My eldest child, Sarah, achieved her Master’s Degree in
Islamic Theology on Wednesday, 3rd December in the College of
Islamic Sciences, Kharouba, here in Algiers. It’s
been a long time coming, through no fault of her own. She was supposed to defend her thesis last May
but it was cancelled at the last minute.
To get to this stage she had to first finish her four year degree in
Aqeedah, then pass the entrance exam for the Master’s for which there are only 10
places. Then after a year of classes she
chose a subject for her thesis and submitted a brief outline for acceptance. The
title of her outline was ‘Islamic Fundamentalism in Orientalist Writings in the
English Language Between 1990 and 2010’. Once her thesis proposal was accepted
she began work on researching and writing the full thesis which had to be
150-200 pages long. Then she got it printed and bound and submitted 5 copies to
the University. Three copies were given to the panel of professors who were
nominated to sit on her thesis defence committee and who had to then read the
thesis and submit a report to the University’s administration. She was very fortunate to have an excellent
Thesis Adviser (who was one of the three professors on the committee) who
encouraged her and helped her along the way, may Allah bless him for all his
efforts on her behalf. It’s difficult to keep the momentum going on a project as
long term as a thesis, and there was a time when she just couldn’t work on it
at all and even considered giving up on it altogether. With a lot of dua and help from Allah, and
encouragement and pointers from her Thesis Adviser and a Life Coach recommended
to her by a friend she found the energy and enthusiasm to continue
Alhamdulilah.
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| Kharouba |
The Thesis Defence itself was a rather gruelling affair: she
had to give a short presentation, dressed in a black graduation robe, on her
thesis, which she did using a power point presentation, and then she was
questioned on it by the panel. This was a difficult ordeal especially
considering that it had been over a year since she originally wrote the thesis,
and the fact that the whole thing was a public affair in the library of the
University where anyone could drop by and sit in and listen. When she first talked about this impending
event a couple of years ago, we thought how wonderful it would be to have
family and friends at such a special occasion.
However, by the time the day rolled around, Sarah only wanted immediate
family members to come as she was so nervous and had waited so long she just
wanted to get it over and done with and Alhamdulilah those of her friends who
knew her well understood this. But she
still had quite a big audience with some of her own students dropping by to
listen in. The 3 professors on the panel were diligent
and thorough in their questioning and critique.
Sarah seemed, to all outward appearances very calm and collected, even
when she was told that it might not be possible to get the projector equipment
for her presentation. Alhamdulilah she
did get it and I have to say that the assistants who work to make sure that
everything runs smoothly – including getting her the equipment she needed and
telling her and the family how everything normally goes –were really wonderful
and helpful mashAllah, may Allah bless them also for all their efforts, because
it meant a lot to all of us as a family at such a stressful time.
As a mother, I could tell that she was nervous the whole
time, even though she dealt with it really well Allahibarek. It is such a nerve wracking experience and
not everyone can deal with it so well – Sarah told me about one student who
collapsed in tears just before her Thesis Defence and the assistants had to help
to calm her down before she went on to defend her thesis and receive a very
good mark Allahibarek.
Once the three professors stopped grilling Sarah on her
thesis, they retired to a room to discuss her mark – a mark below 12 out of 20 would
have meant that she would not be eligible to
continue to do a PhD if she so wished.
They were gone only a matter of minutes, much to all our surprise, and
when they returned we all had to stand up while they announced her graduation
and the mark that they awarded her, which was very good Alhamdulilah. I felt like I was standing in a courtroom,
especially with the professors and Sarah in their black robes, waiting for a
guilty or not guilty verdict, but this was necessary as this legalised her
Masters Degree. Once she has made the
necessary corrections to her Thesis she will get it reprinted, rebound and
submit copies to the University after which a copy will be registered both in
the University library and in the National Library.
I had plenty of time to think as I sat there not
understanding very much of the proceedings, given that it was obviously all in
Arabic, and I must admit to becoming rather teary eyed. I remembered Sarah’s first 7 years of life
with a non-Muslim Mum, and how Allah protected her and kept her on the Straight
Path, and guided me to it also, almost despite myself, Allahibarek,
Alhamdulilah. I remembered my one big
wish for all my children was that they would have a good grounding in their
religion and in the Arabic language. I
especially didn’t want the girls to go through the same experience as me, being
a wife and mother, with a child on the hip, stirring a saucepan and trying to
learn ‘Alif, Ba, Ta’. I wanted them to
have the whole of the religion at their fingertips, where they could look up
anything they wanted in the original beautiful language of Arabic, to be able
to understand Allah’s Own Words exactly as He revealed them so that nobody
could misguide them or lead them astray.
Also I feel that higher education for my daughters is a valuable asset
for their futures as one can never tell what the future holds for them and this
can provide a measure of security As I
sat there and watched my daughter, I thought of how He answered my dua…..and
then some!
So many of us, when we move to Algeria worry about the
education system here and whether it will be good enough for our children. Her achievement has shown me the
possibilities and opportunities both in this country and abroad. To my immense surprise I have discovered that
many Algerian university graduates end up continuing their studies or finding
jobs abroad, contributing to what is called the Brain Drain in developing
countries.
As I sat there last Wednesday afternoon I was reminded of
John F Kennedy’s famous words ‘ask not what your country can do for you, ask
what you can do for your country.’
Along with all the dua I regularly say for all of my children is one asking
that they will have a positive influence in the development of this wonderful
country. This has started in a small
way, with Sarah teaching Aqeedah in English to a group of my friends and me. She started with about 6 students 3 years ago
and now has 13 which are as much as she can cope with, considering our short
concentration span and varying degrees of corpus mentis! There are more who would love to join but she
has neither the time at the moment to hold another class or the ability to
travel the distance it would take to reach other women eager to learn. Her classes have opened up my world, boosted
my Iman, and brought me closer to my Creator, with a totally new comprehension
and wonder at His awesome Mercy and Abilities.
She also teaches English both at home and at the University that
educated her in her deen in the first place, Kharouba.
After four years studying in Kharouba for a degree, and then
the additional years of study for her
Masters, when I ask her what is the most important thing that she has learned,
she answers ‘I have learnt that I know absolutely nothing…..in comparison to
all the knowledge that’s out there’.
May her thesis be a benefit to others in this life and to
her in the Akhirah.
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| View of Algiers from Kharouba |
