1250119847

knowledge from other cultures—cultures that have nothing to do with our way of life. It is an
invitation to mix with others and open our minds to them. This is in stark contrast to what many
people will insist on in today’s Muslim world. Many insist that we stick only to what we know has an
early Islamic source. We are told to focus on the pedigree of our ideas, and not on the quality of an
idea, which could come to us from anywhere.
In the search for knowledge, if we are honest with ourselves, we will find that knowledge is the
common property of all of humanity. Those who truly seek knowledge will find it, not only in the
religious literature of Islam, but also in the textbooks of Western history, in the writing of
philosophers of all stripes, in the holy texts of other religions. We will and must seek knowledge that
will allow us to reflect more deeply on ourselves as Muslims and as human beings. This is the kind of
approach I believe is deeply Islamic, and the one I ask you to undertake.
This search for knowledge is fundamental to the nature of our religion, even though you would not
think this by looking at the Muslim world today. The early followers of the Prophet were hungry for
knowledge about Islam, and they spent time and energy compiling, verifying, and producing
knowledge. This instinctive desire for knowledge is something that has been dampened in the modern
world of Islam. Remember that while the Islamic community once represented knowledge, wealth,
and power, today almost 70 percent of your fellow Muslims can neither read nor write. This imposes
an obligation on those of us who are able to read and write. The obligation is to learn as much as we
can, and spread as much knowledge as we can. This is how we can honor the memory of our Prophet
as well as of those early Muslims who embarked on the search for knowledge.
There are parts of the Muslim world where girls are discouraged from having access to education.
This is often presented in religious terms: girls are for the home; they will not need to learn to read or
write, since their husbands will take care of them; girls should not leave the home, for fear of what
strangers might do to them; girls or women should not study alongside boys because of the immorality
that will ensue. All of these are reasons that are buried in the origins of traditional societies and have
little or nothing to do with the basic principles of Islam. It is a reflection of a male-oriented world
more than anything else. I have even heard the argument seriously made that if women are educated,
they will take jobs away from deserving males. A remarkable position to take. In order to level the
playing field somewhat, it needs to be said that there are also places where education itself is
discouraged, as an educated population can threaten traditional systems of power and wealth. This
approach applies to both male and female education. Clearly the idea of education is tied up with the
fear of an empowered and capable population—male and female. These positions are unacceptable
and unintelligent in the twenty-first century.
So the question of whether we are people of one book or many books is answered. We are a
people of many books, of knowledge, of wisdom. But this is a title that we must earn with each
generation of Muslims. We cannot rely on what was achieved by a previous generation. We need to
reacquire knowledge with each generation and push its boundaries out further.