Mass Education and Its Relation to the Religious Observance - Essay Example

Mass Education and Its Relation to the Religious Observance and In Particular for the Islam Community The earth has drastically changed and continues to change as everyday passes. There have been a lot that has been achieved, and there will be many more that will be in the coming future. Everyone has been affected by the change, positively or negatively. Many have so far embraced change while others still cling on to what they hold dear; their cultures and traditions. So far, technology has taken over the world. Nearly everything has been affected technologically (Doumato & Starrett, 34, 2007). With time, some of the traditional ways of people have faded away all thanks to the changes that the world has undergone. Everything has taken a turn to a certain direction. The economy has changed; the social lives of people have changed, and the cultural life of people and political atmosphere are different from the past. Whether all this changed have happened all for the positive reasons is yet unknown, but one thing is clear in all this; individuals have become more aware of their surroundings. They have come to see that the world around them is changing. They have acquired the knowledge and are literate enough to distinguish between things. This is one of the major developments that have occurred. Individuals have become more literate. They have come to learn more, and this brings them closer to understanding the changes that have occurred. Literacy has been something that has been taken seriously and it is considered a necessary aspect in the development of an individual. People now value the aspect of education more than they did a time ago (Kaplan, 10, 2006). They have become literate, and all this is because of development and change. Literacy has brought change in politics, economy, culture and tradition and the social lives of people. In this essay, attention will be focused on mass education and the effect it has had on the Islam community. The Muslims have been educated, but instead of conforming to change like other people, they have chosen to remain true to their culture. They have chosen to not let literacy make them abandon their culture. Contrary to the predictions of modernization theorists, modern education has not brought a decline in religious thought and practice in the Muslim world. Much to the contrary, mass schooling and literacy have heightened the public interest in Islam and widened access to Islamic texts. This increasing demand for Islamic knowledge has created a highly charged educational field, where different interest groups and institutions vie for the hearts and minds of Muslims. The main focus will be turned on to two countries that have Muslim influence; Egypt and Turkey (Eickelman, 45, 1992). A number of ethnographic and historical studies that examine the place and politics of Islam in public education will be reviewed in order to give the basis of educational influence on Muslims. By the end of this essay, questions will be answered that relate to literacy and Islam. Questions like, “What happens to religious socialization when it becomes formalised (set curricula) and centralized (state-controlled)?” will be answered. Another area of interest that will be looked into is the Eickelman’s (1992) suggestion that states that, “mass education has led to an “objectification” of Islam”. Also there will be a discussion of Starrett’s (1998) notion of “functionalization” of Islam – “putting it consciously to work for various types of political and social projects”. There is also another area of interest that relates to the discussion; Kaplan’s (2006) thesis that the religious nationalists of post-1980 Turkey have promoted an “Islamic secularity” through school curricula. All this will be put into consideration in order to test whether literacy has brought Muslims closer to them realizing their true heritage and embracing it. Public education is not, of course, confined to formal schooling. Saba Mahmood (2005), for example, explores religious study circles delivered by and to women in the neighborhood mosques of contemporary Cairo (Fortna, 56, 2002). Religious education here is a “pedagogy of persuasion” – entailing reasoned debate and deliberation, with the teacher persuading the lesson participants to live more pious lives and offering them the practical techniques for leading such a life. On the other hand, Kaplan has an analysis of a village wedding turning into a pedagogical scene for challenging dominant gender identities and imparting pious religiosity (2006: 101-115). Mass education has not brought a decline to the religious ongoing of different groups. Most groups have been affected in their own way, but the Islam community has remained the same. Their views towards their culture have not changed. If anything, they have become stronger as time passes by. Even though in some areas one would find the populations of Muslims lower than those of Christians, there is still no doubt that even with all the influence that exists, there is still a part of them that clings to their heritage (Fischer, 78, 1980). Muslim organizations have become stronger in maintaining their cultural identity. They have shown that they can undergo obstacles and still emerge together. Religious socialization can be described as the process of getting to know the religion where one hails from. Religious socialization usually begins at a very young age for most individuals. Individuals come to learn the various religious beliefs from