Secular Education and the Political Socialization of Muslim Children

Abstract

As discussions of the "New World Order" intensify, Muslims around the world are increasingly questioning the relevance of this phrase to their lives and to the future of the ummah. For many Muslims, the popularization of this term signals a need to reexamine those processes that shape the transmission of the Islamic worldview from one generation to the next. The proposed "New World Order" seems much too reminiscent of the "Old World Order," an economic and political order characterized by the economic subservience and political impotency of most of the Muslim world. Muslim social scientists are beginning to examine those processes and factors that might create the kind of "New World Order" that liberates rather than oppresses Muslims. One a m of inquiry that must be addressed is that of political socialization, as it is a phenomenon that occm within virtually every human culture. In essence, it is a process that involves the individual's acquisition of socially and culturally approved attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors as regards the political world. As a social science subspecialty, it represents a convergence between political science and child development. Much of the literature dealing with political socialization therefore focuses on the institutions and mechanisms through which children are politically socialized over time. Within the Muslim world, the study of political socialization is critical to acquiring an understanding of how Muslim children learn about the multidimensional nature of the political world. How do they learn about politics? What kinds of political socialization models might be developed to reflect their experience? What are the relative effects of institutions like the family and school on their political socialization? These are just a few of the questions that must be addressed within an approach to political socialization that reflects the cultural integrity of Muslims. This paper will explore the potential impact of secular education on the political socialization of Muslim children. It will begin with a discussion of a variety of political socialization models that have been developed in the West. Nationalism, as a central dimension of political socialization, will be discussed with particular emphasis placed on how schools promote nationalism in children. The conflict between nationalistic and Islamic identities will be explored as it is manifested in the secularized educational curricula ...