Islamic Schools: Putting the Future Generation First

Students from the Islamic Foundation School protest on Friday, Aug. 25, following a decision by IFS to shut down its Scarborough high school

The Toronto Star reported on how a private Islamic high school named “Islamic Foundation School” (IFS) suddenly shut down. According to the article, the management of the high school “stunned the tight-knit community when they said they had no choice but to close the decades-old high school, citing financial issues and low enrolment.” The article also noted that the shutdown occurred after the teachers unionized in May and noted that “issue of wages had not yet come up in negotiations, and was never considered a priority for staff,” instead “the teachers were eager to ‘have a voice at the table’.” Finally, the article noted that “when pressed by the union to initiate a last-ditch effort to keep the high school open, the management suggested it was too late.” The result is that the community that had counted on IFS were left in the lurch trying to figure out where their children will go in the fall.

Preserving the Islamic identity of the youth                                                                

Before delving into the issues associated with the shutdown of the Islamic school, it must be stated up front that the issue of preserving our identity as Muslims is important to the entire community. As Muslims, we must strive to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, starting with the obligation to protect our Aqeedah within ourselves and within our youth. This struggle is most pronounced with the youth, as the youth are newly forming their ideas about how things work in life and can be easily influenced by peers and by society. This influence is not limited to the curriculum taught in schools, but also includes the ideas that other youth promote and ideas propagated on television and the Internet.  As a result, if the Muslim youth are not provided with an Islamic environment to direct them to the straight path, then there is a grave risk that they will adopt a crooked path. Allah (swt) has revealed:

“O you who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is people and stones; over it are Angels, stern and strong; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, and they do as they are commanded.” [66:6]

As a result, the Muslim community has an obligation to create and maintain an alternative to the public school system: an independent Islamic school system that will provide an Islamic environment that builds and nurtures the Islamic Aqeedah within the youth, so that they make the Islamic measures – Halal and Haram – as the sole measure to evaluate whether an action is good or bad, beneficial or harmful, or desirable or otherwise.

Who should we blame for the shutdown?

When looking at the situation, it is tempting to quickly blame either side. However, we must first examine the Islamic position of both sides with the sentiment of brotherhood and compassion. Our purpose should be to advise each side so that they may correct their actions and earn the pleasure of Allah (swt) by doing the right thing.

With respect to the teachers, it must be said that many of them choose their career in teaching in order to contribute to the community – despite the lower pay, lack of benefits, and so on. May Allah (swt) reward them for their efforts and sacrifice. However, in Islam it is not permitted for a worker to break his contract with his or her employer if a contract was signed. Allah (swt) said:

“O you who believe! Fulfill your agreements” [5:1]

And He (swt) said:

“And fulfill your agreements, for (every) agreement will be held to account (on the Day of Judgement)” [17:34]

Consequently, the use of unions as a tool in order to put pressure on management through the threat of strikes is something that is not permitted in Islam. The worker must fulfill the terms of the contract, and to renege on its terms would be an act that is in conflict with of the Ayat mentioned above.

And we are all well aware of the predatory nature of Capitalism; however, Islam has its own approach to dealing with disputes – including labor disputes, as is the case here. More specifically, the courts will act to ensure that the rights of the workers are addressed and protected; that is, ultimately the state is responsible to ensure that the workers are not exploited by more financially powerful members of society.

In the absence of the Khaleefah, the dispute must be referred to the Muslim community or someone whom the community recognizes as a just and wise arbitrator who is knowledgeable in the Fiqh of Islam.

The other problem with unions is that they infringe upon the independence of the Islamic school system, as now the teachers are bound to the union rules.

At the same, the school leadership was entrusted with the administration of the Islamic school, and should have exhausted all their efforts – in the spirit of brotherhood and cooperation for the good of the community – in order to meet the teachers’ demands for respectful treatment and job security. Most importantly, the school leadership should have sought the advice of the parents and the community before shutting down the school; after all, it was the community that had entrusted the caretakers of the Islamic school with both their money and their children.

This is not to say that leadership is an easy task. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The Sahaba and the righteous believers after them were very fearful of accepting positions of leadership, for the burden it brings on the Day of Judgment is great. RasulAllah (saw) said:

'Any leader of ten men or more will be brought on the Day of Judgment chained, until either his justice will unchain him or his oppression will keep him chained.' [Al-Bazzar]

Consequently, care must be taken – on both sides – to ensure that, when we take positions of leadership, we fulfill our trusts to the parents, the children, and the community that entrusted us with this leadership. This is especially important when it comes to our youth, as they represent the Ummah’s future.

What about public funding?

Some have said that the way to avoid this issue is to establish Islamic schools using public funding.

The main problem with this idea is that since we live in a Capitalist system we should expect that there will be strings attached to such funding. For example, the Catholic school board must implement all aspects of the governmental curriculum – even if it contradicts their religious beliefs. And Muslims should expect the same. In fact, when current Toronto Mayor, John Tory, ran for election as leader of the Conservative Party of Ontario, he proposed to bring faith-based schools – including Islamic schools – within the public school system; however, when he ran, he clearly stated that funding will come with conditions on the curriculum, on the teaching staff, as well as other conditions.

Specifically, John Tory said: “Public funding would not be extended to the schools without extensive consultation and thought,” clearly indicating that it funding comes with strings attached.

These sorts of strings would eliminate most of the independence that Islamic schools need in order to maintain a good Islamic environment, which is the main reason why concerned parents send their children to such schools.

So, while having funding is good, we must be sure that we do not sacrifice the entire reason we established these schools in the first place. Allah (swt) said:

“It may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you, and Allah knows, while you do not know.”  [2:216]

A Global and Permanent Solution

The same as any important issue, the Muslim community must adopt a global view on the education issue with a goal to permanently resolve it. The education of the youth cannot be guaranteed to be entirely Islamic while all the systems that govern life emanate from other than the Islamic Aqeedah.

Also, the education of the youth is not a problem that is specific to the community in Canada, but is an issue facing the entire Ummah – even those Muslims who live in the Muslim lands.

Due to the fact that the problem is a global one, the Ummah must cooperate to find a complete and long-term solution for it, and there is only one such solution for it in Islam. Only by resuming the Islamic way of life by re-establishing the Khilafah state in the Muslim lands, led by the best that this Ummah has to offer, will Muslims finally become capable of offering the best environment for the coming generations to be born into, raised and nurtured in a pure and correct Islamic manner so that great Islamic personalities of similar caliber to the first generations of Islam can be raised again for humanity.

May Allah (swt) protect our families and our youth from the influence of Shaytan, and may Allah (swt) guide us and strengthen our connection to Him, for indeed from Him we came and to Him we shall return

“O you who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is people and stones; over it are Angels, stern and strong; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, and they do as they are commanded.” [66:6]