Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
I
ooilmunity has tried to savethe faith of its childrenanclhenceof future
ge)rerations by nraintainingthe tladitionalsystenrof educationalong with
Introdulction
thc sccularistic system. At the First World Confcrenceor.rMuslinr
EdLrcationwe concludedthat asIslanl is a completeway of lil.eit is possible
to evolve social,political,economic,aridpsychologicalthoughtfrom the
lsllmic point ofview. Hencean jntegratedsystemofeducationis nccessary
and it is a possibility provided Muslim govemrnenlsbecornefully awareof
ith the comingof tlrcIndushialRevolutionandthc tlarvnofthe
the danger-of this duality.
scientificage,edllcationbascdon laith or religion facedgrcat
Dr Rosnani l-[ashimis the first scholarto invesligatein detail the
challengeswhich shoohits fbrrrrdation.Two ol lhc faiths
dilfcrencesbetweenthe two systelrs at the thcoreLicaland pr.acticallevels
that had to contend rvith these challerrgesbrc,riglltabout by 'rreat
Westel.n
anrlden'lonstratcthem with specialrcfcrcnceto her.owncountry,Malaysia,
scientificrevolutionwerc Chlistianilyandlslarr. ScholarsofLhc scicntiljc
wtrich is predominantly a Muslirr country, and rvhere its prcvlous
age \\/creplimarily interestcdin cultivatingthc soicntificattitutlcwhiclr
EducationMinister, Daluk Seri Anrvar Itrrahirl, had tried to intplsmentthe
reJecteddoglnasandqucstionedthc absolrrte.They reliedsolclyon reason.
rcr,ommendations ofthe four wolld conferenceson Muslim education.The
They qucstioncdthe strenglh ol'vcrillcittions tltat were not basedon
bar;icproblcm that the Muslinr authoritiesface is that in a mulliracial,
empiricalevidenceto thc extentthal logicalpositivisticphilosophers ofthe
mLrlti:-eligiouscounlrythey find it difficult to Islamizeeducationandhence
VicnnaCircle did no[ accel]tany proof ulless i1was empir.ical.Therewas
1h(1acceptthe easiestway ort, that is to have the secularsystemwith
alsomarkedhostilityloward metaphysics rvhichspeculates ntainlyon thc
Isl:nTicstudiesas an obligatolysubjectfor Muslim childr.en.One of the
natureof tlre Unseen. 'The Vicnna Cir.cleor lYienerKreis was a baudol'
mr',jordrawbacksof the Firs World Conferencewhich I organizedand the
cutthroatsthatwent afterthe fat burghcrsof Continentalmetaphysics wlrit
olher foul world conferencewhich l had the oppofunity to help to or.ganize
had become intolelably inbrcd and ponpously verbose. The ki.r_s is a
is that we never discussedeven this problem. We were too much involved
lvlalaysiankrife, and,the Ll/iencrKr.crscnrployeda kind of Occlm's Razor
in lirst establishingthe theoreticaland pr-acticalneedto Islamizeeducation
calledthe Verifiability Principlc''
for the Muslims, and make edrrcatos and authorities aware of the great
The Vedfiability Principle of mcaning statesthat sonrethingis
danger of the cornpletesecularizationof mirids through the secularist
mcaningfulif and only if it is vcrifiatrlcernpir.ically,
or is a tautologyof
mt,derneducalion. The experintentin Mala),siais an eye-openerfor us all.
mathemalics or logic.2This hasbeelltalicnto meanthatif it cannotbe secn
Dr llosnani's book will thus lead to further researchin this field. Shall we
or measured,it is not worthy of discussion. 'Ihis is of coursea gteat
hirve separateeducation for diflerent religious gror.4rsand also a secular
challengeto religion especiallytvhcn bclief in God aud thc lJeretfter is
sys;temfor the non-religiousgroup? The IslamicAcademyofCambridge
deeplygroundedon faith basedol the Scriptureor revelationanclequally
har; tried to evolve a comnron set of metaphysicalprinciples for a faith-
uponrationalanddeductivercasoning.Usirrghis r.eason, mancouldcleducc
basededucationwhich all the religious groupsmight agreeto acceptas the
from nahtral phetrotlena ceftain laws that govem the universe antt
bar;isfor the nationaleducationsystem.
