https://international.la-croix.com/news/morocco-reforms-islamic-teaching-in-schools/4203?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_content=29-12-2016&utm_campaign=newsletter__crx_lci&PMID=3d4bff6e21bd8a4c42e60d5186400d8e
Morocco reforms Islamic teaching in schools The Kingdom of Morocco has totally revised its program of Islamic education with a reform aiming to implement “the Islam of the golden mean” advocated by King Mohammed VI. Rémy Pigaglio, Casablanca Morocco December 29, 2016 The course of religious practice for colleges is based on different aspects of daily life. / Rémy Pigaglio “Today’s lesson is about ‘religious practice’,” announces the teacher, Abdeslam Jilary. His class of second year students at the Mansour-Eddahbi public college in Casablanca respond by opening their brand new books on Islamic education, a compulsory subject for all Moroccan students. “Today, we are going to look at how this practice needs to be oncretely applied,” Mr Jilary explains. “But first of all, who would like to read Verse 104 of the Surat Al Kahf (The cave)?” Hands shoot up and a student commences to read the Koranic chant. Abdeslam Jilary interprets the text for the class. “Being a good believer does not consist only of practicing prayer and fasting.A Muslim must also look after animals, care for the environment, work for social justice, provide security… By such behavior, he must attract sympathy from other people. This will bring him closer to our God.” The two hour course, which is based on the Koran and the hadiths (acts and words of the Prophet Mohammed) moves on to other practical examples, which are based on several aspects of life, particularly modern life. A later lesson, for example, explains how to differentiate truth from rumor “as the Prophet recommends.” Thus, the textbook advises students not to share everything they read on Facebook and other social networks. For the students, who are aged 13 or 14, the course is nothing like that of last year. They are now following a new program of Islamic education created in just a few months under instructions from King Mohammed VI. This is the king’s endeavor to implement the Marrakesh Declaration on the rights of religious minorities in the Islamic world published last January after dozens of Islamic leaders from around the world requested a review of religious education programs in order to fight extremism. “The new program therefore reflects tolerant Islam, promoted by the government of Morocco,” notes Fouad Chafiqi, program director at the Ministry of National Education. In the past, the surats were simply learned by heart in rote fashion. Now, each course is devoted to a specific theme. “The Koranic verses are chosen based on their relevance and the age of the child,” Mr Chafiqi explains. The new program is also meant to only use the “strongest” hadiths, namely the ones considered as “very certainly authentic.” For many years, hardline Islam from the Arabic peninsula left its mark on Morocco. Now, however, King Mohammed VI wishes to make Morocco a model of the “Islam of the golden mean.” Yet, while the nation appears to be an island of stability in a region that is prey to jihadism, it also provides one of the largest contingents of jihadists with more than 1500 Moroccans fighting in Syria and Iraq. The Moroccan authorities therefore intend to tackle the problem at its roots. “Islamic teaching is not contextualized. It’s indoctrination,” laments Mohamed-Sghir Janjar, president of the Abdul – Aziz Foundation in Casablanca, which organized an international colloquy on religious education on September 23-24. “In contrast, this reform seems to be oriented more towards coherence with the age of the child and his or her social context,” he explains. “However, we need to ensure that the teachers accept it. Many are fed on a diet of Middle Eastern television, which presents the most aggressive discourse on Islam. How to ensure that they do not repeat this in class?” Abderrazzak Drissi, secretary-general of the National Federation of Teachers, regrets not having been informed nor consulted about the reform. “However, we agree in principle,” he says. In fact, the trade union leader even advocates transformation Islamic education into religious education in order to open it up to other religions. The Minister of National Education also seemed to be in open to this development. However, he backpedaled during summer in the face of protests from the Association of Teachers of Islamic Education. For his part, Mohammed-Sghir Janjar hopes that the reforms will continue. “Religion exists everywhere in society and it is difficult to extract it, to isolate it. A deep reform of the educational system and scientific research is necessary. A new theology. In summary, we need to develop a critical spirit, autonomy, comparative approaches. School manuals expunged of “discriminatory” texts Although this operation is not on the same scale as the reform of Islamic education, it nevertheless involves schoolbooks on every subject. Prior to the beginning of the new school year, the Ministry of Education chased down all the discriminatory references present across 364 school textbooks, of identifying 147 including problematic references. As a result, discriminatory references based on gender, handicap, geography etc were all removed. Mathematics textbooks, for example, only gave examples of boys. An Arabic manual depicted a blind person as a beggar. “These are the smallest things,” concludes Fettah Bennani, president of a human rights NGO. “Examination paper questions also need to be looked at as they sometimes pose problems.” Originally published on November 15, 2016.
