Muslim schools in post-apartheid South Africa: Living with an apartheid past?

The point of departure of this article is that the proliferation of Muslim schools as a post-apartheid phenomenon cannot be ignored as some Muslims feel that their children's education in the new South Africa - where public schools are viewed as secular sites - would not be afforded a favourable position. Support for these independent schools is founded in the South African Schools Act of 1996, which makes provision for public and independent schools. These schools, therefore, see themselves as part of a continuing process for Muslim communities to provide and foster education in a religious context, one that is in harmony with a culture of democracy. Critics, however, view the community-specific orientation of Muslim schools as merely propagating and preserving the racial constructions of apartheid South Africa, since these schools are overwhelmingly attended by Coloured and Indian learners only. Following on from this, I will discuss how Muslim schools seemingly show the potential to contribute to the democratisation process in the country, but paradoxically seem to propagate stereotypes of women that might undermine their emancipatory agenda.