Education is where change begins, says professor in UAE

Dubai - Describing himself as 'a gap analyst', Ajman resident Dr Malik wrote and published a book titled The HOW of a Peaceful and Tolerant World.

After getting his formal education through the traditional system in India with just little English as part of his curriculum, Dr Wasim Ahmad Malik was fascinated when he heard that 'to present world-class ideas, you need to know a world-class language'. This sentence stuck in Dr Malik's mind and he worked his finally able to write his PhD in English before coming to the UAE in 2000 to work as a teacher in a school in Abu Dhabi.
After observing life closely, the 46-year-old, who has now become a professor of Islamic studies, aims to identifies gaps in situations by penning them down in short and crisp sentences so that people read them and learn to reflect on life positively.
Describing himself as 'a gap analyst', Ajman resident Dr Malik wrote and published a book titled The HOW of a Peaceful and Tolerant World, which has a total of 470 sentences, reflections, questions and one-liners written over a period of 8 to 10 years.
"We are constantly bombarded with high sounding terminologies, big words that don't stir us at all. Which is why I wrote a book of simple meaningful phrases summing up complexities of life. This thin book can be called a self-help book that anyone from a child to an old man can read from anywhere and till anywhere without missing the point I am making in it," said Dr Malik. 
A man of few words, Dr Malik hosts free interactive learning sessions for teachers, school leaderships where he uses self-reflection and rhetorical questions. "During my 'Know yourself and fellow teachers' workshop, I ask probing questions so teachers can openly tell their minds. This has helped them discover innovative ways of thinking and also knowing their colleagues well. My sessions have a rule that no answer is a wrong answer. The aim is to help teachers recognise their talent as well as the talents of their fellow colleagues. Education is where change begins. If we reach out to teachers, they will pass the message to thousands of students"
Dr Malik, who is now working on his second book, Towards Innovation and Diversity, said the matter for both the works is taken from the everyday life situations. "These reflections are also in the form of questions and one-liners. My effort is to simplify things as much as I can. I feel these self-help phrases are loaded with meanings to help people deal with the different situations. I want to describe innovation and diversity in my own way. The world should not only tolerate diversity but celebrate it."
saman@khaleejtimes.com

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