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Challenges and Solutions to Primary and Secondary Islamic Education in Western Nigeria
(International Open University (IOU), 2021) Ibrahim-Katsina, Musa; Bocca-Aldaqre, Francesca Umm Yahya
This study discussed the challenges primary and secondary education in western Nigeria faces and the solutions needed. A problem which started from the colonization of the country by the British empire, the Christianization agenda by the colonizers, the inferiority complex that followed, and the lack of zeal to see or believe that western education can be presented in an Islamic point of view. There is also the problem of employing knowledgeable and qualified Muslim teachers whose primary objective is to impact knowledge into their students rather than the financial gains that comes with it. Teachers by circumstances who know little about pedagogy and al-Islām. Proprietors of Islāmic schools are to invest in their teachers by organizing workshops for them at least twice a year, inviting Islāmic pedagogists to train them, thereby boosting their confidence, increasing their knowledge and work input, and reducing the inferiority complex they might have towards the western education; which is unnecessary since Islām came with all branches of knowledge ranging from economics, human relations, sciences, agriculture, trade etc. and actualized by earlier Muslims especially in the golden era when the Muslims ruled in Andalusia Spain and in Baghdad. One of the ways Muslim teachers can improve and be dedicated is through mentorship. They gain experience through this which complements their knowledge. Proprietors should put Islam first before financial gains, and parents must be sincere and willing to allow their children learn according to Islāmic perspectives. The lack of zeal by leaders in the Islāmic world in implementing the findings by Islāmic educators in relative to the Islāmization of western curriculum and knowledge is a major setback in the Muslim world. The qualitative research method was the main source of information for this thesis sourced from books and research papers written on pedagogy by renowned educators in Nigeria and other countries. KEYWORDS: Islāmization, Pedagogy, Western Nigeria, Education. Table of Content DECLARATION .........................................................................4 DEDICATION ...........................................................................5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...............................................................6 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................7 1.1. Background / significance of the study .........................................9 1.2. Statement of the problem ........................................................10 1.3. Aims and objectives ..............................................................11 1.4. Research questions ................................................................11 1.5. Limitations of the research .............................................................................12 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE .......................................................12 3. METHODOLOGY ....................................................................16 4. ORIGINALITY AND SIGNIFICANCE ..........................................17 5. ISLAM AND KNOWLEDGE...............................................................17 5.1 The virtues of knowledge and danger of ignorance......................................19 5.2 The golden era of Islāmic knowledge.............................................21 6. EDUCATION IN WESTERN NIGERIA AND EMERGENCE OF ISLAMIC SCHOOLS.27 7. CHALLENGES FACING ISLAMIZING EDUCATION IN WESTERN NIGERIA......35 7.1 Islāmization of knowledge.......................................................37 7.2 Incompetence of Islāmic teachers..................................................................47 7.3 Financial Commitments of parents..................................................................54 8. CONCLUSION .......................................................................59 9. BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................68 10. Appendix A. Interview transcript ...............................................75 11. Appendix B. Survey responses ...................................................79
The Upbringing of Muslim Children in the Republic of South Africa: Challenges and Suggested Solutions
(International Open University (IOU), 2022) Asani, Mulani; Bocca-Aldaqre, Francesca Umm Yahya
This thesis studies Ibn Taymiyyah’s criticism of atheism in a contemporary light. The subject of atheism in Muslim circles has never been more important than now. With globalization and increasing clash of Islamic culture with western civilization, Muslim communities continue to witness a rise in the spate of faithful adherents abandoning faith for non-belief. Although, it is not the first time the topic of atheism has been addressed in Islamic history, what makes it interesting now is that atheism is branded as a scientific, rational enterprise while Islamic spirituality is presented with dogmatism and backwardness. The focus of this work is to reverse that narrative by looking back into the rich Islamic tradition to unearth gemstones for combating these ideologies from a reliable rational point of view without watering down foundational Islamic mores. The mystifying garb of science and scholarship with which modern atheism presents itself makes it necessary to tackle the latter with an equivalent level of sophistication and erudition domiciled in the House of Islamic philosophy. Ibn Taymiyyah stands tall in the lineage of indefatigable figures with documented wealth of knowledge and expertise in this field. Standing on the shoulders of 14th Century scholarly giant, this work aims to offer compelling rational and philosophical proofs for the existence of God after systematically critiquing the basis for modern atheism. It reviews primary and secondary sources on Ibn Taymiyyah’s extensive corpus to summarize his most powerful rebuttals to contemporary and classical atheism. This study found Ibn Taymiyyah’s arguments to be coherent under reason, revelation, signs, design, rational demonstration, and fitrah. Although Ibn Taymiyyah recognizes the need for rational demonstration, he advocates this as a last resort; all of which is described in this humble effort. This study concludes that it is possible to demonstrate using classical and modern resources compatible with reason and spirituality that God’s existence is unequivocal without much recourse for philosophical proofs.
