Mother, Father and the teacher are the architects of the next generation in a traditional Islamic society, but what happens to their roles after modernization?
Apparently such a transformation of the traditionalist to accommodate or be accommodated in the corporate environment or culture seems very constructive appealing, and welcoming. However at a macro level, or from a holistic viewpoint this would only legitimize the dominance and transformation of the said culture and environment...
This is hard to understand and explain, but due to this the religious community, which were supposed to be the protectors of the traditional segment of the society, would eventually commit an ideological suicide, or at least attempt it... They would eventually create a society where their existence would have no value what so ever, and eventually the public would simply reject them or reduce them to the level of a cultural component.
The value of traditional roles of parents and teachers are established in a religious society by virtue of sacred literature... but these roles are valued in corporate culture only to the extent of the ability to contribute in the corporate profits and shareholders value.
Naturally a child when is born is supposed to spend two years particularly in the laps of her mother primarily because nature has put his food in her breasts. When he grows older, this initial bond is supposed to remain strongest with her mother, however his father would become the next source of inspiration and guidance... The family is therefore meant to transfer the morals, values, character, dialects, general knowledge about the surroundings etc... When the child grows older, he is made to interact with a teacher who further instructs about various disciplines.
After growing old with these three individuals, a person is supposed to be strong in character and morals, psychologically & intellectually mature enough to become a constructive and productive citizen of the society as a whole, and to develop the next generation on the same foot prints. This person is also supposed to be honest, having high integrity, opposed to corruption, and courageous enough to raise his voice against corrupt elements in the society.
It is needless to emphasize that such an individual cannot be raised unless mother, father (and other relatives just in case) and the teacher are willing to perform their social roles with complete dedication. This is what should happen, however our society is drifting away for sure...
On the contrary, more and more teachers are now being merely treated as employees by their employers and they behave accordingly, only using shortcuts to get through, for whom its just another job; a job which they would leave if they ever get a slightly better one in any other profession, a job in which they are least interested and do it as a last resort out of compulsion to meet their financial needs... This is at least happening in Pakistan, some critics from the west have also highlighted the same in their literature (browse the page Education System on this blog)
The fathers don't have time as they are too busy in increasing the standard of living of their children, and pay high fees of their schools, and the mothers on the top are now feeling oppressed, trapped in a dungeon when at home, and they gasp for their so called freedom to leave everything behind in pursuit of a career, and earn enough to freely enjoy the kind of life they want, save for their retirement or life after divorce, and pay for the daycare center where their children are raised by nannies for hire...
These types of mothers and fathers considers that they are giving the best to their children, by purchasing the best quality of food, clothing, high end toys & gadgets to show off, and admission in the expensive schools... they purchase TV, gaming consoles computers to keep their children busy so that they can go along with their own busy schedule, and cell phones to connect with their children whom they have disconnected with themselves to increase everyone standard of living...
The idea of standard of living indoctrinated by the corporate culture primarily through sponsored media tells the public to surround themselves with objects which have the propensity to get outdated and obsolete very soon so that they may be replaced by newer versions; those who are able to afford the newer batch of updated items are told to have successfully upgraded their standard of living, and those who cannot are tagged as losers!
Of course these items are produced by the same corporations, while hiring the same employees, who when go in the market assumes the position of consumers... i.e. a bird’s eye view from the top tells us, the same public who work hard to produces (or contribute in the process, like marketing or managing accounts etc.) these items in exchange of a salary, are the ones who go out in the market to purchase the same items they had produced... in this cycle, the corporate elite, the capitalist, reaps the profit and enjoy observing all the fools working hard to make him rich!...
The teachers, schools, colleges, universities etc. of the same society, dominated by this corporate culture are considered valuable till the time they are able to produces employees! The knowledge which enables the pupils in the same sense is also considered valuable, accordingly! the corporations invests & lobby to mold the education system for their own benefit... you aren't allowed to do a research which questions the hegemony of these corporations over society, for example, while you are a MS or a PhD student...
The same corporations sponsors the TV channels, which also educate the young along with the adults to mold their values, character, personality etc. as required for the benefit of the same corporations...
As a whole the architects of the next generation are eventually forced by the entire atmosphere and its power of context (see Gladwell) to reproduce and raise able employees who:
But a peculiar thing is happening here in Pakistan, madresa graduates are find positions in corporate mostly financial sector to help make their transactions shariah compliant, these graduates doesn't also questions the entire corporate culture from a holistic perspective, rather narrowly performs their jobs just like any other obedient employees. Perhaps, the same modern education framework, adopted by the Madresa during occupation of subcontinent by Britishers, is reaping its fruits now. "Deoband [established in 1866], and other madrasas that emulated its [Aligarh Muslim University] example in institutional structure, avoided conflict with the colonial educational establishment" notes Khalid Baig. Initially it was done out of compulsion, however the obedient followers it produced by design, kept on imitating the same model to date.
As a result the corporate structure which is gradually gaining strength in the country in all dimensions (free media, modern education system, civil society, democratic political institutions etc) is being legitimized in the eyes of the traditional public after the religious community has begin to accommodate themselves in the corporate environment.
It was a shock for me when I recently entered into a darulifta (a section of a madresa which issues fatwa or religious decrees on various commercial and domestic issues) of the top notch madresa of the city and felt as if I have entered into an office of a multinational corporation.