their parents and also from other adults. They do this in their everyday lives and come to learn various things concerning their own religion. When one is young, he/she tends to confirm whatever is being taught to be true or false. They adopt certain specific religions and other religious practices because it is what they are meant to be doing. They are exposed to these religious practices while young, and this means that their roots are deep within. It is hard to change the religion of someone who was taught to conform to certain practices and actions from a very young age (Hefner & Zaman, 49, 2007). It is the adults who are responsible for teaching these young children about their heritage, culture and practice. Religious socialism involves the parents, guardians and teachings they are given, from basic beliefs, teachings of that religion and what it means to live according to a particular religion. These religious beliefs of being taught are meant to set the standard on how the young children will live their everyday life. There are rules and traditions that they will follow the manner they will worship, the holidays to celebrate, and how they will carry themselves on everyday life (Herrera, 90, 2003). It is through the impression of their parents that they want to be like their parents; thus, have a place and sense of belonging. If one is not set on the right path during childhood, then one grows up with the need to belong and fit in a particular group. Individuals who are taught in a certain way will adopt the religious practices that they have come to experience. When it comes to the future; they seek belonging, and a place in life or in a certain group. This is because they view all of the religions out there as other religions to try out and they also seek to belong with their peers. They may want to join the group because they may feel that they can benefit from associating with. Religious socialism has a general positive effect and helps in providing and instilling rules, values and a sense of direction in any path of life. They set one in a course to believe in. Muslims practice this, and their teachings are more intense than any other religion (Hefner & Zaman, 78, 2007). They are bound to their religion, and this makes them have a place to belong. Religious socialization, just like change, is inevitable. Just as change influences people’s lives, it is the same way that religion has an influence over people. If religious socialization becomes formalized and is set as curricula, then it means that the religious teachings will be taught in schools. It would mean that the different religions that exist would be taught in schools the same way other subjects are taught. It would also mean that the basic teachings would cease to be taught by parents but by teachers (Mitchell, 67, 1988). When religious socialization is centralized, it would mean that there would be some religions that would be favored more than others. It would definitely lead to religious segregation. Some of the religious movements that do not bear meaning or show can face major setbacks as they can be undermined if religious socialization would be set to be centralized. Religious socialism should be left as it is. Parents should carry the mantel of teaching their children about their religion. Centralizing religious socialism leads to discrimination of some religious movements while formalizing it would mean that there would be certain learning institutions where specific religions would be emphasized on more than others (Ringer, 135, 2001). In Egypt and Turkey, formalizing of religious socialization is what has made the Islam community to exist without outside interference. They have been able to remain as an Islam family because of such influence. In Egypt, the main religious community around there is the Islam community. According to an argument by Eickelman, there is a suggestion that mass education has led to an objectification of the Islam religion. The Islamic religion is a religion that has been put on the spotlight by many organizations and other individuals. Of note of the religious socialism, centralizing and formalizing religion leads to another influence of religion. Religion that has been formalized and centralized does not indicate that people have been brought up with the necessary virtues of the particular religion in question. There is the enticing of children with religious slogans and planting other ideas in their minds that would make the religion in question to be viewed differently. There are some instances where the teachings are not to teach religion but to transform them into extremist religious groups. Eickelman’s statement that mass education has led to the objectification of Islam is true. Religious groups have been formed in the name of protecting the name of Muslims (Mitchell, 78, 1988). The Muslim culture has become stronger than before. There are places that have Islamic higher education, like in Morocco. This means that Islam has been given much praise than before. Mass education has enabled for there to be attention and focus on the Muslim community. Their heritage and culture has been taken into account as one that offers more insight to people. In putting Islam to work, there has been the presence of mass public instruction. Students in schools being told what to do and what not to do, how to act within other communities and which ones to discriminate. Such are the teachings that formalization and centralization of the Muslim language in various countries have brought up. Taking a look at Egypt, it