Social Capital as a Prominent Topic in Major Development Forums

Dr. Omar Mababaya

Today’s contemporary world faces all sorts of perplexing problems – economic, political, social, moral and spiritual.  Overcoming these problems is a great challenge to human capability and entails an effective systems approach that will consolidate the right amount and quality of human, social and physical resources to attain peace, growth, development, happiness and success.  Coming up with the right framework and implementing it is a challenge not only to the international body politic (i.e., all members of the United Nations), the government and institutions of all countries, but also to various non-governmental organizations worldwide.

Religious Curricular Offerings in the Muslim World: Challenges and Prospects in the Light of Strategic Planning, Social Networking, Modern Technological Advancement and Globalization of Islamic Knowledge

Dr. Norlain Dindang Mababaya and Dr. Omar Mababaya

Abstract

The paper explored and discussed the challenges underlying the religious curricular offerings in the Muslim world, as well as the prospects for improvement in the light of strategic planning, social networking, modern technological advancement and globalization of Islamic knowledge.

The authors reviewed and analyzed available information on existing religious curricula in certain institutions of higher learning across the Muslim world. They also explored and expounded the challenges of cultural invasion emanating from global technology revolution, inability of the Muslim world to cope with the fast-changing knowledge revolution, lack of research and technology orientation, poor quality of graduates in the Muslim religious schools (due to traditional methods of teaching, teachers' incompetence, lack of resources, irrelevance of curriculum to societal needs, etc.), unemployment, extremism, Islamophobia, lack of cooperation and networking among Muslim educational institutions, excessive secular tendencies among Muslim graduates who have no basic knowledge of Islam, terrorism and other sources of instabilities. These challenges are discussed in relation to religious curricular offerings in the Muslim world.