The evolution of human societies has been variously characterised as the growth of an agricultural society, industrial society, and now, a knowledge society. These characterisations show the key feature of a given period of history.

Jan-e-Alam Khaki

Then emerged a new wave of development, starting around the 1960s, that is now called the knowledge society. While agrarian societies were based mainly on farming and industrial societies on skills, knowledge societies are overwhelmingly based on knowledge and information. What are the key features of a knowledge society? What challenges does it throw to memory-based or traditional societies?

Information is the basis of human development.

These are pertinent questions that societies — including Muslim societies — must ask. Let us briefly look at how a knowledge society is understood. A knowledge society — in the manner of many other complex concepts — is described in several ways, the common features of which tend to focus on generation, multiplication, trade, transportation, and preservation of knowledge and information, which are seen as the drivers of modern societies.

Although knowledge and information have always been important, what make knowledge societies different are the scale of their need and the expanse of their utilisation, as well as the speed and scale with which both are generated, accessed, stored, transferred and transacted. There is a great Persian saying which, roughly translated, means: knowledge is not what is in the ‘boat’ but it is that which is in the ‘chest’ (of the learned).

Knowledge was once seen as something to be memorised, which was highly praised as the written word was uncommon, and hence the ‘chests’ were the ‘hard disks’. Times have radically changed. Today, an immense amount of knowledge is stored in small devices; even a whole library can be saved on a disk which does not take much space either, and can be transferred to another person or institution, sitting in a cosy room of a library in a different continent, within a moment.

Second, older societies were at great risk of losing the books and manuscripts of very important writers. In fact, many human societies have lost much of the incredible knowledge through natural or man-made disasters. Even within Muslim societies, sadly, communities have burnt each other’s libraries because of sectarian divisions, considering much of them as ‘heresy’.

No longer is this possible, unless, God forbid, there is a disaster of epic proportions. Even in such an eventuality, not all will be lost as much of the knowledge is now being stored in virtual space, which may be preservable forever. The other day, I was told by someone that his office data was in the ‘clouds’; I am still struggling to understand what this means, but I have come to know that this is now common in many societies.

In a knowledge society, knowledge and information are the basis of human development, opportunity, progress and innovation. In order to thrive in a knowledge society, one needs to be well equipped with the changing nature of knowledge, skills, attitudes, abilities and habits that require the development of multiple talents.

Today, it’s quite common to change one’s profession many times, which is called a mid-career change, and go for more lucrative professions where there are rising opportunities. What this means is that the traditional idea of having a degree is confined to bygone days, and that today, unless one continues to become a lifelong learner, it is difficult to sustain a job, let alone make a career. Therefore, in modern markets, the possession of wide-ranging skills is essential.

A 2005 UN report on knowledge society indicates many areas that need attention. Some of these include preservation of local cultural heritage and languages, increasing participation of women in knowledge production, and advancement of the spirit of critical thinking and innovation.

The implications of these recommendations are especially relevant to the field of education and cultural promotion. Education policies, curricula, teacher education and production of children’s learning materials should be guided by the imperatives of a knowledge society. For promoting cultural diversity, local cultures must be celebrated to create further richness of human expressions and experiences, which, in turn, can strengthen a knowledge society.

In a knowledge society, we need to be not just consumers of knowledge, but its producers, as well.

The writer is an educationist with an interest in the study of religion and philosophy.
Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2017

This story was originally published by Dawn, Pakistan

The emergence of a global village, where people from different civilisational bacle grounds are coming together in increasing numbers to work, study, and live together, is creating fault lines that often erupt in violence.

This phenomenon has led to an academic and political debate heightened by Samuel Huntington`s thesis on the `clash of civilisations`. Predicting future inter and intra-civilisational conflicts, he argues: `The most pervasive, important and dangerous conflicts [in the future] will not be between social classes, rich and poor, or other economically defined groups, but between peoples belonging to different cultural entities. Tribal wars and ethnic conflicts will occur within civilisations.

These projections have been given further credence by the unfortunate events of 9/11.

The `clash position`, so to speak, sees the encounter of civilisations as an occasion to heighten or revive historical confrontations, while completely hiding or understating historical symbiotic links among civilisations.

On the other hand are those who perceive civilisational encounters as desirable, productive and necessary. They believe in promoting civilisational exchanges and building a culture of dialogue among civilisations.

These dialogues occur at three levels: Individual, institutional and state.

At the individual level, people, including writers, media, and many far-sighted community leaders, are promoting dialogue.

Enormous quantities of literature are published to promote better understanding among civilisations.

At the institutional level, many civil society organisations and educational institutions have structured programmes to teach diversity and pluralism as a `language` of the civilisational discourse. John Esposito in The Future of Islam provides some examples of these programmes in the Western context.

Many organisations, whose actions were previously restricted to their own communities, are now opening up to, and welcoming, others. Schools, colleges, universities, and social welfare institutions, are good examples of this. In fact, they are an example of dialogue within civilisations, a lofty feat indeed.

This dialogue is not necessarily restricted to verbal discussions or conference presentations. It has to do with a wider meaning which encompasses people-to-people contact, as well as cultural, educational and diplomatic exchanges. Such channels of communication, which focus on the perspectives of others in a non-judgemental, and what Marshall Rosenberg calls `non-violent communicative mode`, give further impetus to the dialogue of civilisations.

An international Muslim leader once remarked that in a pluralistic world, the con-sequences of ignorance can be profoundly damaging ignorance of other people, and a lack of understanding of the valuable benefits of plurality, can lead to contempt, hatred and even war. It culminates in misery for all.

On the other hand, knowledge of other cultures and civilisations can promote better understanding among nations. Learning more about other cultures leads to a better understanding of oneself.

Dr Ali Asani, a professor of religion at Harvard University, in an interview with the Harvard Gazette in November 2015 argues, `As we engage [in a dialogue] with `the other`, we see that we`re actually engaging with other viewpoints, and in the process, coming to know ourselves better.

At the state level, many countries (a prime example being Canada) have promoted policies, laws and positive actions aimed at cultivating diversity.

Globally, there is heightened awareness about dialogue although much more needs to be done. For example, in December last year, Muslims, Jews, Christians and Hindusjointly celebrated the births of the Prophets Hazrat Esa and Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon them) at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

The event was intended to highlight the role played bythese great prophets.

A good number of people participated in the gathering, appreciating the effort of bringing people of different faiths together on common themes such as peace.

Admittedly, cultural clashes have always been part of the human story. However, inter-cultural cooperation has also equally been a major part of the mosaic of history. So, what should we opt for today clash or dialogue? Those who support dialogue among civilisations also support building on historic traditions of acceptance, accommodation, and even celebrating each other`s heritage.

In sum, we may say that dialogue among civilisations today is not just a pragmatic need, but a strategy to better understand oneself and others. If this is the case, we then need to ask ourselves: what can support dialogue and contribute to mitigating clashes? To conclude this discussion, let us recall one of Rumi`s verses that remind us of the need for coming together: `Tu barai wasl kardan aamadi; Ne barai fasl kardan aamadi` (you have been commanded to unite, not divide [the people]).

The writer is an educationist with an interest in the study of religion and philosophy.

This story was originally published by Dawn, Pakistan