Muslim Education in Democratic South Africa Convergence or Divergence of Religion and Citizenship?
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Abstract
South Africa’s transition into a democracy signalled many new beginnings to different people, and communities. For the Muslim community, a new democracy beckoned an untraversed path of identity and expression – one unshielded by the seclusion, unintentionally provided through apartheid. The changes, while not immediately obvious, were profound nevertheless – no more so than within a new realm of desegregated schools. The extensive migratory patterns of learners to previously ‘off-limits’ schools soon revealed another pattern of exit. The more public schools diversified, the greater the increase in the number of faith-based schools. Although small in relation to the total number of independent schools, the percentage of Muslim schools was significantly higher than the proportion of Muslims in the South African population. In ‘mapping the terrain’ of Muslim education in post-apartheid South Africa, the interest of this article lies, firstly, in understanding the motivation for the proliferation of Muslim schools. Secondly, how might the prevalence of faith-based schools enhance South Africa’s democratic project?