Education in Muslim Contexts
Islamic schools, the primary source of education in many rural and poor regions of developing countries, are increasingly seeking opportunities to improve their educational programs. IDD has long-standing experience working in Muslim contexts, and in recent years has expanded its work with government ministries and schools as well as Qur'anic and other forms of Islamic schools, to develop culturally and educationally appropriate programs.
Islamic schools are promising sites for donor assisted educational programs because they already embody many qualities of sustainable development: they are community-initiated and community-supported, long-standing and secure institutions, and open to strategies to expand their programs beyond traditional subjects. Indeed, many Muslim governments are working to help traditional schools expand their curricula and offer students a mixture of secular and religious subjects.
IDD's work with Qur'anic schools in Nigeria and Ethiopia, for example, has shown that recognition of and partnership with these institutions can produce improvements in educational services, as well as increased parental and community support for expanded and improved education.
Information on the IDD projects involved in Education in Muslim Contexts.
