The Need For an Islamic Pedagogy

METHODOLOGY

I have defined education and pedagogy thus far; therefore, we should define some other essential terms to be utilized before proceeding. Islam, as used in this paper, refers to Sunni Orthodox Islam (more specifically Ahl Al Sunnah wal Jamaa’a, ASWJ; lit: “the people of the Sunnah and the Community”); ASWJ Islam makes up roughly 90% of the Muslim world and includes the four major jurisprudence schools of thought: Hanafi, Maaliki, Shaafii, and Hanbali. ASWJ works are known for their clear reliance on the actual revelation as evidence when they write about anything regarding Islam; this is opposite of the methodology of Sunni Ahl Al-Kalaam (lit: “the people of talk”) who sometimes prefer their own personal reasoning over textual evidence by default and minimally cite Islamic scripture when theorizing about Islam (Ashqar, 2003; Phillips, 2006). Ironically, Ahl Al-Kalaam, who represent about 5% or less of Islamic scholarship and Muslims throughout history, are the sole perspectives formally acknowledged in Western discourses about Islam (except for minute exceptions sometimes in Islamic Studies departments)6 . The other ten percent of the Muslim world consists of a mixture of various sects (Shiism, varieties of Sunni like Sufism, etc.) which generally have some different fundamental beliefs. Sunni Muslims follow the Qur’an (believed to be the literal word of God revealed to prophet Muhammad) and the Sunnah (the teachings, sayings, and way of prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him7 , on how to practice the Qur’an).

There is a lot of literature on Islam in general concerning almost every disciplinary lens; however, relatively little has been written on the development of a specific Islamic pedagogy. One must preface such a statement by clarifying that the author has had limited time to research in a Muslim country-where Islamic literature is expectedly much more accessible. There is particularly much more literature in Arab Muslim countries since Arabic is the language that the Qur’an and Sunnah were revealed in, and therefore the language used in most serious theological works written about them. This being said, one would normally be left with the limited English scholarship that exists on Islamic Education as a whole here in America. However, I have had the opportunity to research for a small period of time in Egypt searching for Arabic works on Islamic pedagogy. These combined with the Arabic Qur’an and Hadeeth (the individual narrations of the Sunnah; pl. ahadeeth) exegesis available here in America have been the primary sources for this research. For exegesis, I have relied the most heavily on those of Ibn Kathir (the most widely known exegesis in the Muslim world, compiled by the named 13th century alim), Al-Ashqar (which is an abridged version of the famous 18th century Al- Shawkaanee’s exegesis), and Arkahdaan (which is an abridged version of the widely respected Al-12th century Qaasimi exegesis). In regard to the Sunnah, I have relied mostly on the two most authentic collections of ahadeeth (the compilations of Al-Bukhari and Muslim). Other than my own scriptural reflections, I have also highlighted the educational perspectives of two of the most knowledgeable ulamaa in the past half century, Shaykhs Bin

Baz and Uthaymeen, as well as educational specialist Dr. Ahmad Mutawalee.

Qur’an and Hadeeth exegesis ulamaa have frequently highlighted pedagogical issues in their works although they did not usually dedicate specific treatises to the topic. The works that have been found specifically described as “Islamic pedagogy” actually dealt more with outlining a specific curriculum of Islamic values that promote social, psychological, academic, and moral development, but less on how to teach them. Paradoxically, what would normally be viewed as a dearth in the literature has a lot to do with what exactly Islamic pedagogy is as will be explicated. There are over 6,000 verses in the Qur’an and more than 20, 000 authentic ahadeeth; accordingly, to knowledgably speak about the Islamic stance on a topic is not just to mention one verse of the Qur’an or one hadeeth from the Sunnah as proof, but rather to present all pertinent revelation with the appropriate corresponding analysis.

Understandably, such a task is more appropriate for an entire lifetime’s work than a Master’s thesis; ergo, what is presented here is a survey-natured textual analysis of the Qur’anic method of teaching in the Qur’an itself, the pedagogical wisdoms behind the fashion in which scripture was revealed, and the pedagogical techniques that prophet Muhammad used with his companions. Glimpses of how this pedagogy was utilized historically will be brought to light as well.

