TOPIC 3: INFLUENCE OF JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM ON

EDUCATION.
Hebraic-Christian Education
Hebraic Civilization
The ancient land of the Hebrews or Habiru, variously referred to as the 'children of Israel',
Palestine, Canaan, "the Promised land", a "land flowing with milk and honey", and Israel
extended from Damascus to the Sinai desert and the Negev. Ironically, its Southern part was an
arid rocky land with hardly any rain, with only the coastal plains having an adequate water
supply.
The importance of old Palestine was its religious history, unparalleled worldwide, which made it
to become the Christian "Holy Land". The Hebrew were monotheistic believing in only one God,
Yahweh, the "blower" or the "feller", the "thundered of the wilderness". The effect of sustained
monotheism was Judaism, a religion that saw the actions of human beings as divinely inspired,
with Yahweh demanding individual righteousness.
Before the eventual conquest of Canaan by the Hebrews, the Canaanites had developed an
impressive civilization, building important cities like Jebus, later Jerusalem. Due to the
centuries-long wars over Palestine by the Hebrews, the constant conquest and counter-conquests,
and mingling with the Senutes (the original inhabitants of Palestine), the population of Canaan
became heterogeneous from the early times.
The History of the Hebrews is legendary and occupies an important place in world history. The
Hebrews believed in Divine Providence and intervention and thus saw the hand of Yahweh
behind every calamity or pestilence. They were the founders of the systematic study of history,
believing as they did that history was purposeful, with no recognition of chance events and
situations.
Hebraic Education
Judaism, the Jewish religion, is one of the oldest religions in modern times. Despite the trials and
tribulations, the Jews have undergone, their national and religious heritage has withstood the test
of time. They have developed a solid national consciousness and vehemently shunned paganism,
magic and superstition, always doing the will of Yahweh.
Due to the Jewish practice of and devotion to Monotheism, their life cantered on man's relations
with Yahweh, undivided faith to Him, and man's moral uprightness. Their single-mindedness
pursuit of this mode of life left no time and place for any meaningful progress in the theory and
practice of politics, arts, science and technology.
Education was aimed at character building, to produce ethical individuals with a strong sense of
being Jewish, a holy and chosen people who were pure and uncompromising with gentile,
Semitic or non-Jewish culture. Morality, religion and national consciousness (patriotism) were
seen as one and the same thing.
Their education was vocationally and practically oriented to produce young people oriented to
produce young people who could meet the society's economic needs. The girls were taught
domestic duties, while the boys were trained in crafts, trade, and other profession. The young
were instilled with deep respect for the dignity of labour, which was considered vital to the
development of upright human character. To illustrate the high respect for labour, the prominent
Jewish personalities were also artisans; Jesus was a carpenter, Saul of Tarsus a tent-maker, Peter
a fisherman, etc. In the beginning during the Biblical era, there were no formal, organized
schools. Learning was home-based and cantered on domestic, moral and oral traditions. Later,
when schools emerged they did not replace but rather supplemented the family as an agent for
education.
Synagogue emerged during the exile period to become the cornerstone for the transmission and
survival of Judaism, learning and worship.
Although some form of organized places of learning were in existence as early as the Sixth
century B.C., institutionalised school among the Jews emerged distinctly in the post-exile era
between 539 B.C. and A.D. 70.
Three types of schools developed.
• 'House of Books' or Beth-hasopher located in the Synagogue. This emphasized elementary
instruction in basic religion.
• The Bethhamidrash or "House of Exposition” which was a kind of secondary school, which
taught oral traditions and laws, Mishna.
• Rabbinical schools which provided higher education, where "masters" or scribes taught the
Talmud (commentaries and interpretations of oral law and traditions).
Education for literacy was only available for boys initially, with that for girls coming at a later
date. Compulsory elementary education was introduced by Joshua ben Gamala, a high priest, in
A.D. 64. Each Synagogue, town and province was supposed to start and support a school,
otherwise it would be excommunicated.
Thus the Jews were the first old era people to institute and demand formal schooling for all. This
enabled their heritage to be recorded and conserved through history. This was to reinforce their
rich historical roots, which gave them a deep sense of a divinely given mission.

