Colonial experience and muslim educational reforms : a comparison of the Aligarh and the Muhammadiyah movements

This thesis is a comparative study of the educational reforms initiated by the Aligarh and Muhammadiyah movements in India and Indonesia respectively. It covers three main points: Ahmad Khan's and Ahmad Dahlan's educational philosophy; the educational system of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (MAOC) and Muhammadiyah schools; and the impact of the educational reforms of the two movements to Muslim education in general in the two countries. As will be explained in this thesis, Ahmad Khan and Ahmad Dahlan were deeply concerned with economic and social problems faced by the Muslims due to colonial policies. Both scholars came to the conviction that education was one of the most important ways to solve those problems. The two scholars, therefore, each contrived to design a new system of education for Muslims, which would produce graduates capable of meeting the new demands of the changing socio-political context while retaining their faith. Their ideas were eventually realized in the establishment of the MAOC and the Muhammadiyah schools, respectively. Even though these two institutions were unable to satisfy all Muslim aspirations, they succeeded in making Muslims in India and Indonesia aware of the need for pragmatic education, which was to contribute to the empowerment of Muslims in the colonial era