.

1. Mindset and Character TransformationPedagogical training will only succeed if it is grounded in a transformation of mindset and character. Many Ulama, due to their background in traditional madrassa education, enter schools with rigid views and, at times, a sense of superiority or detachment from the lived realities of their students.

This calls for an intentional reorientation: from preaching to reaching hearts, from judging to mentoring, from speaking at students to walking with them. We must cultivate Ulama who are humble, emotionally intelligent, pluralistic in their outlook, and who see education as a partnership in building better human beings.

Rasoolullahﷺ remains the eternal example. His ability to touch the hearts of even his enemies was not due to coercion, but to his character. “Verily, in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example for he who hopes for Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.” (Qur’an 33:21)

1. Intellectual Expansion: Bridging Tradition and ModernityThe world our students inhabit is shaped by science, technology, media, and rapidly evolving social challenges. Ulama must therefore broaden their intellectual base beyond traditional Islamic sciences. This includes exposure to STEM disciplines, contemporary philosophy, psychology, history, and current events.

Such knowledge does not compromise their faith — it strengthens their capacity to relate the Qur’an and Sunnah to the real problems students face today. As I have written extensively in my articles on madrassa reform, “we must develop Ulama who can bridge the gap between Islamic theology and modern challenges and find answers to them from the Qur’an, Sunnah and Seerah.”

This requires both formal opportunities for learning and a personal commitment to lifelong study.

1. Embodiment of Hope and LeadershipAn Islamic school teacher is not just an instructor — they are a leader and a moral compass. The most powerful teachers are those who light the flame of idealism in their students’ hearts and give them the means to keep that flame burning. Students today face confusion, identity crises, and despair. The role of an Aalim is to nurture hope through confidence in Islam, a personal relationship with Allahﷻ and Rasoolullahﷺ, and the belief that they can and must work to make the world a better place.

Leadership, particularly in times of stress, is an essential criterion. As Allahﷻ says: “Indeed, those who say, ‘Our Lord is Allah’ and then remain steadfast — the angels will descend upon them saying, ‘Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised.’” (Qur’an 41:30)

1. Commitment to Lifelong Learning and Self-DevelopmentNo training program, however well designed, can replace the individual’s commitment to growth. The best Ulama are those who see knowledge as a journey, not a destination. As part of their professional practice, they must renew their skills and knowledge annually — both in religious and secular domains.

We must create institutional structures that support this — including sabbaticals, research opportunities, mentorship, and community learning circles. But above all, the desire to grow must come from within.

Final Word: The Purpose of the Aalim in the ClassroomThe ultimate purpose of an Islamic school teacher who is an Aalim is this:

To give students hope arising out of confidence in Islam and Islamic knowledge, reinforced by a close connection with Allahﷻ and Rasoolullahﷺ — that the world can be made a better place and that it is their life’s goal to work towards that. They should light the flame of idealism in the heart of every student and give them the means to keep that flame burning, to illuminate their path especially during the long, cold, dark nights of confusion, even despair, that precede the dawn of enlightenment and success.

May Allah guide us and give us the courage and clarity to raise such Ulama — for the future of our Ummah depends on them.

References:

1. Sahih Bukhari & Muslim – Hadith on teaching with ease
2. Qur’an 33:21 – The example of the Prophet ﷺ
3. Qur’an 41:30 – On steadfastness and hope
4. Baig, Mirza Yawar. “Madrassa Education in India – What Needs to Change.” www.yawarbaig.com
5. Baig, Mirza Yawar. “What is Islamic Education?” www.yawarbaig.com

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It was a very hot day in May, 1991. Very dry, at the peak of summer with the monsoon another month away. We were passing through rice fields that in the monsoon and thereafter would be a sea of lush green waving in the breeze, interspersed with ponds with lily and lotus flowers to add color. The air would be cool, with the musical croaking of frogs as a background to whatever else you could hear. But in the summer, these fields were dry as bone, iron-hard mud broken into a jigsaw puzzle of pieces, which only the rain would join once again. The breeze that came off those fields was like the blast of a furnace. Combine that with a clear slate sky without a scrap of cloud in sight and the sun, a silver disc intent on burning you to ashes, you will get an idea of what we were passing through.

I was driving through Thirunelveli District on my way back from Madurai where I had gone to attend a Labor Court hearing. These were the days before car air-conditioning in India, so the car was a moving oven. Suddenly the moving oven stopped moving. One of the rear tyres was punctured. My driver Santiago pulled over to the side. I got out of the car as it was simply too hot to sit inside. Santiago didn’t need any help, he said, so I looked around. I saw that we had stopped by some fields which in the monsoon would be planted with rice, but which at this time were simply baked, dry clay fractured into pieces according to whatever natural law was at work. There was not a blade of grass or anything green in sight. Except that is, for two small Neem trees, which had been planted by the roadside. Beside the trees, with its back to them and facing the field was a mud hut. It must have been about twenty feet long and had a grass thatch roof. Between the trees, which were at either end of the hut, the ground had been swept clean and sprinkled with sand. Under each tree, in the scant shade was a stone bench. It was really a stone fence post laid flat on two short raisers about two feet in height. The ground between the two benches had been sprinkled with sand which had been freshly brushed with a broom, without so much as a dry leaf on it. Clean and welcoming and so well taken care of that I felt guilty stepping on it. I was intrigued to say the least about how this whole thing was obviously planned and prepared. Who would bother to make this seating arrangement and why?

I sat on one of the benches to see what would happen. In a little while a young boy came out of the hut with a brass water pot and a steel tumbler and poured me a tumbler full of tepid water. I had many thoughts about the origin of the water and its hygiene but didn’t want to interfere with whatever was at work here. So, I accepted the water and drank it. The boy went to Santiago and poured some water for him also. Then he set the pot down and sat with Santiago to provide him with moral support in changing the tyre of the car. A couple of minutes later, his mother called him. He took his pot and departed, only to emerge with two glass tumblers of tea. His mother came out as he finished giving the tea to me and Santiago, with a plate of Murku – the twisted savory snack that is very popular all over Tamilnadu and South India. I thanked her and took one, thinking all the time that the mystery had been solved. We had been fortunate enough to break down near a tea-shop and so we were now being served.

We finished our tea and the tyre was changed. I got up and asked the boy how much money I owed them for the tea and snack. He looked at me in surprise and said, ‘Onnum illayingay.’ (Nothing, Sir.) He used the respectful form of address which given the difference in our ages, our mutual social positions and the culture of Thirunelveli was natural. I thanked him but told him to ask his mother. He went into the hut and the lady came out, her head covered with the tail of her sari (pallu) and said, ‘This is not a shop Sir. Your car broke down, so I thought that maybe you would like a cup of tea and made it for you. That is all. There is nothing to pay. You are our guest.’ I didn’t know what to say. There was nothing in my experience to handle this, unless I went back almost 30 years earlier to my time with Gond tribals in Adilabad, where I also encountered such generosity of spirit from people who had nothing. In this case, it was Diwali next day. So, I took out Rs. 100 and folded the note and put it in the pocket of the youngster and said, ‘This is for Diwali sweets for you.’ His mother tried to object but I said to her, ‘I am like his elder brother. Please allow me to give him a gift for Diwali.’ She smiled and nodded. And we left. This happened in 1991. This is 2025. The memory is alive.

Our education and sophistication seem to build walls and teach us to despise one another. These people were among the poorest in the world, deprived, discriminated against, so-called lower caste. Yet their hearts were full of compassion, generosity and abundance. What is the secret? It is to see another human being as a human being. Shorn of our titles and labels. Just another human being. This is what we need to learn and teach. This is the secret of putting out fires and of survival. This is our lifeline.

Today we live in a world that seems to be pushing more and more towards, majoritarian, authoritative societies. This is lethal because if there is anything that history teaches us, it is that it is only through mutual respect and acceptance that we can build compassionate, caring, sustainable cultures. Never through discrimination, hatred, arrogance or predatory capitalism. The problem is that attitudes are imbibed with mother’s milk, practically during infancy and earliest childhood. And then they are notoriously difficult to change, especially because discrimination comes from arrogance and a sense of superiority ensures that you live within the walls of your mental fortress and never have a chance to compare your beliefs and prejudices against real people. You never meet real people. Only the fantasy that someone filled your mind with.

So, what we must do is to monitor conversations. At home, in the workplace, especially in our schools and in public. It is ‘domestic legends’ which shape our worldview from a very early age. We need to reflect on how we were conditioned and become conscious of how we are conditioning our children, albeit unconsciously. Most conditioning is unconscious and extremely powerful and very difficult to undo, unless we make a serious effort. Monitoring conversations will give us diagnostic evidence of the degree of change we need to make. It is important to do this objectively with a no-praise-no-blame mindset. The idea is to see how serious the terminal disease which afflicts us is and see what we need to do, to cure it. For terminal it is. Hatred is fire. All fires burn and the result is always ash.

Then we need to create civic spaces to meet in and practice being civilized. We need to develop the skills to speak about each other, our beliefs, culture, customs and traditions with respect. We must visit each other, participate in each other’s lives and do it with respect and without being judgmental. We must ask questions respectfully and strongly oppose all mockery of people different from us, even if and especially when it is done in the name of ‘humor’. Laughing at someone is not humorous. Reject outright anyone who preaches hatred or mocks others, whether that is your priest or preacher, teacher or political leader, uncle or mother. We need to become open-minded enough to try to understand the reason why other people do things differently from us and not only accept that but appreciate it as another way of life which has an equal right to exist.

We must deal with the fear that if we do this, we will need to ‘convert’ to their way. We won’t. That fear has no basis. What will happen though is that our minds and hearts will expand, which is a very good thing for all minds and hearts. Even ours. We will then become more understanding, accepting, respectful and impervious to manipulation by those who wish to fill our hearts with hatred for others, so that we become tools in their hands to achieve their own ends.

Let us take charge of our lives and our present. For on that depends our future.

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This is in response to the question ‘Why did the Arabic world turn away from science?’ The standard ‘answer’ that most (all those who I have read anyway) give is based on three assumptions:

1. All religious scholars were scientists, and all scientists were religious scholars.
2. The doors of Ijtihad were shut.
3. Bifurcation between religion and science.

Let us examine these assumptions and look at what history records. As for the first assumption, it is incorrect though understandable thanks to what people today consider enough for someone to be called a ‘religious scholar’. In the first three to four centuries after Islam, the level of scholarship that it took for someone to be considered a scholar was such that I can safely say that there is not a single person living today who would come even close to qualifying. Today if a person has memorized some portion of the Qur’an and a few Ahadith and knows Arabic, he happily postures as a ‘scholar’. There are many who are flying high on far less. But in the first three centuries after the time of the Messengerﷺ memorizing the entire Qur’an was part of the primary school curriculum. Arabic was the language of instruction and memorizing at least forty, not just a few, Ahadith was par for the course for every school kid.

On the contrary, if you read what was written about scientists at that time, they were not called ‘Ulama or Fuqaha’ (Scholars or Jurists) and nobody went to them for religious rulings. They knew far more Islam than most Muslims today but it not enough for them to be called, ‘A’alim of Islam’ (Islamic scholar) nor did anyone go to them for religious rulings. Scientific enquiry and development happened side by side with everything else and it was not necessary for one to be an Islamic scholar to be a scientist and vice versa. It is like today when nobody goes to a physician or an architect for a religious ruling, though that individual may have considerable religious knowledge. Islamic knowledge was and continues to be a specialized subject – though to acquire enough to be able to practice the religion is compulsory for every adult Muslim. However, that is by no means enough for him/her to be called an A’alim/A’alima (scholar) nor does it qualify them to issue religious opinions, much less, rulings. To do that requires systematic study for several years following a curriculum and a practical Suhba (residency/apprenticeship under a teacher/s) and a final Ijaza (permission to teach/practice) or qualifying degree. There is no clergy in Islam nor is there a ‘church’. But there is formal, systematic scholarship, as rigorous and detailed as in any other faith or scientific discipline. Just because we don’t have priests, it doesn’t make every Muslim man or woman a de facto priest or scholar. Nor does it entitle any Muslim to hold forth and pontificate about Islamic matters based on his or her subjective reasoning, logic, or the lack of either.

The second ‘allegation’ that the doors to Ijtihad were shut is simply untrue. They were never shut and remain open to this day. What needs to be understood is the meaning of Ijtihad.

In Islamic Law there are four sources of rulings. The Qur’an, the Sunnah (teachings of Rasoolullahﷺ), Ijma’a (ruling of jurists by consensus) and Qiyas (ruling by an individual jurist). The fundamental principle has always been that when faced with a question, jurists look for the answer in a direct command in the Qur’an. If they don’t find an Ayah (verse) of the Qur’an that answers the question, then they search for an answer in the Sunnah. This is the reason the Sunnah was preserved so well from the beginning, because it has always been a primary source of religious rulings. If the answer is not found in either of these texts, then jurists consult and arrive at an answer by a process of consensus within the boundaries of the Qur’an and Sunnah. And if it is not possible to consult with other jurists, then a single jurist may arrive at a decision based once again on the Qur’an and Sunnah. This practice continues to this day. The process of deciding by consensus and issuing a ruling by a group of jurists or a single jurist is called ‘Ijtihad’. The doors of Ijtihad were never shut and remain open.

The overriding principle is that such rulings by Ijma’a and Qiyas must remain within the boundaries of the Qur’an and Sunnah. No scholar or jurist individually or collectively has the authority to rule in a matter and issue a ruling that changes what Allahﷻ and/or His Messengerﷺ commanded. For example, no scholar or jurist nor all living jurists together can change the law and permit the use of any intoxicant, pork or pork products, any form of gambling, sex outside marriage, dealing in bank interest or anything that the Qur’an or Sunnah prohibits. Neither can they individually or collectively change any of the commands of Allahﷻ and permit praying fewer times per day or not paying Zakat because we pay income tax or the laws of inheritance or criminal justice or any other thing. What Allahﷻ and His Messengerﷺ commanded supersedes everything else and remains unchangeable. This has always been the rule and is the reason why the Qur’an remains sacrosanct and unchanged for now, 15 centuries. Nobody can change it, and no Muslim will accept it if it is done. Ijtihad had never been used for scientific knowledge. It doesn’t need to be used. So, it has no relevance to the issue.

As for bifurcation between science and religion, yes, that happened, but the reasons have nothing to do with religion and everything to do with politics. Madrassas stopped teaching science because in the colonial period, firstly Madrassas were shut down and there was widespread oppression of Islamic scholars, including large-scale massacres. In India, after the First War of Independence in 1857, which the Indians lost thanks to the perfidy of other Indians, the British targeted Muslims and slaughtered over 100,000 religious scholars alone. Meanwhile in a targeted strategy attempting to change Muslim culture and identity, much like the infamous boarding schools for Native American children in Canada and America, secular schools were set up with English as the language of instruction and local languages forbidden. Language is the link to the culture and so it was banned to weaken the culture, if not supplant it with the awe of the culture of the British Empire. The idea was that the child would go to a secular school and learn science, math and so on there and hopefully be weaned away from his language, culture and religion. What saved the day was the Madrassas and some level of homeschooling in Islam that is a part of Islamic culture the world over. This did result in bifurcation of Islamic studies and secular subjects and the decline of Arabic and Urdu at the expense of English, but the colonial rulers were never able to eradicate Islamic culture, religion or languages even after 200 years of ruling these lands.

Bifurcation, therefore, was something that happened in the course of time, and not as a religious ruling in the nature of “Thou shalt not”. Islam clearly encourages enquiry and research and the teaching of science through the lens of the knowledge of Allahﷻ so that the scientist can see the signs of His Creator in His creation, which reinforces his faith. Allahﷻ commanded us:

A’al Imraan 3: 190-191 Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the day and night there are signs for people of intelligence. ˹They are˺ those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth ˹and say˺, “Our Lord! You have not created ˹all of˺ this without purpose. Glory be to You! Protect us from the torment of the Fire.

The Qur’an is a book of signs – not science. Scientific facts about the creation which Allahﷻ mentioned in the Qur’an are for the purpose of helping us see the power of our Creator and to worship Him alone and not to teach us science. The purpose is to give us the lens to see the signs of our Creator in all His creation and so that the more we study the universe, the better from an Islamic perspective. When we look at the marvels of creation, we see the power of the Creator in them and that reinforces our faith in Him and helps us to prepare for the day when we will meet Him.

History has the answer

My understanding from reading history is that the disappearance of the Muslim (not only Arab, because many of the scientists, philosophers, and scholars were not Arab) presence in the world of science has reasons that have nothing to do with theological differences among Muslims, as is usually assumed by Western scholars. I am amazed at how these historians, political scientists and others, who ask and answer the question, ‘Why did scientific research disappear from the Muslim world’, do so without any reference to history, which was the root cause behind the phenomenon. Without understanding history, you can’t answer this question. Blaming the disappearance of science from the Muslim world on the Mua’tazila – Ash’ari debate is indicative of anti-Muslim prejudice and unwillingness to look at the real reasons. It is also a propagation of hatred for Islam and Muslims and the alacrity in seeing Islam as the enemy of Christianity and the West, which has plagued the Western world. It looks like they want to say, ‘The reason that Muslim scientists decided to call it a day is their own fault, and we had nothing to do with it.’ That is simply not true. It is a shared responsibility of all of humanity because it was a loss for all humanity. For me, the operative question is, ‘What are we going to do about this today?’ It can start with facing the true facts of history.

In my view five factors contributed to the disappearance of Muslim presence in the world of scientific research, discovery, and development.

1. Scientific research was never a grassroots, common effort. Unlike today, it was never taught in all Madrassas (schools) and nor did it form part of the conversation of common people. It was not part of popular discourse or school curricula. Scientific study was ‘elitist’ (I don’t mean anything negative by ‘elitist’) and restricted to some specialists and their students. Science was not seen as a means of achieving anything useful, especially in a commercial sense. All of which are important factors to ensure the longevity of culture and thought.

This reminds me of the time when I was on the Board of a charity which offered full scholarships for students all the way to earning PhDs in pure science. Study and research for the sake of pushing forward the boundaries of knowledge. Very noble purpose but guess what! Every year we would be forced to return a major portion (in some years, all of it) of the funds because there were no takers. I was very passionate about this and asked many parents and students and always got the same stock answer, ‘You can’t make money as a researcher or teacher.’ It is the same story in liberal arts. You don’t get the smartest and brightest if you get anyone, because, ‘What kind of a job can a BA, MA or PhD in liberal arts get?’ Especially compared to IT programmers and engineers, doctors, lawyers and others for whom there is a clear pathway of financial return. What value therefore for history, philosophy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, art, and the list is endless, all of which contribute to the development of culture and society, when none of them can earn as much as someone with knowledge that is commercially viable?