Christianity and Education

The birth of Jesus in Nazareth was a momentous fulfilment of a central historical and religious
prophecy contained in the oral law and traditions. During their long tribulations, the Jews had
expectantly longed for the coming of the Messiah, who would free them from bondage and
persecution. The main sources of information about Jesus are the three gospels of Matthew,
Mark and Luke, written between AD 66 and A.D. 68.
But the information they give is fragmentary and as a result not everything is known about the
life of Jesus.
Christianity has had immense influence on history and education.
Jewish education laid the foundation stone upon which the Christian tradition in education is
built.
Jesus presented his teachings forcefully and symbolically. He emphasized humility, gentleness,
peace and poverty. He said little about economic needs, government and property. He showed
preference to celibacy, sometimes exhorting his followers to abandon their family ties.
The gospels depict a powerful, charismatic and knowledgeable teacher; a master. He was able to
match his style of teaching to the level of understanding of his audience, using appropriate
similes, metaphors, aphorisms, analogies and parables to effectively deliver the message.
After his crucifixion and accession around A.D. 30, his disciples and followers preached that he
had been the long-awaited Messiah, and that he had conquered death. Christianity grew
gradually at first, but was in consequent centuries to become the leading religion of the world. In
developing and teaching a coherent and credible ethical standard against which individual and
societal responsibilities and personalities could be measured, Christianity combined and
harmonized the best elements of Graeco-Roman education.
The Christians did not wish to perpetuate the Greek and Roman teachings and traditions, which
they considered pagan. In the beginning they had no schools of their own. These came after the
battle for survival in a repressive pagan world was won at three levels;
• Politically, to gain recognition by the Roman masters,
• In religion, to achieve acceptance of their doctrinal beliefs and practices among competing and
hostile religions, and
• Culturally, to co-exist peacefully with pagan societies and their culture.
Under Emperor Constantine Christianity was recognized as a religion within the Roman Empire
in A.D. 313. It was granted the same protection as pagan worship. It was not until the fifth
century A.D. that St. Augustine (A.D. 354 - A.D. 430), a great Christian scholar, completed the
structure of the faith and practice of Orthodox Christianity. In his book, "De Civitate Dei" he
developed a systematic and complete theology for the Roman Catholic Church.
The moral education of the members of the early Christian Church was given a lot of emphasis.
Catechumenal instruction was given to those waiting to be baptized. Out of this emerged the
catechetical school, which was the first well-defined institution for Christian education. Its basic
aim was rudimentary instruction in the doctrine and practice of Christian life.
By the Sixth century A.D. the church Councils had established Episcopal or cathedral schools for
boys intending to become priests. The moral uprightness of the individual was the primary aim
of these schools.
After the fall of the Roman Empire the monastic and conventual schools in cathedrals are the
only ones that survived.

ISLAM AND EDUCATION IN AFRICA

Islamic Education in Africa
Arabic language and records have helped a lot in the understanding of early African history and
civilizations. Much of the knowledge about ancient Kingdoms of Kush, Tumbuktu, Sokoto,
Mali, etc. was derived from Arab travellers and historians.
The process of Islamization occurred through the activities of individual Muslim scholars and
teachers who ventured to large towns and cities to establish Islamic centres of learning. This
process was slow and it took generations for their influence and convertees to grow among the
preliterate societies they worked in.
In West Africa Islam was first established towards the end of the eleventh century A.D. when
Muslim dynasty began to rule the Kingdom of Bornu in 1085. In other parts of West Africa, it
was not until the end of the 15th Century that Islam was firmly established, in Hausaland. The
nineteenth century saw a series of Jihads, Islamic holy wars, the consequence of which was the
establishment of Islamic institutions in many African societies, with Islam becoming virtually
the dominant culture. A typical example is Northern Nigeria where over 70% of the population is
Muslim. In the Sudan, Arab immigrants between the tenth and fifteenth centuries introduced
Islam to the Northern Nilotic population.
In East Africa, Islam slowly filtered down across the Sahara from Persia and Arabia first being
established along the Coast, from where it gradually penetrated to the interior. Although the
Muslim groups along the East African coast have tended to maintain a social and cultural
identity in contrast to their indigenous non-Muslim coastal neighbours, intermarriage between
them resulted in the Waswahili who have their own district language and culture with Islamic
roots.

