The significance of “Islamic culture course” in dealing with extremism : an educative analytical study of selected Afghan universities

Abstract

This research explores the significance and background of Islamic Culture “Al-Saqafah al-Islamiyyah” in higher education in Afghanistan. Important to realize, that teaching the course of Islamic Culture in higher education in Afghanistan has been debated since 2016. The contents of the Islamic Culture course and its impacts on students across Afghan universities are controversial issues. The substantial problem is the misconception of extremism and religious radicalism related to the course of Islamic Culture among university students. The research design for this study is selected as qualitative research and the case study method is used in this research, which is valuable and can describe the solution of this research problem. Furthermore, by this method, the data could be gathered by reviewing & analyzing documents and interviewing the students and lecturers of the university. Although interviews are the primary method of data collection, the documents, texts, and reports are also reviewed and analyzed in this study. Islamic culture course has a basic role in making students thoughts about Islamization. In fact, the contents of Islamic culture strengthen the cognition of Islamic understandings, moderation, and protection of faith in students. The only means by which Afghan youth may protect their minds and spirits against the invasion of foreign cultural norms is via the teaching of the course of Islamic Culture “Al-Saqafah al-Islamiyyah”. Overall, conducting this study solves the problems related to the course of Islamic Culture, which impact students’ intellectual theories and modern educational theories, and removes the misconception of extremism and religious radicalism related to the course of Islamic culture across Afghanistan universities.