Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Acting Ameer and former member of parliament Professor Mujibur Rahman has issued the following statement on 21st January 2023 protesting and condemning the conspiracy of destroying the education system and also for incorporating a syllabus that goes against the Islamic morals and values.
Defying the choice and preference of the 90 percent Muslim people of the country, the government is plotting a conspiracy to impose an atheism-oriented educational system. They did not pay heed to the views of the academicians, intellectuals, and religious scholars. Changes have been brought in textbooks to take the next generation away from religious values. If indecent and immoral items remain in the textbook, vulgarism and indecency can be spread massively.
In the ‘science exercise book’ of class six, there is a vivid and clear description in the chapter named ‘Human Body’ which is full of vulgar and indecent words which may misguide the students. The guardian and the intellectuals opine that such a clear and open discussion on this issue was not required. In the ‘Social Science’ Book of the same class, a discussion was made on self-identity but very cleverly the discussion avoided the claim of Muslim identity. Page 98 of this book terms Ikhtiar Uddin Bin Bakhtiar Khilji as an invader. The same books also discussed about the theory of Darwins which is also an anti-Islam theory. Besides, the ‘Social Science book of class Seven termed Burkah and hijab in a demeaning way.
Besides, the books of class six and class seven have presented some confusing information about Islam. It compared the 600 Muslim rule of Bengal with the colonial rule of the British empire followed by the Pakistani regime. In the history books, it mentioned various social movements of the past but categorically avoided Islamic movements like the movement of Titumir, the Farayeji movement, and the revolution of 1857. Pictures of various animals are presented in these books. It vastly dealt with the Hindu religious items but defined the elements related to Islamic culture and values.
The Country’s distinguished sectors and Islamic scholars think that if this educational system sustains, it would spread indecency and vulgarism widely. It will cause social turmoil. A generation will be built based on atheism which will not bring positive outcomes for anybody. So, irrespective of political identities and views, everybody should raise their voice against this controversial educational system.
I am urging the concerned authorities to respect the views and religious sentiment of the 90 percent of Muslims in the country and also to withdraw all anti-Islamic items from the textbooks. I am also calling them to launch modified textbooks based on Islamic values.