Islami Egitimde Educational Methods Reetz 2009a.pdf

7/29/2019 Islami Egitimde Educational Methods Reetz 2009a.pdf

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136 I EDUCATION: EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONSRasiah, Arun Wyramutloo. '''Ibe CHy of Knowledge: 'Ihe

Development of Shi'i Religious Education with ParticularAttention to I;Iowza 'I1miyya Qum." PhD diss., University ofCalifornia, Ilerkeley, 2007. 'nle most comprehensive work onShi'i educational institutions in English.

Robinson, Francis, TIle Ulama of Farangi Mal!


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EDUCATION: EDUCATIONAL METHODS I 137

Educational Methods. Iran, c. 1540. Among the activities depicted in this ~ a f a v i d - d y n a s t y folio arestudents copying texts and a master beating his student. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, SmithsonianInstitution, Washington, D.e., Purchase-Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, SmithsonianCollections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, S1986.221


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138 I EDUCATION: EDUCATIONAL METHODS

was also elevated as he became a disciple (khalifa) whowould carry on the message and mission of the teacherin a formally anointed and highly committed manner.

Over time, education became more institutionalized,especially at the higher levels, where various kinds ofcolleges were established; in the beginning, they retainedthe personal, informal character of earlier institutions.Egypt's famous al-Azhar, for example, possessed no regular schedule, entrance requirements, formal standards,required courses, examinations, or sharp distinctionbetween faculty and students-a teacher in one coursecould be a student in another. After radical reforms itgradually turned into a "bureaucratic university:' (Kadiand Billeh, p. 343.)

Some early Arab scholars who studied educationalprocesses advocated the use of different methods andarrangements, especially at the higher levels, but theirlrealises had only limited impacl. 'Ihe prevailing methods effectively socialized large populations into Islamicbeliefs, values. and practices. and Qur'anic schools usingthese method s continued to thrive.Impact ofModernity. It was perhaps not before the

eighteenth century with the emergence of public schooling. often under Western and colonial influences. thatIslamic schools began to focus on Islamic sciences exclusively. TI1e bifurcation of secular and religious educationstrengthened the association of Islamic schooling withrote learning and memorization. TI1e encounter of theestablished Islamic schools with new civil schools produced different responses in two main directions: modernis t Islamic educators set out to revise their curriculumand make it responsive to the new era by evoking theprinciple of independent reasoning (ijtihad). sometimesfusing it with secular subjects, whereas their conservative colleagues took to reviving traditional teaching inthe spirit of adherence to precedent (taqlid).

Islamic schools were also influenced by Westernpatterns of teaching. as can be seen in the Institute ofHigher Islamic Studies. the Daru'l-'UlUm of De ob and innorth India.When established in 1866 it was consciouslymodeled after Delhi College. a British-led institution,Clerics were striving to work for the revival of the faithand of religious knowledge through the application oftechniques of the colonial powers. Theologians arguedfor the need of Islam to interpret the world through its

own precepts more comprehensively if it was to withstand the pressure felt from the Western Chris tian world.A gradual modernization of Islamic teaching ensuedin which a sector of religious institutions emerged thatturned religious training into mass education. In manyparts of the Muslim world. institutions multiplied at ahigh rate, These Islamic schools or madrasahs followedfixed schedules. held exams. and provided residenceaccommodation, Paradoxically. many of them. such asthe schools of the Deoban d tradition, are seen today astraditional and antiquated; in their time, however, theywere on the cutting edge of change and modernity. atleast within the sector of religious teaching.

In view of the growing variety of educational institutions it is difficult to generalize about methods of Islamicteaching. Some of the methods that Western expertsoften see as critical in Islamic teaching. such as rotelearning. authoritative teaching, and absence of debateand dissent, can rather be seen as a stage through whichmost forms of teaching passed. be it Western or Oriental.religious or secular. Therefore, the es tablishment of modern civil schools in the Muslim world in the nineteenthcentury produced less change in teaching methods thanis often assumed. Also. the Western powers had no political interest in establishing schools that would preparestudents from the colonies and depend ent territories tothink independently. They developed curricula that weresimilar to those at home and expected students to master a body of knowledge that would prepare them to beloyal, obedient administrators. The cultivation of intelligence. sensitivity. and awareness was often rigidly suppressed. as could be seen in Egypt under Lord Cromer.Ministries of education permitted no deviation fromstrict rules and regulations.

