INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF RABAT Master’s Degree in Democratic Governance Democracy and Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa A.Y. 2016/2017 The 2016 Reform on Islamic Education Textbooks in Morocco The strategy used by the reform to implement a “more tolerant” Islam Thesis EIUC GC DE.MA Author: Razane BOUSTANY Supervisor: Jeremy GUNN Abstract In 2016, a commission working under the supervision of the Moroccan Ministry of Education completed a revision of the textbooks and curricula for the teaching of Islam in public schools. This change was very controversial among the experts and teachers of Islamic education, which raised a lot of questions concerning the effectiveness and the significance of this reform. In fact, it was made upon the request of the King Mohammad VI, who wanted to promote a “more moderate” Islam. This study, which is based on a careful review of selected textbooks before and after the reform, seeks to underline first, the different issues pointed out in the public debate to better understand the direction taken by the reform. Second, it exposes a comparative study of six textbooks underlining exactly what the changes were to the curriculum, was it on the level of the structure or the content of the textbooks. Finally, it will put into relation the different elements found in the first two parts in order analyze the strategy used by the Ministry of Education, in the reform of 2016, to promote a “more moderate” Islam. 2 Table of Content Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 4 I. The context of the reform and the public debate ................................................................... 12 A. The context of the reform .................................................................................................. 12 A.1. Motivations of the reform .............................................................................................. 12 A.2. Goals of the reform ........................................................................................................ 14 B. The public debate: hub of obstacles and controversies ...................................................... 18 B.1.The dichotomy Islamic education/Religious education .................................................. 18 B.2.The dichotomy liberalism/conservatism ......................................................................... 19 B.3.The dichotomy Islam/Philosophy ................................................................................... 21 C. Prospective vision of the reform ........................................................................................ 23 C.1. Potential universality of the reform ............................................................................... 23 C.2. Dependence of the reform on other factors .................................................................... 24 II. Comparative study on selected Islamic education textbooks, before and after the reform of 2016............................................................................................................................................... 26 A. Comparison of the religious education textbooks in their form ........................................ 26 A.1. Comparison of the cover pages ...................................................................................... 26 A.2. Comparison of the pictures ............................................................................................ 31 A.3. Comparison of the structure of the textbooks ................................................................ 36 B. Analysis of the content of the textbooks ............................................................................ 43 B.1. Comparison of the Suar of the Quran in the textbooks ................................................. 43 B.2. Comparison of the other elements of Islam presented in the textbooks ........................ 54 III. Discussion and conclusion ................................................................................................. 57 A. Difficulties implied by a religious reform ......................................................................... 57 A.1. Nature of the reform ...................................................................................................... 57 A.2. Legitimacy of the decision of the regime ...................................................................... 58 A.3. Gaps of the reform ......................................................................................................... 58 B. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 59 3 Introduction In February 2016, the Moroccan government introduced the latest in a series of reforms to the public school curriculum involving Islamic education. In Morocco, all students between ages six and eighteen are required to take a course on Islamic education. The 2016 changes occurred after an extensive public debate about associations between Islam and terrorism, and were designed to promote a “more tolerant” version of Islam. As can be imagined, there have been some controversies surrounding the 2016 reform. One of its most publicized components was the preparation of the new textbooks. As will be further explained below, this research includes a content analysis of selected primary school textbooks used before and after the reform and describes their differences, to find out what were the elements on which the reform focused in the new textbooks in order to achieve the goal of promoting a “more moderate” representation of Islam. Islamic education has been part of the public school curriculum since the time of the French Protectorate (1912-1956). Exposing a historical and chronological overview of the reforms that affected its teaching might be useful to better understand the evolution and changes made until the reform of 2016 which constitutes the core of this research. The education system in Morocco has been modified continuously. In particular Islamic education curriculum has been constantly the center of debate amongst the authorities in place. Morocco being an Islamic country is composed of 99% of Sunni Muslim1, which gives Islamic education an important role in the education system. Ann Marie Wainscott, assistant professor of political science at St. Louis University and researcher of religion and politics in the Maghreb and West Africa, distinguishes five different phases of fluctuation in Islamic Education2: prior to the Protectorate, during the years of the French Protectorate (1912-1956), the post independence phase, the 1970’s and finally the 21st century.3 1 USAID’s Bureau for policy and program coordination (2004, April 1). Strengthening education in the Muslim world country profiles and analysis. P17. Retrieved April 28, 2017, from http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACW877.pdf 2 Wainscott, A.M. (2014). Monarchical autonomy and societal transformation: Twentieth century reforms to Islamic education in Morocco. Reforms in Islamic education, pp.35-56. London: Bloomsbery 3 The historical description of the reforms relies on Wainscott (2014). 4 Prior to the French Protectorate, there was no specific curriculum of Islamic education. In fact, at around seven years old, boys had to attend a local msid4 or zawiya5. The goal of the teaching was for students to learn and memorize the Quran. The amount of memorization differed according to the age of the children. During the period of the French Protectorate (1912-1956), changes started in 1930. Two different types of reforms can be distinguished: the first one affected the education system as a whole. In fact, on the 16th of May 1930, the second Berber dahir (decree) put the Amazigh community6 under French rather than Islamic law, which was perceived as a way to divide the Islamic Moroccan society. Consequently to this decree, Franco-Berber schools were created. In these schools all the curriculum was in French except the teaching of Islamic education. As a reaction to this initiative, free schools were installed as an Islamic alternative to French schooling. The primary language of instruction in these schools was Arabic, and its curriculum focused on a mixture between modern and Islamic subjects. The second type of reforms during the Protectorate affected higher education. One of the first initiatives was to include at this level new subjects to the curriculum, like the Quranic exegesis7 or tafsir and studies of Hadith (record of the sayings of the Prophet). This suggestion found a strong opposition which resulted in the abortion of the attempted reform. Later on, two reforms also affected Islamic teaching at the higher level. It was the case in 1931 at Qarawiyyin and in 1939 at Yusufiya8. The reform took place on three different levels: the reorganization of the mosque-universities, the placement of Al Majlis al Ilmi under the authority of a controller who was not appointed by the Sultan and finally the integration of instructions into the French civil service. As a consequence to these reforms, Islamic education at the higher level was weakened. During the post independence phase (after 1956), the main change was the introduction of French public schooling. This seemed problematic to the teaching of Islamic education because it was the only subject in Arabic, whereas the rest of the curriculum was taught in French.