This article was published in Jumuah Magazine about a year ago. I thought I should publish it on my blog: since it is further evidence that revelation is far superior than intelligence.
By Gohar Mushtaq (Ph.D., Biochemistry, Rutgers University, USA)
When Islamic civilization was at its zenith, non-Muslim students from all across Europe sought education at Islamic universities in places like Muslim Spain, Turkey, and Egypt. Their impression of the Islamic civilization was such that they would imitate most of its aspects. When Roger Bacon (one of the founding fathers of British educational system) returned to Britain after studying at the Islamic universities, he was so fond of Muslim dress and Arabic books some of his contemporaries called him "Muhammad Bacon". However, with the passage of time the wheel of history turned leading to the decline of the Muslim power and civilization. Not only did Muslims loose their freedom, they also had to go through one of the most damaging experiences forced upon them losing the right to educate themselves the way they believe they should. Neil Postman (an American writer and intellectual) writes in his book Conscientious Objections that: "Every age has its own special forms of imperialism. And so does each conqueror. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when the British mastered the art, their method of invasion was to send their navy, then their army, then their administrators, and finally their educational system."1
Using this methodology, and claiming that its purpose was to help Muslims achieve modernity since they are not capable of achieving it on their own, Britain dismantled the educational systems of its Muslim colonies. Hence, the Islamic schools in these countries, where both Islamic and secular sciences used to be taught simultaneously, were rendered ineffective. Some Muslim historians indicate that Al-Jami'ah al-Yusufiyah (Yusufiyah University) of Marrakech, Morocco, was the last Muslim educational institution to be ‘conquered' by the Western imperialism. Ever since, a network of schools and colleges based on the British educational system spread throughout the Muslim lands.
In all those schools and colleges, sooner or later, the same moral diseases, which had already infested the British and then, American schools and colleges, started to emerge. Chief among those illnesses is the malady of coeducation, which refers to the educational system in which boys and girls are taught in the same classroom in schools and colleges. On the other hand, some Muslim countries in their blind imitation of the Western educational models, adopted coeducation and implemented it in their school systems a trend prophesized by Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, in an authentic hadeeth narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: "You will surely follow in the ways of those before you, inch by inch and step by step, so much so that if they were to enter an iguana's [a large lizard] hole, you would follow after them." (Muslim)
In the following discussion, the negative effects of coeducation and the benefits of single-sex education will be briefly presented in light of religion and modern science.
Coeducation: An Islamic View
Islam has given the Muslims a superior and comprehensive social system in which there is no room for unnecessary and reckless mixed gatherings. And based on its realistic approach to the human nature, Islam is perfectly aware of the fact that free mixing of men and women breeds moral vices which are significantly culpable in the destruction of the moral fabric of many societies, as past and present societal experiences reveal. In the Qur'an, Allah says the following to the believing men and women: "Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and guard their modesty. That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and guard their modesty and not to reveal their adornment." [24: 30-31] After these verses in the surah of an-Noor, details of women's modesty inside the home are provided. Similarly, in the surah of al-Ahzab (verse 59), the commandments regarding a Muslim female's dress outside the home or Hijab are given. Likewise, Allah gave the commandment in the surah of al-Israa (verse 32): "And come not near to adultery (or fornication), verily, it is a shameful deed and an evil way (that leads to other evils)," which clearly closes all back-doors to deviant human desires and illicit behavior.
Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "Verily, I have been sent as a teacher." (Tirmithi) The Companion Muawiyah ibnul Hakam as-Sulami said about the Prophet: "I have neither seen any teacher before Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, nor after him, who could teach better than him." (Muslim) For sure, the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, was the most successful teacher in the human history-who raised great students like Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, Umar ibnul Khattab, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ibn Abbas, Aisha and many others who followed, and remained faithful to, his guidance in the field of education as well as in other walks of life. The teaching method of the Prophet did not include coeducation; for we learn from his Sunnah that he had appointed a separate day for the education of male Companions and another for the education of female Companions.
Moreover, the teaching method of Aisha, the mother of the believers, involved teaching male students from behind a curtain. In fact, a look at the Islamic history shows that the Islamic learning institutions, up to the university level, were separate for males and females or, at least, there used to be a separation between the two.
