University Madrasah Discussion on Science

December 23, 2015: CODE PAKISTAN held a discussion on “The Role of Science in Development and Prosperity of Nations” between the students of Abasyn University and various madrasahs of Islamabad. There was a consensus among the students of both the education institutions that science has played an important role in the development and prosperity of nations. Students of Abasyn University as well as madrasahs gave several examples about contributions of science in making lives easier for humans. Some madrasah students also highlighted the negative role played by science in developing modern weapon technologies with greater destructive capacities. Some of them were also of the view that modern scientific discoveries were actually rooted in the scholarship of Muslim scientists and that current generations of Muslims needed to be more aware of their historic contribution to develop and prosperity of human kind.

Aarish Khan, the Executive Director of CODE PAKISTAN, Moderated the discussion. He told the students that science was neither a religion nor an ideology. Terming it a process of inquiry and validation, he argued that science was value-neutral, and that good and bad uses of scientific discoveries were the domain of social sciences than natural sciences. In response to the views of some madrasahs about the contribution of Muslims to science, Aarish Khan asked them whether the time had come for Muslims to learn from West, the way the latter had learned from Islam at a time when Muslim scholarship was at its peak. He also urged the students to think about the importance of learning English language in the modern day and age. At the end of the discussion, all of the students agreed that Muslims needed to learn from the West in modern fields of knowledge. They further agreed that Muslims also needed to learn English for development and prosperity.

The Vice Chancellor of Abasyn University, Dr. Jamil Ahmad, also graciously participated in the discussion. He appreciated the University Madrasah Interaction Program of CODE PAKISTAN (see below) and highlighted the importance of greater communication and dialogue between the students of the diverse systems of education in the country. Team CODE PAKISTAN also thanked Dr. Ahmad for his personal support for the program and the participation of Abasyn University in it.

The discussion was the last of the series of ten discussions as part of the University Madrasah Interaction Program (UMIP), which aims to bring the students of madrasahs and universities closer to each other by promoting positive and meaningful interaction between them. A total of ten discussions will be held between the students of Abasyn University and madrasahs under UMIP. For more details on UMIP, please click here.