The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Ummah Unity, and Children’s Rights to Education

The title is a chapter article by Sameena Eidoo in the book Handbook of Islamic Education edited by Holger Daun and Reza Arjmand published by Springer International Publishing (2018). The following is the article.

Abstract

Established in 1969 as a permanent forum to address political, economic, and social challenges facing Muslims in countries with large Muslim populations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations (UN), with 57 member states (also members of the UN) in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America. Although based on a state-centric system, the OIC’s presence tests the limits of the global polity as a secular construction. The OIC seeks to build “Islamic solidarity” among member states by defining collective interests and encouraging cooperation towards those interests. Through Islamic Declarations/Conventions on the Rights of the Child, the OIC has attempted to provide an Islamic framework for children’s rights and S. Eidoo (*) Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada inspire unity among member states for the sake of children. This chapter presents a brief history and description of the OIC, an overview of Islamic approaches to children’s rights and education, and a thematic content analysis of five Islamic Declarations/Conventions on the Rights of the Child, initiated by the OIC from the 1990s to the 2010s. The analysis focuses on articulations of children’s rights to education and evolving conceptualizations of “education.”

Keywords: Children’s rights • Education • Human rights • Islam • Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Introduction

September 21, 2005, marked the release of a landmark report at the United Nations (UN) in New York entitled Investing in the Children of the Islamic World. The report served as the background document to the First Islamic Conference of Ministers in Charge of the Child, convened by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) (On 28 June 2011, the Organization of the Islamic Conference’s name was changed to Organization of Islamic Cooperation to reflect its commitment to building “Islamic solidarity” (Pakistan Observer 2011).), its education arm, the Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). The document reviews the state of the children in OIC member states; assesses progress in areas of health, education, child protection, and HIV/AIDS; and calls for solidarity and cooperation among OIC member states for the sake of the children.

The historic conference took place in Rabat, Morocco, from 7 to 9 November 2005. The aims of the conference were: to provide an opportunity for Ministers to share their experiences and progress made on behalf of children in light of A World Fit for Children Goals (The 8–10 May 2002 United Nations Special Session on Children culminated in the official adoption by 180 nations of A World Fit for Children, which included 21 specific goals and targets, spanning four key priorities: promoting health lives; providing quality education for all; protecting children against abuse, exploitation and violence; and combating HIV/AIDS.) (UN 2002) and Millennium Development Goals (As part of the strategy for implementing its Millennium Declaration, the United Nations General Assembly committed to achieving eight international development goals, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), by 2015: (1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; (2) achieve universal primary education; (3) promote gender equality and empower women; (4) reduce child mortality; (5) improve maternal health; (6) combat HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases; (7) ensure environmental sustainability; and (8) develop a global partnership for development.) (UN 2000); to identify priority areas where progress has been slow and where there are opportunities for accelerated action; and to recommend actions to accelerate delivery on the commitments (UNICEF 2005). The conference brought together 57 OIC ministers, as well as experts to focus on issues specific to OIC member states in four major areas: health and HIV/AIDS; quality education and culture; protection against abuse, exploitation, and violence; and leveraging resources within and across the Muslim World (The terms “Muslim World” and “Islamic World” are used interchangeably, and broadly refer to countries with large, not necessarily majority, Muslim populations.) towards those interna- tional development goals. The meeting resulted in the formulation and adoption of the Rabat Declaration on Child’s Issues in Member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (This chapter uses the original title of the Rabat Declaration, which was created prior to the OIC’s 2011 name change.) (OIC 2005b).

The Rabat Declaration marks a notable change in expression and focus in relation to preceding Islamic statements on children’s rights. This chapter considers such changes in a thematic analysis of the main Islamic statements on children’s rights, particularly the right to education and provisions for access to education. A brief history and description of the OIC and an overview of Islamic approaches to human rights and education are followed by an exploration of evolving conceptual- izations of “education” in the Islamic statements on children’s rights.

The Organization of the Islamic Cooperation and “Ummah Unity”

The OIC groups 57 Muslim states (Muslim states that uphold the principles of the OIC Charter are eligible for membership. However, the OIC Charter does not define “Muslim state” (Khan 2001). Any state that is a member of the UN and that has a large or majority Muslim population is eligible for membership, which is approved by consensus at the foreign ministerial level (ibid.).), spanning four continents: Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America. The OIC was established by the agreement of the leaders of the Muslim World at a summit called by the World Muslim Congress (M’utamar al-‘ lam al-Islāmī), established in 1926 (Khan 2001), which took place in Rabat, Morocco, on September 25, 1969, in response to the arson of al-Aqsā Mosque in Jerusalem. Ahsan (1988: 23) notes that these leaders were “aware of the popular desire in their countries for ummah unity,” and therefore, “decided to establish a permanent political institution where they could exchange views of Muslim inter- ests” (ibid.).

The origins of post-Second World War era international organizations are attrib- uted to three main ideas: to create a world economy, to promote security, and to protect human dignity and justice (Mundy 1998). While the OIC addresses related political, economic, and social issues, its ideological origins can be traced back to the beginning of Islam (Ahsan 1988; Khan 2001, 2002; OIC 2011). The Islamic concept of ummah (transnational community of Muslims) has, in theory, drawn together the association of nation-states, which comprise the OIC (Ahsan 1988; Khan 2001, 2002). Baba (1994 as cited in Khan 2001: 11) has suggested that the OIC is the present-day version of the institution of Caliphate in the Muslim World,

Every idea is dynamic and shapes itself in relation to changing socio-political realities. Therefore, the same idea can have different places and at different times. This is true of the idea of Islamic unity and brotherhood enshrined in the Qur’ān and ḥadīth as well. This idea, even though an integral part of the socio-political philosophy of Islam and its historical ethos, has differently influenced the practical situation in the Muslim World in different historical phases. The most recent manifestation of the unifying thrust of Islam is the OIC.

