Historic day in Turkey ***SCARF UNBANNED***

Asslamo Allaikum Sister, 

I have read the article and google translated the Interview.

This debate was raging in Pakistan during the era of President Pervaiz Mushwarraf who grew up in Turkey, speaks fluent Turkish and holds At-Kuf’r as his ideal. Secularists in Pakistan always raise this point that how come  İmam Hatip schools don't produce radicals versus Darul-uloom system does?

Sectarianism in Pakistan/India is a result of colonialism, when we had the Mughal rule (prior to colonisation) we never had sectarian issues throughout over 1000+ years of Islam and within 15-200 year of colonialism we (Asians) have had bitter feuds, discords and mayhem. This is in even exported out of Asia and into the west, in my local Masjid in UK there has even been a murder on Deobandi/Barelwee dispute! The British were directly behind supporting and funding some of these splinter groups and they had to consolidate their grip on the subcontinent where there were severally outmanned and outgunned.

Turkey never had this problem. What happened in Turkey was a tidal wave of Secularism which tried to sweep away Islam. Today, the Turkish (Secular) solution is being suggested to us as an alternative to our sectarian problems.

Sister, the Darul-uloom system needs serious reform and any honest instructor, Shaykh, graduate or observer of it will tell you that. The two primary problems are:

1. Dars-e-Nizami the heart of Darul-uloom system is over 400 years old. It was formulated at the zenith of Muslim empire (in India) and designed to function pretty much what İmam Hatip schools is intended to do i.e. provide Islamic/Secular education side by side to enable a balanced personality and pave the way for further education. It was obviously a superb system to have lasted 400 years ago!

2. It is fanatical in its adherence to Hanafi Fiqh and become highly sectarian and creates graduates who are equally so.

But the brickwork of our Darul-uloom system are Ulamah and Mashaykh and their uncompromising and unflinching attitude towards the Sunnah of Sayyidina Rasul-ullah (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam), the curriculum might need improvement but the approach is spot on. In my limited experience and interaction with general Arab and Turk Islamic Scholars I have not found the spark which our general Ulamah and Mashaykh possess.

So curriculum is less than half the story, the teachers who teach it and shape the mindset of a little boy or little girl are of paramount importance.

Nevertheless, the Darul-uloom system needs serious and urgent reform but it needs to come from people with genuine, admiration, and devotion to Sayyidina Rasul-ullah (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) and with focus on Aakhira.

From my limited understanding of what you have posted (and reading the google translation) Gülden Aydın’s (and his Pakistani counterparts) have the focus and foremost intent on creating a “civil society” which will rival and outcompete Europe.  Their benchmark is Europe (Rome, London & Paris). In my humble and limited understanding (as I read the current geo-political trends), Western civilisation is crumbling and Europe is dying! Whoever tries to create a system based on its underpinnings is setting themselves to fail.

They need to first decolonise the mind.

Sister, my people have an inferiority complex to Europeans (due to colonisation) because they were defeated, subjugated and enslaved.  It is clearly evident by their liberal usage of skin whitening creams and infatuation with fair skin. :- )

Your people have an inferiority complex to Europeans because their next door neighbours declared them “Sick man of Europe” and left them behind technologically and economically.

Both of our people wrongly assume that since they either militarily or technologically subjugated, European moral system is also superior so they work tirelessly to create an “educational system” to create a “moral civil society”.

Both of our people need to snap out of their respective inferiority complexes and pretty darn fast! The closer we get to the book of Allah (SWT) and Sunnah of Nabi (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) the easier it would be to decolonise our minds.

Much of today's warfare as declared by Shaykh Abul-Hasan Ali Nadwi (RA) (one of the greatest minds of our time) is ideological.

Still reviewing all your material and will summarise my findings, Insha'Allah.

Partial summarisation of Turkish religious education (by a Non-Turk):

Introduction:

The decline of Ottoman Empire gave way to the (Secular) reformation of Turkish society. The last Turkish constitution by the Ottoman Empire was passed in 1921. It sowed the seeds of reform in Turkey. However, a mere 3 years later it was replaced and largely abrogated by Turkish Constitution of 1924, the Atatürk's Reforms had begun.

The Islamic caliphate was no more and Turkey had become a Republic!

The Atatürk's Reforms were series of tinkering, jostling, amendments and forced redirection of the Turkish society to secularise, modernise and change the Islamic fabric and ethos of the Turkish culture.

In order to change the Islamic fabric of Turkey, the training of Ulamah had to be controlled. Madarasas were banned İmam Hatip schools were introduced.

İmam Hatip for those unfamiliar with Turkish means “Imam” and “Khateeb” respectively and the purpose of the Schools were to impart Islamic education alongside Secular education to produce “Ulamah” who are able to provide religious guidance while keeping abreast of the modern society and scientific advancement.

