Madrasah Al-Ma'arif Al-Islamiah is an all-girls' Islamic school, commonly known as

madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

, in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. Al-Ma'arif has students at

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

and pre-university levels. It is one of six full-time Islamic

madrasahs in Singapore Madrasahs in Singapore are full-time, religious institutions that offer a pedagogical mix of Islamic religious education and secular education in their curricula. While the Arabic term 'madrasah' literally translates to 'school', whether religious ...

. Unlike most of the other madrasahs, Al-Ma'arif's curriculum places equal emphasis on Islamic religious studies and secular subjects from the Singapore Ministry of Education curriculum. Like other madrasahs in Singapore, Al-Ma'arif has a Management Committee whose members are appointed every two years by the Ministry of Education in consultation with the

Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), also known as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (IRCS), is a statutory board of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of the Government of Singapore. As a majlis, its role is to look afte ...

(MUIS).

History

Early years

Al-Maarif was established in 1936 by Syeikh Muhammad Fadhlullah Suhaimi, a strong and progressive advocate of education for girls. Al-Maarif's reformist ideals were immediately apparent by its inclusion of non-religious subjects into its curricula. Al-Maarif was also the first madrasah to accept female students as well as male. Today, Al-Maarif is one of the only two madrasahs that offer madrasah education exclusively to girls. It was later noted that founder Fadhlullah Suhaimi's son Kamil himself exemplified his father's reformist ideals—by studying jurisprudence at

Al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...

and then law at Lincoln's Inn in London—before returning to contribute as a lawyer and religious leader. Associate Professor Khairudin and Dayang Hussin postulated that Al-Maarif represented a new breed of madrasahs imbibing aspects of Islamic reformist ideals and accordingly, represented the beginning of formal Muslim education. They wrote:

Contemporary Years

In line with its reformist ideals, Al-Ma'arif was the first madrasah to prepare its students to sit for the GCE, the equivalent of today's

GCE 'O' Level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

examinations, in the 1960s, and then the

GCE 'A' Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

examinations in the 1970s. This shift, whilst revolutionary, was made in the belief that madrasah students must master both religious and secular subjects.

Notable alumni

* Dinah Aziz, the first madrasah student to score seven A1s in the 'O' Level examinations in 2008. She was featured in a book titled '50 Defining Moments For The Malay/Muslim Community'. * Amalina Ridzuan, one of the two madrasah students who were offered places in the highly competitive Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine in

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

for the first time in 2015. The other is Ahmad Abdurrahman, a graduate of

Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah is a full-time, private Islamic institution of learning in Singapore, one of the six such madrasahs in Singapore. Madrasah Aljunied is one of the oldest surviving madrasahs in Singapore. Through its years, it has gai ...

References

{{Education in Singapore , state=collapsed Primary schools in Singapore Secondary schools in Singapore Madrasahs in Singapore

History

Early years

Contemporary Years

Notable alumni

See also

References