Islamic colleges need new curriculum

Islamic colleges need new curriculum

JAKARTA (JP): Islamic higher learning institutes need to
revamp their curriculum to reflect more the values of the
religion, noted intellectual Emha Ainun Najib, said.

Speaking during a seminar on Saturday, Emha said he found most
of the curricula used by Indonesia's Islamic universities and
colleges to be rather "secular" because they are adopted from the
western education tradition.

Citing an example, he said most curriculum put biology and
mathematics into the category of general subjects, while Nahwu
Sharaf, or Arabic grammar, is considered a religious subject.
"It's got nothing to do with religion whatsoever," he said.

Emha made the remarks during a discussion on the future of the
Syarif Hidayatullah State Institute for Islamic Studies in
Jakarta, which marked its 38th anniversary this month. The
institute, which has produced some of the country's top Moslem
thinkers, will soon become a full-fledged university.

Emha, who was the guest speaker at the discussion, said the
Western education system makes a clear distinction between
science and religious studies. Islam, however, regards science as
a component of the religion, not separate.

He said even the Association of Indonesian Moslem
Intellectuals has been trapped into the Western way of thinking
when it coined the phrase iman dan takwa (faith and worship) to
distinguish it from ilmu dan technology (science and technology).

"Why make the distinction at all?" he asked, adding that this
approach leads to the impression that ilmu dan technology is
secular.

The association, under the leadership of State Minister of
Research and Technology B.J. Habibie, stressed recently the need
for Moslem intellectuals to master both iman dan takwa, as well
as ilmu dan technology.

Emha said Islam's view on science is clearly stipulated in the
Koran's verse Iqro (Read), the first verse given by God to
Prophet Muhammad commanding him to read.

The verse has been broadly interpreted as a command for
Moslems to study and to learn.

Emha said the challenge facing Moslem students is how to give
religious interpretation to the subjects they are studying.

This means that the curriculum must bring harmony to religious
values and science. "This is something that the western education
system does not have," he added.

Mastuhu M.A, the Jakarta institute's deputy rector, reported
at the discussion on the preparations to turn the institute into
a full university.

The Jakarta institute is waiting for a green light from
Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher, Mastuhu said. "We
have reported to the minister the result of a study to support
the plan."

The Jakarta institute is one of 14 such institutions run by
the government. While universities are supervised by the Ministry
of Education and Culture, these institutes throughout Indonesia
are supervised by the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Some of the country's leading public figures, such as Amin
Rais (current chairman of Muhammadiyah and deputy chairman of the
Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals) and Zainuddin
M.Z., a religious leader with a million followers, are among the
institute's alumni.

The institute in Jakarta has faculties in Tarbiyah
(Education), Syariah (Law), Ushuludin (History), Adab (Ethics),
Dakwah (Missionary).

With 4,600 students enrolled, the Jakarta institute is the
largest of all other institutes in Indonesia. It is also the only
institution that has a doctoral program.

Along with Emha, Saturday's discussion also presented Haidar
Bagir, Republika's editor, as speaker. (01)