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School of Education |
Introduction To Education EDF 1005 Unit I Lesson VI Origins of Teaching: The Christian Church and the "Religions of the Book" | |||
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Introduction to the Lesson The purpose of this sixth lesson in the unit is to introduce the education student to the le of the Christian Church and the two other religions of the book", Judaism and Islam, in influencing the mental models, concepts, constructs and methods of teaching and learning in the western world. The student will be exposed to the origins of the Christian church and its history as well as the doctrines that have had a profound influence in shaping educational practices. Relevant materials from Judaism and Islam will also be incorporated. The primary emphasis historically of this lesson will span the period from the fall of Rome to the Renaissance or the 1000 years known as the middle ages. From http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=108295Christianity began as a movement within Judaism at a period when the Jews had long been under foreign influence and rule and had found in their religion (rather than in their politics or cultural achievements) the linchpin of their community. From Amos (8th century BC) onward the religion of Israel was marked by tension between the concept of monotheism, with its universal ideal of salvation (for all nations), and the notion of God's special choice of Israel. In the age after Alexander the Great (i.e., the Hellenistic period, 3rd century BC –3rd century AD), the dispersion of the Jews throughout the Hellenistic kingdoms and the Roman Empire gave some impetus to the universalistic tendency. But the attempts of foreign rulers, especially the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes (in 168–165 BC), to impose Greek culture and religious syncretism in Palestine provoked zealous resistance on the part of many Jews. In Palestinian Judaism the predominant note was separation and exclusiveness. Jewish missionaries to other areas were strictly expected to impose the distinctive Jewish customs of circumcision, kosher food, and sabbaths and other festivals. The relationship of the earliest Christian Church to Judaism turned principally on two questions:
The Hebrew Scriptures viewed history as the stage of a providential drama eventually ending in a triumph of God over all present sources of frustration (e.g., foreign domination or the sins of Israel). God's rule would be established by an anointed prince (the Messiah) of the line of David, king of Israel in the 10th century BC. The proper course of action leading to the consummation of the drama, however, was the subject of some disagreement. Among the diverse groups were the aristocratic and conservative Sadducees, who accepted only the five books of Moses (the Pentateuch), and the more popular and strict Pharisees. The Pharisees not only accepted biblical books outside the Pentateuch but also embraced doctrines—such as those on resurrection and the existence of angels—of recent acceptance in Judaism, many of which were derived from apocalyptic expectations that the consummation of history would be heralded by God's intervention in the affairs of men in dramatic, cataclysmic terms. The Sanhedrin (central council) at Jerusalem was made up of both Pharisees and Sadducees. The Zealots were aggressive revolutionaries seeking independence from Rome. Other groups were the Herodians, supporters of the client kingdom of the Herods (a dynasty that supported Rome) and abhorrent to the Zealots, and the Essenes, a quasi-monastic dissident group, probably including the sect that preserved the Dead Sea Scrolls. This latter sect did not participate in the Temple worship at Jerusalem and observed another religious calendar; from their desert retreat they awaited divine intervention and searched prophetic writings for signs indicating the consummation. What relation the followers of Jesus had to some of these groups is not clear. In the canonical Gospels (those accepted as authentic by the church) the main targets of criticism are the scribes and Pharisees, whose attachment to the tradition of Judaism is presented as legalistic and pettifogging. The Sadducees and Herodians likewise receive an unfriendly portrait. The Essenes are never mentioned. Simon, one of Jesus' 12 disciples, was or had once been a Zealot. Jesus probably stood close to the Pharisees. Under the social and political conditions of the time, there could be no long future either for the Sadducees or for the Zealots—whose attempts to make apocalyptic dreams effective led to the destruction of Judea after the two major Jewish revolts of 66–70 and 132–135 against the Romans. The choice for many Jews thus lay between the Pharisees and Christianity, the former dedicated to the meticulous preservation of the Mosaic Law and the latter to the universal propagation of the biblical faith as a religion for all mankind. Pharisaism as enshrined in the Mishna (Oral Law) and the Talmud (commentary on and addition to the Oral Law) became normative Judaism. By looking to the Gentile (non-Jewish) world and carefully dissociating itself from the Zealot revolutionaries, Christianity made possible its ideal of a world religion, at the price of sacrificing Jewish particularity and exclusiveness. The fact that Christianity has never succeeded in gaining the open allegiance of more than a minority of Jews is more a mystery to theologians than to historians. The relation of the early church to the career and intentions of JesusThe prime sources for knowledge of Jesus of Nazareth are the four canonical Gospels in the New Testament. Only a few probably authentic sayings of Jesus became preserved in oral tradition independent of these documents, though