ultimately indicate the existcnceol tlrc Cr-eator."fhe achievcntents ol'
Tbis book therelbresucceedsrn raisingthesemajor issues.For this
sciencehaveencouraged the view thatscieutificmethodproviclestlrc orly
rcasonalonethis book is a highly u,elcometvorli in the field ofeducation
route to genuine knowledge. As rcligious beliefs cannot tre provctl
as a whole and Muslim educationin uarticular.
sOientifically they are to be doubted,fbr it is assumcdthatreligionis just rr
nratterof subjectiveopiltion."sThe logicalpositivistsnot only wantedto
crpungemetaphysicsfrom philosophy[rut alsofi'om science.
Canbrklge SYEDALI ASHIIAF
CharlesDarwin's theory of evolution which is one of the grearcsr
lugust 1995
tbcoriesof the scieltific agc lrclrs glave inrplicationsfor. lhith bascd
EDUCATIoNAL DUALISM IN MALAYSIA Introduction 3
TheIslamicEducationSystem
Duringthissameperiod,MalayvemacularandEnglishschoolsbegan FJ
H
r; il
Malaysia.This dualsystemaffectedtheMalaysconsiderably. Most of the to gainpopularityamongthe Malaysfor economicandreligiousreasons. ' t{
En-qlishschoolswerebuilt in urbancentresandproved inaccessible
Malays,manyof whomlivedin themral areas.Anotherfactorwhichmade
theseschoolsunpopular,evenamongMalayaristocrats,
to the
wasthe fearthat
Theteachingof Islamicreligiousknowledgein boththenationalschools
(the former Malay vernacularschools)and the national-typeEnglish
schools(the former English schools)was recommended by the Razak
H
H
studentswould be convertedto Christianity.Most of theMalaysresented Reportsubmittedin the 1956.26In 1960the govemment acceptedthe
8 EDUCATIONAL DUALISM IN MALAYSIA ' Inlroduction 9
physicaland materialdevelopmentarrdntanpowerrraining. Membersclaim putting forth ideas for overcomingsocial problen.rsin contemporary
that the system has failed to develop noral characterand point to the rise Malaysia.
of comrption, white collar crime, and drug addictionin Malaysiato support Third, Islamic schoolsare poorly financedand largely dependon
their claim. They contendthat the secularnahrreofthe national education resourcesfrom the various statesreligious departmentsand private
is wrong and the objectives of the presentsystem are inappropriate and endowments. Poorfundingaffectsthe qualityofschools,physicalplants,
opposedto Islam.32 educational equipmentsuchaslibrarybooksandlaboratoryapparatus, and
Fourth, althoughMuslims acceptedthe rationaleof the National thequalityof teachers.
EducationPhilosophyand the KBSM, they are not optimisticwhen it The greatestgrievanceagainstboth systemsof educationlies in
comesto its implementation.Therearepedagogical difficultiesinvolved discontentover their graduates, who, critics claim, do not possessthe
in attemptingto inculcatethe specifiedvalues.Thereis arixietyover the integratedpersonalityof the ideal Muslim. On the one hand, many
possiblemisuseof moral educationclassesbecausein tlie past, civic graduates from the nationalsystemcan pursueprofessionalcareersln
educationhasbeenusedto drill students for examinations. Muslimszrgue medicine,engineering,business,and other scientificand technological
that their concemis not solelyon the inculcationofreligiousknowledge fields. Thereare broad educationalopporhrnitiesfor higher education
andvalues.All subjectsin thecuniculum,theycontend,shouldshengthen leadingto broadereconomicopporhrnities for thegraduates. Thelrcareers
beliefin theunity ofGod andleadpupilsto performgooddeeds. conferhighstatuson them,andtheyarelookedon to provideleadership in
Muslims are alsounhappywith the Islamiceducationsystem.First, themodemsociety.However,manygraduates lacka strongfoundationin
they claim the contentof the curriculum is limited and outdated.It lslamicin termsof moralvaluesandreligiousattinrdes.Theybehavelike
overemphasizesArabic language,grammar, rhetoric, and religious secularmenwho relegatereligioninto a privatedomainanddo not allow
knowledge.The curriculumis designedto hrm every gradtateinto an 'alim their religiousbeliefsto affect their public affairs.This lack of moral
(religious teacher),a qadhi (Islamicjurist), or a nrufti (Islamic Iegal integrityis evidentfromtheriseof whitecolourcrimeandcriminalbreach
scholar). Religious schoolsdo not preparestudentsto be doctors, oftrustin the 1970s.
