The Aims Of Education In The Islamic World Religion Essay

The Aims Of development In The Moslem gentleman Religion EssayIn any partnership, discipline is a major vehicle for the transmission of ideas, attitudes, and beliefs. This seasonncy that control over disciplineal content and access to classrooms cornerst angiotensin converting enzyme become valuable commodities in a conflict. Education, and especi all in ally the teaching of history, can perpetuate negative judgments about the other, engendering hostility and aggression among the young, and firing up the fever to go to war. But facts of lifeal content and teaching approaches can also provide strong means to change these attitudes, to promote tolerance and a go forthingness to settle conflicts without resort to violence.In order to increment the capacity of the fosteringal sector to promote conflict prevention, pacificationmaking and post-conflict reconciliation it has to enhance the ability of teachers and scholars to incorporate peace education and conflict managemen t into plan and classes many institutes, both Muslim and others, mostly under the protection of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, commonly known as UNESCO1, all work together with the important objective to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the kind-hearted rights and fundamental freedoms. Under its occurrent Education for All campaign, it conducts research and runs programs in countries in Africa, the Middle East, and South and Southeast Asia. The United Nations Children depot (UNICEF) advocates and works for the protection of childrens rights to help the young meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their intact potential. Among other programs, they meet developed peace education programs in a number of countries, including Afghanistan and Indonesia. The mission of the tie-up of Arab Universities is to enhance cooperation among universities in the Arab world. It is associated with central governments through their respective ministries of education. (www.aaru.edu.jo).Islam has, from its inception, placed a high premium on education and has enjoyed a long and rich intellectual tradition. Knowledge (ilm) occupies a significant position indoors Islam, as evidenced by the more than 800 references to it in Islams most revered book, the Koran. The importance of education is repeatedly emphasized in the Koran with frequent injunctions, such as idol will exalt those of you who bank and those who surrender knowledge to high degrees, O my Lord Increase me in knowledge and As God has taught him, so let him write. Such verses provide a forceful stimulus for the Moslem community to puree for education and teaching.Muslim education is uncommonly different from other types of educational theory and practice mostly because of the all- encompassing influence of the Koran. The Koran serves as a comprehensive blueprint for both the individual and society and as the primary source of knowledge. The advent of the Koran in the seventh century was quite basal for the predominantly illiterate Arabian society. Arab society had enjoyed a rich oral tradition, but the Koran was considered the reciprocation of God and needed to be organically interacted with by means of reading and reciting its words. Hence, reading and writing for the character of accessing the full blessings of the Koran was an aspiration for most Muslims. Thus, education in Islam unequivocally derived its origins from a symbiotic family with sacred instruction.HISTORY OF ISLAMIC EDUCATIONThis was the way, Islamic education began. Pious and learned Muslims (mu allim or mudarris), give to making the teachings of the Koran more accessible to the Islamic community, taught the faithful in what came to be known as the kuttb (plural, kattb). The kuttb could be located in a variety of venues mosques, esoteric homes, shops, tents, or even out in the open. Historians are uncertain as to when the kattb were first established, but with the widespread desire of the faithful to study the Koran, kattb could be found in virtually every part of the Islamic empire by the middle of the 8th century. The kuttb served a vital social function as the only vehicle for formal exoteric instruction for primary-age children and continued so until horse opera models of education were introduced in the modern period. Even at present, it has exhibited unique durability and continues to be an important means of religious instruction in many Islamic countries.The program of the kuttb was primarily directed to young male children, branch as too soon as age four, and was centered on Koranic studies and on religious bargains such as ritual ablutions, fasting, and prayer. The focus during the early history of Islam on the education of younker reflected th e belief that raising children with correct principles was a holy obligation for parents and society. As Abdul Tibawi wrote in 1972, the mind of the child was believed to be like a white clean paper, once anything is written on it, right or wrong, it will be difficult to erase it or superimpose new writing upon it. The approach to teaching children was strict, and the conditions in which young students learned could be quite harsh. bodied punishment was often used to correct laziness or imprecision. Memorization of the Koran was central to the curriculum of the kuttb, but little or no attempt was made to analyze and discuss the meaning of the text. erst students had memorized the greater part of the Koran, they could advance to higher stages of education, with increased complexity of instruction. Western analysts of the kuttb arrangement usually criticize two areas of its pedagogy the limited range of subjects taught and the exclusive reliance on memorization. The contemporary kuttb system still emphasizes memorization and recitation as important means of learning. The value placed on memorization during students early religious training directly influences their approaches to learning when they enter formal education offered by the modern state. A common frustration of modern educators in the Islamic world is that eyepatch their students can memorize copious volumes of nones and textbook pages, they often lack competence in critical analysis and self-sufficient thinking.During the golden age of the Islamic empire (usually defined as a period between the tenth part and thirteenth centuries), when western Europe was intellectually backward and stagnant, Islamic scholarship flourished with an impressive