Some who call for reforming the country’s educational system have suggested that reforms are possible only if religion is taken out of school. Does this mean our present educational system has been completely unsuitable?
This is what at least one writer has tried to tell us. Arguing that education is the best investment for the future, the writer claimed we would never make progress unless the entire system were shaken up. Education, he argued, is spoiled the moment it is turned into a field of ideological disputes and gambles.
To begin with, the Kingdom’s educational system has never been based on narrow ideologies as claimed by the writer. It has always been — and will continue to be — rooted in Islamic teachings. These teachings have long been an integral part of the country’s educational policies, one of the most important of which is to teach Islam. To justify his call for separating religion from education, the writer deplored some rulings relating to the treatment of non-Muslims, the status of women and constant admonitions about death, the grave and the Day of Judgment.
Life, including education, would have no value unless it were based on Islamic teachings. The misfortunes and calamities afflicting nations are the direct result of people straying from the right path defined for them by Almighty God. The Holy Qur’an and Sunnah are clear on this. Calls for separating religion from education contradict basic Islamic principles and the very bases on which this country is founded. The Qur’an says in Sura Al-Nisa (The Women): “But nay, by thy Lord, they can have no (real) faith until they make Thee judge in all disputes between them and find in their souls no resistance against Thy decisions but accept them with the fullest conviction.”Education based on religious teachings has never been a reason for backwardness as some want to mislead people into believing. Muslims excelled in science when they applied religion to all aspects of life including education. And when they distanced themselves from Islam, they began a slow decline that has continued until modern times. It is indeed strange to see our enemies, specially the Jews who occupy Palestine, keen on giving their children religious education while some among us demand we give up our religion, the only true faith.
- Arab News From the Local Press 15 May 2003