1. Scientific knowledge in the Golden Age of Islam was sought after as a branch of knowledge for its own sake. Noble though that purpose is, it ensured that it never became popular among the masses. Therefore, we don’t how many Khawarizmis, Ibn Sinnas, and Ibn Rushds died undiscovered because they were never introduced to science and scientific principles growing up in towns and villages across the Abbasi/Umayyad Empire. So, neither they nor anyone else knew what may have been possible. That is perhaps the reason we only know the names of scientists and philosophers and their books, but I for one, have never heard that any of them had a school, where they taught their knowledge to the common people. I would venture to say the same about Greek philosophy which had it not been for the fact that the Arabs decided to translate their books into Arabic, which was the lingua franca of the time, would perhaps have remained hidden for we don’t know how long.

This is not so surprising if you see what happened to science in the other two cultures which were known for it even before the Muslims/Arabs, the Indians and Chinese. Thanks to the impact of British colonial rule in both nations, all local initiative was discouraged and shut down. There were exceptions, like Ramanujan, the great mathematician from India. But he was an exception in more ways than I can say here. When a supreme external force takes control of a nation with the goal of exploiting it in every way possible, then there is no chance for local talent to be nurtured and to shine. What is more, the constant indoctrination about the superiority of the invaders over the locals and the denigrating, discounting, and denial of all goodness of the local people, their culture, language, religion, dress, food, history, achievements and so on, creates, after a generation or two, local people whose feelings about their own identity range from embarrassment to hatred. There are plenty of living examples of this before our eyes in this country, India, Africa, and elsewhere, including of course the Muslim world. The first casualty among the colonized is confidence followed by self-respect.

1. As for the Mua’tazila and their movement, it was a political movement using religion as its cover. As I mentioned earlier, the theological differences are not many though significant. But what led to the conflict was the politicization of the Mua’tazila philosophy led by its founder Wasil bin ‘Ata’, who interestingly was the student of one of the most revered of the classical scholars, Hasan Al-Basri. He broke away from his teacher and started his own school. He was successful in gaining political power when he managed to influence the Khalifa Mamun Ar-Rasheed, the son of the famous Abbasi Khalifa, Harun Ar-Rasheed. That led to the persecution of orthodox scholars, especially Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal on the question of the Qur’an being a created thing and not the actual speech of Allahﷻ.
   If there is one single factor that preserved the Qur’an as it was revealed and not subjected to changes according to the whims and fancies of rulers and scholars, it is the constancy and fortitude of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal who refused to change his opinion, despite being tortured and imprisoned. Had that not happened, it would have opened the door for people to change the Revealed Word of Allahﷻ. But Allahﷻ promised to guard His word and He did, with Imam Ahmad as the instrument.

The fact that despite imprisoning, torturing and killing traditional scholars the Mua’tazili belief didn’t gain ground is evidence of how strong orthodox Islamic belief was and remains. But that is not the point of my story. My point is that the influence and power of the Mua’tizili belief remained for only two generations of rulers. After that it ended. But scientific development continued for almost five centuries. So, I don’t see any causal relationship between the Mua’tizili and Ash’ari debate and the end of scientific development in the Muslim world. Rather I see scientific development in the Muslim world as something that happened independently of religious discourse.

1. What killed scientific development was the twin catastrophes of the Mongols who sacked Baghdad, and the Reconquista of Ferdinand and Isabella who sacked Cordoba followed by the Inquisition. When these happened, the two major centers of Muslim learning with all their books and relics were destroyed. In the case of Baghdad, everything, scholars, and relics, perished. In Al-Andalus it was the Benedictine and other monks who had been given the task of destroying all books, who managed to save a considerable number of them, at the risk of their own lives, and these found their way into Europe. But by the end of the Inquisition and the ethnic cleansing (what a horrific phrase) of Spain, all remnants of Muslim contribution to science had been wiped out. So, it was not religious differences between Muslims and not Imam Ghazali who is usually blamed for it, but military and commercial reasons why the Muslims dropped the baton.

2. As I said, what contributed to the demise was the ‘exclusivity’ of the scientists and their students, which was because scientific education was not seen as commercially beneficial (didn’t lead to the creation of products of technologies for sale) and neither was scientific education seen as religious education which people would have pursued for their spiritual needs. This is not criticism of the people involved. It takes time for scientific discoveries to become widely spread, so that common people can see value in studying science. That happens when the discovery moves from the lab to the market. That didn’t happen in the case of Muslim scientific discoveries and inventions. They remained of interest, but only to other scientists and scholars. They never made it to the ‘corner store’.

Incidentally that is one of the ‘benefits’ of our commercial world today that the market has taken the place of a royal patron. Having said that, we must ask how many modern-day discoveries never see the light of day because they can’t be commercialized.

Without either of these two motivations, commercial or religious, Muslim scientific education remained elitist and exclusive, supported solely by royal patronage and so when the massacres happened, followed by the outlawing of Islam itself (the Inquisition) not enough Muslim scientists/students were left to revive it.’ Even their books, given that this was a few centuries before the printing press, were scarce and when they were destroyed, the knowledge was lost. The truth is that the real extent of damage to global human knowledge and experience that happened thanks to the efforts of Hulegu and later, Ferdinand and Isabella and the Inquisition, can never be known, because we don’t know what was lost.

Suffice to say that perhaps the world would have been a different place, if Hulegu, Ferdinand and Isabella had gone to school. What, however, is one to say about those who ordered the Inquisition, though they had gone to school? We see a reflection of that today, where the most ‘educated’ commit the worst atrocities.

Having said all of the above, and having made allowance for the colonial period’s brutal oppression, let me add that none of it explains why the Muslim world still remains innocent of scientific education. That may be a bitter pill to swallow for those who like to live in the golden glow of the Golden Age of Muslim Science forgetting that it ended in the 15th century. The question that Muslims must answer today is, ‘What happened for the next 600 years to this day?’ Magnificent mosques and tombs are plenty. But no universities worth the name. No scientific research and education. No new discoveries and inventions. No great libraries. Lots of tears for the destruction of Baitul Hikma but no new Baitul Hikma though Muslims had dynasties and empires to rival and exceed in wealth, power, and splendor, both the Abbasi and Umayyad in Andalus.

And even more importantly, what is happening now? In the last 100 years, only two Muslims received the Nobel Prize for science. You can’t deny facts. At least not with impunity. Not everything can be blamed on Hulegu and Isabella/Ferdinand/Catholic Church. Time to face the facts and do something about them.

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The rule of life is that only owners can change what they own. If you don’t own it, you can’t change it. So, if we don’t take ownership of our problems, we condemn ourselves to living with them in perpetuity, until we decide to accept responsibility. This is our single biggest problem and the biggest cause of our dismal and very painful state as a nation. We must not allow what is not in our control to prevent us from doing what is in our control. We must take charge of our lives and contribute time, money, energy, thought and lives.

We hear two statements from well-meaning but confused people regarding politics. ‘I am not interested in politics’ and ‘Politics is dirty.’ Well, guess what? As someone said, ‘You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you.’ It is like a deer saying, ‘I am not interested in the lion.’ If the deer wants to survive and thrive, there is only one way; get interested in the lion and influence the lion in your favor. That is what we must do with politics. As for politics being dirty, that is true as a statement of current state. But that doesn’t mean that it must necessarily remain that way. Anything dirty remains dirty for one reason only and that is because those affected by the dirt choose to remain with the dirt. If those affected by dirty politics do what they do when they encounter dirt in anything else, the dirt will go the same way. So, let us complete that statement, ‘Politics is dirty’ and add, ‘but we are going to clean it.’ Believe me, it will happen. It is waiting to be cleaned. That cleaning can’t happen without us getting our hands dirty. But once we start washing, both the fabric of politics and our hands, will become clean. Let us start working to change things that matter.

Politics is the art of influencing. Allahﷻ sent us to influence. Allahﷻ said that He sent us for the benefit of people to teach them how to live a life of virtue and goodness, compassion, and justice. Allahﷻ’s book is witness – whether for or against us, is for us to decide and work for.

A’al Imraan 3: 110 You are the best community ever raised for humanity—you encourage good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah.

Allahﷻ told us that our job is to clean society from all kinds of evil and to promote all kinds of good. Good governance comes at the top of that list. Society can only be cleaned by insiders. By citizens. Participating in society does not mean only living in the place and buying and selling things. To participate is to be interested in the welfare of the place. That means investing time, energy, money, talent, and all kinds of resources to help to do whatever is necessary to ensure good governance. It means to cooperate and collaborate with others to make this happen. It means to make societal change both our long-term and short-term goal. We can and must move from a position of deciding which of two bad choices is the least harmful, to deciding which of two or three good choices is the most beneficial. It can happen but not without participation. We must play the game. Not just be idle, even if interested, spectators.

What is the role of Muslim citizens who live in democratic countries? Should they participate in government, from voting, to standing for election to discharging their responsibilities in different capacities in local and national government? Or should they abstain from doing any of these things. And if they should abstain, then how are they to ensure that their rights, needs, and issues are represented and addressed by a government that they did not elect or show any interest in? We have multiple examples of what happens when you refuse to participate in governance. None of them, good. It is not about political parties but about being interested in and being willing to contribute to the nation.

We must understand that working to ensure good governance is the most important part of being good citizens. That is the secret of power. Not merely in casting our vote, important though that is, but in standing for truth and justice, advocacy of worthy causes, helping the weak, volunteering our time and talents for the benefit of society and putting our money and effort where our mouths are when it comes to helping others. This is a world of cause and effect. To achieve an effect, one must address the cause. Peace is an effect. Justice is its cause. Justice is the foundation of peace. Without justice any apparent peace is only a recess between wars. We must be and be seen to be beneficial to society because that is the reason Allahﷻ created us and that is the reason we will be appreciated and valued. People may be remembered for many reasons, but they are valued only for one: their contribution to the welfare of others. We, the people of the nation, through the ballot box have delegated the authority to run the nation to those we elected. But we retain responsibility for their success or failure. It comes back to my favorite political quote: “We get the government we deserve”.

We should realize that we have delegated authority. Not responsibility. So, if those to whom authority was delegated failed, we need to take back the authority and realize that to give ourselves good government is our responsibility, not anyone else’s.

In conclusion I would like to state clearly and unequivocally that Muslims living in democratic countries must participate in government in every way knowing that it is entirely in keeping with Islam to do so. They must participate because Islam orders them to support all that is beneficial for everyone, Muslim or otherwise and to do that in a way that showcases Islam for the rest of the world. Muslims must participate in democracy, because it is only by participation that can we ensure that our interests are addressed, and our needs met. We have seen many examples of what happens when we don’t participate.

That is the key. YOU MUST GO TO VOTE. Whether it is raining or not, whatever be the situation, you MUST GO AND VOTE. Remember this is the only opportunity that you have in a democracy to be heard, to influence your own future and to protect yourself from those who wish to hurt you. Remember, a party is not elected by the majority of the population of the country but by the majority of those who cast their vote. This is the key to modern democracies and the reason why you must vote. If you don’t enroll yourself and don’t go and vote, then don’t blame anyone else for the result. You are responsible, and you will pay the price.

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The reality today is that even the truth must be sold. Especially a truth that will and is affecting everyone and to change it everyone must pull together in the same direction. First the truth – We are on the way to becoming toast. I mean that rather literally. And everyone is everyone. Just look out of your window to see everyone. Look in the mirror to see the one who you will not see when you look out of the window. Everyone is everyone.

I sincerely hope that I am wrong. But as I said, for most people, and I mean the vast majority, they don’t understand Climate Change & Global Warming (CC&GW), don’t see the urgency, and don’t have any idea about what do to about it. The fact of the matter is that all real effective changes must necessarily come from world leaders changing policy and enforcing the change. That’s not happening and, in a world, that’s divided between dictators and democratic leaders on 4/5-year lifelines, also called terms, what hope is there for unpopular decisions to be taken and enforced? Furthermore, for this enforcement to be effective, if it happens, it must be done globally and instantaneously. Not gradually over decades. We are well past the luxury of gradual change. When a house is on fire you need a fire-hose, not a garden hose, if you are serious about putting out the fire. This means that not only will the owners and shareholders of companies which are contributing to CC&GW lose business but all those who work in those areas will lose jobs, miss mortgage payments, not be able to pay for health insurance, school bills, even food. Which government can survive that?

Just to give you a taste of what is in store, self-driving electric vehicles are the talk of the town. What that will mean in real-time, when and if it happens is that 3.5 million truck drivers will be out of jobs in the US. And many if not all the 8.4 million people who are in trucking related activities will also be affected. They won’t have jobs, but they have votes. Which political party or leader is willing to risk that? The issue is not technology but people. We seem to think that technology can solve everything. It can’t. Certainly not this one. This is a people problem, and we can’t factor people out of it. Indeed, which society can live through such a catastrophe? Do you see that happening? I don’t. Not until we hit catastrophe and then whatever will happen will happen.

Now for some home truths which many in the English speaking and reading world seem to ignore. Let me list them for you. Please add to the list.

1. The language of Climate Change & Global Warming is a classic example of the yawning gulf between the haves and the have-nots. It is spoken by the inner circle for the inner circle in a language that only the inner circle understands, and which shuts out those who are not in that inner circle. In any society these are the elites who live in ivory towers, not troubled by how or even whether the GUM (Great Unwashed Multitude) lives. By ‘inner circle’, I mean English speakers with a university education of a particular nature. If you don’t believe me, make a presentation on CC&GW at your child’s school PTA meeting, or at any social gathering and watch how soon you lose your audience. I will give you all of five minutes. But we still see/hear/read the same language which no normal tea drinking human being understands.
2. There is no sense of urgency about this truth which is as urgent as a house on fire. Once again, the result of the language. If you say to the average Joe watching Superbowl that because of his lifestyle i.e., his truck in the driveway, centrally heated and air conditioned house, the beef burger he is eating (change the meat to anything else with the same result), the plane that he is planning to fly to Toronto on in the morning – I can add many more but this will suffice – all add to GW and will result in an increase in temperature of the world by one degree which can result in the melting of the icecap and glaciers in the Arctic Circle (which he can’t find on a map) and thereby an increase in sea levels by one inch, you will have to help him off the floor where he would have fallen because he laughed so much. Travel to India or Africa and try saying that to the woman (in her language of course) who is cooking for her family on an open fire which she lighted using tree branches which she cut from the forest (which is illegal of course) and she will not even laugh because you are so foreign to her that she treats you like someone from outer space.
3. The solution to Global Warming is to completely change our lifestyles. Stop eating meat, stop using firewood and coal, stop using oil and all fossil fuels, stop all carbon emissions and so on, right now. Once again, a long list which is not necessary to complete to make the point. The point is that this is not something which can be done unless people have viable alternatives which are cost effective. And those we need now. Not ten years from now. The fact is that we don’t have them, and we are not even close to having them.
4. Changes that will positively impact Climate Change must be made globally. No matter how desirable it may be for an individual or a group of people to turn off lights, ride bicycles instead of cars, eat broccoli instead of chicken, use Zoom instead of flying, disconnect the air-conditioning (what are you supposed to do about heating?) and so on, it will not create any measurable impact. For a measurable impact it needs global policy change and implementation and even enforcement of the new climate friendly policy, if necessary. That means that those who are making billions and trillions in profit from fossil fuels, plastics, armaments, airlines, automobiles, you-name-it, and who rule the world because we have a world that is ruled by the 1% for the benefit of the 1% to which we all contribute willingly while suffering in silence, must be willing to kiss goodbye to those profits. How likely that is, I will leave you to decide. Especially when you know that the solution that the billionaires have for themselves, is a choice between going to Mars or living in underground bunkers guarded by private armies who of course live in the world outside. How intelligent that is and why they believe that someone whose own family will be exposed to the toxicity of the world will be willing to sacrifice his family to keep his boss and his family safe, don’t ask me. But if you expect them to think of your interests, then get a brain transplant.
5. How likely is it that all oil companies, airlines, animal farms, armaments companies, automobile companies including electric vehicles because the batteries don’t grow on trees but are the result of carbon generating processes – once again the list is endless – will simply shut shop and go home? For measurable impact, it needs huge change, or I should really say, a total revolution in our way of life. History is witness that this kind of change has never happened voluntarily with the human race.
6. While we may speak and read English, those who need to take decisions to stop global warming don’t. It is not about language but about the economic disparity between us and them. In one word it is about having alternatives or not. Slash and burn agriculture, cutting trees to light stoves, using wood or coal to heat homes, all contribute massively to global warming. All are done by the poor of the world who must choose between cooking food today and a warmer world tomorrow.
7. Another random thought to reflect on when we talk about the world going vegetarian or vegan, even better. What will happen to the billions of cattle, sheep, and poultry that are alive on farms today? There are more farmed cattle than all wild animals in the world combined and more chickens than all wild birds combined. What should be done with them and what will be the effect of that on CC&GW? And what about the jobs and lives of all those who work on those farms and ancillary industries?
8. The truth is that we are looking at catastrophe in the eye. After it happens, those who remain will have to pick up the pieces and implement changes, which will then be easier because people won’t need convincing.

The bottom line is that if we want action on Climate Change & Global Warming, we must device language that makes sense to ordinary people, creates a sense of urgency in them, shows them how their individual actions can have global impact and most importantly give them viable alternatives to replace what they are doing/using at present. Without that, prepare to become toast.

Meanwhile I live in a place where I don’t need air conditioning, travel to the wild places which are still left, take photos, and write articles and books, so that when it’s all over, those who come after can marvel at what used to be and wonder how we let it all go up in flames.

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The position of Indian Muslims in India is like the picture on this stationery, an auto rickshaw that needs someone in another auto rickshaw to push it forward. It illustrates the collective situation of the Indian Muslims. All of us, who are either like me, living this situation, or like some of you, who are interested and concerned spectators, are aware of the painful realities. The report of the Government of India Survey of Minorities by Justice Rajinder Sachar’s Committee has not been presented formally to the Government of India, but which has been conveniently and strategically leaked to the Press and Media is a classic example of how the fate of the Muslims is held in the hands of others.