On the contrary, more and more teachers are now being merely treated as employees by their employers and they behave accordingly, only using shortcuts to get through, for whom its just another job; a job which they would leave if they ever get a slightly better one in any other profession, a job in which they are least interested and do it as a last resort out of compulsion to meet their financial needs... This is at least happening in Pakistan, some critics from the west have also highlighted the same in their literature (browse the page Education System on this blog)
The fathers don't have time as they are too busy in increasing the standard of living of their children, and pay high fees of their schools, and the mothers on the top are now feeling oppressed, trapped in a dungeon when at home, and they gasp for their so called freedom to leave everything behind in pursuit of a career, and earn enough to freely enjoy the kind of life they want, save for their retirement or life after divorce, and pay for the daycare center where their children are raised by nannies for hire...
These types of mothers and fathers considers that they are giving the best to their children, by purchasing the best quality of food, clothing, high end toys & gadgets to show off, and admission in the expensive schools... they purchase TV, gaming consoles computers to keep their children busy so that they can go along with their own busy schedule, and cell phones to connect with their children whom they have disconnected with themselves to increase everyone standard of living...
The idea of standard of living indoctrinated by the corporate culture primarily through sponsored media tells the public to surround themselves with objects which have the propensity to get outdated and obsolete very soon so that they may be replaced by newer versions; those who are able to afford the newer batch of updated items are told to have successfully upgraded their standard of living, and those who cannot are tagged as losers!
Of course these items are produced by the same corporations, while hiring the same employees, who when go in the market assumes the position of consumers... i.e. a bird’s eye view from the top tells us, the same public who work hard to produces (or contribute in the process, like marketing or managing accounts etc.) these items in exchange of a salary, are the ones who go out in the market to purchase the same items they had produced... in this cycle, the corporate elite, the capitalist, reaps the profit and enjoy observing all the fools working hard to make him rich!...
The teachers, schools, colleges, universities etc. of the same society, dominated by this corporate culture are considered valuable till the time they are able to produces employees! The knowledge which enables the pupils in the same sense is also considered valuable, accordingly! the corporations invests & lobby to mold the education system for their own benefit... you aren't allowed to do a research which questions the hegemony of these corporations over society, for example, while you are a MS or a PhD student...
The same corporations sponsors the TV channels, which also educate the young along with the adults to mold their values, character, personality etc. as required for the benefit of the same corporations...
As a whole the architects of the next generation are eventually forced by the entire atmosphere and its power of context (see Gladwell) to reproduce and raise able employees who:
- are conformist & obedient;
- do not question authority;
- lacks critical & holistic thinking (lacks the ability to see the entire system in perspective, instead focuses on its exclusive parts in isolation... compartmentalized mentality i.e.);
- defines success by their progress in the corporate hierarchy;
- proudly identify themselves as an Engineer, Doctor, Marketing/HR/Finance/Accounts/Operations/ Supply Chain Manager etc;
- prioritize their corporate role over their traditional family & social roles;
- equates 'pleasure' of acquiring latest models of products (which they doesn't really need) with eternal happiness and satisfaction;
- believes in the philosophy of the owner/shareholder or his organization as their religion, and going against it as a gravest 'sin';
- believes in protecting the interest of his shareholders as his supreme moral responsibility, despite how destructive that might be for the society as a whole (destroy environment, spread vulgarity in the name of advertisement, emotionally manipulate consumers, exploit labor, for details watch documentaries 'The Corporation', 'The Shock Doctrine' and others on the 'Documentaries' page of this blog)
- etc
But a peculiar thing is happening here in Pakistan, madresa graduates are find positions in corporate mostly financial sector to help make their transactions shariah compliant, these graduates doesn't also questions the entire corporate culture from a holistic perspective, rather narrowly performs their jobs just like any other obedient employees. Perhaps, the same modern education framework, adopted by the Madresa during occupation of subcontinent by Britishers, is reaping its fruits now. "Deoband [established in 1866], and other madrasas that emulated its [Aligarh Muslim University] example in institutional structure, avoided conflict with the colonial educational establishment" notes Khalid Baig. Initially it was done out of compulsion, however the obedient followers it produced by design, kept on imitating the same model to date.
As a result the corporate structure which is gradually gaining strength in the country in all dimensions (free media, modern education system, civil society, democratic political institutions etc) is being legitimized in the eyes of the traditional public after the religious community has begin to accommodate themselves in the corporate environment.
It was a shock for me when I recently entered into a darulifta (a section of a madresa which issues fatwa or religious decrees on various commercial and domestic issues) of the top notch madresa of the city and felt as if I have entered into an office of a multinational corporation.
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| When Capital Become God... |
This is hard to understand and explain, but due to this the religious community, which were supposed to be the protectors of the traditional segment of the society, would eventually commit an ideological suicide, or at least attempt it... They would eventually create a society where their existence would have no value what so ever, and eventually the public would simply reject them or reduce them to the level of a cultural component.
The value of traditional roles of parents and teachers are established in a religious society by virtue of sacred literature... but these roles are valued in corporate culture only to the extent of the ability to contribute in the corporate profits and shareholders value.
Holistically speaking, in a materialistic world any religious belief, value or tradition is allowed to express itself and is considered worthy only to the extent it is capable of achieving worldly goals! In this context it’s not hard to imagine the eventual slaughter of christian values and practices in the west...Is this treatment of religion acceptable to the religious community and traditionalist segment of the society?
This is a question which the traditionalist needs to think upon if they consider their belief, values and practices to be of any worth, then they should wake up and do something about it, if not then be part of the modernist transformation, which would subsequently transform the traditional architects of the new generation into modern slaves of the corporate elite!
Author is an academic researcher, author, blogger, social entrepreneur, activist, mentor and tweets @javaidomar
Author is an academic researcher, author, blogger, social entrepreneur, activist, mentor and tweets @javaidomar
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