Effects of Hindu Civilization on Muslim Culture and Civilization: A Review from Pakistan’s Context

مسلم تہذیب و تمدن پر ہندؤ تہذیب کے اثرات: پاکستانی تناظر میں جائزہ Islam provides a complete and comprehensive concept of civilization that includes all aspects of human life and provides a complete philosophy of life. Generally speaking a civilization is the expression of any philosophy or belief that develops into the political, social, economical and cultural norms. Main focus of the present research is the impact of Hindu civilization on our society, we see that by living with the Hindu society, their beliefs, casteism, rituals, have influenced the people around them. Pakistan is and always has been an amalgam of a diverse culture. Pakistan has a rich culture without a doubt, but this culture is in the line of fire in association to powerful Indian culture. From birth to death, there are small rituals that were normally associated with Hindus, have also slowly mixed with Islamic culture and have become inseparable. Change in the social life of Muslims of subcontinent is due to conversion of a large number of Hindus to Islam. They accepted the preaching of Islam but did not give up their practices and rituals. Consequently, their rituals and practices were incorporated into the Muslim society. Some social ceremonies associated with births, deaths, and marriages were influenced by Hindu culture. It is a fact that media played a great role in propagating Hindu culture. Therefore, in this article, efforts are made to analyze all the factors due to which we are facing challenges of Hindu civilization and how we can get rid of its impacts on Muslims thoughts, culture and society. Allah Almighty says: O people, who believe in Allah, enter the whole circle of Islam. So, to address all above-mentioned challenges, a comparative and analytical research methodology with qualitative paradigm has been conducted in this research paper. At the end, solutions have been provided.

Quality in Teacher Education: A Situational Analysis of Quality Assurance Strategies of Teacher Education Institutions in Pakistan

It is a fact that the quality of teacher education in Pakistan is deteriorating and efforts are needed to intensify and accord adequate priority to the effectiveness of teacher education programs. Various surveys and studies undertaken in Pakistan reinforce a bleak picture of teacher education and its impact on students learning outcomes (World Bank & NEAS in 2005 & UNESCO/ USAID & ITA in 2008). In order to make a decision on standard of award of degree and quality of delivery of teacher education programs there must be some systems and procedures. It is now a growing trend in Pakistani educational institutions/ organizations to get ISO 9000:2001 certifications on the basis of assumption that ISO 9000 quality system is not in contradiction with any sound education standards or practice. Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan has also developed procedures and guidelines for quality assurance and its enhancement. The HEC Manual is an effort in this regard to put all the guidelines and procedures in one volume so that university administration, quality enhancement cells, and faculty might find it easier to implement. The central premise of the study was to find out the choice of the quality strategies of teacher education institutions, but equally important was to collect the empirical evidences connected to the appropriateness of the specific quality system in ensuring the quality in teacher education. For the purpose, the phase 1 was a quantitative study through a self-administered survey to 58 faculty members of selected teacher education institutions in all provinces of Pakistan, that looked at the profile of the institutions, institutional choice of quality system, and the identification of internal and external forces that may influence the implementation of quality strategies. Following this macro level analysis, the researcher looked for specific information using the qualitative interview with the 10 heads (Deans or Directors) of teacher education institutions to have triangulation and an in-depth analysis of data connected with the appropriateness of quality system in ensuring quality in teacher education. The data obtained through quantitative and qualitative instruments later mixed using sequential explanatory model of mixed method data analysis The findings of this research study will help the community of teacher educators, heads of teacher education institutions, and other researchers to improve the existing systems. A multi-pronged strategy will be used to disseminate the results of the proposed study. The study recommends that the Higher Education Commission, NACTE and the provincial department of education should develop a new framework of quality system to ensure quality in teacher education programs.