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Pedagogy, Power, and Discourse: Transformation of Islamic Education Author(s): Aziz Talbani Reviewed work(s): Source: Comparative Education

Review, Vol. 40, No. 1, Special Issue on Religion (Feb., 1996), pp. 66-82 Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Comparative and International Education Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1188968 . Accessed: 22/12/2011 07:16
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Pedagogy, Power, and Discourse: Transformation of Islamic Education


AZIZ TALBANI

Strong revivalist Islamization movements have recently emerged in a number of Muslim countries as a traditionalistresponse to modernity. They aspire to imbue all forms of knowledge with traditional Islamic values and arrestthe secularizationand modernization knowledge.This of inspiration arises out of a larger political struggle to establisha discourse linking the state and religion in a new power structure. The movement is rooted in the history of Muslim societies, where religious discourses mediated power and social control. This articlewill examine the historical evolution of knowledge and power linkages in Islamic societies and the use of Islamic education to reproduce and establishspecific discoursesof power. Recent changes in the concept of Islamiceducation using Pakistan as a case study will also be discussed.
Theoretical Framework

Islamization can be seen as a movement to make Islam a relevant source of power and social control. CliffordGeertz viewed the movement as an effort to make Islam "a universal,in theory standardizedand essentiallyunchangeable and usuallywell integratedsystemof ritualand beliefs life."' In some Muslimcountries,this has been a predominantlysociopolitical and economic struggle, but it emerges essentiallyfrom the acceptance and interpretation of revealed and traditional knowledge as a priori knowledge. Education in this context plays a pivotal role in reproducing Islamic culture and promoting the ideologicalgoals of Islamization. The transformationof societaldiscoursesought by Islamizationwould mean fundamental changes in power structure and social controls that legitimize and regulate knowledge and meaning in society. Each society, according to Michel Foucault, has its regime of truth, its "generalpolitics of truth, that is, the type of discourse it accepts and makes function as true."2He sees society as an arena for a struggle to establish and pass on
' Clifford in Geertz, Islam Observed: ReligiousDevelopment Moroccoand Indonesia(Chicago: Univered. and

... not merely as a religion but a complete and comprehensive way of

sity of Chicago Press, 1971), p. 14.

trans. Colin Gordon (Sussex:Harvester,1980), p. 131.


Education Review, vol. 40, no. 1. Comparative 0010-4086/96/4001-0005$01.00
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2 Michel Foucault, Power/Knowledge: SelectedInterviewsand Other Writings, 1972-1977,

? 1996 by the Comparativeand InternationalEducationSociety.All rights reserved.

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a regime of truth and develop techniques and procedures to inculcate and transmit values considered to be true. Hence, a discourse could be an "instrumentof power or an effect of power," as well as "a point of resistance and a starting point for an opposing strategy."3 Societal discourse mediates its power and control through institutions and elites "who are charged with saying what counts as true."4A regime uses political, economic, and social apparatusesto control and dominate. Truth is established through the discourse of power that is relayed, preserved, and legitimized. This involves a struggle involving politicaldebate and social confrontation-an ideologicalstruggle.5 Hence, the creation of educational or social institutionsis part of the power struggle to establish, expand, and sustain a particularnotion of truth through control over the power of legitimacy.Foucault states that truth should be understood as a "systemof ordered procedures for the production, regulation, distribution, circulation, and operation of statements."6In its attempts to establishan absolute notion of truth, Islamization is an all-encompassingmovementwith political,economic, and sociocultural aspects. Politically, it involves a struggle to resist or accelerate the formation of new power groups. Economically,at issue is the maintenance of class interest during the transitionfrom an agriculturaleconomy to an industrialone-which implies changing control over the means of production from feudal lords to urbanbourgeoisie.And in the sociocultural sphere, knowledge discourses arise. Islamizationalso has profound implications for educational systems, as educational sites are centrally involved in the propagation,selectivedissemination,and "socialappropriation"of discourses.7Foucaultstates,"Every educationalsystemis a means of maintaining or modifying the appropriatenessof discourses with the knowledge and power they bring with them."8Basil Bernsteinechoes this idea by stating, "The way a society selects, classifies,distributes,transmits, and evaluates educational knowledge reflects both the distribution of power and the principles of social control."9 In Islam, the Qur'an-considered the core of knowledge-is the major "power"or force to legitimize, produce, and operationalize truth in society.'oHence the Qur'an, believed to be divine, is the primarysource
Michel Foucault, "The Subject and Power," in Michel Foucault: BeyondStructuralism and Hermes neutics, ed. H. L. Dreyfus and P. Rainbow (Brighton: Harvester, 1982), p. 101. 4 Foucault, Power/Knowledge, 131. p. 5 Ibid., p. 132. 6 Ibid., p. 33. 7 Stephen J. Ball, ed., Foucault and Education: Disciplinesand Knowledge(London and New York: Routledge, 1990), p. 3. 8 Michel Foucault, L'ordredu discours (Paris: Gallimard, 1971), p. 46. 9 Basil Bernstein, "On the Classification and Framing of Educational Knowledge," in Knowledge and Control, ed. Michael Young (London: Collier Macmillan, 1987), p. 47. 10 H. Nasr, IslamicLife and Thought(Albany: State University of New York Press, 1981), p. 49. S. ComparativeEducation Review 67

