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Nigerian Muslim youths comprise the economically active segment of the population using the population distribution indices, who are adherents of the Islamic faith in practise and conduct. The interpretation of youth could also mean the time of life when a person is young, especially the time before a child becomes an adult. The nurturing of a child to the youthful stage is conditioned by certain factors such as: family, environment, education, knowledge, religion and peer group influence. Three of these highlighted factors are interwoven namely education, religion and knowledge. Knowledge from the creation of man has been the light for human advancement and the development of societies. The Quran for instance declares the superiority of Adam in these words “And He taught Adam, the names of all things; then he placed them before the angels and said: “Tell me the names of these if you are right”. They said: “Glory to Thee: of knowledge we have none save Thou hast taught us, in truth it is Thou who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom” (2:30-32). In fact, the angels and Satan failed in the test for knowledge. Besides, the importance of knowledge is manifest at different places in the Quran.
The first of such manifestation is in Surat Al-Alaq when the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) was commanded thus: Read in the name of thy Lord who created. The Quran also enjoins Muslims to turn their back to the ignorant. It means that as Muslims we should not strike our heads with the story walls of illiteracy and ignorance rather we should educate the uneducated by all means. Therefore education and knowledge seeking is synonymous with Islamic faith.
Education from the cradle to adulthood is very vital to human development in all societies. Someone is a scientist, a ruler, a leader, administrator, doctor or a jurist; knowledge is the basic requirement for all these positions. Islam conception of education teaches us to be the master of matter and mind to serve the human kind. The term 'education' in Islam is understood and comprehended in a totally different manner to what is understood within western societies. The general understanding of an educated individual within western societies is someone who possesses critical faculties and is perceived as being autonomous with aesthetic sensitivity. From an Islamic perspective, an educated individual might possess similar attributes; however, the necessary component that is required is belief and knowledge of how to worship God and how to live in accordance to the Islamic laws.
An understanding of the differences between liberal and Islamic education would illuminate on the need for integrated education by Nigerian youths in the secular society they found themselves. Many Nigerian youths nowadays no doubt, have passed through western education curriculum without Islamic education, some with dilution by attending the various modrasat for Quranic education and some attended Modrasat or Arabic schools without western education, while some are lucky to have passed through integrated education system. Of all these classes of Nigerian youths, it would appear as if the best class are those who have passed through the integrated education system. The reason is not farfetched. This is because we live in the globalised world where western cultures, liberal education and literacy in the real sense of western perspective are deeply rooted. For instance, the introduction of Western education in Nigeria could be dated to the 1840s, when European Christian missions made their first successful and enduring incursions into the territories bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the south. Different studies have adequately demonstrated that in establishing themselves on the Atlantic Coast of Yorubaland and the Niger Delta, and in penetrating the hinterland, the Christian missions relied on, among other methods, the attractions of Western education. Thus, conceiving education as a major means of proselytization, the missions had a very narrow view of education for Nigeria. In fact, the curriculum was heavily weighted on the three Rs- reading, writing, and arithmetic – sufficient to enable the children to operate under the missionary banner. Consequently, the missionary programme of educating the 'natives' was restricted initially to the limited objective of producing marginally literate Nigerians, preferably literate only in their own mother tongues.
The difference between western/ liberal education and Islamic education is that western education in the 21st century is rooted in secularism. Secularism has its foundations rooted in the elevation of “reason”, and as Mabud (1992) put it “secular education is supposed to “rescue” human beings from the “shackles of religion and religious beliefs and practices often viewed as “irrational”. This results in the denial of the “absolute and immutable norms” of religion. Laws are formulated as society changes, morals and values have no clear definitions since there is nothing to anchor them in except the altering beliefs of the “reason”. Secularist societies as opined by Mabud are where human beings are end product of aimless, Godless, mere earthly creatures, temporal beings possessed of mind and body but no soul or spirit.
An Islamic philosophy of life is deeply rooted in the metaphysical realms of reality. Almighty Allah is the ultimate provider for mankind though they may not recognise this. Islamic belief promotes certain moral values that are constant, they do not alter over time and are treated immutable by Muslims. According to Islam, society should conform to the moral and ethical norms and not the way round. Reason is subjugated by revelation, even if it appears contrary to the human mind, this is because the Muslim is aware that the human facilities of the mind are limited and bound by time and that Allah who is unlimited knows what is better for His creation. Islamic theology treats this submission as the ultimate freedom-freeing the human mind from submitting to the desires and passions of other created beings.
The basis for the above comparison of Islamic and liberal concepts of education is to establish foundation for the discourse of the topic. Majority of Nigerian youths are products of liberal education system. This has wrecked havoc in terms of conversion to Christianity and other meaningless faith such as: Grail message, Rosicrucian order, Taoism, Hinduism and Buddhism to mention few. For a very long time the infiltration and domination of western cultures imposed through liberal education have done a lot of damages to the Nigerian society. Thus, Nigerian youths are confronted with culture conflicts and satanic tendencies. The needs to correct these anomalies make inevitable the need for integrated education- a combination of Islamic and western education.
The yearnings for integrated education curriculum have been on for years but the Nigerian government has been reluctant to introduce this to the public domain. Instead, concerned Muslims and few individuals took it upon themselves to invest in the education of the Muslim ummah in this direction. This is to breed the educated elite with a very strong background in Islamic knowledge and orientation for the advancement of the society. The benefits of integrated education lie in the teaching of Islamic monotheism, which is the most important component of Islamic religion. Students are also made to go through rigorous but skilful recitation and memorization of the glorious Quran. Besides. Arabic language is incorporated into the curriculum to make the students to be either bilingual or multilingual. The multiplier effects of all these is that from kindergarten to the University level, Muslim youths become well educated and prepared spiritually to face the challenges associated with western ideas and cultures without succumbing to the evils associated them.
Integrated education no doubt, will breed Muslim youths with the fear of God, and most importantly imbue them with the requisite knowledge in their religion dictate. Such youths are expected to assume leadership position in the society without compromising their religious belief. Muslim youths are of today are supposedly leaders of tomorrow, and this is why all resources must be channelled by the Muslim ummah in Nigeria to breed responsible and Islamic conscious youths.
Integrated education no doubt, remains the vital tool of achieving in the Muslim youths responsible citizenry. However, parents have important role to play in breeding these youths. Investing and patronising schools with integrated education curriculum should be the goal of every parent. This is imperative because the culture conflict that pervades the Nigerian society nowadays is so satanic and endemic that its effect can only be minimised with well informed Muslim ummah and youths; in both Islamic and western education system. Therefore, parents are advised to enrol their wards in such schools in order to also encourage the few investors in the integrated education system. Besides, parents and all stake holders should not relent in clamouring for the introduction and promotion of Islamic education in public schools and spaces in Nigeria. A milestone achievement in this direction is the feat recorded recently in Osun state when the court ruled that Muslim children in public schools are free to use hijab without molestation by anybody.
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