by an anchor on a prestigious private school of Lahore for attempting to teach comparative religion and over the teaching of biology.

In a frenzy of contrived rage, he claimed that the envisaged study of other faiths was a well-thought-through scheme to undermine Islam whereas the biology textbook, with its diagrams of the human reproductive system, would surely pervert young and impressionable minds. The diatribe was rounded off with the outright lie that the school no longer taught Islamiat. In a civilised country, the T channel and its anchor would have been dragged over the coals and sued for defamation. !ut here in "akistan things work differently. The "un#ab government impounded the books on comparative religion and its education minister announced with the self-assurance of a person mesmerised by the glitter of high office$ %&o one would be allowed to change the basic ideology of the education system of "akistan and stern action would be initiated against people behind such a conspiracy.' The minister could do with a crash course on the basic law of the land. (e claimed unabashedly$ %)rticle *+ of the constitution of "akistan is ,uite clear about the provision that no "akistani citizen should be taught a religion other than his own religion - Islam.' This is simply not true. The relevant clause is )rticle ** ./0, which is discussed later. The response of the school administration to the misguided messianic zeal of the T anchor and the "un#ab government was$ %1ur institution believes in inculcating values such as tolerance and empathy in all our students. 23omparative religion4 is essentially a 2history of religion.4 It is not comparing religions5 we aim to educate about Islam, 3hristianity...6oing so, we believe, will enlighten our students about the importance of peaceful coexistence.' This is in accord with the fre,uent references in the 7uran to the histories of several (ebraic and pre-(ebraic prophets mentioned in the !ible. ) textual study of the 7uran shows that it constantly urges believers to learn from history and, in particular, from the experiences of the earlier prophets. !ut the (oly !ook does not go into details about the lives of these men of 8od. &arrative is not its purpose, and, in the words of a respected scholar, whenever it %refers to past events - whether recorded in the !ible or alive in )rabian tradition - it does so exclusively with a view to bringing out elements that are relevant to the ethical teachings it propounds.' )s a conse,uence, many of the most outstanding 7uran commentators, both classical as well as modern, have relied on !iblical accounts and Talmudic texts for the elaboration of some of the 7uranic passages, particularly those pertaining to the earlier prophets. 9or instance the 7uran says the coming of "rophet :uhammad .pbuh0 was foretold in the earlier scriptures and this is confirmed in the !iblical passage$ %The Lord thy 8od will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me5 unto him ye shall hearken' .6euteronomy xviii, /+0, and, by the 3reator (imself, %I will raise them up a prophet from among thy brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his

mouth' .6euteronomy xviii, /;0. )ll Islamic scholars are convinced that the 2brethren4 of the children of Israel .<acob0 were the )rabs, and particularly the 2mustaribah4 or )rabianised group among them which traces its descent to Ishmael and )braham. It is to this group that the tribe of the last of the prophets, the 7uraysh, belonged and all commentators concur that the !iblical passage foretells his advent. )nother example is that the 7uran affirms that some of the earlier prophets were slain but does not name them .*$=/, ;>, ?/5 @$ //*, /;/, /;@5 A$/++0. This problem is again partially addressed by the !ible. The story of the beheading of <ohn the !aptist is given in the &ew Testament, and, in more general terms, by <esus$ %1 <erusalem, <erusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent to thee' .:atthew xxviii, @>0. The murder of Bachariah is referred to in :atthew xxviii, @A-@+ and Luke xi, +/, whereas, the slaying of prophets is mentioned in I Thessalonians ii, /+. !eyond the earlier scriptures, the scholars of Islam have even delved into the findings of historians, and a case in point is the account of the "rophet Calih, the second )rabian prophet after (ud, who belonged to the &abataen tribe of Thamud. 9rom theDncyclopaedia of Islam I , >@=, for instance, one learns that the >/+ !3 inscription of Cargon speaks about the Thamud as a tribe of eastern and central )rabia who were overwhelmed by the )ssyrians. The tribe is also mentioned as Thamudaei and Thamudenes in the works of the stoic philosopher )risto .*+E !30, the Foman philosopher "liny .)6 *@->?0 and the 8reco-Foman writer "tolemy .)6 ?E-/=;0. Islam has never claimed to be a new religion. 1ne of the functions of the 7uran is to confirm the truth of %whatever still remains' of the earlier scriptures and to correct the distortions that had come into their texts. It accepts all the prophets of previous ages and says clearly$ %)nd, indeed, .1 :uhammad,0 Ge have sent forth apostles before thy time5 some of them we have mentioned to thee, and some we have not mentioned to thee...' .AE$>;5 A$/=A0. 9urthermore, :uslims are told$ %!ut as for those who believe in 8od and (is apostles and make no distinction between any of them - unto them, in time, will (e grant their rewards .in full0...' .A$/+*5 *$*;+0. Gith this emphasis on the acceptance of all the prophets ever sent to mankind, and not merely the *+ named in the 7uran, it becomes obvious that a study of other faiths does not undermine but reinforces and explains the fundamental teachings of Islam. The controversy sparked by the overzealous television anchor brings the rot that is progressively contaminating "akistani society into the open. This is again evident from the "un#ab government4s decision to also confiscate the biology textbook because it contained material that %could provoke sexual desire.' Githout batting an eyelid the provincial education minister announced$ %Ge will not allow anyone to teach our children with material which is against our social values and

religious beliefs.' These undefined 2religious beliefs4 are completely at variance with what a respected modern scholar describes as %the many references in the 7uran to the positive, 8odordained nature of sexuality.' The outrageous reaction to the biology textbook is summed up in the words of 1scar Gilde$ %Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. 9or these there is hope.' The allegation that the school no longer teaches Islamiat is downright dishonest. )ccording to a Lahore-based educationist %Islamic and "akistan studies are mandatory courses for a local and overseas examination' and, as such, cannot be dropped. !ut there is a problem insofar as non-:uslim children are obliged to learn Islamic principles in public schools. The textbooks currently being used in all the four provinces violate )rticle **./0 of the constitution which clearly states$ %&o person attending any educational institution shall be re,uired to receive religious instruction, or take part in any religious ceremony, or attend religious worship, if such instruction, ceremony or worship relates to a religion other than his own.' In the central Indian state of :adhya "radesh, the ruling (indu right-wing !haratiya <anata "arty was recently constrained, because of stern criticism by :uslim organisations, to rescind its order aimed at introducing texts from the !hagavad 8ita into school curriculums. !ut here non-:uslim children are forced to learn about Islamic tenets even in sub#ects as diverse as general knowledge, Hrdu, social studies and Dnglish despite the provisions of the constitution. 9or them there is no hope so long as public opinion is swayed by the electronic media, which is obsessed with ratings. The immediate casualty is investigative reporting, #ournalistic integrity and professionalism. The writer is the publisher of 3riterion 7uarterly. Dmail$ iftimurshedIgmail.com