{"id":130657,"date":"2019-07-10T12:17:35","date_gmt":"2019-07-10T12:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=130657"},"modified":"2019-07-10T16:02:02","modified_gmt":"2019-07-10T16:02:02","slug":"publish-and-cherish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=130657","title":{"rendered":"Publish and Cherish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Spahic Omer<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the academic world, or academia, one\nfrequently hears dispiriting comments to the effect that since not many people\nread academic research papers, articles and books, most of them should not be\nembarked on and produced in the first place. It is a waste of time, energy and\nresources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a remedy, some suggest that standards be\nlowered somewhat, and others that teaching and, possibly, community service\nonly be made universities raison detre<\/em>. Research and publication\nshould be optional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this is a clich\u00c3\u00a9. Needless to say\nthat many academics use that as an excuse to paper over their serious academic\nshortcomings and underperformance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Universities as educational and research\ninstitutions of the highest level are places where knowledge is as much used\nand consumed, as discovered and produced. It is principally there that the\nboundaries of knowledge and innovation are expanded, and that new horizons are\nopened up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is right there, additionally, that\ncuriosity and abstract intellectualism should be cultivated, sometimes for\ntheir own sakes, irrespective of how they may be perceived by others, including\nstudents and prospective employers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While most educational systems and\ninstitutions turn towards real-world problems and practical vocations, ample\navenues should also be provided for atypical inquisitiveness and\nphilosophising. Indeed, intellectual eccentricity is an important path to new\nknowledge horizons. So much so that Bret Stephens, a columnist in the New York\nTimes, believes that ostensibly useless and impractical knowledge begets new\nhorizons. He based his arguments on an article titled \u0153the Usefulness of\nUseless Knowledge\u009d written in 1939 by an American educational reformer, Abraham\nFlexner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When intellectual and educational\ningenuity, farsightedness and curiosity, coupled with diligence and\nproficiency, become hindered or manipulated, that spells the beginning of the\nend for all academic sophistication and excellence. It further spells the\nbeginning of the end for the integrity of entire educational systems and their\nacademic cultures. Whole societies, as a consequence, will suffer immensely, in\nthat education is the quintessence of their overall wellbeing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is owing to this that no sooner does creativity stop than civilisations start declining. If they and their people do not reinvent themselves quickly, they soon become a spent force and hence, doomed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The significance of academics duties <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is unconceivable that a university\nprofessor, in whose long academic journey an incredible amount of time and\nmoney has been invested, ends up using and consuming other peoples knowledge\nonly, without generating some of it himself (todays educational degrees,\ntogether with substantial research projects, are so expensive that most people\nare able to complete them only because of certain generous scholarship and\nfunding opportunities).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A university professors status and career are something special \u201c not in terms of self-aggrandisement, but in terms of serving others and so, giving back to society. Therefore, something commensurately special is to be expected from him as well, in terms of his intellectual concerns and output. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

University professors must not behave as\nthough they are somewhat advanced secondary school educators. In an ideal\nworld, they stand at the forefront of countries human and social development\nand economic progress. By the same token, when things go bad and trying times\narrive, they are in the firing line, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being an unproductive university professor,\nor not doing what is expected from him, amounts to a crime against the nobility\nof knowledge and education. Whereas being scarcely read is not as bad as some\npeople would like to project it. When all is said and done, a university\nprofessors main task is knowledge discovery, creation and dissemination,\nnotwithstanding the reaction of the outside world. He is supposed to try to\nconvince and influence the outside world, not the other way round. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The notion of not being widely read might\nbe offset by the profundity of limited impact academic works often generate.\nMany such works are original, innovative and even pioneering. Therefore, they\ntend to deeply influence minds and sometimes even souls. Some works yet change\na persons life orientation and purpose. Reading them becomes a life-changing\nand career-defining experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genuine academic works are never read offhandedly and nonchalantly, like general news, comments, political events and scandalised stories, celebrity gossip, fairy-tale books and love novels. Many academic works are exceptional. They are thus not found everywhere and in everyones hands. They are measured in terms of that unique class, not in terms of statistics. Their benchmarks are truth, honesty and purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Academic works are not junk either. Their worth, more often than not, lasts and keeps getting better with time. They are inexhaustible treasures. That likewise should counterbalance the idea of them being scarcely read at one time. Some works become popular and accepted after years of lying dormant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If academic articles and books do not\nattract a wider readership, such is by no means the fault of their authors.