is hard not to see the resemblance between the arguments that formalization and centralization would bring one religious group down while the other rose. Egypts integration into the modern world system of economy, politics, and culture has seen the Islam community secure a very integral part in terms of governance of the nation. Egypt as a state, like in other places in the Muslim world has the connections between religion and national security (Eickelman, 222, 1992). The state may be modern, but their ways are still traditional. They still have the rooted cultures and traditions that are known in the Muslim world. Starrett’s notion of functionalization of Islam is one that needs to be put into much consideration. His notion bears truth in that putting Islam to work for various types of political and social projects is one that exists in many countries that have Islam affiliation. In Egypt, there is Islamic influence in the educational sector, politics, religion, social and cultural lives and there is an overall religious transformation undergoing there. There have been debates about the goal and contents that the schools are teaching their students in this changing global economy. So far, the importance of prayer and values in schools has been emphasized in public schools and also in other institutions of learning (Hefner & Zaman, 122, 2007). By focusing mostly on the mass education supported by the state in Egypt, there are some institutions that are of most influence and powerfully shape the relationship between written traditions and the daily practice. These institutions also present research on how some of the mechanisms in which Islams universal message is consciously and strategically articulated to local social, political, and economic structures of the country. There are certain political and social projects that are underway in Egypt and in countries that have Muslim influence. In Egypt, the government has brought the institutions that associate themselves with Islam. The Islamic institutions have been increasingly put under control, and this has happened over the past years. The official religion in Egypt is Islam. It has been declared the official language for quite a while since the government was formed. The constitution also states that Islam is the official religion (Bottcher, 123, 2002). This is a practice that is made particularly practical in the face of mass movements like the Muslim Brotherhood. It has been a political force in the country since a long time ago, when Islam had an influence over the country. There have been other groups that have seen the right and duty to choose an Islamic discourse as an advantage. These groups have seen it fit to redeem them. So far, it is evident to state that the Muslim brotherhood runs deep within the inner circles of the country. From the teachings to children when they are young to the fact that there are several groups even with all this modernization is proof that mass education will not take the teachings of values and traditions from the Muslim people (Brenner, 200, 2001). Because of one of the most interrelated processes have been operating throughout the Muslim world, they have managed to domesticate the influence of Islam (Berkey, 102, 1992). First, there is the process of objectification, which is the growing realization on the part of Muslims that Islam is a mainly a system of practices and beliefs. This is rather different from the way most perceive their lives; in a merely unexamined and unsure way of life. Objectification is a pervasive process throughout the Muslim world and is one important aspect that determines who is a true Muslim with true virtues and teachings. Most of the people without the knowledge of objectification do not know Islam. Most just know that they need to pray and give out sacrifice. The one thing that they do not know is that; knowing and understanding Islam means that the Muslims will be able to articulate the religion (Starrett, 202, 1998). This means that they should be able to understand and define the set of beliefs such as those that are written down in textbook presentations. Mass education has brought about the realization that with education, the core values and deeds of the Muslim world can be better understood. Islamic secularity, as stated by Kaplan, is one whereby there is the idea of secularism in Islam and it means favoring one secular state and also secular society with separation of Islam and public life. Kaplan Spoke of Secularism in the Muslim countries and in particular in Turkey and he referred to the ideology of promoting the secular terms in terms of political and social values. This is as opposed to Islamism. The introduction of Islamic secularity through the school curricula was meant to bring about the separation of public life and government matters from religious teachings and commandments. The promotion of this was meant to teach the difference between religion and politics. Secularism is a tool that is regularly condemned by Muslims who do not have the same notion as those of others (Mahmood, 233, 2005). Bibliography KAPLAN, S. 2006. Nation and Faith. In his ‘The Pedagogical State: Education and Politics of National Culture in Post-1980 Turkey’. Stanford: Stanford UP, pp. 73-124. MAHMOOD, S. 2005. Pedagogies of Persuasion. In her Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 79-113. STARRETT, G. 1998. Putting Islam to Work: Education, Politics and Religious Transformation in Egypt. Berkeley: University of California Press. 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