many sayings came to be put into his mouth. These noncanonical sayings are called agrapha (not in Scripture). The Gospel of Thomas, preserved in a Coptic Gnostic library found about 1945 in Egypt, contains several such sayings, besides some independent versions of canonical sayings. At certain points the Gospel tradition finds independent confirmation in the letters of the Apostle Paul. The allusions in non-Christian sources (the Jewish historian Josephus, the Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius, and Talmudic texts) are almost negligible, except as refuting the unsubstantiated notion that Jesus might never have existed. The first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, have a literary relation to one another and are hence called Synoptic. Mark was probably used by Matthew and Luke. John, differing in both pattern and content, appears richer in theological interpretation but in detail may preserve good historical information. As their titles imply, the Gospels are not detached reports but were written to serve religious needs; they resemble oil paintings rather than photographs. Legendary and apologetic (defensive) motifs, and the various preoccupations of the communities for which they were first produced, can readily be discerned as influences upon their narratives. Historical scholarship at present has insufficient tools to eliminate subjective judgments about the probability of many details (upon which there will always be disagreement), but the most persuasive scholarly consensus accepts the substance of the Gospel tradition as a veracious picture. A prominent uncertainty is the matter of chronology. Matthew places the birth of Jesus at least two years before Herod the Great's death late in 5 BC or early in 4 BC. Luke connects Jesus' birth with a Roman census that, according to Josephus, occurred in AD 6–7 and caused a revolt against the governor Quirinius. Luke could be right about the census and wrong about the governor. The crucifixion under Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judaea (AD 26–36), was probably about the year 29–30, but again certainty is impossible. Encounter with John the Baptist, the ascetic in the Judaean Desert who preached repentance and baptism in view of God's coming Kingdom, marked a decisive moment for Jesus' career. He recognized in John the forerunner of the kingdom that his own ministry was inaugurating. The first preaching of Jesus, in his home region of Galilee, took the form of vivid parables and was accompanied by miraculous healings. The Synoptic writers give a single climactic visit of Jesus to Jerusalem at the end of his career; but John may be right (implicitly supported by Luke 13:7) in representing his visits as more frequent and the period of ministry as lasting more than a single year. Jesus' attitude to the observance of the law generated conflict with the Pharisees, and, though the people protected him, he also aroused the fear and hostility of the ruling Jewish authorities. A triumphal entry to Jerusalem at Passover time (the period celebrating the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt in the 13th century BC) was the prelude to a final crisis. After a last supper with his disciples he was betrayed by one of them, Judas. Arrest and trial followed, first before the Sanhedrin and then before Pilate, who condemned him to crucifixion. The accusation before Pilate was sedition, in which the Evangelists saw a framed charge. It was universal Christian belief that three days after his death he was raised from the dead by divine power. Jesus preached the imminent presence of God's Kingdom, in some texts as future consummation, in others as already present. The words and acts of Jesus were believed to be the inauguration of a process that was to culminate in a final triumph of God. His disciples recognized him as the Messiah, the Anointed One. He is not recorded to have used the word of himself. The titles Prophet and Rabbi also were applied to Jesus. His own enigmatic self-designation was “ Son of man,” sometimes in allusion to his suffering, sometimes to his future role as judge. This title is derived from the version of the Book of Daniel (7:13), where “one like a son of man,” contrasted with beast figures, represents the humiliated people of God, ascending to be vindicated by the divine Judge. In the developed Gospel tradition the theme of the transcendent judge seems to be most prominent. Apocalyptic hope could easily merge into messianic zealotry. Moreover, Jesus' teaching was critical of the established order and encouraged the poor and oppressed, even though it contained an implicit rejection of revolution. Violence was viewed as incompatible with the ethic of the Kingdom of God. Whatever contacts there may have been with the Zealot movement (as the narrative of feeding 5,000 people in the desert may hint), the Gospels assume the widest distance between Jesus' understanding of his role and the Zealot revolution. With this distance from revolutionary idealism goes a sombre estimate of human perfectibility. The gospel of repentance presupposes deep defilement in individuals and in society. The sufferings and pains of humanity under the power of evil spirits calls out for compassion and an urgent mission. All the acts of a disciple must express love and forgiveness, even to enemies, and also detachment from property and worldly wealth. To Jesus, the outcasts of society (prostitutes, the hated and oppressive tax agents, and others) were objects of special care, and censoriousness was no virtue. Though the state is regarded as a distant entity in certain respects, it yet has the right to require taxes and civic obligations: Caesar has rights that must be respected and are not incompatible with the fulfillment of God's demands. Some of the