Mullahs or Islamic teachers are usually the ones other people come to listen to, but now they are the ones learning new subjects — from women's rights to the environment, tolerance and children's health — under a new course at a university in Peshawar.

These subjects are meant to widen the horizons of the mullahs, familiarising them with issues not usually taught — or are considered taboo — in the religious educational institutions that have mushroomed in Pakistan's border city with Afghanistan over the two decades since the Afghan war.

The project, which began April in the University of Peshawar, hopes to show another face of the mullahs — who are often put under the label "extremism" — and at the same time put them in touch with everyday concerns of people in this Islamic country.

Apart from giving them the chance to interact with civil society and development organisations, "I would like to show to the outside the world the real image of a mullah , which is normally distorted and exaggerated as an extremist,"says project director Dr Mirajul Islam Zia, associate professor at Shaikh Zayed Islamic Centre, University of Peshawar.

English language course

The course began with a short English language course for 16 ulama or religious scholars at the British Council in Peshawar, one that most said they found useful.

"I attended the course because I would like to deliver the message of the holy Prophet (Muhammad) to non-Muslims in their language (English)," says Juma Khan, a mullah from Ganjai village in Mardan district, some 60km from Peshawar.

The only negative thing about it was the lack of a proper place for prayers at the British Council, he adds.

But some found themselves fidgeting during the course. "The course was good and I liked the way punctuality is observed but the bad thing about it was that there was a female teacher. Also I didn't like the use of television and video," comments Maulana Nisar, principal of a madrasah orIslamic school at Panakot village near Peshawar.

The religious leader, who wore pagri , a traditional headgear worn by religious leaders in this part of the world, is also missing from the group photograph taken on the concluding day of the course. He avoided it, because he believes that making or being photographed is against Islamic teachings.

But organisers say there are more subjects ahead that the mullahs will be taking up, from the use of computers to issues of family welfare, women's health, human rights and peace.

New trend

This is a new trend, not always easy to pursue, but one whose opportunity came with the attention that has been focused on Islamic religious leaders and institutions in the region following the capture of Kabul by the Taliban in 1996, and effects on this on Pakistan and the region in subsequent years.

The puritanical brand of Islam introduced by the Taliban gave a boost to Islamic fundamentalism in neighbouring Pakistan, which saw a mushrooming of Islamic seminaries during the Afghan war and after.

After the US-led military action in Afghanistan post Sept 11, 2001 bombings and the fall of the Taliban, the mullah and the madrasah once again came into global focus.

In January, Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf launched a campaign against religious extremism, although whether he has succeeded or not is another question.

All these developments were encouraging for an Islamic scholar like Dr Miraj, who has been working to promote inter-faith dialogue and tolerance.

Despite opposition from several quarters, the professor, who has studied at prestigious universities like Oxford, joined hands with a non-governmental group called National Research and Development Foundation (NRDF) to organise training for the mullahs .

NRDF and the University of Peshawar also arranged a visit to Islamabad by religious leaders, so they could interact with internationalorganisations and development institutions.

During the study trip, a total of 25 clergymen were briefed by the United Nations Children's Fund, European Commission, and others. Plans are also underway to educate religious leaders in computers and Internet use.

"The idea is to change their perception about development organisations and involve them in the process and in this way bring clergy into the mainstream," says Tehseenullah Khan, chief coordinator of NRDF.

He says mere changes in the law — a reference to the government's reforms of religious institutions — and pronouncements against extremism by political leaders alone would not solve the problem.

Miraj wants to turn what has started as a one-year project into a permanent one.

So far, he has developed a blueprint for creating a 'Cell for Comparative Study of Religion and Culture' in the university. This, he says, would cover a comparative study of world religions, ethical teachings and history, to develop a sense of mutual co-existence within the Muslim world and within communities of other faiths and cultures.

Comparative studies

It would also look into comparative religious studies on modern issues such as status of woman, human rights.

The programme would organise courses in the comparative study of religion and culture for teachers of Islamiyat (Islamic Studies) and Arabic, women and clergy. It would also work with religious leaders and activists in conflict situations.

The programme would also organise seminars and workshops on multi-religious and the modern-day issues.

These would hopefully bring tolerance and sectarian harmony in the country and peace in the region, Miraj says, even though some religious critics do not like what he is doing and accuse him of following a "foreign agenda".