Going by the book, Islamic schools can't offer sex educationBy Linda Morris
June 25 2003
Islamic schools have long grappled with the vexed question of sex education.
Most, if not all,
have adopted a policy of abstinence, driven by concerns that the teaching aids contravene what is taught in the Koranand that the syllabus encourages promiscuity.
Demonstrations of condom use, the use of explicit videos depicting nude people and detailed pictures of the human body
are all contrary to the Islamic notion of haya, or natural modesty.The Koran permits contraception if the health of the woman is affected.
Fida Sanjakdar, a PhD student at the University of Melbourne who has taught in two Victorian Islamic schools, is piloting Australia's first homegrown Islamic curriculum for sexual health, which features single-sex classes and same-sex teachers.
"Current approaches to sexual health education assume that all kids have a boyfriend and are sexually active, hence teach safe sex - but
there is no such thing as safe sex in Islam, she says.
"Terms such as safe sex, free sex are devoid of any responsibility and accountability and are in direct violation of appropriate Islamic behaviour. Sexual relations are only permissible within marriage, a sacred institution in Islam."
Sex is not the only subject off limits in most Islamic schools.
In some, aspects of science, literature and even music are often dropped. Al-Amanah College, Bankstown, bans wind and string instruments, including piano and guitar. Children can play only percussion instruments. Synthesisers are used to recreate the notes of the keyboard.
At Qibla College, Minto, even the bells of tambourines are considered inappropriate.Some schools censor texts for references to drugs, alcohol and pre-marital sex. Noor Al Houda Islamic College, Strathfield, does not offer music as an HSC subject, more for its lack of resources than policy choices, but prefers texts like To Kill a Mockingbird and Looking for Alibrandi that have positive and uplifting messages.
The educational consultant at Al Zahra, Ken Darvall, says
drama, dance and music are "areas of great caution" and what is taught is cleared with the school's religious scholar. Plays can be performed but they usually relate to stories from the Koran Rissala College, Lakemba, broke new ground when it performed in public at Bankstown Town Hall last year.
Even so, its principal, Ali Roude, said:
"There's no rock and roll. We strive for integration, assimilation, and it's all carefully handled."
High Schools teach Darwinism as required by the Board of Studies
but only as a theory alongside Koranic teachings of creationism. Source
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