Islamic higher educational institutions in a secular country: South Indian lessons of systemic survival

Abstract

In a continuous global transformation of education, with its differing disciplines, debates and discussions on Islamic education also have been going on; especially on the higher education arena. In India, the largest democratic country in the world, despite having no privilege to any particular religion, and thus being marginally developed, Islamic higher education sector has been giving futuristic lessons of a systemic survival. Thus, concentrating on South Indian models of advancement in the area, this paper intends to outline some of the current observations pertaining to Islamic higher education in Kerala as a case. It would also highlight the concept of a visionary planning of education in the light of Islamic Higher Educational Institutions (IHEIs) in a South Indian context. Acknowledging the limitations of current institutional planning amidst communal and cultural differences in Southern region of the country, implications from this paper would be meant to the future planning and development of IHEIs in a secular country.