For Sardar (1985: 51–52), the OIC has,

The ability to bring all the nations of the Muslim World, even those who have openly declared war on each other, under one roof, and to promote cooperation and communication between Muslim people that has not been possible in recent history. Moreover, it has potential of becoming a powerful institution capable of articulating Muslim anger and aspirations with clarity and force.

The OIC describes itself as “the collective voice of the Muslim World and ensuring to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim World in the interest of promoting international peace and harmony among various people in the world” (OIC 2011). Its presence challenges the notion of the global polity as a secular construction.

Like the UN, however, the OIC is based on a state-centric system, which has posed challenges for its realization of its main objectives: the promotion and the protection of the transnational Muslim community. The OIC Charter endorses the idea of national sovereignty and the Islamic concept of ummah as the basis for cooperation among member states. Ahsan (1988: 23) argues, “these dual bases i.e., the secular concept of nationalism and the Islamic concept of ummah pose a threat to the [OIC] itself.” Similarly, Husain (1995: 214) contends, “the OIC succeeds or fails in achieving its objectives according to the dictates of sovereign nation-states which are able on the surface to make common cause, but which all too often pursue national interests that are essentially irreconcilable with the interests of their neigh- bours and with the OIC.” For Khan (2001: 182), a glance at the governing principles of the OIC testifies to the significance of sovereignty of member states,

It is hardly debatable that Islam had never tried to destroy the social and political identities of the believers. All it purported to do, was to change the hierarchy of their personal loyalties where the ummah identity came to the top. This is precisely where the OIC has failed, that is, to change the hierarchy of each member state’s priorities. Hardly any Muslim country has made its interests subservient to the demands of the Muslim world solidarity.

In an argument that seems to parallel the need for Islamic solidarity to deal effectively with issues affecting the Muslim World, Mische (2001: 19) advocates for the need for a global polity to deal with global issues by highlighting the limits of the UN’s governing principles: “the UN, as a state-centric system required to uphold the principle of state sovereignty, has neither the mandate nor means to respond quickly and effectively to protect the sovereignty of peoples within countries fractured by internal warfare, gross violations of human rights, or ethnic cleansings and genocides.” Conflict among OIC member states has often hindered the realiza- tion of the OIC’s objectives. Problems of internal bloc politics – Arab versus non-Arab countries, high-income versus low-income countries, aligned countries versus non-aligned countries – must be overcome in order for the OIC to effectively address these issues (Khan 2001, 2002).

The OIC boasts a multitiered system with numerous secondary organs and institutions, including permanent missions at the UN General Assembly in New York City and Geneva, working towards the achievement of its objectives (Khan 2001; OIC 2015). These various subsidiary organs and institutions carry out the OIC’s activities, particularly in the education sector. The OIC’s working methods include international conferences and meetings, cooperation with regional organi- zations and the UN, scholarships, and publications.

The OIC 10-Year Plan of Action, To Meet the Challenges Facing the Muslim Ummah in the 21st Century, formulated at a conference of the leaders of OIC member states, reaffirms ummah unity, “practical steps towards strengthening the bonds of Islamic solidarity, achieve unity of ranks, and project the true image and noble values of Islam and its civilizational approaches” (OIC 2015). The Plan envisages joint action of member states, including extensive reforms in all spheres of activities, including (but not limited to): plurality of Islamic jurisprudence, combatting terrorism, combatting Islamophobia, human rights, Palestine and the Occupied Territories, conflict resolution and peace-building, OIC reform, and cul- tural and information exchange among member states. In the field of education, the OIC has the following objectives: to provide free and quality basic education for all children and to encourage the member states to sign and ratify the Declaration on the Rights and Care of the Child in Islam (OIC 1994), the Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam (OIC 2005a), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN 1989) and its annexed optional protocols, and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (UN 1979) and its optional protocols with regard to the Girl Child.

Islam and the Rights of the Child

Islam established “a charter for human rights” 14 centuries prior to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN 1948) (Mahmood-Abedin 2001). Mahmood- Abedin (ibid.: 294) explains difference between modern and Islamic conceptualiza- tions of human rights, “in Islam, human rights are bestowed by God on humans and are inalienable as well as irrevocable. These rights are not obtained after a struggle: they are given as a birth right.” Further, she acknowledges, “some of these rights are taken away by state and society in violation of the principle of justice and respect for the rights of man as guaranteed by God, which forms the fundamental basis of true spirituality in Islam” (Mahmood-Abedin 2001: 294). OIC member states are impli- cated in human rights violations, including children’s rights violations within and beyond their borders (UNICEF 2005). Ramadan (2004: 149) contends, “to practice one’s religion is to participate in the social endeavour, and so there can be no religious consciousness without a social ethic.” From this perspective, Muslims are obligated to organize structurally the protection of all peoples’ rights (ibid.).

