Students At Islamic School In Kerala Set Example By Learning Sanskrit
Update: 2022-11-14 20:15 IST
Students At Islamic School In Kerala Set Example By Learning Sanskrit (Photo/newindianexpress)
What distinguishes a Muslim educational institution in the Thrissur area of central Kerala is students in long white robes and white headdresses unwaveringly repeating "slokas" and "mantras" in Sanskrit under the watchful eyes of their Hindu gurus.
All the students in class exchanges between the student and the instructor are conducted in Sanskrit. According to Onampilly Muhammad Faizy, the principal of the Academy of Sharia and Advanced Studies (ASAS), which is managed by the Malik Deenar Islamic Complex (MIC), the goal of teaching Sanskrit, Upanishads, Puranas, etc., is to foster in the student knowledge and understanding of different religions.
Faizy's academic background as a student of Shankara philosophy was another factor in his decision to teach Sanskrit to the MIC ASAS students.
Important passages from the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Mahabharata, and Ramayana are taught to the pupils in Sanskrit over the course of eight years after they graduate from Class 10, according to him.
Since the institution is primarily a Sharia college and is associated with Calicut University, other languages, such as Urdu and English, are also taught there in addition to an arts degree programme. This explains why only some of these texts are taught there. However, Sanskrit is difficult to master at first, just like Arabic, as per several pupils who recently told the media, but with continued study and practise, it gets simpler.