Islam is deeply aware of the differences between males and females with respect to psychological development. The Qur'an has clearly stated that males and females are not the same: "And the male is not like the female." [3:36]
The difference to which this verse refers is of wide range. Essentially, it refers to the biological, emotional and psychological differences between the two genders. There is no doubt that men and women have different biological traits that results in a number of differences in their respective developmental and learning patterns throughout their lives. The growth spurt of girls in the adolescent stage has been showed to be faster than that of boys. Biological processes do really affect and influence psychological tendencies. Due to the inherent biological differences between males and females, variation in their psychological tendencies and dispositions is inevitable.
An Alien Idea
Coeducation is an alien idea to the Islamic society. In fact coeducation is a by-product of the Western thought and its educational system. This system of education originated in the earlier part of the twentieth century in Scotland and was then taken up by several private and state-aided schools in England. Later, it was also adopted by the schools and colleges in the United States of America. In the 1950's, followers of the feminist movement started to propagate a broad-based idea of coeducation that will allow women to not only work with men side-by-side in the society, but to sit with them cheek by jowl in the schools and colleges. Today, this task has been taken up by many of the NGO's (Non-Governmental Organizations) working in the Muslim countries. Meanwhile, in the West, the continuous failures that have characterized its experimentation with the idea of coeducation over the previous 30 years have prompted some Western intellectuals to seriously consider the option of single-sex education.
Benefits of Coeducation as Advanced by its Advocates
Before discussing the problem with coeducation and highlighting the merits of single-sex education, it is necessary to consider coeducation in light of modern science, to present a more complete picture of the issue at hand. So, what do the advocates of coeducation say regarding the benefits of mixed-gender education?
In a five-year longitudinal study of single-sex schools becoming coeducational, reported in the 1989 issue of the Journal of Educational Psychology (vol. 81), Australian researcher Prof. H.W. Marsh looked at the advantages of coeducation and found out that there appeared to be some socialization benefits that can be achieved from coeducation. In addition, those benefits were not at the expense of academic achievement for either girls or boys.
In the same vein, in a study conducted by the Australian Research Council, researcher Ian David Smith of the School of Education Psychology (University of Sydney) measured academic achievement of both boys and girls at two Sydney high schools which had turned into coeducational schools. The study found that the academic performance of boys and girls did not change when they went from single-sex schools to mixed-sex schools. Similarly, researchers Robinson & Smithers (Research Papers in Education, 1999, vol. 14) argued in favor of coeducation on the basis that it is more realistic to everyday life when they stated: "It has been suggested that educating the sexes together is more like real life, and the experience of growing up with the opposite sex makes it easier to move on to the mixed environments of university and employment."
In addition, advocates of coeducation claim that educating girls side by side with boys does not harm the fundamental traits of the girls' feminine nature. A girl will not become masculine because she has been educated in a boys' school. The presence of both genders together in the class will have a wholesome effect on their character. According to the supporters of coeducation, mixed-gender education leads to improved social and personal development. Both girls and boys meet regularly to discuss their progress in a co-ed class. In so doing they learn that ‘equality' does not mean ‘sameness'- that men and women often have different perspectives on the same issues and that each gender has a great deal to offer the other. There may be some truth in the claims made by the proponents of coeducation. Nothing in this world is one hundred percent evil. Everything has harms and benefits associated with it. However, the approach of Islamic Shari'ah includes, among other things, weighing out the benefits and harms of things. This has been mentioned in the Qur'an clearly in the case of alcohol-drinking and gambling: "They ask you (O Muhammad) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say:
‘In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit.'" [2:219] Hence, in the case of alcohol and gambling, the Qur'an acknowledges that there are some benefits for people but at the same time, asserts that there are much more harms to the individuals as well as the society than these benefits. It is for this reason that Islamic law does not make alcohol and gambling permissible. Similarly, in the case of coeducation, there may be benefits such as socialization and self-confidence in the presence of the members of opposite sex, but the harms of mixed-gender education are much more than its benefits. This belief of ours will be further substantiated and furnished by corroborating facts and statistics below.
