'Islamic schools' curriculum needs review'

'Islamic schools' curriculum needs review'

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An Islamic scholar from the Philippines has proposed that Muslim
countries in South and Southeast Asia set up a study group to
review the curriculum at madrasah (Islamic boarding schools) in
these countries.

Carmen A. Abubakar, dean of the Institute of Islamic Studies
at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, said
on Tuesday that the study group would explore the possibility of
setting up a standard curriculum and to evaluate the content of
textbooks used at madrasah.

"I emphasize this because we have heard much about the way
women have been much marginalized in the curriculum of madrasah.
Perhaps this is a solution that we can address. The content of
the curriculum and the methodology of madrasah would encourage
critical thinking," she said.

She also said the group would examine the possibility of
uniting madrasah across the countries under a federation of
madrasah.

"This federation can work as a network for mutual support in
terms of development and more for the enrichment of the madrasah
system," she told a regional workshop on "Contemporary Islamic
Movements in South and Southeast Asia: Roots of Fundamentalism,
Networks, Policy and Trend" in Tangerang, Banten.

The workshop discussed Islamic movements in the two regions,
and how these movements instigated the rise of radicals in
Southeast Asia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Abubakar also acknowledged that a madrasah served to
strengthen a Muslim's identity and not all of them were breeding
grounds for terrorists as claimed.

"Terrorism is not directly linked to madrasah in the
Philippines as most of the members of the militant MILF (Moro
Islamic Liberation Front) did not graduate from madrasah. They
are basically secularly educated."

She said that the study group could take over government's
responsibility of reviewing the content of textbooks used at
madrasah if the latter did not have the capacity to do so in the
absence of funding or will.

"The study group should also look into the possibility of
addressing the critical problem of textbooks: what would be the
content, what do we want to teach our children, and not just in
looking into the past, but more importantly to live in the
present and having a vision for the future," she said.

"In this way, I say madrasah education throughout Muslim
countries can be a source of genuine development for Muslims and
a genuine legacy to leave to our grandchildren," she added.

Azman H. Awang, the director of the Foundation for the Future,
an international think tank based in Malaysia, said that science
and technology should be introduced to the madrasah curriculum.

"My recommendation would be to look at the knowledge, modern
knowledge, science and technology to keep themselves (Muslim
community) to the relevance of development," he said.

The two-day workshop, which was co-organized by the Ridep
Institute, a research organization in Jakarta and Friedrich Ebert
Stiftung, a German-based non-governmental organization, ended on
Tuesday.