Assalam-u-alaikum

We are the only Ummah who has been commanded to “Read” even before the command of prayer or any other commandments of Allah The Almighty. This command is not only to read but goes further to write emphasizing the importance of the PEN.

It is our biggest failure and utmost misfortune that our Muslim Ummah all over the world neglected this command and fell in the ditch of ignorance and greed which has resulted in its downfall and degeneration.

Jahilliyah or ignorance is termed in Quran as darkness while education and knowledge is defined as NOOR or light. Through very simple analogy no one can find his way in the “Darkness” and is bound to go astray if he or she does not have the light of education and knowledge to find the right path towards success.

The principle of leadership based on education and knowledge was established before the start of this world when angels and Jinns were commanded to do Sajda to Adam due to his superior knowledge given to him by his Creator.

Even now it is in front of our eyes that the leadership of the world is with nations who have realized the importance of education and has given it the right place in their society.

Allah’s principles and commands are firm, unprejudiced and full of justice. He rewards those who follow His command and grant them the promised fruits for their effort in whatever fields they follow Him.

It is time that we Muslims realize and understand this simple truth that the road to success goes through schools, libraries and research institutes and not through high rise buildings, big malls and piles of bank notes in foreign banks. All these things have destroyed generations and civilizations and only those societies have survived whose foundation was laid on education and knowledge.

We pray and hope that our Pakistani elite, leadership, youth and population realize this truth and go for the source of real power and success through education and not shortcuts of deceit dishonesty and ignorance. We need to understand this basic truth to sustain success.

Pakistan Paindabad

PAD's Education and Personal Development Committee organized a 2nd successful Teachers Training Workshop for South Asian teachers in UAE

A Teachers Training Workshop was organized by Educational & Personal Development Committee of Pakistan Association Dubai on 16th January 2010.

“Lack of funding in some schools and reliance on older methods of teaching are making it difficult for Pakistani students to learn the English language properly”, teachers, linguists and community members commented after the workshop.

Ms. Jannat Durrani(SZABIST) during the lecture

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In an attempt to improve classroom methods and ultimately benefit the language skills of Pakistani students, Ms. Jannat Durrani, 27, a linguistics lecturer at the SZABIST University in Dubai, conducted a six-hour workshop for almost 100 teachers of South Asian origin.

Ms. Durrani, a graduate from University of Peshawar in Pakistan working in UAE for a year and a half, said Pakistani students deserved better education. “Our teachers have a problem; the problem is not with the students,” Ms Durrani said. “Our educational standards are a little low and the courses are flawed. There are no modern methodologies.” Having visited the country’s “community” schools welfare academies with a curriculum taught in English that charge a few hundred Dirham’s a month in fees she said teachers needed better facilities. “There is a lack of training for teachers,” she said. “Their salaries are not good enough. They don’t have the right teaching books. They are not being provided with the right material.”

Nagma Sheikh, a teacher at the Al Sadiq Islam English School in Al Qusais, attended the workshop and said more affordable courses for teachers to learn new skills were needed." We want to learn new ideas about teaching. It’s very important to know what works in the classroom. My students are of all nationalities, including Pakistani, and they all need help with English,” she added.

Ms. Durrani said some schools lacked basic computer facilities and that the community was still teaching English the way they did back in the 1960s. Poor educational facilities for Pakistanis in the UAE have been a long-standing complaint from the almost one-million-strong population.
In December, Javed Malik, Pakistan’s ambassador at large, called on the Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis, Farooq Sattar, for assistance in providing better academies. Nasara Sabir, a teacher at the Pakistan Islamia School of Al Ain, said school funding should come from the Pakistani government. “These workshops are very important,” she said. “Students’ English is suffering because they don’t have a good learning atmosphere and they don’t get enough practice.” At home, students often speak their native language, usually Pashto, Balochi, Urdu or Punjabi, and some parents do not place enough emphasis on English. While it was not suggested that families forgo their mother tongue in favour of English, parents were urged to recognize its importance.

