Islamic Education in South Africa

Abstract

As a previous colony of the Dutch and British, Islamic education in South Africa during the early period of its 300-year history mostly reflects the pedagogical influences of Muslims in the colonized Indonesian Archipelago and sub-East India and Pakistan. Over the last 100 years, the influence of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, and, to a lesser extent, Kuwait, Jordan, Iran, and northern African countries has been significant in guiding Islamic education in Muslim formal and nonformal institutions in South Africa. This chapter examines, firstly, some of the dominant trends that underscored Islamic education in both formal primary and secondary education during the postapartheid period as many primary and secondary schools mushroomed as Muslims stake their claim to private schooling in South Africa. Secondly, a specific focus is made on the rationale, content, and structure of the Islamic education curriculum at the aforementioned formal educational institutions. Thirdly, these institutions’ responses to the Islamization of the education agenda as couched by Ismail Faruqi, Fazlur Rahman, and Naquib al-Attas are highlighted.

Although there is not a single, unified curriculum for Muslim education in South Africa, the curricula at several independent Muslim schools implement the public school curriculum augmented by Muslim teachings. Hence, “the” Muslim education curriculum is constituted by the public school curriculum and variants of Muslim teachings determined by pedagogical expectations of the schools’ boards of trustees or parent-teacher communities.