Religious education a remedy for social decay

HIS Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday voiced his support for making religious education compulsory and called for the relevant authorities to take appropriate steps to revise the educational system.

"This has been called an era of progress, but at the same time it is also referred to as a time of decay and ruin," His Majesty said in his titah delivered during his working visit to Seri Begawan Religious Teachers University College (Kupu SB).

"What has decayed and suffered ruin? The answer is human morale and behaviour. The damage is no longer confined to a certain level of age, though the gravest (to suffer) are among the youth," he said.

His Majesty said that social issues are on the rise, happening in homes, in higher educational institutions. "Problems of drugs, gangster crime and casual sex (pre-marital sex) is no longer hidden. It fills pages of newspapers, magazines and the Internet. It is as if parents have lost and are no longer able to play their role," His Majesty added.

"In this situation, we still have one remedy that we can turn to: religious education. We are still capable of curing today's rampant societal ills with this remedy."

"I will not budge from making religious studies a compulsory subject in its in own right in the National Educational System for the 21st century (SPN21), and I will not see it included within other subjects," he said.

His Majesty questioned why religious education had not yet been made compulsory. "For 50 years, we have had this liberal system, but until now nothing has been changed. The system remains stagnant even when necessity requires it to change," His Majesty said.

"Why is this? Is it not that by not making religious school compulsory, we are creating and maintaining the gap between those who are religiously literate on one side and those not knowledgeable in religion on another?

"Do we consider the system better than having compulsory religious education? If that is the case, what are our reasons (for doing so)?" he asked.

His Majesty also questioned the lack of effort to revise the educational system. "No research has been done to investigate the good and bad effects of the system, except that we have remained silent for 50 years. Do we not see the disaster that may arise from this silence?" His Majesty asked.

For 50 years, people have been left "hanging", free to choose whether to attend religious schools or not, he said. "One can choose to attend religious school or not. Those in religious school will be taught (religious knowledge), while the others will have to fend for themselves," he said.

"Is this the right principle to take? Lately, concerns have arisen from those calling for parents to enroll their children in religious schools. This is not the best way to handle this," His Majesty said.

"This call may reach a few who are willing to listen, but how many are ignoring it?" he added.

"This is not the way. The best way is to revise the system. Is it appropriate for the system to be left the way it is? What can we benefit from it? What are its disadvantages? If it proves to be beneficial, then it is alright to keep it the way it is, but if it proves to be detrimental, then something must be done," he said.

In his titah, His Majesty asked if research had been conducted and statistics compiled on the number of Muslim children in the country who are enrolled in religious schools, and on those who are not.

"This research and statistics are important as from it we will identify the problems and inspire us to improve further. If not, how are we to know what the problems are? How can we improve?" he said.

The lack of research and statistics has caused us to slumber for 50 years, His Majesty said.

"The relevant authorities need to step forward and conduct this research and (gather these) statistics. This should not be done for only a year or two, it must include at least the past 10 to 20 years. We want to know and see how many are attending religious schools and how many are not. If we conduct research and collect statistics for diseases such as cancers, HIV, heart diseases, then why can't we have statistics on 'religious literacy'," His Majesty asked.

His Majesty said that without a doubt Brunei still has many people who are "religiously illiterate", not only in today's generation, but also among the older generations.

"This is evident from seeing youths wandering around and others still playing sports despite it being time to perform Maghrib prayers," said His Majesty.

"Students often get carried away with other cultures, such as in terms of the way they dress and behave. This has been published in media and on the Internet, a trend that is a cause for worry among parents," he added.

"Why does this happen? Isn't this a sign of 'religious illiteracy'? An absence of religious soul and undoubtedly the result of a non-compulsory religious schooling system for 50 years.

"In short, many faults can arise from a weak religious educational system: an unenriched soul, backing away from religion and (moving towards) a dislike for religion."

However, His Majesty added that in schools and higher educational institutions, many had turned away from religion.

His Majesty also specifically inquired whether Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa'adatul Bolkiah Nursing College no longer included religious knowledge as part of their courses. "If this is true, why is it not included? Why has the light of Allah (SWT) in that college been extinguished?" he asked.

His Majesty added that hospitals abroad have introduced treatment according to Islamic methods. "But in our case, places to gain knowledge such as universities and colleges are now setting aside religion. These hospitals are incorporating religion, whereas we are (taking out) religion," His Majesty added.

The Monarch also expressed his surprise that when it comes to handling religious matters, action has been slow. "Matters that require urgent attention are delayed. Why?" he asked.

His Majesty gave an example that there is still no news about mosque construction projects that have been planned for years, even though the projects are under the Brunei Islamic Religious Council (Muib)," His Majesty said. The Brunei Times