Sharī‘ah law encompasses a set of religious obligations as stated in the Qur’ān or as understood from the sunnah (sayings and deeds of Prophet Muḥammad) (see chapter ▶ “Sharī‘ah and Education: A Brief Overview” in this volume). Sharī‘ah regulates personal and public affairs. Contemporary debates on human rights focus on Sharī‘ah as contradictory to universal principles of human rights, particularly in relation to the rights of women and non-Muslim minorities, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender (Rajabi-Ardeshiri 2009). The prohibition of female infanticide by Islam in early Islamic society (570 C.E.) is regarded as “the landmark for the Islamic discourse on the Rights of the Child.” In condemning female infanticide as a “grave sin,” and, in effect, calling for the promotion and the protection of newborn female children, “Islam challenged the patriarchal social norms and values of the ancient Arab society” (ibid.: 478). Muslims are defined by related teachings in the Qur’ān, “.. . and do not kill your children for fear of poverty—[for] it is We who shall provide sustenance for you as well as for them” (VI:151). The Islamic approach to childhood contrasts with the universal discourse on children’s rights in the following ways: Islam specifically identifies children’s rights, parental, communal, and societal responsibilities for ensuring children’s well- being (ibid.; Mahmood-Abedin 2001), as well as children’s responsibilities towards their parents. As Mahmood-Abedin (2001: 296) explains, “Islam surely recognizes that ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’ especially in regard to matters of religious practice (from which the child is not exempt) and parental respect and obedience (for which the child is duly responsible).” Human rights work in Islamic contexts has focused primarily on women’s rights and rights to sexual and political freedom, but human rights work in Islamic contexts is beginning to expand focus to children’s rights and wellbeing (Rajabi-Ardeshiri 2009).

Islam and Education

Islam’s first divine injunction was iqra’ (read). The Qur’ān makes it clear that the pursuit of knowledge is incumbent upon all Muslims, that those who have knowl- edge are valued highly by God, but that knowledge must be exercised wisely. This Qur’ānic emphasis on knowledge raises critical questions about “what knowledge” and “ways of knowing” that are deemed valuable in Islam.

Halstead (2004) identifies three interconnected dimensions of Islamic education based on his examination of the Qur’ān, the sunnah, and related scholarship on philosophies of education in Islam: individual development, social and moral edu- cation, and acquisition of knowledge.

Islamic education for individual development involves growing Muslim children into “good adults,” which requires an understanding of the Islamic concept of the human being. From an Islamic perspective, the “goodness of human beings” entails,

Accepting the obligations of divine stewardship; seeking to take on the divine attributes such as ḥikmah (wisdom) and ‘adl (justice) which have been clarified through divine revelation; striving for balanced growth of the integrated personality, made up the heart, the spirit, the intellect, the feelings and the bodily senses; developing their potential to become insān kāmil (the perfect human being); and, allowing the whole of their lives to be governed by Islamic principles, so that whatever they do, however, mundane, becomes an act of worship. (ibid.: 523).

Thus, the pursuit of knowledge may be understood as a form of worship, and religion must be at the heart of all education. Another aspect of Islamic epistemology is that the pursuit of knowledge should foster children’s moral and spiritual con- sciousness and guide them toward faith, right action, and certainty. A third aspect of Islamic epistemology is that nurturing children’s spiritual and moral awareness is a special responsibility, and therefore teachers’ personal lives, beliefs, character, and moral integrity are just as critical as their academic expertise.

In a discussion on the right to education, Ramadan (2004) foregrounds a teaching of Prophet Muḥammad: seeking knowledge is incumbent upon every Muslim. Ramadan (ibid.: 150) explains, “to be Muslim is clearly ‘to know’ and then right away, almost naturally, to make one’s way toward greater knowledge.” This teaching of Prophet Muḥammad refers to all fields of knowledge, divine, and worldly and makes imperative the provision of education and instruction. The provision of education and instruction is a social responsibility and is intimately connected to humanization processes. As Ramadan (ibid.) argues, “A society that produces illiteracy, whether absolute or functional, scorns the dignity of its members and is fundamentally inhuman.” According to Ramadan (ibid.), the first objective of Islamic education, “education of the heart,” enables Muslims to connect God consciousness and self-consciousness about their responsibilities to their bodies, families, communities, and wider society; the second objective, “education of the mind,” helps Muslims to understand the messages of the Qur’ān and sunnah, as well as to understand their socio-political contexts and ways of being Muslim in the context of their lived realities; the third objective, the “joining of the education of the heart with the education of the mind,” enables Muslims to becoming increasingly agentic in their worlds (ibid.: 129). Thus, in addition to knowledge of the Qur’ān and the sunnah, law, and jurisprudence, Ramadan (ibid.) contends that the content of Islamic education must also include: “an in-depth knowledge of the environment, adapted for different age groups: mastery of the language, familiarity with the history of the country, knowledge of the institutions, study of the culture, social dynamics, and the political landscape, and so on.” Ramadan (ibid.) seems to propose a framework for Islamic education that is situated in historical and contemporary socio-political contexts and that makes connections to people’s lived realities. Halstead’s (2004) and Ramadan’s (2004) conceptualizations of Islamic education inform this chapter’s analysis of conceptualizations of education in Islamic state- ments on children’s rights.

Islamic Statements on Children’s Rights

The Declaration on the Rights and Care of the Child in Islam (OIC 1994) represents the first independent Islamic statement on children’s rights in a series of collective efforts, spanning the 1990s through to the 2010s, initiated by the OIC in the field of children’s rights. This study employs a thematic analysis of the Declaration on the Rights and Care of the Child in Islam, as well as subsequent Islamic statements on children’s rights: the Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam (OIC 2005a), the Rabat Declaration on Child’s Issues in the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC 2005b), the Khartoum Declaration: Towards a Brighter Future for Our Children (OIC 2009), and the Tripoli Declaration: Accelerating Early Childhood Development in the Islamic World (OIC 2011). The Rabat Decla- ration marks a notable change in expression and focus in relation to preceding Islamic statements on children’s rights. The Rabat Declaration, the Khartoum Declaration, and the Tripoli Declaration represent the “second generation” of Islamic statements on children’s rights. The analysis pays particular attention to education-related rights and provisions, and more specifically, how “education” is conceptualized in these Islamic statements on children’s rights.

