Education critical for uplift of Muslims: Mufti Mohammad Sayeed

While inaugurating the United Economic Forum trade summit, Sayeed said, “There is no doubt that educational backwardness is the main reason why we (Muslims) have not been able to progress economically. I have always believed that education is most critical to uplift our community.”

Citing recommendations of the Sachar Committee, he said it had found that status of Muslims in many areas was lower than that of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).

Listing the committee’s recommendations, the Chief Minister said action on some of its recommendations can take the form of interventions where existing skills of workers are combined with knowledge, modern management practices, new technology and emerging market needs.

“Indeed the percentage of Muslims in all India services is no more than two per cent while their percentage in the population of the country is over 14 per cent,” he said.

Decrying those who malign Islam’s image across the globe, the Chief Minister described it as a religion of peace and tranquillity, besides calling for efforts to spread its message far and wide.

Sayeed invited Muslims gathered at the summit to join him in the journey to educate and empower the community. “Only when we work in partnership together can we hope to realise this goal,” he added. He said he did not find any stark contradiction between the need for religious education and the importance of having a secular modern outlook in today’s world, recalling he himself had studied in a madrassa before graduating in law from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).