The highlights of the Government of India Survey of Minorities have shown that Indian Muslims are in a situation that is worse than that of the Dalits in terms of education, access to jobs, markets and influence. This is not a situation that has suddenly happened overnight. It is the result of 50 years of neglect and slumber. It is a bitter indictment of our own leadership and shows clearly how monumentally our leadership has failed us. It will be interesting for someone to do a survey of Muslims leaders in India to see how their own financial and social position has fared while their constituents were on the slide to the bottom of the pit.

Without going into lengthy descriptions of the pathetic situation with respect to our collective influence and power or about the historical reasons for this highly regrettable state of affairs, I would like to propose a strategy that I believe will change the situation in a period of less than 10 years insha’Allah to a state where Indian Muslims will have control over their destiny as citizens of India who are at par with other citizens.

I believe that the time has come for the ordinary Muslim to stop looking to the leaders to save him from this mess. It is high time we wake up and take charge of our destiny failing which we will condemn our children into a life of slavery. I would like to mention here that the reason I am not talking about the need to correct our Aqa’aid, Ibadaath and Ikhlaas is because I take this as a given that every Muslim already knows. Moreover, there are organizations that are already doing excellent work in this regard and their work must be strengthened. I am mentioning areas in this paper that are not the focus of anyone’s formal and concerted attention, even though all of us are suffering due to these reasons. There seems to be some kind of collective helplessness in dealing with them. Or maybe it is a collective voluntary blindness. This is creating a situation that is getting worse on a daily basis with Muslims and their affairs becoming the laughingstock of anyone who cares to take potshots at them.

I believe that the strategy must achieve 3 goals:

1. Give them political power.
2. Create employment.
3. Create systems & processes so that further progress is not dependent on the mercy of the government of the day.

And ideally it must do this at no cost or at any rate at a very small cost as we are resource starved as it is. I suggest the following strategy for action:

Create a Core Council (Majlis Ash Shura) consisting of:

1. Lawyers (2-3 of different specializations – at least one woman)

2. Journalists (2-3 – at least one woman – who are powerful enough to ensure that affairs of the Muslims are published, aired with fairness and objectivity)

3. Social activists and workers (2-3 – at least one woman – who have an impeccable record and high credibility)

4. Ulama (2-3 – at least one A’alima – who are aware about the realities of our times and society. If they are English speaking and techno-savvy as well, that would be the ideal situation.)

5. Others (2-3 people of high social standing, Civil Servants, Politicians, Businesspeople – diverse representation is essential.

6. Stake Holders: Core members of this should also include the “oppressed” and less privileged people. I think it is valuable for the shura to have those people’s viewpoints, emotions, constraints etc.

One critical factor that must be ensured is that all members of the Majlis Ash Shura are confident, practicing standard bearers of Islam who exemplify the Islamic standard in all they do and are not apologetic about Islam. Diversity of occupation is essential for the Shura. Diversity in confidence and stance about Islam will destroy it. We must avoid at all costs Muslims who talk about changing Islam and its Shari’ah for Muslims to progress. Such people will sabotage this effort even before it begins.

The Central Majlis Ash Shura will have local representative bodies in each state, district, sub-division. Members of the Majlis will be elected and will hold office for not more than 2 years and will undergo a peer evaluation every year. They will be eligible for re-election only two times. After that they must necessarily undergo a cooling-off period of 5 years before they can be re-elected. This is to ensure that a second line of command is developed, which is a major deficiency in all our organizations and movements. The Majlis will be led by an Ameer who will head the Majlis for one year only and must compulsorily hand over to the next member by rotation. This will eliminate all need for internal politics, which is one of the major problems we face today.

The Majlis Ash Shura is not a political party. I want to make this very clear. It is a body that will influence politics. It will guide Muslim political leaders in terms of strategy and decision-making. It will provide them with data, statistics, and analyses and provide a platform from which they can reach a much larger audience than they currently address based on their local and sectoral affiliations. It will advise the general Muslim population about whom they should vote for. But it will not position itself as a political party. Any of its members who stand for election will automatically lose his or her position on the Majlis Ash Shura.

The Majlis Ash Shura will take the following initiatives:

Information Exchange

The Information Exchange will be a portal with local offices all networked electronically into a central database, which can be accessed by all members worldwide. All information access will be free but value-added services can be charged for. Additional revenue can be generated from advertisements on the site.

3 – Core Action Strategies

1. Identify jobs where Muslims have a quota:

The reality today is that despite all that can be said about government apathy, it is the Muslim community which is the most apathetic. Every year quotas of employment in Government jobs in most departments, reserved for Muslims, go unfilled because Muslims don’t apply. All these jobs are advertised in the papers as the departments concerned are bound by law to do so. But Muslims don’t apply and so the jobs go unfilled. The tragedy is that many Muslims are not even aware of what is available or are not educated enough to read the papers in which these employment opportunities are announced and don’t have the confidence or knowledge to apply. The Information Exchange must have a cell, which alerts Muslims about jobs that have been advertised and then through its local bodies handhold those who need that to enable them to apply for the jobs.

I suggest that we start with 2 primary areas of focus. I believe these are important because they are the easiest to do, will have the fastest effect on the welfare of the community, will have multiple long-term benefits, are free or relatively low cost to accomplish and will change the image of the community in the country. If we are able to make some headway in these three areas we will insha’Allah see the effect of it in less than 10 years.

1. ‘Take over’ the teaching profession

You will see that to all intents and purposes, the nursing profession has been taken over by Christian women from Kerala. This is an all-India phenomenon well on its way to making a major impression in the world. They have done this by creating excellent nursing training institutions in which their women enroll in large numbers. These nurses do an excellent job and earn well deserved credit for themselves, their profession, and their community. I propose that we encourage our youth, both boys and girls but especially girls to go into the teaching profession. There are two major avenues for this. There is the TTC (Teachers Training Course) which can be augmented with Montessori training which will get them immediate jobs. And there is the longer-term course at a graduate and post graduate level in Education. There is some cost involved in this of course but it is minimal. To the best of my knowledge, it costs about Rs.4000 (US$ 80; SAR 300) per annum to do the 2-year B. Ed course. That is less than the cost of a pair of sneakers even if you buy them in India. The course is freely available all over the country and leads to almost immediate employment both in government schools as well as private institutions. Also trained teachers can start their own schools, ore-schools and crèches and are entitled to interest free loans from the Minorities Finance Corporation and several government aided schemes. So, they can be entrepreneurs as well. These teachers can also go into our Madaaris which can’t find Muslim teachers to teach secular subjects and English, which all of them want to do. We can also send our Ulama who graduate from the Madaaris and want to become teachers to these colleges to learn the science of teaching. Today there is no such thing as a qualified trained teacher in our Madaaris. That is why there is a huge variance in the quality of teaching and most of the teachers there are not even aware of the teaching aids and technology or about child psychology and this is reflected in the standard and quality of instruction.

In the long run I also believe that it is essential to start our own Teachers Training Colleges, a very lucrative business deal while also being a further avenue to train teachers especially from poor backgrounds who can be given scholarships in our institutions. This is one of the most powerful ways to change the image of the community as being ignorant and backward. When Indian children in the future think of their Muslim teachers as people who contributed to their lives and changed their way of being, then naturally their respect for the community will rise and they will question propaganda which today is inadvertently supported by our own reality. The best example to illustrate the power of the teacher to positively influence the image of his community is to reflect on the role of the priests and nuns in Christian Convent and Jesuit schools to which most of us went. These people were for the most part kind, knowledgeable and willing to help us to learn. They represented law and order and discipline and were highly respected in society as well as by the students. Consequently, today we have a good impression about Christians because we remember our teachers who were good to us in school. That is the power of the teacher to change the image of Muslims.

2. Enroll in the Administrative and Judicial Services

The third prong of my strategy is to enroll as many Muslims as possible in all the Administrative and Judicial Services, both at the State level as well at the All-India level. By this I mean at the second tier-level. I don’t mean IAS/IPS but the levels below that, in the different departments of Government and Judiciary. If Muslims can establish a reputation for kindness, respectful treatment of all applicants irrespective of their social status, honesty and integrity and problem solving, it creates a hugely positive impact on society. If students secure good marks and are coached properly, they have every chance of getting into these services. The job is for life with all kinds of perquisites that go with it and an enormous opportunity to do good for everyone.

This last prong of my strategy needs more money and work but it is certainly not beyond the scope of the Ummah to provide both. Talent is available in large quantities, especially in the villages. As for funds, it is up to us to spend for the sake of our own Aakhira.

• Identify source of funds – Grants and Loans for Minorities:

Through the Minorities Finance Corporation and other institutions the Government of India allocates huge sums of money amounting to several thousand crores (Billions of rupees) for the welfare of minorities. A major part of these funds is meant for Muslims. These can be used for various purposes, like education, developing small businesses and so on. Once again, however, a large part of the money does not get utilized because there is nobody to apply and take it. That is all that is required. To apply and take the money that the government is giving freely either as grants or as interest free loans.

The Information Exchange must have a cell which will identify these grants and loans and inform Muslim and other NGOs, Trusts, Madaaris, and individuals and guide them about ways to avail these funds. This would be a tremendous service to the community so that at the very least funds and resources which are already available can be used properly.

The Information Exchange must also set up a Central Zakat & Sadaqaat Administration which collects and disburses funds based on assessed need. Over time this will become a self-sufficient fund with enough leverage to directly impact the needs of Muslims to provide aid to all those who need it. This central administration of zakat is not only a very useful system to establish for obvious reasons but a religious requirement in the Shari’ah.

• Political Pressure Group – 2 Goals

1. Schools of Excellence

The most important work of the Political Pressure Group would be to encourage the government to set up high quality schools in the slums (called School of Excellence) where there is a majority of Muslims. These would teach the regular syllabus in English medium. The schools would be open to all the children of the area irrespective of their religion. This will build good inter-faith relations and support for the poor, for poverty has no religion.

Funds must also be provided to private NGOs and individuals who are interested in doing this work. There are two examples of this in the schools that the Telangana Government has set up to educate girls. This initiative is headed by a retired IPS Officer of Director General rank and is a benchmark of what can be achieved with leadership of high integrity and a passion for service. There is another example in Maharashtra where Municipal Schools in Mumbai have been handed over to a private educational trust owned by Muslims which runs those schools. In this case the Muslim trust pays the teacher’s salaries. I am suggesting that for the Schools of Excellence, the government must pay salaries and provide infrastructure and material. The schools can be administered by the private parties who will submit annual reports, audited accounts and be subject to inspections.

Government must also be prevailed upon to give financial and material assistance to Madaaris on condition that they teach English, Math, and Science. The reality today is that most if not all the Madaaris in the country will be more than happy to teach these subjects. But those who criticize them do nothing more than criticizing. It is the lack of resources that prevents Madaaris from hiring teachers to teach these subjects. They don’t have the know-how internally and English, Math, and Science teachers will not teach for the measly sums that Ulama are prepared to work for. Nobody bothers to address this situation but criticizes them and calls them ‘backward’ and so on. The Government of India owes a huge debt of gratitude to the Muslims who run the Madaaris and those Ulama who teach in them for providing basic education to the citizens of this country which is the responsibility of the Government.

Just to give you an idea, assuming that as little as 2% of the Muslim population goes to Madaaris and that Rs. 1000 per month is spent on their education and upkeep (these are all residential schools with completely free education, food, and care) we come up with a staggering figure of Rs. 4800 Crores with which the poorest (Muslim) community is sacrificing to subsidize the Government of India to educate its poorest citizens. It was the duty of the Government of India to provide this education in which it failed miserably. The Indian Muslim community came to its aid and continues to do its best to feed and educate its poorest members on its own, from resources it can ill afford. But does the nation stand up to honor and thank this community? Instead, we Muslims are the only people in the world to be criticized for educating our children at our own expense without taking anything from the State Exchequer. Our Madaaris and Ulama are the target of constant abuse, ridicule, and baseless criticism by an ignorant and biased media. The Indian Muslim Community must be given a National Vote of Thanks for this unparalleled service to the country.

2. Vocational Colleges

The Political Pressure Group must also pressurize the Government of India to set up and/or license Vocational Education Colleges which will give the students a marketable skill. These can be in any area of endeavor which will enable the students to remain out of the ranks of the educated-unemployed and become gainfully employed and stand on their own feet. This will be beneficial also because such small businesses generate employment and so the whole society will benefit in the long run. Such colleges will also be a ray of hope for the reluctant ones who don’t study because they are discouraged at the prospect of trying to find employment. Self employment will solve this problem. These colleges must be supported also by regional Advisory Services which can guide a student in the intricacies of setting up a small business. Interest free loans and grants can also supplement this action.

Conclusion

It is clear even from the initial contacts that I have had with our own community leadership and membership that the path ahead is not going to be easy. We will encounter discouragement, defeatist thinking, cowardice, apathy, illogical opposition, fear that we are going to take away their leadership positions and so on. However, this effort must go on. We must not allow ourselves to be distracted from our goal. I remind myself of the parable of the stream which simply flows around all obstacles and leaves them redundant and immaterial, islands unto themselves while the water flows powerfully all around them. It is my prediction that those who obstruct the way forward will be left in this way by those who have the real interest of the Muslims at heart and are working with the consciousness that on the Day of Judgment they will face Allah and answer to Him alone and will be rewarded by Him alone.

It is our problem, and we must solve it

Let me say this with all the clarity that it requires and with all the persuasive power at my disposal that this is a matter that primarily concerns us. It must therefore be solved by us. Blaming the government, non-Muslims, environment, or fate will not help us in the least. We need to take the initiatives; we need to persevere and we need to work for the pleasure of Allah alone. If we look for praise, support or reward from others not only are we unlikely to receive it but it will discourage us and stop this work and will prevent us from getting the reward from Allah.

National interest and universal benefit

It must be made clear to all concerned that the issue of the development of Muslims is not an issue of Muslims alone. It is an issue of this land of ours. No country can survive, much less grow and prosper where a large part of its population has no access to its prosperity.

We still have that chance. We will not have it much longer.

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The ‘School’ as we know it, is an outcome of the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) designed primarily to free both parents to work in the factories. It was not designed with the children in mind, except to the extent of how to keep them organized and orderly and create obedient, compliant individuals who will not question authority and will do what they are ordered to do. If you don’t believe me, see what we reward or punish students for. See what we encourage and what we discourage. See how we treat students who ask no questions and do what they are told versus those who ask why they should obey us or suggest other ways of doing the same things. See what we examine students for; random recall within a specific time-frame or genuine understanding especially about applying the learning. That’s why I love Calvin & Hobbes.

Our present methods of teaching which are inflicted on by far the vast majority of children the world over are the single biggest cause for killing the imagination that every child is born with and making them into square blocks which fit our own frightened, constrained and slavish worldview. Those who comply we ‘pass’ and those who challenge it and refuse to succumb, we ‘fail’. The occasional among those we ‘fail’, go on to great fortune. The vast majority disappear, never to be heard from again. Destroyed by the education system, they didn’t deserve or ask for.

I recall the story of young Tommy; one of the stories that do the rounds on the internet. It is said that Tommy’s teacher asked the class to write an essay about their dream.

Next day all the children brought their essays to class. The teacher read them all. But when she came to Tommy’s essay she was astounded and even angry. She wrote a big 0 at the top of the essay and handed Tommy his notebook. Naturally poor Tommy’s face fell when he looked at the teacher’s notation. He took back his notebook and silently walked back to his seat. The teacher saw the look on the little boy’s face and took pity on him. She called him back and said, ‘Tommy, your dream is ridiculous. It is fantasy. It is totally unrealistic. That is why I failed you in the test. However, I will give you another chance. If you re-write this dream and bring it back tomorrow, I will give you some marks.’ Tommy listened in silence, nodded agreement, and returned to his seat. The eyes and smirks of all those who had ‘passed’ were on his face. They were the ones with realistic dreams which the teacher liked. Next day Tommy handed in his essay to the teacher. The teacher scanned through it and was astonished to see that there was no change. She called Tommy to her desk in an injured tone and said, ‘Tommy, didn’t you understand what I told you? I said I would give you marks if you changed your dream. You have done nothing here! So, I am sorry I can’t give you any marks.’ Tommy looked at her and said, ‘Teacher, I thought about what you said and decided that I will let you keep your marks, and I will keep my dream.’

If I were asked to define the biggest challenge for the teacher, I would say, ‘It is to teach children how to deal with a world that we know nothing about.’ In such a world, imagination is the key resource that they will need. Without imagination they would be floundering trying to find answers in history or ‘facts’ that they had been taught. But they would never find those answers because they simply aren’t there. Yet the thing that most schools do with amazing efficiency is to kill the child’s imagination as quickly as possible. And sadly, they are very successful in doing so.

Take for example how science is taught. It is taught in a way that is no different from history. It is taught as a ‘fact’ course. Whereas science is not about ‘fact’ at all but about constant discovery. Science is about constantly discovering how little we know. Science is not about answers but about learning to ask the right questions, learning to analyze data with a willingness to be proved wrong, learning to design experiments to test our most dearly loved models, knowing that only if the experiment failed could we say that our model is correct. Not forever, but until we come to the next discovery.

Teaching is not about answering questions but about raising questions – opening doors for them in places that they could not imagine. Teaching is about teaching them the tools of learning which will enable them to pursue learning all their lives. Not answer questions – end all discussion and pass exams. That is the reason why most children never open a science book once they finish school. The whole approach to teaching must change – from teaching solutions and answers to teaching tools to pursue lifelong learning. Even when we teach the answers, we must teach how we arrived at those answers and then ask them, ‘If you faced this issue, what questions would you ask?’ We must focus far more on derivation, problem solving methodology and analytical skills than on arriving at some formula or solution.

The same malaise plagues other subjects as well. In history we concentrate on names, dates and places far more than on lessons learnt and ways of applying them today. When was the last time you heard a history teacher ask questions like: ‘What did we learn from the history of (name your country or period), the reflection of which we can see today? What can we learn from that period of history which we can apply to our lives today? What can we learn from that period which will help us to find solutions to our problems today? Which problem? What is the solution?’ Instead, history question papers will ask you for the date on which some battle was fought; or who was fighting whom; but not, why; and not what that indicates about that society and its implications today. So, most children are bored by history. We don’t relate history to current events and how learning what happened then, can help people in today’s world.

