No harm in teaching Islam in English to ease learning: Shaheem

Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has stated today that if teaching Islam in English language in schools will ease understanding, then there is no issue in opting to do so. 

Shaheem made these comments while sharing on social media a link to a Mihaaru News report on the topic, which highlights a lack of fluency in Dhivehi language, making understanding Islam lessons a challenge for many children of this generation. 

In his post, Shaheem opined that the Islam curriculum needs to be revised to fit with the times, and to phrase it in a manner that can be more easily understood by the current generation. Further, the book's style and layout also needs revision, he said. 

"We should keep the core of the curriculum, adapt it to students' age and grade, and divide Islam's teachings into separate books and subjects for different stages," Shaheem noted. 

"If teaching Islam in English language will ease understanding, then I see no issue in doing so," he said. 

Shaheem went on to say that keeping Dhivehi as a separate subject will also contribute towards further development of the language. He said that if the intention is to advance Dhivehi to the maximum, then the entire education system will need to be transferred to Dhivehi medium, but he promptly added that this may not be in the best interests of the country. 

Shaheem stressed that the post involves his personal opinions alone.