Contrasting views of madrassas in multi-ethnic Singapore
I'm not sure where this article should go, but I think it would be nice to share it with everyone here.
It might be useful for people who are studying about religious instruction in the SEA region, or perhaps even those who are reading up on madrasahs and how different madrasah models might work in countering extremist ideology, because children are always susceptible to the messages they are taught.
(Mods, please feel free to move it to a more suitable subforum if need be. Thanks :) )
Quote:
Contrasting views of madrassas in multi-ethnic Singapore
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...hwN6uuw?size=m
1 day ago
SINGAPORE (AFP) — Nurlidyana, Darwisyah and Azeera are late for English class but the girls do not seem to mind as they giggle and chat about school and their hopes for the future.
Their ambitions vary -- Nurlidyana wants to be a doctor, Azeera a teacher and Darwisyah is still undecided.
Yet the 16-year-olds do agree they have gained a good foundation from their school, Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah.
Madrassas are Islamic religious schools that in Pakistan, Indonesia and other Muslim states have sometimes been associated with militancy.
But in multi-ethnic Singapore, madrassas -- funded mainly by the minority Muslim community -- stick strictly to the basics, focusing not only on religion but on academic studies as well.
Nevertheless, many Muslim parents in the economically-developed city-state are reluctant to enrol their children at madrassas, concerned that the combination of religious and academic studies crowds out broader curricula activities......
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