Children hate math and algebra even more. But then, when did we ever hear of a teacher teaching math as a problem-solving tool? Or of teaching algebra as a tool to plan a party or coach a football (pick your sport) team? Math enhances intelligence and ability in reasoning, decision making and abstract analysis. Math enables budgeting, judging and assessment of business enterprises; it is the basis behind computer programming, music, art, graphic design, aeronautics – and a million other highly interesting things. But we only teach dry numbers. That’s why students hate math, never use it to any advantage and trash 12 years of learning it as soon as they complete their final exam. So why should you study math at all?

See the answers of some students to this question which their professor asked them: http://www.math.uakron.edu/~norfolk/why223f03.pdf

Another interesting article which turned up on Google on math is here: http://drkroiss.com/page21.html

Our school education system was designed to create office clerks and mechanics – not learned people. We need a wholesome school education which prepares children to be productive, responsible, compassionate citizens. Then they can decide how to make a living. Education is for life. Not merely to earn a living. Today, one can become an engineer without reading any book other than one’s course books and without any understanding of anything except the technology that he works on – as if the rest of the universe doesn’t matter. All the treasure of human thought, ideas, discoveries, experiments, reflections, and imagination are shut for him. He doesn’t even know that they exist. He is cut off from all the wonderful people, every one of them more intelligent than himself, and their experiences and learnings. He lives a life of stress, working within his very limited understanding of life, trying to reinvent the wheel, to discover solutions which others, far more gifted and learned than he could ever be, have already discovered and written about. But then how would he know about them when he doesn’t read?

That is why we have inappropriate product design because the designer has no concept of relating his design to the actual user. He is thinking in terms of his narrow area of knowledge, not of the vast area of application. Ask how many designers go to their potential clients and seek to understand what their real needs are before sitting at their drawing boards? Ask why this doesn’t happen? Great opportunity does not lie in customer demand. It lies in areas that the customer didn’t even know he needed. But how would you know when you think design is about using technology whereas design is another name for problem solving.

The biggest problem with teachers is that they ‘teach’. That is why I titled this essay, ‘O! Teacher, stop teaching’. Start discovering, learning, enjoying. Start appreciating that the child is the best thing that happened to you and every single day try to become the best thing that happens to him or her. Teachers must never teach. They must be like ushers in a vast museum, walking quietly with their students tiptoeing behind them, opening one door after another – letting them peek – and then handing them the key to the door so that they can come back in their own time and explore in detail. The teacher then takes them to another door for another peek and another key. See?? Imagine how exciting that is for the child! The teacher’s job is to give them the keys.

Teaching is about asking questions – and teaching them to ask questions. The teacher who gives answers has failed. Never do that. Teaching is about keeping the excitement of learning alive lifelong. Teaching is about taking the hand of a 4-year-old and leading the whole group to a tree. Then sit down under the tree and tell them, ‘Let me see who can get me a perfect leaf of this tree.’ Actually, do this and see the fun. When they all come back, brimming with joy at their perfect finds – ask them if all the leaves are the same, even though they came from the same tree? Let them marvel at the fact that they are all leaves from the same tree, but each is different. Ask them, ‘Why do you think this happens? What is Allah saying to us?’

Then pull out a seed of the tree you are sitting under from your pocket. No, it didn’t grow there, you prepared for the class, remember? Then show them the seed and let them all (every one of them) hold the seed in their hand and explore it, texture, shape, color and so on. Give them crayons and paper and let them draw the seed. Pull out a few more seeds so that everyone has his own seed. When they have drawn the seed, tell them, ‘Now look at this tree. Do you realize that this tree was inside this seed? Can you draw the tree inside your seed?’ Let them do that. Every drawing must be made much of and must draw breaths of amazement from you – and indeed, if you have ever been taught in this way, you will realize that being amazed is the default setting. It is only when we kill the imagination of children that they become like us.

Then tell them about genetics – yes to four-year-olds – and explain how the tree was inside the seed until Allah ordered it to come out. Explain the whole process of germination and growth. Draw lessons from each step and show them the glory of Allah. Of course, that will make your own role as teacher much harder but also much more fun. To be on top of the game you must read and prepare @ 1:4 – 4 hours of preparation to one hour of teaching. The kids will come back with answers to the questions you planted in their minds. You will need patience and tact and wisdom to deal with some of them. But you will have the joy of learning, of having doors opened for you where you didn’t know there were doors. Teaching is about learning.

I learned some of the best lessons in my life from someone who was knee high to a jack rabbit (as the Americans put it). As a dear friend of mine, also a teacher put it: What a teacher must inculcate is a sense of responsibility, self-discipline, and a sense of the sacred. These are not easy to teach in a world that speaks/teaches rights at the cost of responsibility, obedience, and self-indulgence instead of self-discipline and cynicism in place of respect for the sacred. These are values that were important, are important and will be important in any age.

Teaching is not a job. It is a vocation. A mission. A noble purpose of a meaningful life. Teaching must be a passion. A teacher is someone who simply can’t imagine doing anything else. A teacher is someone who will teach not only for free but also if they have to pay for it. Only then can you light the lamp of the love of learning in the hearts of others. Teaching is to light the lamp of knowledge and dispel the darkness of ignorance. Do you, Mr. Teacher, consider what you are doing in these terms? I often ask people to think of a role model and then ask, for how many of them it is a parent or a teacher. I have never had more than 10% of the population, across nationalities, races, and genders, raising their hands. That means that for 90% of people their role model is neither a parent nor a teacher. What a tragedy, seeing that these two roles have the maximum face time with children. Yet they seem to do their roles in such an uninspiring and dull way – if not in a positively harmful way – that most children are glad to be away from them as much as possible.

I ask teachers to consider this. Every morning a strange thing happens at the gate of your school. Parents come and hand over their most precious assets to you without asking for any guarantees for anything; for you to do as you please with them for the next 6 – 8 hours. Are you conscious of this responsibility in quite this way and do you plan for those 6 – 8 to become the best 6 – 8 hours of that child for that day? Do you actively plan this? What would you say if the teacher, who you send your child to, planned to make those hours the best hours of your child’s life? Do you believe this is worth doing? If not, what are you doing here?

So, when a child asks a question, ‘Mr. Great Crocodile, what does this mean?’ You say, ‘You tell me.’ And then let him go away and search – watch what he is doing, give him a hint or two but never make it easy for him. If it looks like he is getting too close to an easy answer, bowl a googly. Ask a question which will lead him to dig deeper.’ Then when he comes to you with his answer, listen very carefully and be prepared to be astonished. Don’t put any limits or boundaries on what he can or can’t say, what he can or can’t question. Then listen very carefully and take notes. That will do wonders for his confidence as well as for your own learning.

And another thing – abolish exams. Or at least have only open book exams. Exams are the worst evil that ever happened to learning. They are the final nail in the coffin which ensures that the child hates learning forever.

May you be the one to illuminate the world by igniting minds. First of all your own.

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I quote from something a dear friend sent me. “In Ernest Hemingway’s famous novel, The Sun Also Rises, a character is asked how he went bankrupt. “In two ways,” he answers. “Gradually and then suddenly.”

A famous sentence, one that aptly describes how businesses go down. We get fixated on the sudden events that occur at the end of the trajectory—banks calling in their loans, creditors going to court, unpaid salaries, and the like. It all feels dramatic and sudden, and we look for answers in the here and now.

But those answers can only be found way back.

Businesses are not the only things that go wrong following this gradually-then-suddenly trajectory. Many other human endeavours follow the same path. There is much anxiety and hand-wringing when we suffer an avoidable medical event, for example, but our lifestyle choices over many years prior often go unremarked.

When human constructs like bridges or dams fail, or cities are flooded, it is not just because of sudden and unusual rain events. There is a gradual negligence afoot—years and years of wear and tear, maintenance failures, or unattended corrosion.

Because we looked away from that work, we are forced to look on in horror when the final collapse happens.” End of quote

In Systems Theory we speak about the Causal and Compensating Loops. When you start an initiative, no matter what and no matter how well intentioned it may be, a process that works to neutralize it also starts. Usually, it goes undetected until it gains sufficient momentum to reverse the initiative that had been started. These are the Causal and Compensating Loops. Therefore, if you want any initiative to succeed you must keep an eye open for the Compensating Loop and act early to deal with it. Acting early means that what you need to do will be easier and less painful and so more likely to succeed. All change is painful. But if you detect the need to change early and act quickly, you can minimize the pain and give the initiative you started, a chance to succeed.

Early in my consulting career in 1983/4, I was part of a consultant group hired to design and conduct an Orientation Workshop for a large engineering manufacturing company in South India which had a strong traditional Tamil Brahmin culture with an all-male population. Thanks to the inception of a powerful lady promoter director into their Board, they decided to hire women engineers to address the gender imbalance. They hired fifty young women engineers from the premier engineering colleges in India, the IITs and RECs. Mercifully someone had the idea that before letting these young, highly energetic, and powerful women into the all-male organization, it may be a good idea to help the women understand the challenges that they were likely to face in working with older male colleagues. We did a 5-day residential program in Whitefield, Bangalore. The program went off very well and all seemed right with the world. Five years later, on a hunch, I decided to check what had happened to these women. To my horror, I discovered that 90% of them had left the company. That is when the theory of Causal and Compensating Loops hit home to me most vividly. The danger of gradual change which remains undetected until it is too late.

That’s also the theory of Seneca’s Cliff… it takes a long time to get to the top of the cliff and then comes the sudden drop to destruction. The problem is that after a certain point is crossed, reversal is almost impossible and going off the top is inevitable. That’s where I fear we have reached, in several countries that I am familiar with and globally. In the countries that I am thinking of, it is the apparently sudden appearance of majoritarianism, fascist politics, victimizing of a group to project them as a 5th column enemy from within, and divert the attention of the masses from all kinds of economic skullduggery to enrich the elite ruling class. This includes the passing of draconian laws to track, monitor and control people in the name of keeping them ‘safe’. Covid was a huge ‘blessing’ for such leaders who used it instantly to pass laws with popular support which couldn’t have seen the light of day in a normal period. The problem with all these is that once in place, they never go away, though the so-called threat itself may have gone. The media plays a huge role in enabling all this. Thanks to a gullible population addicted to screens, which can’t differentiate between the truth and concoction, and willing to follow the Pied Piper, the rest is easy.

But when you stop for a bit and look back at history you will find plenty of signs about where society was headed. You will find the signs not in cataclysmic events in high places but in daily dinner table conversations at home, in unintentional maybe even unconscious messages to children, in choices about who to be friends with, who to invite home, who is considered ‘safe’, respectable, or otherwise. You will find the signs in daily conversation in how certain people are referred to. You will find the signs most powerfully in jokes and humor, which highlights prejudice long before it is seen in public. A progression of that is when target groups start to mock themselves. Standup comedy is an early warning signal for those who can see. You will find the signs in the increasingly insular, chauvinistic, uni-culture nature of social gatherings, where the one who doesn’t fit in is unwelcome. You will find it in apologetic suffixes to statements like, ‘I am not saying that ‘they’ are all like this,’ or ‘Some of my best friends are Xians’ or ‘Not all Xians are XYZs but all XYZs are Xians.’ From here it gets to being normalized in public discourse by national leaders and we are well and truly on the slope. The question to ask is not, ‘How was I so blind that I didn’t see what was happening early enough to stop it,’ but ‘What is happening right now that I need to notice and stop so that we don’t have a catastrophe to deal with a decade later?’

To understand why this happens let me tell you the Parable of the Boiled Frog to illustrate what I mean by the danger of gradual change. If you take a nice, healthy, frog and drop it into a pot of hot water, it will instantly leap out. But if you take the same frog and put it in a pot of water at room temperature and allow it to get comfortable in it, then you light a fire under the pot and ‘gradually’ heat it, the frog will get used to the gradual rise in temperature until the temperature gets dangerously hot. But by then the frog, being a cold-blooded being, is too flaccid, maybe even paralyzed, and can’t move, even though it knows that its life is in danger. Pardon my saying that with so much authority though I have never been a frog, much less in such a predicament. This is my parable of the boiled frog. A disclaimer before we go further – please do not try this anywhere. There is or should be a law against cruelty to dumb frogs.

The parable is salutary of course for another reason because for a lot of people this is the story of their lives. They live unaware of the water heating up, until it is too late. As the unknown (to me) author in the quote above said so aptly, “Because we looked away from that work, we are forced to look on in horror when the final collapse happens.”

In my life of 67 years to date and 40 years in consulting, coaching, and mentoring, advising individuals, organizations, and governments, on matters related to leadership and human relations, the Parable of the Boiled Frog, appears to come true far more than I would have thought possible, given that in all cases I am talking to highly educated, intelligent people. But true it is, whether we like it or not. Extremely painful, and deeply tragic because it is totally avoidable. The solution is to constantly measure everything that is valuable to you. The key word is ‘constantly’. In the words of Mikel Harry of Motorola, the co-developer of Six Sigma Methodology to measure quality, “If you want to see what people value, see what they measure.” I want to use Six Sigma especially because it takes measurement to a different level. To illustrate, if you have a process that is 99% right, most people will be satisfied with it. But 99% is 10,000 mistakes per million. Six Sigma is 3.4 mistakes per million. When you are flying at 30,000 feet, you don’t want to know that the engines of your plane were built in a factory that worked on 99% right standard. The benefit of frequent measurement and measuring small changes is that corrections are easier and less painful to make.

Taking this into the realm of so-called real life, consider marriages and raising children as a classic example of the opposite of the philosophy of Six Sigma and behold its catastrophic results all around us in society. I have seen so many people behaving in toxic ways about whom I think, ‘How I wish their parents had invested in a jumbo-size box of condoms.’ In case you are laughing, that was not a joke. Likewise for marriages where you seriously want to say to the individual, ‘Please swear on whatever you consider holy and hope to die if you break that oath, that you will never, ever, even consider getting married. You were created to live alone and die alone. Fulfill the purpose of your creation and don’t ruin someone else’s life.’ I know that is not very polite and so I haven’t said this to anyone, YET. But there are plenty of people who I would love to say it to. Having said that I remind myself not to be someone who others may want to say this to. Most marriages don’t break up because of one event, but because of many small things which you wouldn’t even call ‘events’, but which pile up until the proverbial camel’s back breaks. Likewise raising evil people. Remember that every evil person that walks the earth today was a baby, a toddler, and an adolescent, before he or she became an adult. It is salutary to think of all that happened during that time or to put it more accurately, all that could have been done to ensure that the adult would be an ethical, moral, responsible, compassionate, and kind person. That is not too much to ask, right? Sadly, that doesn’t happen. The fault, always and invariably, is that of lazy or absent parenting.

In my consulting practice, working with family businesses, I have seen several instances of acrimonious breakups of the family business with siblings at each other’s throats in the law courts, benefiting nobody except the attorneys on both sides, who keep fires burning as long as they can. I say to them that this breakup is not happening today; it is what the parents allowed and encouraged in the nursery when the litigants were two and three years old. When one 2-year-old refuses to share a toy, how many parents say, ‘Don’t worry, I will get you your own.’ That is the seed. The fruit takes forty years to come, but it surely does. Only the location changes from the nursery to the law court. But it is the same story, and a healthy, profitable business is dismembered like a carcass.

I have seen the same story with career progression. People talk about their dreams of career advancement. But when I ask them, ‘What book are you reading now?’ they tell me, ‘I am so busy, there is no time to read.’ I ask them, ‘What course did you attend during your vacation?’ they look at me as if I am crazy, as if to say, ‘Vacation? Course? Are you insane?’ I say silently, ‘Wait until the next downsizing of your company. Then you will know who was insane.’ It is the daily small improvements to yourself that make major impacts in life. The Law of Entropy fits life like a glove. You must run to stay in the same place. And you must run like your tail is on fire to progress. If you don’t invest in your growth, you won’t grow. But the market grows, customer needs grow, technology grows, demands grow, everything around you grows, and one day you discover that you don’t fit any longer. Worse, your employer discovers that, and you become the proud owner of a Pink Slip. Remember that didn’t happen then. Your Pink Slip was written the first time you passed up an opportunity to learn. It was just sent to you on the day you received it. What is sad is not the Pink Slip but that it was you who wrote it for yourself.

I have held myself to the rule of constant measurement and continuous learning to my great benefit. I document all my output. I have mentors who I regularly consult and listen to very carefully. I invest in books and courses and try to learn constantly. The result in only one aspect of my life, business consulting, is that on the rare occasion when someone says to me, ‘But so-and-so charges less than you do,’ I reply, ‘Here is what I learnt in the last five years (list of books, courses, and output). Please ask for this from the other consultant and decide who is good for you.’ I have never had a client who said, ‘The consultant’s investment in themselves is not important for us.’ Investing in yourself gives the client confidence in your ability to help them. That is a daily, small event, affair. It is not a PhD, but a book, a course, a serious conversation with notes. It is time spent daily in reflection, introspection, and conceptualization of learning, once again all documented. Believe me, if you didn’t document it, you lost it. There are no exceptions to this rule. You learn only what you document. It all adds up. Every smile. Every letter you wrote or call you made asking how someone was, when you didn’t need to. Every kindness which you may have considered small, but which made a world of difference to its recipient. Every minute you spent reading, reflecting, recording. In short, everything that you were not pressured to do but you did because you considered it to be important for your development, adds up. The day when the scale tips in your favor may surprise you and others, but there is nothing surprising at all in it. Every grain goes towards reaching the critical weight that is needed to tip the scale. All power to you if you added the grains. And time to wake up and start adding the grains if you have been sleeping.

Success is not magic, nor miracle. Success is systematic daily effort.

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I’ve never let my schooling interfere with my education. ~ Mark TwainPicture this; someone comes to you and asks, ‘I am planning to start a school. Which curriculum should I use?’ And I can bet you that most of you will suggest some curriculum which you think is a good one. However if the same person were to ask you, ‘I am planning to build a factory. Which machinery would be the best?’ You will never say, ‘Buy from Cummins or Wartsila, or Volvo, or Caterpillar.’ You will ask, ‘What is the factory for? What are you planning to produce?’

