INTEGRATION OF INTERFAITH HARMONY INTO MADRASSA CURRICULUM IN PAKISTAN: A STEP TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

 

Zia ul Haq

Asst. Prof. Dr., College of Shari’ah & Islamic Studies, University of Sharjah, UAE, email: zulhaq@sharjah.ac.ae

 

Abstract

What students learn has a tremendous impact on their future thinking, behavior, and view on life. A curriculum should symbolize a society's vision for its future and should be evaluated on a regular basis in response to new challenges and changing scenarios. There are growing concerns about the Madrassa (Religious seminaries) curricula and its negative role in imparting interfaith harmony in Pakistan. There is growing concern regarding the curricula of Madrassas (religious seminaries) and their negative impact on interfaith cooperation in Pakistan. Opponents believe that the current Madrassa Curriculum ignores Islam's spiritual beauty and does not include any information on human rights. The current curricula of Religious seminaries do not devote enough emphasis to Fiqh al Aqaliat (Islamic law for minorities), which is a crucial subject in Islamic Jurisprudence and worth reading. It's worth noting that today's religious disputes have given way to civilizational clashes, and religion will continue to be a major source of conflict both within and between nations for the foreseeable future. As Berghout points out, if people are unwilling to accept and tolerate difference, the already perilous situations aggravated by religious intolerance in many parts of the world will erupt.  In locations where many cultures and religions mix, such as the Indian subcontinent, conflict is more likely. Such conflicts, on the other hand, can be avoided if adequate mechanisms for ensuring religious peace are created and implemented early on. In accordance with the UNESCO goal of education for sustainable development, these efforts include urgent educational reforms and curricular improvements. The goal of this study is to assess present religious’ curricula in terms of interfaith harmony through comprehensive content analysis as well as to improve existing curricula by including new topics and strategies. The study demonstrates the madrasa courses to have numerous flaws and deficiencies, and recommends measure to improve them, including increased coverage of interfaith cohabitation. After describing the shortcomings of Madrasa curricula, the researcher suggests ways to improve their quality in order to achieve long-term peace and interfaith collaboration in today's society.

Keywords: Interfaith Harmony, Curriculum Development, Madrassa' Curriculum, Religious Education, Pakistan, Sustainable Developmen