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of knowledge. Its transcendent divine nature guards it from human interpolation. According to this belief, the "Koran contained everything in the way of knowledge needed to ensure salvation, plus the essentials in the fields of belief and rules of behavior."" Traditionalists believe that the Qur'an is the source of perennial knowledge and provides guidance for all matters concerning human life. Change of time and place cannot affect nor invalidate the Qur'anic injunctions (ahkam). However, its power of legitimacy is mediated through people who possess control over its interpretation. In other words, political power lies in the control over religious interpretation and the discourse that the religious group uses to exert such control.
The Tradition of Learning in Islam: A Historical Perspective

Although no formal tradition of learning existed in central Arabia before Islam's inception, education became important in the following 100 years as the prophet Muhammad's teachings encouraged Muslims to seek knowledge. Friday (Jama'a) mosques in particular became centers of learning, emphasizing memorization of the Qur'an.'2 These centers were supplemented by the traditions (ahadith)and biographical narratives (sira) from the life of Muhammad. Disciplines such as philosophy, chemistry, mathematics, and astrology were also popular. These subjects were pursued with no fixed curriculum and with teachers appointed by parents. Teachers accepted responsibilities according to their level of education,'3 and often traveled in search of better opportunities, as did students who sought better teachers and more knowledge. Public libraries, hospitals, baths, and the private houses of elites, ministers, or professors were also centers of learning. Great works of ancient philosophy, science, and literature were translated into Arabic during the ninth century, while Muslims subsequently produced extraordinary original works of literature, philosophy, and science. When the madrasa, or traditional religious school of higher learning (literally, "place of study," plural madaris),first emerged during the ninth century as a major center of organized learning, it superseded all other centers of learning.14 The madrasa gradually became the source through which all forms of knowledge were legitimized. Its curricula consisted of the Qur'an, traditions of the prophet Muhammad (ahadith),jurisprudence
" Jean Jolivet, "The Development of Philosophical Thought in Islam: Its Relationship with Islam up to Avicenna," in Islam, Philosophyand Science (Paris: Unesco, 1981), p. 40. 12 George Makdisi, The Rise of Colleges:Institutionsof Learning in Islam (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1981). ' A. S. Tritton, Materials on Muslim Education in the Middle Ages (London: Luzac, 1957). "4 . Pedersen and G. Makdisi, "Madrasa," in Encyclopaediaof Islam, new ed. (Leiden: Brill, 1960-[94]), 5:1123-27. 68 February1996

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(fiqh), and the Arabic language. All forms of knowledge not patronized by madaris and not part of Islamic learning, such as philosophy, chemistry, astronomy, and mathematics, were pursued privately and to an extent secretly under the guise of other subjects such as the traditions or medicine. 15
Discourse of Knowledge: Curriculum and Teaching in Madrasa

In madaris the objective of education was the achievement of bliss (sa'ada) in the hereafter. Inasmuch as religious knowledge was the only possible means to achieve sa'ada, the curriculum was confined solely to religious and linguistic studies.'6 If other subjects had to be mastered to facilitate the acquisition of this religious knowledge, they were merely auxiliary. Such subjects included grammar, rhetoric, logic, and some philosophy.'7 The acceptance of Arabic language and literature in the madrasa system, for instance, was based on the idea that linguistic studies would help in understanding the Qur'an. Similarly, knowledge above that minimally required to meet daily social and economic needs was considered dangerous. Subjects such as astronomy, medicine, or mathematics that exceeded religiously justifiable needs were seen as unnecessary.18 Al-Ghazzali (died A.D. 1111) and his successors systematically elaborated on the scope and nature of Islamic pedagogical knowledge based on epistemological dichotomies. The first division was between revealed (wahy) and acquired (iktisabi)knowledge. Revealed knowledge was sacred and given to the chosen few, namely, prophets. As a priori knowledge, it was to be transmitted as revealed without any rationalization or other form of manipulation. Transcendent and absolute, it should be accepted without question. Acquired knowledge included transmitted traditions (naqli) and rational knowledge ('aqli). These two categories were further divided into good or desirable (mahmud) and condemned or undesirable (madmum). The latter, which included philosophy and ancient sciences, was excluded from the curriculum. Mahmud included religiously approved knowledge, such as medicine, logic (with certain restrictions), and mathematics. However, these were also divided into necessary and excessive.19 Approved forms of knowledge were to be acquired only to the extent necessary for survival, while research and inquiry should be forsaken. According to Al-Ghazzali, "One must forbid men to look for those myster15 Makdisi, Rise of Colleges, pp. 281-82. 16

Pedersen and Makdisi, pp. 1123-24.

"7 18G. E. Von Grunebaum, Islam: Essaysin the Nature and Growthof a Cultural Tradition(Menasha: American Anthropological Association, 1955), p. 114. '9 Ibid., p. 118.

Ibid.

