(Amman - Majlis El-Hassan)

HRH Prince El Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan called for reviving the tradition of WAQF (religious endowments) for Education in order to support research and critical thinking in the Arab world; pointing out that "for centuries in Islamic history, education was financed by religious and charitable endowments and by munificent patrons.  Al-Azhar University which gave free education and support to countless generations of students, not only from Arabia but from all over the Muslim world, did it all by using funds from awqaf (religious endowments). This came to an end only recently when some governments appropriated the awqaf and the educational system, and people no longer feel that there is any point in donating to education."

In a keynote speech at the opening of a conference on "University Development and Critical Thinking", in Kuwait last week, HRH said "we need to learn from the good practice found in parts of the US and the West where large business corporations regularly allocate generous resources for research.  Business corporations in the Arab world have forgotten the tradition of waqf and have not yet learned to spread the good practice of the West of supporting research."

"The objectives of a university education should be to instill essential intellectual traits and curiosity in the minds of students and researchers so that they may have intellectual courage instead of intellectual cowardice; intellectual humility instead of intellectual arrogance; intellectual empathy not intellectual closed-mindedness; intellectual autonomy not intellectual conformity; intellectual integrity not intellectual hypocrisy; intellectual perseverance not intellectual laziness; confidence in reason not distrust of reason and evidence; fair-mindedness and not intellectual unfairness." the Prince said.

Prince El Hassan also said that the requirement to think critically must be seen as a religious as well as an educational duty.

HRH also said that "focus on education for life, education for the whole person, will enable our students to keep pace with the untold possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead in this 21st century with its ever-accelerating inventions and discoveries. Without this there is no hope, especially nowadays. There is, after all, tremendous competition between many well-developed nations who see the value of education and the critical thinking education can inculcate."

Prince El Hassan stressed the need for "lateral thinking," "the kind of thinking that students in liberal arts institutions are encouraged to learn. It is how, and not what, students are taught which shapes the way they understand the world around them. The seeming paradox of locally educating students in a global world represents one of the 21st century's most exciting opportunities. It can only be accomplished by educating students to think critically about their own environments, helping them understand how those environments are situated in the international context."

HRH Prince El Hassan and the accompanying delegation were received by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, with the attendance of HH the Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The meeting was attended by the Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

During his visit to Kuwait, Prince El Hassan visited a number of scientific and cultural institutions. He also met a number of intellectuals and scholars.

(Photos by: Bughos Darakjian)

(Amman - March 14, 2009)