Mr Mehrullah Hussaini

Approaches to Religious Education in State Secondary Curriculum of Afghanistan and the IIS’ Secondary Curriculum: A Comparative Analysis

This study offers a comparative analysis of religious education (RE) approaches within State Secondary Curriculum in Afghanistan (SSC) and the Institute of Ismaili Studies’ Secondary Curriculum (IIS’ SC). The SSC, developed after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, was designed to reconstruct a unified national curriculum that emphasizes Islamic values, national identity, and academic principles. Despite the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, this curriculum continues to be implemented across the country, although secondary schools for girls remain closed. The IIS’ SC is designed for the Nizari Ismaili students only. The textbooks are translated into the national languages of countries where Ismaili communities live, and the curriculum is implemented. In Afghanistan, the textbooks are translated into Persian. The IIS’ SC promotes a pluralistic approach to RE, encouraging a more inclusive and intellectual engagement with Islamic knowledge. Using qualitative research methods, including textual and discourse analysis, this study examines how RE is framed in both curricula. It specifically analysing the 10th-grade Qur’anic exegesis (Tafsir-e Sharif) from Afghanistan’s SSC and the first volume of the Qur’an and Its Interpretations module from the IIS’ SC. The research uncovers significant differences in the approaches, objectives, and content of these curricula. Tafsir-e Sharif is grounded in a nationalistic and theological framework, aimed at fostering Islamic values through the Hanafi interpretation of Sunni Islam. In contrast, the Qur’an module emphasizes civilizational, humanistic, and normative approaches, promoting a more inclusive and intellectual understanding of Islam, with a particular focus on Ismaili tradition. This comparative analysis provides valuable insights for policymakers, educators, curriculum designers, and teachers, especially in the context of RE in Afghanistan.

Key Words: Religious Education, State Secondary Curriculum, Institute of Ismaili Studies’ Secondary Curriculum, Comparative analysis, Textual Analysis