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Content: It is common knowledge that the content of the curriculum, that is, courses or subjects offered in Muslim educational institutions from the elementary to the tertiary levels, particularly in the acquired sciences - is borrowed from the Western, secular worldview. Thus the knowledge taught is devoid of religious values; even if it is not, it is filled instead with values that are frequently incompatible with the beliefs and values of the Islamic faith. Thus, in the long term, Muslim children are indoctrinated with alien values, primarily the idea of dualism of body and spirit, of truth, humanism, secularism, and tragedy.19
The curriculum has also not provided accurate and adequate learning experiences for the children in order to attain the educational objectives, aside from intellectual and physical development. The curriculum tends toward intellectual development at all levels of education, although studies on psychology and moral development have shown that good moral habits and character are inculcated at an early age. Piaget concluded from his studies that the stage of formal operation in which the cognitive ability is more mature only begins to form at the age of about eleven or close to the age of biological puberty. The book All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten illustrates the fact that for most of us, good moral habits and good character were developed in the first five years of life. Unfortunately, our curriculum designers have not been able to integrate the findings of these studies and philosophical reasoning into their plans. Fortunately, most Muslim educational institutions provide Islamic religious instruction. Sometimes, however, the approach is rather theoretical and neglects the practical. For example, although a school might teach its students the importance of the five daily prayers, the procedures of performing them, their appropriate times, and so on, the school's formal and hidden curricula do not encourage their performance; no specific schedule or arrangement is specified in the school timetable, nor, in some cases, are the facilities provided. Performing the prayer is left to the student's initiative. This could be good in an effort to teach responsibility and independence, but in most cases it discourages a student from praying, because he has to ask for permission from his teacher to leave the class for prayer. This is very crucial for those attending the afternoon sessions since they have to account for salat alzuhr and 'asar in school. The hidden curriculum seems to teach that moral virtues are only preached, not practiced. The fact that our curriculum is gender blind is another manifestation of Western liberal influence. The curriculum shows no appreciation of the different needs of the learners by gender and roles. Both sexes have been treated "equally." Had the Qur'an and Sunnah been our reference point, female modesty and roles would have been emphasized in the curriculum, as would have been the male roles as the family breadwinners and protectors of women. The impending rise in social illnesses, one of the major contributors of which is the disintegrating family, has still not alarmed our policy makers. Therefore it would not be surprising if Toffler's prophecy on the new nonnuclear or nonextended family of the Third Wave (the Information Technology Age) will also hold true for that of Muslim nations.20 Educational evaluation: Muslim scholars have often questioned the disparity in the level of creativity and thinking between Muslim children educated in the Muslim system of education and those of the West, in particular Americans. Despite their moral and religious crises, our observation shows that the latter seem to be more creative, critical, and free to express their ideas. When Muslim children are given their elementary and secondary education in the West, they too tend to be creative and critical, and they find freedom of expression. Their religious values and their moral characters depend very much upon the religious and moral strength of their family and their peer groups. By reflecting upon these and several other factors, the writer concludes that the root of this disparity lies in the educational system, in particular, the way we teach and the way we evaluatate educational objectives. This cursory examination reveals, among others, that the curriculum of most Muslim nations has been secularized. Clearly, the educational objectives are not screened by our own educational philosophy but rather by the Western, secular, and liberal philosophy of education. The hierarchy of knowledge, in particular, the fard 'ayn over the fard kifayah, has been lost. This is a fundamental error in our educational setup. The learning experiences are not consistent with our educational objectives, especially with respect to spiritual and moral development. Consequently, instead of having the younger generation's faith and Islamic practices strengthened through education, the converse is true. Therefore, there is a great need to Islamize the curriculum and the acquired sciences. 
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