Declaration on the Rights and Care of the Child in Islam

The Declaration on the Rights and Care of the Child in Islam (OIC 1994), issued by the 7th Islamic Summit Conference in Casablanca, Morocco, in 1994, is the first independent document proclaiming children’s rights in the Muslim World. The DRCCI (Declaration on the Rights and Care of the Child in Islam)calls upon all member states to sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN 1989) and to bring their constitutions, laws, and practices into conformity with its pro- visions by the end of 1995 (By 2005, all OIC member states had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN 1989), except Somalia (UNICEF 2005).). The DRCCI recognizes legacies of colonialism, including unequal distri- butions of wealth, and advances the notion of Islamic solidarity in its calls for “debt relief for developing countries for the sake of child survival and development.” Thus, higher-income OIC member states are accorded responsibility toward lower- income OIC member states.

The DRCCI addresses the rights of the family, the fetus, and the infant; the right to lineage, guardianship, and social, health, psychological, and cultural care (The DRCCI defines the right of lineage and guardianship as patrilineal, privileges ‘fathers’ in child custody, and accords a primary role for men in the family struc- ture.); and the right to ownership and education, and finally, it outlines the rights of children in “exceptional circumstances,” such as children who have lost one or both parents, children with disabilities, children born to parents not recognized as law- fully married to each other, children living in conditions of war or natural disasters, refugee children, homeless children, street children, and stateless children.

Evident within the DRCCI are contradictions between secular and religious discourse on children’s rights, including education rights. For example, in Article 8, the DRCCI states, Islam has given every child, male or female, an equal right to at least a free basic schooling and to being educated and informed about the principles of Islam, including the Creed and Sharī‘ah, besides providing the necessary means for developing his or her mental, psychological and physical capacities. While Islam guarantees Man's free- dom to voluntarily adopt Islam without compulsion, it prohibits apostasy of a Muslim afterwards, in view of the fact that Islam is the Seal of Religions and, therefore, the Islamic society is committed to ensuring that the sons of Muslims preserve their Islamic nature and Creed and to protecting them against attempts to force them to relinquish their religion.

The DRCCI proclaims the right of children to free basic schooling within an Islamic framework. It does not distinguish between the education rights of Muslim and non-Muslim children. According to the OIC, the DRCCI was intended to “distinguish the ummah from other peoples in the world” and to convey “a message to all other peoples regarding the attitude of Islam toward the child” (OIC 1994). The presence of discriminatory themes is evident in the DRCCI’s conceptualization of education, in particular against women and girl children (through its privileging of men and boy children, their freedom, and their role in preserving Islam) and non-Muslims (through its focus on apostasy and Islamic education for all children). Regarding the principle of religious freedom for children, Article 14 of the Conven- tion on the Rights of the Child (UN 1989) asserts, “state parties shall respect the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” The only restriction by this convention (UN 1989) in regards to religious freedom is explained in the same article: “freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.” Although OIC member states have used such apostasy laws to suppress dissent, the legitimacy of apostasy laws is challenged by Qur’ānic teachings, such as, “there is no compulsion in religion” (Rajabi-Ardeshiri 2009).

Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam

The OIC adopted the Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam (OIC 2005a) at the 32nd Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers in Sana’a, Republic of Yemen. The CRCI (Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam) begins by affirming “the civilizational and historic role of the Islamic ummah and in contributing to the international efforts on human rights” (ibid.:1), and by acknowledging “the enor- mous responsibility towards the Child in particular as the vanguard and maker of the future of the ummah” (ibid.). It draws attention to the plight of children across the Muslim World:

Children, as part of the vulnerable sector of society, bear the burden of the greater suffering as a result of natural and man-made disasters leading to tragic consequences, such as orphanage, homelessness, and exploitation of children in military, harsh, hazardous, or illegitimate labor, and considering also the suffering of refugee children and those living under the yoke of occupation or languishing or displaced as a result of armed conflicts and famines thus fostering the spread of violence among children and increasing the number of physically, mentally, and socially disabled children. (OIC 2005a: 2)

The CRCI calls for increased awareness within the ummah of the need for social change and mobilizes the notion of “Islamic solidarity” for the promotion and protection of children’s rights:

The first order of serious work is to gain a conscious insight into the accumulating and expected challenges facing the ummah, particularly the adverse effects of economic and social transformations, the waning role of the family, the weakening feeling of belonging, the breaking-down of family ties, the decline of values and ideals, the diminishing health and educational services, the growing illiteracy rate, as well as the effects of the accelerating advances in fields of knowledge and the information revolution in addition to the continuing persistence of negative and old-fashioned cultural models. .. ..The ummah has sufficient capabilities and resources to ensure a victory over the hurdles facing it, building on the lofty religious and social values with the family enjoying pride of place on the basis of love and mercy as well as human and material resources which afford it a real opportunity for comprehensive and sustainable development. (ibid.: 2)

Like the DRCCI (OIC 1994), the CRCI calls for the sharing of “human and material resources” within and across member states for the health and wellbeing of children of the Muslim World. While the CRCI (OIC 2005a: 4) mobilizes the idea of “Islamic solidarity,” it also re-affirms member states’ sovereignty or “non- interference in the internal affairs of any State.”

The CRCI (OIC 2005a) addresses issues of equality, identity, family cohesion, education and culture, personal freedoms, freedom of assembly, upbringing, rest and activity times, social living standards, child health, children with disabilities and children with special needs, child protection, child labor, justice, parents’ responsi- bilities, and child refugees.

Towards the beginning of the CRCI, education is foregrounded as one of its main objectives, and it calls for the provision of “free, compulsory primary and secondary education for all children irrespective of gender, colour, nationality, religion, birth, or any other consideration, to develop education through enhance- ment of school curricula, training of teachers, and providing opportunities for vocational training” (ibid.: 3). In contrast to the DRCCI, the CRCI advances both elementary and secondary education, academic, or vocational and begins to articulate a more expanded and nuanced notion of difference and inclusion. As well, the CRCI emphasizes the importance of curriculum innovation and teacher development.

