By Dr. Abasher Elhaj
Regardless of being opponent or proponent of the fresco image of Adam’s Creation by Michelangelo, it seems to me that to kick up a spherical cackle around a painting is just a result of a guy, who is oppressed and intellectually diverted and divided, attempting to lay their personal failure and wrath on Dr. Garrai so as to feel they are still consistent and coherent among their affluence of their flounder and contradictions.
Genuinely, this painting is deeply steadfast in human reminiscence. Such distortion around it forces one to state that Michelangelo has enclosed virtues and behavior. In fact, this image is an option; And it is well known that options impress life and interact with its events, but never steer them. To the best of everyone’s knowledge that ethics is the internal auto-driving force of human beings; so, I tend to think that it is unjustifiable behavior to raise such a fuss.
Insisting questions arise concerning the source of fear from this painting and how those who sobbered, wailed and whimpered guided people, whom they governed, during their eon for three decades, and how did they prepare the pupils and students to encounter the intellectual invasion, philosophical and civil conflict? To my boundaries of my knowledge, they did nothing but mere parrot-fashion rehearsal that has resulted in a devastating ignorance. The paradox lies in the fact that this fresco image “Creation of Adam” is still being taught at the Faculty of Education, Omdurman Islamic University for aesthetic purposes. This university is assigned to be viceroy, Divine Suppliance, and luminous shadow of God on the earth, but it was the obscure shadow, and if the justice was on their side, they would accept it willingly. Those people are so hagiophobic as in their hearts is sickness and God has increased their sickness.
Apparently, there is mismatch between what those people believe in and what they come up with. Therefore, the same painting, which is being taught at on the bastion of Islamists, Islamic University of Omdurman, is just proposed to be included in a basic level school book. It recently has created much tumult which it, from the top priority, had to be teed off in their bulwark. But nobody heard one was sniveling, or foaming at the mouth at that time- and if they have the right, they will come to Him submissively!
Paintings in general, express a cultural, philosophical, and ethical content. Did those who shed crocodile’s tears, are aware that philosophy is a mental mechanism that serves religion, philosophy and ethics? The rapport between religion and philosophy is one that between religion and intellect.
Islam is based on two of the intellect laws: causality and the ultimate end. The former refers to the existence and knowledge of God, while the latter leads to the hereafter life. The ruthless and tyrannical faction failed to curb the faithlessness for it lacks operative tools of encounterment; so, it thought that such a painting will give way for atheism to overwhelm the country from the first turn. Judging others by eventuality (either in hell or in paradise) is a brutal impoliteness and decorum towards God.
It is bitter to see this spherical subjectivized campaign drifted some intellectuals. Personally, I have not witnessed an educationist, or a teacher tackling the matter objectively in terms of harmonization of curricula to the requirements of the labor market and the style of life in the twenty-first century. Vivid curricula include visualizing, imaging, thinking, and the skills of communication. There is a theory called Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), which is used to analyze multimodal texts. The polemic image of “Adam’s Creation” was muck to refute the embodiment of the Divine Essence (which is instinctively ostracized by Muslims, but unfortunately this embodiment is essential pillar in the illusory creed of those weepers exactly when they come to talk about the session of God in His throne) for it would make learners ask questions, and thus they would find satisfactory explanations from their well-methodologically-equipped teachers. But if wishes were horses, beggars would ride! The field of teaching has not been remunerative, and the most qualified teachers have abandoned it and the rest is either enforced to stay or a taxi teacher waiting for his station to drop.
In sum, I can feel it in my bones. Including controversial lessons in the curricula should be accompanied with cognitive methods to encounter atheism. This will be achieved through building intellectual Islamic culture that enables learners and teachers to possess the tools of thinking and logical deduction. Thus, they will be on the safe side even if they study in Vatican they will never get astray, obliterated or nudged into associationism. Far from it, too many those who studied in Mecca, but have not found Alla and swaggered on the transgression and stains of the soul to the sole of their toes.