Participants during the workshop

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“Parents don’t have to speak English at home, but they have to develop the sense that this is a part of their life. English has an importance attached to it globally. English is essential anywhere in the world,” said Ms. Durrani.

Sarwat Navid, a 27-year-old teacher who moved to the Emirates three months ago from Lahore, said the UAE’s teaching standards needed development. “English is an international language and if we neglect it, we neglect our progress as Pakistanis,” she emphasized.

The workshop was the second course to be offered by Pakistan Association Dubai. “We have qualified teachers but they need to update their knowledge and techniques,” said Samina Nasir, the association’s education secretary who has taught for 25 years. Before arriving in the UAE two decades ago, she worked in Pakistan.

“In Pakistan, there are wide opportunities for training workshops,” she said. “Here in the UAE we don’t have opportunities like in Pakistan. We have to keep our students bilingual so they can become productive members of society. Most students in the community schools are from the same background, so in class they communicate in Urdu. All teachers should be communicating in English, but sometimes they slip back into Urdu. This must be stopped,” she elaborated.

An evening organized by PAD with Mr. Hasan Khalil, an author of 7 books of history and several books of literary novels.

A gathering of the literary circle of Dubai was held in PAD premises and under its auspices on 29th January 2010. More than 30 people from different walks of life such as history, poetry & social workers participated.

Mr. Mohammad Hassan Khalil, sharing his views

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Muhammad Hassan Khalil is an author of 15 books that include: 10 novels, in Pashto language and 5 history books of the Pakhtoon Kings of Delhi of the medieval period, in Urdu language. The author has completed another 2 history books of the Pakhtoon Kings of medieval period, pending for publication. The author is a graduate of the Punjab University and a Journalism Diploma Holder. He is a post graduate of Manchester University UK. He has Public Service experience of 30 years. The ten books of fiction have true stories of love, crime and mostly based on reformist approach. However the fiction books may have actual stories but the writer has laid them and interwoven them in fictional attractive dialogue and action. Most of them stem from Pakhtoon social history, from the authors personal, public experience and knowledge. Muhammad Hassan khalil has highlighted the participants about his 7 history books relating to the period of:

1. King Shahabuddin Ghori(1206 AD)
2. King Qutbuddin Aibak(1210 AD)
3. King Shamsuddin Altamash(1235 AD)
4. King Ghiasuddin Balban(1287 AD)
5. King Alauddin Khilji(1316 AD)
6. King Junaid Muhammad Tughluq(1351 AD)
7. King Muhammad Farid Shershah Suri(1545AD)

Most of the scholars were well aware of the medieval history of Afghanistan and Pakistan to make it a lively question answer session. It looked like these said books have separate and detailed events brought on record for the first time. The author has quoted Ph.D. thesis writers for each book, as well as the ancient writers. The author explained the eventful period, from the year 1173 AD to 1206 AD with pertinent and particular reference to the 26 expeditions of King Shahab to have successfully carried up to Bengal.

King Shahab established the Muslim rule all over the present subcontinent exposing the local with new civilization and the religion of Islam that was further augmented by the efforts of the remaining 6 Muslim Kings. The locals were unaware of the oneness of God and of the message of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.A). The locals were exposed to education, civil rights and ownership of landed property those were not previously available to them.

Mr. Hassan Khalil, during question answer session

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With relevance to the present terror ridden situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the mass killing of locals the author has referred to the period prior to 1173AD when the whole region was subjected to the raids of:

1. King Cyrus(499 BC)
2. Alexander The Great (327-323BC)
3. Chandergut Moria(992 BC)
4. Ashok Azam(199BC)
5. Raja Rat Bail
6. Raja Anand Pal and Raja Jai Pal(879AD to 1001 AD)
7. Mongoli Sultan Alaptagin, Sultan Subuktagin,Sultan Mahmud upto Sultan Zinji(962 AD to 1173 AD)

During this period the locals were killed and plundered. This whole area remained under the foreign subjugation. The people arose under the banner of King Shahab who emancipated the region from foreign rulers and their onslaughts. If today the people take up courage to face the situation they can bring peace.