futurist sayings, if taken by themselves, raise the question whether Jesus intended to found a church. A negative answer emerges only if the authentic Jesus is assumed to have expected an immediate catastrophic intervention by God. There is no doubt that he gathered and intended to gather around him a community of followers. This community continued after his time, regarding itself as the specially called congregation of God's people, possessing as covenant signs the rites of baptism and Eucharist (Lord's Supper) with which Jesus was particularly associated—baptism because of his example, Eucharist because the Last Supper on the night before the crucifixion was marked as an anticipation of the messianic feast of the coming age. A A closely related question is whether Jesus intended his gospel to be addressed to Jews only or if the Gentiles were also to be included. In the Gospels Gentiles appear as isolated exceptions, and the choice of 12 Apostles has an evident symbolic relation to the 12 tribes of Israel. The fact that the extension of Christian preaching to the Gentiles caused intense debate in the 40s of the 1st century is decisive proof that Jesus had given no unambiguous directive on the matter. Gospel sayings that make the Jews' refusal to recognize Jesus' authority as the ground for extending the Kingdom of God to the Gentiles must, therefore, have been cast by the early community. According to Benz and Lindberg In contrast to Tertullian's anti-intellectual attitude, an exactly opposite attitude toward intellectual activities has also made itself heard from the beginning of the Christian Church (e.g., by Clement of Alexandria). It also has its basis in the nature of Christian faith. In the 11th century Anselm of Cantebury expressed it in the formula fides quaerens intellectum (“faith seeking understanding”), a formula that has become the rallying point for scholastics of all times. Because people have been endowed with reason, they have an urge to express their experience of faith intellectually, to translate the contents of faith into concepts, and to formulate beliefs in a systematic understanding of the correlation between God, humankind, and creation. Christians of the 1st century came from the upper levels of society and were acquainted with the philosophy and natural science of their time. Justin Martyr, a professional philosopher, saw Christian revelation as the fulfillment, not the elimination, of philosophical understanding. The Logos term of the opening chapter of the Gospel According to John is the point of departure for the intellectual history of salvation. The light of the Logos (a Greek word meaning “word” or “reason,” with the sense of divine or universal reason permeating the intelligible world) had made itself manifest in a number of sparks and seeds in human history even before its incarnation in the person of Jesus Christ. These two contrasting opinions have stood in permanent tension with one another. In medieval Scholasticism the elevation of Christian belief to the status of scientific universal knowledge was dominant. Theology became the instructor of the different sciences, organized according to the traditional classification of trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic) and quadrivium (music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy) and incorporated into the system of education as “servants of theology.” This system of education became part of the structure of the universities that were founded in the 13th century. The different sciences only gradually gained a certain independence. With the Reformation there was widespread concern for education because the Reformers desired everyone to be able to read the Bible. Their concern was the beginning of universal, public education Luther also argued that it was necessary for society that its youth be educated. He held that it was the duty of civil authorities to compel their subjects to keep their children in school so “that there will always be preachers, jurists, pastors, writers, physicians, schoolmasters, and the like, for we cannot do without them.” Open conflict between science and theology occurred only when the traditional biblical view of the world was seriously questioned, as in the case of the Italian astronomer Galileo (1633). The principles of Galileo's scientific research, however, were themselves the result of a Christian idea of science and truth. The biblical faith in God as Creator and incarnate Redeemer is an explicit affirmation of the goodness, reality, and contingency of the created world—assumptions underlying scientific work. Thus, in the 20th century, William Temple, archbishop of Canterbury, could assert that Christianity is an avowedly materialistic religion. Positive tendencies concerning education and science have always been dominant in the history of Christianity, even though the opposite attitude arose occasionally during certain periods. Thus the German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) spoke of celebrating God in science. The attitude that had been hostile toward intellectual endeavours was less frequently heard after the Christian Church had become the church of the Roman Empire. But the relationship between science and theology was also attacked when the understanding of truth that had been developed within theology was turned critically against the dogma of the church itself. This occurred, for instance, after the natural sciences and theology had turned away from total dependence upon tradition and directed their attention toward experience—observation and experiment. A number of fundamental dogmatic principles and understandings were thus questioned and eventually abandoned. The struggle concerning the theory of evolution (e.g., the Scopes Trial in Tennessee in 1925) has been a conspicuous modern symptom of this trend. The estrangement of theology
