The importance of social and natural subjects in the curricula of madrasas

Abstract

As much as it seems redundant, it is equally necessary to say how often we should repeat the importance and necessity of social subjects in the curricula of madrassas. The paradox of this issue lies in the fact that everyone acknowledges the need and importance of social subjects, and at the same time, this has been transformed into a formality because, somehow, in practice, this is not considered enough. It has become natural for religious subjects to have priority in madrasahs, but it is unreasonable to regard other subjects as second and third-hand. Also, the weight of natural subjects is as valuable as the social ones. In this sense, the Madrasa must be instilled in each student the general culture of understanding that, without knowledge of natural and social subjects, the knowledge of religious subjects is half-assed. Based on this fact, they would not sidestep the natural and social topics but would take them with the same interest and will as the religious ones. As a result of the neglect of natural and social subjects, madrasa staff has less and less knowledge cultivated from these sciences. Then this culture of education is also reflected in higher education and, consequently, graduates with little understanding of natural and social subjects, which clearly reflects in the discourse of theological lectures. The methodology of the approach of this study is explorative, analytical, and comparative, where the books that elaborate on this issue, the textbooks, and some lectures of the Imams served as evidence. Through these three study elements, the aim is to highlight the role, need, importance, and necessity of natural and social subjects in the curricula of the teaching program in Madrasa, as well as the lack of seriousness of their approach in a more profound way. Meanwhile, this study expects to encourage, provoke and promote more profound research in this direction and justify, argue, and raise the most suitable treatment of these future subjects in the curricula of education in madrasas.