November 1989, Page 42

Islam in America

By Uzra Zeya

Muslims in America Face Two Educational Challenges

A key factor behind the development of American cultural and political institutions has been the freedom of religion. The framers of the US Constitution, well aware of the dangers of religious oppression, sought to guarantee tolerance of faiths through the First Amendment, which sets forth the separation of church and state. However, ideals are not always translated into reality. This nation's schools, far from offering an education sensitive to children of all faiths, are afflicted by a Judeo-Christian bias which poses a formidable challenge to the ethical and intellectual growth of America's Muslim students.

The following description of Islam is excerpted from an American textbook currently in use: "It is uncertain whether Muhammad learned to read or write. . . The things he heard and saw later became part of the Koran. . . The Koran places males above females. . ." Ironically, the aforementioned text was one used by a private Islamic school. It is obvious that America's Muslims must take active steps to dispel such misinformation, as well as to preserve the religious identities and values of their children.

Current efforts center on working within the US educational establishment to increase the quality of texts and resource materials related to Islam and establishing private Islamic elementary and secondary schools to meet the unique intellectual and spiritual needs of their students.

Educational organizations working to improve resource materials on Islam include the Middle East Social Studies Association (MESSA), the Southeastern Regional Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Seminar (SERIMESS), and the Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC). MESSA has published numerous bibliographies and reviews of Islamic materials, and provides audio-visual works on the topic to this nation's public schools. SERIMESS, now compromising some 300 members, offers teaching and curriculum development workshops on Islam to social studies instructors throughout the southeastern United States. Operating at the higher educational level in MEOC, an 11-member association of universities which sponsors the distribution of accurate, informed resource materials on Islam to US educators.

For their part, Muslim organizations such as the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) have coordinated efforts to provide learning materials to US schools. The result is the project "Teaching About the Middle East and the Islamic World-A Resource Oriented Workshop." It has been successfully used in over 25 school systems nationwide. Fears that the project is an attempt to gain new converts to Islam are unfounded. As the editor of a US Muslim magazine explains, "The movement is not a proselytizing push for Islam. It preaches accurate understanding about Islam and peoples of the Middle East."

American Muslim parents who are not satisfied with the level of instruction or who are concerned about the atmosphere in some American public schools have alternatives in independent schooling. Nearly 60 full-time Islamic elementary and secondary schools have been established in the United States to date, although the majority operate only from kindergarten through the sixth grade.

Curriculum development is a major problem, since generally accepted Islamic course structures and learning materials are as yet unformulated. In addition, in order to gain accreditation, Islamic schools must use only textbooks approved by the state. Matters are further complicated by the lack of qualified instructors. A recent analysis of this nation's 300 Islamic teachers concluded that roughly 75 percent have inadequate professional credentials.

Most Muslim parents, though, rely upon "weekend schools," the Islamic equivalent of the Christian Sunday school. Some 370 such schools are in existence, enrolling close to 40,000 students.

Within America's Muslim community, considerable attention is devoted to the issue of alternative Islamic education. The Islamice Society of North America's Education Committee scheduled the symposium "Towards An Applied Islamic Educational Model in North America" October 13 through 15 in Indianapolis, IN, to facilitate information exchange among Muslim educators from throughout the US and Canada.

For more information on Islam and education at the national level, write to ISNA, Department of Education, PO Box 38, Plainfield, IN 46168 or call (317) 839-1840. Those interested in hearing from informed lecturers on topics related to Islam are invited to contact the AET Speakers Bureau c/o the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

Uzra Zeya is a staff member of the American Educational Trust specializing in Islamic affairs.