Nina Hirji Kheraj
Bismillah-ir-rahman-ir-rahim
Chairman Dehlavi
Members of the Board of Trustees
President Rasul
Professor Pring
Dr Topan
Honoured faculty
Distinguished guests and the graduates of the class of 2010
Good morning
Ok
- I’m not going to lie to you. I was a little bit pleased when I was
asked to give the Valedictorian address for the class of 2010… until I
realised that this meant I had to work towards yet another ISMC deadline
and that I would have to endure the apprehension of speaking in front
of you all today …. Every silver lining has its cloud!
But the
challenge and honour was offered … and accepted … and so in the true
ISMC spirit of research, I first set out to understand the purpose of a
Valedictorian address - assuming it was just a glorified way of saying
‘Thank you’! And as with all good research - I discovered not at all
what I was expecting. Apparently the purpose of this address is to
inspire my fellow graduates.
My classmates come from Afghanistan,
Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Tunisia and Tajikistan; they
speak 21 languages between them; they have been archaeologists,
architects, psychologists, teachers, theologians … And now they are
Masters in Muslim Cultures. I think the task of inspiring them is a pretty tall order.
But…
I am reminded of an incident from my childhood. I was an 8-year-old
school girl with pigtails, crooked glasses and scuffed knees studying at
the British School in Tehran. One day I came home from school feeling a
little uncomfortable about the unfair treatment of one of my classmates
- I don’t recall what exactly it was -but I do recall that my parents
made it very clear to me that if I believed in something I should have
no fear in going to the highest authorities to have my voice heard. I
don’t think my parents realised at the time that I had taken their
guidance to mean that I had carte blanche to have an opinion on everyone’s business!
Imagining
that I can inspire my classmates this morning might be a terrible
presumption - but I do know that I can at least manage to proffer an
opinion.
So we are now Masters of Muslim Cultures from the Institute
for the Study of Muslim Civilisations. Friends … I would suggest … that
someone … somewhere … got either the title of the course or the name of
this Institution terribly wrong.
You see - we took courses with
titles like Facts and Values; The Construction of Knowledge;
Globalisation, Development and Poverty. We studied the Traditions of
Learning; Gender and Nation and examined the works of European
philosophers. In my first term I did ask myself what on earth I was doing in a Muslim Cultures programme having to make a presentation on the Epic of Gilgamesh. Why
was I studying civilisations that existed five thousand plus years
before the advent of Islam? Surely the architects of this programme must
have thought we were at the Institute for the Study of World Civilisations.
But
then we also took courses in The History of the Quran; Formation of
Muslim Thought; Muslim Responses to Modernity and Muslims in Western
Contexts and were immersed - quite literally into a new language - for
some of us Arabic, for others Farsi or Turkish.
WALAN HATTA ANA YUM-KEEN-NOONEE AL QALAAM BIL ARABIA.
So
- maybe there wasn’t a mistake … and we are to understand that a
civilisation cannot be studied in isolation - as if there is a discrete
ring around it. Maybe we are to understand that history builds on itself
and that to understand the context of the revelation of Islam we have
to understand what came before. And to understand Muslim contexts today
we need to understand not just Muslim History but world history, because
Muslim civilisations and Muslim cultures did not and do not exist in a
vacuum. Ideas and knowledge are fluid and they flow - like osmosis - in
all directions.
Over varying times in history, civilisations have
either been in ascendance - or not - and it is those with the prevailing
power who control the access to our knowledge. They determine the lens
through which we see the world and how we read its history. The story
today is no different and we have been taught to question the lens
through which the world is being presented - and just as importantly -
to be aware of the lens through which we ourselves look at the world.
As
we leave the embrace of the Institute, what kind of world are we
emerging into and what will be our place in it? We are living in
difficult times … but then perhaps all ages feel that. We are in an age
where through a process of deliberate disinformation or accidental
misinformation the world has a fissure running through it; where the
media has forgotten what its function is and instead of trying to tell
the complicated truth in order to inform, it constructs a simplified
news world in which people are either with ‘us’ or against ‘us’; where
we are frightened and threatened by difference; where we reduce ‘others’
to a stereotype with a few essential signifiers; and where those with
power apply the norms of their own culture onto the ‘other’ who are then
perceived as subordinate and deviant. The imperative for the creation
of ISMC begins to become ever clearer.
And we had the courage to come
to an institution which, after today, will have graduated only 38
students; whose Masters in Muslim Cultures is more than twice as long as
those of other institutions in the UK and certainly more than twice as
demanding; and whose programme is nascent…a baby in need of nurturing
and care, whose reputation is not yet set but whose potential to offer
an alternative to the dominant understanding of Muslim history, culture
and civilisations is unparalleled.
At a time when higher education is
not free, we have had access to generous scholarships. We leave here
free of any contractual obligation and debt. But ISMC is part of the Aga
Khan University which in turn is part of the Aga Khan Development
Network. If AKDN is underpinned by the Muslim ethic of helping those
most vulnerable in society, the money that was spent to educate us has a
moral imperative attached to it because it might just as well have been
used to provide the potential livelihood for a whole family. Someone …
somewhere … must think we are worthy of the investment.
We are not
expected or required to pay back the fiscal costs of our education - but
we can pay it forward. Our education at ISMC has changed us and
whatever we go on to do - we - each one of us - has a role to play in
furthering the founding ideals of this Institution. We can contribute to
a world where Muslim cultures and civilisations are better understood
and valued, and where pluralism is recognised as an imperative for a
peaceful world. It may require us to swim upstream and go against the
tide, but we can make our voices heard. It is
in our hands to make the piece of paper we have just been handed worthy
of the power it represents.
That piece of paper is not just the
result of our own endeavours. We owe gratitude to many. I would like to
start with my classmates. Some of you may know that I was a member of
the first cohort and after completing one year I took a sabbatical - not
because the rigours of ISMC had worn me out but because life had come
beckoning. The most important decision that I made was not the one to
join ISMC in 2006 … but to have returned in 2009. I would like to thank
my classmates for welcoming me into their class so warmly. Being a part
of this cohort has been a stimulating experience and my learning has
been as much a function of what you brought to the table as the formal
teaching. The cultural diversity of our group has reflected the even
wider diversity of the Ummah … and sometimes negotiating these
diversities have also required UN-like diplomatic skills. But we
recognised that by helping each other to be better and to do better; we
take nothing away from our own achievements. Long may this support and
concern for each other continue.
ALF MABROOK YA ASDIQAEE
On behalf
of our class, I also extend our appreciation to our honoured teachers
who with their knowledge, wisdom, patience and guidance have led us -
sometimes despite ourselves - to this day; and to our families and
friends who have loved, supported and struggled with us, showed us
patience and compassion, and perhaps even learnt a bit with us; but
probably the most important and heartfelt thanks goes to our Chancellor -
His Highness the Aga Khan - whose vision, generosity and unique
perspective on the world is the reason we are able to stand in front of
this audience today … and who defines what it means to be a part of one
humanity.
Thank you.
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