Religious education requirements in Morocco?
January 27, 2012 9:11 AM Subscribe
Is any kind of religious education standard or required for Moroccan students between 8 and 12 years old?
As simple as it says on the outside. Are students in Morocco generally required to have religious education? This could be a specific religion or comparative religion or a broad "morals" course or I'll accept even "ethics." If some other big factor is missing I welcome more general background on how this question ties in to the structure of Moroccan education in general. If relevant, the question specifically pertains to Rabat and Casablanca.
As simple as it says on the outside. Are students in Morocco generally required to have religious education? This could be a specific religion or comparative religion or a broad "morals" course or I'll accept even "ethics." If some other big factor is missing I welcome more general background on how this question ties in to the structure of Moroccan education in general. If relevant, the question specifically pertains to Rabat and Casablanca.
Response by poster: Either the state schools, or the Education Ministry, so in effect, yes...
posted by whatzit at 9:22 AM on January 27, 2012
posted by whatzit at 9:22 AM on January 27, 2012
In case this helps: Morocco's Ministry of Education website is here.
posted by gnomeloaf at 9:39 AM on January 27, 2012
posted by gnomeloaf at 9:39 AM on January 27, 2012
Comment from a friend of mine who grew up in Rabat : "I was allowed to not attend religious class in private school, exam is required."
posted by HopperFan at 9:50 AM on January 27, 2012
posted by HopperFan at 9:50 AM on January 27, 2012
Next comment, from a friend who grew up in Casablanca:
"Islamic education is part and parcel of the educational system in Morocco in general. Pupils in both public and private primary schools have to learn some verses from the Qur'an by heart and later they have to learn some Hadith (the prophet Muhamed's moralistic sayings and quotes) by heart too. Students at an early age are usually introdused to the basics of Islam like the five pillars of Islam, how to pray, how to fast Ramadan, how to do goodness; I mean moral things as you mentioned and some ethics. In the primary school pupils spend a great deal of time studying these things and the program fall under several names like: "the Blessed the Qur'an", "Islamic education", "Islamic Ethics", "Islamic worship" — and I keep my reservations for these terms which I just tried to translate from Arabic regadless of their cultural load— and other terms. At the high school students of the baccalauriate MUST take the exam in Islamic education but in more complex issues and topics like heritage in Islam, women's right, prohibited staff like alcohol and gambling .. discussing such issues based on religios texts from the Qur'an and the hadith. Although this exam is of a secondary importance in terms of marks, but for students of literature, for example, it can be of great importance as it can affect the chances to get their baccalauriate or repeat the whole year. Now, to my knowledge, several changes have been made at this level .. promoting a new tendency which give rise to the Sufi culture on the expense of the things I mentioned before."
posted by HopperFan at 12:03 PM on January 27, 2012
"Islamic education is part and parcel of the educational system in Morocco in general. Pupils in both public and private primary schools have to learn some verses from the Qur'an by heart and later they have to learn some Hadith (the prophet Muhamed's moralistic sayings and quotes) by heart too. Students at an early age are usually introdused to the basics of Islam like the five pillars of Islam, how to pray, how to fast Ramadan, how to do goodness; I mean moral things as you mentioned and some ethics. In the primary school pupils spend a great deal of time studying these things and the program fall under several names like: "the Blessed the Qur'an", "Islamic education", "Islamic Ethics", "Islamic worship" — and I keep my reservations for these terms which I just tried to translate from Arabic regadless of their cultural load— and other terms. At the high school students of the baccalauriate MUST take the exam in Islamic education but in more complex issues and topics like heritage in Islam, women's right, prohibited staff like alcohol and gambling .. discussing such issues based on religios texts from the Qur'an and the hadith. Although this exam is of a secondary importance in terms of marks, but for students of literature, for example, it can be of great importance as it can affect the chances to get their baccalauriate or repeat the whole year. Now, to my knowledge, several changes have been made at this level .. promoting a new tendency which give rise to the Sufi culture on the expense of the things I mentioned before."
posted by HopperFan at 12:03 PM on January 27, 2012
Response by poster: HopperFan, you are a hero. This is awesome. I am learning more than just "yes/no" and the context is really interesting. If anything else comes along, I (and hopefully others in AskMe) look forward to reading.
posted by whatzit at 12:23 PM on January 27, 2012
posted by whatzit at 12:23 PM on January 27, 2012
Hisham Almiraat would be a good person to contact, too.
posted by HopperFan at 12:43 PM on January 27, 2012
posted by HopperFan at 12:43 PM on January 27, 2012
Ok, I asked a friend of mine who went to the Rabat American School. He says that he remembers non-muslim students being allowed to get an exemption from Islamic Studies class.
posted by atrazine at 11:09 PM on January 27, 2012
posted by atrazine at 11:09 PM on January 27, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by atrazine at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2012