Empowering Muslim Youth Through Developing Argumentation Skills

The progress of nations lies in the hands of educated youth. Presently, our Muslims youth are facing numerous challenges. This include western propaganda against Islam as a threat to peace, moral degradation, lacking spirit of inquiry, internet addiction, blind following of western norms and cultures and various kinds of social problems such as violence, gambling and pornography. Our Muslim youth is wandering in identity crises and have forgotten the true spirit of Islam and the achievements of our forefathers. Majority of youth are copying and adopting the western style of life and cultural involvement. One reason for this may be the education system that we have inherited from the colonial masters. This is also replicated by electronic media and the Western propaganda against Islam that we don’t take pride to be staunch Muslims otherwise; we will be blamed as extremists. Our education system has also failed in instilling the spirit of inquiry, critical thinking and moral judgment in our youth. In order to develop the potential of our youth to reform our society and not to be led by baseless beliefs, the role of teaching is very important. With this goal in mind, the students should be empowered through argumentation skills. This requires teaching students through argumentation method by involving/guiding students to make a claim then write justification for their claim and finally counter argument to support their claim. The essence of argumentation is not new as the Holy Qur’ān repeatedly stressed the believers to use their intellect, to critically observe their surroundings and avoid baseless information. Practice with argumentation will help in developing critical skills in our youth and in making informed decisions. They would not blindly follow western norms and would be able to answer western propaganda through solid arguments and valid justifications.

Biochemical, Functional and End-Use Perspectives of Modified Cereal Brans

Bran, an integral component of wholegrain has got importance for its multifarious functionalities in food. Bran is detached from cereals during roller-milling operations and considered as a byproduct of milling. This milling byproduct is mainly utilized for animal feed purposes but also gaining popularity for human foods. The major technical problems associated with use of bran in food applications is lack in malleability and pliability of the finished product. Modification is therefore offered as a corrective route to overcome these problems. The technical snags and quality related issues of the processed products have been abated to an extent by the use of modified brans in food processing. In the current ambiance of consumer awareness and health consciousness, the bran holds significant importance for food applications. In the present project, four cereals were under study i.e. wheat, barley, millet and sorghum. Bran was separated from cereal grains and was subjected to size reduction and enzymatic modification. By size reduction two sizes fine (1mm) and coarse (2mm) were produced. Enzymatic modification involved xylanases (E1) and cellulase (E2) @ 1U/ml in 10% bran suspension. The native and modified cereal brans were evaluated for the chemical and mineral profiles. BBN demonstrated highest ash (6.88%), E2BB highest fiber (9.87%) and CWB highest protein (20.50%). The minerals assessed in different cereal brans included Mg, Cu, Zn, Co, Mn and K. The highest values in mg/100g for minerals in different brans were observed as: Mg (239.25 in E1SB), Cu (1.41 in MBN), Zn (2.41 in FSB), Co (1.30 in FMB), Mn (2.90 in MBN) and K (1184.67 in E1WB). CMB demonstrated highest total dietary fiber (52.36%) and insoluble dietary fiber (46.75%), whereas E1BB showed highest soluble dietary fiber (13.83%). Total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoids content (TFC) and total anthocyanins content (TAC) were determined spectrophotometrically and phenolic acids through HPLC. Total phenolic content was recorded highest in E1MB (0.304 mg GAE/g), TFC in CMB (210.86 μg/g). Total anthocyanins content was highest in E1SB (133.11 mg/Kg). Antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH and FRAP assays. Antioxidant activities specified by DPPH and FRAP assay were found to be highest in CMB (89.51 % inhibition) and SBN (722.52 μMFeSO4/g) respectively. Anti-nutritional factors like condensed tannins and phytic acid were evaluated spectrophotometrically. Condensed tannins and phytic acid were observed in highest quantities in CSB (179.77 mg/100g) and E1BB (5.80 g/100g) respectively. The effect of modified bran incorporation in breads and cookies was evaluated through assessment of sensorial and textural attributes. E2WB, E1BB, E2MB and E2SB had good scores for overall acceptability of breads. Bread with FMB had good fiber and ash content and E1MB bread showed higher protein contents out of all types of breads. In the case of cookies, E1SB had highest overall acceptability. The monosaccharide composition of cereal brans, breads and cookies was assessed through UHPLC-QqQ-MS in DMRM mode. Total 14 monosaccharides were assessed in different bran samples. The monosaccharides principally detected in brans, breads and cookies included glucose, xylose and arabinose. Galactose and fructose were detected in minute quantities in some of the samples. Data from analyses were taken in triplicates and reported as means ± standard errors. Level of significance was assessed using Analysis of variance (ANOVA) under completely randomized design (CRD) using two factor factorial.