Think of a school like a factory. What’s the factory for? What’s the product? Everything in that factory depends on that single definition. What do you want to produce? How many of us ask this question before we talk about curriculum, syllabus, teachers, or anything else? That’s like asking, ‘What machinery should we buy?’ How would you answer that question?

So, I want you ask you, ‘What’s the goal? What does the final product look like? What must he be able to do? Do you have this defined for your school?’ If you have defined it, who knows this? How do you monitor results? What are your metrics? Because the reality is that what you don’t measure, you don’t know. What you don’t measure you can’t improve. What you don’t know, you can’t control or guarantee.

In the words of Mikel Harry, the designer of Motorola’s 6 Sigma Quality Program, “If you want to see what someone values, see what they measure.” Never were more wiser words spoken. We claim to value time and say, ‘Time is money.’ But we waste time but not money. What do we measure?

Any business has two players. Sellers and buyers. Suppliers and consumers. Providers and beneficiaries. Who are your consumers, beneficiaries, buyers? The success of the business depends on how well the beneficiaries like the service or products. Successful businesses constantly seek consumer/customer satisfaction/opinion. In GE we used to call it VOC – Voice of the Customer. These would be meetings where customers were invited to speak to GE executives about their experience in dealing with whichever GE business they were the customers of. The job of the executives was simply to listen respectfully, as questions to clarify, and solve problems. Never to justify or give excuses. It was a highly effective process and I believe it was one of the major reasons for customer loyalty.

My question to you, school owners and teachers is, ‘Do you do this? Who do you talk to? When did you do it last? What did they say? Did you record it? Then what changes did you make? What was the result of those changes?

What you don’t measure, you don’t know. What you don’t measure you can’t improve. What you don’t know, you can’t control or guarantee.

Harrow Primary School, London – 2015 – If you don’t love children, you can’t be a teacherNext question: Who is this (or any) school for? Children? Really? Then why do you have Parent Teacher meetings? Where are the children in these meetings and if they’re present, what’s their role? Let’s make our schools truly for the children. Not use children as an excuse for owners, teachers, administrative staff, and a whole host of others, to make money in a way that’s convenient and easy for them. Not necessarily for the children. Let’s create a system where the one who was getting paid to teach, passes, or fails for succeeding or failing to teach. We apply this rule in everything in life, except schools. The lives and careers of children are ruined because they had incompetent, disinterested teachers. But those teachers still get their salaries and increments. Is this fair or even moral? How can we sleep in peace?

Here’s a quiz. It is an easy quiz. What do you call a place where inmates come in and the gate is shut. They can’t leave until the gate is opened at the end of their time in the facility.

Inmates are segregated by age as if date of manufacture is the most important thing about a human being. They are seated in rows behind rows so that from the second row onward each inmate gets to look at the back of someone’s head all day long. How inspiring is that?

Inmates are not allowed to speak at will or to anyone other than the authority and that, only after taking permission. They are not allowed to disagree. Dissent is seen as rebellion and treated accordingly.

Every decision that affects the inmates is taken by the authorities and the inmates are not consulted about any decision even though every decision affects them. Any tendency to try to become independent, question authority, suggest improvements, promote responsibility is seen as evil and punished. In short, all life skills that are necessary to succeed in society, careers, marriage, teamwork, conflict resolution, skills critical to scenario planning, communication, influencing, decision making, and leadership, are not taught and where they emerge despite not being taught, are eradicated. The time of the inmates while they are in the facility is strictly regulated with punishments for not following the rules, all of which are imposed upon the inmates without their voice or choice. What time they eat, sleep, play, work, are all regulated and have nothing to do with whether they want to do any of those things at the stated times. Inmates are not even allowed the freedom to go to the toilet without the humiliation of asking permission publicly.

Inmates spend specific periods of time in each activity and break, which they are informed about by ringing bells or buzzers. They and their teachers are not even considered responsible enough to look at a watch and go to the next class. Interestingly nobody objects. That’s the level of conditioning where the person doesn’t even consider himself to be worthy of being treated with respect. That’s great for all dictators because where there’s no dissatisfaction, there can be no rebellion.

Inmates are tested supposedly for knowledge, by their ability to random recall discrete disconnected bits of information during a specific time window. If someone is unable to recall a bit of information in that window but does that five minutes after the bell rings, he has failed the test. Depending on the level of this test, it can mean the difference between life and death. This is called a test of knowledge. But it’s a test of memory alone without any understanding about how the bits of information are connected or can be used. It’s an exercise in collecting dots, not in connecting them.

Finally, during this test, if any inmate seeks help or responds to a call for help from another inmate, they’re punished. Individual, even toxic competition is encouraged and rewarded, and teamwork is suppressed and penalized. What do you call this institution?

Our schools and our corporate organizations are the most totally autocratic systems in the world. Which is why we have oligarchies masquerading as democracies and nobody to question this. None of this is surprising because it all begins in the schools, which are run on the lines of prisons. Naturally all the oppressed therein have one single goal in life – to be able to give orders instead of obeying them. The only system they know is the autocratic prison model and they are all aspiring jailers. Talk to any corporate head about collaboration, employee participation in decision making, electing bosses instead of them being imposed top down, encouraging dissent and questioning and all such symbols of self-respect and freedom and you see a hunted look come into his eyes and if you listen carefully, you can hear a whirring sound interspersed with squeaks. That is his terrified brain desperately seeking escape routes from this highly threatening conversation. Incidentally, unless like me, you are also among the exalted ranks of the voluntarily unemployable, don’t ask such questions or you will learn the meaning of the ejection seat, perhaps too graphically.

What kind of schools do we really need?

To answer that lets look at society because schools are the birthplace for those who will mould, change, manage, and rule society. So, ask, ‘What kind of society do we want to live in.’ Factor yourself into the equation because it is about you.

Before we go there let’s be clear that education and schooling are two different things and not always compatible with each other. For those who understand Urdu, we have a word called Musaqqaf (Sahib-us-Saqafat). It used to mean noble, honorable, principled, learned, courageous, chivalrous, and all such qualities. Today it merely means literate. That’s how we have gutted the whole idea of education. We have reduced it to a means of earning a living alone. Whereas education was supposed to be for life, by creating responsible citizens. Not merely as a means to earn a living. The thirst for knowledge, the freedom to seek it, and understanding how to apply the learning are all not a part of what we call schooling. The results are painfully visible.

Education is not the responsibility of schools and teachers alone but must be a partnership in parenting between parents, teachers, and children. All three are stakeholders and must have a say in what happens. Parenting can’t be outsourced. You can’t pay someone to raise your children just like you can’t pay someone to diet on your behalf. If it is yours, you raise it. The school is your partner, but only you are the parent. The teacher is not your substitute. She/he is your resource, your help. But only you are the parent. Jannah is beneath your feet, O Mother, not the teacher’s. And you dear Father, are the door of Jannah for your child, not the teacher. If you want the privilege; you must pay the price. Comes with the territory.

Education must therefore create individuals who are noble, kind, compassionate, learned, principled, have excellent manners, courage, ability to think, analyze, communicate, lead by example, and aware of their accountability to the One to Whom is our return. Reading and writing and learning different kinds of information and so on is one facet of education. It’s not its purpose. We must give importance to it but only as one of the elements in education. Not to the exclusion of everything else.

Rasoolullahﷺ focused on only two things in the Tarbiyya of his Sahaba. Those two guided every decision and action they took.

1. Developing Taqwa. Taqwa is the concern to please Allahﷻ in everything we say or do, without exception. That comes from knowing Allahﷻ, having a relationship with Him, and being aware of His presence in our lives at all times. How do we develop that in our children? How do we measure progress? And since only a lighted lamp can light another, what’s the situation with our own, teachers and parents, Taqwa? What are our metrics to assess ourselves? Just to give you one pointer, look at your income and what you eat. If these two are not Halal, it doesn’t matter what else you do, there’s no Taqwa to speak of. How can parents who earn Haram and eat and feed their children Haram, expect to raise children who are Muttaqoon?

2. Developing Akhlaaq. It begins with how we treat children and those who have less power than we do. As they see, so they do. Children listen with their eyes. They don’t care what you say until they see what you do. If you treat them like they are incapable of being responsible, of self-regulation, of planning and executing those plans, of working together in teams they form and pick leaders for, that’s exactly what will happen. They will be incapable of all these things. By all means, guide them. But there’s a world of difference between guiding and directing. If you have a doubt, ask, ‘What happens if they decide not to follow my guidance but to arrive at the result by a different route?’ The goal is non-negotiable. But the route doesn’t need to be.

What happens if they ask why they should do this task or how it is likely to help them in life? If you can’t answer this question, then ask why the child should learn what you want him to learn when even you don’t know why?

Akhlaaq are tested in how we deal with conflict and difference of opinion. Can we disagree without being disagreeable? How do we treat dissent? Do we accept it, encourage it, use it as an asset, or suppress it, treat it as rebellion and treason, and destroy the dissenter?

2.1. Developing collaborative decision making. Majlis Ash-Shura. As we know Allahﷻ decreed this and Rasoolullahﷺ practiced it. We see evidence of this in major decisions like the battles of Badr, and Uhud. And we see how he took the advice of his Sahaba in Suleh Hudaibiyya (Umm Salama RA) and the battle of Ahzab (Salman Farsi R). There are many other instances in the Seerah, but these will suffice. The final culmination of this was in the fact that he didn’t nominate his successor. No matter our opinions about that today, the fact remains that he didn’t name anyone. In my view this was because of two things. He knew who they would pick and that was the one he wanted to succeed him. And secondly because he wanted them to come to that decision on their own, so that they would then support the successor. Sure, there was a risk that their choice may have been different from his, but that’s the risk that every coach takes, and which is a test of his coaching. The coach is never on the field. But no coach worth the name, will put untrained players on the field and expect them to win. And no coach will ever train his team in one game and expect them to play a totally different game which they never learnt and in which everything they learnt results in a penalty. Yet that’s precisely what we do in our schools.

We condition children to unquestioning obedience, to blindly obey authority, never to decide anything on their own but to bow in submission to whatever is imposed from on high, no matter how stupid, inconvenient, or unfair it may be, to value internal competition no matter how toxic, and distrust and punish collaboration and teamwork, to show up the faults of each other and snitch on our colleagues, friends and neighbors, and then we expect them to do the opposite of all this and create a society that’s compassionate, just, non-discriminatory, collaborative, kind, and caring. We expect them to stand up to oppression and to question authority. We expect them to vote good people into power and bad people out. In short, we expect from them the opposite of all that we taught and conditioned them to do. I know this is a sign of insanity. You tell me, on whose part.

Let me ask you what you think will happen if you give those who are affected by the rules i.e., children, the opportunity to make the rules? After all that’s what democracy and freedom is all about, isn’t it. When are children supposed to learn to use democracy and freedom, value it, deal with problems that may arise and practice it responsibly? You are saying to yourselves, ‘All this is very well, but where does this happen? Is this practical? Let me tell you a story. A true story. My story.

With my dear friend Suresh Menon who shared these times with me – 2010It was 1990 and I was the Manager of New Ambadi Estates in Kanyakumari District in Tamilnadu, South India. That consisted of two estates, two factories and a school. The Arunachalam Higher Secondary School was a co-educational school with 1200 students and 75 staff. The students came from poor families who survived on subsistence agriculture and any manual labor that they could get. In the evenings, the men would get drunk and domestic violence was a major social evil. When these children encountered discrimination and ill treatment from teachers also at school, you can imagine what that did to their confidence and enthusiasm for learning. Education was their only lifeline out of that society but sadly they were not getting it despite all the money that the Trust had invested in the school. The medium of instruction was Tamil, but English language was taught as a subject in the curriculum. The school was partially aided by the Government of Tamilnadu in the form of salaries of some subject teachers, while the Trust funded everything else, including all capital expenditure to build and maintain all buildings and infrastructure. When I first visited the school to take stock of what was in store for me, I saw that it was built on about two acres of land and had nice spacious classrooms with plenty of light and ventilation. But the walls were covered with graffiti and the grounds were like a massive garbage dump with paper, plastic, and trash everywhere. The children were in the dumps as regards academic work to which the Board exam results amply bore witness, but on their feet, they were very agile. A little observation showed me why. It seemed to me that the teachers operated on the principle that if you could get your hands on a child, you must beat him. You may ask, “Why beat the child if he did not do anything?” The answer is, “He did not do anything then. But maybe he did something that you had not seen, or he would do something in the future.” So, beat him. It is good for him. The relationship between students and teachers was almost adversarial. I spent a couple of days in the school trying to get as much data by direct observation as I could. Then I requested the Headmaster Mr. Madhavan Thambi to call a Staff Meeting for me to address. That is another story which I will not tell you just now but after that meeting, I introduced the practice of a weekly staff meeting, which I would attend.

Strictly speaking this was not what I would have recommended to anyone in my position because it was the job of the Headmaster to get things done. But after seeing what the state of the school was, I decided that he needed strong support. We would meet every Monday in the last class period. I did not want to detain teachers after school as it would be difficult for them to take their normal bus home. The meeting was “work” and so we did it during normal working hours. They appreciated that and that made the meetings more productive.

Then I asked for a general student assembly and met the whole school. After the usual spiel about improving the school and so on, I did two things which got them to sit up and listen. I introduced myself and said, “My name is Mirza Yawar Baig, and I am the new Correspondent for your school. I want to know what you think about this school, so that we can make it a place that you love to come to. Tell me are you happy with this school?” There was total silence. They looked at each other. They looked at the teachers. They looked at me as if to say, “Do you think we are fools? Do you think that you can talk this stuff and we will believe you and tell you what we feel? Go fly a kite, Mr. Whatever your name is.” I could see all this in the faces of those sitting in the front row and knew that they represented the others.

I said to them, “I want you to elect a Class Representative who will be a member of the Student Council which I am going to set up. Your Class Representative will represent you, so do it carefully. I am giving you one hour of free time, starting now. I want the Class Representatives to meet me for our first Student Council meeting in one hour.”

It is amazing how many things, mostly negative, that we believe (or at least our teachers and other adults believed then) about children. I had not given them any instructions about how to conduct the election. I am not saying that it was done totally fairly or efficiently or that every child had a chance to exercise his or her choice. All I know is that whoever was elected in one hour was someone with innate leadership ability. It took a bit longer than one hour, but we had our first meeting.

I set the ground rules. “The Student Council”, I told them, “Will be comprised of Class Representatives from each class who will be appointed for a period of one term (4 months). This is so that as many of you as possible get to experience being leaders. Class Representatives can be re-elected for a second term but then must sit out two terms before standing for election again. The Student Council will also have three teachers as Honorary Non-Voting Members. Their role will be advisory to provide information and support for whatever the Student Council decides to do. These teachers will change every two terms, so that they can provide continuity to the new student representatives elected in each term. The Student Council will decide how this school will be run. Any questions?”

Hands shot up. I was very happy because questions indicate interest.

“Sir, what do you mean, “How the school will be run?”

“I mean start and end times, holidays, class duration, whatever you want. It is your school and from now on, you will decide how it will be run. Remember what I asked you in the assembly? Are you happy with this school as it is? I meant it, even though you didn’t believe me.”

Strange looks all around. Some teachers looked at me with pity. Some smirked. All looked highly doubtful. Students just deadpanned me. I knew what was going on as I had done other similar initiatives before. The first response to all change initiatives is suspicion. People find it difficult to believe that people they have been dealing with for a long time can change their behavior completely. The solution is consistency and persistence. Announce what you are going to do and do it without worrying about reactions. Once people see you behaving in congruence with what you stated, they come around and realize that you are sincere and will start trusting you. But this takes time, and it is important for you as the change agent not to react to anything they say or do. People listen with their eyes. They do not care what you say until they see what you do.

In this case, the children had gotten used to being abused and treated without respect. For them to believe that teachers would not beat them anymore, that they would not only be treated with respect but here was the highest authority in the school telling them that henceforth the school would be run according to their wishes was simply too much to swallow. So, they waited and watched.

“Are you happy with how the school is now?” I persisted. “You can tell us. All of us, teachers, your Headmaster, and I want to know. And nothing will happen to you whatever you say. Nobody will get a prize, and nobody will be punished. You have my word for it.”

I got some tentative responses from the front rows. “No, we do not like the school as it is.” I did not push them to give me more details. I knew what they wanted to say, and I also knew that they would not say it. Not then. Not yet. That there was even this first response was not a credit to me but showed me the desperate situation that they students were in. That needed to change, and I was determined that I would change it.

“Good. Now you get to change that. Do what you think will make this school the best school in Tamilnadu. That is what I want. Do you want that? In next week’s meeting, I want you to suggest to me what you would like to change to make this school the best school in Tamilnadu.” I knew that for them, even to think of themselves like that was a stretch. But if they started thinking of themselves and their school as theirs, they would start taking pride in it. If that happened, the rest would be easy and inevitable. It all starts with a thought, which kindles desire, which produces the energy. Direct that into the channels of strategy and you achieve your goal.

I told them that I would attend their weekly meeting, but they could meet as often as they wanted and at any time they wanted. I set some ground rules. I told them that if they identified a problem, I also wanted them to think it through and suggest a solution that we could apply. I did not want them to become “professional protestors”. I wanted them to become problem solvers. Whatever problem they mentioned would be their problem and who better than them to suggest the solution? The second rule was that the syllabus was non-negotiable. That had to be completed. So, if they wanted to take time off one day, they would have to work extra time on another day to complete the syllabus. Finally, I reiterated that they would be treated with respect, but that they would have to treat teachers with respect. That meant that whatever they wanted to do, they would have to discuss with their teachers and get their agreement. I would be happy to facilitate that if they wanted me to, but it was their responsibility. We would not impose anything on them without their agreement. And the same courtesy would apply to the teachers. Everyone agreed. They did not know how it would work in practice, but it sounded nice. Teachers also looked happier after hearing this.

In the next week’s meeting, I produced a map of the school grounds on which I had drawn lines to divide it into squares. I said to them, “Each square is for one class. It is your Class Thotam (garden). Please pick the square you want and write your class name in the square. Every month I am going to have a competition and will give a prize to the best kept Thotam.”

Kanyakumari district is a fertile place, and these children came from farmer’s families. Almost overnight the school got cleaned up. All garbage disappeared and gardens were planted everywhere except the sports field, which was my responsibility to maintain. The teachers also bought into the new spirit and their skepticism turned to enthusiasm. Two or three weeks into the scheme, in the weekly meeting of the Student Council, they asked me, “We want permission to come to school on Sunday.”

