Prince Karim Aga Khan yesterday stressed the need for acquiring quality education by young students to fight out the clash of ignorance about the Muslim ummah, which is wrongly perceived as clash of civilisation.
“It’s not clash of civilisation, it’s clash of ignorance,” he remarked during a roundtable with some editors and senior journalists at Sonargaon Hotel to wrap up his four-day state visit to Bangladesh.
Prince Karim, Imam of Shia Ismaili Muslims, who laid the foundation stone of the Aga Khan Academy here, said one should think of Islam on sound knowledge, not on opinion or incorrect reporting. There are lots of misinformation and disinformation about Islam.
He said the academy is being set up here with an aim to build it up as a centre of excellence where quality education will be imparted to brilliant students by qualified teachers.
The curriculum of the academy will be formulated in collaboration with international baccalaureates so the students could be taught in global-standard education system.
In Bangladesh, he said, quality secondary education is important alongside upgrading the quality of teaching.
The academy will integrate each local school with other in the network, sharing ideas and experiences, exchanging students and teachers so that all graduates achieve globally relevant credentials.
Stressing the importance of understanding the rich Islamic civilisation, he said all are concerned about the erosion of ethical values. It is not only important to ensure the ethics in government, but also in the civil society.
He said the civil society can contribute a lot to the development, but if the civil society is undermined by malpractice, one could imagine what would happen.
The academy being established on a 20-acre site at Bashundhara housing estate at a cost of $ 50 million will teach pluralism, ethics, free-market economy and Islamic civilisation among other subjects.
Prince Karim said the students with all backgrounds would be selected absolutely on merit basis and poor economic status would not be a bar to any student getting access to the academy.
In response to a question, Aga Khan said they will explore investment prospects in infrastructure, agro-based industry, IT and training of nurses with the participation of international development partners and financial institutions.
Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam, Observer Editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, BSS Chief Editor Zaglul A Chowdhury, AP Bureau Chief Farid Hossain, Press Club President Shawkat Mahmud and UNB Chief of Correspondents Shamim Ahmad joined the roundtable.
Prince Karim, who left Dhaka yesterday for Paris, also laid the foundation stone of permanent jamaat khana for Shia Ismaili Muslims at Bashundhara.
During his visit, marked by the golden jubilee of his imamat, the prince called on President Iajuddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, advisers to the caretaker government and members of the Shia Ismaili community.
Ismailimail 
It’s heartening to read the views expressed by a visionary from the Muslim world. As compared to other leaders in the contemporary Muslim world, he has touched upon a subject which should be the top priority of each & every Muslim nation; because it’s through the quality education that the West has been able as a whole to dominate the world of Islam. H. H. Prince Karim Khan is 100 percent correct when he says that it’s not the clash of civilizations which Prof Huntington has so intelligently injected into the mind of westerners, but it’s the clash of ignorance which the Prince has so beautifully expressed. Once the ignorance is rooted out, all civilizations can coexist, can work for humanity at large and give our future generations a much better, more beautiful world than the one we have at present.
I would rather say H. H. Karim Agha Khan should take the lead and motivate the whole Ummah for a forum of all Muslim countries. The onus of this forum’s activities should be elimination of ignorance, poverty and creation of enlightened, broadminded Muslims. These qualities arise per se when there is a total eradication of ignorance. So why not the Prince himself should put forward this proposal before the Muslim leaders to pool a fund for spread of quality education all over the Muslim world. I know many Mullahs, obscurantists and religious scholars with scant knowledge may oppose such a move but come what may we should strive for that. We Muslims have had enough of ignorance, poor education, poverty, corruption and lot of other social ailments. Let us all join hands and create a forum with pool of funds to introduce quality education in Muslim countries. The institutions like Agha Khan University in Karachi and the Centre of Excellence in Dacca, Bangladesh are a testimony to the will of a person who really feels the betterment of Muslims like his great grandfather, Prime Sultan Muhammad Agha Khan who was a leading member of the team that spearheaded the movement for creation of Pakistan.
In the end I would only say, well done your Highness, you have earned a place in the heart of every Muslims.
Dr. Nayyar Hashmey
http://wondersofpakistan.blogspot.com/
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fantastico artigo Dr Nayyar….ismaili in portugal
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I express my heartiest thanksm to youMr. Abdul Sacoor. I think Muslims all over the world should listen to what HRH says and try to follow it thru action. There has been much rhetorics in the Muslim world.
Dr. Nayyar Hashmey
wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com
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Excellent comment by Dr. Nayyar Hashmey. It should be circulated through popular media in Pakistan as well as most of the Muslim countries.
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