and natural science in the modern period was a complex development related to
confessional controversies and wars in the 16th and 17th centuries and
philosophical perspectives in the 18th and 19th centuries. The epistemological
foundation of faith was radically called into question by the Scottish
philosopher David Hume. Building upon Hume's work, the German philosopher
Immanuel Kant dvocated freedom from any heteronomous authority, such as the
church and dogmas, that could not be established by reason alone. Scholars
withdrew from the decisions of church authorities and were willing to subject
themselves only to critical reason and experience. The rationalism of the
Enlightenment appeared to be the answer of science to the claim of true faith
that had been made by the churches, which had become untrustworthy through the
religious
wars and the influence of philosophy. Forms of Christian educationThe Christian Church created the bases of the Western system of education. From its beginning the Christian community faced external and internal challenges to its faith, which it met by developing and utilizing intellectual and educational resources. The response to the external challenge of rival religions and philosophical perspectives is termed apologetics— i.e., the intellectual defense of the faith. Apologetic theologians from Justin Martyr in the 2nd century to Paul Tillich in the 20th have promoted critical dialogue between the Christian community, the educated world, and other religions. The internal challenges to the Christian community were met not only by formulating the faith in creeds and dogmas but also by passing this faith on to the next generations through education. In the early Middle Ages a system of schools was formed at the seats of bishops to educate clergy and to teach the civil servants of the government and administrative offices. The school at the court of Charlemagne (which was conducted by clergy), the medieval schools of the religious orders, cathedrals, monasteries, convents, and churches, the flourishing schools of the Brethren of the Common Life, and the Roman Catholic school systems that came into existence during the Counter-Reformation under the leadership of the Jesuits and other new teaching orders contributed much to the civilization of the West. Equally important were the schools and educational reforms started by the German Reformers Luther, Philipp Melanchthon, Johann Bugenhagen, John and August Hermann Francke, and the Moravian reformers John Amos Comenius and the Graf von Zinzendorf. The church was responsible for the system of schools even after the Reformation. Only in the 18th century did the school system start to separate itself from its Christian roots and fall more and more under state control. With the separation of church and state, both institutions have entered into tensely manifold relationships. In some countries the state has taken over the school system completely and does not allow private church schools except in a few special cases in which constant control is maintained regarding religious instruction as a part of the state's educational task. Other countries (e.g., France) maintain school systems basically free of religion and leave the religious instruction to the private undertakings of the different churches. In the American Revolution the concept of the separation of state and church was a lofty goal that was supposed to free the church from all patronization by the state and to make possible a maximum of free activity, particularly in the area of education. ... A second issue that results from the separation of church and state is the question of state subsidies to private church schools. These are claimed in those countries in which the church schools in many places take over part of the functions of the state schools (e.g., in the United States). After the ideological Positivism and the Materialism of the 19th century faded away in many areas, it was realized that religious life had had an important role in the cultural development of the West and the New World and that the practiced exclusion of religious instruction from the curricula of the schools indicated a lack of balance in education. Based on new insights, it has therefore been maintained in the 20th century that religion should be adopted as a subject among the humanities. State universities in the United States, Canada, and Australia, which did not have theological faculties because of the separation of church and state, founded departments of religion of an interdenominational nature and included non-Christians as academic teachers of religion. The Christian system of education led to the early founding of universities. The university was a creation of medieval Europe and spread from there to other continents after the 16th century. The universities that had been formed in the beginning through the unification of schools for monks and schools for regular clergy succeeded in gaining their relative independence by agreements with church and state. The universities represented the unity of education that was apparent in the common use of the Latin language, the teaching methods of lecture and disputation, the extended communal living in colleges, the periodically changing leadership of an elected dean, the inner structure according to faculties or “nations,” and the European recognition of the academic degrees. The advent of humanism and the Reformation created a new situation for all systems of education, especially the universities. Humanists demanded plans to provide designated places for free research in academies that were princely or private institutions and, as such, not controlled by the church. On the other hand, the Protestant states of the Reformation