Psychological Harms of Coeducation
Placing boys and girls in the same class can be disadvantageous and harmful for both, psychologically as well as biologically. Famous Islamic scholar and theologian, Imam Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH), in his book Tawq al-Hamamah (The Neck-Ring of the Dove), which is about the art, practice and psychology of love and lovers, describes some of the things that take place in mixed gatherings of women and men as "strange and uncommon" to imply a change in the psyche and attitude (thus behavior) prompted by the situation. Although they might seem simplistic, Ibn Hazm's observations and findings are supported and elaborated by modern scientific research.
In his book Men and Marriage, the American author and intellectual, George Gilder, notes that boys and girls attain puberty earlier when they are in coeducation environment.
The production of male hormone, testosterone, is increased to 20 times than normal in male adolescents and, as a consequence, they suffer from severe mental and sexual agitation. Similarly, female hormones production increases in adolescent girls and as a consequence, they suffer from lethargy and depression. At puberty, the limbic system (area of the brain) is stimulated by the surge of those sex hormones, which affects the behavior of both sexes. In such conditions, most of them think perpetually about the opposite sex. In the words of George Gilder, "First and most important, most of the boys and a good number of the girls are thinking about the opposite sex most of the time. If you do not believe this, you are a dreamer." It is interesting to note that feelings of men and women toward each other stay the same in colleges and universities. In the learning institutions where there is coeducation, love affairs and courtships are common.
Structural Differences in the Brains of Boys and Girls
Science has shown that long before the birth of the child, the sex hormones released in the womb of his/her mother induce specific, permanent and different developmental effects on the growing brains of the male and female child. For example, during pregnancy, the testicles of a developing baby-boy release as much testosterone (male sex hormone) as the amount produced by a young adult man. These sex hormones bind to the brain tissue of the fetus and permanently and irreversibly transform his brain. Furthermore, researchers Reuwen and Anat Achiron showed in a research paper, published in the medical journal, Prenatal Diagnosis (2001 issue), that the brain of an unborn baby-girl can be distinguished from a male brain during a regular ultrasound exam of women who are 26 weeks pregnant. Similarly, when a group of scientists compared the brain tissues of infant children, they found significant differences between the brains of boys and the brains of girls. So striking are the differences in the photomicrographs of the brain tissues of male and female children they are easily visible to the naked human eye. Interestingly, this research which was published in the year 2000 issue of Developmental Brain Research Journal was headed by a female research scientist Dr. Maria Cordero.
In the same vein, female researcher Dr.Tracey Shors of Rutgers University (U.S.A.) and her associates concluded, based on a study they conducted on male and female brains, that the nature of male brain is such that when it is under stress, its learning ability increases, whereas the learning ability of a female brain is impaired and reduced when it is exposed to stress (PNAS, Oct. 15, 2002). This finding indicates that boys need discipline and separate-sex environment for their abilities to be sharpened. Conversely, girls require a lenient environment for studying. This is also due to the fact that girls, whether children or grown ups, are very adept at face-reading. In a research published in the Journal of Genetic Psychology (vol. 154), a group of researchers at Wellesley College did a study on young children and found that 3-year old girls have the ability to interpret facial expressions better than the 5-year old boys. Obviously, this result indicates that girls can judge the signs of anger and irritation on the teacher's face. Boys, on the other hand, are very poor in this ability and, therefore, need admonishment.
Boys and Girls Learn Differently
Dr. Harriot Hanlan, a female scientist at Virginia Tech University, analyzed the male and female brain activity in a research conducted on 284 boys and 224 girls ranging from age 6 months to 16 years. Dr. Hanlan came to a conclusion that in girls, the brain centers that are related to language abilities are six (6) years more advanced as compared to those centers in boys. On the other hand, the spatial memory of boys is 4 years more advanced as compared to girls. It is for this reason that boys and girls learn languages, mathematics and geography differently. Similarly, boys develop digital coordination of hands nine months after girls. This is so because the nerves in the boys' fingers develop later as compared to the nerves in girls' fingers. Digital coordination of hands is important in activities such as holding the pencil and good hand-writing. To sum up, what really matters here is that these developmental differences often leads educators, teachers, and parents to unfairly sidelining boys as slow or dumb and planting a seed of distaste for school in those boys as early as the first grade. But the gulf of learning differences between boys and girls increases with time more evidently so in the coeducation environment. Under such circumstances, one wonders how could the two sexes be placed in the same classroom for learning?!