Even in states that retained their independence.Western influences did not transform tradi tional patternsin the civil sector. At first large numbers of Europeanswere hired to teach in reformist schools, but this was aninefficient arrangement because their lectures had to betranslated into the local language, To meet the need fornative teachers, the Ottomans founded the DarUlmuallimin 1848. Its graduates, and those of the other teachertraining colleges that subsequently opened throughoutthe region. replaced the Europeans. but teaching methods mostly retained their traditional character,


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Contemporary Methods. After independence fromcolonial domination, Islamic schools evolved throughseveral stages. In the 19505 and 19605 they were subjectedto nationalist education policies. Beginning in the 19705,a resurgence of Islamic schools occurred, generating arevival of religious education. At the same time, institutions and methods diversified.

Attempts to reform Islamic teaching had started incolonial times when administrations sought to encourage the teaching of secular subjects in Islamic schools.Similar efforts at "mainstreaming" Islamic schools haveintensified recently, as Islamic schools have beenreviewed critically and are often portrayed as an obstacle to development and modernization. Since the 2001attacks at the New York World Trade Center and the waragainst Afghanistan, madrasahs have also been considered a political threat, as they allegedly produce Islamicradicalism and militancy. Sociological analysis has notborne out such contentions, as the number of Islamicschools linked to militant activities remains very low incountr ies such as Pakistan. It is estimated that mlldrasahsin those countries have not captured more than 3 to 5percent of the educational market.

Islamic educators have often emphasized that theirgoal of education is to produce students who are goodMuslims. Students in Islamic schools continue to bebound by the strong moral and emotional constraints ofthe teacher's authority. They are discouraged from questioning the authority of teachers, but also the authorityof texts and authors being taught. Nevertheless, the tradition of theological dispute and of the defense of thefaith against what are seen as deviant or heretical beliefswill lead to animated discussions and even disputes inIslamic schools. Some teachers emphasized their rightto administer corporal punishment whenever necessary, legitimizing it with reference to the Qur'an andthe ~ l I l d U h . Today civil institutions and the media havestarted highlighting cases of abuse in madrasahs, callingfor more stringent oversight on behalf of the public andthe state.In those parts of the Muslim world where madras-ahs have become mass phenomena, notably in Southand Southeast Asia, their student body is no longerinsulated from social and political influences. Studentsoften become politicized holding debates and publishing


student wall papers, albeit under the guidance and control of teachers. Students discuss not only theologicalbut also political issues seen as having repercussions forIslam.

Ideological influences in Islamic schools have beentraced to sectarian teachings seeking to mobilize students to stand up for the "true" Islam in the interpretation of particular groups or sects. Such sectarianismbreeds intolerance toward dissenting fellow Muslimsand non-Muslims and can ultimately feed into political extremism. The root cause for such polarization,however, seems to be the political manipulation of theseschools by some Islamic politicians and militants. It hasalso been note d that, conversely, some radical and ideological groups seek to open their own schools comm ittedto the group's ideology.

Since the 1990S, the sector of Islamic teaching hasbeen opening up and diversifying in a remarkable way.Economic reforms emphasizing market modernizationare pushing Islamic schools to position themselves in theeducational market to compete with private schools thatare emerging in large numbers for the new middle andeven lower classes. Increasingly Islamic schools opt forteaching the regular primary and secondary curriculum,sometimes also at the advanced level.Madrasahs in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia have become trulymodern secondary schools, run by the state, but also byIslamic groups such as the Indonesian M u ~ a m m a d i y a h .Teaching has expanded also through the new trend ofIslamic girls' schools-both traditional and modernthat are opening in large numbers in parts of the Muslimworld.