Objectives and Curriculum

The Islamic education system places less importance on examinations and certificates compared
to western formal education. In general, it places more importance or expressive and normative
than instrumental goals. The essence of this education is moral and character training, although it
places considerable emphasis on physical, mental, scientific and practical aspects. Each lesson
emphasizes moral aspects.
Islamic education also focuses on secular issues and material aspects of life. Subjects such as
sciences, literature and arts are studied to sustain livelihood and acquire truth to enhance moral
uprightness. Through the study of vocational and industrial subjects the individual is enabled to
earn a livelihood. After the initial study of the Koran and Arabic language, every child pursues
vocational preparation until he masters a profession, art or trade in order to earn a living and lead
a honourable and dignified life, morally, spiritually and materially. This way, the material
aspects of education enrich the moral/spiritual objectives.
However, the Koranic school curriculum in Africa has been seen to have a strong religious bias,
thereby diminishing emphasis on secular aspects of education. Koranic schools focus on
memorizing the 60 parts (esus) of the Koran. This can take up to five years and is divided into
five stages, with a ceremony marking the completion of each. Memorizing of the Koran goes
hand in hand with learning of Arabic alphabet, the vowel sounds and writing.
Note: Islamic education has been criticized in regard to the following:
(a) Neglect of Arabic grammar, poetry and composition, and students not understanding the
meaning of the words they chant.
(b) Harsh discipline, contrary to Islamic educational theory.
(c) Neglect of women's education, contrary to the Koran, which Muslim scholars cite to
emphasize the right of women to education.

The Koranic School

System Children between the ages of six and fifteen are admitted to the Koranic schools, usually
found in or outside a mosque, but sometimes in private houses or premises. In these schools, the
Mallam (teacher) teaches the children to memorize the shorter verses of the Koran through
repetition and rote. The teacher uses tada (ink) to write each chapter on the wala (slate) of each
child. At the primary level, children are only required to memorize one or two of the shorter
chapters in each part of the Koran that are needed for daily prayers.
From here the child is taught the alphabet of the Arabic language, which is composed of 26
letters, all consonants. This stage lasts between six and thirty-six weeks. This is followed by a
period in which the child is taught the formation of syllables with vowels, which are four
notations or signs written above or below a consonant to indicate what vowel sound should go
with it. The newly acquired skills are used to read the first two parts of the Koran all over again.
This stage can take between six and eighteen months.
The above is the elementary level, which every Muslim must pass through to be able to pray and
perform other religious duties and ceremonies, which are done in Arabic.
Some students proceed to secondary school or Ilm, which has a wider curriculum covering
Islamic literacy, theological and legal subjects.
The curriculum includes tafsir, the interpretation of the Koran; literature, mainly derived from
Koranic commentary; study of hadith, the texts that contains teachings about the Muslim faith,
traditions, rites, personal conduct, and social organization; study of the figh, the theory of
Islamic sacred law (sharia), which prescribes people's status, duties and rights;
Arabic; Madith or praises to Prophet Muhammad; Sira or literature on stories in prose and verse
about the life of The Prophet; and Wa'z which is literature describing the Islamic ideas of
paradise and hell.
The secondary level is for students of all ages. The stage merges with the post-secondary level
and marks the point where the students start to specialize in a chosen area. This marks the
beginning of the university level. Having chosen the area of the specialization, the student
proceeds to a university or continues under the tutelage of local specialists. At the end of
university learning, a license is awarded, empowering one to practice either as a teacher (Imam
or Alkali), depending on their speciality.
Some of the characteristics of the Koranic educational institutions are: There are no rigidly
codified rules; only conventional was of behaviour to guide pupils and teachers.
Periods for classes are vaguely fixed.
Teacher can declare a holiday if included in other matters such as burial a naming ceremony.
Teacher-pupil relationship is cordial and, personal, with the former acting as a custodian.
School week starts from Saturday to Wednesday.
Usually there are three sessions a day, whose times for beginning and ending vary from area to
area and from teacher to teacher.
Fees are nominal, paid in cash and kind, and not fixed. Teachers may also receive gifts,
especially during the festive periods.
During the month of Ramadhan, pupils accompany their teachers to their preaching grounds.
On ceremonial occasions, a pupil present plays based on the life of The Prophet.
The Walimat or graduating ceremony is the most momentous occasion in the life of a Muslim
scholar and can take place any time after the primary level.
Teacher qualifications differ from school to school and from place to place and range from the
highly learned Ulama to those whose only qualification is that they can recite the Koran and
write Arab characters.
Most schools are run according to the discretion of the individual proprietors, who are usually
Koranic schoolteachers themselves. Due to this, there is no uniform curriculum, teacher
qualifications, teacher wages, tuition and admission fees, and certificates.

