Contents

Foreword

More than any other issue, education has been the primary concern of Muslim thinkers throughout the different periods of history. That is because education does not only constitute the basis for the psychological and civilizational development of a nation but it also prepares the nation to assume its human responsibilities among other nations.

Thus, throughout history, education has remained a central issue in Islamic thought which, through education, has sought to organize life and its dynamics by means of guiding the lives of individuals and the community from an Islamic perspective in order to ensure the individual Muslim good upbringing and to prepare him to assume his human and civilizational role in the world in accordance with a model based on Islamic values and principles.

In the course of history, Islamic education has been influenced by many tributary currents and various trends that emerged and evolved within Islamic societies. These different currents and trends were the outcome of the interaction of Islamic civilization not only with the civilizations of the peoples that embraced Islam, but also with those civilizations whose works were translated into Arabic. Such interaction generated a wealth of educational theories and principles, which gave great impetus to Islamic educational enquiries and widened their scope, thereby transforming Islamic education into an extremely rich and varied field of study, where highly innovative educational and pedagogical theories were devised to satisfy the requirements of new circumstances and changing contexts, on the one hand, and to cope with new issues and problems posed by the philosophical and social realities in the land of Islam, on the other.

At the present time, as the Islamic world is experiencing a universal intellectual awakening, after having slumbered for centuries in ignorance and backwardness, and since the reality of the world today requires that we make clear the important role that Islam is expected to play in resolving the tremendous problems which modern human societies are contending with, due attention to education, at both theoretical and practical levels, has become a most urgent duty of the entire Umma, including individuals as well as groups and organizations.

Indeed, Islamic libraries abound in books and academic theses specialized in Islamic education; however, such works are not accessible to the general reader, either because they are not easily obtainable, or because they are highly specialized, which makes it difficult for the ordinary reader to benefit from them. Therefore, in its attempt to familiarize the general reader with the basic concepts of Islamic education, the Islamic Organization for Education, Science and Culture (ISESCO) has for this purpose decided to publish a book consisting of a simplified presentation of the historical background of Islamic education as well as its basic issues and trends, in a framework that makes them relevant to the present needs, aspirations, and reality of Muslims today. This book is written by a knowledgeable and competent scholar who is thoroughly versed in Arabic and Islamic culture, namely Dr. Mohammed Al-Mokhtar Ould Bah, former Vice Secretary General of the Islamic Conference, and one of the most eminent thinkers in the Islamic world.

It is our hope that the general reader will find in this work, for which the author has chosen the title Islamic Education Between Tradition and Modernity, what he needs in terms of information concerning the basic concepts, principles and objectives of Islamic education. Indeed, Dr. Ould Bah, who has devoted himself to the study of Islamic education, presents in this work a simplified and focused analysis of the field, discussing its programmes and methods, and suggesting ways of improving the discipline so that it can meet the needs of today’s societies.

We have been extremely pleased to notice the great demand for this work in its first edition, which was published in 1989/H 1410. This has prompted us to publish the present second edition to meet the researchers and students’ demand for the book.

Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri

Director General of the Islamic ‭ ‬Educational‭, ‬Scientific and Cultural Organization‭ ‬

Publications of the Islamic Educational‭, ‬Scientific and Cultural Organization‭