engineers, architects,or scientists.Nor doesthe limitedcurriculumhelp On the other hand,most graduatesfrom the religioussystemare
studentsto understand contemporary social,political,or scientifrclssues. steadfastin their belief. Howeverdue to their nanow and specialized
Insteadit has led studentsto believesimply that the Qur'an contains I cuniculumthey lack highereducationalopportunitybecauseonly a few
solutionsto all of mankind'sproblemsandthatthereis no needfor other. institutionsoffer Islamic studies. As a consequence their professional
sciences.As a result of the shallowreligiouscuniculum,thereis little careersarelimitedto religiouspursuitssuchasbeingreligiousteachers,
marketvaluefor graduates of this system.3l officials,or judges(qadhi). Theil knowledgeof economics,politics,
Second,Muslim scholars pointoutthatthemethodologyemployedin business, andscientificdevelopment is lackingandthishindersthemfiom
instructiondoesnot encourage or stimulateinquiry and criticalthinking. participating activelyin nationaldevelopment espeeially in providing
MemorizationpervadesIslamiceducation.No innovativemethodshave leadership.
been deployed,and there is hardly any use of moderninstructional Eachsystemhasitsweaknesses thatcouldbecounterbalanced by their
techriques.DatukAmarDr. SulaimanDaud,formerMinisterof Education, strengths.Muslims have begunto recognizethe importanceof both
assertedthat 'religious teachersare very knowledgeable in Islam but 'secular'and religioussciencesfor the fulI development of the human
somehow,they arenot teachingeffectivelyandhavemadethesubjectless personality whichwill contributetowardstheprogress ofthe nation.Faisal
interestingto students'.raAccordingto Wan Mohd. Nor Wan Daud,the Osmanbelieves thattherevivalof traditional Arabicor Islamicreligious
components of higherorderthinking-analysis, interpretation, synthesis, schoolswill not preparestudentsto face the dauntingchallenges in
coherency, all importantaspects ofthe Islamicconceptof knowledge-are contemporary life. In fact, an exclusivelyreligiouseducationwill bring
not taughtin the religiouseducationsystem.r5 Consequently, graduates of science andreligioninto needless conflictin Malaysia.Wliatis needed,
the Islamic educationsystemhave not beencreativeand innovativein saysFaisalOsman,is a totalchange whereall knowledge is consideredin
an integrated perspective.r6 The samesentimentwasechoedby the then
12 EDUCATIONALDUALISMIN MALAYSIA Inlt'oducrion 13
Director-General of Education, TanSri DatukDr. WanMohd ZahidMohd. sciences classes.a0Ashrafargues thatthisdichotomycouldnotbe resolved
Noordin,who calledfor a revampofall religiousschoolswhichdo not meet by teachers educated in the old systems.Suchteachers do not understand
theobjectives of lslamiceducation." thecomplexities of modemcivilization.Nor cantheproblembe solvedby
Thereis, however, a growingperception amongeducated Muslimsthat teachers educated in the modemsystems,for they do not fully appreciate
the govemmentwhich is led by Muslims leaders is not doing enoughfor theirownreligiousheritage.Ashrafasserts, thata thirdgroupmustemerge
Islamic education. The leadersare seento be merely adopting minor whosemembersareacquainted bothwith theirownreligioustraditionsand
reformsfor thesakeof preserving theirpoliticalinterests.This inadequate with modemcivilization."'