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ies and must turn them [instead] to the pronouncements of religious law, where there is sufficient proof for the believer to be content with."20This rigid framing and classification of knowledge based on religious law and dogma inevitably madejurists and traditionalists (muhdith)final authorities in religious and worldly matters. Religious scholars became self-appointed interpreters and guardians of religious knowledge. People were to follow without questioning (taqlid)in all matters, and these scholars condemned all other forms of knowledge as well as inquiry and research. Even independent study of the Qur'an and traditions was forbidden. Hujwari (died ca. 1077) argued, for example, that "knowledge is obligatory only in so far as is requisite for acting righteously. God condemns those who learn In useless knowledge."''21 short, madrasalearning was confined to the transmission of traditions and dogma, and was hostile to research and scientific inquiry. In traditional Islamic pedagogy, authoritative acceptance of knowledge is stressed, with learning often based on listening, memorization, and regurgitation. The collection of traditions, including the Qur'an, is termed "that which is listened" (al-sam'); greater emphasis is placed on listening to a teacher, who is active as a transmitter of knowledge, while the student is passive. As the result of this attitude, education became static during the twelfth century. Curriculum consisted mostly of scriptures and books of the earlier theologians and jurists. Only commentaries and tributes were written about these works, and the writing of explanation (sharh) and marginal notes (hashiyah)on the text (matn) of earlier writers became the dominant literary activity. Control over education was exercised through various means. For instance, teachers were licensed (ijaza) to teach (actually, to transmit) particular books.22 Because this meant the reproduction of what had been said in the past, the rewriting and reinterpretation of doctrine were hindered. Educational knowledge became increasingly irrelevant to changing socioeconomic realities and to new expectations and aspirations among Muslims. In other words, outside the madrasa everything was changing and inside everything remained static. This had far-reaching cultural and intellectual consequences for Islamic civilization. With few exceptions, Muslims were apathetic toward scientific and philosophical matters. In spite of the great contributions their scientists had once made, Muslims failed to continue scientific endeavor and soon lagged far behind. All matters were studied within a
20Ibid. "21 Ibid. 22J. Pedersen, "Some Aspects of the History of the Madrasah," Islamic Culture 3, no. 4 (1929): 525-37, at 528.
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religious and moral framework,and their outcome wasjudged in eschatological terms. Qur'anicverses emphasizingresearch,inquiry,and contemplation about the nature of the world were interpreted so that scientific aspects of these matters were ignored and theological implicationswere Paul Hurst summarizesthe basic issues succinctly."Islamic emphasized.23 is based on ... a central body of knowledge which was of divine learning origin. What else was known in Islam depended on argument by analogy and the consensus of learned authorities.... Unfortunately, Orthodox Islam developed an ethos of conformismand respectfor authoritieswhich meant scholarshiptendedto stagnate."24 Thus, pedagogicaldiscourseproduced by the madrasa became an effective device for social control, and resulted in an educational stagnation that still persists.
State Control and Madrasa

The madrasa a social institutionrelied heavilyon the state and elites as for politicaland financialsupport. Its function was to disseminatespecific discourses for cultural reproduction and preservation. Muslim societies during the tenth and eleventh centuries were markedby enormous politibecame cal, linguistic, cultural, and sectariandifferences, and the madaris an important instrument of social and ideologicalcontainment. The state patronized some madarisby giving them financial resources and status, while others were neglected. This paved the way for effective state control of madaris, which were used to propagate state ideology and legitimize a particularreligious interpretation.The goal was to halt so-called heterodoxy and provide the state with an orthodox bureaucracy.25 Various devices were used to control education in madaris. Since freedom of thought was considered a threat to political stability,control was increasinglytightened as politicalconditionsdeteriorated.The ruling authorities became active in the appointment of teachers and students, the administrationof awqaf,the general orientation of the curriculum, and the organization of official functions within madaris.26 The madrasa thus sought to control the religious scholars ('ulama)and, through them, to control the masses.27 The relationship between madaris and the state was generally cordial as madarisprovided the knowledge, skills, and values that enabled its " M. H. Al-Afendi and N. A. Baloch, Curriculumand TeacherEducation (Jeddah: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980), p. 16. Paul Hurst, "Africa and Middle East," in International Handbookof Education Systems,African and Middle East, vol. 2, ed. J. Careron and P. Hurst (London: Wiley, 1983), pp. 1539-40. 25 H. Nashabi, "Educational Institutions," in The Islamic City, ed. R. B. Serjeant (Paris: Unesco, 1980), p. 85. 26 Ibid., p. 87. 27George Makdisi, "Muslim Institutions of Learning in Eleventh Century Baghdad," Bulletin of Oriental and African Studies 24, no. 2 (1961): 1-56, at 55.
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eval period, masters of the sword (Sahibal-Saif) and pen (Sahibal-Qalam)

graduates to perform judicial, civil, and economic functions within the state bureaucracy. petty feudal/military As dynastiesrose during the medi-