Integration of Islamic and Formal Western Education.

Islamic religion and culture occupy an important place in the lives of a large preparation of
Africa. During and after colonialism there have been attempts to integrate Islamic and western
formal education. These attempts have usually taken two forms.
The first has been to introduce secular subjects into the framework of Islamic education, or to
incorporate an Islamic perspective within a largely secular curriculum. This has usually ended up
in over-loading the curriculum and not resolving the inherent contradictions between the two.
A second approach has entailed the introduction of modern teaching methods to teach the
traditional Islamic subjects. This has in essence meant leaving the Islamic curriculum intact, to
the seclusion of the formal western education curriculum.
Both approaches have been successful only to a limited extent. As some scholars have suggested,
a more effective approach would be to adopt a two-way integration process which would involve
different curriculum, material, structure and processes accompanied by a candid admission of the
basic contradictions inherent in the two systems. The approach is considered pragmatic in view
of the strong and deliberate proselytization present in both systems that are difficult to reconcile
or abandon. As long as these remain, Christians will continue being wary of sending their
children to Muslim schools, with the Muslims just as suspicious of Christian schools dominated
by scripture teaching and Christian staff.

The Achievements of Islamic Education.

The achievements and contributions of Islamic education to modern developments in the
knowledge of science and technology are many. We shall only mention a few of the most notable
here.
In mathematics, the Muslims introduced Arabic numerals and decimal notations. Arabs made
great advances in geometry, invented algebra and developed spherical trigonometry, especially
the sine, tangent and cotangent.
In the field of physics, Muslim Arabs invented the pendulum and advanced the worlds'
knowledge of optics. They also built several astronomical observatories and instruments.
In chemistry, they discovered substances such as potash, silver nitrate, nitric and sulphuric acid.
In manufacturing, they were acknowledged leaders through their captivating variety, beauty of
design and perfection of workmanship in gold, silver, copper, bronze and iron.
In design, they produced glass and pottery of the finest quality and invented the dyeing and
manufacturing of papers.
In farming, they adopted scientific methods and came up with elaborate systems of irrigation,
land reclamation and flood control. In medicine, they studied physiology hygiene, methods of
treatment, blood circulation, surgery and were the originators of the Hippocratic oath.
In art and architecture, the Muslims proved their expertise in the construction of mosques,
palaces, tombs and cities.
Note: Muslim and Arab sciences, technology and civilization influenced the European
Renaissance so much so that scholars have observed that Western civilization owes much of its
modern day advances in science and technology to the Arabs and Muslims. It was Islamic
scholars that catalysed the revival in learning in Europe when they availed classical writings of
the Greeks and Romans through Spain, the centre of learning in medieval Europe. A century
before presiding over the birth of medieval European universities, the Muslim world had already
established centres of higher learning in Basra, Baghdad, Cairo and Kufa. All these began as
religious schools and grew into universities.