measureshave causedsomesupportersof Islamic movementssuch as In Islarnizationof Knowledge,Ismail Raji Al-Faruqi studiesthe
ABIM, PAS,andDarulArqam,aswell asMuslimintellectuals to suggest Muslims' malaiseand arguesthat therecanbe no revivalof the Muslinr
lhat Muslilr.rsshould shun both systen.rs and construct instead a third ummah(world community) unless the dual system of educationis
educationalsystemthat unifiesIslamicandmodemaimsand resources. integrated andinfusedwith the spilit of Islam. He believesthattheunron
Such suggestion bringsquestions on the feasibilityof thisproposal.More of the dual systemswould economizethe financialresources of the state,
importantly,it raisesthe long standingissueof compatibilitybetweenthe rectify archaictextbooks,upgradeteachersinexperienced in the lslamic
two existingsystems.Findinga viablesolution,in thelightof thelatter, educationsystem,and rejectimitationof secularWestemmethodsand
formsthe mainconcemof thisbook. idealsin the secularschools. Al-Famqi proposesa two-yearstudy of
Islamic civilization for studentsin higher institutesof leaming as a
RelatedStudieson EducationalDualism short-term solutionand,moreimportantly,theIslamizationofknowledge
as a long{erm soluiion. By Islamizationof knowledgehe meansthe
Theproblerns posedby a dualsystemofeducationin a Muslimcountrythat integrationof 'new knowledgeinto the corpusof the Islamiclegacyby
hasundergone colonization is not uniqueto Malaysia.In fact,it is themost eliminating,amending,reinterpreting, andadaptingits components asthe
urgentiszuefacingthe Muslimworid,a 'crisis'in Muslimeducation.rs worldview oflslam andits valuesdictate. The exact relevance of Islamto
Attemptsto resolvethisproblemweremadein Indiain the 1870s'in Egypt thephilosophy-the methodandobjectives----of the discipline should be
in 1890s,and in Bengalin 1910s.reAll thesefailed,however. The determined'.a2 Al-Faruqi argues that the Westem methodology of
experimentof mutual coexistence of secularand Islamic studiesin an knowledgeis not suitablefor Muslim sciencesbecauseit rejectsthe
institutionin theIndiansubcontinent endedbecause moststudents optedfor existence ofGod andthe valuesissuingfrom this belief
secularStudiesthathadecononricvalue. The attemptto refoff) Al-Azhar Thisconcemofthe Muslimshadalsobeenexpressed in a seminarheld
Universityin Egyptwasinitiatedby Jarnaluddin al-Afghani(1839-97)and jointly by the Islamic Academy and the Departmentof Education,
Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905). Abduh, who was a mufti' wantedto University of Cambridge.The representatives of the various faiths--
introducemodemsubjects into the cuniculum. Flowever he wasaccused Christianity, Islam,Judaism,Sikhism,Hinduism,andBuddhism-asserted
of attemptingto secularize the institutron.Though his effort failed,but he thatthevariousintellectual sciences taughtin schoolshavebeensecularized
succeededin iniplementingsome administlativereforms. In Muslirn to thepointthattheydo not assistin strengthening thestudents'faith. They
Bengaltheattenptto combinesomesecularandIslamicreligioussubjects wereemphaticaboutthe fact that secularphilosophyunderliesmuch of
fell shodof a substantial synthesis, andthe dualsystems persisted. Westemeducationwhich claims that this educationalapproacliis to
SyedAli Ashraf posits that attemptsto resolve the dualismand to maintainneutralityto any faith andto avoidcontroversial matters.ar
Islamizen.rodemeducationhavefailedbecause the problem hasnot been In a separate study, Yassin Abdel Rahman Ahmed reveals that there
approached holistically.He arguesthatalthor.lgh someattemptshavebeen is no inherentcontradiction between the fundamentals of Islam and
madeto makereligiouseducationcompulsory,therehasbeenno attempt modemization.aa He suggests thatfor the propermodemization of Muslim
to teachthe nafuraland socialsciencesand literaturefrorn the Islamic nations.what is neededis refomr in education.He calls for better
perspedtive. As a result,whatstudents leamin religionclasses sometimes integrationof IslamicandWesterneducationandthe needto distinguish