“I have no problem with giving you permission, but why do you want to come to school on Sunday,” I asked.

“We want to clean up these walls. They look very dirty.”

“Great. Let’s do it. I will also come. I will provide you with lime-wash and we will clean and paint the walls and then we will all have lunch together. My treat.” They were delighted and that is what we did.

Things happened week after week. Change is gradual, even when it is driven strongly top down like I was forced to do it. Exam results improved dramatically because both teachers and students started to take pride in their work. The cherry on the cake was that in the Annual Science Fair, AMM Arunachalam HSS was placed in the second place in the State of Tamilnadu.

Let me answer the question which I am sure is in your minds. Did the Student Council create a revolution? Did I have a teacher rebellion on my hands? Did I get assaulted or even mildly abused? None of the above. The reality is that people in authority live in fear. They think that they need to impose authority by force or the whole house of cards would collapse round their ears. The reality is that if you take people into confidence and show them how following your method will help them to achieve their goals, you will have trouble holding them back.

AMM Arunachalam HSS’s teachers and students were no different. They wanted their school to be the best in the state. But they were caught in the cycle of negativity that a lot of us get caught into without realizing. My advantage was that I was new. I was not part of the morass of low self-esteem and deteriorating performance that they were stuck in. So, I could institute changes more easily. The good thing was that once we had broken the ice, I had everyone’s full cooperation and we never looked back.

Let’s ask what happens in our schools? As mentioned earlier, if you want to see what someone values, see what they measure. What do we measure? What are the metrics we use? Do we measure Taqwa and Akhlaaq? Do we even know how to measure them? Let me give you a quick sketch of how to develop these metrics. Take the value you want to measure, in this case, Taqwa. Then ask, ‘What are the behaviors which will show that the person is behaving with Taqwa? In which situations is Taqwa likely to be tested? What must the person do in such a situation?’ Then note these down. Ask children to maintain a journal and note down what happens with them, both internally and externally. What was the internal struggle they had and what were the thoughts, emotions, and inhibitions that they had to overcome? And what did they say or do? Finally, if it didn’t go the way it should have, what was the learning? And what is the damage control they did? Let the parents and you, the teacher, also keep notes. Then periodically, have a discussion with the child and his/her parents. Focus on the positive and reward the child. Use the negative purely as a teaching moment. Not to punish or criticize. Likewise, for Akhlaaq. Remember it is a collaborative effort which is worth the time and trouble it needs because we are talking about transforming society and creating a legacy of honor for all concerned. As they say in Africa, ‘It takes the whole village to raise a child.’ And it is worth it, because that child will change the path of destiny for the world.

You might say, ‘Is that all? Just two things? Only Taqwa and Akhlaaq ?’

I say, ‘Yes. Because values drive behavior. Behavior drives results.’ Taqwa is the core value. And Akhlaaq covers all behavior. The rest follows.

But what about exams? How do we know what the children learnt if we don’t test them? I didn’t say, don’t test them. I said, test them for knowledge, not for random recall. They’re human, remember? Not silicon chips.

Here’s how to test knowledge and not random recall. Instead of asking, ‘State Archimedes Principle.’ Ask, ‘Please give one example where Archimedes Principle is applied and one example where you would apply it.’ If someone has forgotten Archimedes Principle, let them look it up. That doesn’t matter because in real life they would be able to look it up. But how to apply it must come from them. Application is the real and only proof of learning.

Everything is possible if you want to do it. Ask, ‘Do I want to change?’

I rest my case.

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I am a bridge builder. And that is how I see Interfaith relations. It is the work of building bridges. It is not about taking a person from one side of the river or canyon to the other side. It is to build a bridge so that people on both sides of the river can meet. Where can they meet? On the bridge, of course.

How do you build a bridge?

By making 4 – Critical Changes within yourself.

Change Attitude, Perspective, Language and Behavior.

1. Change Attitude

Attitude is how we define ourselves. That depends on what we believe about ourselves. This is partly what we have been told, growing up. Conditioning. Partly what we choose to tell ourselves all through life. So, ask, ‘How do I define myself?’ Values drive Behavior. Behavior drives Results. Ask, ‘What are my values, beliefs, attitudes, stances?’ Who I AM determines what I DO which decides what I GET. We are focused on GET. Get rich, get popular, get elected, get an education, get married get, get, get. But we can only get in relation to what we do. And that depends on who we are. So, ask, “Who am I? “ If you want to change what you get, you have to change who you are. It is that simple. You are saying, ‘That is not easy.’ Did I say it is easy? Just that if you want to have it, you must do it. That may not be easy, but it is simple.

1. Change Perspective

Perspective defines what I see. It determines my worldview which defines my responses to those who share the world with me. Allah told us:

Hujuraat 49: 13 O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is the one who is the most pious. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.

Islam tells us that we are different and that the difference is a cause for celebration, for honoring one another, to recognize each other and to appreciate the different flavor we bring to the table. The difference is not a cause for discrimination or racism. Superiority in the sight of Allah is only based on piety. It is the purity of our hearts, that brings us close to Allah. And only He knows what is in our hearts.

Change your perspective and you will see another world. One that was always there, but which you perhaps couldn’t see because of where you were standing. So, ask, ‘How do I define others?’ We are raised bipolar. Everyone like us is good. Everyone unlike us is bad. We learn derogatory names for them. We learn to fear them, hate them, and to see ourselves as superior and them as inferior. This ‘othering’ is a default setting in all cultures. Only the identity of the ‘other’ differs. But there is always an ‘other’. To change this perspective, we must move from Right and Wrong to Different. Because not everything is right or wrong. Many things are just different. All prejudice is based on subjective perceptions of right and wrong. All stereotyping is based on prejudice. To cure yourself of the cancer of prejudice, change perspective.

1. Change Language

Ask, ‘How do I speak about others when they are not present? Respectfully, inclusively, appreciatively, or otherwise?’ Change language because language shapes attitudes and reflects them. I ask you to substitute one word in your vocabulary with another. Substitute TOLERATE with APPRECIATE. Tolerance implies dislike. Appreciation comes from respectful interest. I submit to you that all healthy relationships depend on appreciation.

Why do I ask you to do this? I do because when you ‘tolerate’ someone, you are really saying to yourself, ‘This is really a nasty piece of action that I wish I didn’t have to deal with. But since I have no choice in the matter and I don’t want more grief, I will tolerate them.’ Think tolerance or tolerating and you will not be thinking of someone you love, or a double shot of espresso, or a triple chocolate Sunday, or a glorious sunset, or your pet. You will not be thinking of anything that brings a smile to your face or a warm glow in your heart. You will be thinking, “O My God! Him again? Okay, let’s get it over with.” But when you think appreciation, you are thinking love, gratitude, missing someone, the pain of parting. You are thinking beautiful pictures, sounds, voices, dreams. So, I say to you, ‘Forget tolerating anyone. Ask, ‘How can I appreciate them?’ You can, only if you know them. Do it.

That opens a whole new world starting from enquiry in a non-judgmental way. To learn more about. Not to judge. It opens the doors in the mind and heart which may have been locked up by prejudice, racism, anti-otherism, all part of our childhood conditioning maybe. Let us remind ourselves, ‘I am not a child. I consider myself to be an adult. An independent, educated, discerning, intelligent adult, capable of making my own decisions.’ Then ask, ‘I wonder why am I still stuck in my childhood conditioning? Why do I allow attitudes that I developed unthinkingly even unconsciously to continue to keep me in the rut of negativity and hatred preventing me from forming positive, loving, and blessed relationships?’ True it is that only knowledge can set us free. We must learn about others. By doing that, we learn about ourselves. So, let’s ask ourselves, ‘How much effort do I make to initiate and maintain relationships? How many friends do I have who are different from me?’ Different color, race, religion? Because it is not the color of your hair but the color of your dreams that determines success and happiness in life. What do I do to build bridges? From tolerance to hatred is one step. But appreciation is the opposite of hatred. So, let’s replace tolerance in our hearts and minds with appreciation.

1. Change Behavior

Because only behavior gives results. Collaboration is the door. Communication is the key. As I mentioned before, ask, ‘How do I speak to myself about those who are different from me? What does my language reflect?’ And remember, not everything is spoken aloud. The most powerful messages are heard only by you because it is what you say to yourself. It is critical to reflect on this because our internal talk guides our attitude and actions. As we think, so we speak, so we act and so we get responses. Only we can change this cycle and make it a journey of discovery and friendship. For many of us, this is an unconscious process. People are shocked when they reflect and realize what they are saying to themselves. And even more when they realize that this sets in motion a spiral that is negative or positive. The power lies in accepting that we decide what we want it to be. The solution to this is knowledge. Ask, ‘What effort do I make to learn about others?’ Remember that learning about human beings is only done by experience. Not on TV or social media but by meeting the walking, talking, breathing, warm body called _______ fill in the blank. Do that respectfully, sensitively, in a spirit of enquiry. For that, learn something about their culture, taboos, preferences, and beliefs, non-judgmentally. Judging builds walls. Walls keep people apart. Bridges draw us closer. We must be bridge builders, if we want to leave behind a world defined by love. The willingness to transcend boundaries, share uniqueness, without criticism and discrimination must be taught young, but can be learnt at any stage in life. Only one requirement…. are you willing to learn?

I want to remind you of the words of a man who had a dream for all of us.

“Cowardice asks the question – Is it safe? Expediency asks the question – Is it politic? Vanity asks the question – Is it popular? But conscience asks the question – Is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular. But one must take it because it is right.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In conclusion, my friends, let me remind myself and you that a window opens in the life of every one of us when we can make a difference and leave behind a legacy of honor. In the words of William Shakespeare:

“There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.”

I submit to you that our window is open. Our time to create a legacy of honor, is now. For that let me give you a gift. The gift of my motto in life:

“I will not allow, what is not in my control to prevent me from doing what is in my control.”

The choice is ours as will be its consequences.

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I am a bridge builder. And that is how I see Interfaith work. It is the work of building bridges. It is not the work of taking a person from one side of the river or canyon to the other side. It is to build a bridge so that people on both sides of the river can meet. Where can they meet? On the bridge, of course.

Recently someone sent me a video about the longest running study in Harvard, on human behavior. It has been running for 84 years.

Dr. Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development and co-author of ‘The Good Life’, discusses lessons learned from the world’s longest scientific study on happiness. The object of the study is, ‘What makes a good life’. Originally there were 724 participants. 268 were sophomores at Harvard. Among the sophomores were the future President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and future Washington Post editor Ben Bradley. Later they included in the study, 450 Boston Boys – less privileged inner-city children. Then they expanded the pool to include 1300 descendants. They have been tracking these people for 84 years and the retention rate is an amazing 84%. Every 2 years they answer a lengthy questionnaire. Every 5 years they surrender their medical records and every 15 years they have a face-to-face interview. And the lesson? Good relationships keep us happier, and healthier. How does social media factor into this? Especially given the problems with anxiety, depression, and mental illness. Waldinger says, “If you use social media to connect with people, it increases our happiness levels. But we only consume the social media of others, Instagram posts,(and I will add Twitter and worst of all WhatsApp university), happy pictures of holidays and beaches and so on then it tends to make us unhappier as we feel that we are missing out on the good life.” In their parallel case studies are two Harvard sophomores from highly privileged backgrounds. One became a high school teacher and retired. The other became a very prominent attorney, won lots of awards, and became very wealthy. In the study, the high school teacher came out the happiest and the attorney the least happy. Waldinger says that the study showed that this had entirely to do with how they maintained or failed to maintain relationships. What about religion, you ask? The study shows that religion per se doesn’t seem to make a difference, except that religious people reported that their religious practices came to their aid in dealing with crisis. I guess religious practice also facilitates relationships because people meet for prayer and prayer related activities. But we must beware that in the same breath, unless we combat it consciously, this is the root of us versus them.

I submit to you that all relationships depend only on one thing, appreciation. I want to propose to you therefore that you remove one word from your vocabulary – TOLERANCE. And replace it with another – APPRECIATION.

Why do I ask you to do this? I do because when you ‘tolerate’ someone, you are really saying to yourself, ‘This is really a nasty piece of action that I wish I didn’t have to deal with. Given a choice I would be far away from this person. But since I have no choice in the matter and I don’t want more grief, I will tolerate him/her.’ Think tolerance or tolerating and you will not be thinking of someone you love, or a double shot of espresso, or a triple chocolate Sunday, or a glorious sunset, or your dog or cat. You will not be thinking of anything that brings a smile to your face or a warm glow in your heart. You will be thinking, “O My God! Him again? Okay, let’s get it over with.” But when you think appreciation, you are thinking love, gratitude, missing someone, the pain of parting. You are thinking beautiful pictures, sounds, voices, dreams. So, I say to you, ‘Forget tolerating anyone. Ask, ‘How can I appreciate them?’

That opens a whole new world starting from enquiry in a non-judgmental way. To learn more about. Not to judge. It opens the doors in my mind and heart which may have been locked up by prejudice, racism, anti-otherism, all part of my childhood conditioning maybe. Let us remind ourselves, “I am not a child. Haven’t been for decades now. I consider myself to be an adult. An independent, educated, discerning, intelligent adult, capable of making my own decisions. Then I wonder why am I still stuck in my childhood conditioning? Why do I allow attitudes that I developed unthinkingly even unconsciously to continue to keep me in the rut of negative attitudes preventing me from forming positive, loving, and blessed relationships?” True it is that knowledge will set us free. We must learn about others. By doing that, we learn about ourselves. So, the question I ask myself and request you to ask yourselves is, ‘How much effort do I make to initiate and maintain relationships? What do I do to build bridges?

How do you build bridges? By consciously doing two things. One, focus on the commonalities. Two, see difference as a joyful discovery. Alright! Not joyful, then at least interesting. We must make the shift mentally that difference between people is precisely and only that – different. It is not good or bad, nice or nasty, virtuous or evil. It is simply different. And so, it is always interesting. For most of us, our conditioning is the opposite. The one who is different is someone I can only look down upon, fear, hate, and worse. The good news is that this can end today. Right now. But only if we choose to end it. So, are you ready? Let me tell you a story about unexpected commonalities. A friend of mine who is an Orthodox Jew and highly knowledgeable and calls me his ‘Chavruta’ (study companion), is in the Foreign Service. The Chavruta-system is a traditional rabbinic approach to Talmudic study in which a small group of students (usually 2-5) analyze, discuss, and debate a shared text. It is a primary learning method in yeshivas and guess where else? In traditional Islamic schools called Madrassas. My friend told me a story about his friend who was posted in Uzbekistan. He said that one evening sitting at a campfire of a local tribe waiting for the barbecue to be done, one of the elders asked him, ‘What are you?’

He said, ‘I am Jewish?’

The old man didn’t seem to understand what that was. Then he asked him, ‘Do you worship idols?’

My friend said, ‘No we worship the One Almighty God.’

Then he asked him, ‘Do you eat pork?’

My friend said, ‘No, we don’t eat pork.’

Then he asked, ‘Are you circumcised?’ My friend said, ‘Yes I am.’

‘Ah!’ said the elder. ‘You are Muslim. You just don’t know it.’

Believe me, we, all of us, have more in common than we know. And it is time to focus on that.

Maintaining relationships is something that I’ve done all my life, mostly unconsciously. Not for any reason. Just to keep in touch with friends. Sometimes I even wonder if the other person thinks of me as a friend. I mean, really as a friend that he/she values and remembers. The thought does come, “If they never take the initiative to make or maintain contact, why should I? Who am I fooling by thinking of them as being my friend?” But I still do it. I write stuff and send it to them. Occasionally I text them. Their response varies. Some are totally delighted and astonished that I made the effort to contact them. Others are noncommittal. Yet others ignore me and don’t respond at all. But what I realized is that this enables me to keep my ability to make friends healthy. That’s why if I count the friends that I am in touch with, the range is from 60 years to a few weeks ago and with ages ranging from 95 to 6 years old. No matter what it does for them, being in touch keeps me healthy, joyful, youthful, and connected with the world.

Today we live in a world where hatred is big business. Hatred and talking divisive language gets you elected and keeps you in power. What you watch on social media determines what you get on social media. So if you watch hateful divisive things, violence of one group against another, that is what you will get to watch more and more. You will never be allowed to see the other side. You will never know what your favorite group did to the ones you hate. And even if you do, you will say, ‘Good! They deserve it.’ In our brave new world, we are encouraged to despise and look down on others and to dehumanize and demonize them. Most of us swallow this hook, line, and sinker and we are drawn into the nets of the fishermen who sell us to the highest bidder. That is what we must fight because it is destroying us as a nation, as people and our world. The best antidote to this venom is to appreciate others and to express that appreciation. People are not mind readers. Even if they are, we all enjoy being appreciated.

Sandy and I in Corbett National Park I want to close with my favorite connection story. It was 2006, I think and I was in Hyderabad. I got a call from Sundeep Singh, my friend from my tea planting days which ended in 1993.

“Yawar!”

“Hi Sandy, how are you?”

“I am fine. Are you there in Hyderabad?”

“Yes Sandy.”

“I am coming tomorrow and will send you my flight details.”

“Great. Welcome.”

The next day, I go the airport to pick him up. We get home. We catch up. My wife gets us all a great meal. And we go to bed. Next morning, we have breakfast and as we are having our tea, I asked Sandy, “So, what do you want to do?”

“Anything you like,” he says. This is now getting more mysterious. After all the man came all the way from Delhi to Hyderabad for what? Must be some work-related reason, I tell myself.

“I mean is there anything you need to do here in Hyderabad? Someone you want to meet or want me to take you to some place?”

Sandy laughed. “I came to meet you. I haven’t seen you in years and just thought that I wanted to meet you and so I came.”

Thinking about this today, 2023, another twenty plus years later, I have the same tears in my eyes that I had that day. My friend came all that way, over a thousand miles, just to meet me? What can I say? I won’t even try to describe my feelings to you. I am blessed in so many ways. And one of those blessings for which I am eternally grateful, is Sundeep Singh.

Tell someone that you love them because you do. Do it and you will know what I am talking about. Because some things can’t be described. They must be felt. They will change you. You will not be the same person again. You will be a much better person. Go out of your way to be nice to someone, to help them, smile at them, hug them. Not because they deserve it, but because you do. Like Nike says, ‘Just do it.’ Connect for no reason. Connecting is the best reason.

