Traditionally when a Muslim child is brought up, the type of education he used to get is generally of two types. Either they are being sent to Islamic schools commonly called Madrassas where they started their education with basic knowledge of Quran and Ahadith or they are being sent to the Government or private owned local or international schools which are mostly influenced by the western thoughts. These schools start teaching the basic lingual, Ethics and science related subjects. In some schools they also teach Islamic studies as a compulsory subject especially in Muslim countries. The basic education about Islam which a Muslim child gets at home or the schools is just limited to basic teachings like prayers, fasting, basic halal or haram food, some verses of Quran and few Ahadith.
Today, children are confronted with many challenges that older generations did not have to face. Today parents want to nurture their children and help them develop into healthy and productive citizens. They want to insure their children are well educated and prepared to meet today’s financial challenges but they have forgot that the teaching of this financial education should also be in the light of Islam. As Islam is not only a religion in the ordinary sense of the word, but a complete system of life. Islam is concerned with the spiritual, political, social economic, moral and all other material aspects of the human being. We must know that even Islamic finance is not limited to non-interest based banking but it also tells us about how to manage money, how to earn, save, spend, invest or give charity, how to distribute the hereditary wealth and what are our rights and obligations in this regard.
Most of the adult Muslims and parents themselves don’t know much about Islamic Finance and those who know learned it when they joined universities or after doing professional courses. And there is literally no source available for Muslim children to learn about Islamic Finance. There’s usually no course at school, no helpful hints on TV and observing parents can be confusing at best.
The financial system which is prevailing in all the Muslim countries and for that matter around the globe, is conventional and against the teachings of Islam. The culture in which we live tells us that it is okay to want everything now and pay for it later. And Muslim children are seeing that modeled from the moment they were born and it becomes part of their subconscious. The result of it is that generally Muslims don’t drink wine or consume pork as its being taught to them since they were born but when it comes to financial dealings specially in those Muslim countries, where Islamic banking is being practiced, they choose the bank not on the basis of Islamic or non-Islamic but rather on the basis of return/ interest rate they can enjoy. So, in order to make Islamic finance industry successful educating the masses from the very beginning is very important. That is why some Islamic banks have also shown interest towards educating children. One of the examples is Al Hilal Bank which has teamed up with Emirates National Schools in Abu Dhabi to offer special Islamic banking and economics courses on the school curriculum, as part of a push by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs to promote financial literacy.
Besides that, Islamic Finance industry is growing with a steady rate and producing lots of employment opportunities as well. So, Muslim children after having education of Islamic finance at primary level can see their future in this industry as well. As for professional education many universities around the globe are busy in creating Islamic finance professionals.
It has become imperative that children should be given Islamic financial education when they are very young so that when they grow up, they know the value of money, how to earn, spend, and donate wisely and take part in building Islamic financial system. A question may arise to one’s mind that, if all of us could have Islamic finance education from very young ages, would the global financial sector be same like it is today? I doubt.
Mohsin Ali
Amilin TV
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