conliadictswhat they are taughtin their humanities, social, and natrual betweenWestemeducationandcolonialeducation.Ahmedbelievesit is
t4 EDUCATIONALDUALISM IN MALAYSIA Inlroductiotr ,)
naiveto let the two systemsexistseparately or in mutualcoexistence and that government policy makersandMuslim intellectuals,
Harunsuggests
at thesametime allowfreecompetitionin thejob market,asis envisioned shouldr-view andresolvethis problem^lo
especially-iducationiits,
by somepolicy makers.The separation itselfcreatesneedless differences In anotherstudy, Abdullah Haji Ishak highlights the significant
in thetwo systems.Graduates from theIslamicsystemwill neverbe able contribution ofreligiouseducational suchesthepondok,to the
instih.rtions,
to competeif opporhrnities for modemjobs lequire graduationfrom a lt, development of Muslims in Malaysia. In addition to developingIslamic
secularprogramme.a5 education, Abdullahasserts that these institutionssafeguarded Islamfrom
Fewsh.rdies i
of thereligious/secularconflicthavefocusedon education theinfluenceof Westemcultures,andhelpederadicate misconceptions and
in Malaysia.In his analysisofmorethan280studiespublishedup to about erroneous teachingsof lslam (khurdal) which existedand influencedthe
1979,R. Munay Thomasfoundthateducational studiesin Malaysiahave t. Muslimcommunity.He suggests theredevelopment andupgradingofthese
focusedon four majorconcems:(a) ethnicissuesanddifferences; (b) the I institutions to meetchanges in society.Abdullah'sproposalrepresents the
I
role ofthe educational systemin socio-economic groMh andtheinfluence nostalgicfeelingsof a conservativefor this traditionalinstitutionand
of the five-yearnationaldevelopment plans;(c) the educational process; t contradicts theviewpointof anotherscholar,FaisalOsman,who believes
and(d) theapplications ofeducational researchto Malaysia.a6 He predicted li thatsucha revivalwouldresultin a conflictbetweenscienceandreligion.5l
that the concemaboutethnic differenceswill diminishas the country Sabri Haji Said concludesa shrdy of the madrasahby posing a
I
furtherstabilizesand thereis morenationalplanning. From a surveyof challenging question:To what extenthasthe NationalEducationPolicy
researchdoneon or aboutMalaysianeducationsinceThomas'sreview, benefited students from theseschools?He arguesthatalthoughtherenow
i
only a few studiesdealingwith educationandnationaldevelopment have existsthe Department of IslamicStudiesin theUniversityof Malaya,the
beenfound,andnoneofthem examinetheissueof importance here.aT Facultyof Islamic Studiesin Universiti Kebangsaan Malaya,and the
SyedMuhammadAl-NaquibAl-Attas,providesone of the earliest IslamicTeachers' College,theyareall at thetertiarylevel. He believesthat
glimpsesof theproblem.He asserts thattheWestemworld-viewdominates attentionshould be focussedon the primary and secondaryreligious
in Malaysiabecause ofthe experience ofcolonizationandWestemcultural schools.Sabriallegesthatthenationalsystemofeducationis infused*'ith
control.The de-Islamization of the Muslim mind, Al-Attas claims,was i secular values,andnot with a genuineIslamicspirit He proposes that the
accomplishedgraduallythroughan increasinglysecularizededucation NationalEducationPolicybereviewed and restruchrredso thatit takesinto
system. InadequateIslamic educationgave rise to fzlse 'ulama who accountall thekindsof schoolsthat existin thecountry. He believes that
restrictedknowledgeto the domainofjurisprudence.Thesefalse'ulalna thepresentpolicyhasmisledthousands of Malaystudentsandhaswasted
andsecularpoliticalleaderscausedconfusionin knowledge,whichled to nationalresources. Sabriemphasizes theneedfor an integrated curriculum
excesses in beliefandpractice.Al-Attascallsfor thede-Westemization of imbuedwitli theIslamicspiritthatwouldallowstudents fromthemadrasah
knowledge.a8 i
to acquireall kinds of knowledge,includingknowledgeof the natural
In oneofhis moreimportantworks,HarunDin, expresses his uneasi- sciences.s?