Evaluating Our Lenses

Given the overtly politicized nature of scholarship related to Islam in Academia (see Orientalism and Covering Islam among others by Edward Said), a note of caution must be heeded. Most academic scholarship-here I do not intend the quality of the work, but merely that which is produced within the ivory tower of Western universities and other learning institutions)-on Islam is taught from a Modernistic lens-a belief system promoted through our Liberal Arts educational system that preaches that the only ultimate Truth is that there are no fixed Truths or constants, but rather everything is variable and based on opinion. This seems self-defeatist if pondered; but in any case this is a belief system that was borne out of the European Enlightenment of the 18th and 19th centuries mostly due to perceived contradictions between various aspects of Christianity and empirical science as well as the centuries old religious based conflicts between France and Britain. This rationalist school of thought could really be traced as far back as the Greek philosophy of scholars such as Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, but its current day revivers were European philosophers such as Descartes, Nietche, and Kant (Kayum, 2010; Zarabozo (2), 2010).

Christian theologians called for “higher criticism” of the Bible and came to the conclusion that not all aspects were appropriate for all time; hence, followers of the faith could choose the aspects of the faith they personally deemed appropriate for their particular time and location. Such action was justified by a belief that religion is an evolutionary process (Zarabozo (2), 2010). Bible scholars acknowledged (then and now) that the Bible was written by more than 40 authors many years after the time Jesus is believed

to have died in Christianity (Dirks, 2010); accordingly, the Bible was no longer treated as an ultimate Truth in official discourse. Some fruits of this movement were the reform movements that occurred, like various Christian reformations, and corresponding alternative belief systems being constructed to take the place of religion in many public institutions, like Darwinism.

Due to the aforementioned reasons, many academics and politicians concluded that the ideal solution was to secularize society and simply accept the parts of religion that not only did not contradict existing scientific theories, but that which also didn’t contradict their own cultural preferences. Not only were human-based empirical sciences taken as a universal Truth-which has its human faults/biases (see Cuvier’s work on the “Hottentot Venus” and The Origin of Species by Darwin for example)-but so were any Western philosophical theories that gained widespread acceptance…essentially those that agreed with Western European culture. Philosophers’ individual personal reasoning/opinions became a post-hoc response to justify society’s changing religious attitudes and new liberal culture in Western Europe (Zarabozo 2, 2010). Anything that was Western was presented as “Human” and “Universal” objective Truth, and everything else was subjective uncivilized notions of culture, bias, and savageness (Moore, 2007, pgs.36, 57-58,; Willinsky, 1998). One wonders if the maps of Chaucer’s time with Western Europe shown, and the rest of the globe shaded black are not still relevant.

Ironically however, this culturally relativist belief system of Modernism was intolerantly forcefully spread throughout much of the Muslim world-either through formal colonization or neocolonization through media and education-as the solution to the intolerance of certain peoples during the Medieval period (Zarabozo (2), 2010). Westernization of Muslim countries’ educational systems imposed not only epistemological frameworks, but entire Western value systems that were inconsistent with local values for the sake of cultural/political hegemony. Post colonization, many countries were trying to unyoke themselves of colonial cultural hegemony (imposed through remaining transplanted educational systems), while simultaneously trying to redesign relevant aspects of these systems to improve the perceived weaknesses that led to their colonization-mainly military and industrial expertise (Hussein, 2008, pgs.16, 21). Native attempts at such a task in the 20th century were Modernists such as Jamal Al-Din Al-Afghani of Iran, Namik Kemal of Turkey, Sayyid Ahmad Khan of India, and Muhammad Abduh of Egypt (Spring, 2006, p.155,). While some of these Modernists had questionable intentions to begin with, most of them wanted to import the scientific and military expertise of the West while preserving the Islamic belief system; as Muhammad Abduh noted for example, “If one seeks to educate and improve the Egyptian nation without religion, it is as if a farmer would try to sow seed in unsuitable soil…his efforts will be in vain” (Spring, 2006, p.155). Later however, ulamaa like Abduh, particularly after traveling to study in Western educational institutions, soon tried to replicate Western culture as a whole (Hussein, 2008, pgs.19-20; Kincheloe and Steinberg, 2004, pgs.142-144).

