Bertemu Tariq Ramadan

Baru berkesempatan membuat review wacana Prof Tariq Ramadan baru-baru ini. Sebelum ini saya belum pernah mendengar dan melihat secara 'live' ucapan beliau. Hanya pernah membaca buku nya yang bertajuk The Western and The Future of Islam In The West' . Huraian tentang Towards Reform of Islamic Education in the West' memuatkan kupasan menarik beliau. Huraian tentang 'Education of Heart dan 'Education of Mind' cukup menarik minat saya.

Cukup teruja mendengar ucapan menghurai sekitar nilai kebebasan dalam kerangka Islam. Tambahan pula cucu Hassan al-Banna ini merupakan seorang tokoh baru dunia Islam dan intelektual Islam yang giat membuka ruang interaksi antara Islam dan Barat.

Pertama kali juga saya teruja tatkala sampai ke ISTAC (International Institute of Islamic Thought). Bangunan ala-ala Andalusia, Granada mengingatkan saya seakan-akan berada di zaman emas Islam Andalusia. Rekaan bangunan dihiasi lukisan-lukisan menarik era kegemilangan Sultan Muhammad al-Fateh sungguh menghidupkan suasana.


Memabaca dan melihat gambar ISTAC sebelum ini sungguh tidak jauh dari realiti. Prof Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas memang benar seorang tokoh Falsafah Islam yang hebat merangka sebuah bangunan yang cukup indah.

Tajuk wacana di ISTAC pada malam itu bertajuk Is Liberty An Islamic Value ? Persoalan yang timbul ialah bagaimana kita berinteraksi dengan kebebasan? Boleh dikatakan ramai yang hadir terdiri dari pelajar ISTAC ( pelajar M.A dan PHD ), Profesor, ahli akademik, golongan 'middle-upper class' yang agak moden dan golongan mahasiswa seperti saya.

Muqaddimah wacana Prof Tariq meningatkan para pendengar agar tidak menepuk tangan atau ber 'takbir' apabila beliau memberi ucapan. Inginkan suasana yang tenang. Kata beliau 'Takbir' is beyond of what you say in louder. Takbir sepatutnya lahir dari perasaan yang meresap dihati. Tidak perlu melaungkannya. Kritikan pertama beliau. Kritikan kedua 'dont only to repeat what the Quran, Hadith, ulama say, but to think". Jangan hanya pandai 'quote' ayat-ayat al-Quran dan Hadith atau kata ulama tanpa memahami maksud , tanpa berfikir dan mengkaji.


Kebebasan Intipati Kehidupan

Kemudian sekitar ucapan beliau yang sepat diambil ialah nilai kebebasan dalam Islam sudah lama dihuraikan. Kalimah "Laa Ilaha Illalah is to liberate yourself from any evil". Kebebasan merupakan intipati kehidupan manusia Islam, 'freedom of being is the essence'. Tidak berlawanan dengan fitrah. Semua inginkan kebebasan. Tetapi setiap dari manusia perlu bertanggungjawab terhadap kebebasan yang diterima dari Tuhan. "If you are free you will have responsibity'. Bertanggungjawab untuk diri , sesama manusia (termasuk non-muslim) , agama dan Tuhannya.

Mengingatkan saya tentang apa yang disebut oleh Syeikh Yusof al-Qardawi. Kebebasan boleh diibaratkan seperti pisau. Boleh digunakan untuk keburukan dan kebaikan.
Kebebasan Sebenar Melepaskan Diri Dari Ego

" True liberty is freedom yourself from ego, liberate yourself from ego, evil and etc". Kebebasan yang sebenar ialah membebaskan diri kita dari perasaan ego, kejahatan, dosa, maksiat dan perbuatan buruk lain. Kerana semua manusia secara fitrah tidak suka kepada keburukan dan sukakan kebaikan.



Kebebasan dalam Kerangka Maqasid Syariah

Walau pun kebebasan merupakan 'natural needs'. Tetapi keperluan azali manusia perlu dipandu dengan objektif. Maqasid Syariah ( objektif pengaplikasian syariah) memandu kebebasan manusia. Kebebasan perlu dilihat dari kaca mata berasaskan maqasid. Termasuk darinya ialah perkara Darurah seperti agama , nyawa, maruah, keturunan, aqal. Katanya kebebasan tidak bermaksud semua manusia boleh melakukan sesuka hati sehingga menggadaikan maruah. Kebebasan dipandu maqasid 'protect the dignity'. Menyelamatkan maruah manusia. "The diginity is to try protect your best, good with what you know".