nessat the cunent statusof the IslamicschoolsandIslamiceducationin FatimahAli exposesthe magnihrde of the problemby drawing
Malaysia.He enumerates someof theproblemsconfrontingtheseschools, comparisons betweenthetwo educational systemsin Malaysiaandurging
namely,finance,teachershortage, declineof studentenrolmentdueto the theestablishment of an integrated educational systemfor theMuslims.5rIn
pooreconomicvalueofsuchaneducation, andoverburdening shdentswith anepistemological shrdyof knowledgein Islam,WanMohd.Nor discusses
too many subjects,resultingin mediocrity. Therewere65,932students contemporary Muslims' confusionoverthemeaningof "knowledge"and
enrolledin govemment-assisted ralryatschoolsin 1976.Add this to the itsirrrplicationfor education in Malaysia.He indicates thata misconceptton
enrolmentin non-govemment assisted,
ralg)a.t
schoolsandthe total figure of knowledge froni anIslamicperspective is prevalentamongMuslims'and
wouldbe a little over85,000.0tHarun is concemed that ifnothing is done thismisconception is manifested in the cuniculumandin thecontentof
for thesestudentsenrolledin suchschools,thenationwill suffera great Islamiceducaiionin bothreligiousandthenationalschools.'oh his shrdy
lossin humanresources. He believesthatmanyoftheseschoolswill close, of ABIM,Mohamrnad Nor Monuttilaysoutthemovement's criticisms of
andconsequently acquiringIslamiceducationwill becomemorediffrcult. the nationaleducationsystemwhich did not offer any altenrativcs.s5
16 EDUCATToNAL
DuALrsMrNMALAYSTA Inlroduclion 1'7
_
However,ABIM has maintaineda nationwideprogrammeof Islamic schoolsthat are run privatelyby individuals,Islamicorganizations, and
kindergartens sincethe 1970sandlaunchedits first Islamicprimaryschool particularcommunitiesare not included. The study is confined to
in 1989. PeninsularMalaysiain theperiodafterindependence.
Thesestudiesrevealthegravityofthe problemposedby a dualsystem Throughits proposalthisstudyhopesto contributeto theresolutionof
of educationin theMuslimworld in generalandin Malaysiain particular. Iong-standingeducational andsocialproblemsthat affectMalaysia. The
There appearsto be a consensus that the two educationalsystemsin significanceof this study is pertinentnot only to Malaysiabut to the
Malaysiashouldbe integrated,but stepsto examinethe conceptualand Muslimworld in general.It hopesto demonstrate thecornpatibility
of faith
practicalfeasibilityof sucha unionhaveyet to be undertaken.Thepresent andreason.
studytherefore,is appropriate andtimely.Beforeanyrealintegrationcan
pccur, its philosophicalgroundingmust be examinedso that it can be
anchoredon a firm foundation. Notes
15. Ihe ntadrasahis a schoolcomparable to lhe modefltschoolin organizationand 1980, pp.99- 100.
design.It is alsoknownasthereligiousor Arabicschool. 26. Federationof Malaya,Reportof the EducationConunittee1956,by Doto, Abdul
16. Khoo Kay Kim, 'Perkembangan PclajaranAgama lslam' [The Developmentof RazakBin Hussain,chairman, KualaLumpur:Govemment printer,1957,ChaptefX, pdra.
