Readers today, leaders tomorrow

A. Chaedar Alwasilah Dean, School of Languages and Arts Education University of Education (UPI), Bandung chaedar@bdg.centrin.net.id

It is often said that the children of today will be the leaders of tomorrow. However, hardly do we hear one say that the readers of today will be the leaders of tomorrow! The opinion piece titled Most Indonesian politicians loath to read by Solita Sarwono published in this newspaper (July 25) provokes us to look into the connections, if any, between developing the reading habit and leadership.

As most people in Indonesia are Muslims, the majority of the politicians are by definition Muslims. We can conclude then that most of our Muslim politicians are loath to read, let alone to write.

Does reading determine the quality of leadership? The answer seems to be affirmative. Basically, leaders should have two competencies: the ability to absorb as much information as possible and the ability to lead others to achieve shared and collective goals. Visionary leaders must be avid readers so that they can update and reshape their vision and mission of leadership.

It is well recorded in Islamic history that the first verse revealed to the Prophet Muhammad was God's command, "Read. In the Name of Allah." Two decades after the revelation he became a great leader on the Arab peninsula, who is up to now believed to be the most influential and successful leader in human history.

It was not unreasonable for Michael H. Hart, in his book The 100, a Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History (1978), to select and rank the Prophet Muhammad first.

By inference, humans are instructed to produce texts. It is reading, rather than writing, that humans are explicitly instructed to do, suggesting that reading is more basic and vital for literacy and leadership. We read more than we write; therefore, throughout human history readers unquestionably outnumber writers. Writers are by definition good readers; while good readers are not necessarily good writers.

The first revelation, which was in the form of a dialog between the Angel Gabriel and the Prophet Muhammad, by definition marked the beginning of leadership and portrays the seminal idea of literacy. It also suggests that a critical dialog is essential for developing leadership. In other words, in Islam literacy is an absolute necessity for leadership. There is no leadership without critical reading and writing skills.

Undoubtedly, all Muslims profess that the Koran is their sacred Book, to follow obediently. However, only a few would believe that being literate is a command of God. Learning to read and write is part of practicing the Islamic teachings propagated by the Prophet Muhammad. It is narrated that in his early prophethood, the prophet set free non-Muslim prisoners who were committed to teaching illiterate Muslims basic reading and writing skills.

Given the fact that Muslims constitute the majority of our population, this country should have established an excellent education system to provide Muslim students with reading and writing skills. The majority of Indonesian politicians, leaders, bureaucrats and decision-makers are Muslim. Unfortunately, though, they are not good readers and writers. Thus, how can you expect them to lead their constituents?

The low literacy level of most Indonesian leaders and politicians is evidence of the failure of the national education system. It is a fact that Indonesian students have to study more subjects than their Singaporean counterparts. However, Indonesian students' literacy skills are rated the lowest in Asia.

This suggests that the quantity of school subjects does not necessarily guarantee the quality of education.

And Islamic schools include more school subjects on their curriculums than non-Islamic elementary, junior high and high schools. The students have to take secular subjects as well religious subjects. Overburdened, the students only manage to skate across the surface of most subjects. No wonder they are less competitive than their counterparts in public schools.

Given all of this, there are many things to be done to improve the nation's literacy level. Philosophically, as the majority of the population, Indonesian Muslims should be reminded of the truth that Islam teaches its adherents to be literate. Enforcing a policy to develop literacy is not only politically rewarding, but it is also part of practicing Islamic teachings. Unfortunately, this has been overlooked by Muslim scholars. Many are shortsighted when defining literacy as the ability to read the Koran and traditional Arabic references.

Muslim educators, both at public schools and Islamic schools, need to cut the number of school subjects by teaching students only the essentials of knowledge. Quantity, as evident in the Indonesian system of education, is antithetical to quality.