Last year the government introduced the teaching of science and mathematics in English in an attempt to improve the language proficiency of our students. I suggest going further and teach Islamic Studies in English. Additionally, we should modernise Islamic education and make Islamic schools more as educational institutions and less as seminaries.

It is widely acknowledged that as a group, Malay students have the weakest command of English. Since these students have to take Islamic Studies throughout their school years, what better way to improve their English than to teach Islamic Studies in that language? Additionally I would switch Islamic schools into English medium, with all subjects taught in that language, except of course for Malay.

These schools must also teach more secular subjects in order to better prepare young Malays for the modern world. If Islamic schools in America can use English as their medium of instruction and teach modern subjects, so could Malaysian schools.

This is already being successfully done at the International Islamic University. Thus what I am suggesting is nothing radical, merely expanding that proven strategy to schools and other institutions.

Academic subject

Using English to teach Islamic Studies would help break the enormous psychological barrier facing Malays in learning that language, that is, the perception that English is the language of the imperialists and infidels.

The government's initial rationale for using English to teach science and mathematics was primarily to enhance students' access to the vast body of knowledge in those subjects. Increasing English fluency was a secondary benefit. As the language or literary content in science and mathematics is minimal, the subsequent improvement in English proficiency was, not surprisingly, unremarkable.

Teaching Islamic Studies in English would not only enhance the skills of our students in that language, but also help expose them to the modern interpretations of our faith. After all, English is today the most important language in Islam, next to Arabic.

In addition to using English in Islamic education, I would also revamp the curriculum and texts. Islamic Studies should be taught as an academic subject, not as theology. Use Islam to educate the students, not to indoctrinate them. We should use the rich and varied resources in Islam to expand the students' intellectual horizons, and to sharpen their critical thinking and analytical skills. At present the teaching of Islamic Studies involves nothing more than the passive transfer of dogmas and doctrines, which are then regurgitated at examination time.

Not much discussion occurs, or is encouraged. Worse, contrary thoughts are actively discouraged and critical thinking is viewed as the machination of the devil and best avoided. Similarly, opinions contrary to the accepted official version are regarded as hearsay or worse, "deviationist" thinking.

We should expose these students to the wide diversity of opinions in our faith, from the ultraliberal and worldly Ismailis to the orthodox and conservative Wahabis.

They each have something to teach us. From the Wahabis, I learned the importance of rituals in fostering group cohesion, and in the anchoring stability of traditions. The Ismailis taught me the wisdom of the Quranic refrain: When we do meritorious acts to please Allah and to gain His favor in the Hereafter, we are indeed also simultaneously doing good in this world. That is, serving our fellow man is the purest form of ibadat (faith).

Most importantly however, if we teach our young to tolerate and indeed celebrate the differences within our faith, then we are implicitly teaching them how to get along with our fellow Muslims. This in turn will help them get along with others of different faiths.

It is presumptuous for any Muslim to declare that his or her interpretation of the faith be the only correct one, and that all others are deviations from the truth. That surely is for Allah alone to decide. The different sects in Islam, be they Sunni, Shia, or Ismaili, subscribe to the core beliefs of our faith. Besides, Allah's charge in the Quran Al amru bil ma'arufi, wal nahiian al mungkari (Command good and forbid evil!) is applicable to all, Muslims and non-believers alike.

If we teach Islamic Studies as an academic subject, we will find that many non-Muslims will be attracted to it. At many American campuses today, most of the students taking Arabic and Islamic Studies are non-Muslims because they feel enriched by the experience. In Malaysia however, non-Muslims are implicitly (if not explicitly) discouraged from pursuing Islamic Studies. Doing so is seen as intending to convert to Islam. I doubt whether any non-Muslim would be made to feel welcomed in an Islamic Studies class in Malaysia.

Non-Muslim scholars

The nation is blessed with a few outstanding non-Muslim scholars in Islamic Studies, and we should harness their talent and expertise. Scholars like Patricia Martinez are our bridges of understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims. It is significant that Martinez received her training primarily in the West and not in Malaysia. Why is America, a non-Muslim country, more successful in making Islamic Studies attractive as a scholarly and intellectual pursuit for non-Muslims, whereas Malaysia could not?

A non-profit organization in America, the Council on Islamic Education has been very active and successful in modernising and mainstreaming Islamic Studies into American schools and textbooks. Whereas in the past, Islam was always relegated into the exotic culture chapters, today the subject is seamlessly interweaved into the general text. Thus in the discussions on the Renaissance, the contributions of Islamic scholars and philosophers are fully acknowledged.

Allah's revelations to Prophet Muhammad SAW were appropriately in the language of the prophet Arabic. A Just and Merciful Allah listens to all the languages of the children of Adam, and an All Knowing Allah will have no difficulty in comprehending English. I see nothing in the Quran or the seerah (practices of the prophet s.a.w.) that says Islamic Studies must be taught in Malay, and only in Malay.