KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on November 22 urged madressahs to incorporate science and skills into their curriculum, emphasising that this would enable students to excel in the modern world.
Addressing the annual convention of Jamia Tur Rasheed, he said that madressahs should teach students how to strengthen the relationship with the Creator and how to treat His creations with kindness. “By doing so, we can achieve peace, brotherhood, and progress in society,” he added.
The event was attended among others by religious leaders and academics of the institution — the patron of Jamia Tur Rasheed Mufti Abdur Raheem and Chancellor of Al-Ghazali University, Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr Zeeshan Ahmed and Vice Chancellor Mufti Ehsan Waqar and others.
Praising the institution’s progressive approach of integrating religious (Deeni) and contemporary (Asri) education, the chief minister expressed his gratitude for the invitation and called it an honour for him to address the scholars.
He said that the convention’s objectives reflected the faculty and scholars’ awareness of the nation’s current challenges and their commitment to addressing them.
“This is the guarantee of our success — to prepare scholars who are not only aware of contemporary issues but also possess the capacity to solve them,” he said.
Mr Shah said that in the Islamic history, madressahs were the world’s most advanced learning institutions, producing eminent scientists, thinkers, and historians. “The West achieved scientific progress based on the discoveries and research of Muslims. But, we, the founders of that knowledge, fell behind,” he remarked.
The chief minister pointed out that early madressah curriculum included subjects like medicine (Hikmat), astronomy, navigation, and mathematics alongside religious education, making graduates experts in every field.
Mr Shah expressed particular delight at the concurrent functioning of the madressah and Al-Ghazali University, which integrated Dars-i-Nizami with modern education.
He lauded the initiative of offering BS and MS degrees, alongside four international languages (Arabic, English, Turkish, and Chinese), and technology courses.
He reminded the audience that the foundational scientific principles were, in fact, established by Muslim scientists.
Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2025.