I don't know whether islamics are trying to imitate Jesuit Clooney (combined with Zakir Naik declaring the Vedas are talking about allah),
or whether these guys are really aiming for nothing more than mere communal harmony albeit in a misguided manner. <- 2nd is unlikely.
I quite suspect it's (1) since It's Islam plus remember the 1st commandment that applies to muslims. I doubt they could be playing this game to dilute their own religion.
Also, the final para indicates intent: they're hoping to get *Hindu* students, no doubt to lead the Hindus from a] "comparing/finding similarities btw Hindus' religion and islam" to b] "see, you want to convert to islam, since it is obviously the culmination of Hinduism, as seen in our monotheistic explanations of the Gita and Vedam".
But the red bit may be the funniest thing seen all year. Please do Not read it while eating. There's the very real hazard you may choke on account of being seized by a fit of hysteria.
dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/india-abroad/22048-quran-with-bhagavad-gita-in-a-communal-harmony-class.html
And the fact that this is Varanasi explains the method adopted for the region and the target population, as well as the choice of literature (it's the Vedas even, right). I think islam may at last be trying christian methodology.
Hindus don't *want* inter-religious comparisons. They want to be Left Alone. I know it's hard for christoislamis to comprehend, but Hindus don't *want* missionising. Neither the conversion-by-sword method nor the carrot technique of inculturation/gradually declaring that christoislam is what the Vedas/Gita are "actually" about. So if these muslims were serious about harmony, they'd dump islam and return to their ancestral Hindu religion. There are no similarities between the two. There's only the deception of it (even if this were - at best - no more than self-deception in this case).
Like Julian said: christians should not be allowed to teach the Hellenistic literature.
Same applies here: christoislamics cannot be allowed to teach Hindu literature. They do not know it and are likely to subvert it (probably by intent). Until they properly revert, they could at best only read it the way aliens do: i.e. without any point to the exercise, or any success.
or whether these guys are really aiming for nothing more than mere communal harmony albeit in a misguided manner. <- 2nd is unlikely.
I quite suspect it's (1) since It's Islam plus remember the 1st commandment that applies to muslims. I doubt they could be playing this game to dilute their own religion.
Also, the final para indicates intent: they're hoping to get *Hindu* students, no doubt to lead the Hindus from a] "comparing/finding similarities btw Hindus' religion and islam" to b] "see, you want to convert to islam, since it is obviously the culmination of Hinduism, as seen in our monotheistic explanations of the Gita and Vedam".
But the red bit may be the funniest thing seen all year. Please do Not read it while eating. There's the very real hazard you may choke on account of being seized by a fit of hysteria.
dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/india-abroad/22048-quran-with-bhagavad-gita-in-a-communal-harmony-class.html
Quote:Quran with Bhagavad Gita in a communal harmony class .Last statements explains the intent alright. If the syllabus was only for the muslim students at the school, I'd have thought these people were sincere. But it's clearly aimed at roping in the Hindus of the place.
Monday, 21 November 2011 13:17 IANS | [color="#0000FF"]Varanasi[/color]
Holding the Quran in one hand and the Bhagavad Gita in the other, Mukhtar Ahmad conducts "a class of communal harmony" at a madrassa in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi district to enable students to draw similarities between Islam and Hinduism.
Welcome to Bahrul-Uloom madrassa (Islamic seminary) in Chittanpura town where like Ahmad several other Muslim teachers are involved in imparting lessons of brotherhood and unity to inculcate "moral values" in their students.
"Our main objective behind teaching Hindu scriptures along with the Quran is to undertake a comparative study of the holy books of the two religions to enable our students to draw similarity between Islam and Hinduism," Ahmad, a teacher at the Islamic seminary, told IANS.
"By drawing similarity between the two religions, students will be able to correlate the teachings of Quran with those of the Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu ancient text, which in turn would enable them to respect the two religions in the same manner," he added.