Besides'the mlldrasah it was mainly Muslim privateschools that provided the platform for reforming Islamicteaching. They offer a religious curriculum, sometimesmodeled on the madmsah, sometimes adapting modernsecular teaching methods integrating various concepts.In addition, they teach secular subjects at the primaryand secondary levels, what today is often called the"national curriculum." These schools started operatingin the nineteenth century, but have spread more widelywith the privatization of public education in the 19905in many parts of the Muslim world. They are distinctiveplaces ofle arning in that they place a much higher burdenon the students, as they have to master two demanding


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14 0 I EDUCATION: EDUCATIONAL METHODS

curricula of religious and secular subjects. Their proponents allege that the Islamic emphasis on memorizationcould be an advantage, as the training in the Islamic sciences methodically prepares students for the heavierteaching load. Their opponents complain about the formation of a uniform ideological outlook weak in critical evaluation. Good examples are the group of IQRARozatul Atfal schools in Pakistan or the Muslim schoolsin South Africa.

Practical Problems. TIle problems that beset theIslamic schools and Muslim private schools are often thesame as those in the public schools in the Muslim world.Reforms have been hampered by ideological and material constraints. Nationalist, socialist, and lately Islamistideological concepts have interfered with revising curricula and teaching methods. Scarcity of resources limitsthe possibility of applying more student-centered methods. The available lexlbooks are often unadapted translations ofWestern texts or works produced by authors withlittle practical experience. Audiovisual materials andother teaching aids are rarely available. Library resourcestoo are limited, and access is strictly controlled bylibrarians.

These conditions mostly apply to all subject areas,even those such as science, foreign languages, and vocational training that receive special attention becauseof their significance for the achievement of nationaldevelopmental goals. Science continues to be taught ina formalistic manner. Schools at all levels lack adequatelaboratory facilities, and what is available is often notutilized properly. Instead of allowing students to engagein practical work, to solve problems for themselves, theteacher demonstrates his ability by carrying out experiments while the students watch. Even though simplehomemade devices can be very effective in sciencecourses, few teachers possess the knowledge or motivation to develop and utilize them.

Foreign-language instruction is another critical area.In most countries every student is required to study atleast one foreign language. Although many students arebilingual or multilingual, given the cultural heterogeneity of most parts of the Muslim world, few studentsacquire full proficiency. Many of the instructors possess only a limited knowledge of the language they areteaching. In some regions of the Muslim world (West

and South Asia), Islamic schools find it difficult to condone the teaching of Western languages, which are stillseen as potential instrument s of Western adaptation andChristian influence.

Vocational schopls do not prepare students adequately for industrial occupations because of inadequatefacilities and curricula and the difficulty of finding andretaining staff with industrial knowledge. TIle teachingis theoretical rather than practical, and students spendlittle if any time working with machinery and tools andacquiring hands-on experience.

Rudimentary vocational training courses have existedin some Islamic schools (madrasahs), although limitedto traditional trades associated with schooling such asbookbinding. In the wake ofmadrasah reforms, compute rcourses have become an almost compulsory addition totheir curricula. New independent training institutes arebranching off from madrasllhs. offering additional skillsin foreign languages and computer knowledge.

1his trend also applies to public schools. National programs of computerization, sometimes in combinationwith local or Western NGOs, are being implemented inmany Muslim countries, although at an uneven and generally slow speed. Particularly in Asia, NGOs have beenformed to offer affordable quality educat ion in the formoflow-priced private schools.

Higher Education. Islamic teaching diversifiedfurther through the emergence of the InternationalIslamic Universities at the behest of the Organizationof the Islamic Conference (OIC) beginning in the late1980s. In addition, national modern Islamic universities are being created in countries such as Indonesiaand South Africa with a simi lar profile. The Malaysianscholar Syed M u ~ a m m a d Naqib al-Attas (b. 1931)championed a project for the "Islamization of knowledge," primarily in the social sciences, which became astandard reference point for these institutions. Qualityteaching is being pursued here as they teach moderngraduate and postgraduate courses in technical andsocial sciences, business, and law. Islamic teachingcontinues through specialized departments with separate degrees for Arabic and Islamic studies. Teachingmethods here present a lively fusion of traditional,authority-oriented patterns and modern performanceand problem -oriented approaches.


