Wasting all that Education

Umi Wabomba

I became a Muslim in my second semester as an MBA student at the University of Nairobi.

I was at Daystar University for my undergraduate studies in the late 1990s and graduated in the year 2000. This was at a time when only Christians were allowed admission at this University. So Muslims were out of the question as students here. In fact Catholics were asked more questions in the admission process compared to other Pentecostal and Evangelical Christians.

There was even a compulsory unit for all students that touched on the basic teachings of Islam. The intention of this unit was to give a comparative view of what Christians and Muslims believed so as to better equip the Christian students with knowledge that they could use when evangelizing. I remember we used to pity Muslims saying they were ‘sincerely wrong’. To us they were very devoted to their religion which is a lifestyle but it was still wrong in our eyes.

Back to my MBA Studies…

Come second semester and I enter the lecture room in my new look loose clothing and covered head. I got a few stares especially from college mates who shared units with me in the previous semester. ‘Bad hair day’ was the assumption at first. But surely I wasn’t having bad hair for more than a week!

So the questions started. What happened? Why are you covered up? Even jokes. Are you Muslim now or what? And to their surprise I answered yes. So immediately they filled in the blanks. You got married? And I said no. This was getting more interesting for them to grasp. Soooo… you mean you became a Muslim just like that? And I answered yes. To some fellow students I had to explain further my decision. Remember these were Masters students so they were inquisitive.

Then the misconceptions about Education in Islam especially for women started unfolding. I got questions like so will you stop your studies? To some, Muslim women are housewives so I was misplaced doing an MBA! It didn’t help matters that in most of the classes I was the only female Muslim. I silently wished that more Muslim ladies would enroll so that I could have it slightly easier.

I was asked about my career ambitions and how I was going to fit into the corporate world dressed like that. My background was in Communications which involves Media, Public Relations, Marketing and Branding so they wondered how I was going to fare in that space.

I realized that I had some homework to do. I needed to get as much information as possible about Islam so that I could have informed answers to these questions. I therefore enrolled at the Jamia Mosque in Nairobi for a two year course in Islamic Studies for Reverts (new entrants back into Islam). Reverts versus Converts is a whole story for another day. I started from Certificate to Diploma to Advanced Diploma. The course touched on all aspects of the Islamic faith including its five pillars, its beliefs, some misunderstood topics like Marriage and its hot issue … Polygamy, Rights and Responsibilities of Men, Women, Children, Parents, Neighbours, etc. We had detailed discussions on topical issues like Human Rights in Islam, the contribution of early Muslims to formal Education as well as other world inventions, etc. It is here that I learnt that the first word revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in the Quran was ‘Read!’ In my additional readings I also learnt that the first university built on earth was by a Muslim Woman by the name Fatima al - Fihri called Al -Qarawiyin in Fez, Morocco in 841. Here is a link with more details https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatima_al-Fihri.

I then knew that Islam and Education go hand in hand. The only difference with other world religions was that Muslims are encouraged to advance in both their worldly education so that they can earn their sustenance and in their Islamic Education so that they apply what they have learnt as a form of worship for the betterment of humanity and as a way of earning the favours of the Almighty in the hereafter.

Gradually I didn’t feel so out of place anymore in my MBA classes. I was motivated to do my best as an example to Muslims and non Muslims that Islam puts great value on Education and we have no excuse not to pursue it to our highest potential.