The bronze dome of the mosque can just be seen from the grounds of Islamia College in Lansdowne, Cape Town. At first sight the college looks like an exotic fortress meant to keep the faith-filled in and the faithless out. But on entering the college all preconceptions of what to expect from an Islamic school dissolve.
Although most of its students hail from middle-income families, Islamia is far from a wealthy school. A library is planned for next year and a new primary school next door is almost complete. But sports resources are scarce, which means that playing fields are shared with Windsor School nearby. Yet a shortage of facilities hasn’t prevented Islamia from excelling, with its students winning the coveted Schools’ Technology Olympiad for several consecutive years.
‘We’re extending our premises because we don’t have enough space for our trophies,” jokes Edris Khamissa, renowned educationist and principal of Islamia College.
To Khamissa, becoming an educator is not a career choice. It is a humble calling, a gift, which carries with it the most daunting responsibilities and joyous rewards. His greatest desire: to make his students happy. He regards the hallmark of Islamia as its ability to impart a holistic outlook on both learning and life.
Although Khamissa is clearly devout, he sees no division between the spiritual and secular. Muslim schools, he says, must engage with learners not only about the past but also the present. And while he is committed to maintaining Islamic studies and Arabic as the pillars of education at Islamia, he warns of the dangers of becoming over-insulated by faith.
‘We need to interact with the wider world. Religion doesn’t make one different, it simply provides guidelines for living one’s life correctly”, says Khamissa.
So how do the learners at Islamia learn to integrate hearts, minds and faith in the context of a pluralistic, secular society?
‘Islam serves as our conscience. Allah knows everything and provides the guidelines for leading a moral life,” says Tashriq Parker, a Grade 10 learner at Islamia.
In fact Islam informs every aspect of education at Islamia, seamlessly woven into everything from secular subjects like maths and geography to classes on love and marriage. So explains Fatima Ebrahim, a former student at Islamia, now one of the college’s most respected teachers.
As with all great religions, Islam’s message to these students is one of fellowship, tolerance and humility. ‘Islam tells us to help our neighbour, to love our brothers and sisters as ourselves and to lead through example,” says Yusuf Joseph, head boy at Islamia College.
To Laila Razack, ‘Islam is very much a way of life. There is not one aspect of our existence that Islam doesn’t cover, from how we should eat to how we should treat those less fortunate than ourselves – be they orphans or the elderly.”
To Aisha Jacobs, Islam brings a sense of humility, patience and tolerance. And for Aisha Mollagee Islam’s most profound message is imparted through the belief in one Supreme Being and in the teachings of its holy books.
‘The Islamic teachings emanating from the Qu’ran provides a security which helps to restore faith when you are down,” offers head girl Nezeema Sonday.
Do students at Islamic schools still feel marginalised from mainstream society? Apparently not. ‘We’re operating in a relatively new democracy,” says Khamissa. ‘The government at least realises that minorities have a home in South Africa and are attempting to address the iniquities of the past, to implement a more inclusive vision for the future.”
The students say that they do not distinguish between their loyalties as South Africans and followers of Islam. They insist Islam preaches patriotism to any government founded on justice, equality and freedom of belief, dignity and morality.
They also display a healthy curiosity about other faiths and applaud the prospect of (comparative) religious instruction being introduced into the curriculum. Outreach programmes, rotary exchanges, debating and sports events, as well as informal interfaith meetings and other interschool activities, already form an essential component of education.
‘The dignity of our faith lies in its simplicity,” explains Suhail Bham. Adds Muneeb Cader: ‘And everyone in the fold of Islam – from the richest king to the poorest beggar – is equal.”
But how do Muslim students reconcile the anomalies of a religion preaching tolerance, equality and mercy with realities like the oppression of women in several Islamic countries?
‘As is the case with all religions, the teachings of Islam can be distorted and misinterpreted,” says Ebrahim, who believes that Islam, far from undermining her status as a woman, has nurtured her sense of self-esteem. ‘The Prophet Muhammed said that women are the blessings; indeed the Qur’an affords women their dignity and their rightful status. One of the most prolific narrators of the traditions of Prophet Muhammad was his wife, Aisha.” She adds that in Islam the family is all-important and the role of women includes educating the children.
But while Islamia certainly focuses on bringing the realities of the Qur’an’s teachings into the classroom, the rougher realities of secular life also have a way of intruding. Like every other school in South Africa, Islamia College is not a conflict-free zone.
‘Teachers must understand the life-world of children, the challenges they are going through, the influence of the media, drugs, pop-culture and the impact of dysfunctional families,” says Khamissa.
‘Our greatest challenge as a school is to embrace the ‘otherness’ in each other without value judgements. If teachers have taqwa [Godly consciousness] and are concerned about the total development of the child, then, Insha’Allah [God-willing] we will make an indelible impression in the hearts and minds of our students as well.”