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In some regions, such as South Asia, madrasahsalso offer graduate and postgraduate religious courses,bestowing the degree of 'alim (religious scholar) afterat least eight years of study. In addition, some offer apostgraduate specialization course (takmil) in Islamicjurisprudence (mufti), the study of Prophetic traditionsUladith), or Islamic theology (kala m). These coursesare recognized as the equivalent of bachelor's degreesin Arabic and Islamic studies in Pakistan, and to someextent in India and Bangladesh.

In the civil sector, higher education has been battlingwith structural problems similar to those in secondaryeducation. Although higher education has been favoredby all Muslim states, in this area too the rapid expansionof enrollments has greatly outpaced the available humanand physical resources. The result has been tha t in manycolleges, facilities are stretched, faculty members needmore qualifications, and student-teacher ratios are toohigh. Education has become a mass-production process with little interaction between student and teacher.Universities in several countries utilize some temporaryfaculty from Western states, but this solution creates adivided faculty, many of whom have no lasting commitment to the institution or its students.

Prospects for the Future. Islamic education in itsvarious formats, ranging from Qur'anic schools at a preschool age to traditional madrasahs, to modernizing andfully modernized madrasahs, to national and international Islamic universities, is still expanding thro ughoutthe Muslim world. It represents a growing sector inMuslim minority communities in the West, but also inAsia, Africa, and Latin America. It interacts and is oftendirectly linked with public schooling. Increasingly itcompetes with private schools, both secular and confessional. Many modernizing Islamic schools turn into teebased private schools, but community resources are alsopooled to help Muslim students a llend classes there. Thistrend reflects a strongly held belief in Muslim activistcircles, reinforced by international political currents, thaton a global scale Muslims are disadvantaged and needmore opportunities for both religious education andmodern knowledge. With the enormous cultural andsocial variety of Muslim societies there is no uniformityin direction, contents, or methods. Schools try to adaptthro ugh better networking on a national and global scale.


The best schools of these networks can hold their own inthe expanding educational market. Yet many of them arebeset with structural problems similar to those of thepublic institutions.

Throughout the Muslim world one can find exceptions to the critical condition of public education. Thereare teachers who are committed to their students andattempt to make schooling an exciting and stimulating experience. Yet they are found primarily in the eliteschools of urban centers, and even there they struggleagainst great handicaps. The more remote the area, theworse the facilities and the more conservative the teaching styles.

Some Muslim scholars argue that existing teaching methods are not consonant with a real Qur'anicapproach to education, and pedagogues point out thatthese patterns do not promote the intellectual and moraldevelopment of young people or prepare them to function in modern societies. Nonetheless, the criterion ofgood teaching in the civil sector remains the numberof students who successfully pass the national examinations, the primary purpose of which is to identifythose (usually of elite background) who are qualified forfurther schooling; the majority receive only an elementary education, and the number of functional illiteratesremains high.

Governments now accept the need to upgrade teaching staffs, modernize curricula, and improve facilities.Many are turning to modern technologies to improveeducational practices. Turkey, for example, has createdan "Open University" in which classes are conductedvia television. Large numbers of teachers are receivinginstruction in subject matter and pedagogical techniques, and it is hoped that thousands of students willbe positively atlected. Computers are also being emphasized in many countries. Such technologies can play auseful role, but only if a new orientation toward education is accepted within a society. In other words, qualitymust replace quantity as the major criterion for educational policymakers; political elites must recognize thatdevelopment requires creative, independent, resourcefulcitizens capable of critical reasoning and moral judgment, and they must be willing to allocate the necessaryresources to create the educational systems that producesuch citizens.