became universally accepted by Muslims as those with power over the The military thus became legitimized as the protector of faith masses.28 and scholarsas the guardiansof religious knowledge.Becauseboth knowledge (power of legitimacy)and power (politicalwill) were held by those committed to the status quo, Muslims lived in a rigidly structured and static society, with decreasing political and intellectual freedom. The outcome of Muslim political socializationwas a discourse that strengthened and legitimized the existing socialand politicalorder. Imitation, respect, and obedience to authority-religious or political-became a necessary part of Muslim cultures. Finally, these traditionsand values, customs, and knowledgegave rise to a strongculturaland politicalidentity. To be a Muslim meant to identify oneself with symbols of social-political obedience and to extend loyalty to traditional authority systems. As a result, the imposition of colonial rule created a serious threat to these religiously oriented identities and loyalties. Muslimsencountered modernitythrough colonialism,which stripped their political power and brought about structural,normative, and attitudinal changes for both individualsand society. Modernizationstands in with values such as individualism, secularism, opposition to traditionalism, and consumerism that threaten traditionalsystems. As modrationalism, ern institutions replaced traditional ones-which had protected and passed on enduring values and knowledge-the locus of power to control and legitimize change shifted. The result has been profound changes in the normative, psychological,and materialaspects of Muslims'lives.29 In the Indian subcontinent, the British adopted policies that made it difficult for indigenous institutions to grow and undercutthe power base of colonized people. Such measures included the confiscationof properties owned by religious organizationslike madrasa and the establishment of a parallel educational system. The traditionaleducational institutions resisted change and became anachronistic in the modern world. A. L. Tibawi, a traditionalistMuslim writer, complains, "Islamiceducation is a mere shadow of its past.... Its modernization has led to its complete transformation."30 During the BritishRaj,the concept of educationfunda28 Marshal Hodgson, The Venture of Islam: Conscienceand History in a World Civilization, vol. 1 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974). 29S. N. Eisenstadt, Tradition, Change and Modernity(New York: Wiley, 1973), p. 25. 30 A. L. Tibawi, Islamic Education: Its Traditionsand Modernizationinto the Arab National Systems (London: Luzac, 1972), p. 192.

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mentally changed as secular education became a necessary qualification for jobs. The colonial bureaucracy opened new employment opportunities and required different types of qualifications than those offered by madaris. After an initial resistance, Muslims began to accept and participate in the new secular educational system because of its wider accessibility and economic utility.31However, opposition to modern education by traditional Muslims continued. Colonization also changed the objectives of education in madarisfrom achieving bliss in the hereafter and providing government bureaucrats to defending the faith against colonial infiltration. One of the madaris in its mission statement interpreted the colonial situation as such: "When the British imperialism took over the Indian sub-continent the glory of Islam declined and religious values diminished. The British started undermining religious institutions and spreading innovations and indecent practices. These practices of evil and heresy weakened Muslims.... Therefore, the 'ulama came out to fight against all such evils."32 Hence, madaris continued to produce religious scholars trained to defend religion and protect traditional values. The objective of this education was not to get individuals positions in government, teaching, or any other vocation, but only to achieve religious knowledge to serve the faith.33 Education sought to conserve and transmit traditions and accepted dogma. Pedagogy was based on rote memorization, which was considered the way to achieve maximum benefit from learning and obedience to authority, and imitation of teachers was regarded as virtuous. Hence, although the mission of madrasa education changed during the colonial period, its content and pedagogy generally remained the same. In the postcolonial era, the traditionalists continued to believe that Western secular education promotes immorality and anti-Islamic or sometimes Christian ideas, and continued to oppose and modify it. Pakistan became a salient arena where the traditionalist and modernists fought their struggle.
Religion and Education in Pakistan: A History of Conflict

After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, most of the traditional madaris were replicated and many 'ulamafrom the region migrated there. Fundamentalists saw the nation as an Islamic state where Islamic religious law (shari'a) should be implemented. The early struggle was at the consti-

Wafaq El-Madaris, Wafaqal Madarisal-Arabiyya and Pakistan:Introduction,Constitution Its Courses of Study (Multan: al-Maktab al-Raisil Wafaq al-Madaris al-Arabiyya, n.d.), pp. 1-2. 33M. Y. Benori, DalilJamia al-Ulum al-Islamiyya(in Arabic) (Karachi: Jamia al-Ulum al-Islamiyya, 1984), p. 4.
32

s' W. C. Smith, Modern Islam in India: A Social Analysis (New York: AMS, 1974).

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tutional level, where Islam was accepted as the religion of the state and sovereignty was attributed to God. The "Objective Resolution and the Principles of State Policy" explicitly mentioned a knowledge of the Qur'an and "Islamiat" as essential for Muslims.34In addition, the first All Pakistan Education Conference in 1947 proposed that the educational system should be inspired by Islamic ideology.35 The members of Pakistan's initial government were mostly Muslims educated in the West, however. Because they emphasized values such as social justice, democracy, equity, and individualism that were Western in character and had never been part of traditional Muslim societies, Islam came to be interpreted in more liberal terms. To overcome the conflict between the traditionalists and modernists, the first independent Pakistani government suggested as a compromise that a course on Islamic religion and history be established for all grade levels. At the tertiary level, departments of Islamic studies were proposed.36 However, ambiguity in the Objective Resolution about the definition and role of Islam made the religion a legitimate part of Pakistan's political discourse. The 'ulama, who had opposed the very idea of Pakistan, manipulated that Islamic clause to change the nation into a theocracy its modernist leadership had never envisioned. In the 1959 Reportof the Commission Education, Pakistan's president on stated that "there was a need for reorganization and reorientation of the existing educational system so that a national system could evolve which would better reflect our spiritual, moral and cultural values."37This report emphasized the inculcation of values such as universal brotherhood, tolerance, self-sacrifice, social services, truth, justice, and so on. Religious education (i.e., learning about religion) was a part of the curriculum from the first to eighth grades. The teaching of religion was intended to emphasize justice, equality among individuals, the importance of practical goodness, piety, and virtue. The sympathy toward Islam among modernists was partly political rhetoric to cool off militant tendencies. Nevertheless, increased unemployment among the educated, massive poverty, urban migration, and the failure of modernist leaders' economic policies led youth to join political