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“In order to change an existing paradigm, you do not struggle to try and change the problematic model. You create a new model and make the old one obsolete.”

~ R. Buckminster Fuller

Scope

The purpose of this article is to help the graduates of Madaaris to become relevant in modern society and to be able to provide positive leadership to their congregations.

I have tried to define the situation with Madrassa Education in India as I understand it and to propose a solution to the deficiencies and problems that it faces. That these deficiencies and problems are not necessarily recognized or likely to be accepted by those who run Madaaris is to be expected because the first reaction of the patient who is diagnosed with a terminal illness is denial. However, this ‘illness’ though terminal, if left unattended, is curable if addressed. The question is whether those who have the authority – Madrassa administrators and even more importantly, donors and sponsors – are willing to address it and implement the cure. It is my job to share my thoughts. With that, I rest my case before Allah. For I will not be asked, ‘What did you know?’ I will be asked, ‘What did you do?’ That is what you, my dear reader, will also be asked.

About the issues with the quality of education in our Madrassas in India (subcontinent), I believe we need to look at the syllabus which is based on the Dars-e-Nizami. Dars-e-Nizami or its derivatives are taught in thousands of Madaaris worldwide which draw inspiration, instruction or follow the principles and values of Darul Uloom Deoband, arguably the most respected Madrassa in the subcontinent. I have quoted from Darul Uloom Deoband’s site because Deoband is the bastion of this syllabus and methodology. You can see what they themselves say about what the student gains after eight years of full-time residential ‘education’. (bold type below is mine).

“Its founder was Mulla Nizamuddin Sahalvi (d. 1748), who was contemporary of Hazrat Shah Waliullah. The curriculum known as “Dars-e Nizami”, which is current today in all the Arabic schools, is a relic from him. Adding something more to the syllabi of the third period, Mulla Nizamuddin prepared a new syllabus. The great peculiarity of this syllabus is that more attention has been paid in it to the creation of depth of insight and power of reading in the student, and although immediately after the completion of this course proficiency is not acquired in any particular subject, this much ability is surely created that, through one’s own independent reading and labor, one may acquire proficiency in any subject of one’s liking. The standard of Hadith and Tafsir in this course too is not much high, and of literature there is included no book at all.

http://www.darululoom–deoband.com/english/sys_of_edu/index.htm

Mulla Nizamuddin created what came to be called Dars-e-Nizami in the 1730’s, more than a century before 1857 and the establishment of British rule in India. He created the syllabus to enable Madrassa graduates to get government jobs in the Moghul administration. Since he was from Lucknow where the influence of Iran was very strong, his course gave far more importance to Ilm Kalam, Greek philosophy, logic (Mantiq), Farsi and not to the Qur’an, Hadith and Seerah. What is amazing is the sincerity with which our Madrassa authorities still cling to this totally outdated syllabus ignoring all the changes in time, space, political situation, and realities of the modern world that have happened since the 1730’s. The result is that they are still producing graduates ideally suited to enter the service of a government that ceased to exist a century and a half ago.

I don’t think there is any doubt in the minds of anyone including those who graduate from Madaaris with at least some residual ability to think still intact, that there is a crying need for change. Not merely cosmetic or incremental change but a total transformation of the curriculum, syllabus, and teaching methodology to ensure that those who graduate from there can enter society with confidence.

The reason this is even more important is because according to the Justice Sachar Committee Report (2005)http://bit.ly/2fmNJoYthere are two million students in Madaaris in India. That is less than 2% of the population of Indian Muslims but it is significant because of the amount of money that is spent voluntarily on it by the community which the same Report defines as being economically speaking, the weakest in the nation. Yet the Indian Muslim community spends a colossal INR 24 billion (2400 crores) annually on sponsoring Madrassa education. I doubt if there is any other community of Indians who can match this contribution to national development. My assumption that education is national development. I arrived at this figure by assuming a cost/student of INR 1000 per month per student. The actual cost is most likely to be double that or more as most Madaaris provide boarding, lodging and education, totally free. However, for our discussion the amount of INR 24 billion (2400 crores) is sufficient. It is my contention that anyone (person or group) that spends so much money must be concerned about the quality of the output for which the money is being spent. I believe that is where the problem starts because to the best of my knowledge there is no particular purpose or clear objective of Madrassa education.

No Madrassa teacher or director has ever been able to answer me clearly when I asked them to describe what their final product, the graduate of the Madrassa, was supposed to be or do apart from leading Salah and delivering the Khutba for Jumu’a. Educators teach what they have been mandated to teach according to the syllabus. Donors sponsor the education considering it to be a ‘good deed’ for which Allah will reward them. Students who come mostly from the poorest strata of Muslim society and their parents, have no voice at all in deciding what is taught, how it is taught or what the result is. The fact that the graduate is called A’alim is a bonus, and he exits with a sense of position though without any skills to lead his life in society and totally dependent for his livelihood on donations to the masjid or madrassa he gets employed in. My submission is that there is a need to be clear about the purpose of Islamic education and to bring Islamic education on par with secular education in terms of teaching curricula and methods. Teaching methodology in most Madaaris is totally outdated and completely free of all the latest developments in teaching technology and methods. To add insult to injury, Madrassa teachers and look down on modern teaching methods, child psychology, lesson planning, documentation, and technology. When technology is forced on them, it is politely parked in a corner and dusted out to show the donor who paid for it, when he visits the Madrassa. I recall with a smile and a tear when in one major Madrassa in India, I was taken to their Computer Lab. The door was padlocked. It was opened for me and the Nazim (Administrator) swept his hand in an arc and asked me, what I thought was required in their Computer Lab. I said to him that it needed a broom and dustpan more than anything else because everything was covered in inches of dust. I asked him when the students come to learn and what they learn. He looked confused and looked at his many minions who followed him around for an answer. One young one, not yet schooled in giving noncommittal diplomatic answers said, “Yahan ladkon ko aanay ki ijazat nahin hai. Yeh tho hamesha band rahta hai.” (Here students are not permitted to come. This is locked all the time). I realized that the computers had been bought to please some donor with no intention of every using them. But it was a good talking point for fund raising to say, “We have a computer lab in our Madrassa.”

Madrassa education in the Indian subcontinent is the only system in which teacher training is unheard of. So is understanding of child psychology, lesson plans, teacher assessment, standardized exams or any of the teaching aids that are commonplace in every other school. Just ask a normal Madrassa teacher about any of these things and you will see a look of bewilderment on his face. Yet there seems to be no concern in our community and no anguish except in my heart. No effort to change anything except from very few people who are so few that they will not register on any radar. Assuming that there is such a thing as a radar in the Muslim community.

In short Madrassa education as it is practiced, doesn’t prepare the student for anything in particular, doesn’t make him proficient in anything and so is in effect an exercise in futility. That this is the result of 6-8 years of so-called education on which a colossal amount is spent by the community which can least afford this luxury, shows how little we care about our own community and its most critical asset; the youth and education.

The present syllabus is totally inadequate both theologically and in a worldly sense. Add to that the fact that graduates come out with the title of A’alim, and an inflated sense of their own importance combined with an inferiority complex. Sounds crazy but it’s their reality. This happens when their Madrassa-inflated egos meet the real world and realize their inadequacy. So, they go into a shell because they’re helpless and don’t know how to handle it.

Quality is the outcome of the metric of measurement

This absence of quality is completely understandable in a system where you don’t need any accreditation or certification to start a Madrassa. There are no minimum standards of anything at all; infrastructure, teacher quality, teaching material or any of the normal standards that you would have to satisfy to be certified and permitted to start a basic elementary school. There are no metrics to measure anything in the Madrassa system, so how can you have quality which is the outcome of measurement? Teachers have no qualification to teach, nor do they or you feel the need for this. Students come from the poorest and therefore the least powerful or vocal section of society. Students and their parents have low or no aspirations and no voice at all to implement any change, even if they knew what they wanted to be changed. The curriculum has no benchmark to compare with any curriculum today, is not comparable to any other educational system and to top it all is given the patina and glow of the sacred and holy which is meant to throttle any change initiative in the cradle.

To close the loop from where I started, the biggest hurdle to change in the existing Madrassa education system is the fear that any mention of change inspires in those who own and run it. That is entirely understandable because for one thing; the Madaaris are the means of their own livelihood. For another, change in the way that is needed is not merely incremental, evolutionary, or even less, cosmetic but revolutionary, transformative, and metamorphic. What is needed is a completely new system. Resistance arises from the real fear in the teachers and Madrassa owners of becoming redundant and thereby losing their livelihood. This is a real fear because expecting current teachers to learn a completely new body of knowledge and teaching methodology is unrealistic. Add to it the fact that included in the re-learning is to learn two new languages, Arabic and English, and the water gets even murkier. That is why I began with Buckminster Fuller’s quote. What is needed is to create a new model which will be proof of concept to inspire change and give people the reassurance that success always does. I remind myself of two things: people with limited resources must be very clear and selective about where to spend them to get the maximum benefit. And one day we will be questioned about what we did or failed to do by the One who knows and sees all.

What must be done?

All change must begin with clarifying the goal. Madrassa educators must arrive at a consensus on the goal of Islamic education in today’s world. We need to articulate our vision for the training of Ulama. What do we expect them to achieve once they graduate? The goal of learning is something that is not even questioned in any other branch of education because it is clear from the beginning. You don’t need to ask someone running a medical college or a flying school or a Judo dojo or a dance academy, what they expect from the students who graduate. But with respect to our Madaaris and those who graduate from them and those who teach them, their purpose, their life goal, what they are aspiring to become and achieve are all enigmatic and mysterious. That is why there is low motivation which is sought to be countered by rote learning and brutal corporal punishment.

Another thing to be taken into consideration by those well-meaning souls running short courses for Ulama is the principle of lack of alignment between training and organization culture which is the reason 85% of corporate training worldwide, fails to be implemented. The reason is that the culture back home is not conducive to implementation. For example, one of the most frequently conducted courses worldwide is team building. But it doesn’t stick (which is why it is run so many times). The reason is that organization cultures and compensation structures support individual competition, not collaboration and teamwork. So, when our newly trained individual returns and wants to collaborate, the system ‘punishes’ him. After being punished a few times (depending on the level of his intelligence and idealism) he falls in line and discards his training because what he was taught doesn’t work in the organization. His old destructively competitive ways helped him to get ahead. The new collaboration training which was taught to him as being better for him and the organization, failed him and got him punished. How long do you imagine he would stick to it despite failure and punishment? No matter how much he enjoyed the course and thought he learned valuable lessons, he drops the training because it doesn’t work in his system. That is why I always advise my corporate clients, that if they are serious about encouraging teamwork, they must re-design their compensation structures to support teamwork and discourage individual competition. Alignment of desirable behavior to its reward is critical.

Take this example to the teaching methods in Madaaris; people succeed because they focus on memory. They deliberately discourage, even punish, critical thinking. The most powerful way to do this is to make everything sacred and therefore unquestionable. There is no difference in approach to the Word of Allah, the teachings of His Messenger (S) and the teachings of (especially and almost exclusively) the scholars of a particular Madhab. So, where is the question of questioning anything that was ruled by any of them when to do so would be to literally put your life and reputation on the line. “To question is not to deny” – is not something that our traditionalists believe in. Our way is to hear and obey, even though that is something that applies only to the Word and Orders of Allah alone. Raising humans to a semi-divine status resulting in hero worship is always injurious to reason.

We must therefore begin with defining the goal; the end result that we would like to achieve. Once that is clear and agreed upon, one can work on the curriculum, syllabus, course material (books etc.), testing, teaching methodology, teaching tools and technology, infrastructure, and teacher training.

One final matter which all aspiring instigators of change need to keep in mind is that all this needs serious capital investment. Less than what we spend for ostentatious weddings but still significant. Without that we can’t hope to create the infrastructure, teacher training, curriculum development, course-ware and myriad other things that are necessary to ensure that the new institutions can deliver the results we hope to achieve. This is also necessary to make Madaaris aspirational. To test if our Madaaris are aspirational (in case you have any doubts) ask one of your children if they would like to leave their school and join any Madrassa and you will have the answer. This must change. The image problem that Madaaris have reflects also on their graduates and explains the lack of respect that Madrassa graduates have in Muslim society.

The big question is, ‘How much longer do we want to continue with this?’ This question must be answered first and most importantly by those who fund Madrassas. It is they who must drive the change. It is they who will be questioned by Allah and recorded in history for what they did or failed to do. Change is the result of the actions of those who pay for it. It is time that we focused on what happens to our donations and seek to make that most beneficial for the community because it is only quality that pleases Allah.

What must happen? I have tried to list some broad changes that need to be introduced urgently if we are interested in ensuring that our money is spent in a beneficial manner to achieve our aims of serving the needs of Islam.

A Central Madrassa Board must be created to ensure the following:

1. All Madrassa teachers must have a degree in education
2. Corporal punishment to be banned and punishable if practiced
3. Centralized curriculum, syllabus, and examination system.
4. Curricula and syllabi to be redesigned to make them current, relevant, and effective
5. Centralized management of funds by the Madrassa Board
6. Transparency in all matters and merit must be the only consideration

I have not attempted to suggest a new curriculum and syllabus for Madaaris because before anything can be suggested it is essential for the institutions to feel the need. Currently they don’t. The fact that their graduates emerge in society, unfit and incapable of dealing with it, much less provide leadership, leaves them unmoved. Until that changes and until they feel the need to change, no change is possible.

What would be far more profitable is a grass roots project to create a teaching institution which teaches Islam, science, and social and political sciences in a holistic integrated manner with a focus on leadership development.

Ah! I am talking about the SBA of course. But then we land in the realm of dreams.

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I am not sure if you know the Post Turtle story. The story is about this old farmer who was driving by a fence line and saw a turtle on top of a fence post. He says to himself, “He didn’t get there by himself, he doesn’t belong there, he doesn’t know what to do while he’s up there, so which stupid clown put him up there in the first place?”

The Masjid is perhaps the most important component of any Muslim community and how it is run has a big impact on the ability of the community to remain cohesive, active, and productive. In America this is particularly complex because there is so much cultural and ethnic diversity. However, when you look at Masjid Board Members, you are left wondering if one or more are really Post Turtles. Given the challenges posed by a culture that is so far removed from Islam and so influential, the need for Board Members who are visionary, inspirational, knowledgeable, influential, and dedicated is even more essential. People who bring some key ingredient to the table. Not just well-meaning, hard-working, enthusiastic people, who though they may be very lovable are not competent for the job at hand. Enthusiasm is not a substitute for knowledge or experience.

Having served on corporate Boards, I am familiar with the selection process for Board members. Barring the exception of family businesses where the strategic importance or equity holding of a family member is a reason for him/her being on the Board, in all public companies, people are invited to serve on Boards of Directors based on their personal career track record, the prestige of their names, their specialist knowledge and network connections. There is not a single instance to the best of my knowledge where a Board member landed there because he/she had been elected by, well, who? And on what basis? Like the Post Turtle. What is a qualification to serve on a Masjid Board? Seriously, can someone answer this for me?

Let me share my own thoughts about this from my 40 years consulting experience with commercial, non-profit, religious (not only Islamic), activist, government, and educational organizations on three continents. I have interviewed many potential senior leaders for different multinational companies and have written the book, ‘Hiring Winners’.

We talk of the 3 W’s – Work, Wealth, Wisdom when recruiting Board Members for non-profits. Work experience in areas that are important to the running of the Masjid. Personal wealth and the willingness to make significant donations to the Masjid as well as a powerful network of wealthy friends and relatives who are willing to donate. And wisdom, the fruit of years of relevant experience especially in dealing with diverse people.

Board membership is neither a reward nor a perquisite. Nor is it the result of a popularity contest. A Board Member must fulfill a specific need and so education and experience must be the qualifier and not popularity with the masses. This is the problem with our political system in society as well, where people get elected to run the government based on their popularity with the masses. But governing needs vision, strategy, a high level of skill and experience. They have no idea how to govern and no experience in governance and we end up with Post Turtles.

The same thing happens in Masjid Boards. The Masjid is a critical facility meant for the benefit of the whole community. Those who run it, its Board Members, need specific abilities and skills. Being popular is not one of them. That is how we have people on Masjid Boards who have no experience of running an organization, no idea about how to do it, and they can’t even be trained because they don’t have the technical education necessary to learn management skills.

The primary role of the Board Member is that of strategic planning and overseeing. Not of hands-on micromanaging or execution. The tendency to do that is a warning sign that the incumbent is unsuited for a Board position. The second quality is a thirst for knowledge and the eagerness to learn. Asking questions about what books they are reading currently helps to put your finger on whether a person is likely to be a good fit on the Board. Anyone who doesn’t read regularly is unlikely to succeed on the Board.

Given the diversity in the community almost anywhere in the United States and Canada, I would rate comfort in working with people of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and both genders, high in being suitable to serve on the Board. A very important skill would be the ability to communicate across cultures, races, backgrounds, and religions and act as an ambassador not only for the Masjid but Islam and Muslims. Comfort and facility in working with Interfaith groups, presenting Islam to non-Muslims in a pleasant, confident, and understandable manner would certainly be a big plus point.

In summary Board Members must be strongly practicing Muslims with an openness of mind and heart and a passion to serve the community. They must be willing to spend their own wealth as well as access their network to support the Masjid and its programs. Skin in the game is an important criterion for being a Board Member. They must understand the role of the Board which is not that of doorman, cook, and gardener rolled into one. They must be strategic planners and advisors overseeing the operation, understanding that to be their most effective contribution. They must not get involved in ‘manual labor’, which seems to be the culture in some Masajid where anyone who doesn’t shovel the snow and rake the leaves is seen as somehow less of a Muslim. Experience of working with other non-profit organizations would be a definite advantage. Board Members must have excellent communication and conflict resolution skills which are critical in keeping the community cohesive and together and motivating others to participate in community building activities.

The Masjid Board, like a corporate board, adds prestige to the organization and is the face of the community. Who is on it, makes a huge difference. Who is not on it, makes an even bigger one. Choosing members for the Board because they are of this or that ethnicity or gender is a disservice and a means of reinforcing prejudice and discrimination. Board Members must be chosen based on professional suitability and must have the sagacity and wisdom to take the whole community with them. And take the turtle off the post.

