Educational curricula are utilized by Ministries of Education to modify student behavior, develop their skills and positive attitudes, and instill social habits and values that align with societal norms. These curricula also work towards refining ethics and nurturing inclinations.
The curricula, with their knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values, serve as the nourishment upon which student education is built. They are the central element in the educational process. Therefore, countries have focused on developing curricula in all their elements to keep pace with societal development and the accompanying challenges, enabling society to progress in line with global advancements.
Islamic Education Contributes to Developing Students' Minds, Improving Their Morals, and Utilizing Their Abilities for Constructing the World
Experts in the educational field recognize that education in Islamic countries has derived its goals and methods from the theories of John Dewey and his followers. These theorists view education as a social function, essential for any human community seeking to maintain its existence and advance on the ladder of progress. Education, in their view, should be carried out in light of a social philosophy and in social contexts, aiming to create citizens who perform social functions such as preserving, improving, and refining culture.
From this perspective, the goal of education is to create a good citizen who plays their role in maintaining and refining the culture of society. It is a society that defines the philosophy it wishes to cultivate, the values and ideals it wants its members to adhere to, and the skills they should master.
However, if we look at the goals of education within the Islamic framework, we find that Islamic education transcends the narrow regional concept of citizenship to a higher level of objectives, represented in “nurturing a good human being.” This refers to the human being in the comprehensive human sense, inherently and universally, not merely as a citizen of a specific region. This broader meaning is undoubtedly more inclusive than any educational concept in non-Islamic contexts.
Islamic Educational Curricula
Islamic education is a powerful tool in developing students' minds, improving their morals, guiding their energies, and nurturing their abilities for the construction of the world. Islamic education is characterized by a comprehensive approach to nurturing all aspects of a person's character. It aims to achieve many educational goals, such as equipping students with the skills necessary for the construction of the earth, developing their intellectual and moral abilities, and guiding their energies towards positive interaction with their community according to accepted standards derived from Islamic Sharia and societal customs. Religion is both knowledge and practice, a comprehensive methodology encompassing all aspects of life. Allah says, “Say, 'Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. No partner has He. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims.'” (Al-An'am: 162-163)
Neglecting Islamic Education Curricula Has Negative Effects in Terms of Civilizational Backwardness, Loss of Identity, and Societal DecayTop of Form
The Reality of Religious Education Curricula in Islamic Countries
The reality of religious education curricula in Islamic countries confirms the existence of significant shortcomings across these nations. In a study conducted by researcher Ruqayya As'ad Saleh Arar at An-Najah National University for her master's degree, she concluded the following results after analyzing the content she collected:
- The low representation of contemporary issues in the curriculum content, with only a few social and economic issues being addressed.
- The absence of contemporary jurisprudential issues needed by students at this stage.
- The study praised Kuwait’s experience in developing Islamic education curricula and adopting modern approaches, which included, trending towards a separate experience method between the branches of the subject, integrating knowledge in subject topics, and trending towards concepts and activities.
The study also discussed modern trends in teaching Islamic education, which included the trends towards mastery, cooperation, teaching thinking, and enrichment.
The reality indicates that when a student finishes secondary education in most Arab and Islamic countries, their formal connection with Islamic education ends completely, as if university students do not need to learn about their religion, Islamic values, and morals!
Instilling Correct Belief in Students’ Hearts Through Persuasion and Evidence, Not Imitation That Builds Shaky Faith
Islamic education is no less important than foreign languages, which are almost present in all educational stages now in most Arab and Islamic countries, from nursery to the final stages of formal education and beyond. Islamic education does not need the large space allocated to foreign languages in educational curricula. If curriculum developers have found the time and space to include foreign language learning across various university specializations, allocating time and space for Islamic education should not pose a problem. On the contrary, incorporating Islamic education into university education will solve many serious and numerous problems faced by societies.
Neglecting Islamic education curricula in schools and universities has serious negative effects, such as civilizational backwardness, loss of identity, weakening strength, societal decay, and exposure to corrupt and extremist currents. This neglect leads to generations disconnected from their religion, with no sense of belonging or identity, ready to absorb false ideas, misguided ideologies, and deviant morals.
What’s expected from Islamic Education Curriculum Developers
Given the current state of Islamic education curricula in most Arab and Islamic countries, the hope is for curriculum developers to respond to the inclusion of modern technological advancements in education, adopting goals, content, and activities that align with these advancements. They should also respond to societal aspirations and the requirements of the modern age, without neglecting the needs of students in this era.
We hope curriculum developers in our countries will focus on nurturing students in:
- Faith: By instilling the correct belief in students’ hearts through persuasion and evidence, not imitation that builds shaky faith in the face of intellectual and cultural challenges.
- Critical Thinking Skills: By incorporating what is mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah, which call for contemplation, reflection, and employing evidence for persuasion.
- The Ability to Dialogue and Coexist with Others: Dialogue is a fundamental value in the Quran. People are different, and integration among them can only be achieved through dialogue, knowing that the criterion for superiority among people is the piety of Allah.
- Utilizing Technology for Self-Learning: Technology is the tool of contemporary society, an effective means of communication, and a means of opening up to knowledge.
In light of the above, we recommend curriculum developers to:
- Enrich Islamic education curricula with activities that enhance the orientation towards e-learning and the utilization of technology in education.
- Analyze Islamic education curricula in light of contemporary developments and issues quantitatively, then enrich them with contemporary issues accumulatively as students progress through their grades according to the sequence for jurisprudence units.
- Increase the number of Islamic education classes to enable teachers to focus on presenting contemporary jurisprudential issues during lessons in an engaging manner that stimulates students' thinking and sharpens their interests by presenting them in additional enrichment activities.
- Conduct periodic evaluative studies of the content of Islamic education books in light of contemporary jurisprudential issues to keep pace with societal progress and represent emerging contemporary issues.
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- Taken from: Islamic Educational Curricula: Reality and Expectations, Ruqayya As'ad Saleh Arar, An-Najah National University, with modifications.
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