Q. Islamic & Secular School in Singapore

Salaam to all,

Hope everyone is doing fine, insha-Allah. Building an excellence and most respected/accredited educational system of today's education within Islamic environment is a dream for all Islamic scholars, and a hope for all Muslim abroad insha-Allah.

However, Mehboob, secularism in recent decades, had been critical and speculative discussion from Muslims scholars, thinkers and common people today. The idea of secularism has an exclusive ideology attached within its system, movement and purpose as seen throughout history, which Muslims in more recent years have taken more seriously and critically. Their response after many years of observing, researching and analyzing the effect of social, political and religious movement in view of secularism was some of it's ideas were oppositely challenging Islamic true principles of the "deen" than those are acceptable to it [ scholars such as the late Naquib Al-Attas, Al-Faruqi, Qardawi plus other non-Muslim scholars wrote quite extensively on in the topics on Islam and secularism].

These are not in the sense of absolutely right or wrong conclusively; rather the direction of secularism adopted and propounded by scholars and leaders had not been favorable in light of future of Islamic community and future implications for next generations of Muslims. Muslims are concerned on building a community of excellence, emulating only the best and wisest of today's mind and knowledge, not the simply emulating a system blindly including all it's failures and downfalls. Here are some issues we have to consider to build an educational system of Islam;

1) The classification of knowledge and academic disciplines within Islamic educational system in building the most promising generation of Muslims intellectual and scholarship.

2) Natural sciences vs religious values Is there a pedagogy of education that should be harmonized in balance of two direction for Muslim learners.[this is the most important of all as it directs the future influence, reflection and critical thought of learners and educators throughout all academic disciplines]

3) Regulatory of financial trusts and educational funds within Islam and the community/government as a whole which could sustain, support and developing trustworthy, innovation, excellence, constantly embracing future challenges, as well as stability and security for future Muslim generations.

4) Establishing positive key figures and intellectuals within the social identity of Islam (classical, modern and today) emphasizing their importance, influences and historical implications as a glowing motivation and cultivating religious direction on creating a positive and progressive society within the Muslim society.

Hence, education in Islam is not a "corporate dream", but rather also a application of the arabic word "deen" into our society and our generation and beyond. It is ambitious, not impossible, but not without challenges and obstacles for Islamic society in social and religious growth.