Article 12, under Education and Culture, is comprised of four subarticles. The first subarticle calls for the provision of free compulsory basic education “by learning the principles of Islamic education,” the means to develop their mental, psychological, and physical capacities, and that allows children to be “open to the common standards of human culture” (OIC 2005a: 7). The DRCCI conceptualizes education as a means for preserving a particular kind of Islamic society. In contrast, the CRCI seems to expand the purpose of education to encourage children’s openness toward universalized norms and standards of human rights and cultural diversity.

The second subarticle calls for compulsory free primary and secondary education, care for children and youth with special needs, increasing access to higher education, increasing student retention in basic education, improving literacy education, and creating teaching and learning resources and spaces, including children’s libraries. This subarticle includes a statement on children’s clothing, particularly the right to wear clothing “compatible with her beliefs, while complying with Islamic Sharī‘ah, public etiquette, and modesty” (OIC 2005a: 7). This statement uses the feminine possessive pronoun (in a series of Islamic statements on children’s rights speaking primarily to “sons of Muslims”). This subarticle may be interpreted in different ways: girls may exercise personal and bodily autonomy in their choice of dress or girls may be required to conform to dominant and patriarchal interpretations of Sharī‘ah, public etiquette, and modesty that govern the society in which they live. Bodies of women and girls have been the sites through which nationalism or cultural preservation has been contested (Abu-Lughod 2002).

The third subarticle stipulates that children approaching puberty are entitled to “proper sex education distinguishing between the lawful and unlawful” (OIC 2005a: 7). Through this subarticle, the CRCI acknowledges that children need to learn about issues relating to human sexuality. However, the CRCI does not describe the curriculum of “proper sex education.” The final subarticle proclaims,

“The provisions of this Article [Article 12] and Article 11 .. . shall not be in conflict with the freedom of the Muslim child to join private educational institutions, provided that such institutions respect the provisions of the Islamic sharī‘ah and that the education given in such institutions observe the rules laid down by the State” (ibid.).”

The CRCI seems to recognize children as agentic, with the right to express themselves freely in all matters affecting them (ibid.: 6), including their education. The above subarticle establishes children’s right to choose between public and private educational institutions. It references the preceding article under the section, Upbringing, which outlines the objectives of children’s upbringing and related educational issues:

To develop the personality, religious and moral value, and sense of citizenship and Islamic and human solidarity of the child and to instil in him/her a spirit of understanding, dialogue, tolerance, and friendship among people,” and “to encourage the child to acquire skills and capabilities to face new situations and overcome negative customs, and to grow up grounded in scientific and objective reasoning” (ibid.: 6–7).

These objectives outline new possibilities for education, calling for teaching religious and moral values, a sense of responsibility toward the well-being of others, a willingness to engage with and across difference, as well as fostering children’s capabilities for resilience in changing circumstances and for critical thinking.

Rabat Declaration: Child’s Issues in the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Conference

The preamble of the Rabat Declaration establishes its Islamic framework: member states are “guided by the teachings of Islam which stress the need for taking due care of children and granting them full rights” (OIC 2005b: 1), such as, “the key principle enshrined in sharī‘ah, the canonical law of Islam, that all children ... have the right to live and thrive to reach their full potential” (ibid.). Article 1 calls upon all member states “to respect and ensure the rights of each child in our societies without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of colour, sex, language, religion, political opinion or social status” (ibid.: 2). Article 3 calls upon member states “to enhance our common Islamic heritage to increase the awareness of the Muslim youth of the values of Islam, and instil into them a sense of pride in the achievements of the glorious Islamic civilization; and to contribute to more understanding and tolerance among peoples and religions” (ibid.). The Rabat Declaration establishes member states’ responsibilities to respect children’s rights, as well as to raise awareness about Islam, particularly through an Islamic education that encompasses divine and worldly knowledge and that promotes young Muslims’ capabilities for coexistence with minoritized peoples.

In relation to previous Islamic statements on children’s rights, the Rabat Decla- ration is remarkable in scope, defining priorities for member states in the areas of health; HIV/AIDS, child protection against violence, exploitation, and abuse; and education and investing in children. As Rajabi-Ardeshiri (2009: 486) notes, “In contrast to the previous Islamic declarations/conventions on children’s rights, which mainly consisted of traditional religious rhetoric on children’s rights, the Rabat Declaration is significantly concerned with providing practical solutions towards contemporary dilemmas in the life of Muslim children.”

Following education-related priorities set out in the Investing in Children of the Islamic World Report (UNICEF 2005), the Rabat Declaration (OIC 2005b: 5) addresses three main educational issues: access to primary education, gender parity in education, and mobilizing resources for quality education. It begins to align with international development goals (e.g., UN 2000, 2002). Article 15 calls upon OIC member states to “double their efforts to raise the quality of primary education and make it available, free and compulsory to all, to progressively work towards making secondary, higher and vocational education and technical training generally avail- able and accessible to all, and to care for the gifted and talented” (OIC 2005b: 5). The Rabat Declaration seeks to expand access to education for different purposes, academic and vocational-technical, and to meet the educational needs of students with exceptionalities.