Different Hearing Abilities of Boys and Girls
In researches carried out over the past 40 years, scientists have shown that right from childhood, the female sense of hearing is about four times better than the hearing ability in males. This finding has been affirmed in a recent research conducted by two female scientists, Dr. Jane Cassidy and Dr. Karen Ditty, and published in the Journal of Music Therapy in 2001. When these two female scientists conducted a study on 350 newborns, they found that young girls have better hearing ability than boys of same age. This difference in the male and female hearing capacities has deep implications during their education. For example, in a mixed-gender classroom in which girls are sitting in the front rows and boys in the back rows, if the teacher speaks in a gentle and low voice, boys will engage in acts of naughtiness because they cannot hear the teacher. Conversely, if the teacher speaks with a loud voice so that the boys could hear him, the girls (whose sense of hearing is already four times stronger than boys) sitting in the front rows will feel as if the teacher is drilling in their ears.
Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D., founder and director of the National Association for Single-Sex Public Education, author of "Why Gender Matters", a family doctor and psychologist, argues that due to the hard-wired differences between boys and girls, it can become impossible for both genders to learn successfully in the classroom together. In one interview, Dr. Sax noted: "Almost every substantial choice you have to make will benefit one gender and disadvantage another." He further added that "girls hear better than boys and that part of boys' reasons for falling behind is simply that they can't hear the teacher." Needless to say, such problems do not exist in single-sex classrooms.
Long-Range Harmful Effects of Coeducation
On May 26, 2003, Business Week (one of the most prestigious magazines in the U.S.) printed a powerful article under the title, "The New Gender Gap" written by Michelle Collins, a female journalist. In that article, Michele noted the fact that there has been a continuous decline in the education of men in the past 20 years. Actually, she wrote, in the Western countries, a wide section of boys do not make it to college after finishing their high schools. The reason, she explains, lies in the fact that coeducation provides an unnatural and often feminine educational environment, and as a result, many boys get disappointed and lose their focus on education, some even react in negative ways as they try to show their manhood by committing crimes and resorting to violence. Furthermore, since 1970 as the number of coeducation schools increased in the U.S.A., suicide rates amongst young boys rose by three folds.
To add insult to injury, when teachers in the coeducation environment observe that boys (in comparison to girls) usually have hard time sitting in one place to learn, they commonly identify them as having the disease known as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and some of these children end up taking drugs such as "Ritalin". In fact, about 80% of the Ritalin used in the whole world is given to children "diagnosed" with ADD in the U.S.A. Of course this is what the reality is, but lest we forget, this is also happening while the U.S.A. is leading the world in the area of coeducation. What is more important is that Ritalin use has increased 500% over the past decade, leading some to call it the new K-12 management tool. According to Paul R. Wolpe, a psychiatry professor at the University of Pennsylvania, there are school districts where 20% to 25% of the boys are on that drug. Wolpe notes, "Ritalin is a response to an artificial social context that we've created for children." The fact of the matter remains that, I believe, the children are not the ones who are sick, rather, it is the mixed-gender educational system that is sick and is in need of treatment. What most of us are not aware of is the appalling situation of children with similar psychological and emotional conditions in the many third world countries that follow coeducation systems.
Because coeducation environment creates similar cases of depression and lack of focus in these children, they show similar behavior to that of the children in American schools, but instead of getting Ritalin, they end up getting harsh physical punishment. The teachers assume that these children just do not like to learn and respect school's discipline so they punish them to enforce discipline and change their behavior.
In summarizing the harmful effects of coeducation, George Gilder has this to say in his book Men and Marriage:
"Adolescent boys are radically different from adolescent girls. The boys, for example, are at the pinnacle of sexual desire and aggressiveness. In school, what they chiefly need is male discipline and challenge; ideally, without girls present to distract them. Girls, on the other hand, are less aggressive and sexually compulsive at this stage and are more willing to study without rigid policing and supervision. Thus a classroom that contains both boys and girls will hurt both." And a question remains to be answered: to what extent this harm may go and at what expense, when this system of education is forced upon the children for their lifelong schooling? Especially for parents and educators, before giving any answers, there is much for them to learn and reflect upon.