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We are living in a revolution but it is perhaps not what you may think. Let me explain. We are living today in times that I call, ‘Forks in history’. Forking times in history are characterized by turmoil. Epidemics, wars, economic collapse, political instability, civil war and so on. But it is precisely for that reason that the foundations of the structures of society are shaken, and it is given into the hands of ordinary men and women to change the path of destiny. The two World Wars, the First Indian War of Independence, or the Sepoy Rebellion – depending on the historian – in 1857, the American Civil War (1861–65) and others are examples of forking times in history, and we can see what the decisions of those who lived then bequeathed for us. Today it is our time. Let us do differently, so that we leave behind a legacy of honor.

To understand what went wrong, first a bit of history. The Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) was more than moving from handmade to machine-made. It changed three critical things: time of day, family dynamics, and method and content of education. These changes are almost never mentioned but they are far more important than the invention of the assembly line and literally changed our society in ways that one can safely say are irreversible. What are these changes?

Prior to 1760 society was mostly agrarian. If you want to see what that was like, I strongly advice a visit to the Amish in Pennsylvania or elsewhere. They are people who have decided not to change. Whether that is for the good or not is for you to decide and I am not going to describe it in detail here because for a proper understanding it is essential to visit an Amish settlement. They welcome visitors and tourism is a source of income for them, so please go and visit them. I can assure you that it will be interesting.

The Industrial Revolution changed the time of day from sunrise to sunset, to shift start and knock off in the factory. Your day could begin at 2.00 AM and end at 2.00 PM. And your night was from 2.00 PM onward or whatever the shift time was. At least one parent never saw their kids awake. This is also how the latchkey kid was born. A kid with the door-latch key on a tape round his neck, who lets himself into an empty house when he gets off the school bus. He/she takes food from the fridge and gives himself over to the TV or now, the mobile phone. It is estimated that in America schoolboys watch an average of four pornographic movies per week. With social media, smart phones, and the internet, I can believe that this is a global phenomenon. Let me leave you to figure out what that means in so many ways. As you can see, it was not only about the time of day but of all that came with it.

The second thing it took away was the primacy and value of parents as being their children’s teachers, guides, life skills coaches, and breadwinners. The primacy inspired respect and gratitude for parents. It ensured that values of family, community, culture, and religion were alive and continuously reinforced. Work was divided between men and women and boys and girls learnt different life skills from their mothers and aunts and fathers and uncles. This ensured that the bonds of family were strong and everyone, no matter how old or young had a place and value. Parents were valued as role models. Elderly grandparents were not shunted off to an old people’s home and left there to die alone. They had influence in all family decisions, were the repositories of family and community history, customs and traditions and were consulted for their wisdom. Serving them was considered an honor and children were eager to spend time with them and listen to stories which served the dual purpose of entertainment as well as being a powerful means of learning important lessons. To this day I recall with great happiness, my time with my grandparents, more than 55 years ago.

In the post-Industrial Revolution society, there was neither time nor place for the elderly and they became a burden, sent off to be cared for by paid employees. Values of family loyalty, cohesiveness, culture, manners, even family relationships and the privilege and responsibility that came with them, all went out the window. Even family face time became a scarce commodity because of the conflict of work and school times and demands of both places. Homes became de facto hotels where inmates came and went at will.

With the Industrial Revolution parents went to work. Children no longer knew what exactly their parents did, almost never entered the parent’s workplace, didn’t learn life skills, or culture, tradition, or religion, from parents. They were sent off to a school where one unrelated adult taught 30/40/50 children. He/she taught a set curriculum and inculcated in the children, his/her own values, which sometimes were totally alien to the child’s culture and tradition. For religious study they were sent off to an after school Maktab or Sunday School. Religion was no longer intrinsic to their lives but an extra chore, to be done when it couldn’t be sidestepped. The idea that religion was a guide for worldly life became alien and foreign.

Educators removed God from the equation by promoting atheism in the name of science and stigmatizing what they called ‘blind faith’. They didn’t acknowledge that true belief is based on knowledge and is not blind at all. The confusion of often contradictory philosophies supplanted the clarity of Revelation and shouted down those who preferred the Word of Allah to the ideas of men. Most general education became pedantic and theoretical unless one went to a trade school and children graduated with almost no skills, and as a result, deficient in self-confidence. In an agrarian society children learn to work with their hands and with animals and other people and learn social and technical skills which give them confidence. Teenagers are given serious responsibilities that impact their families and communities and earn respect. In the post-Industrial Revolution society, childhood merely gets delayed and ‘children’ in their twenties are dependent on their parents in multiple ways. With the advent of technology education, children were driven further and further away from God and traditional religion. The new religion is Modernism which seeks to teach its theories as dogma and fact. It is totally materialistic, hedonistic, and worships desire. To fulfill desire is the ultimate goal of life to which end all effort is directed.

The Industrial Revolution was far more than the invention of the assembly line. It profoundly changed our values, culture, and behavior. It changed how we saw ourselves, how we measured our effort, what we gave significance to, what we ignored, how we taught and learnt, how we assessed and valued one another and the basis on which we measured success and failure. The Industrial Revolution changed the very basis of self-esteem. Just ask the next young person you meet to name three role models and you will see how the bases of self esteem have changed

Today as I speak, we have entered another far more pervasive, persuasive, and even more transformational revolution, that of Artificial Intelligence in all its forms. We must remember that ever more subtly and for that reason powerfully, technology is not only about its mechanics but even more about the psychological, even ideological changes it creates. Atheism seems to move hand in hand with technological development. The reason is that it gives mankind the illusion of being all powerful and invincible. Of being immortal even in terms of the things we create, if not by ourselves. We are told that with stem cell technology and gene manipulation we can grow what we like in our bodies to cure disease and prolong life, maybe even indefinitely. Granted, much of this is still in the realm of science fiction, like airplanes once were. But like airplanes, very soon it will become mundane and normal before we know it.

Let me read the menu for you. How about memorizing the Qur’an and learning Arabic in 5 minutes, and that too if you have a bad internet connection? How about traveling to Russia – you are asking why you would do that – or China – same question – or name your country, which is rich in sights to see but where you don’t know the language? But here’s the twist – how would it be if you knew the language as soon as you land? To quote Prof. Michio Kaku, the author of Hyperspace, which you should read, “As soon as you blink, your contact lenses will connect you to the internet and if you are not feeling well, Robodoc will tell you what’s wrong, prescribe medicines which will be delivered to you. If you are in an accident in a foreign country, you will speak to Robolaw on your watch which knows all the laws of all countries and will advise you what to do.” He said much more but I will leave it to your imagination and assure you that what is ahead is more than what you can imagine. That is not difficult to understand because imagination is a function of experience. So, get prepared for a world which will turn our society on its head. Final point, I am not talking about the remote future. I am talking about things that already exist and others which will build on them. We already have Robodoc, Watson, GPS, Siri, self-driving cars and so on. Much more will happen and very fast.

So, what must we do?

We live in a world where we seem to be surrounded by bad news. That leads to us feeling stressed, depressed, threatened, and hopeless about the future. Many people seem to feel that we are living at the end of times, and in a world and society that is terrible to live in. If you feel this way, believe me, you are not alone. However, the problem with this feeling is that firstly it is not true. Secondly, if you feel this way, then it debilitates you and takes away your initiative to do anything. It drains your energy, sabotages your ambition, and increases your anxiety to potentially dangerous levels. What should we do? Be grateful. Gratitude is energizing, joyful, encouraging, and very powerful. Ingratitude is the opposite on all these counts. The question is, what should we be grateful for? Let me help you with facts.

When I was growing up from 1950’s to 1980’s, we didn’t have a refrigerator, gas, or electric stove. Food was cooked on firewood or coal in a smoky kitchen or outdoors. We routinely had no electricity for many hours a day and so no lights or fans. We had no central heating or air conditioning, and one car. Nobody had more because even one was a rarity. No TV. What was on your lap was not a computer. Phones were not smart, people were. We wrote letters by hand, licked the stamp, stuck it on the envelope, posted it and counted the days until the postman brought us a reply. We had malaria, cholera and typhoid, polio, and tuberculosis. Later we got chikungunya, and dengue. We always had the flu and when the doctors didn’t know what we had, they called it, ‘viral fever’. Today, malaria and poliomyelitis have been eradicated. The others remain. I can add to this list, but instead let us be grateful that we can talk about those days and smile.

Today with air-conditioning, antibiotics, painkillers, glasses and LASIX surgery for sight correction, cataract and bypass surgery, medical diagnostic equipment and advanced pathology, sneakers, thermal underwear, and jackets, eating out, non-seasonal fruits, treadmills, central heating, indoor flushing toilets, hot and cold water on tap, we, ordinary people, are better off and more comfortable than the wealthiest kings and queens of the past. Add to this that today our children routinely go to school, are literate and many go on to higher education. In Medieval Europe the majority of people couldn’t even write their names and that included most kings and queens. We live in countries where the only thing limiting your material growth, learning and career advancement is yourself. Anyone willing to make the effort can get to the top. See who are the people heading major corporations whose turnover is more than the GDP of many countries. Not a single one is a hereditary monarch or noble. There was a time, not too long ago where if you were not born into the right family, your fate was sealed. Today, your present situation doesn’t decide if you will succeed or fail. It only defines where you need to start. If you have ambition, determination, seek feedback, are willing to learn, sleep less and work hard, nothing but death can stop you.

Despite all this, we enjoyed life enormously and have wonderful memories, not because we had stuff, but because we had attitude. An attitude of gratitude. That was inculcated into us from the earliest and that is what is most necessary in the way we raise children today. Teach them to value people and use stuff. Not the other way around. Thankfulness is the open secret of happiness. So, while we look at all that is ‘wrong’ with society, let’s reflect on what is right. There is far more that’s right than what’s wrong.

Let me continue. Today our major preoccupation is Covid, right? Let us put that also in perspective. The Justinian Plague which started in 541 CE is estimated to have killed 50 million people—about half the world’s population at that time—as it spread across Asia, North Africa, Arabia, and Europe. While the exact origins of the plague remain unclear, it is estimated that up to 300,000 people died in Constantinople in the first year of the outbreak. There were approximately 5,000 deaths in the city every day at the height of the pandemic, even reaching highs of 10,000 on some days. The Justinian plague had a mortality rate of between 68-78%. Death would come between 2 – 5 days after infection. The plague resurfaced roughly every 10 years from 1348 to 1665—40 outbreaks in just over 300 years. Plague doesn’t exist today. Another major killer was Smallpox with a mortality rate of 30%. Those who survived lived with permanent scars on the face. DePaul Professor Thomas Mockaitis writes, “There hasn’t been a kill off in human history to match what happened in the Americas where 90 to 95 % of the indigenous population was wiped out over a century. Mexico went from 11 million people pre-conquest to one million.”

One of those alleged to have used Smallpox as a germ or biological warfare weapon against the Native Americans, right here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is Field Marshal Lord Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, who allegedly ordered that blankets infected with the discharge of Smallpox sores should be sold to Native Americans. This was done and the result in a population which had no resistance to the disease was predictable. It wiped them out. Smallpox was eradicated in 1981. Now, compare the fatality rate of the plague and Smallpox to Covid 19 which never exceeded 1.5% at its peak. What do you want to say about Covid now? The fact is that if we look at change over time, the world today is healthier, richer, and better educated than in the past.

This doesn’t mean that there are no problems. There are problems, many of them new ones. To solve them we must collaborate and work together across boundaries of culture, race, religion, and nationality. We must collaborate and share our blessings for the greater good of everyone. We like to talk about the ‘Global Village’, but don’t usually remember that one of the results of being a village is that what happens to one, will affect another. We are in this together, in the same boat, to sink or swim as we wish.

Remember that everything comes at a price. Be it automation, augmented reality, or Metaverse, it is creating a world that is increasingly further away from reality, human contact, and relationships. Social media is the tool to enhance the illusion of action, popularity, and influence and take away the real power from action, so that the manipulators can have a free hand once the forwarder and tweeter have forwarded and tweeted and gone back to sleep. The illusion of action takes away edge from the need to act and no result ensues. After all, which tweet put bread on the table or relieved anyone from oppression? People believe in conspiracy theories today, more than in scientific research and trust is the most devastating casualty. The result of spreading distrust is not that people distrust one source, they distrust everyone. That is what we are seeing today. Nobody is trusted. Neither government, nor clergy, nor scientists, nor academics. Not even parents and community elders. That makes people even more vulnerable to manipulation and is the reason why we see a new theory of world control every week, each more outlandish than its predecessor but hard facts about climate change and global warming are scoffed at and denied, even by our so-called global leaders.

With my friends, IIMA 1985 – Chaiwala outside the main gate at 2.00 AMWe are social beings with a strong affiliation drive and need company, affirmation, and friendship. No matter how convenient the gadget or technology, if there is no human contact, it leads to loneliness, depression, and increasingly serious mental illnesses. In addition, not having to deal with people daily will take away our skills to do so. This will have a seriously negative impact on team working, marriage, raising children, influencing, politics, and just plain human relations. We started seeing signs of this from the 80’s with computer programmers which gave a programmer the ability to write code and earn a very good living without meeting people face to face daily, like say for example, someone in a machine shop would be forced to do. The poorly developed social skills of the programmer didn’t matter, until he got promoted to lead a team, in which he failed miserably. Worse happened to him in his personal life, marriage, raising children and so on. Paradoxically someone from the hotel industry did very well as a team leader of a software development team, though he had only sketchy knowledge about software development and couldn’t write a single line of code. We are human and we need humans. That’s why John D. Rockefeller is reported to have said, “I will pay more for the ability to get along with people than I will pay for any other ability.” I want to say to you that AI will never replace the human except in a mechanical, transactional way, nor take away our psychological need for human contact.

Let me pause and remind you that I am not anti-AI. That would be like being anti-cholesterol. It is there. It is nice. It is what makes Biryani worth dying for. What we need to do is to learn how to deal with it so that we can mitigate and minimize its negative effects. AI is hugely beneficial as it will automate all kinds of routine work and enable massive intuitive data mining and manipulation. But it will also influence how we think and what we value in ourselves and others. And that will affect how we deal with one another. We can neither reject nor run away from AI. We don’t need to, and we mustn’t. We must however prepare for the changes it will create which will have little to do with the technology but everything to do with our humanness.

I remind myself and you that the world ahead is more and more complex and complicated, and our life experience is of little value to our children unless we can conceptualize it into lessons that they can apply. Many children have said to me, ‘Our parents tell us stories about how they had no electricity in their homes and studied under a streetlamp and many such things. What am I supposed to do with these stories? They don’t apply to me. But if I say that, it will hurt them.’ What’s the answer to that? I know the answer. But do you know it? There is an urgent need for parents to spend more time with children, to understand their world, to upgrade their own knowledge and understanding of the new world is critical if they want to retain connection with their children. Simply paying bills is not sufficient. Remember that once kids get disconnected from you, to get them back is progressively more difficult. If they don’t see you as role models, they will find others that you will not even know about, and those others will teach them things that would make your hair go white overnight if you knew what that was. Don’t let it come to that.

We are living in a revolution. What we choose to do or not to do will leave a legacy that will be uniquely ours. Let us choose for the future of generations, not our own present, so that it will be a legacy of honor.

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Last but not least, be kind. Especially to those who have no power to benefit you. They are the most important because the one who has nobody, has Allah and his voice reaches the Throne of Allah even if he doesn’t worship Him. Fear the dua (prayer) of the oppressed for there is no barrier between him and his Creator. Be kind in speech and action.

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Our challenge, as educators, parents, leaders, and concerned citizens is to make this happen not for one person but on a scale that will show a difference in a short time. The longer we take to create a core group of independent people who can think, solve problems, take risk, own responsibility, and stand up against tyranny, the more the opposite will get ingrained and entrenched and thereby become that much more difficult to uproot and eradicate. No matter how much we want to pretend to be individualistic and free, our major problem is conformity arising out of the fear of dissenting. We fear to stand out and seek safety in the herd, not realizing or perhaps more accurately, not caring to see that there is only one destination for the herd. Yes, there is danger in standing out. But without the standard bearer, nobody will rally to the battle standard. And the fight will be lost before it can begin.

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Active listening can and should be used in every significant communication, especially in potentially conflictful, stressful, controversial, adversarial, and sensitive situations. These may include but are not restricted to, management-union negotiations, conflict resolution, arbitration, reconciliation, communication between spouses, parents and children, manager-subordinate, especially while giving critical feedback, physician-patient, especially when giving news about critical, even terminal illness and many more.

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There were 693 mass shootings (where 4 or more people died) in the US in 2021. I checked and found that the days in 2021 were still 365. Do the math. I wonder if any of those holding the signs, also held the body of their little child, dead from a bullet in the heart shot by someone like themselves, who believed in the unfettered right to bear arms. What more can I say?

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Wars happen because wars make profit. What we see is the destruction of the lives of innocent people. What we don’t hear is the ringing of cash registers for the sale of weapons of mass destruction. Millions of lives are devastated so that the top 1% of 1% can get wealthier. Wars happen because we have created a system where we have made it acceptable to raise our families on earnings from building weapons which have only one utility – to destroy the lives and families of other people, just like ourselves.

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One who understands this does not lose hope or energy but smiles in anticipation of reaching the last stage when he knows that the pan will start to descend to the counter-top.

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We all start in the same place. We all start as idealists. I have yet to see a child who was not an idealist. We all want to make a difference to the world we live in, to do great things and to be remembered. We all want to be winners. But how many people achieve that? And why not?

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Whether you are a taxi driver or the Chairperson of a global corporation, the rule is the same – do what you are passionate about and do it to a level of excellence consistently. That is your brand, and your customers will take it to the world.

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Entrepreneurship is all about spirit. But first we must recognize our purpose and then we need to consciously accept it. That is the scary part. But that is the threshold that must be crossed to demonstrate that we are in and not out. Choices are not always easy. As a matter of fact, all the important ones are difficult. The most difficult thing is to choose between two apparently good alternatives. But the choice must be made. Everything else depends on that.

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Speak the truth in the CV because you'll have to live by it. Calling an ass ‘a transportation system’ is allowed, but you may be pushing it. Decide if you are a rabbit or a monkey. Don’t apply for a tree climbing job if you are a rabbit. No amount of positive thinking will get you up a tree if you are not capable of climbing.

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