Article 16 requests that OIC member states “reaffirm the commitment to achieve gender equality in education by 2015 ... with a focus on ensuring girls’ permanent and equal access to full basic education of good quality” (ibid.). This emphasis on gender equality in education aligns with articles (Articles 10, 12, and 13 under the section, Child Protection Against Violence, Exploitation and Abuse, propose the elimination of all forms of discrimination against girls and all harmful traditional practices, such as child marriage and female genital mutilation; underscore the need for legislative and administrative measures to devise suitable programs to prevent and end violence against women and girls committed in the name of “honour”; and outline special care for women and children during armed conflict, including effec- tive humanitarian assistance that includes access to education (OIC 2005b: 4).) specific to gender-based discrimination and violence in the Rabat Declaration. Article 17 calls upon member states to create “child-friendly” learning environments – in which children “feel safe and are protected from abuse, violence and discrim- ination and encouraged to learn” (ibid.) – and to create educational programs and materials that promote and protect human rights and values of “peace, tolerance, dialogue, and gender equality” (ibid.). The Rabat Declaration acknowledges that children may be vulnerable to abuse, violence, and discrimination within existing learning environments and that abuse, violence, and discrimination have no place in learning environments. Further, the Rabat Declaration expands the purpose of education to support teaching and learning how to build rights-respecting societies. More broadly, this statement on children’s rights recognizes educational institutions, programs, and materials as integral to redressing issues of health and HIV/AIDS (Article 7 calls upon educational institutions to help “break the silence on the HIV and AIDS epidemic” and “ensure an effective prevention of infections through education and information” (OIC 2005b: 3).). The Rabat Declaration conceptualizes education as a practical approach to solving complex problems limiting children’s possibilities for living and thriving to reach their full potential in the contemporary Muslim World.

Khartoum Declaration: Towards a Brighter Future for Our Children

The Second Islamic Conference of Ministers in Charge of Childhood took place in Khartoum, Sudan, from 2 to 3 February 2009. The conference led to the articulation of the Khartoum Declaration Towards a Brighter Future for our Children. Follow- ing the Rabat Declaration, the Khartoum Declaration addresses the importance of investing in children: “without adequate investment in children we cannot hope to improve their well-being, advance sustained human development for future gener- ations, and expect the countries of the Islamic word to occupy their rightful place as global leaders” (OIC 2009: 2). It acknowledges that progress toward international development goals still fall short of expectations.

Like the Rabat Declaration, the Khartoum Declaration is informed by an Islamic framework. In the first set of articles (1 to 12), the latter declaration underscores preserving and enhancing Islamic cultures and values through Islamic education for Muslim children and adolescents, as well as building Muslim children and adoles- cents’ capabilities for coexisting with diverse peoples; publicizing Islamic values with regard to family, women, and children through mass media and public educa- tion campaigns; promoting Islamic solidarity on child’s issues; and integrating commitments to and respect for universal human rights with Islamic values. Also, the Khartoum Declaration calls upon member states to adhere to the general principles of child rights, including nondiscrimination, participation, survival, and development, as well as to reaffirm children’s rights “to enjoy all liberties without discrimination based on colour, sex, language or religion” (ibid.: 1). Like the Rabat Declaration, the Khartoum Declaration condemns discrimination against minoritized peoples within member states.

The Khartoum Declaration defines the following issues for advancing chil- dren’s rights in the Muslim World: child health, education, child protection, and globalization. Articles 18 through to 23 specify educational provisions, such as the right to education; making primary education free and accessible to all; working toward making secondary, higher education and vocational education and technical training available and accessible to all; achieving gender equality in education; creating rights-respecting educational environments, programs, and materials; and laying the groundwork for early childhood education, particularly in remote areas.

In contrast to the Rabat Declaration, the Khartoum Declaration places an emphasis on aesthetic education. Article 18 proclaims education “a fundamental right,” reiterates commitments to provide free and compulsory education, as well as learning environments “for entertainment and artistic activities to all children with- out discrimination” (ibid.: 4). Article 19 emphasizes children’s right to “high-quality education, entertainment, and recreational activities” that are “conducive to unleashing their aptitudes, instilling into them the values of virtue, fairness and beauty, as well as enabling them to interact with others, acquire life skills, and be aware of their identity and their civilizational raison d’etre” (ibid.: 4). Articles 18 and 19 suggest that education should encourage children’s imaginative thinking and creative expression, create opportunities for structured and unstructured learning and play, and encourage social interaction and mutual learning among children.

Another aspect of the Khartoum Declaration’s statements on education that distinguishes it from the Rabat Declaration is its focus on early childhood education. Article 23 calls upon member states to “ensure adequate educational services for early childhood stage, particularly in remote areas .. .” (ibid.: 5). The Khartoum Declaration thereby begins to set the agenda for the Third Islamic Conference of Ministers in Charge of Childhood.

The Khartoum Declaration recognizes the role of public education in redressing issues of child health, child protection, and globalization. Its focus on globalization is unique among Islamic statements on children’s rights. For example, Article 33 calls upon member states to “develop strategies and action plans to address the social, political, environmental and cultural implications of globalization,” and to “protect children from its adverse effects to enable them to preserve their cultural and civilizational identity and enhance their contribution to the development of their own societies” (ibid.: 6). The Khartoum Declaration seems to suggest that transcultural flows (movements, changes, and reuses of cultural forms within and across national borders) may threaten cultural and “civilizational” identities. Article 34 affirms the importance of facilitating children’s access to information and communication technologies to develop their knowledge and enhance their “creative skills and activate their contribution to scientific, cultural, literary, artistic areas” (ibid.). The Khartoum Declaration identifies particular multidisciplinary skills set necessary for building children’s capacities for managing change in a globalizing world.

Tripoli Declaration: Accelerating Early Childhood Development in the Islamic World

The Third Islamic Conference of Ministers in Charge of Childhood took place in Tripoli, Lebanon from 10 to 11 February 2011. The Conference culminated in the formulation of the Tripoli Declaration on Accelerating Early Childhood Develop- ment in the Islamic World (OIC 2011). The Tripoli Declaration states:

Early Childhood Development in the Islamic world requires establishing a comprehensive child-centred framework of adequate binding laws upheld by mechanisms and measures to ensure their enforcement, follow-up and assessment, together with the necessary pro- grammes, services and budgets to secure a wide access to a continuum of social services, health care and basic education for children in early childhood. (OIC 2011: 1)

Like the Rabat Declaration and the Khartoum Declaration, the Tripoli Declara- tion is guided by Islamic teachings urging “due care of children and granting them full rights and require that all children, girls and boys alike, have the right to live in dignity and thrive to reach their full potential” (ibid.).