The Hindu scriptures were introduced one year ago in the syllabi of the Behroom-Uloom madrassa with an aim to spread communal harmony and brotherhood. The private Islamic seminary was set up in 1964.
"The management always asked the teachers to come up with ideas and suggestions for making students good in academics, improving their performance and inculcating moral values," 58-year-old Ahmad said.
"In our discussions, we unanimously agreed that apart from grooming students and preparing them for future challenges, our other main objective was to churn out good human beings from the seminary," he said.
"A few seminary teachers proposed to introduce the comparative study of the Bhagavad Gita with the Quran that was already being taught to students. The sole objective was to make students imbibe the teachings of the religious books," he added.
Today, not only the Bhagavad Gita, [color="#FF0000"]the four Vedas -- Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva[/color] -- are taught to the students along with subjects like Hindi, English and Computer Science.
[color="#800080"](Wait wait wait. An islamic school, "teaching" the Vedas? How? Using the colonial translations? One can "learn" that in alien schools, or by reading alien books by oneself. But that's not the Vedam.
Any looney Hindu parents who send their kids to this school on account of such a "syllabus", Deserve It.)[/color]
[color="blue]The teachers first read the scriptures themselves for four-five months and then impart the knowledge to the students.[/color]
[color="#800080"](Great! That means I too can teach the Vedam next - yeah right - if I just read it for 4-5 months as well. Hey, and to think I can have the title of a Chaturvedi too! Just by reading/studying. It's soooo easy, who knew?
Actually since even that's too much for me, I think I'll just take the shortcut of reading the blurb on the backcovers of each. There ARE blurbs on the backcovers for the R, Y, S and A vedas, right???)[/color]
Seminary officials said the Hindu scriptures were initially introduced in the classes equivalent to 10-12 standards. But now they also form the course content of lower classes.
There are over 2,500 students -- both boys and girls -- enrolled in different classes of the madrassa.
"While we admit boys only till Class 8, we have the provision for enrolling the girls till Class 12," said Hadis Alam, another teacher at the madrassa.
[color="#800080"](Interesting that they want to keep girls longer...? Especially when read along with[/color]
[color="#0000FF"]As there is no Hindu student at the madrassa, the Islamic seminary officials believe they would soon get their first batch of Hindu students with the introduction of Hindu scriptures in the syllabi.
Ahmad said the location of the madrassa in a Muslim-dominated area could be preventing the Hindus from sending their kids there.[/color]
[color="#800080"](Uh, this is Varanasi. Where I'm sure Hindus can learn the BG and the Vedam from their own kind. I don't know why these muslims imagine anyone Hindu would be sending their kids to learn these things - particularly the Vedas supposedly - from muslims. This isn't babble/koran study... Nor is Hindu transmission of the Vedam the same as the indological method of "studying" it, i.e. the "read and interpret away" method.)[/color]
"But the introduction of Hindu scriptures in the syllabi has been considerably appreciated by our Hindu brothers. We believe we would soon have Hindu students seeking admission in Bahrul-Uloom," he added.
And the fact that this is Varanasi explains the method adopted for the region and the target population, as well as the choice of literature (it's the Vedas even, right). I think islam may at last be trying christian methodology.
Hindus don't *want* inter-religious comparisons. They want to be Left Alone. I know it's hard for christoislamis to comprehend, but Hindus don't *want* missionising. Neither the conversion-by-sword method nor the carrot technique of inculturation/gradually declaring that christoislam is what the Vedas/Gita are "actually" about. So if these muslims were serious about harmony, they'd dump islam and return to their ancestral Hindu religion. There are no similarities between the two. There's only the deception of it (even if this were - at best - no more than self-deception in this case).
Like Julian said: christians should not be allowed to teach the Hellenistic literature.
Same applies here: christoislamics cannot be allowed to teach Hindu literature. They do not know it and are likely to subvert it (probably by intent). Until they properly revert, they could at best only read it the way aliens do: i.e. without any point to the exercise, or any success.