Salary hike for Arabic teachers

From "Stipend of Madrasah teachers hiked" By TONY PE. RIMANDO, Manila Bulletin, November 20, 2011, 3:56pm

PAGADIAN CITY, Philippines – Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Armin A. Luistro has ordered the increase to P5,000 each the monthly allowance of teachers of Madrasah (Islamic institutions of learning) deployed in various areas of Mindanao, and other Muslim-populated regions of the country.

Luistro said the Madrasah mentors (known as Asatidz) – who handle the Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education (ALIVE) subjects in public elementary schools – were previously paid a monthly allowance of P3,000 on top of the honorarium granted to them by concerned local government units (LGUs) where they are assigned.

The DepEd chief explained through Dr. Manaros Boransing, DepEd consultant for Muslim Education, that close to 2,500 Asatidz who passed the initial Arabic Qualifying Examination prior to their completion of the 23-day Pre-Service Training on Language Enhancement and Pedagogy, have been teaching ALIVE subjects for the past five years in various public elementary schools with substantial number of Muslim pupils.

Boransing said these Muslim pupil-populated elementary schools are located mostly in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao, and Lanao del Sur, even as other regions in the Southern Philippines as well as Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog, Central Luzon, and the Visayas where many Muslim families, largely due to their innate trading business, have virtu-ally transferred residence.

Boransing, a former executive of the Mindanao State University (MSU), said majority of the DepEd-hired Asatidz were earlier professionalized after completing the required two-year Accelerated Teacher Education Program (ATEP) developed by the education department in partnership with the Australian Agency for In-ternational Development (AusAID)-funded Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM) project based in Davao City.

The ATEP, through a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the education department, was offered by Mindanao-based state and private universities, which later conferred on the graduates appropriate Certifi-cates of Completion.

According to Boransing, some of these ATEP graduates, later hurdled the Licensure Examination for Teach-ers (LET) prompting the DepEd to permanently employ them as regular public elementary school teachers with a monthly entrance salary of over P15,000 each, Boransing said, adding that these DepEd-hired LET passer Asatidz were later replaced by newly trained and qualified Asatidz who took over the former’s positions as ALIVE subject tutors.

Boransing explained that through the teaching of ALIVE subjects, many Filipino Muslim pupils have become more disciplined and nationalistic without neglecting their devotion to their indigenous traditions and prac-tices as Muslims.

The DepEd consultant for Muslim Education expressed optimism that the teaching of Asatidz to Muslim children will ultimately help solve the peace and order problem in Mindanao, as the native pupils will grow to be more law-abiding, more productive, and more useful members of their respective communities.

Source: http://mb.com.ph/articles/341931/stipend-madrasah-teachers-hiked

Russia: Education As Main Means To Fight Islamic Extremism

From "Education As Main Means To Fight Islamic Extremism" 
By Svetlana Andreyeva, for VOR, November 20, 2011.

Speaking to Muslim clerics in the Russian Urals city of Ufa on Saturday, President Dmitry Medvedev admonished attempts to spread racial hatred in Russia ahead of the important political events there. All such attempts should be severely punished, Medvedev warned, citing the country’s legislation that he said should be used with respect to all Russian regions, including the Caucasus and the Far East.

A multi-national and multi-confessional country, Russia brings together Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other communities which are now in the process of cultivating relations. The Russian experience of such multiculturalism may be of use to EU countries, where interethnic tensions are not uncommon. In modern-day world, the main focus, however, should be placed on efforts to tackle extremism and radical Muslim movements, Dmitry Medvedev said:

“Ideologically, traditional Islam-leaning clerics are able to combat radicalism and extremism,” Medvedev says. “Actually, being in the dark on the ABC of religious culture makes a young man vulnerable to extremist trends. Religious illiteracy is fraught with serious repercussions in a person’s mind and actions,” Medvedev warns.

Offering full-fledged religious education may well help resolve the problem. The Russian government will allocate nearly one billion rubles, or more than 300 million dollars, for the training of Islamic history and culture specialists over the next three years. Russia has already adopted state standards for education in the field of “Islamic theology”. This has allowed leading universities to open departments for training Islamic clerics. One of such department was recently opened in Ufa, known as one of Russia’s Muslim centers.

During the Saturday gathering, President Medvedev separately touched upon the latest developments in Egypt, Syria and Libya:

“People’s push for democracy is only natural,” Medvedev says, referring to the ouster of what he called “old and rotten regimes”. “But the question is what has been obtained as a result. On the one hand, the regime change may lead to the development which is good, of course. But on the other, it may result in civil war which is absolutely inadmissible,” Medvedev warns.

The Russian president expressed hope that civil peace and religious and inter-confessional accord will eventually be in place in these three countries – something that Medvedev said would take a lot of time. In this connection, he called for more efforts to maintain peace in Russia.

Source: http://www.eurasiareview.com/20112011-education-as-main-means-to-fight-islamic-extremism-oped/

Pakistan: Madaris preaching peace, says US Ambassador

From "Madaris preaching peace in Pakistan, says Munter" The Nation, November 18, 2011

FAISALABAD - US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter on Thursday said that Pakistani madrasas are preaching peace, adding that he could do nothing regarding drone attacks and that only the US government could stop them. 

“The issues between Pakistan and America are combined. Both the countries should make collective efforts to solve them, respect each other and fulfil our respective responsibilities,” Munter said while addressing an interfaith seminar held in Jamia Salafia in Faisalabad. He added, “The new generation must observe tolerance as Pakistanis want peace.”

Stressing collecting efforts for rooting out the elements behind sectarianism, the ambassador said that the interfaith seminar was a beginning. Munter, who was accompanied by his wife Dr Marilyn Wyatt and US Consul General Nina Fite, also expressed the hope that the bilateral issues would resolve soon. He was of the view that the best way to solve bilateral issues is negotiations and both the nations should try to understand bilateral viewpoints by trusting each other. He termed the Jamia Salfia a model for other religious seminaries. 

Thanking Jamia Principal Muhammad Yaseen Zafar and President Bashir Ahmad and Qazi Abdul Qadeer, he termed the seminar exemplary and praised the Jamia’s curriculum and system. 

On the occasion, Maulana Masood Alam said that Islam is the religion of peace while Maulana Zahid Qasmi said that madrasas are forts of peace and are imparting education and nothing else. Also a Hindu leader praised the seminar. 

According to a statement issued by the US Embassy, Munter applauded the participants for their efforts to make Pakistan a safer place for worshippers of all faiths, and by doing so building a stronger, more secure and prosperous Pakistan. 

He reiterated US support for religious freedom and the protection of religious minorities. He noted that Quaid-i-Azam Muhammed Ali Jinnah himself recognised the importance of freedom of worship for Pakistan’s growth and development.

Later, the delegation visited Ghosia Shrine. The seminar was attended by Bishop of the Church of Pakistan Samuel Azariah, Abdul Qadir Khomash from the Muslim-Christian Federation, All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement leader Haroon Saryab-Dial, and Gauranat Narmak Gi Sikh Mission Chairman Dr Mampar Singh among others.