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142 I EDUCATION: EDUCATIONAL METHODS[See also Fiqh; 'Hm; Madrasah; Modernism; Science;Technology and Applied Sciences; and Universities.]

BIBLIOGRAPHY'Abd Allah, 'Abd al-Ral)man ~ a l i l ) . Educational Theory:A Qur'ijnic Outlook. Mecca, 1982.AI-Attas, Muhammad Naguib. Islam and SeClllarism. Kuala

Lumpur, 1978.Berkey, Jonathan P. TIle Transmission of KrlOwledge i/l Medic",!1

Cairo: A Social History of Islamic Education. Princeton, N.J ..1992.

Eickelman, Dale F. Kl10wledge and Power in Morocco: 'fheEducation of a Twentieth-Century Notable. Princeton, N.J.,1985.

Hefner, Robert W, and Muhammad Qasim Zaman. SchoolingIslam: TIle Culture and Politics ofModern Muslim Education.Princeton, N.I., 2007-

"IQRA Rozatul Atfal Trust." http://www.pcp.org.pk/certified_NPO/SINDH/IQRA.pdf.

Kadi, Wadad, and Victor Billeh. Special Issue: Islam and Edu-cation-Myths and Truths. Comparative Education Review,v. 50 , no. 3. Chicago, 2006.

Lowry, Joseph E Devin J. Stewart, and ShawkatM. Toorawa, eds.Law and Education in Medieval Islalll: Studies in Memory ofProfessor Gcmge Makdisi. Camhridge, U.K., 2004.

Massialis, Byron G,and Samir Ahmad Jarrar. Arab Education inTransition: A Source Book. New York, 1991.

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and Formats of Islamic Education:' In Handbook of [slamicStudies,ediled byAkbar Ahmed and Tamara Sonn. 'lhousilndOaks, CaliL and London, forthcoming.

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DIETRICH REETZOriginal article by JOSEPH S. SZYLlOWICZ

EDUCATIONAL REFORM

111e challenge for educational reform in the Muslimworld is steep, By the turn of the twentieth century,Islam has become a globalizing force and demands forreinstituting religio-moral education have producedtensions between Muslims and the dominant capitalist

Western globalization forces, In the five hundred yearssince the Spanish inquisition, which dismantled the lastintellectual and cultural stronghold of Islam in Europe,Western forces ha d failed in their goal of "modernizing"the Muslim world, mainly because of their double-standard policies, Focusing on modern skills and vocationsas the only means to reform made existing Westernimposed educational reform paradigms almost obsolete.In Barazangi's opinion, Muslim educato rs need to understand issues of pluralism, secularism, and the individualbelief system. The problem lies mainly in confusing theseissues as well as in applying the ethnic-religious divideswhen addressing the public-private domains within theIslamic belief system (Barazangi, 2004). Barazangi warnsagainst the "addition of contents, concept, themes, andperspectives to the curriculum without changing itsbasic structure, purpose,and characteristics;' stating thatit is twice as important in the context of the current political climate. That is, she explains, "the universal beliefsof Islam that [are] rooted in the Qur'an are often confusedwith the .. . individual cultural and ethnic interpretationsof these beliefs, especially because these interpretationsare predominantly exercised by males."

Understanding the dynamic relationship betweenthe universal belief system and the individual views ofIslam was central to the determination of the nature ofeducational reform in Muslim societies and minoritycommunities during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and it has become more central in the twenty-firstcentury. This centrality, represented in the five majorchallenges that are addressed in the five sections of thisarticle (preservation verses revival of Islamic culture,changing functions of education, .. . ) is essential for discussing changes in curricular and instructional policiesand their implications for attitudinal change,

The Muslim world initially rejected as irrelevantchanges introduced from Europe in the early nineteenthcentury, Changes in technical, military, and vocationaltraining dictated by local rulers and elites did no t conform to the traditional educational practices that werethe remnants of Islamic education. Comparing thesepractices with recent changes runs the risk of overstating where and how educational reform has takenplace, particularly so when outside systems have beenimposed. Zia's (2006) claim that, contrary to modernity,

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