Islamic Education in the United States

Abstract

This article, which I intend to be one of a series, will provide analysisof major issues and problems arising out of attempts to implement Islamic educational alternatives to American public schooling. The discussion begins by offering a brief overview of the current dilemma-a triumvirate of historical, theoretical and practical enigmasconfronting Muslim schoolmen. A primary question that is common to Muslim-American school planners is scrutinized through a sub-set analysis focussing on some relevant and critical concerns to Muslim educators. From this starting point, future installments in this series will look at practical cases that are representative of contemporary efforts in alternative Muslim school planning, design and implementation. Where We are Conservative estimates of the number of Muslims in North America use one million as an approximate figure, two-thirds of whom reside in or near the major urban areas of the United States. Within this multiethnic population-800,000 being immigrants, the remainder a rapidly growing number of indigenous converts-there is a strong cultural commonality and identity: It is Islam. Islam is a comprehensive code of life that is expressed in the cultural, economic and social organization of