The Success of Single-Sex Education: Practical Evidence
Apart from Muslim countries-where education is still mostly a single-sex-classroom-based system (same curricula but separate classrooms) and after experiencing the deleterious effects of coeducation, many countries in the West have recently started experimenting with the single-sex education system. An overwhelming majority of the people affected by this change indicated that seeing and experiencing the changes brought by applying single-sex education system in their schools helped them truly appreciate the idea and understand it better. Benjamin Wright, principal of the Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Seattle, Washington, turned his previously co-ed school into one with separate-sex classrooms. Mr. Wright stated that previously in coeducation, most of the teachers' time was wasted in resolving issues arising from boys teasing the girls and vice versa. However, now in separate-sex environment, they are in fact teaching knowledge to the children. Mr. Wright also noted that in the state-level exams which were held in Washington in 2002 (The Washington Assessment of Student Learning), their school boys who were previously being taught under the coeducation system and were scoring 10%, increased their scores to 73%, courtesy of single-sex education, an outstanding success indeed.
Testimonials from Around the World
Jamaica
Single-sex education is quite common in the Caribbean country, Jamaica. In a large study of Jamaican schools published in the 1985 issue of the International Journal of Science Education, it was shown that girls at single-sex high schools performed much better in mathematics and science as compared to those girls who were studying at co-ed high schools. The study concluded that "the effects of sex stereotyping are more sharply apparent in the coeducational setting, for here there appears to be a stronger need to differentiate between the sexes. Thus, even if subjects such as mathematics and sciences are technically available to girls in this type of school [mixed gender school], they are more likely than their single-sex institutional counterparts to get the message that such subjects are unfeminine and beyond their grasp intellectually." Another very interesting study which confirms this contention is conducted in Britain by Lawrie and Brown who surveyed 284 students of the age group 14-15. The study findings, which were published in the 1992 issue of the British Journal of Educational Psychology, arrived at similar results as the above-mentioned research. Lawrie and Brown found that students at all-girls' schools reported enjoying math more, and found math less difficult, as compared to the girls who attended co-ed schools. Girls at the all-girls schools were more than twice as likely to say that they planned to take advanced math, compared to girls at co-ed schools.
Canada
Another shining example of the success of single-sex education comes from the inner-city James Lyng High School in Montreal, Canada that was a coeducational institution in the past. Five years ago, single-sex classrooms were introduced in the school and since then, students' absenteeism has declined, pass scores are higher and the number of students going on from this school to college has nearly doubled. All this is due to the blessings of single-sex education. Our next testimony from Canada is taken from a report published by the Montreal Gazette, the most widely circulated newspaper in Montreal, Canada, in its October 1999 issue titled: "Let's Separate Boys, Girls in Classes". This article reports on research conducted by the Superior Educational Council of Quebec and its final recommendation to the Canadian government advising it to end coeducation in its public schools and have them adopt the old system of the 1940s when schools separated males from females and even had separate entrances for boys and girls to the school buildings. The head of this educational council Celine Saint-Pierre (a female) was quoted as saying: "There is plenty of evidence that boys and girls learn differently." Celine further added that education should be separate-gender based, otherwise boys and girls will keep on getting weaker in their studying and the Quebec society will have to suffer its bitter consequences in the future. In addition, the article reported the council as being very concerned about the state of education in the province; quoting their statement that "Quebec is headed for a social crisis, a situation where males won't be able to get jobs in a knowledge-based economy."
Australia
In July 2003, a conference of educational experts was held in Sydney, Australia, where several speakers presented evidence that the boys who are educated in single-sex schools may do far better in terms of maturity and social adjustment than boys who attend coeducation schools. Dr. Bruce Cook, principal of the Southport School on the Gold Coast, told the audience of his experiences and observations that boys educated in single-sex schools prove to be better husbands in the future because, due to absence of girls around them in schools and colleges, they do not have to adopt a ‘masculine' attitude. Hence, boys in single-sex schools "become more sensitive men."
Personal Testimonials
We conclude this telling reportage of the news the development and growth of the single-sex educational systems is making by the following personal testifications to the benefits of single-sex education.