34 E. I. J. Rosenthal, Islam in the ModernNational State (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965), p. 349. See also Anita M. Weiss, ed., Islamic Reassertionin Pakistan: The Applicationof Islamic Laws in a Modern State (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1986). 35Parveen Shahid, Implementation National Education Policies (Islamabad: Academy of Educaof tional Planning and Management, 1985), p. 10. 36U.S. Government, Area Handbook Pakistan (Washington, D.C.: Foreign Areas Studies Divifor sion, 1965), p. 203. on 37Government of Pakistan, Reportof the Commission Education (Karachi: Government of Pakistan, 1960).

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activist groups of either the extreme right or left. Consequently, the orthodox influence in politics increased. In the 1970s there was a rise of fundamentalism in Muslim countries, with Pakistan a particular hotbed for this movement. The Zulfikar Ali Bhutto regime (1971-77) was the target of this violent movement. To please fundamentalists, Bhutto announced some measures of Islamization such as declaring Friday a holiday, making the teaching of the Qur'an an integral part of education, and establishing the Federal 'Ulama Academy. However, fundamentalists considered these measures mere window dressing.38 In 1977 the military-under General Mohammed Zia ul-Haq-overthrew the Bhutto government and became allied with the fundamentalists. One result of this staunch alliance was an effort to implement an Islamic sociopolitical system and construct a new power relationship between the state and religion with new social realities based on medieval categories of knowledge. The government devised an educational policy aiming to establish a new discourse and to socialize students into the official ideology of the state and of the religion of Islam.39 As stated in "The National Education Policy and Implementation Program-1979," the primary aim of education was to "foster in students a loyalty to Islam, a sense of being a dutiful citizen of the Pakistani nation as a part of universal Ummah[Muslim community] with a full knowledge of the Pakistan movement, its ideological implications based on the precepts of Qur'an and Sunnah."40 Immediate measures taken by the government included the design of new syllabi and the writing of new textbooks. Other steps included the enforcement of women wearing the head scarf (chadar) in educational institutions, the organization of congregational afternoon prayers (zuhr) during school hours, compulsory teaching of Arabic as a second language, reading of the Qur'an (nazara) as a matriculation requirement, the use of religious knowledge for selecting teachers at all levels of education, and the revision of conventional subjects to emphasize Islamic values.41
Islamization and the Transformation of Pedagogical Discourse

Islamic education has assumed a new definition and received wider application by traditional Muslims during the last 2 decades. In 1977 an
M. "38 Geijbels, "Pakistan, Islamisation and the Christian Minority in the Islamic State of Pakistan," Al-Mushir (The Counsellor)21, no. 2 (1979): 31-51, at 41. 39 Ibid., p. 46. 40 Ahmad Hasan Dani, "Educational Progress in Pakistan: Challenge and Response (19471985)," in Bulletin of Unesco Regional Officefor Education in Asia and Pacific, no. 27 (Hong Kong: Unesco, 1986), p. 64. 41 P. Hoodbhoy and A. Nayyar, "Rewriting the History of Pakistan," in Islam, Politics and the State, ed. Asghar Khan (London: Zed Books, 1985), p. 164. ComparativeEducationReview 75

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important meeting-the World Conference for Muslim Education-was held in Mecca, where a group of predominantly fundamentalist Muslims emphasized the need for education relevant to Islam's sociocultural values, relevance being seen in moral and eschatological terms.42 They argued that education could redirect and reshape the attitudes of Muslim children by shifting their orientation from Western to Islamic values. The role of Islam, defined in terms of its worldview and dogma, was seen as determining the objectives of education and influencing educational processes. This, they believed, could be achieved by rejecting current practices colored by Western cultures and ideologies. "For them, if there was a change it could only be for the worse, and the worse could only be cured, not be creating something new, but by renewing what had once existed."43 In short, these traditionalists "viewed education as an important means of creating an Islamized society and an instrument for forging a new national identity."44 With this in mind, they attempted to reformulate educational objectives, redesign curricula, and rewrite textbooks. Recent Islamization efforts differ significantly from the revivalist movements of the early twentieth century. In the past, Islamic religious scholars and jurists clearly distinguished between religious and secular forms of knowledge as they attempted to revive traditional Islamic knowledge and ethics. The recent Islamization movement, by contrast, attempts to eliminate that dichotomy and reconstruct social discourse within the eschatological worldview of Islam. Islam thus becomes the legitimizing discourse for the production and regulation of knowledge. To transform various facets of Muslim society, Islamists coin terms such as Islamic education, Islamic economics, Islamic democracy, Islamic science, and so on.45 For fundamentalists, educational discourse must be based on religious knowledge. Since it is infallible divine knowledge, it is an instrument in the selection and validation of pedagogical knowledge. A. R. S. Abdullah, a traditionalist writer, states, "The superiority of revealed knowledge is due to the fact that it is derived from the truth (Haqq) while some other types of knowledge are based on speculation (zann) or desires (hawa)."46
42 A. A. Engineer, "Islam and Reformation," Islam and the Modern Age 9, no. 1 (1978): 86-95; W. M. Watt, "Cultural Clashes in a 'Perfect' World: The Challenge of Progressive Ideas to the Islamic World," TimesHigher Education Supplement(June 13, 1986), p. 13A. 43Albert Hourani, ArabicThoughtin theLiberalAge, 1798-1939 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983), p. 83. 44Pervez Hoodbhoy, "Ideological Problems for Science in Pakistan," in Islam, Politics and the State, ed. Asghar Khan (London: Zed Books, 1985), p. 174. Zial "45 Haq, "Islamisation of Society in Pakistan," in Islam, Politicsand the State, ed. Asghar Khan (London: Zed Books, 1985). 46A. R. S. Abdullah, Educational Theory:A Qur'anicOutlook(Makkah: Umm ul-Qura University, n.d.), p. 83.

