Today, globally muslims have the lowest literacy rate and fortunately the literacy rate of muslims is very high in Jammu & Kashmir state but grey areas left unattended need the immediate attention of the intellectuals including teachers an religious scholars. So education of muslim children has both opportunities and challenges in Jammu & Kashmir state. At personal level the purpose of education is to acquire academic and professional skills that enable one to earn a respectable living with riches and fame, and also a luxurious and comfortable life. For a Muslim providing economic prosperity of a nation does not contradict his/her Islamic beliefs, however focusing the goals of education solely for the purpose of money making is unpalatable. The general perception among muslims in Jammu & Kashmir state is that Islamic education means acquiring Islamic religious knowledge-study of Holy Qur’an, Arabic, Hadith, Sunnah, Seerah, Fiqh, Islamic history, and allied subjects. As a matter of fact, in the present world broadly speaking we have two types of Muslims. Those who have followed the conventional type of school education and those who have acquired Deeni or Islamic education.In fact the greatest objective of education is to prepare the young generation for leadership. Islamic education of course has the highest objective, and more than that can hardly be imagined. The aim of Islamic education is character building. Growth and development of an Islamic personality should be the final wish of any contemporary muslim society. Islamic values are the foundation of the Islamic personality. As Muslims our educational aim is to develop the personalities of our children to the end that they will be conscious of their responsibility to Almighty Allah (the Creator) and to fellow humans.
Character education, promotion of order and discipline and ending the culture of guns and drugs from schools are the important steps of Islamic education. Islamic education should open the door of college education for every Muslim.
The aims and objectives of Islamic education have been defined in the Recommendation of the Committee of the First World Conference on Muslim Education as: “Education should aim at the balanced growth of the total personality of man through training of the human spirit, intellect, rational self, feelings and senses. The training imparted to a Muslim must be such that faith is infused into the whole of his/her personality and creates in him/her an emotional attachment to Islam and enables him to follow the Qur’an and Sunnah and be governed by Islamic system of values willingly and joyfully so that he/she may proceed to the realization of his/her status as Khalifatullah to whom God has promised the authority of the universe.”We need to prepare the younger generation having leadership quality and not to be the followers of alien ideologies but to play the role of torch bearer by their excellence in knowledge, character, and positive action. Some scholars believe that this quality can be developed in muslim youth by a direct study of the Holy Qur’an with a view to solve the problems of life in its light. Since a program of action to bring up the younger generation for leadership has not yet been given adequate attention in Jammu & Kashmir state, so every muslim parent is advised to raise his or her children well and properly. A happy home, comfort, care and love, providing the necessities of life and a good education are some of the responsibilities that parents are required to fulfill. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said whoever is not kind to young people is not one of us and the best teaching that a parent can give a child is the teaching of good manners and character. The Muslim child absorbs the Islamic values from its parents, teachers, peers, friends and the environment, including the care-givers. Nip it in the bud is the best advice. Otherwise once the Muslim child develops undesirable habits and unethical values, it becomes extremely difficult to make the child into a good Muslim/Muslimah. Parents play a vital role in the education of their children. Early childhood education program emphasizes the role of parents. It declares that learning begins in the first days of life and continues for long. Parents should develop a habit to read with their children every night. Parents should provide an Islamic environment, an Islamic culture. It is hypocritical to do things differently and expect the child to have Islamic values. Parents set the best examples for their children to imbibe. Like parents the role of family has also been considered important in learning and upbringing the children. As the children grow the teachers, community elders, their friends exert deep influence on the character of the child. The parents should choose the right schools for their children. Audio-Visual media such as TV, Video, video games, Movies, peer pressure could play an effective role in erasing the Islamic personality the parents are building and deeply influence the behavior of the children for years. It takes constant and continuous effort on the part of the parents and others to keep our youth on the path of Islamic values. Character education, promotion of order and discipline and ending the culture of guns and drugs from schools are the important steps of Islamic education. Islamic education should open the door of college education for every Muslim.