Islamic Education in America

Summary of Essay:

1. The Importance of Islamic Education
a. Islamic Knowledge
b. Islamic Identity
c. Islamic Ethics and the West

2. Basic Problems Facing Islamic Education
a. Purpose - Islamic identity? Functional Islam? Muslim Intellectuals? Ulema?
b. Finances
c. Asserting Autonomy
d. Qualified Teachers and Administration (Islamic knowledge versus secular knowledge. Piety cannot be taught by the impious; taqwa cannot be taught by those without taqwa)
e. Competing with other teachers (peer pressure, media, parent’s cultural practices)
f. Identity - Islam v. America or is it Muslim American?
g. Dress Code

3. The Problem of Islamic Knowledge
a. Islam is not Monolithic
b. Three Paradigms:
i. No Islamic Education - Focus on Islamic identity, history, science, holiday, culture
ii. Bare Necessities - Teach knowledge that is Fardh Ain
iii. Maddrasseh

4. Bare Necessities -
a. Aqeedah
b. Fiqh (prayer, fasting, zakat, hajj)
c. Tazkiyah
The problem with this paradigm is that it still is primarily insufficient at teaching information and is also unworkable. How does one teach fiqh? According to which school of thought?
d. Hifdh
e. Arabic - Prepares one for higher studies in Islamic knowledge.

5. Maddrasseh Format -
a. The hardest to establish, but the most rewarding
b. Produces Huffadh and Ulema in a full education system

6. The Practical Problem of Teaching Islamic Knowledge
a. Grades versus Level
b. Financial implications of teaching using the level model

Global Intifada