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For traditionalists, a strong link exists between education and theology. Education is not an enterprise of free inquiry and research but an extension of theological learning. Tibawi also believes that the Qur'an and the collected traditions of Muhammad comprise the essential knowledge upon which to build an educational system. "The single fundamental fact that determines the concept, dictates the content, governs the evolution of the philosophy of Muslim education, is the belief that God's final message to mankind was revealed in its entirety through Mohammed and is enshrined in the Qur'an.'"47 To traditional Muslims, the ethical implications of the scientific mode of thought is a sensitive issue: "Modern science is guided by no moral values but naked materialism and arrogance. The whole branch of knowledge and its application is contaminated by the same evil."48Furthermore, knowledge "divorced from faith is not only partial knowledge, it can even be described as a kind of new ignorance.49" Traditionalist Muslims permit subjects such as science, technology, mathematics, and history only if they pass the "test of validity and effectiveness in fostering a deeper awareness of the Divine Presence in the Universe."50 Traditionalists also believe that humans have a divinely fixed destiny and role on earth that requires moral teaching and religious upbringing of children. Since traditionalists believe education must be based on an ethical and religious foundation, only jurists are qualified to develop an Islamic educational system.51
Crisis of Legitimacy for Science

In fundamentalist discourse, science is an ideological tool by which Western civilization extends its hegemony over Muslim societies. Hence, the transformation of Western scientific discourse was the major issue debated at the 1977 World Conference on Muslim Education in Mecca.52 The basic problem identified by participants-mostly traditionalist Muslims-was that no applied or social sciences were drawn from religion.53 "[In Islamic society] originality, innovation, and change were never upheld as intrinsic values. The ideal of Islamic culture was not mechanical evolutionary progress but the permanent immutable transcendent di-

47 A. L. Tibawi, "Philosophy of 48 Maryam Jameelah, Modern

ul-Arabia, 1983), p. 8. 49 S. S. Hussain and A. A. Ashraf, Crisisin MuslimEducation(Jeddah: King Abdul Aziz University/ Hodder & Stoughton, 1979). 50Ibid. Abdullah (n. 46 above), p. 35. "51 52 Engineer; Watt (both cited in n. 42 above). 53 Watt, p. 13.
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Muslim Education," Islamic Quarterly no. 2 (July 1957): 78-89. 4, Technologyand the Dehumanisationof Man (Lahore: El-Matbaat

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vinely revealed moral, theological, and spiritual values of the Qur'an and Sunnah."54 The fundamentalists advocated that all subjects must reflect Islamic beliefs and values. This implied a change in objectives, curricula content, pedagogy, and other aspects. Because all textbooks were perceived as being imbued with the ethical values of Western writers, traditionalists argued that Islamic sciences must be distinct and foster Islamic values. In other words, Western sciences have a secular character that can be changed by infusing Islamic values into them. They proposed that "Muslim writers should write books on the basis of Islamic ethics and assimilate that which is in conformity with Islam and reject the rest."55Fundamentalist writers now contend that because Western sciences are taught without any mention of Allah or Muhammad they are the sources of "straying from the truth" (gumrahi). Specifically, "Reflection on the nature of modern education and customs immediately reveals their contradiction with the nature of Islamic education and customs. You teach young minds philosophy which seeks to explain the universe without Allah. You teach them science which is a slave of reason and the senses. You teach them economics, law, and sociology which, in spirit and in substance, differ from the teachings of Islam. And you still expect them to have an Islamic Now there is to be no separation in Islam of religious point of view?""56 (dini) from worldly (dunyawi), suggesting that, "In the new system of education, a new course on religious education (diniyat) is not needed, indeed all courses should be changed into courses of dinyat."57 For fundamentalists, it is necessary to exorcise the evil (secular) spirit from Western science and "Islamize" it. They assume that these applied and social sciences were developed in Islam, were thrown into the background during the colonial period, and must be revived in present times. Yet that assumption ignores the historical fact that the Muslim clergy-like clergy in many other religious traditions-had earlier opposed science and philosophy. Ahmed Sirhindi, a fundamentalist during the reign of the Mogul emperor Aurangzeb, for example, issued religious decrees (futwa) declaring mathematics and sciences to be forbidden (haram), and demanded the education of Muslims be exclusively along religious lines.58
and theDehumanisation Man, p. 8. See also, by the same author, 54Jameelah, Modern Technology of A Islam and WesternSociety: Refutationof theModernWayof Life (Lahore: Mohammed Yusuf Khan, 1976). 55G. N. Saqeb, "Modernisation of Muslim Society and Education: Need for a Practical Approach," in Education and Societyin the Muslim World,ed. M. W. Khan (London and Jeddah: Hodder & Stoughton and King Abdul Aziz University, 1981), pp. 48-49. See also Hussain and Ashraf (n. 49 above), p. 59. 56A. Maudoodi, Talimat (Lahore: Islamic Publications, n.d.), p. 20. 57Ibid. 58 Hoodbhoy, "Ideological Problems for Science in Pakistan" (n. 44 above), p. 183. 78 February1996