\nThey have done their part. The onus is on students, professionals and general\npublic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Academics obsession, however, should never\nbe financial gains. As a sage once said: \u0153Whoever wants to be rich should not\napproach the province of academia (education).\u009d Materialism and academia are\nnot compatible. One inevitably corrupts the other. Unfortunately, in most\ncases, it is materialism that contaminates and ruins academia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An academic output may not be widely read\nbecause of the absence of a strong reading and erudition culture, because of\nthe narrow scope of its readership, or because the time of its full relevance\nand applicability is yet to come – none of which, though, is academics fault.\nNone of the reasons given should make academics downhearted either. Fulfilling\ntheir noble tasks to the best of their abilities, and doing so on account of\nthe supreme principles of goodness, honesty and integrity as categorical\nimperatives \u201c to borrow Immanuel Kants term – should be rewarding enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rewards for academic work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there should be nothing more alluring\nand flattering for Muslim academics than seeing the academic world and\neverything it entails as an opportunity to be engaged in the best and most\nremunerating domain in Islam, which is the domain of production (research and\ninnovation), acquisition, dissemination and application of knowledge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certainly, that is one of the prime battlefields wherein Muslim academics can be involved as soldiers of truth, given that Islamic epistemology and education denote the most sought-after targets by the adversaries of heavenly truth and virtue. Every authentically written article, conference paper and book represents an addition to the defensive armoury of transcendent righteousness and morality and their ways. It is vital that one knows on whose side exactly he is, and that he stands up and be counted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doing so qualifies academics to become\nimmediate servants and defenders of the Islamic faith and Prophet Muhammad\n(peace and blessings be upon him). Some will yet secure the accolade of being\nheirs of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and prophets in general.\nHence, what could stand as a better reward and incentive for doing the\nstipulated job devotedly than this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By increasing and diversifying the academic\noutput, Muslim academics can help governments and other Muslim institutions to\ngradually pin down the realm of Western knowledge and values as a dominant\nmeans that pollute and corrupt the Muslim mind. Muslim youth and their fragile\nminds and souls should be aimed to be rescued first and foremost, as they are\nmost vulnerable. And what could be today a better form of jihad<\/em> (a meritorious struggle or effort to\nmake the Word of Allah supreme) than this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Muslim academics do not perform their\nexpected intellectual and social duties, their indirect contributions to the proliferation,\nas well as perpetuation, of Muslim predicaments will be definite. Due to their\ninactivity and indolence, finding feasible Islamic alternatives to the rampant\nwestern cultural and epistemological paradigms, will be rendered all the more\ndifficult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, without appropriate Islamic\nreferences and all-purpose materials in various fields of knowledge, students,\nprofessionals and public at large will be obliged to have recourse to the\nwestern counterparts which, more often than not, advocate dubious moral\nstandards and spiritual values. That will create a vicious circle whereby, as\nregards the prospect of solving the Muslim problems, the situation will be that\nof one step forward and two steps back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It just goes to show that Muslim universities and other Muslim institutions of higher learning are most vital for the future of Muslims and their societies and civilisation. It is therefore high time that their roles in human and socio-economic development be significantly widened and enhanced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current prevalent tendencies according\nto which certain superficial political and corporate factors, as well as\nshallow agendas, dictate the dynamics of Muslim higher education, ought to stop\nonce and for all. It is rather the latter and its institutions that should\ninfluence and guide society, including the political and corporate spheres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, education should be academics\nlife mission, rather than a mere profession or career. Academics have a duty to\naim to produce not only right professionals, but also good, righteous and well-rounded\nmen and women ready to face life with all its challenges. Under no\ncircumstances should academics compromise their values and standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Quran says: \u0153And say (O Muhammad): \u02dcWork (righteousness), soon will Allah see\n(and appreciate) your work, and His Messenger, and the believers\u009d (al-Tawbah,\n105).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0153And be steadfast in patience; for verily Allah does not allow to be lost the reward of those who do good\u009d (Hud, 115). ***<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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