Readers today, leaders tomorrow<\/p>\n
A. Chaedar Alwasilah, Dean, School of Languages and Arts Education,
\nUniversity of Education (UPI), Bandung, chaedar@bdg.centrin.net.id<\/p>\n
It is often said that the children of today will be the
\nleaders of tomorrow. However, hardly do we hear one say that the
\nreaders of today will be the leaders of tomorrow! The opinion
\npiece titled Most Indonesian politicians loath to read by Solita
\nSarwono published in this newspaper (July 25) provokes us to look
\ninto the connections, if any, between developing the reading
\nhabit and leadership.<\/p>\n
As most people in Indonesia are Muslims, the majority of the
\npoliticians are by definition Muslims. We can conclude then that
\nmost of our Muslim politicians are loath to read, let alone to
\nwrite.<\/p>\n
Does reading determine the quality of leadership? The answer
\nseems to be affirmative. Basically, leaders should have two
\ncompetencies: the ability to absorb as much information as
\npossible and the ability to lead others to achieve shared and
\ncollective goals. Visionary leaders must be avid readers so that
\nthey can update and reshape their vision and mission of
\nleadership.<\/p>\n
It is well recorded in Islamic history that the first verse
\nrevealed to the Prophet Muhammad was God's command, \"Read. In the
\nName of Allah.\" Two decades after the revelation he became a
\ngreat leader on the Arab peninsula, who is up to now believed to
\nbe the most influential and successful leader in human history.<\/p>\n
It was not unreasonable for Michael H. Hart, in his book
\nThe 100, a Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History
\n(1978), to select and rank the Prophet Muhammad first.<\/p>\n
By inference, humans are instructed to produce texts. It is
\nreading, rather than writing, that humans are explicitly
\ninstructed to do, suggesting that reading is more basic and vital
\nfor literacy and leadership. We read more than we write;
\ntherefore, throughout human history readers unquestionably
\noutnumber writers. Writers are by definition good readers; while
\ngood readers are not necessarily good writers.<\/p>\n
The first revelation, which was in the form of a dialog
\nbetween the Angel Gabriel and the Prophet Muhammad, by definition
\nmarked the beginning of leadership and portrays the seminal idea
\nof literacy. It also suggests that a critical dialog is essential
\nfor developing leadership. In other words, in Islam literacy is
\nan absolute necessity for leadership. There is no leadership
\nwithout critical reading and writing skills.<\/p>\n
Undoubtedly, all Muslims profess that the Koran is their
\nsacred Book, to follow obediently. However, only a few would
\nbelieve that being literate is a command of God. Learning to read
\nand write is part of practicing the Islamic teachings propagated
\nby the Prophet Muhammad. It is narrated that in his early
\nprophethood, the prophet set free non-Muslim prisoners who were
\ncommitted to teaching illiterate Muslims basic reading and
\nwriting skills.<\/p>\n
Given the fact that Muslims constitute the majority of our
\npopulation, this country should have established an excellent
\neducation system to provide Muslim students with reading and
\nwriting skills. The majority of Indonesian politicians, leaders,
\nbureaucrats and decision-makers are Muslim. Unfortunately,
\nthough, they are not good readers and writers. Thus, how can you
\nexpect them to lead their constituents?<\/p>\n
The low literacy level of most Indonesian leaders and
\npoliticians is evidence of the failure of the national education
\nsystem. It is a fact that Indonesian students have to study more
\nsubjects than their Singaporean counterparts. However, Indonesian
\nstudents' literacy skills are rated the lowest in Asia.<\/p>\n
This suggests that the quantity of school subjects does not
\nnecessarily guarantee the quality of education.<\/p>\n
And Islamic schools include more school subjects on their
\ncurriculums than non-Islamic elementary, junior high and high
\nschools. The students have to take secular subjects as well
\nreligious subjects. Overburdened, the students only manage to
\nskate across the surface of most subjects. No wonder they are
\nless competitive than their counterparts in public schools.<\/p>\n
Given all of this, there are many things to be done to improve
\nthe nation's literacy level. Philosophically, as the majority of
\nthe population, Indonesian Muslims should be reminded of the
\ntruth that Islam teaches its adherents to be literate. Enforcing
\na policy to develop literacy is not only politically rewarding,
\nbut it is also part of practicing Islamic teachings.
\nUnfortunately, this has been overlooked by Muslim scholars. Many
\nare shortsighted when defining literacy as the ability to read
\nthe Koran and traditional Arabic references.<\/p>\n
Muslim educators, both at public schools and Islamic schools,
\nneed to cut the number of school subjects by teaching students
\nonly the essentials of knowledge. Quantity, as evident in the
\nIndonesian system of education, is antithetical to quality.<\/p>",
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