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The total assimilationof all subjectsinto an Islamicmoraland religious frameworkmeans that they are all to be judged on their moral outcome and are to go through a process of scrutinyand censorship before being accepted in so-called Islamic polity. According to A. Maudoodi, "Taking Guidance from the Qur'an,one should make not only a surveyof existing scientific knowledge, but also make new observationsand discoveries of He physical laws along lines specified by Qur'an."59 assumes that the Qur'an gives rules and methods to study varioussubjects,and that science is a static subject that can be surveyed and transformed into an Islamic model. Further, the complexity, differentiation,and specializationwithin various branches of knowledge and the complicated nature of methods applied are disregarded. Considering traditionalwisdom as core knowledge, "Westernsciences are considered mere peripheral and technical matters which can be absorbed into the standard Islamic view without As changing it at all in essentials.""6 a result of this understanding,science at all levels is taught conservativelywith criticaland analyticalmethodoland ogy absent. One author criticalof this situationwrites, "Physics chemare taught no differently from, say, Pakistani studies of Islamiat. istry Authority is infinitely remote and unchallengeable, this or that is true because it is in the text. Deliberately and systematically,schools rob a child of natural creative powers.""61 Unfortunately, products of science cannot be arbitrarilyseparated from science as method.62Scientificknowledge develops criticalthinking and avoids the uncritical acceptance of traditional answers to human inquiry. Science challenges the validity and relevance of all discourses of knowledge, because nothing is accepted as permanent or sacred. Unlike theology, science permits the critical comparison of competing theories and frameworks.6" While the mark of a scientific theory is that it is testable,64 religious knowledge is empiricallyuntestableand demandsunquestioning acceptance and practice.
Political Construction of Historical Discourse

History is another subject that was transformed and reconstructed within the parameters of Islamic ideology. According to a University GrantsCommissiondirective,history textbooksshould "demonstrate that
Watt, p. 13. Hoodbhoy, "Ideological Problems for Science in Pakistan," p. 190. 62 Paul Hurst, "Critical Education and Islamic Culture," in Cultural Identityand EducationalPolicy, ed. Colin Brock and Witold Tulasiewicz (London: Croom Helm, 1985), pp. 1-2. "63 R. Popper, "Normal Science and Its K. and the Growthof Knowledge,ed. Dangers," in Criticism I. Lakatos and A. Musgraw (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978), p. 281. 64J. W. N. Watkins, "Against 'Normal Science,' " in Criticismand the Growthof Knowledge, ed. I. Lakatos and A. Musgraw (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978), p. 29.
60 61

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the basis of Pakistan is not to be found in the racial, linguistic or geographic factors but, rather, in the shared experience of a common religion. To get students to know and appreciate the religious basis of independence, and popularize it with slogans, to guide students toward the ultimate goal of Pakistan, that is the creation of a completely Islamized state."65 The so-called ideology of Pakistan has been defined in rigid dogmatic terms, as are reasons for the nation's creation (a topic in which socioeconomic and political reasons are ignored). Mohammed Ali Jinnah, a thoroughly Westernized secular leader, is depicted in history books as a man of orthodox religious views. In the social studies textbook for elementary grade 6, for example, a chapter on Pakistani history states, "Muslims conquered India and settled here, and there was nothing in common between the Hindus and the Muslims. The Muslim society is based on the principles of equality and democracy. ... Muslims and Hindus eat different kinds of food, wear different kinds of dress, and speak different This interpretation suggests that Muslims in India were languages."''66 conquerors who came from outside, not mentioning that most Muslims were an indigenous people who converted to Islam, thus sharing many customs, dress, language, and eating habits with other communities. Exaggerating minor cultural variations to emphasize differences between the two religious communities seems to be the purpose. In another distortion, a Pakistani historian writes that, "The All-India Muslim League and even the Quaid-i Azam (Jinnah) himself, said in the clearest possible terms that Pakistan would be an ideological state, the basis of whose laws would be the Qur'an and Sunnah and whose ultimate destiny would be to provide a society in which Muslims could individually and collectively live according to the laws of Islam."''67 fact, however, In the ideal that Jinnah had for Pakistan was that of a secular nation-state. In February 1948, for example, he said, "Make no mistake, Pakistan is not a theocracy or anything like it,"68 and in a famous speech given the previous August he had already laid out this position. "We are starting with the fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one state.... Now I think that we should keep that in front of us as our ideal, and you would find that in due course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state ..... You may belong to any
65 Hoodbhoy and Nayyar (n. 41 above), p. 165.