At the end prominent Pashto Poets Mr. Mumtaz Orakzai, Mr. Fazal Rahim Rahim and Mr. Ejaz Khattak recited from their poetry. Mr. Nizar Ali Khan anchored the event, in the concluding remarks he thanked Mr. Muhammad Hassan Khalil and the participants for sparing their valuable time for this literary evening. He also thanked PAD for organizing such a good event. Mr. Hilal Yaseeni, Mr.Khapal Waq , , Mr.Ikhtiar ullah Orakzai, Mr.Asghar Afridi, Mr. Mian Gul Jan ,Mr. Abdul Ahad , were also the participants, Special thanks to Mr. Asadullah Khan and the Organizer Mr. Asmat Ullah Qureshi.

PAD Education and Personal Development Committee is organizing Free English Language Classes for Pakistani Community

A group of Pakistani truck drivers, all Pathans, were laboring to make their point with a member of staff at the Dubai traffic department. They were getting nowhere. Failure to communicate gave way to impatience and then to anger, as the woman from the department talked down to the men. Looking on was Zarqa Taimur, a medical doctor by profession and motivational speaker, also the vice president of Medical Wing PAD. She saw the problem and calmed things down. “She didn’t treat them with a lot of respect,” Dr Taimur said. “I spoke to them and said, ‘It’s only because you don’t know English.’ I offered them a class, we exchanged numbers, and that’s where it started.”

Dr. Zarqa S. Taimur during the lecture

English is the thread that binds together the diverse nationalities in the United Arab Emirates. But when expatriates struggle with the language, they often struggle with life here, too – as the truck drivers demonstrated.

Dr. Taimur, 44, now holds a free two-hour class each week at the Pakistan Association Dubai headquarters, teaching basic English and bringing in other speakers to help Pakistani men, women and children assimilate to life in the UAE. This weekend, she stressed the importance of learning English to a class made up of seven men, two women and a young boy. Most of the people who attend are from Peshawar and surrounding regions.

“Anywhere in the world English is important, it is your means of communication to anyone,” Dr Taimur told them. “If you start speaking English properly, people will respond to you properly.”
During the lesson, the students were taught common phrases such as “Where should I drop you, sir?” and “How much does it cost?” The session also included a brief etiquette lesson from the association’s Samina Nasir. She advised the group to say “please” and “thank you”, shower more often in hot weather and always remember their table manners. “We have to improve the image of individual Pakistani,” Mrs Nasir said. “That’s whether he is at home or on the job, anywhere in the UAE or in the world. His behavior should represent our nation.”

Qibla Khan, a 35-year-old-public relations officer who has lived in the UAE for 12 years, attended this weekend’s class and said learning English could be life-changing. “I already speak Pashto, Arabic and Urdu, but I need English to improve my life,” he said. “My work will become easier. When I get back home after this class I practice with my friends.”

Dr. Zarqa S. Taimur during question answer session.

Speaking English is a problem among the elder and less educated people of Pakistan, Dr Taimur said. Taxi drivers, who interact with many people, could especially benefit from learning to speak the language well, she said.

Javed Sultan, a 26-year-old machine operator in a factory in Sharjah, left his home town of Dera Ismail Khan two years ago. Though his academic record is strong, his English needs improvement and he hopes to boost his Dh940 (US$256) monthly salary with new skills.

“I want to learn English to communicate with other people,” he said. “I am educated and I want a better job. I studied for ten years in Pakistan.”

Dr Taimur’s focus since that day in the traffic department has remained on Pathan‘s, whose first language is Pashto.

“They are a tight-knit community and there is a lot of pressure on them,” she said. “I have an empathy with them; they are very nice people and have great morals. But in some ways they are handicapped by their traditions and culture.” For Dr Taimur, volunteering to teach the classes is one way to help Pakistan, albeit from afar. “I wanted to move back to Pakistan for the last 20 years but I can’t,” Dr Taimur said. “I decided I will do whatever I want to do to help here instead.”

