The Distinction of Islamic Education System and Western Education System

            What is Islamic education? There are many meaning of it. Some scholars defined that it refer to the religious education which the person studies religious knowledge. Start from the Koran and matters of worship like prayer, fasting etc.  He may also learn about other matters like etiquette of eating and drinking, family relations, Islamic dress and other fiqh things. But the Islamic education has broader meaning embracing knowledge in general in a framework which the teacher, students, institution and syllabus all comply with values and teaching.  It means in that environment whatever the students want to learn from each sciences and the teachers teach, will include the Islamic values and view in that subject of sciences. Like in geography the phenomenon of the universe creations, beside the explanation logically theory of it we must also add that those phenomenon is controlled and desired by the creator.

                Actually the one biggest differentiation between Islamic education and western education of this era is on the view manner and application of it. In Islamic education system, it has balancing portion of rational intelligence (physically intelligence) and spiritual intelligence (morality and etiquettes intelligence) principles. But it sets out the spiritually view before logically view in approaching to seeking knowledge. Because in islam all knowledge is made and posses to Allah and to gain those Allah knowledge deeply and perfectly blessed must use Allah ways (islam), so they sets out spiritually view than logically to seek that.

In western education it only sets out the world view, intelligence and logically mindset without considering spiritual and morality mindset. The western scholars in this era, they reject influence of spiritual and morality in seeking of knowledge, because those two things are not logical things. Those two things will break the building of knowledge which construct under logical and rational things. It very contrast in few decades ago the scholars western had defined the purpose of good education system. They said that to make good education, it must give the fulfillment in the rational intelligence or physically intelligence and spiritual intelligence or morality in balance portion.

So in western system they don’t have consistent in their belief in education system which is used to advance their society. But in islam because muslim trust that all knowledge belong to Allah so they consistent in the way of seeking or approaching it which used to advance islam society as well as the prophet era. Wallahua’lam