Scholar Highlights Historical Role of Quran Schools in Combating Colonialism, Illiteracy

IQNA – Quran schools all over the world have historically played an important role in confronting colonialism and preserving Muslim nations’ Islamic identity.

They have also contributed to combatting illiteracy, according to an article by Abdul Latif Mushref, a political history researcher, published on Al Jazeera. 

Following are excerpts from his article:

Colonialists left huge destructions and damages in the countries they dominated. Their policies destroyed the civilizational and cultural heritage of the colonized lands.

Muslims countries were among those that showed the most resistance against colonialists, confronting their attempts at destroying their Islamic identify and civilization.  

Quran schools played a major role in this resistance and confrontation against cultural, religious and linguistic colonialism.

Unlike many other colonized lands, in Muslim countries, the rate of literacy was high as children attended Quran schools where they learned reading the Arabic.

A French official tasked with sending reports about Quran schools in West Africa to France’s colonial authorities writes in one his reports that all over the region, there are Muslims who are not fluent in Arabic but send their children to Quran schools where they learn to read and write in Arabic and get acquainted with the Arabic culture.

He was surprised at seeing Quranic schools in every village in every region he visited.

The development of Quran schools in different parts of the world in the past centuries has surprised scholars and researchers. 

In recent years, however, there has been an unfair onslaught against these schools in many Muslim countries while they can contribute greatly to fighting illiteracy.

Highlighting this important contribution to general education, many international institutions like World Education Services have underlined the need to revive and develop Quran schools.

In many parts of the Muslim world, Quran schools remain the primary source of education for many children who, for various reasons, are unable to attend government-run schools.