Islamic education is compulsory in Dubai. Specifically, all schools in the United Arab Emirates must teach the UAE Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Islamic Studies curriculum.
While the schools are required to teach the curriculum, not all students are required to take it. To be precise, all Muslim students must take up their schools’ Islamic Studies subjects, but non-Muslim students are exempt.
Thus, Muslim parents don’t need to be constrained by religion when choosing a school for their children.
Specifically, they don’t need to send their children to an exclusively Islamic-education Dubai school to ensure they will grow up cognisant of their culture, identity and religion. The UAE government’s regulation provides that all private schools in Dubai — including the best British, American, International Baccalaureate (IB), Indian, and French schools — have compulsory Islamic studies subjects for Muslim students.
The Guidelines on Implementing Islamic Education in Dubai
The following are some notable guidelines on the implementation of the compulsory Islamic education regulation for Dubai schools.
1. Schools Must Follow the Islamic Studies Curriculum Set by the MoE.
All schools in Dubai (and the UAE) must use the MoE’s Islamic Studies syllabus and follow the MoE’s general standards for Islamic education. The general standards document specifies the following components for each grade level:
- Field: The fields for each grade level are divine revelation, Islamic creed, Islamic values and morals, Islam rulings and purposes, syrah and characters, and identity and issues of the age.
- Aspect: Every field has multiple aspects. For instance, in the field of Islamic creed, the aspects are faith doctrine and faith mentality.
- Standard: Every aspect has a defined standard. For instance, in grade two’s divine revelation field, for the aspect of hadith and its sciences, the standard states students must memorize some hadiths, demonstrate a proper understanding of their meanings, and correctly apply their rules.
- Learning outcomes: Every standard has clear learning outcomes. For instance, in the standard cited above, students are expected to be able to recite eight specific hadiths.
- Level: Finally, each learning outcome has an assigned level, typically one to three. Advanced learning outcomes have a higher level.
2. Islamic Studies Must Begin When Children Are a Certain Age.
According to MoE, schools must make Islamic Studies part of their curriculum from a certain point in elementary school. This integration point varies depending on the school’s curriculum.
In British-curriculum schools, Islamic education must start in year two. Meanwhile, Islamic education must begin in American and Emirati (MoE-curriculum) schools from grade one.
In other words, Islamic Education is compulsory for all Muslim students when they are six. Grade one or year two students are six to seven years old.
Note: There are international schools in Dubai that offer Islamic Studies to students in year one. They are worth considering if you want your child to start learning about Islam in their early years (more on later).
3. Islamic Studies Must Be Taught for 12 Years.
Islamic education is mandated for Muslim students for at least 12 years.
Thus, a Muslim student attending a British-curriculum school must take Islamic studies until year 13. Likewise, Muslim students must take Islamic Studies subjects until grade 12 in an American-curriculum school.
4. The Required Frequency of Islamic Studies Lessons Is Not the Same for Everyone.
The number of Islam Studies lessons per week varies depending on a Muslim student’s nationality.
Muslim students belonging to the Arab ethnic group (i.e., have an Arab passport) must take Islamic Studies lessons:
- Three times per week from years two to four in a British school or grades one to three in an American school
- Two times per week from years five to 13 in a British school or grades four to 12 in an American school
Meanwhile, non-Arab Muslim students — i.e., Muslim students whose passports were issued by non-Arab countries — must take Islamic Studies lessons:
- Two lessons per week from years two to 13 in British schools and grades one to 12 in American schools
5. Schools May Use Only the Prescribed Textbooks.
The MoE has prescribed textbooks for the Islamic education curriculum. Schools must use these textbooks to teach their Islamic Studies subjects.
In other words, schools are prohibited from using non-official textbooks. This rule applies to all schools, whether they use the British, American, or other curricula.
6. Islamic Education May Be Offered in the Early Years.
As earlier mentioned, some international schools in Dubai provide Islamic Studies instruction as early as year one (British-curriculum school) or kindergarten two (American-curriculum school).
According to the KHDA — and this is consistent with the MoE regulations — schools are not required to teach Islamic subjects in the early years, but the practice is encouraged.
However, schools that offer Islamic education in the early years must still comply with the standards set by the MoE. The Ministry of Education’s Islamic Studies framework has standards for kindergartens one and two (or foundation stage two and year 1 in the British curriculum).
Even in the early years, the MoE provides standards for all fields of study:
- Divine revelation
- Islamic creed
- Islamic values and morals
- Islam rulings and purposes
- Syrah and characters
- Identity and issues of the age
To illustrate, for the divine revelation field’s Holy Quran and its sciences aspect, the standard is the ability to recite some short Quran surahs and demonstrate an understanding of what these surahs mean.
Naturally, the standards and learning outcomes are simpler in the early years than in the more advanced years or grades.
Thus, for the example used above, the level-two learning outcome for kindergartens one and two is narrating some surahs and expressing their complete meaning in one’s own way. In contrast, the level-two learning outcome for the same field and aspect for grade one (or year two) students is interpreting the total meaning of the surahs included in the curriculum.
Quality Islamic Education for the Future Generation
Islamic Studies are a vital part of the upbringing and education of the next generation of Muslim youth. Therefore, the UAE government requires all schools, even non-MoE curriculum schools, to teach it.
This is reassuring for Muslim parents who want to send their children to an international school with a British or an American curriculum but don’t want their children to miss out on essential Islamic education.
Jack Griffiths
Latest posts by Jack Griffiths (see all)
- Why You Should Pay More Attention to e-Learning Marketing - December 19, 2022
- Live Flight Tracking Software: Gain Full Operational Awareness and Reduce Operation Costs - December 14, 2022
- All About Chemical-Resistant Epoxy Flooring And Why Do You Need One? - December 9, 2022