View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2012-09 The Muslim Brotherhood and Modern Education How Will the Muslim Brotherhood Address Egypt's Failing Education System Manning, Christopher Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/17411 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AND MODERN EDUCATION: HOW WILL THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD ADDRESS EGYPT’S FAILING EDUCATION SYSTEM? by Christopher Manning September 2012 Thesis Advisor: Robert Springborg Second Reader: Mohammed M. Hafez Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED September 2012 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE The Muslim Brotherhood and Modern Education: How 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Will the Muslim Brotherhood Address Egypt’s Failing Education System? 6. AUTHOR(S) Christopher Manning 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. IRB Protocol number ________N/A_________. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited A 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) The education system of Egypt has always reflected the type of society and national identity the political leadership wanted to establish. Every time a change in political leadership has occurred, a corresponding shift also occurred in the education policy and its structure. This thesis attempts to determine if another shift in the education system will occur now that the Muslim Brotherhood has gained power in the Egyptian government. This paper establishes many truths about the way the Muslim Brotherhood will precede now that it has significant control over the Egyptian education system. First, the education system in Egypt is in dire need of reform to increase equality among rich and poor and to improve the overall quality of the system. Second, the Muslim Brotherhood intends to reform the education system primarily to improve the effectiveness of the system and increase access to people of all levels of income. In addition, the Muslim Brotherhood hopes to increase religious instruction, but that is not its primary goal. Third, the Muslim Brotherhood cannot act unilaterally in changing the education system and instead must work with the Egyptian military, other political groups and the United States. The last important aspect established is that education is not the priority of the new government because other issues, such as security and revitalizing the economy, are considered more important. It is, therefore, most likely that the Muslim Brotherhood will proceed with incremental changes to the education system in the near future. Although education will not be a priority, the Muslim Brotherhood will take small steps to improve the quality of the education system. As in Turkey, once the Muslim Brotherhood has solidified its position in the government, it may proceed to increase Islamic instruction. Even if religious instruction is increased, it will be a moderate version of Islam and not inhibit the teaching of secular subjects. 14. SUBJECT TERMS Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptian Education, Freedom and Justice Party, 15. NUMBER OF Islamic Education PAGES 117 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UU NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AND MODERN EDUCATION: HOW WILL THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD ADDRESS EGYPT’S FAILING EDUCATION SYSTEM? Christopher Manning Lieutenant, United States Navy B.S., United States Naval Academy, 2005 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN SECURITY STUDIES (MIDDLE EAST, ASIA, AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL September 2012 Author: Christopher Manning Approved by: Robert Springborg Thesis Advisor Mohammed M. Hafez Second Reader Daniel Moran Chair, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT The education system of Egypt has always reflected the type of society and national identity the political leadership wanted to establish. Every time a change in political leadership has occurred, a corresponding shift also occurred in the education policy and its structure. This thesis attempts to determine if another shift in the education system will occur now that the Muslim Brotherhood has gained power in the Egyptian government. This paper establishes many truths about the way the Muslim Brotherhood will precede now that it has significant control over the Egyptian education system. First, the education system in Egypt is in dire need of reform to increase equality among rich and poor and to improve the overall quality of the system. Second, the Muslim Brotherhood intends to reform the education system primarily to improve the effectiveness of the system and increase access to people of all levels of income. In addition, the Muslim Brotherhood hopes to increase religious instruction, but that is not its primary goal. Third, the Muslim Brotherhood cannot act unilaterally in changing the education system and instead must work with the Egyptian military, other political groups and the United States. The last important aspect established is that education is not the priority of the new government because other issues, such as security and revitalizing the economy, are considered more important. It is, therefore, most likely that the Muslim Brotherhood will proceed with incremental changes to the education system in the near future. Although education will not be a priority, the Muslim Brotherhood will take small steps to improve the quality of the education system. As in Turkey, once the Muslim Brotherhood has solidified its position in the government, it may proceed to increase Islamic instruction. Even if religious instruction is increased, it will be a moderate version of Islam and not inhibit the teaching of secular subjects. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 A. MAJOR RESEARCH QUESTION................................................................1 B. IMPORTANCE ................................................................................................1 C. PROBLEMS AND HYPOTHESES ...............................................................3 D. LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................................5 1. History of the Egyptian Education System ........................................5 2. The Current Egyptian Education System .........................................7 3. Developments in the Turkish Education System ..............................8 4. The Development and History of the Muslim Brotherhood ............9 5. Muslim Brotherhood’s View on Education .....................................12 E. METHODS AND SOURCES .......................................................................13 II. THE HISTORY OF EGYPTIAN EDUCATION....................................................15 A. MUHAMMAD ALI’S EDUCATION SYSTEM .........................................15 B. EDUCATION UNDER THE BRITISH .......................................................17 C. EGYPTIAN EDUCATION BETWEEN 1922 AND 1952 ..........................18 D. THE EGYPTIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM UNDER NASSER ................20 E. SADAT’S EDUCATION SYSTEM..............................................................23 F. MUBARAK’S EDUCATION SYSTEM ......................................................25 III. THE CURRENT EGYPTIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM .......................................29 A. BASIC EDUCATION ....................................................................................29 B. LACK OF QUALITY AND EQUALITY COMPARED TO INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ..............................................................30 C. TEACHING AND STAFFING ISSUES