Modernizing Islamic education in the most populated Muslim world

This paper discusses the homegrown endeavors in the most populated Muslim world to modernize Islamic education therein. It focuses on how the modernization of Islamic education comes out of efforts by the so-called traditional Muslim scholars in particular in reforming Islamic education. As a locus of analysis, it deals compara­tively with two largest Muslim populations, one in South Asia and another in Southeast Asia. The former is represented by India, and the latter is by Indonesia. This article argues that the traditional Muslim scholars have contributed significantly to the modernization of Islamic education in their own country respectively. It further argues that their position as traditional `ulama’ does not hinder their progressive role in reforming their respective Islamic institutions. They apply schooling system, adopting “secular” sciences for the curriculum and implementing teaching-learning methods like their reformist colleges and schools established by either the British or the Dutch colonialists. It goes on to say that the traditional `ulama’ both in South and Southeast Asia have a pivotal position in reforming Islamic education in such a way that rewriting needs to be undertaken in a more proportional way towards the discussion of Islamic education reform in both countries.