Author: Abu Raef
Colonialism (23rd part)
Changing the Type of Education and Higher Education in Afghanistan
Another field that the colonialists tried hard to change and westernize and achieved success in this field was the subject of education and higher education in Afghanistan’s scientific institutions. They tried to marginalize the Islamic teaching style and replace it with western teaching models. Undoubtedly that the progress and development of a country and its system, as well as its destruction and degeneration, are hostage to the way of education in that country. In such a way that any country that is ahead of others in the field of education and higher education will also be ahead of others in the field of material civilization.
In the same way, when the education and higher education of nations is consistent with their ideas, thoughts, and culture, that nation will not have any problem in accepting and applying it and will not show any sensitivity when learning it. In this case, education and training will be promoted and developed quickly and to a large extent, taking into account the situations and conditions, and at every stage, it will improve the people of the country and strengthen the political governance.
But if the process of education does not reflect the religion, ethics, political and social culture of the society, but on the contrary, it is based on the religious, political, intellectual, and social principles and foundations of another nation, and the Muslim community is forced to accept it, the graduates of that institution and system have practically proven that they are not only indifferent to the religion and beliefs of their nation but also openly hostile to it and have also proven that they put the interests of the colonial countries over the interests of their country and people.
They prefer and admire the history of the West and forcibly enslave their people to colonial countries, so it will be natural for the guardians of the thought and culture of the Muslim nations to rise up against such foreign and imported institutions and systems and prevent their continued implementation.
Dr. Abdurrahman Habanka Al Maidani writes about the tools that the colonialists have created for fundamental change and transformation in the system and framework of education and higher education in Islamic countries: “The movement of depriving Muslim generations of practical sciences has been carried out in several ways and tools, which are:
1- Depriving Muslim children of practical sciences and engaging them in purely theoretical sciences far from the practical and comparative field so that their scientific ability and talent will be suppressed, and they will not be able to create inventions and innovations in various fields of new industries.
2- Preoccupying Muslim children with conflicting philosophies and immersing them in the battle with social principles in order to destroy their intellectual and physical ability.
3- Engaging Muslim children in a part of rejected and useless interpretations that they call “literature”, without having a strong and stable educational or moral fruit, or a thought that brings knowledge, or a personality that creates taste, or makes their conscience grow.
4- Inclusion of techniques such as dance, acting, music, photography, illustration, etc. in the list of sciences on which the progress of nations is bound, this is also for the purpose of using their knowledge and understanding in these fields, keeping them away from useful and effective sciences.
Due to these issues, a personality complex is created in the Muslim student, and along with that, they will remain profoundly ignorant of useful practical sciences that lead to the progress of backward nations.”
When we look at the way the colonialists worked in the educational system of Afghanistan, we find that they implemented all these things. Apart from these factors, they also implemented countless other things that had negative effects on the educational system, the thinking of students, and the future of Afghanistan.
