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Colonialism is essentially a system of direct political, economic,
educational and cultural intervention and hegemony. The consequence of
colonialism remains alive to the present day. During the 20th century
colonials powers changed the geographical map of the Muslim world; they
formed new boundaries and appointed allied leaders over the Muslim
countries. Political and economic models imported from the West replaced
the Islamic systems, creating high unemployment, lacking social support
systems, government corruption, and a rising gap between the rich and
poor. Unelected governments led by kings, military or ex-military
officers were installed to rule the majority of countries in the region.
Indeed, ‘in places like Iraq and Jordan, leaders of the new state were
brought in from the outside, [and] tailored to suit colonial interests
and commitments. Likewise, most states in the Persian Gulf were handed
over to those who could protect and safeguard imperial interests in the
post withdrawal phase’ (Kumaraswamy, P.R. (March 2006) “Who am I?: The
Identity Crisis in the Middle East” The Middle East Review of
International Affairs Volume 10, No. 1, Article 5, p.1)
Colonialists were clear in their desire of the newly installed regimes
to: keep the boundaries that were created, in the promotion of ethnic
rivalry, in the continuation of inhumane and unjust actions against
minority populations, and in the practice of distributing the country's
resources in an unevenly manner. Also, after being under foreign rule for
decades, these newly installed regimes often lacked governmental bodies,
good governance skills and experience required to rule their newly
sovereign nations. In most cases, the transition from colonial province
to an independent state was a strenuous journey.
Newly created governments’ power heavily depended on security forces,
police, secret service and military, and by severely limiting freedoms
of assembly, speech, and press. Many Muslim states operate within a
culture of authoritarianism that is opposed to civil society and a free
press. In addition to the colonizers tainting the educational, legal and
the economic intuitions, the new installed rulers followed in their foot
steps.
Colonial education in many ways was designed to mold local intellectual
development and to enhance the colonizers’ administrations. In addition
colonial education was fashioned to limit the ability of local players
in challenging the colonizers’ political control. Colonizers imposed
socio-cultural, religious, and linguistic structures on the indigenous
people artificially injected into the educational system.
Prior to and during the same period, the native formal education system
in the region was based on the teachings of Islam and the Quran in the
Islamic school, or Madrasa. This system increasingly competed with the
newly introduced European educational system. Competition was not due to
the Islamic refutation of Western culture, but for the colonizers’ zeal
to progress a dominant and superior western culture while annexing
further territories and imposing restrictions on the indigenous people.
Colonies such as Tunisia and Egypt invested in educational missions that
sent elite students to Europe where they could study technologies and
modes of life and ultimately transfer their acquired knowledge to their
countries of origin. (Edward Said, Culture and Imperialism, New York,
Knopf, 1993) Such measures resulted in the creation of modern schools in
the nineteenth century such as the polytechnic school of Bardo (est.
1830) and represented the French Ecole Polytechnique in Tunisia. (Akkari
Abdeljalil, 'Education in the Middle East and North Africa: The Current
Situation and Future Challenges', International Educational Journal,
Vol. 5, N°2, 2004)
A respected Malaysian sociologist, Syed Hussein Alatas, explicated that:
the Captive Mind is the product of higher institutions of learning
either at home or abroad, whose way of thinking is dominated by Western
thought patterns in an imitative and uncritical manner. (Syed Hussein
Alatas, 1974 ‘The captive mind and creative development’. International
Social Science Journal 36(4):691-699).
Westernization led to the breakdown of traditional family, religious,
moral and social values instead of leading to a better quality of life.
Many Muslims blame Western models of political and economic development
as the sources of moral decline and spiritual malaise.
When we ask ourselves why the Muslim world is distraught with violence
and unrest, the answer can surely be found in the colonial interference,
both past and present. Therefore, any future success depends upon
returning to a society which is governed by the principles of the people
who live in it, one in which all its affairs are governed by Islam.
Captive Minds is our absence of intellectual autonomy!!
Hijacked by pop culture!!
Imprisoned in our own state of mind!! |