A 2012 article in Today’s Zaman reported that in general Turks have a positive perception of İmam Hatip School and a large number of Turks are in favour of elective courses on the Quran and the life of the Prophet Muhammad in schools other than imam-hatips. Amid heated debates, Parliament approved a bill in March that paved the way for such elective courses to be taught in schools.

Today, many (Modernists and Secularists) in Pakistan are calling for the closure of Darul-ulooms and replacing them with İmam Hatip type institutes. 

Structure of İmam Hatip Schools:

It seems IHS are 7 years at the moment - 3 for junior-high and 4 for high-school.

The IHS, which has both junior and senior divisions, corresponds to the secondary level of education. As is the case in all secondary schools, the junior division (three years) is open to elementary school graduates. Having completed the junior level, students advance to the senior division (a four year program). An extra year beyond the regular high school (three years) is added in order to accommodate for the time spent on vocational training and the slightly reduced academic load. Over the four years of IHS senior high school, then, there are more hours of instruction. In general, the same courses are offered at both the junior and senior levels as those given in all state secondary schools. The same textbooks are required for the various academic subjects, as well. The IHS curriculum, however, includes additional religious subjects.

Because the academic program is virtually the same as the regular junior and senior and high schools, students transfer between the IHS and other secondary schools during the different levels of study. (A small number of students who transfer to the regular high schools are not comfortable with the IHS lifestyle.) Regular senior high schools offer a much better preparation than the IHS for the university entrance exams. This is because the school day in the IHS is divided between religious and academic subjects; the vocational subject matter is not included in the entrance examinations.

Curriculum of İmam Hatip Schools:

Textbooks of İmam Hatip Schools:

The link above shows a list of electronic books put out by the Ministry of Education for elementary and junior-high school students. It is presumed that the list covers all possible books that can be taught across Turkey at any elementary and junior-high school and not just IHS. There are some 'electives' courses which I think might apply more specifically to IHS students. The column titled MEB contains links to the books. It appears that that they are written in Turkey (government approved).

The following table appears to show text books for the junior-high level.

Acknowledgement to Sister Acacia: Jazakallahu Khayran

No need to apologise Sister and I am Sorry. I did read every link which you gave and my intention is not to put down IHS or its graduates at all, I apologize if it seemed to you that way. Absolutely right that it is head and shoulders above any (existing) system in Turkey.

What I was trying to say is that it stands at the ashes of Ottoman Madrasa system so what I am trying to say that such a system in Pakistan (would mean) destroying the Madaris and Darul-uloom system and replacing it with IHS.

I hope you understand what I am trying to say.

I have been and always will be an admirer of the Ottoman Empire so anything which replaces it I don’t really have as much respect (as I should) and my heart and mind doesn’t accept it. Also explains my blatant bias and hatred towards Saudi Government (because emotionally) I compare it to the Ottomans and consider the present Saudi Government as an abject failure and a disgrace for the Ummah.

So yes my summary is filled with a sense of irony, I suppose.

Actually in my travels I found in and Muğla Province traditional Darul-ulooms where Ulamah and students were all dressed in Turbans, womens wore Niqab etc. We were invited by a Shaykh who was connected to Sheikh Mahmud Efendi in Tuvshanle (check spelling :) ) and again traditional Darul-ulooms where Ulamah and students were all dressed in Turbans, womens wore Niqab etc.

All of this outside of Istanbul.

Shaykh was kind enough to share his library with us and from rudimentary Turkish it appeared to be Nurul-Idah and traditional (classical) Hanafi books. The most fascinating aspect was that the noble and beloved Shaykh (HA) asked us what we were doing and I replied, “Just touring and travelling through Turkey and looking at historical artefacts and relics of Ottomans”.

So he corrected me and said, “Your intention should be to roam on this Earth, look and admire the Creation of the Creator and to overwhelmed by the Majesty of Allah (SWT)”

Then he took my baseball cap and told me, “If you know about Turks then you would know how offensive and painful what you are wearing is to us and our heritage”.

He told us that we are guests and if we told them our path (of travelling), we would be Guests in the whole of Turkey at any Khanqah but since we wouldn’t want to be a burden we just visited 1-2 Khanqahs.

Both Khanqahs had a large selection of classical Hanafi books in Arabic.

I travelled roughly 4000 kilometres in Turkey and I found villages and small towns to be very traditional while cities to be Secular and the Imams of cities to be different.

We went through villages of poor farmers (time and time again) and their women folk never appeared in front of us but within minutes we were served with watermelons and food. :) We ate so many watermelons in villages of Turkey that I have never eaten so many in life :)

There is a marked contrast between rural Turkey and urban Turkey. Villages still have traditional Qur’aan Schools and kids still study with the Imams. The appearance and dressing of these Imams is markedly different to Government appointed Imams (with multiple languages) in Istanbul. 

All of this was way before Erdogan.

Allah (SWT) knows best.

Abdullah Gül becomes the first Turkish president (in office) to offer Hajj!