Do Muslims Need to Change their Outlook?

Do Muslims need to change their outlook considering the fact that they are in 2013? Let’s answer this question by highlighting some of the facts and figures which left Muslims so far Behind the West.

We are living in the age of science and technology. Unfortunately, Muslims lag behind education in the field of science and technology. According to Times of India Muslims lag behind with a literacy rate of 67.6% against the National rate of 74%. In the past, Muslims were the most advanced in many fields such as: mathematics, optics, geometry, astronomy, physics, natural sciences, medicine, engineering and many others. Today, the Muslim world is afflicted by astonishingly high levels of illiteracy. This is just because most of the educational institutes are not giving proper education while some of the institutes are trying to create negative thinking against the West among children. We must accept the reality that the West is far more developed in education and also the western education is better than our educational system in some aspects.

Another important factor on which Muslims need to change their view is the female education. Muslim women are restricted to seek education in many Islamic countries. About 36 Universities across Iran have banned women from 77 different majors, including counseling, engineering and accounting without any given official reason for the move. There is a famous saying; “Educate a man and you educate an individual, educate a woman and you Educate a family”. Unfortunately, many Muslim societies do not allow women to educate themselves. Religious scholars should educate the community specially about educating women and its importance. One cannot survive without education today whether he/she is a man or woman.

Child marriage in Muslim countries is a harmful practice. Early marriage in Muslim countries often results in early pregnancy and social isolation. In Egypt and Iraq, significant proportions of women were married before 18, and that was due to lack of education. It is a misconception that Islam has restricted Muslims to push their children into marriages at a young age. In this era, this is not possible for anyone to fulfill this great responsibility easily. Improving access to education for both boys and girls and eliminating gender gaps in education are important strategies for ending child marriage.

These factors are just not enough. There are many other factors in which Muslims need to change their point of view, but we have to take a start from education. We have to realize why our educational system is not producing greatest scientists like Ibn e Sina, Jabir IbnHayyan, Yaqub Ibn Ishaqulkandi, Abu al Nasr al Farabi etc. We need to change our outlook and avoid creating negativity among the Muslim society. It’s a high time for changing our thoughts and views about Islam as it does not restrict us from seeking modern education and neither does it support extremism.

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