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.