Scholars tackle critics of western education

Those who described Western education as forbidden in Islam are ignorant of the religion, a renowned Muslim cleric in Sokoto, Sheikh Muhammad Bakira, Gulma, has said.

Speaking at a forum on Girls-Child/Almajiri education organized by the Voice of America (VOA) in Sokoto State, Sheikh Gulma said: “There is no source in Islam which prevents women or girl-child education.
Gulma, who is Chairman of the Jama’atu Izalatul Bid’a Wa’ikamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) Wamakko Local Government chapter, said, “It is high time we educated our women both in Islamic and Western education. Education has to do with life in its entire ramifications.”
He pointed out that Western innovations in mathematics, science, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, among others, originated from Muslim scientists several centuries ago, lamenting that Muslims have abandoned the pursuit of education and research.
Corroborating with Gulma, Dr. Rabi Mohammad Wadata of the Department of Education, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, has asserted that challenges facing girl-child education were customary, not religious in origin.
Dr. Rabi underscored the importance of girl-child education, saying: “The mother is the first contact of the child, so if the first contact is weak, the child would be the same.”
She said that marriage was not a barrier to acquiring western education, urging parents to show more commitment to the education of the girl-child.
“It is necessary to get the understanding of husbands, families and communities to improve the plight of women folk,” she said.
Facilitator of the VOA programme, Malam Sahabo Imam Aliyu of VOA Washington DC, said all hands needed to be on deck to help female children acquire Western education.
Meanwhile, Aliyu who was also a leading facilitator at the USAID/VOA organized workshop on education for journalists held in Sokoto, said the purpose of the programme was to create more awareness about the importance of education in view of the fact that the northern part of the country was lagging behind.
He said: “So we thought the best way to do this is to come and liaise with those people who would get the message out to the people, that is important, and the only way we can overcome some of the problems that bedevil the society today is through education and there is no way to do it except the megaphone of the society which is the media.”

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