IslamicReligiousEducatio[],in AwangHadSalleh(ed,.), PendidikankearahPerpaduan l 2l , p. 18.
lEducationfor Unity], KualaLumpur:PenerbitFajafBakti, 1980,p. L 27. MohamedJusoh,'PelajaranUgamadi SekolahMenengah,'lReligiousStudiesin
17. Ulana is plurallor' a/ln, anArabicwordthatmeanslcamed,erudite,scholatexpert, Secondary Schoolsl,MasaI (1978):13l.
savant,or scicntist. Howeverthe usageof this word tbroughoutthe Muslim world 28. SeeJudith A. Nagata,The Refloweringof MalaysianIslan: Modem Religious
specificallyrefersto scholarsof the religion. In theQur'an, ,/a/rd aredefinedasthose RadicalsandtheirRoots,Vancouver:UniversityofBritish Crrlumbiapress,1984.
who fear Allah (seeQur'an35:28). fArabicwordsin the studyarenot all transliterated 29. Malaysia, Minishy of Education,Laporan JawatankuasaKdbinet Mengk.lji
accordingto a standardformatbut the authorhastriedto keepconsistency.] Pelaksanaan Dasar Pelajaran1979 lReport of the CabinetCommitteereview of the
18. Thereare four schoolsofjurisprudencerecoguized in the Sunnilslamictradition, tmplementation ofEducationPolicyl,KualaLumpur,1984,p. 71.
ramely, Hanafi,Maliki, Shaf i, andHanbali. TheAsh ari theologicalschoolofthought perhatian'UslamicReligious
30. Haji DasukiHajiAlmad, 'Pelajaran AgamaKurangkan
emphasizes freedomofreasonwithintheboundofrevelationin contrast to theMu'tazilah's InstructionNeglectedl,in IbrahimSaad(ed.),Isu pendidikandi MalaysialEducarioml
whichputsreasonaboverevelation. Issuesin Malaysia],KualaLumpur:DewanBahasadanpnstaka,1986, pp,32'l-32.
19. Sunnahor Traditionencompasses thesayingsanddeedsofthe ProphetMuhammad, 31. FatiflahAli, 'MalaysianEducationSystemandIslamicEducational Ideals,rVrrslirz
fromthebeginningofhis missionto theendofhis life. It is alsoincludesmatterson which EducationQuarterly4 (Winter 1987):74-5.
he is silelltaboutandthereforeinterpreted asanindicationofapproval.fladil, servesasthe
secondsourceofjurisprudelce in Isiam,aftcrtheQur'an. 32. Moharnmad Nor Monutti,'Perception
ofSocial Changein Contemporary Malaysia: I
20. Traditionally,knowledgehasbeendividedinto two majof categories.Al-Ghazzali
A CriticalAnalysisof ABIM'S Roleandits ImpactamongMuslim youft,, ph.D. thesis,
Temple 1989,p.262.
University,
I
(AD 1058-1I I l) classifiedit intoJ';lrd'ain andfardkifayah.Fd,"d air is knowledgethat
is deemedobligatoryfor everyMuslim, especiallyabouttheir rightsandduties. On the 33. FatimahAli, 'MalaysianEducationSystemandIslamicEducational Ideals,'p. 76.
otllerhand,, fard kifayd&is knowledgethatis 'indispensable for thewelfareofthis world,' 34. AzmiM. Anshar,'Sulaimar:Adoptbetterapproachcs',
ly'ewS/rdibZirer, l0 Ocrober
suclrasnredicineandarithmetic.ln anotherclassification, Ibn Khaldun(AD 1332-1406) 1992,p.4.
categodzed knowledge ili'toilmal-naqlil'ahand'ilnal-'aqliyah..llntal-naqliyahrefers 15. WanMohdNor WanDaud,TheConceptof Knowledge in Islamand ItsInlplications
to revealedknowledgeandauxiliarysciences suchas Arabiclanguage. Ilm al-'aqliyah
for Educationi a DevelopitlgCotntry,London:Mansell,1989,p.lO7.
refersto philosophicalsciencesthat man acquiresthroughthinking and observation.