Modernism spread through the academic circles (and the elite sectors) of major centers of Islamic culture like Turkey, Egypt, and the sub-continent; however, particularly with the decreasing trust that laymen had in theologians connected to the authoritarian regimes controlling most of the Muslim world post-colonization, Modernism did not widely spread among the masses (Hussein, 2008, pgs.20-50). Many of these Modernists were viewed as foreign implants connected to the puppet regimes that were ruling the Muslim world at the time since many of them not only promoted the idea that Muslims’ only salvation after colonization was to Europeanize completely, but many even rejected the notion of fighting colonial armies8 (Hefner and Zaman, 2007, pgs. 108, 118; Hussein, pgs.22-24, 106, 2008; Kincehloe and Steinberg, 2004, pgs. 128, 149; Zarabozo 1, 2010). In short, Modernist philosophy was (and is today) to ‘reform’ the parts of Islam that were/are not compatible with Western culture/interests: the most popular being the criminal code, polygamy, belief in miracles/universal Truths, prohibition of interest in business transactions, prohibition on women being head of state, women wearing hijab, and much of the Sunnah in general since it specifies Qur’anic legislation (Modernists prefer to go by the  “spirit” of the faith and not the specific commandments)9 ,10 (Hussein, 2008; Kayum, 2010; Zarabozo, 1, 2010). I merely highlight this phenomena lest readers presume that authors with “Islamic sounding” names necessarily offer a “native” perspective because usually only people with the cultural capital of a Modernistic worldview are admitted into Western-oriented academic institutions in Muslim or non- Muslim countries-I hope to be one of the few exceptions to this screening process. The Modernist movement, and it’s later sub-branches of post-modernism and the like, was not widely accepted among much of Western European laity in places like Britain, just officially conformed to in academia and government circles for purposes of promoting secularism and similar ideologies that served economic among other interests (Zarabozo 1, 2010). Part of the reason for this trend might be Western Europe’s long historical ties to religion as a source of identity and the fact that Darwinism as an alternative perspective on life has been arguably disproved by many scientists, particularly European ones-much of the evidence used to support the theory has even been found to be forged (Yahya, 2001). What concerns us however is that Modernism spread much wider among laity in America and is the lens through which knowledge is produced, particularly that concerning religion (Zarabozo 1, 2010).

The Modernistic lens is antithetical to religion because it portrays religion as “tales of the ancients” (Qur’an, 16:24) (Wheeler, 2003, pgs.22-23), irrational, and uncivilized (by European Enlightenment definitions) and Modernism as the opposite objective alternative-an us vs. them demonization of the “other” (Moore, 2007, pgs.36, 57-58). Modernism dons a cloak of supposed “scientific” precepts, which are much more based on culture than empirical proof, to try to promote a myth in academia that the “advancement of civilization” itself depends on Modernism as educational theorist James Carper has demonstrated (Moore, 2007, p. 57). However, it has been realized that it was never so much the empirical sciences advanced in the West, such as Chemistry and Biology (or even the technology), that

were at odds with Islamic values as some have posited (Talbani, 1996, p.70), as much as it was the culture and value system (especially of Western philosophy) being transplanted along with them (Cook, 1999, p.11).

As has been mentioned, Modernism views everything as a matter of opinion; religion does not have any constants but is merely a product of its environment and therefore inherently variable in all aspects. Due to Modernism’s secular nature, notions of providential guidance are not entertained.

Subsequently, most American academics when speaking about Islam take their own prerogative on, and present their own opinions on what should be the “real” True interpretation of Islam since it coordinates with Western culture (despite the fact that it might contradict the belief and practice of millions of Muslims). Accordingly one finds a “wide diversity of opinions” (Moore, 2007, pgs. 35, 127-128,) as Moore and others (Sheridan and North, 2004, p.149; Barazangi; Bonakdarian 1998; Anscombe 2007;

Sells 1999; Abou el-Fadl 2002; and Esposito 1999) have mentioned, but they are all from the default Modernistic perspective11 mistakenly applied as a universal Truth that all humans must follow. Many such authors often write about very advanced theological issues with little or no experience/knowledge of the Islamic sciences-like ilm Al rijaal (the science of authentication for chains of narrators of ahadeeth-the teachings and sayings of Prophet Muhammadthe science of Naskh (which verses or ahadeeth have been abrogated by others and how), which verses/ahadeeth are general and which are specific to the context they were revealed in or one similar to it, and many other fundamental principles which are inherently connected to the directives of the Qur’an and Sunnah12 (Kincheloe and Steinberg, 2004, p.165; Phillips, 2005). As Nasr notes, very few of these academics “with advanced degrees are actually able to read classical Arabic texts with full in-depth comprehension of their meaning” (Nasr, 2009, p. 21). Accordingly such academics would not be considered “Islamic scholars” as is usually understood when this term is translated into the language of many Muslim majority countries-usually alim, someone who has been deeply immersed in Islamic scholarship over 20-50 years. This is pivotal to keep in mind when discussing literature written on Islamic topics in the West and will be relevant to our discussion of “Modern” perspectives of Islamic pedagogy.