The first anecdote and good example is found in the personal experience of a known contemporary Western historian, Steven Miles. Dr. Miles put in plain words, in an interview, how attending a single-sex high school was a turning point in his life. He believes his attendance of a separate-gender school to be the main reason his abilities flourished and, eventually, he did his Ph.D in history. He said: "I began high school more shy than most adolescents. But I did take the enormous step of joining the speech team, and that opened a new world to me. It led me to other activities...I strongly believe that they made possible the development of interests and skills that led me to undertake a Ph.D in history. When I think back on the catalyst joining the speech team and I consider the fact that forensics in Illinois is dominated by girls, about 70/30, I cannot imagine that I would have joined the team in a co-ed school...I needed the chance to explore my own potential without worrying about looking foolish in front of the girls."
In a recent Newsweek article (October 24, 2005) titled, "With No Boys to Ogle, We Had Time To Learn," Christine Flowers wrote of her experiences as an undergraduate student at Bryn Mawr College (which follows separate-sex education at undergraduate level). She was exceedingly happy to get admission at Bryn Mawr, especially because it gave her the opportunity to extend her 12 years of single-sex education into 16. According to Flowers, "...it's far too distracting to have a member of the opposite sex sitting in class beside you." She went on, describing her female college mates: "At Bryn Mawr, the women I encountered were brilliant, independent and focused. Not all of them arrived that way, as this writer can confirm, but all of them exited confident of success in whichever fields they chose to enter." Studying at a separate-gender educational institution encouraged Christine Flowers to concentrate on her studies as she points out: "I immersed myself in French and Italian, history and philosophy, fencing and swimming. I never once worried about whether I was going to have a date on Friday night (I never once did), nor did I hesitate to contribute a comment in class because I felt intimidated by the attractive young man to my left...Bryn Mawr [college] helped me to understand that excellence has no gender preference." Flowers further clarifies that females are not the only ones who benefit from single-sex education. Educating the two genders in separate classes is beneficial for boys as well, and Christine Flowers' experience as a school teacher stands testimony to this fact as she writes: "I used to teach at a boys' school in suburban Philadelphia, and while I'm certain that my teenage scholars weren't completely unaware of female charms, they did seem to focus admirably on their schoolwork between the hours of 8 and 3...The ability to spend a few hours concentrating on developing their minds and not their social skills should take precedence over some misguided urge to integrate."
Summary and Conclusion
Evidence based on scientific research and empirical studies has been briefly presented and discussed in this article to support the claim that single-sex educational systems are best suited to the human fitrah and the function of education in the human life. The article also pointed out the negative effects of coeducation and the fact that it is an unnatural and artificial social construct with more harms than advantages. Boys and girls need separate training to suit their different rates of physical, intellectual and emotional growth. Research has shown that this gender gap in education extends from primary school to undergraduate levels at university. However, it becomes much more intense when boys and girls reach their adolescent age and then it continues in the higher classes. Single-sex schools provide better environments for young people where they remain free from the pull of the opposite sex. This difference in the psychological make-up results in a huge difference in the way the two sexes learn in a class and in the way members of the two genders influence the learning of one another while present in the same classroom. It must be noted that Islam cares much for the preservation of morals and the maintenance of modesty and chastity in the Muslim society. To achieve this goal, Islam requires the highest degree of cautiousness when dealing with the members of the opposite sex. A Muslim is always asked to distance himself from anything that stirs his sexual urge. Islam forbids free intermingling of sexes in the society. Islam has the basic requirement of young men and women maintaining the purity of their sexual lives from the very beginning. Muslim adolescents are specifically asked to maintain a safe distance from the opposite sex for their own benefit. Islam is a religion that is in complete accordance with human nature. Islam emphasizes the upbringing of children in an environment that would preserve their ‘fitrah' (inherent Islamic nature) state. If children or youth attend mixed-gender classes in education, there are good chances they will be exposed to acts that may tarnish their whole worldview of sexual morality. They may even lose the ability to distinguish between modesty and indecency, morality and immorality, chastity and promiscuity.
The Islamic approach to dealing with vice and corruption in the society is, as we stated above, to nip the evil in the bud.