created their own new state universities, such as Marburg in 1527, Königsberg in 1544, and Jena in 1558. As a counteraction, the Jesuits took over the leadership in the older universities that had remained Roman Catholic or else founded new ones in Europe and overseas. In overseas areas, Christian education has had a twofold task. First, its function was to lay an educational foundation for evangelization of non-Christian peoples by forming a system of education for all levels from grammar school to university. Second, its function was to take care of the education of European settlers. To a large extent the European colonial powers had left the formation of an educational system in their colonies or dominions to the churches. In the Spanish colonial regions in America, Roman Catholic universities were founded very early (e.g., Santo Domingo in 1538, Mexico and Lima in 1551, Guatemala in 1562, and Bogotá in 1573). In China, Jesuit missionaries acted mainly as agents of European education and culture (e.g., astronomy, mathematics, and technology) in their positions as civil servants of the court. Since the 18th century, the activities of competing Christian denominations in mission areas has led to an intensification of the Christian system of education in Asia and Africa. Even where the African and Asian states have their own system of schools and universities, Christian educational institutions have performed a significant function (St. Xavier University in Bombay and Sophia University in Tokyo are Jesuit foundations; Dxshisha University in Kyxto is a Japanese Presbyterian foundation). In North America, Christian education took a different course. From the beginning, the churches took over the creation of general educational institutions. The various denominations did pioneer work in the field of education; a state school system was established only after the situation had consolidated itself. In the English colonies, later the United States, the denominations founded theological colleges for the purpose of educating their ministers and established universities dealing with all major disciplines, including theology, often emphasizing a denominational slant. Harvard University was founded in 1636 and Yale University in 1701 as Congregational establishments, and the College of William and Mary was established in 1693 as an Anglican institution. They were followed during the 19th century by other Protestant universities (e.g., Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas) and colleges (e.g., Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill.). In addition, many private universities were based upon a Christian idea of education according to the wishes of their founders. Christian education has been undertaken in a variety of forms. The system of Sunday schools is nearly universal in all denominations. Confirmation instruction is more specialized, serving different tasks, such as preparation of the children for confirmation, their conscious acknowledgment of the Christian ethic, of the Christian confessions, of the meaning of the sacraments, and of the special forms of congregational life. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=108309 Judaism: from http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/cultural/religion/judaism/history.html The Old Testament books of the Bible describe numerous struggles of the Jewish people. After their triumphant Exodus from Egyptian captivity following Moses, they wandered around in the desert for forty years before entering the Promised Land. They had many conflicts with neighboring societies, yet for several centuries were able to maintain a unified state centered in Jerusalem. This occupation of the Promised Land was not to last, however. In 722 BC, the northern part of the Hebrew state fell to Assyrian raiders. By 586 BC, Jerusalem was conquered by Babylonians. The land of Israel was successively ruled by Persians, Macedonians, Greeks, Syrians, and Romans in the time that followed. As a result of the Syrian King Antiochus IV Epiphanes' attempt to suppress the Jewish religion, a rebellion led by Judas Maccabaeus in 167 BC resulted in the independence of the Jewish nation. This is celebrated today by the festival Hanukkah. In 70 AD, the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem, and the Jews were forced out of the area and settled in Mediterranean countries and in other areas in southwest Asia. This migration of the Jewish population is known as Diaspora. Many of these Jews settled in Europe and became victims of persecution and poverty. Ghettoes and slums became their homes and massacres were common. Because of these living conditions, many fled to the United States in the late 19th century. Migration to the States especially climbed during the aftermath of the Holocaust, the organized murder of Jews during and after World War II. Today the United States has the largest population of Jewish people with high concentration areas in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami, and Washington D.C. In 1917, an attempt to reestablish Palestine as the Jewish homeland began. By 1948, the State of Israel became an independent country. They have regained their Hebrew language, which involved inventing words for modern inventions and concepts unheard of centuries ago and writing a Hebrew dictionary to unify the language. Jewish Education: from http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=49&letter=E&search=education Biblical and Pre-Talmudical Data:
The actual systematic reorganization of the Jewish
system of education and teaching dates from the
founding of the following schools:
(4)
(6)
The Samson'sche Freischule of Wolfenbüttel, including a boarding-school,
founded in 1807 by Isaac Herz Samson. L. Zunz and M. Jost were prepared there
for the university.
