Singapore Madrasas Tune With Modern World

IslamOnline.net & Newspapers
CAIRO — With students having Islamic education while studying secular subjects, Madrasa Al Irsyad Al Islamiah in Singapore is giving an example of a model Islamic education in tune with modern world.
"It's like 'American Idol,'" Razak Mohamed Lazim, the head of Al Irsyad, told The New York Times on Thursday, April 23.

At the school, students begin their day with prayers and songs in honor of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).

At class, students study religious subjects as well as secular studies such as English, math and other subjects from the national curriculum.

"Here they teach many things other than Islam," said Noridah Mahad, 44, who has a child studying at the school.

"So Muslim students will have two understandings: the Muslim and the outside world."

The school's 900 primary- and secondary-level students study religious education as well as the national curriculum of the country's public schools.

To accommodate both, the school day is three hours longer than at the mainstream schools.

Al Irsyad ranks the top academic performer among Singapore's six madrasas.

It has a central spot in the new Islamic center of the Islamic Religious council of Singapore, a statutory board that advises the government on Muslim affairs.
Al Irsyad was chosen to be in the center as "a showcase," said Razak, who is also an official at the religious council.

Muslims in Singapore are estimated between 450,000 to 500,000, making around 14 to 15 percent of the population.

Model

Many of the school's graduates excel themselves, thanks to the Islamic-secular education.

"Many became administrators, some are teaching and some joined the civil service," said Mohamed Muneer, 32, a chemistry teacher.

Ishak Bin Johari, a 17-year-old who wants to become a newspaper reporter, agrees.

"(The balance between the secular and religious would help the school's graduates) lead normal Singaporean lives compared to other madrasa students," he said.

Singapore's madrasas experienced a surge in popularity in the 1990s along with a renewed interest in Islam.

But the surge, coupled with the madrasas' poor record in nonreligious subjects, has raised concerns in the country.

In 2003, the government made primary education at public schools compulsory, allowing exceptions like the madrasas, provided they met basic standards by 2010.

If they fail, they will have to stop educating primary school children.

"That forced the madrasas to shift their curriculum away from being purely religious schools," said Mukhlis Abu Bakar, an expert on madrasas at the National Institute of Education, a teachers college.

Seen as a model of Islamic education in tune with modern world, Irsyad has now become a model for many schools in South Asia region.

Two madrasas in Indonesia have adopted Irsyad's curriculum. It is also in talks with madrasas in the Philippines and Thailand to export its model modern curriculum.

"The Muslim world in general is struggling with its Islamic education," said Razak.

"In many cases, it's also the challenge the Muslim world is facing. We are not addressing the needs of Islam as a faith that has to be alive, interacting with other communities and other religions."