Role of Islamic System of Education in Moral Behavior and Spiritual Identity of Muslims

Humans have always had the curiosity to know themselves, to know the world around them, and to know their place in the world. Morality, spirituality and religion are closely intertwined, ‘certain moral ideas became united with certain religious and spiritual ideas to such an extent as to become indistinct from them’. The role of religion in educational institutions is one of the most sensitive and volatile topics on the political and legal landscape now a days especially in country like Pakistan which has been created on religious ideology. The Islamic Way of Life is based on this unique approach to life and a peculiar concept of man's place in the Universe. Islam has provided mankind with the highest possible standard of morality. This moral code, which is both straightforward and practical, provides the individual with innumerable ways to embark upon and then continues the path of moral evolution. By making divine revelation the primary source of knowledge, moral standards are made permanent and stable. The first part of the paper is about the relationship between education and its role as spiritual and moral tool of training. Second part deals with the concept of education in Islam and third part will present types of knowledge in Islam and their application as moral and spiritual tool of education. Last part will give moral and spiritual training methodology in Islamic education. The relationships between ‘moral’, ‘spiritual’ and ‘religious’ seem to be akin to the relationships between the cluster ‘social’, ‘human’ and ‘political’. In each of these clusters, only beings of the kind appropriately described by the middle term can engage in activities which could be properly described by the first and third terms. Islam as religion of spirituality and morality gives a frame work to educate and train the students in modeling their life as more moral and spiritual with practical application in this life and success in the hereafter. The chief characteristic of the Islamic Concept of Life is that it does not admit a conflict, nay, not even a significant separation between life-spiritual and life-mundane. It does not confine itself merely in purifying the spiritual and the moral life of man in the limited sense of the word. Its domain extends to the entire gamut of life. It wants to would individual life as well as the social order in healthy patterns, so that the Kingdom of God may really be established on the earth and so that peace contentment and well-being may fill the world as water f ills the oceans.  

Industrial Production of Vanillin Using Locally Isolated Bacterial Strain

The present study was designed to investigate the bacterial production of vanillin exploring local natural sources like sewage and soil from industrial areas. The main objective was to screen the local bacterial strains for vanillin production and using these bacteria to enhance vanillin production in modified conditions. A total of 412 bacterial strains were isolated from 47 soil and 13 sewage samples collected from different industrial regions of the Punjab (Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Kasur). After primary screening 279 bacterial strains showed vanillin production and 133 strains were non producers. Quantitative analysis of vanillin production was measured as absorbance by standard curve at 434nm using spectrophotometer. Total fifteen bacterial strains produced significant (p< 0.001) amount of vanillin ranging from 1-10g/L and identified by ribotyping as Pseudomonas fluorescens A3, Enterococcus faecium A4, Alcaligene faecalis A7, Bacillus subtilis A10, Enterococcus lactis B1, Bacillus cereus B8, Pseudomonas aeruginosa B20, Bacillus pumilus D3, Escherachia coli D7, Enterobacter hormaechei E9, Bacillus cereus M2, Weissella paramesenteroides N3, Pseudomonas aeruginosa N9, Aerococcus viridans H8 and Escherachia coli S7. Among these fifteen strains five bacterial strains Enterococcus faecium A4, Alcaligene faecalis A7, Enterobacter hormaechei E9, Aerococcus viridans H8 and Weissella paramesenteroides N3 were novel producing moderate amount of vanillin ranging from 4.9- 8.8g/L. The selected strains were further explored for enhanced production of vanillin and were grown in different fermentation media under optimized growth conditions. Different fermentation media were based upon clove oil, rice bran waste, wheat bran and modified isoeugenol (FM5, FM21, FM22, FM23, FM24, FM30, FM31, FM32, FM34, FM35, FM36, FM37). Isoeugenol based modified medium FM36 (cost 131.5 rupees/L) containing 1% isoeugenol and 2.5g/L soya bean meal produced highest amount of vanillin ranging from 17.3g/L-18.5g/L by two selected bacterial strains A10 Bacillus subtilis (KT962919) and B20 P. aeruginosa (KT962920) respectively. Rice bran based medium FM32 (cost 49.7 rupees/L) containing 60g rice bran waste produced minimum 4.3g/L vanillin by S7 E. coli (KT962918). In conclusion current study indicated a significant amount of vanillin production in different modified fermentation media which are low cost, easily available and natural. A commercial production of vanillin using native bacterial isolates needs to be further explored in Pakistan. Bioconversion of vanillin using natural sources will be environment/consumer friendly along with cost effective and easily available. Pakistan a developing country spending quite a large amount 780 million rupees for the import of chemically synthesized vanillin (150,000 Kg) every year. There is a dire need to explore local sources for the bio production of vanillin.