Islam: from http://www.theeid.com/history/ Islam
is derived from the Arabic word "salaama" and has a two-fold
meaning: peace, and submission to God. This submission requires a fully
conscious and keen effort to submit to the one Almighty God. One must
intentionally and conscientiously give oneself to the service of Allah. It is
a universal religion and its objective is to create and cultivate in man the
quality and approach of Islam. The faith of this religion is the oneness and
sovereignty of God, which has shaped and looked upon all human races as one
family. Islam is against the idea that there are privileged people. Islam
stands for the equality of all humanity without any discrimination on the
basis of race, caste, sex, place of birth etc. Unlike other living things
human beings have thinking potential and so they are invited to summit to the
goodwill of God and obey His law i.e. become a Muslim. Anyone who follows
Islam is known as Muslim. The word "Muslim" is originated from the
Arabic word signifying a person totally devoted to the will of the God. And
the word "Allah" meaning "the one True God" is also of
Arabic origin. The history of Islam centers around Muhammad (messenger of
god). He was born around 570 A.D. and was brought up by his extended family
after the death of his parents. As he grew, he became discontented with
polytheism and came to believe in one God, Allah. He began to have religious
visions around age 40. During these visions, Muhammad would receive
"messages" or "revelations" from God. He would memorize
them and teach them to his followers. These visions are now recorded in the
holy Qur'an (or Koran). Muhammad continued to receive these visions until his
death in 632 A.D. The Quran has 114 suras. The Quran is believed to be the
last revealed word of Allah and the basic source of Islamic teachings and
laws. The Quran covers a variety of issues such as creeds, morality, history
of humanity, worship, knowledge, wisdom, good-man relationship, and human
relationship in all aspects. Comprehensive teaching on which can be built
sound systems of social justice, economics, politics, legislation,
jurisprudence, law and international relations, are important contents of the
Quran. The complete acceptance of the teachings and guidance of 'Allah' as
recorded in the Quran is the religion of Islam. Islam preaches faith in the
oneness and sovereignty of Allah, which makes man aware of the meaningfulness
of the Universe and of his place in it. This belief frees him from all fears
and superstitions by making him conscious of the presence of the Almighty
Allah and of man's obligations towards Him. This faith must be expressed and
tested in action. Faith alone is not enough. Islam religion has five pillars,
essentially to be followed by every good Muslim, and they are: (1) confession
of faith in God and in Muhammad as God's messenger (2) daily prayer at the
five appointed times (3) fasting during the month of Ramadan (4) paying an
alms-tax and giving charity to the poor and (5) pilgrimage to the holy city of
Mecca and its sacred shrine, the Kaaba. Islam protects all the human rights:
rights to life, liberty, freedom, equality, and justice and above this one of
the basic concern is the security of the person. Islam teaches that the
closest to Allah and the most beloved of Allah are those who are the best in
piety. Thus all people, male and female, and regardless of race, color,
nationality or ethnicity, are considered and treated as equal before Allah and
before the law. Today Islamic religion has become the second largest religion
in the world. Muslim occupies 20% of all the people of the world. In today's
world racism, prejudice and discrimination have become a widespread problem of
the entire mankind. Islam, for the last 1400 years has tried to end this
discrimination and a unique example of oneness and brotherhood of all mankind
can be seen clearly during the Hajj. Islam has established a universal
brotherhood. It has stressed that a true brotherhood can be established only
by virtue of mankind's strong relationship with one another through Allah. Islamic Education Muslim educational activity began in the 8th century, primarily in order to disseminate the teaching of the QurÆ (n and the sunnah of the Prophet. The first task in this endeavor was to record the oral traditions and collect the written manuscripts. This information was systematically organized in the 2nd century AH, and in the following century a sound corpus was agreed upon. This vast activity of “seeking knowledge” ( ¡alab al-Åilm) resulted in the creation of specifically Arab sciences of tradition, history, and literature. When the introduction of the Greek sciences—philosophy, medicine, and mathematics—created a formidable body of lay knowledge, a creative reaction on the traditional religious base resulted in the rationalist theological movement of the MuÅtazilah. Based