Contrary to Modernist claims, the ulamaa of the Islamic sciences in the Muslim world have always taken the context of revelation into consideration when discussing scripture; hence, the emphasis on the Sunnah and Seerah (essentially the biography of prophet Muhammad which gives the context that he and his companions lived in while the Qur’an was being revealed) which are their own sciences (with sub branches within them) (Nadwi, 2005, p.115). But since the Qur’an commands Muslims to take prophet Muhammad’s interpretation of the Qur’an that he taught to his companions over anyone else’s (Phillips, 2005; Qadhi, 1999), there is no way to realistically force Islam to coincide with most current Western cultural practices despite the “wide diversity” of arguments that may be made. The aforementioned factors all contribute to the noteworthy disparity

found between how lay Muslims in Muslim countries practice Islam and how Islam is “re-presented” in much of Western literature.

One can see examples of this imposition of values explicitly in the bias representation of Middle Eastern educational systems of the Middle Ages and how most non-religious education that occurred in fields ranging from Medicine to Architecture is glossed over (in Western post-enlightenment literature); the result has been the confection of a revisionist history where the religious sphere of society was somehow divorced from the rest (Kincheloe and Steinberg, 2004, p.130), a re-written “secular” history of the Muslim world13 . What academia has been silent about has been just as telling as what has been said. Such selective memory leads to an easily consumed myth for a progressive-minded audience: that such people, who supposedly have nothing but theological knowledge, would either be particularly unsuitable for the modern world, or –an even more extreme presumption –that maybe the Medieval Muslim world was even secular all along. Even with Harvard’s “international character”, they teach little about Islam as a religion aside from Sufi mysticism in India and Africa; “Sufis are to Islam what Quakers are to Christianity” (Kavulla, 2007, p. 56). Nonetheless, Modernist, extreme Sufi(there’s nothing wrong with moderate asceticism in Islam that is not related to actions of polytheism, but then it would not be considered Sufism as the term is used today) or “Mutazilite” (deviant philosophical sect that rationalizes not believing in destiny and many other parts of Islam) “versions” of Islam are what the American government promotes with added notions of no hijab, sharia, or any remotely social aspects of Islam (see Rand Report on “Civil Democratic Islam” and the works of John Esposito, Hamza Yusef, Fazlur Rahman, and Khaled Abou Al-Fadl). Only groups with Modernist related precepts are regarded as “normal” like the Murji’i (who believe faith is only in the heart)14 (Wheeler, 2003, p.114). A wellread Muslim can differentiate between these Sunni sects, who are only about 5% of the world population of Muslims, but the average reader in the West cannot, hence the long digress on this issue. The deliberate disregard to much of mainstream Islamic scholarship in the theological sciences and blind eye turned towards achievements in the empirical sciences have been integral factors of the Modernist discourse and the main causes behind the very distorted image of Islamic education as a whole in the West.

“Why have certain orientalists wasted so many precious years of their lives trying to disprove the Qur’an and Sunnah? Such programs of research are not merely an offense to the consciences of millions of Muslims, but are also misleading and thus unworthy to be considered as scholarship” as Martin affirms (Martin, 1985, p.187). The politically charged attempts to forcefully re-write Islam into conformity with Western ideals merely serves to alienate and dehumanize the vast majority of Muslims on the planet15 , while deliberately or not, selectively humanizing the elite authoritarian classes (with Western cultural capital) that dominate most Muslim countries (thereby implicitly justifying violence against “the other” as can be seen on the world stage). While such wishful thinking on the part of Western academics may fool the majority of Americans in the U.S. who are rarely

exposed to the “average” experiences and perspectives of humans in the East, they don’t even pragmatically effect any change in the cultures/practices of the majority in the Muslim world aside from increasing a consciousness that their way of life is being attacked…hardly a platform for dialogue. Empirical evidence that the cultural invasion has had the opposite effect of its original intention is that recent studies of Muslim majority countries confirm that “the university experience actually engenders religious attachment; [for example], the growth of secular education in Egypt has encouraged rather than discouraged attachment to Islamic culture” (Cook, 2001, p.382). As Noam Chomsky often musingly argues, “democracy”, as it’s now practiced, only works if the people are persuaded to agree with what the people in power had already decided (Chomsky, 2002). If we truly wish to see coexistence between East and West, we must learn to be tolerant of others’ differences, even when they really are different.