Malaysian students at public Islamic schools

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, December 24 (IslamOnline.net) - Malaysian Prime Minister Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday, December 24, the government will upgrade the quality of education provided by Islamic schools in Malaysia to ensure that Islamic subjects taught in schools will produce Muslims equipped with worldly knowledge and imbued with Muslim qualities.

"I'm now actively focusing on the Islamic Education subject that will be compatible with the national education system,” said the Prime Minister, as reported by Bernama news agency.

He added that various elements like Qur’an studies and Arabic language would be incorporated into the subject taught to Muslim students as part of the national school curriculum, thus following what most private Islamic institutions are already offering.

"The Islamic Education subject must not be isolated under the national education system," he said at a gathering of some 500 ulamas (Muslim scholars) and religious officers in Kuala Lumpur.

The PM further added that such a curriculum would enable the Muslim students to eventually pursue various disciplines like science and technology, the arts, humanities and vocational subjects to ensure that they would attain progress for a better life.

Islamic schools suffered a terrible blow early this year when former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad decided to freeze government allocations to such schools.

This caused a debacle in several states in Malaysia with many Islamic schools called the ‘SAR” closing down or firing their teachers due to lack of funds.

SAR schools, a traditional type of Islamic schools in Malaysia were said to be pro-opposition and promoting anti-government slogans, such as calling Mahathir by names.

The financial freeze, however, helped many of the schools find ways to become independent though the quality of the education provided by the schools dwindled considerably since then.

The Prime Minister also said that knowledge acquired must be a balance between that required in this world and the hereafter.

He also expressed his wish that Muslims in the country would achieve success and progress through the pursuit of knowledge and skills.

"It would sadden me to discover through statistics that the Muslims are still far behind when the country attains developed nation status. It will certainly be most disheartening," he said.

Abdullah said that Muslims should not concentrate only on ritual obligations and neglecting other pursuits like acquiring knowledge and application of knowledge for a better life and thus avoid social ills as a result of their backwardness.

Malaysian primary and secondary schools too are offering Islam as a subject with emphasis on Islamic history and practice.

On the other hand, the PM urged members of the ulamas to cooperate with his government to ensure that the responsibility in developing the Muslims was discharged effectively.

This would prevent misunderstanding over their roles and mistrust between them that could strain ties between the leaders and enforcers, he said.

"We must avoid confusion and chaos and forge better ties as well as exchange views to generate ideas to enhance the development of the Muslims. Cooperation is a better solution," Abdullah added.

Malaysia has a 60 to 65 percent Muslim population that is mostly Malay based, with a slim percentage of Arabs and Indians. It is considered to be an Islamic state.