Chapter5 discusses furthertheclassification ofknowledgein [slam. 36. FaisalOsman,'Pendidikan Islam:KonsepdanRealiti,',UslamicEducariontConcept
: andRealityf,Jumal PendidikanIslan,2 (Jatuary1989):1-20.
21. SeeGeorgeSarton,I tt'oductiohto theHistoryof Science, Baltimore,MD:Cafllegie
Instituteof Washington,1927,Vol. l; MehdiNakosteen 17. Anshar,'SulaimauAdoptBetterApproaches', p. 4.
, Ilistory of IslamicOriginsof
WestemEducatiot!AD 800-1350,Boulder,CO: UniversityofColoradoPress,1964; Ali 38. Formoredetails,seeSyedAli AshrafandSyedSajjadHussin(eds.),CrisisiI Muslin
AbduLlahal-Daffa,TheMuslim Contributionsto Mathenatics,Atlantic Highlands,NJ: Education, IeddahtKing AbdulazizUniversiry,i979.
HumanitiesPress,1977; CharlesM. Sta\Lon,HiglrerLeenti g in Isla|t: The Classical 39. MozammelHaque,'TraditionalandModemSystemof Education:An Attemptat a
PeriodAD 700-1300Savage,MD: Rowmanand LittlefieldPublishers., 1990; Seyyed Synthesisin Muslim Bengal,'Muslin EducationI (Sumner 1982):70-92;David S.
HosseinNasr,^Screrce andCivilizalionin Islaar,Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversityPress, Lely'reld,,Allgarh's Fi/st Generction. Muslittt Solidarity it1 Brit[sh InAia, pinceton.
1968;GeorgeMakdisi,The Riseof Colleges: hlslitutiousof Leoni git1Islamand rc ll/esl, Princaton UniversityPress,1978;AhmadSobrjSalamon,,Reformofal-Azharin the20th
Edinburgh: Edinburgh UniversityPress,1981. Century',Ph,D.thesis,Neiv York University,1980.
22. IntenationalIslamicUniversityMalaysia,S'r CottvocalionCerenory,,)l lsg1157 40. AshrafandHussin,(eds.),Ire Cnrls ih MuslimEducation,p.lj.
1994,KualaLumpur:DasarCetak,1994,p.15. 41. Ibi d,,p. 1 5.
23. D. D. Chelliah,A Histutj of le EducationalPolicyofthe StraitsSetlleinents,K\al^ 42. IsmailRajiAI-Fan)qi,Islahlization ofKnowledge:Generalpfirciplesand Worl<1:tlan,
Lumpur:The GovemmentPrcss,1948,p. 64. Washington, DC: International
InstituteThought,1982,p. 14.
24. lndependence wasachieved througha peacefultransferofpower from theBritishto 43. ThelslamicAcademyandUniversityofCambridge,DepailmentofEducation,Fal1,
the AlliancePartycomposed of UnitedMalaysNationalOrganization (UMNO),Malayan
as theBasisof Educationin a Multi-faith,Multi-cukuralCorr1ry,CambridgerIslanljc
ChineseAssociation (MCA), andtheMalayanIndianCongress (MIC). The Alliancewon
Academy, 1991.
the first nationalelectionsfor LegislativeCouncilseatsin 1955with a strongmajorityand
gainedtlleconfidence ofGreatBritainto beself-governing. 44. YassinAbdelRahmanAhmed,'Islamard Modernization: Convergencg, Divergence,
andCompatibility',Ph.D.thesis,Pennsylvania StateUnivcrsity,1988,p. 121.
25. Arfah Abdul Aziz andChewTow Yow, 'Malaysia',in T. NevillePostiethwaite and
R. Muray Thomas/cds.),Schoolingin lhe AseanRegion,NewYork: PergamonPress, 45. Ibid.,pp. 128-9.