We were lucky to have a group of volunteers to help from day one. The class now attracts an educated group who know basic spoken English but want to improve their grammar etc. We have now adapted the British course for English as a second language and will be starting the next session on 9 Feb. 2010.

PAD delegation visits SZABIST Dubai Campus on special invitation

A delegation of Pakistan Association headed by Muhammad Khaleeq, General Secretary and Mrs. Samina Nasir, Secretary Education & Personal Development Committee visited Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute for Science and Technology (SZABIST) at the Campus in the Academic City Dubai. SZABIST team that welcomed the delegation consisted of Mr. Aftab Ahmed Khan (Deputy Director), Mr. Qashif Effendi (Vice President Academics), Ms. Nabila Arif, Mr. Asadullah Jawaid, Mr. Rashed Hamad Al-Mazrooei and Ms. Jannat Durrani (Marketing Executive/ SRO).

SZABIST Management with PAD Delegation

In a detailed presentation PAD team elaborated on the ongoing activities for the service of Pakistani Community in Dubai. Mrs. Samina Nasir explained about PAD's recent initiatives focusing on education and personal development of our youth. She highlighted the educational seminar held by PAD with students and parents as well as with discussion forums with all principles of Pakistani schools. The focus of discussion was the recently launched Teachers Training Program at PAD.

SZABIST has also recently gone through major organizational changes and is very keen to address the higher education needs of our community. Their team demonstrated a high level of interest in interacting with PAD and work jointly for the greater benefit of the community.

It was decided that the two organizations will immediately start cooperating on the Teachers Training. Further avenues of mutual cooperation will be explored jointly.

Today’s saving is tomorrows earning

One of the keys discussed in my Orchestrating Attitude webinar is to speak with strength. The words we use are more powerful than we can imagine. There is power in the words that we use, the things that we say, and the things that we do. Most people greet each other with words that have no power or energy. Think of the last time you heard someone else (or even yourself) respond to a greeting of "How are you?" with "Oh, I am doing so-so," "Hanging in there," "I'm surviving" or "Not too bad." It probably wasn't much past yesterday.

Try this - use words to change your situation, not to describe it. The next time anyone asks, "How are you?" whether it's someone at work or a cashier at the store, respond with strength. Give them an energetic, enthusiastic, "Great!" or "Terrific!" It will be hard to do without a smile on your face, and you are likely to get one back. Second, you will likely feel a physical response of increased energy. Third, your words will send a message to your mind that will be consistent with feeling Great! or Terrific! To see the results, you have to do this often and with sincere enthusiasm (not robotically). When you do, your subconscious mind will begin to act on what you are saying and begin to design your reality to be consistent with your thoughts and words.

My little green friend, Yoda from Star Wars, understood this when he commanded Luke Skywalker, "Do or do not. There is no try."

Speaking with strength also creates a sense of accountability and commitment to get the best from yourself and others. Your challenge is to consciously avoid using words that are strength killers. These words sap energy and commitment from your interactions, and ultimately, your actions. Eliminate these words from your vocabulary:

• I can't
• If
• Doubt
• Try
• I don't think
• I don't have the time
• Maybe
• I'm afraid of
• I don't believe
• It's impossible.

But omitting these negative words is not enough. A sports team needs more than just a good defense to win; it also needs a strong offense. So, you must also mobilize your own offensive assault with the words you choose. Build positive mental connections, personal strength and commitment by using these strength builders:

• I can
• I will
• Expect the best
• Commit
• I know
• I will make the time
• Positively
• I am confident
• I do believe
• All things are possible

The power of your actions is preceded by the power of your words. Choose to speak with strength and watch the power of your words bring out the best in yourself and others!
See how well you speak with strength by taking the Free Attitude Tune-up.

Copyright © 2006-2008 by Lee J. Colan and The L Group, Inc.