The first set of articles expands on the above passage by laying down strategic directions for accelerating early childhood development at the national policy level in member states. The remainder defines pathways for accelerating early childhood development in the Muslim World: health care and nutrition, preschool education, community support and parenting programs, and child protection in emergencies. The Tripoli Declaration lays down strategies for financing early childhood devel- opment programs through Islamic solidarity and international cooperation and for raising awareness through media and civil society sectors about the benefits and importance of early childhood development in the Muslim World. Like preceding Islamic statements on children’s rights, the Tripoli Declaration concludes by establishing mechanisms for coordination and follow-up.

Articles 8 through to 13 outline provisions for early childhood education. The first part of Article 8 calls upon member states to commit to “scaling up access to pre-school education for all children, boys and girls; especially children of vulner- able families and communities in urban and rural areas, including children with special needs” (ibid.: 3). This first part of the Article reflects a more nuanced understanding of difference among children and draws attention to reaching some of the most vulnerable through education. The second part of Article 8 calls upon member states to “take urgent and effective measures to ensure such equal access for refugee and displaced children, as well as for children under Israeli occupation areas” (ibid.). The Tripoli Declaration makes explicit a commitment to promoting and protecting Palestinian children’s right to education under Israeli occupation. One axis of Islamic solidarity and cooperation, as outlined in the OIC Charter, is the protection of Palestinians and the liberation of Palestine. As a “stateless” people, Palestinians lack protections conferred by the national government to its “official” citizens. Palestine refugees are “people whose normal place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948, who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict” (UNRWA 2015; see also UNICEF 2015). Further, “nearly one third of registered Palestine refugees, more than 1.5 million, live in 58 recognized refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem” (ibid.); and “the other two-thirds of refugees live in an around the cities and towns of the host countries, and in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip” (ibid). The majority of the Palestinian refugee population in Occupied Palestine is comprised of children.

Articles 9, 10, and 11 define preschool education and children’s success as a joint responsibility of parents and caregivers, teachers, and administrators and educational institutions. These articles support collaboration between preschool and primary- school educators to make congruent children’s experiences of preschool and primary school and thereby to ease transition, to curb grade repetition, and to reduce dropout in the first grade.

Recalling the Khartoum Declaration, Article 12 of the Tripoli Declaration focuses on aesthetic education in its emphasis on the right of children to “educational and recreational activities conducive to unleashing their creative potential, instilling into them the values of virtue, right and beauty, as well as enabling them to interact with others and acquire life skills” (OIC 2011: 4).

Articles 13 through to 17 address the role of community support and improving parenting programs in accelerating early childhood development in the Muslim World. Article 13 recognizes the role of women in children’s education and therefore stresses “the need to legally, economically, socially and politically empower women in Member States’ societies” (OIC 2011: 4). Article 13 recognizes parents and caregivers as educators and calls upon member states to “devise support programmes to help parents, families and institutions of early childhood social care to provide children with the very best stimulating environment that promotes the fullest growth and development of children physically, emotionally and intellectually, based on Islamic teachings” (ibid.). Article 14 calls for public education and counselling on “the need to abandon harmful child-rearing practices and customs such as the preference for the male child” (ibid.), and Article 15 for the adoption of legislation and advocacy to “discourage the violent disciplining of children at home and in institutions of health and educational care” (ibid.). Article 16 calls for educational activities and programs for children of most vulnerable and marginalized families; Article 17 attempts to draw attention to challenges facing children in adolescence and promotes intergenerational dialogue within families to readdress some of these challenges.

Discussion and Conclusions

The DRCCI (OIC 1994) and the CRCI (OIC 2005a) are among the first in a series of collective efforts (spanning the 1990s through to the 2000s) initiated by OIC member states, following the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN 1989). All subsequent independent Islamic statements on children’s rights build on the DRCCI the CRCI, as well as international statements on children’s rights and internationally established development goals. The Rabat Declara- tion (OIC 2005b), Khartoum Declaration (OIC 2009), and Tripoli Declaration (OIC 2011) reaffirm commitments to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Millennium Development Goals (UN 2000) and A World Fit for Children (UN 2002). The DRCCI and the CRCI amplify religious rhetoric of Islam’s commitment to children’s rights. These three advance specific interpretations of Islamic ways of knowing and being, as well as a more universalized understanding of children’s rights. The Rabat Declaration, Khartoum Declaration, and Tripoli Declaration underscore preserving and enhancing Islamic cultures and values through Islamic education for Muslim children and adolescents, as well as building Muslim children and adolescents’ capabilities for coexisting with diverse peoples; publicizing Islamic values with regard to family, women, and children through mass media and public education campaigns; promoting Islamic solidarity on child’s issues; and integrating commitments to and respect for universal human rights with Islamic values. These three declarations (OIC 2005b, 2009, 2011) include explicit statements on non- discrimination, participation, survival, and development for all children, irrespective of difference. In addition, they address a range of issues impacting children’s survival and well-being in the contemporary Muslim World, including child protec- tion against violence, exploitation, and abuse; child protection in emergencies; education; health care and nutrition; HIV/AIDS; globalization; community support and parenting programs; and investing in children.