This can be better understood by learning about the well known principle of Islamic law called: sadd baab ath-Tharai' (i.e., blocking or narrowing means/ways that lead to commission of sins). According to this principle, if an act or event is capable of leading you to sin, you should avoid it even if it were not a sin in itself. It is due to this principle that Islam always discourages free-mixing of the sexes, which includes coeducation as well. Imam Ibnul Qayyim writes in his I'lamul Muwaqieen (vol. 2) about this Islamic principle thus: "The Islamic principle known as sadd baab ath-tharai', means that some of the permissible acts (mubahat) are sometimes forbidden lest they serve as back doors for commission of prohibited acts. For instance, exchanging gifts among Muslims is a recommended Sunnah act, but it is forbidden to present gifts to a government official for fear that it might lead to bribery and corruption. Also, to ogle the face of a woman (who is not one's mahram) is prohibited because such intense staring is capable of sowing the germs of fornication in the heart."
In coeducation environments, students have more opportunity and temptations to go astray. They cannot maintain the right etiquette of intermingling as prescribed by the Islamic Shari'ah, at all times during school hours. Also, students in coeducation schools might become more consumed by how they appear or present themselves to the opposite sex than by their studies. Perhaps this is what many sociologists refer to on the subject of friendship between man and woman: that it is difficult to have pure friendship between the two, because the more friendship deepens, the more the instincts find their way to physical expression between the man and the woman.
Educational systems should not overlook the fundamental differences, in nature and role, between men and women. Ignorance of these differences has led the advocates of Feminism to believe that both sexes should have the same responsibilities, and hence the same type of education. Nothing can be more absurd. A man may learn cooking but he cannot bear a child. Similarly, a woman may handle a machine-gun but she cannot replace the role of men in real combat situations. God has meant for human beings, males and females, to be effective and creative soul nurturers and nation builders each in his/her own capacity and in ways that are most effective and best fitting to his/her innate nature.
References
1.Postman, Neil (1992). Conscientious Objections: Stirring up Trouble about
Language, Technology and Education. New York,Vintage Books
2. Tawq al-Hamamah quoted in:Abu Zahra, Muhammad (1989). Life of
Imam Ibn Hazm. Lahore, Sheikh Ghulam Ali & Sons Ltd
3. Gilder, George (2001). Men and Marriage. Louisiana, Pelican
Publishing Company
4. Shores, Tracey J. & Miesegaes, George (Oct. 15, 2002)."Testosterone in utero and at birth dictates how stressful experience will affect learning in adulthood." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99: 13955- 13960
5. Boyatzis, Chris, Chazan, E. & Ting, C.Z. (1993)."Preschool children's decoding of facial emotions." Journal of Genetic Psychology 154: 375-382
6. Cassidy, Jane & Ditty, Karen (2001)."Gender differences among newborns on a transient otoacoustic emissions test for hearing." Journal of
Music Therapy 38: 28-35
7. Horsey, Jen "Boys continue to struggle with reading and writing".
(Toronto (CP) Quoted in: (http://www.singlesexschools.org/)
8. Conlin, Michelle (March 26, 2003).The New Gender Gap: From kindergarten to grad school, boys are becoming the second sex. (Cover story)
BusinessWeek online
9. Conlin, Michelle (March 26, 2003).The New Gender Gap: From kindergarten to grad school, boys are becoming the second sex. (Cover story)
BusinessWeek online
10. Gilder, George (2001). Men and Marriage. Louisiana, Pelican
Publishing Company
11. Hamilton, Harriet (1985)."Performance levels in science and other subjects for Jamaican adolescents attending single-sex and Coeducation al high schools." International Journal of Science Education 69(4): 535-547.
12. Lawrie, L. & Brown, R. (1992)."Sex stereotypes, school subject preferences and career aspirations as a function of single/mixed-sex schooling and preference/absence of an opposite sex sibling." British Journal of Educational Psychology 62: 132-138.
13. Horsey, Jen "Boys continue to struggle with reading and writing".
(Toronto (CP) Quoted in: (http://www.singlesexschools.org/)
14. Sydney Morning Herald (July 6, 2003). Quoted in: (http://www.singlesexschools.org)
15. Single-Sex Education. (http://www.singlesexschools.org/)
16. Flowers, Christine (October 24, 2005). With No Boys to Ogle,We Had
Time to Learn. Newsweek.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. Zacharias,Yvonne (Oct. 14, 1999). Let's separate boys, girls in classes: report. The Montreal Gazette. (www.montrealgazette.com/news)
