The American plan for Pakistan’s youth
On 28 July 2002 in Islamabad, the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, specifically highlighted American support for “Pakistan’s efforts to reform its education system.” Indeed, the Americans are very much involved in Pakistan’s education policy. This year alone Pakistan’s Education Minister, Zubaida Jalal, has had meetings with numerous American officials, including the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, the US National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, and the now Ambassador to Pakistan, Nancy Powell. And the Americans have backed their words with a heavy financial commitment to Pakistan’s education. On 9 August, America’s US Agency for International Development (USAID) pledged $100 million to support reforms in Pakisan’s education sector over the next five years. The Americans have a clear agenda behind their involvement in Pakistan’s education, which has grave implications for the future of Pakistan: its youth.
America is concerned about Muslim opposition to American colonialism and America regards Pakistan’s youth as the key to dealing with this opposition. In fact, America is so concerned about Muslim resentment that not only are the US State Department and the US National Security Council involved in this matter but so is the US Defense Department. On 3 May the US Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz, said that “There is a dangerous gap between the West and the Muslim world. We must bridge this gap, and we must begin now-the gap is wide and there is no time for delay.” In particular, the Americans know that the Muslim youth must be targeted because they are the future of Islamic Ummah. In the words of American Senator, Edward Kennedy, “Today’s high school students are tomorrow’s leaders … We must do all we can to dispel the disturbing trend of anti-American rhetoric and beliefs by engaging Islamic peoples in the realms of values and ideas.” This is why the Americans and colonialist institutions have been actively involved in Pakistan’s education. On 8 May, the Co-Chair of the World Bank-UNESCO Task Force on Higher Education in Developing Countries, Professor Henry Rovosky, the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and the US National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, met Pakistan’s Education Minister, Zubaida Jalal, to review Pakistan’s education reforms. After the meeting, America revealed that it is backing education reforms to make Pakistan moderate. The State Department Spokesman, Richard Boucher, announced American support for “moving Pakistan toward a more modern and moderate course where education plays a very key role.”
The colonialists are changing Pakistan’s own education system so that the Pakistani youth conform to colonialist standards. The World Bank-UNESCO report “Higher Education in Developing Countries: Peril and Promise” announced a complete change in the personality of youth in developing countries. The report calls for “a general or liberal education” whose focus is “the whole development of an individual, apart from his occupational training. It includes the civilizing of his life purposes, the refining of his emotional reactions…” The colonialists openly admit that liberal education is based on Western values and norms. The report states that “this particular method of education has Western roots.” Furthermore, the colonialists realise that there will be resistancec to the colonialist system of education. The report states that liberal education “recalls colonial domination and education” but then dismisses this as “unfortunate.” And the colonialists have worked closely with Musharraf’s government to ensure that Pakistan implements general or liberal education. The World Bank financed Pakistan’s own Task Force on Higher Education and members of the World Bank-UNESCO Task Force were actively involved in the making of Pakistan’s policy on education. That is why Pakistan’s Task Force has also called for general (or liberal) education in its March 2001 document, which says “General education was recommended not only for secondary and higher secondary levels but also for Baccalaureate programmes…”
As well as imposing colonialist values through state education, the reforms encourage ownership of schools by foreign Churches whilst at the same time calling for restrictions on foreign funding of madrassas. The “Dawn” newspaper reported that on 25 July, the Governor of Punjab, Khalid Maqbool, announced that “the Supreme Court had ruled that the nationalized educational institutions should be returned to their original owners” and the “government had already received an application from the Presbytarian Church to return the Government Foreman Christian College and the Kinnaird College.” And in Sindh on 27 the “Dawn” reported that the government has received applications from Christian missionary institutions for the return of St. Joseph’s College for Women and the St. Patrick’s College. Again these plans are a direct result of the World Bank’s influence over Pakistan’s education. The World Bank calls for tighter control over madrassas, whilst at the same time calling for loosening the grip of the state on other schools: deregulation. The World Bank’s Report No. 23916-PAK calls for “mainstreaming the madrassas.” whereas the World Bank-UNESCO report criticizes state control over other schools and maintains that “De-regulation in many countries is loosening the state’s grip on the founding and operation of private institutions.”
So, the educational reforms in Pakistan are a colonialist attempt to indoctrinate the Muslim youth with Western culture and values. The colonialists are using education so as to end any resistance to their exploitation. In fact, cultural domination has always been a central pillar of colonialism. In 1835 in his minute on education, the British colonialist, Lord Macaulay, wrote that the colonialists wanted an education system which produced “a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinion in morals and in intellect.” And today, it is America that is working to ensure that the new generation of Muslims poses no resistance to her exploitation of Pakistan. As such the Americans have confirmed that colonialists are not satisfied only with exploiting the abundant resources of the Muslims and occupying the Islamic Lands. Rather the colonialists will not be satisfied until every thought, feeling and action of the Muslim is according to the Western culture. Allah (swt) has clearly warned the Muslims,
“And the Jews will not be pleased with you, nor the Christians until you follow their deen. Say: Surely Allah’s guidance, that is the (true) guidance. And if you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, you shall have no guardian from Allah, nor any helper.”[Al-Baqarah 120]
O Muslims of Pakistan!
Allah (swt) says,
“O you who believe! Protect yourselves and your families from the fire, whose fuel is people and stones.”[At-Tahrim 66:6 ]
The colonialists are spending their wealth and exerting all efforts to make sure that your future generations are completely subjugated to the colonialist will, values and agenda. And with each passing month, the colonialists are only tightening their hold over you and widening the scope of their domination. Do you still imagine that the colonialists will give you time and space to prepare your children so that they may one day escape exploitation? No! Indeed, whilst your own government ties your every affair to the colonialists you will never be left in peace to grow stronger.
Now is the time to re-establish the Khilafah which is the only system that will enable Muslims to become independent and strong. The Khilafah will ensure that the next generation will not be brought up in the false belief that the foreign Western personality, concepts and inclinations are worthy of awe and admiration. Rather than looking to the foreigner, the Muslims will again raise themselves up before all the peoples of the world as the best example. Allah (swt) says,
“You are the best Ummah raised up for humankind, you order what is Right (maroof) and forbid the Wrong (munkar) and believe in Allah”[Aali-Imran 110]
Hizb ut-Tahrir, Wilayah Pakistan
16 August 2002
What do you guys think of the above? Ypur views would be appreciated.