An examination of the aforementioned Islamic statements on children’s rights reveals evolving and expanding conceptualizations of education. From an Islamic perspective, the pursuit of knowledge is required of all Muslims, and the provision of education is a social responsibility (Halstead 2004; Ramadan 2004; UNICEF 2005). Halstead (2004) and Ramadan (2004) further explain that Islamic education should centralize “revealed” knowledge; raise awareness of one’s social environment and one’s responsibility towards self and society; raise moral and spiritual conscious- ness; and guide one toward faith and right action.

The DRCCI and the CRCI each includes one article specific to education. The DRCCI accords all children with free access to basic schooling and conceptualizes education as a means to support individual development of children, to inform children about Islam, and to define the individual and collective responsibilities of young Muslims, particularly the “sons of Muslims” in preserving an Islamic society. It alludes to influences that might lead young Muslims away from Islam, but does not articulate how education might assist young people in navigating everyday life in the contemporary Muslim World. Discriminatory themes persist in the DRCCI. The CRCI includes one article with four subarticles specific to education. It sets out educational provisions, such as increasing access to primary, secondary, and post- secondary education; accommodating children with special needs and exceptional- ities; improving retention; creating teaching and learning centers and resources, including children’s books and libraries; providing access to “proper sex education” for children reaching puberty; and respecting children’s rights to wear clothing compatible with their beliefs and sharī‘ah. The latter educational provision focuses on girls’ bodies – the sites through which nationalism or cultural preservation have been contested. The CRCI begins to conceptualize an education that recognizes different learning needs among children and supports teaching and learning God-consciousness and self-consciousness (based on particular interpretations of the Qur’ān and sunnah) and language and literacy learning. In addition, the CRCI connects provisions under Education and Culture to provisions on upbringing, which provides insight into an understanding of education as a means to support teaching and learning of religious and moral values, citizenship, Islamic solidarity, dialogue, and tolerance.

The Rabat Declaration, Khartoum Declaration, and Tripoli Declaration offer a more expansive conceptualization of education than preceding Islamic statements on children’s rights. These three proclaim the rights of all children living in the Muslim World to have permanent access to quality free elementary, secondary, vocational, and higher education and to learn in “child-friendly” learning environments in which they are protected from all forms of abuse and discrimination; to experience curric- ulum and pedagogy that encourages imaginative thinking and creative expression, creates opportunities for structured and unstructured learning and play, encourages social interaction and mutual learning among children, instils a sense of responsi- bility for the well-being of others, a willingness to engage with and across difference, an ability to manage change, and promotes human rights and values of peace, tolerance, dialogue, and gender equality. In addition, these Islamic statements on children’s rights articulate the importance of public education for raising awareness about HIV/AIDS and child protection and in fostering resilience in children in a globalizing world. These three centralize the urgent need for member states to provide children and families with access to education they require to navigate risks to survival and wellbeing in the contemporary Muslim World. In contrast to the DRCCI and the CRCI, these Islamic statements on children’s rights present distinctly universalized conceptualizations of education that align more closely with internationally established standards and goals. At the same time, however, the Rabat Declaration, Khartoum Declaration, and Tripoli Declaration develop critical aspects of Islamic education, as outlined by Halstead (2004) and Ramadan (2004), such as Islamic education as a means to raise children’s awareness about the societies in which they live and to guide children towards right social and moral action within their societies.

The Islamic statements on children’s rights underscore the importance of inter- national and national strategies for promoting and protecting children’s rights in the Muslim World. The three declarations ask member states to ensure national legisla- tion, policies, and practices align with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN 1989) and its optional protocols. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN 1989) and related legislative amendments by member states is critical for protecting children.

The Rabat Declaration, Khartoum Declaration and Tripoli Declaration call for member states, the international community, civil society, and philanthropic organizations to work collaboratively to eradicate poverty in member states for children’s sake. The Investing in Children of the Islamic World Report (UNICEF 2005: 29) states,

The responsibility of industrialized countries to provide agreed-upon levels of official development assistance must be constantly re-emphasized. But there is also a pressing need for solidarity within and between the nations of the OIC, in light of their extraordinary diversity of wealth and resources .. . Some countries have indeed benefited from resource transfers from within the OIC group of countries, but such transfers remain modest in comparison with both the magnitude of needs and the potential of for enhanced aid levels. Furthermore, the bulk of this aid has not been directed to basic social services and to children’s needs.

The Rabat Declaration names systematic barriers that have hindered some OIC member states’ achievement of international development goals: “the current trends suggest that many low-income countries, including those which remain under colonial domination and foreign occupation, will not reach these internationally agree-on development goals unless urgent action is taken.” (OIC 2005b: 2). The Rabat Declaration accords higher-income member states with responsibility toward lower-income member states. The Khartoum Declaration calls upon member states to strengthen their solidarity and cooperation on children’s issues. The Tripoli Declaration sets out a series of articles specific to Islamic solidarity, particularly in relation to financing for early childhood development programs.

Reallocating and redistributing resources within and across OIC member states is regarded as necessary for protecting children’s rights. However, the Muslim World remains fractured by warfare and gross violations of human rights. For instance, as of 2015, more than half of the nearly four million registered Syrian refugees are children (UNHCR 2015c); an estimated 350,000 Somali refugees, mostly women and children, living in Dadaab Refugee Camps in Kenya are facing displacement again as Kenya demands closure of camps (UNHCR 2015a) and at least 74 of the estimated 540 causalities of the Saudi Arabia-led strikes in Yemen are believed to be children (UN 2015; UN News Centre 2015). Children are extremely vulnerable in such unstable contexts, and their access to education becomes increasingly precar- ious and limited. The Rabat Declaration, Khartoum Declaration, and Tripoli Dec- laration offer glimpses into possibilities for a different kind of a Muslim World, where Islamic solidarity and cooperation for the sake of children is prioritized.

References

References are available in the book.