Abstract
In the April 2016 issue of Missiology 44(2): 207–21, Dr. Titus Presler published an article entitled “Education, religion, and risk in Peshawar: A missional self-examination” in which he includes certain details of his experiences in Pakistan as well as his understanding of certain aspects of the history of Edwardes College in Peshawar. This brief article joins the voices of Drs. David Gosling and Robin Brooke-Smith, both past principals of Edwardes College, to present an alternative narrative that openly seeks to correct inaccuracies in the Presler article. Each author has published a book on his experiences in Peshawar.
By way of introduction, and before we turn our attention to apparent inaccuracies in Dr. Presler’s article, we admit we are troubled that he seems unable to see what a wonderful institution Edwardes College is. It is almost unique in the world as a fine college, with a Christian foundation set in a very troubled part of the Muslim world. It is truly a place of interfaith harmony and high-quality learning in a liberal tradition. It has survived and thrived in Peshawar for over 100 years and by God’s grace will continue to give glory to God. The College motto is Ad majorem Dei gloriam.
We first would like to rectify misconceptions concerning the succession of leadership at Edwardes College. The Board of Governors appointed Dr. Brooke-Smith as principal in 1995. After which, Dr. Gosling served as principal from 2006 to 2010. He left just five weeks before the end of his second contract due to threats of violence delivered by proxy via the college’s lawyer. There is no record of him having been dismissed by the board. The board appointed Dr. Presler in 2011 but subsequently dismissed him. Dr. Presler awards himself the title of “Principal-in-exile of Edwardes College” without sufficient grounds. The current board-ratified and well-qualified principal is a local Christian, a former brigadier with a doctorate in business studies.
It is important to note that since the 1970s the governance of Edwardes College had been amended so that the Governor of the Province is the Chairman and the Bishop is Vice-Chairman. Dr. Presler gives a very unbalanced account of the process of governance change in the 1970s, describing it as a “seizure by the provincial government.” The change was in fact carried out on the initiative on the then Bishop, the alumni, and other stakeholders in Peshawar, to avoid the college being nationalized by the Federal Government under Zulfiquar Bhutto (Benazir Bhutto’s father).
Beginning around 1998, Bishop Rumalshah was absent from Peshawar for long periods of time, apparently leaving a layman, Mr. Humphrey Peters, to act on his behalf as a sort of proxy for the bishop. This arrangement was a recipe for trouble, not least because the bishop was Vice-Chair of the Edwardes College Board and Chair of the College Executive Committee. Even the Governor of the Province appeared puzzled by the bishop’s absence and rightly emphasized how important the bishop was to the effective governance of the college, having in mind his representation of the minority Christian community.
However, during the time of Dr. Presler’s leadership of the college, Bishop Peters succeeded Bishop Rumalshah. The new bishop’s agenda was to overturn the historic arrangement described above, and herein lies much of the problem. One of the besetting ills in public life in Pakistan is failure to observe proper processes of governance. Due process and wide consultation must be pursued in any such change. These were clearly a source of frustration and were ignored or bypassed by the diocese. Perhaps Dr. Presler allowed himself to be corralled into this project by the bishop, without understanding the background and the necessary steps to take and the many pitfalls in the way.
Running a fine college in such a place is not easy at the best of times, but when there are hidden maneuverings going on behind the scenes it is doubly difficult. “When the cat’s away the mice will play.” Pakistan is a place of great complexity and nuance, and leadership in such a situation requires a deep understanding of the culture and educational leadership skills of the highest order. A principal, inexperienced in dealing with the local cultural nuances, is at a serious disadvantage.
Dr. Presler mistakenly perceives enmity between the college and the diocese, and, by implication, between Muslims and Christians. This is far from the case. While there was a shadowy attempt to destabilize and undermine the college and its principal in the run-up to the college centenary in 2000, this situation arose in the context of the bishop’s perennial absence, as described above.
Edwardes College is the beautiful offspring of the church in Peshawar. It should be proud. From small beginnings, Edwardes College has grown into an educational institution of national and international importance and in the words of the first principal, Rev. Noble, it is “a place that seeks to become a community of harmony and peace.” All should give thanks for such a place in today’s troubled world and encourage the college and its educational aims.
We encourage the readers of Missiology to explore further the events surrounding the recent history of Edwardes College in Peshawar in Brooke-Smith’s Storm Warning (2012) and in Gosling’s Frontier of Fear: Confronting the Taliban on Pakistan’s Border (2016) and make up their own minds about this wonderful college set in an important and troubled place. It and its staff and students have endured much in recent years. Yet, it is God’s place and will continue to play a crucial role in the advancement of his kingdom, which importantly is wider than the organized and institutional structures of the church. A sequel to Storm Warning is well underway, which attempts to deepen some of the profound lessons learned in Peshawar.
Further, we encourage readers to see all sections of Pakistan society in a positive light. Certainly minority groups (including Christians) have a hard time in Pakistan. However, we would like to end on a positive note with an assertion by Farzana Sheikh, a member of the Chatham House think-tank in London—a Pakistani and a Muslim: “The identity of Pakistan . . . is being re-evaluated. The media are emancipated, the legal fraternity are strong, the artistic community is vibrant, historians and human rights activists are in the forefront of new trends. Pakistan is becoming an integral—not exclusive—part of South Asia” (Sheikh, 2009: 209).