Support Islamic schools

Support Islamic schools

Muhamad Ali, Lecturer, Islamic State University Syarif
Hidayatullah Jakarta, muhamad@hawaii.edu

Suspects of the bombings in Bali were reported to be former
santri, or students at pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), or
that they had lived within the vicinity such schools. A few
religious teachers have been repeatedly mentioned in relation to
a number of violent acts.

The connection, either real or potential, between Islamic
education and the kind of radicalism which fuels acts of
terrorism should remind the international community, including
foreign aid agencies, of the importance of their support for
Islamic education in Indonesia. In order to eliminate some roots
of terrorism, the international community needs to provide a
massive aid program for Islamic education by supporting moderate
Muslim organizations and democratic institutions.

Education can make a difference. Globalization, international
security, and terrorism have become real challenges to Indonesian
Muslims. Indonesian Islamic institutions, governmental or non-
governmental, should be reminded of these challenges -- and a key
objective of international aid policy should be to help these
institutions in facing such challenges.

Traditional Islamic educational institutions (madrasah and
pesantren) have a long history here. They serve important
purposes in both society and religion, and it has been wise for
the government and international community to seek to modernize,
rather than eliminate, them. Any international assistance for an
Islamic educational reform project should involve close
coordination to prove a genuine commitment to promote moderate,
modern education.

Madrasah and pesantren so far provide free or low-cost
religious education, room and board, and are largely schools for
the poor. A great number of our children attend such schools.
These seminaries depend on philanthropy and produce indoctrinated
clergymen of various Muslim institutions. Some branches of the
more orthodox Muslims may have the potential to be radicalized by
support from international terrorist organizations.

Their worldview, lack of contemporary studies in civics, and
general poverty could make them a destabilizing factor in
society. They are thus also susceptible to romantic notions of
sectarian and international jihad movements, which promise
instant salvation.

In Indonesia, it is fair to say that Islam has suffered an
"education deficit". Madrasah and pesantren are constantly under-
financed and are constrained in their efforts to increase
revenues through parental contributions that are already high.

Although government support is now quite extensive, coverage
is not well-distributed and is often inequitably so. Systematic
planning of this support has also been difficult because of the
wide variety of sources.

Better targeting of those schools most in need of support, and
a centralized database to track the allocated contributions could
improve the effectiveness of government and international
assistance. The resources will have to be increased if the sector
is to be maintained and is to operate at acceptable standards of
modern education.

Strategic programs must also include sending Indonesian
intellectuals out of Indonesia for education abroad. Muslim
scholars from pesantren must be encouraged to study abroad with
financial assistance, which has been expected, on the whole, from
international agencies rather than the Indonesian government.

Islamic studies, comparative religion, and related social
sciences -- highly developed in Western universities -- are the
primary fields in need of support.

The Islamic Development Bank has long supported Islamic
education, but this is far from adequate, given the great number
of Islamic students in Indonesia.

Karl Jackson, the director of Southeast Asian Studies at Johns
Hopkins University, recently said that Indonesia needs at least
US$200 million per year for the next five to 10 years for
educational programs aimed at the Muslim community, in addition
to present levels of aid in effect. He asserted the U.S.
contribution was only an additional US$100 million per year, with
Japan and the European Union contributing the remaining US$100
million.

These educational programs might include support for moderate
Muslim nongovernmental organizations; encouragement of religious
schooling in Indonesia, with the caveat that these schools should
also teach math, science and other modernist subjects
such as English; support for the government's religious affairs
ministry; as well as increasing teachers' salaries and purchasing
textbooks of modern sciences in support of Islamic educational
reform.

As donors face legal and constitutional difficulties in
relation to direct support of religious education, they should
consider supporting a number of specific projects; including
training new madrasah teachers in a wider range of non-religious
subjects, producing madrasah textbooks for modern subjects, and
supporting civil society monitoring of government performance in
madrasah reform and on other educational issues.

Obstacles such as demands for accountability, potential
Islamic and nationalist resistance against international aid, or
resentment of foreign pressure, can be overcome by ensuring
effective procedures as well as initiating dialog among all
potential Islamic leaders and educators from various Muslim
organizations in Indonesia.

Such support for Islamic educational reform is better than
issuing threats or increasing pressure against supposedly radical
Islamic institutions, which may lead to radicalism or inflame any
existing radical elements. International aid agencies should
pursue dialog with moderate Muslim institutions, and moderate
Muslim organizations must equally initiate dialog with alleged
Muslim hard-liners, whether individuals or organizations.

The writer is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in history and is a
fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii, USA.