Adhering to Islam- Challenges and Prospects Faced by Norwich Muslim Youths
(International Open University (IOU), 2022) Badjie, Sheriff ML; Rabi’u, Warshu T.
It is the unflinching belief of Muslims that the only religion acceptable to Allāh the Glorious is Islam. The Islamic faith has been perfected and completed as per the statement of the Most high in surah Al-Maidah. Thus, it must hence forth be practiced as espoused by the Prophet and his companions (RAD). Undoubtedly, adhering to pure Islamic values in our daily lives is challenging in modern times. These challenges are more pronounced in Western societies. Youths being the future of any given religion necessitates that their welfare be safeguarded and adherence to their faith be promoted to facilitate the passing of pure Islam from generation to generation. The aim of this study was to explore the challenges faced by Muslim youths living in Norwich in their quest to adhere to the teachings of Islam as espoused by the prophet peace be upon him. The researcher used qualitative research methods and recruited 11participants all resident in Norwich. Semi structured interviews were performed to collect data for the study. Recordings were transcribed and analysed using thematic content analysis. The study found that Muslim youths face enormous challenges amongst which are difficulties in reconciling their supposed Britishness with their Islamic values. This seems to be much of a problem due to them being minorities within the predominantly non-religious population of Norwich. Although the majority of the participants stated they observe their five daily prayers, their access to Islamic knowledge is somewhat limited due to the small number of Maktabs or madrasah available in Norwich. The lack of suitable prayer facilities for females as well as in the basic cycle schools was also found to be a challenge. However, the environment is generally friendly and not hostile to Islam thus presenting good prospects of practicing. The local community have scholars who can guide the youths adhere to the unadulterated form of Islam. In conclusion, dedicated prayer spaces in masjids and schools, more functioning Maktabs, and youth friendly programmes need to be provided under the guidance of the local scholars to guide and support the practice of these youths. Declaration and Statement I declare that this thesis is my own work and the materials presented herein have not been copied from other sources or substantially used in another academic award submission.