openness to the wise sciences, art, and even literature. It was during this period that the Islamic world made most of its contributions to the scientific and artistic world. Ironically, Islamic scholars keep much of the knowledge of the Greeks that ha d been prohibited by the Christian world. Other outstanding contributions were made in areas of chemistry, botany, physics, mineralogy, mathematics, and astronomy, as many Muslim thinkers regarded scientific truths as tools for accessing religious truth.Gradually the open and vigorous spirit of interrogation and individual judgment (ijtihad) that characterized the golden age gave way to a more insular, unquestioning acceptance (taqlid) of the traditionalistic corpus of authoritative knowledge. By the thirteenth century, according to Aziz Talbani, the ulama (religious scholars) had become self-appointed interpreters and guardians of religious knowledge. learning was confined to the transmission of traditions and dogma, and was hostile to research and scientific inquiry. The mentality of taqlid reigned supreme in all matters, and religious scholars condemned all other forms of inquiry and research. Exemplifying the taqlid mentality, Burhn al-Din al-Zarnji wrote during the thirteenth century, Stick to ancient things while avoiding new things and Beware of becoming engrossed in those disputes which come about after one has get laid loose from the ancient authorities. Much of what was written after the thirteenth century lacked originality, and it consisted mostly of commentaries on actual canonical works without adding any substantive new ideas. The lethal combination of taqlid and foreign invasion beginning in the thirteenth century served to dim Islams preeminence in both the artistic and scientific worlds. scorn its glorious legacy of earlier periods, the Islamic world seemed unable to respond either culturally or educationally to the onslaught of Western advancement by the eighteenth century. One of the most damaging aspects of European colonialism was the deterioration of indigenous cultural norms through secularism. With its veneration of gentlemans gentlemanity reason over elysian manifestation and its insistence on separation of religion and state, secularism considered by many as anathema to Islam, in which all aspects of life, religious or temporal, are interrelated as a harmonious whole. At the same time, Western institutions of education, with their pronounced secular/religious dichotomy, were infused into Islamic countries in order to produce functionaries to feed the bureaucratic and administrative needs of the state. The early modernizers did not fully realize the extent to which secularized education fundamentally conflicted with Islamic mentation and traditional lifestyle. Religious education was to remain a separate and personal responsibility, having no place in public education. If Muslim students desired religious training, they could supplement their existing education with moral instruction in traditional religious schools-the kuttab. As a consequence, the two differing education systems evolved independently with little or no official interface.AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION3.1. Problems in Islamic SchoolsBefore proceeding further, and in order to have a bring out understanding of the Aims Islamic Education it is better to first examine the problems facing the contemporary Islamic schools in the Western World. Generally these areNo Adaab or Islamic etiquette or conductParents want teachers to be lenientSome girls and boys meet secretly in the basement.They have girl-friends and boy-friends.They do smoke. malediction is written on the walls, desks, blackboards, etc.Behave roughly laughing, talking, screaming, rip off their Hijab on the buses.Discipline conduct is no different from the general Schools.Teachers are not fair. Spoiled kids as their parents are rich or important.Less school activities for girls. Little opportunity to interact with other students.Islamic schools are running without an Islamic curriculum, often without a syllabus.No textbooks.No qualified and trained teachers or certified teachers. (Quality in education is not possible without good teachers.)Those who attend Muslim high schools do not fare better in college.Non-Muslim teachers who are qualified and certified. (Live-in boyfriend rejects institution of marriage. Wear tight and revealing outfit. Promote amusing agenda, anti-religion agenda, or insensitive to Islamic values and events)Qualified and certified Muslim teachers work in Public schools. As Islamic schools do not offer viable salaries, benefits (pension health benefits, etc.)When they resign Islamic schools and have from colleges, some of them, they do marry non-Muslims as the Muslim community and their parents have exerted zero influence on them.Chronic shortage of space, science labs, auditoriums, gyms, playgrounds, libraries, bathrooms.High turnover rate (30 to 40 percent annually) of teachers.Parents fear Islamic schools trade off academics for Islamic environment.Organization, planning and discipline -suffer most in Islamic schools.Governance is the regretful reason why most Islamic schools sufferDo not develop an autonomous and unique decision-making (governance) structureSchool Boards require training in how to run a schoolSchool Boards seldom include womenParents do not play a part in Governance structureNo qualified administratorsSome parents worry Islamic schools offer an inferior flavor of education.Children are not ready to face competitiveness and the challenges of the modern world.Seriously lacking in Muslim literature and culture.For many Muslim families, Islamic schools are not affordable.In sparse Muslim population areas, Islamic schools are not financially viable.Very few trained Muslim teachers in special education or noneThe Arabic language has triple terms for education, representing the various dimensions of the educational process as perceived by Islam. The most widely used word for education in a formal sense is talim, from the answer alima (to know, to be aware, to perceive, to learn), which is used to denote knowledge being sought or imparted through instruction a nd teaching. Tarbiyah, from the etymon raba (to increase, to grow, to rear), implies a state of spiritual and ethical nurturing in accordance with the will of God. Tadib, from the root aduba (to be cultured, refined, well-mannered), suggests a persons development of sound social behavior. What is meant by sound requires a deeper