"Put rules (obejctives) to protect the freedom".

Akhir

Saat akhir sesi pertanyaan timbul satu suasana intelektual yang cukup teruja. Begitu ramai berrtanya dan berhujjah. Sehingga wujud satu provokasi dari seorang pemuda yang mengkritik Prof Tariq Ramadhan mengatakan apa yang dikatakannya tentang kebebasan tidak ada dalam dalil dan jauh menyimpang dari pemikiran datuknya Hassan al-Banna. Agak tegang tetapi beliau penuh profesional menjawab.

Tamat pengalaman menghadiri wacana yang penuh ibrah dan meluaskan pandang alam kehidupan.

Deschooling Society

By : Dzulkifli Abdul Razak

THE issue of the possible abolishment of examinations will be the subject of round-table talks soon. This is indeed refreshing as the debate is long overdue. But we must first examine the context of the discussion.

Almost 40 years ago, Ivan Illich broached the subject in Deschooling Society (1971) where he made a profound observation about what modern-day "school" and "education" is all about.

He wrote: "The pupil thereby 'schooled' to confuse teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability to say something new." This is no different when "medical treatment is mistaken for healthcare, social work for the improvement of community life, police protection for safety, military poise for national security, the rat race for productive work".

Given this as the context, it would seem that we may be barking up the wrong tree thinking that examinations are the root of the problem of present-day school and education.

We tend to forget that examinations are just one part of an elaborate system called school and/or education, and tests are in reality about gauging the impact of the system on learning.

If the system is inherently "bad", it can never be good enough, no matter how good the measure.

We are missing the woods for the trees! To further illustrate this, Illich said: "Health, learning, dignity, independence and creative endeavour are defined as little more than the performance of the institutions which claim to serve these ends, and their improvement is made to depend on allocating more resources to the management of hospitals, schools and other agencies in question."

Deschooling Society calls for a much deeper discussion on what scholarship is all about, which is particularly relevant in this increasingly dehumanising and unsustainable society that schools (including universities) are perpetuating since the emergence of the industrial revolution.

There is one historical context that is missing in today's discussion, namely the purpose of modern-day school and education.The current schooling system has evolved over time to meet the needs of the industrial age as it moved away from the agricultural age.

Industrialisation was "perfected" in the 19th century to resemble a factory assembly line -- some even sponsored by the powerful and famous of the time to support production.

It is therefore no coincidence that schools including tertiary institutions are organised like factories. The "factory" metaphor is more pervasive today when the marketplace has practically taken over the raison d'être of modern-day education.

We still hear, for example industrial demand for a tailor-made graduate who is regarded as nothing more than the "product" of the education system. In moulding this product, examination is a mere process of "quality control" that segregates the ones who meet the "benchmark" set by the marketplace from those who do not.

We talk in the language of the industry of creating "human capital" -- when education is all about nurturing a "human being".

It emphasises "employability" rather than "liveability", where "earning" becomes more important the "learning". Courses that are deemed to be marketable are given priority over the non-marketable.

As a result, two (of four) pillars of learning -- "learning to be" and "learning to live together" -- as advocated by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation are neglected. Our biggest concern should be the direction that "education" is heading in the post-industrial age when "new" physical and mental structures are fast emerging to replace the old ones across the board -- socially, economically and politically.

Is it sufficient to have a New Economic Model (NEM) when education is lagging behind and based on an old, outdated and dysfunctional model? Can the transformational demands of the NEM be met with an education system that is no longer compatible? Can "inclusiveness" be effectively achieved when we fail to create a unified, if not, a singular educational system? These are but some of pertinent questions that go far beyond the issues related to examinations alone.

They strike deep at the heart of the purpose of education in the coming era. What is more pressing is transforming the current system much like the change from agricultural to the industrial age some 150 years ago.

And this is what the present discussion should be focused on. We may well decide to do away with a few examinations but we need a transformational change in line with the needs of an advanced nation.

---

*The writer is vice chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia. Taking from NST Perspective:Deschooling Society