66Qutubuddin Khan, Social Studies, bk. 5 (Karachi: Rehber Publishers, n.d.), p. 1. 67 Hoodbhoy, "Ideological Problems for Science in Pakistan," p. 174. 68 Rafi Raza, "The Continuous Process of Rewriting the Constitution," in Pakistan in Its Fourth Decade, ed. Wolfgang-Peter Zungel and Stephanie Zingel-Ave Lallemant (Hamburg: Deutsches Orient-Institut, 1983), p. 9. 80 February1996

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religion, caste, or creed-that has nothing to do with the business of state."69 Jinnah's words clearly show that the Muslim leadership that fought for the existence of Pakistan envisioned a democratic nation-state rather than a theocracy. History books, however, have highlighted the 'ulama- most of whom actually opposed the very idea of Pakistan-and the army in an apparent effort to legitimize the undemocratic and oppressive control by these groups. One textbook states, "The services rendered by 'ulama and elder religious leaders (mashaikh)to the cause of the Pakistan movement are worthy of writing in golden letters."'7 The imposition of martial law by the generals who ruled Pakistan for more than 20 years is portrayed as having saved the nation from chaos caused by the democratic process. The splitting of Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 is attributed to elections, thus implying that democracy threatens national unity. Further, modern education also is held responsible for that split. As one textbook states, "As a result of the 1970 elections the political differences between East and West Pakistan grew and led to their separation. The cause of Islamic Unity received a setback, but one should not interpret this as a rejection of Islamic ideology by the people. Indeed, unless Islam is presented as a whole and not as just worship and prayer, it remains incomplete. The forces of atheism and worldliness, in this case, can influence the minds of people through modern education and public media."71
Conclusion

In the past, Islamic discourse excluded non-Islamic forms of knowledge and was used by political regimes to foster their power and control. In modern times, traditional Muslims seek hegemony over political, economic, and educational domains, leading to the establishment of authoritarian regimes in some Muslim countries and widespread violence in others. Since Zia's death in 1988, democratic governments have ruled in Pakistan. The legacy of the military regime he headed lingers, however, through a number of repressive laws introduced in the guise of religion during his tenure. Subsequent governments have been unable to rescind these religion-based laws because of the concerted opposition of fundamentalists. The introduction of Islamic laws has resulted in the oppression of vulnerable groups in Pakistani society, especially women and religious minorities. In contrast, the 'ulama, the military, and elites all benefited
Abbas Rashid, "Pakistan: The Ideological Dimension," in Islam, Politicsand the State,ed. Asghar "69 Khan (London: Zed Books, 1985), p. 81. for Medical Students(Lahore: Aziz, 1982), p. 147. 70 M. D. Zafar, Pakistan Studies 71Quoted in Hoodbhoy, "Ideological Problems for Science in Pakistan," p. 173. ComparativeEducationReview 81

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from Islamization. Emblematic of the legitimization of traditional elite classes is that the Islamic educational reforms were implemented in private elite schools.72 Islamization emerged partly because people were disenchanted with the failure of secular governments to provide either freedom or equal economic and educational opportunities. Taking advantage of this discontent, fundamentalists interpreted Islamization as an ideological system that offers equality and social justice. Hence, many unemployed youth took refuge in this movement and also used it as an outlet for their anger toward repressive regimes. Yet Islamic experiments in some Muslim countries, including Pakistan, show that Islamic ideology has failed to provide the promised equality and social justice. The 'ulamanever reached a consensus as to what constitutes an Islamic educational, economic, or political system, or how it could be implemented. Nevertheless, Islamic discourse gave tremendous power to the 'ulama.73 The impact of Islamization on the Pakistani educational system has been devastating. The emphasis on ideological education has intensified cultural and religious differences, resulting in communal conflicts and resentment of other cultures and other areas of knowledge. However, there is public resistance to this control. For example, in spite of warnings by Muslim clergy that Western model schools are anti-Islamic and promoters of immorality, people in Pakistan have flocked to such schools. Similarly, despite the Pakistani government's declaration that Urdu be a compulsory medium of instruction in schools, parents who can afford it send their children to private English-medium schools.74 Such popular resistance continues to be an important part of public discourse in Pakistan.

72 Pervez Hoodbhoy, Muslims and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Struggle for Rationality (Lahore: Vanguard, 1991), p. 50. 7' Rafique Zakaria, The Struggle within Islam: The Conflictbetween Religion and Politics (New York: Penguin, 1989). 74 In 1948, Urdu was made the national language and the medium of instruction in public schools. For a further discussion on the increasing popularity of English-medium schools, see Hoodbhoy, Muslims and Science.

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