understanding of the Islamic conception of the human being.Education in the context of Islam is regarded as a process that involves the complete person, including the rational, spiritual, and social dimensions. As celebrated by Syed Muhammad al-Naquib al-Attas in 1979, the comprehensive and integrated approach to education in Islam is directed toward the balanced evolution of the total recordthrough training Mans spirit, intellect, rational self, feelings and bodily sensessuch that faith is infused into the whole of his personality. In Islamic educational theory knowledge is gained in order to actualize and perfect all dimensions of the human being. From an Islamic perspective the highest and most useful model of perfection is the prophet Muhammad, and the goal of Islamic education is that people be able to live as he lived. Seyyed Hossein Nasr wrote in 1984 that while education does have humankind for happiness in this life, its ultimate goal is the abode of permanence and all education points to the long-lasting world of eternity. To ascertain truth by reason alone is restrictive, according to Islam, because spiritual and temporal naive realism are two sides of the same sphere. Many Muslim educationists argue that favoring reason at the expense of church berth interferes with balanced growth. Exclusive training of the intellect, for example, is inadequate in developing and refining elements of love, kindness, compassion, and selflessness, which have an altogether spiritual ambiance and can be engaged only by processes of spiritual training. Therefore Education in Islam is twofold acquiring intellectual knowledge (through the finishing of reason and logic) and developing spiritual knowledge (derived from divine revelation and spiritual experience). According to the worldview of Islam, provision in education must be made evenly for both. Acquiring knowledge in Islam is not intended as an end but as a means to stimulate a more elevated moral and spiritual consciousness, leading to faith and clean-handed action.EDUCATION OF MUSLIM CHILDREN CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIESEducation is the birth right of every Muslim and Muslimah. Islam puts considerable emphasis on its followers to acquire knowledge. Investment in education is the best investment one can make, because it at long last leads to intellectual property. Intellectual property is the intangible property, which no one can steal or destroy. This is the property on which no Government can levy a tax. It was as a result of application of knowledge that Muslims were the superpower of the world for twelve centuries.Today, globally Muslims have the lowes t literacy rate. Education of Muslim children in the west has both opportunities and challenges.In the Western World the purpose of education is to provide for the economic successfulness of a nation. At a personal level the purpose of education is to acquire academic and master copy skills that enable one to earn a respectable living with riches and fame, and also a marvellous and comfortable life. For a Muslim providing economic prosperity of a nation does not contradict his/her Islamic beliefs, however focusing the goals of education solely for the purpose of money making is unpalatable. Muslims want to impart Islamic education.The vast majority of Muslims think that Islamic education means acquiring Islamic religious knowledge-study of Quran, Arabic, Hadith, Sunnah, Seerah, Fiqh, Islamic history, and allied subjects. As a matter of fact, in the present world broadly speaking we have two types of Muslims a) those who have followed the Western type of education, or secular educa tion, and b) those who have acquired Deeni or Islamic education.In the twentieth century, due to colonialism and Western influence, Muslim parents concentrated on imparting only Secular education to their children. The weak or not so bright students were sent to Deeni (religious) Madrasas (schools) in their own countries or to one of the Middle Eastern countries. The Muslims who immigrated to Western countries became aware of their religious identity and wanted to impart both Islamic and Secular education, what is now known as Integrated Education. When they lacked the numbers and resources, they sent their children to public schools during the week and to the Islamic schools in the Mosque or Islamic Centre during the weekends.As their numbers grew and acquired sufficient resources, they have opened regular Islamic Schools from kindergarten to 12th grade (senior or final year) in High School.2It takes about two to three years of full-time study to become a Hafeez. During this time the student takes an equivalent to sabbatical leave from his or her public or parochial school.The greatest objective of education is to prepare the young times for leadership. Islamic education is of course has the highest objective, and more than that can hardly be imagined. The aim of Islamic education is Character building. Growth and development of an Islamic personality should be the final goal of any Islamic School. Islamic values are the foundation of the Islamic personality. For Muslims the educational aim is to develop the personalities of children to the end that they will be conscious of their responsibility to God (the Creator) and to fellow humans. The aims and objectives of Islamic education have been defined in the Recommendation of the Committee of the First World Conference on Muslim Education asEducation should aim at the balanced growth of the total personality of man through training of the human spirit, intellect, rational self, feelings and senses. The traini ng imparted to a Muslim must be such that faith is infused into the whole of his/her personality and creates in him/her an emotional attachment to Islam and enables him to follow the Quran and Sunnah and be governed by Islamic system of values willingly and joyfully so that he/she may proceed to the realization of his/her status as Khalifatullah to whom God has promised the authority of the universe.There is a need to prepare the younger generation having leadership quality and not to be the followers of alien ideologies but to play the role of torchbearer by their excellence in knowledge, character, and positive action. Some scholars believe that this quality can be developed in Muslim youth by a direct study of the Quran with a view to solve the problems of life in its light. A program of action to bring up the younger generation for leadership has not thus far been formulated.