S. And Europe." (Douglass and Shaikh, 2004)
Guidelines have been provided in recent years concerning teaching religion in public schools in the U.S. And it is stated by Douglass and Shaikh that "general adherence to the guidelines and their implementation in textbook development has done more than anything else to improve the accuracy of textbook depictions of the basic beliefs and practices, origin stories and subsequent cultural and institutional history of various religions." (Douglass and Shaikh, 2004) Stated as primary among the changes is "the consistent use of attributive phrases, combined with greater factual accuracy." (Douglass and Shaikh, 2004) Douglass and Shaikh further note that teaching about Islam which is "inauthentic or inaccurate...is not, in fact, education about Islam at all." (2004) Islamic education is confused due to media explanation and commentary and assumptions made that Islamic education "...might be shorthand for teaching hatred of the 'West' or the United States" however, it is important according to Douglass and Shaikh to understand that the concept of Islamic education "cannot be reduced to such stereotypes, nor is it limited to rigid transmittal of 1400-year-old lifeways from ancient Arabia." (2004)
In fact, education is stated by Douglass and Shaikh to be "the first duty of a Muslim, male or female..." As knowledge of God " is equated with the process of learning and teaching." (Douglass and Shaikh, 2004) the truth is that much in the way of scientific knowledge was derived from the knowledge of Arabs in the areas of "seafaring, navigation and astronomy, trade, animal husbandry and agriculture." (Douglass and Shaikh, 2004) Douglass and Shaikh relate that the funding for the development of Islamic law came from Caliphal patronage which provided the necessary motivation "for scholars to set high standards for time-keeping and calendars, accurate orientation of the direction of worship toward the Ka'bah and calculation of inheritance, weights and measures."(2004) in addition, the technology for making paper arrived from China was "timely...[and] provided [the] additional impetus to this dynamism." (Douglass and Shaikh, 2004) Douglass and Shaikh conclude by stating that it is evident after much study that "both the obligation to be educated, and the moral, intellectual and cultural concepts of education in the Muslim tradition are not far removed from similar goals and concepts associated with Western traditions and aspects of education." (2004)
The work of Andrew Coulson (2004) entitled: "Education and the Indoctrination in the Muslim World: Is there a Problem? What Can We Do About it?" relates that in many countries including Pakistan and Indonesia, "militant Islamist schools are inculcating scores of thousands of students with in an ideology of intolerance, violence and hate. In the past, the United States abetted such schools as part of its strategy to containing Soviet expansionism. After a gradual about-face in the years leading up to September 11, 2001, the American government is now funding and cajoling the governments of several majority-Muslim nations to rein in their more militant schools." (Coulson, 2004)
The Muslim Education Foundation (MEF) is a not-for-profit organization which states that it is "committed to nurturing a model par excellence for every Muslim..." (2008) Transformative learning is held to be a "process that leads to self-transformation" and is "unlike theoretical learning that imparts information, even knowledge in a mundane sense, without actually affecting the inner core of the learner..." (Muslim Education Foundation, 2008) Transformative learning is stated to be a process that "transforms each and every learner in the very process of learning; this transformation takes place through 'ma'rifah, gnosis, gained during the process - an understanding that the learner is a created human being, possessing a specific innate nature, fitrah, and capable of living a life fully conscious of the purpose for which he or she has been created in harmony with his of her fitrah." (Muslim Education Foundation, 2008) Transformative learning is also held to be "...a lifelong process toward a definitive goal: success as defined by the Quran." (Muslim Education Foundation, 2008) the Muslim Education Foundation states that four interrelated programs are currently at focus:
1) development of education resources;
2) human resource development;
3) Nasr Network of Schools and Educators; and 4) Education @ Home. (Muslim Education Foundation, 2008)
According to Quick in the work entitled: "Making Islamic Education Relevant for Today" a problem that many Muslim communities face in education is the student's "lack of interest in the material or curriculum." (Muslim Education Foundation, 2008) According to Quick "the reality is that many of our children are bored at weekend and full-time Islamic schools and this prevents them from properly absorbing and understanding the knowledge being...
The argument being advanced is that since, the Muslim extremists were responsible for the 9/11 disaster, the construction of the Muslim religious center would inculcate the jihad teachings and dishonor to the memory of the 9/11 victims. The question one would ask is this, what about the strip clubs, bars and other activities that are zero blocks away from the hallowed ground, do they honor the victims of the
Religion and Politics Uses and Abuses of the Concept of Orientalism There have been many uses and abuses in regard to the cultural and social concept called Orientalism. "Unlike the Americans, the French and British -- less so the Germans, Russians, Spanish, Portuguese, Italians, and Swiss -- have had a long tradition of what I shall be calling Orientalism, a way of coming to terms with the Orient that is based on
In fact, some scholars of the modern era even projected on Akhenaten Christ-like qualities. Akhenaten was described as a messiah figure who was a "precursor of Jesus Christ," (Drake p. 208). The convergence of these two projections onto the Pharaoh Akhenaten has racial implications. Drake suggests that Breasted would not have been able to have conceived of a man in such a position of great political and spiritual power who
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Healing Rituals Across Islam I was just 15 years old, and one day my grandmother found me. Left by a rebel at the side of the road my, grandmother knew. She knew by the fear in my eyes that I had just been raped. When she saw me she cried, and took me inside for no one to see me. She then went to the bush to find country medicine, and
They can also measure avoidance, as there are people who are so fearful of the Muslim culture that they will go out of their way to avoid Muslims and not have to interact with them in any way. There is a social stigma to Muslims in the eyes of many people, and that stigma is not always about hatred. It is much more often about fear, but that fear
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