Implementing Islamic Studies With Mainsteam Earning

Rokiah Mahmud, Syazwani Hj Rosli & Mimi PHB

Bandar Seri Begawan - Education and learning are two well-worn themes of discussion and research. The question of what constitutes education and learning have already been asked repeatedly. The 'how, when, why and where' have been numerously asked many times over the centuries.

Therefore, it is important for us to understand that the reason why these questions have been asked over and over again, and have also been answered equally, is because the answers are situated in the evolution of human society. Thus we may hear the same questions being posed over and over again, yet, we may find that the answers to those same questions often reveal a different solution.

This point was made by the former Minister of Education, Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Hj A4 Abdul Aziz bin Begawan Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Seri Paduka Hj Awg Umar in a keynote presentation entitled, "Education, Learning and Nurturing: A Muslim Experience", at the Sultan Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Centre of Islamic Studies (SOASCIS) Second International Conference yesterday.

In the keynote speech, Pehin Dato Hj Abdul Aziz elaborated that, as time goes by, the lessons offered by history gains greater significance as it provides much insight into the future. Just as human social advancement is defined by its past, education - that vibrant passage of human learning - defines the face of human civilisation progress. Viewed from the historical context, it is therefore not so much the issue of what we know but rather what we failed to know.

In this context, he added, Brunei being an ancient kingdom with a single line of monarchical rule for over 600 years, has its own civilisational identity once which could not have been achieved without a developed knowledge system - the testimony of contemporary history perceives the first formal education system that was established in Brunei by the British in 1912.

He then explained, despite over 600 years of history, the establishment of Brunei's first formal school or the first Western-based education system coincided with the birth of modern Brunei back then. Later, by 1954, education was conceived under the first five-year development plan. From then on, Brunei began to intensify its educational system at a rapid pace along with British lines. And 30 years later after independence in 1984, Brunei then introduced the 'dwi-bahasa' or bilingual education policy which was designed to ensure that young Bruneians were proficient in both English and Malay languages.

"The introduction of bilingual education policy marked a process of consolidation as well as divergence. Consolidation in the sense that the emphasis on the Malay Language was recognition of the potential diminishment of Malays as a principal component of Brunei's identity as Malay Islamic Monarchy; and divergence means an equal recognition of the English Language in the transmission of temporal knowledge and technology.

"It is important to understand that the preservation of a nation's identity is crucial for creating the necessary foundations for peace and stability. In the world that we live in today, where peace and harmony are rare commodities, Brunei is a haven amidst the violent seas of injustice and carnage.

"The peace and prosperity that we enjoy today in Brunei were earned on the back of much hard work and deliberate policy implementation. Therefore, no one should confuse our attempt to preserve and consolidate our national identity with bigotry and racism.

"Brunei's socio-political development could not and cannot be abandoned to the coincidences of impulse and circumstances, nor, for this matter, should Brunei's future be allowed to descend to the whims of political correctness.

"As a small country, the consequences of poor planning and indecisive decision-making can be critical. Our socio-political course needs and must be defined in the context of our national identity and we cannot pretend to be other than who we are. Therefore, differences in our colour and creed shall not be reasons for dispute, but rather to make it as sources of our strength.

"While we emphasise our cultural heritage, we also need to comply with the Quranic teachings. In 2002, our national education policy was further reformed as an attempt to consolidate the third pillar of our national identity, Islam.

"The new reforms sought to unify the opposing forces of secular and religious education, so as to erase the artificial conflict between everyday life and religion. The main objective of the new policy was to facilitate the study of the temporal within the context of our beliefs and values, and demonstrates the compatibility of Islam with everyday life."

On this point, he emphasised that the level of compatibility that was to eventually be achieved was not confined merely to the natural sciences but also and perhaps more importantly to the Bruneian multi-racial and multi-religious sociopolitical reality according to Brunei context.

It was essential that such context be located within an Islamic framework; without which the 'Malay' and 'Monarchy' components of MIB would be devoid of its central tenet.

"In order to help us to achieve our objectives, once again we need to utilise the principal means in the dissemination of knowledge, especially language," he added.

"The Arabic Language was introduced into schools in the hope that Bruneians would be able to use their skills through their command of languages. At the same time, they are also grounded in their Malay cultural heritage, underpinned by a firm grasp of their mother tongue and yet they are equally informed in the matters of the divine by virtue of their mastery of the Arabic Language."

At the opening of the SOASCIS Second International Conference, he also pointed out the importance of Fardhu Ain and Fardhu Kifayah knowledge. Thus he added, for Muslims the concept of mandatory education is in fact an old one. And it is an indication of Islamic's recognition of the critical role played by knowledge, and hence education, in the development of education, in the development of human society, he said during his keynote address.

The former minister further noted on the method of transmitting knowledge, in regards to the system of Hadith transmission, as an important factor in Islamic education. He believed that the mass information that has been transmitted and signalled from the Internet has now become one of the major concerns and challenges for many Muslim scholars prior to the source of information or knowledge. He also stressed that Islamic education that was implemented in 1970s was further strengthened after its independence in 1984 as part of the `mainstream learning' as supported by the national philosophy of Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB).

Further on, he opined that Islam is not only important to be practised in our daily life but also it is a set of teachings that need to be valued in terms of moral and ethics by individuals.

In a titah delivered by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, His Majesty insisted that Islamic education is a compulsory education for all Muslim children in the country and the importance of learning the basic religious education in today's society. In the titah, His Majesty expressed that Islamic education needs to be reorganised after nearly 50 years of employing the same strategies.

Today, said Pehin Dato Hj Abdul Aziz, with His Majesty's direct call to insist upon the importance of Islamic education, "we can truly see that Islamic education can evolve with the times.

Major involvement and close interactive involvement between the students and teachers are required in order to achieve our main national educational system of SPN21". ~ Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Dipetik dari - BruDirect.com