Email 01

Actual First Email, sent to TEN Groups.

Welcome to our online course on Real Statistics. This course is based on principles I have learned through a lifetime of experience in studying and teaching. It is my hope that this course will initiate a new model for our approach to education throughout the Islamic World. Knowledge is the greatest of the treasures of Allah Subhanahu wa T’aala, and learning is the most exciting of all life-experiences/adventures for which we have been created.

This online course on “Real Statistics: An Islamic approach” is an attempt to reclaim, recapture and recreate our rich Islamic Intellectual heritage. In the process of the “Theft of History”, author Jack Goody explains how Europeans borrowed ideas from other civilizations and claimed them for their own. For instance, the supposedly revolutionary Copernicus was in fact just a copyist of Muslim astronomers – see “Is Science Western in Origin?” by CK Raju. The 205 people who enrolled for the course have been split into 10 groups of 20/21 each, named after neglected intellectuals of the Islamic Civilization. I have sometimes chosen a distorted spelling to give each group a unique FIRST LETTER tag.

In order to prevent email overload, communications will be structured as follows. Each group has two group leaders, people who are my students and/or familiar with my thoughts. Each group should conduct a discussion via the email group which will automatically be created by THIS opening email, addressed to all members of the group. A reply-to-all will automatically reach all members of the group. I would appreciate it if the group leader would send a welcome message via a reply-to-all to this newly created group, and EXCLUDE my name from the list of recipients – in that way, future emails via reply-to-all will be to all members of the group only. Group members can ask any questions from the group leaders. If the leaders cannot resolve them, then they can send me emails. I will create a separate email group for group leaders for this purpose. Groups can also create their own WhatsApp groups instead of, or in addition to email, if they find it convenient.

A heavy set of tasks has been assigned to the groups for the first week. There are three/four tasks of a technical nature, to setup various mailing lists and blog memberships, for use in conducting discussions of the materials in this course. There are three to four main readings. Finally, there are three main pedagogical principles, to learn and to use for the learning process in this course, and in all courses. Details of what needs to be done are specified in outline on the main page of the course website: Real Statistics {Shortlink: bit.do/azrs0}

If there is any confusion about what needs to be done, or how to do it, group should discuss among themselves – it is likely that at least one person in the group has clarity. If no one has clarity, then the group leader should contact me.

At this point, I am not clear on the pace at which we will be able to proceed. I will rely on the group leaders to let me know the pace at which tasks which have been assigned are being completed. I will adjust the pace of the course accordingly.