on that Greek legacy, from the 9th to the 12th century AD a brilliant philosophical movement flowered and presented a challenge to orthodoxy on the issues of the eternity of the world, the doctrine of revelation, and the status of the SharY Åah. The orthodox met the challenges positively by formulating the religious dogma. At the same time, however, for fear of heresies, they began to draw a sharp distinction between religious and secular sciences. The custodians of the SharY Åah developed an unsympathetic attitude toward the secular disciplines and excluded them from the curriculum of the madrasah (college) system. Their exclusion from the SunnY system of education proved fatal, not only for those disciplines but, in the long run, for religious thought in general because of the lack of intellectual challenge and stimulation. A typical madrasah curriculum included logic (which was considered necessary as an “instrumental” science for the formal correctness of thinking procedure), Arabic literature, law, SadYth, QurÆ (n commentary, and theology. Despite sporadic criticism from certain quarters, the madrasah system remained impervious to change. One important feature of Muslim education was that primary education (which consisted of QurÆ (n reading, writing, and rudimentary arithmetic) did not feed candidates to institutions of higher education, and the two remained separate. In higher education, emphasis was on books rather than on subjects and on commentaries rather than on original works. This, coupled with the habit of learning by rote (which was developed from the basically traditional character of knowledge that encouraged learning more than thinking), impoverished intellectual creativity still further. Despite these grave shortcomings, however, the madrasah produced one important advantage. Through the uniformity of its religio-legal content, it gave the Åulam( Æ the opportunity to effect that overall cohesiveness and unity of thought and purpose that, despite great variations in local Muslim cultures, has become a palpable feature of the world Muslim community. This uniformity has withstood even the serious tension created against the seats of formal learning by ˜ ¨fism through its peculiar discipline and its own centres. In contrast to the SunnY attitude toward it, philosophy continued to be seriously cultivated among the ShY Åah, even though it developed a strong religious character. Indeed, philosophy has enjoyed an unbroken tradition in Persia down to the present and has produced some highly original thinkers. Both the SunnY and the ShY Åah medieval systems of learning, however, have come face to face with the greatest challenge of all—the impact of modern education and thought. Organization of education developed naturally in the course of time. Evidence exists of small schools already established in the first century of Isl(m that were devoted to reading, writing, and instruction in the QurÆ (n. These schools of “primary” education were called kutt(bs . The well-known governor of Iraq at the beginning of the 8th century, the ruthless al-Sajj(j, had been a schoolteacher in his early career. When higher learning in the form of tradition grew in the 8th and 9th centuries, it was centred around learned men to whom students travelled from far and near and from whom they obtained a certificate (ij(zah) to teach what they had learned. Through the munificence of rulers and princes, large private and public libraries were built, and schools and colleges arose. In the early 9th century a significant incentive to learning came from the translations made of scientific and philosophical works from the Greek (and partly Sanskrit) at the famous bayt al-Rikmah (“house of wisdom”) at Baghdad, which was officially sponsored by the caliph al-MaÆm¨n. The F( ¡imid caliph al-S (kim set up a d(r alRikmah (“hall of wisdom”) in Cairo in the 10th–11th centuries. With the advent of the Seljuq Turks, the famous vizier Ni¾ (m al-Mulk created an important college at Baghdad, devoted to SunnY learning, in the latter half of the 11th century. One of the world's oldest surviving universities, al-Azhar at Cairo, was originally established by the F( ¡imids, but Saladin (˜al( R ad-DYn al-Ayy¨bY), after ousting the F( ¡imids, consecrated it to SunnY learning in the 12th century. Throughout subsequent centuries, colleges and quasi-universities (called madrasah or d(r al-Åul¨m ) arose throughout the Muslim world from Spain (whence philosophy and science were transmitted to the Latin West) across Central Asia to India. In Turkey a new style of madrasah
came into existence; it had four wings, for the teaching of the four schools
of SunnY law. Professorial
chairs were endowed in large colleges by princes and governments, and
residential students were supported by college endowment funds. A myriad of