The Efforts of Contemporary Muslim Scholars in the Propagation of Islam in Sierra Leone
(International Open University (IOU), 2022) Sahid, Mohamed Badamasie; Oyedapo, Raufu Mufutau
Sierra Leonean Muslims started experiencing a change in the methods of Islamic propagation in the early 1970s, when Muslims considered to be scholars and Sheiks diverted the propagation from cultural religion to religious culture. The study therefore investigate major activities and constraints of modern Muslim scholars in Islamic propagation in Sierra Leone. Questionnaire was designed and about 200 copies were printed and distributed to individuals (both scholars and non-scholars), who are known to be active in Islamic activities and in Muslim organisations in the country. 100 of the questionnaire were distributed within the 14-provincial head-quarter towns and the rest for the 2 districts in the capital city, Western Area Rural and Urban. Likewise, information from various relevant authentic sources were collected and analyzed to assess the efforts exerted. In propagating Islam (IP), about 90% were males and the remaining 10% were females. But 77% of the female population were youth within the age bracket 30-40 years. All of the females belong to a Jama’t and/or other Islamic propagation union/organization.For the portion of time allocated for Islamic propagation or learning, 48.4% are making it a primary profession by allocating full time to Islamic propagation. 48.4% are allocating either half or some of their time to the propagation. However, 3.2% are so busy with other things that they cannot manage their time for any of the means of Islamic propagation. About 88.3% of the respondents either strongly agreed or agreed that there are too much un-Islamic activates which obstruct the spread of Islam. Also, 81.2% were either strongly agreed or agreed that disunity among Muslims is a constraint to IP. For tribal sentiment affecting the spread of Islam in Sierra Leone, 75% are either strongly agreed or agreed that tribalism is an obstacle to Da’wah in Sierra Leone and 63% either strongly agreed or agreed that there are not enough Islamic scholars for Da’wah in Sierra Leone. The findings asserted that there is a difference in the methodology of Islamic propagation in Sierra Leone between traditional and contemporary scholars which has led to instances of contradiction and confusion among Muslims. About 38% recommended that the greatest need for Islamic propagation is to train more Arabic and Islamic teachers to join the propagation trail, 14% considered the unity of all Islamic organizations under one union as the most paramount while 9.3% considered both allocating monthly allowance for Imams and scholars and appointing a supreme Islamic leader qualify and capable of being a Mufti are the priorities to the solutions suggested. Keywords: Islamic propagation, Sierra Leone, Muslim, scholars, Organizations/Jama’t DECLARATIONS AND STATEMENTS I hereby declare that this thesis research is prepared and written by me and the results were from the investigations of the research, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or currently submitted for the attainment of any other degree at International Open University (IOU) and any other university.
The Impact of Orientalism on Hadith Literature in Nigerian Institutions
(International Open University (IOU), 2022) Dahiru, Muhammad Auwal
This study examined the impact of Orientalism on Hadith literature in Nigerian institutions. Hadith course materials for studies in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) serve as the primary source of the data. The secondary sources of data were libraries, books, articles, and other internet sources. The study examined critically the impact of Orientalism by studying the authors of the materials. Also, the content of materials and their sources or references were examined. From the analysis, the study shows that there were a lot of influences of Orientalism in the structures and curriculum of Islamic studies of NOUN. The study has, in addition, established that there are not many influences of Orientalism on the design and development of the Hadith course materials of NOUN. Therefore, it requires deep research on other Islamic studies course material before establishing that Orientalism does not impact the Islamic studies of NOUN. The study further discovered that Orientalists impacted the field of teaching and explanation of Hadith to some Muslim scholars. Therefore, the study recommends that the works of the Orientalists be thoroughly surveyed and critically analyzed in the light of known facts. Also, an organization that will take care of teaching of Hadith in Nigeria is required to provide scholarly research on the Hadith and its sciences marked by a scrutiny of the sources, interpretation, of the original texts. So that the wrong conclusion and erroneous theories based on illogical and doubtful premises may be demoli This study examined the impact of Orientalism on Hadith literature in Nigerian institutions. Hadith course materials for studies in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) serve as the primary source of the data. The secondary sources of data were libraries, books, articles, and other internet sources. The study examined critically the impact of Orientalism by studying the authors of the materials. Also, the content of materials and their sources or references were examined. From the analysis, the study shows that there were a lot of influences of Orientalism in the structures and curriculum of Islamic studies of NOUN. The study has, in addition, established that there are not many influences of Orientalism on the design and development of the Hadith course materials of NOUN. Therefore, it requires deep research on other Islamic studies course material before establishing that Orientalism does not impact the Islamic studies of NOUN. The study further discovered that Orientalists impacted the field of teaching and explanation of Hadith to some Muslim scholars. Therefore, the study recommends that the works of the Orientalists be thoroughly surveyed and critically analyzed in the light of known facts. Also, an organization that will take care of teaching of Hadith in Nigeria is required to provide scholarly research on the Hadith and its sciences marked by a scrutiny of the sources, interpretation, of the original texts. So that the wrong conclusion and erroneous theories based on illogical and doubtful premises may be demoli