smaller centres of learning were endowed by private donations. Cultural diversityUnderneath the legal and creedal unity, the world of Isl(m harbours a tremendous diversity of cultures, particularly in the outlying regions. The expansion of Isl(m can be divided into two broad periods. In the first period of the Arab conquests, the assimilative activity of the conquering religion was far-reaching. Although Persia resurrected its own language and a measure of its national culture after the first three centuries of Isl(m, its culture and language had come under heavy Arab influence. Only after ˜afavid rule installed ShY Åism as a distinctive creed in the 16th century did Persia regain a kind of religious autonomy. The language of religion and thought, however, continued to be Arabic. In the second period, the spread of Isl(m was not conducted by the state with Åulam( Æ influence but was largely the work of ˜ ¨fY missionaries. The ˜ ¨fYs, because of their latitudinarianism, compromised with local customs and beliefs and left a great deal of the pre-Isl(mic legacy in every region intact. Thus, among the Central Asian Turks, shamanistic practices were absorbed, while in Africa the holy man and his barakah (an influence supposedly causing material and spiritual well-being) are survivors from the older cults. In India there are large areas geographically distant from the Muslim religio-political centre of power in which customs are still Hindu and even pre-Hindu and in which people worship a motley of saints and deities in common with the Hindus. The custom of satY , under which a widow burned herself alive along with her dead husband, persisted in India even among some Muslims until late into the Mughal period. The 18th- and 19th-century reform movements exerted themselves to “purify” Isl(m of these accretions and superstitions. Indonesia affords a striking example of this phenomenon. Because Isl(m reached there late and soon thereafter came under European colonialism, the Indonesian society has retained its pre-Isl(mic world view beneath an overlay of Isl(mic practices. It keeps its customary law (called adat) at the expense of the SharY Åah; many of its tribes are still matriarchal; and culturally the Hindu epics R(m(yapa and Mah(bh(rata hold a high position in national life. Since the 19th century, however, orthodox Isl(m has gained steadily in strength because of fresh contacts with the Middle East. Apart from regional diversity, the main internal division within Isl(mic society is brought about by urban and village life. Isl(m originally grew up in the two cities of Mecca and Medina, and as it expanded, its peculiar ethos appears to have developed in urban areas. Culturally, it came under a heavy Persian influence in Iraq, where the Arabs learned the ways and style of life of their conquered people, who were culturally superior to them. The custom of veiling women (which originally arose as a sign of aristocracy but later served the purpose of segregating women from men—the pardah ), for example, was acquired in Iraq. Another social trait derived from outside cultures was the disdain for agriculture and manual labour in general. Because the people of the town of Medina were mainly agriculturists, this disdain could not have been initially present. In general, Isl(m came to appropriate a strong feudal ethic from the peoples it conquered. Also, because the Muslims generally represented the administrative and military aristocracy and because the learned class (the Åulam( Æ ) was an essential arm of the state, the higher culture of Isl(m became urban based. This city orientation explains
and also underlines the traditional cleavage between the orthodox Isl(m
of the Åulam( Æ and the folk Isl(m
espoused by the ˜ ¨fY
orders of the countryside. In the modern period, the advent of education and
rapid industrialization threatened to make this cleavage still wider. With the
rise of a strong and widespread fundamentalist movement in the second half of
the 20th century, this dichotomy has decreased. This lesson was developed to address elements of competency # 3, #4 and #10 on the functions of the educational process (teaching and learning) and schooling for education majors who are taking EDF 1005 in partial fulfillment of the graduation requirements for an Associate of Arts degree in Teaching (Elementary), Teaching (Secondary), Early Childhood and Exceptional Education. Competency #3 reads (in part) as follows: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the significant ideas, events, and people that have shaped American education by
Competency #4 reads (in part) as follows: The student will examine the various functions of the educational process and schooling by
Competency #10 reads (in part) as follows: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the teaching and learning process by
(A complete list of all the competencies for EDF 1005 is provided below by clicking on the link titled competencies) | |||
