Practitioners of education in South Africa (SA) struggle painfully between the extremes of its authoritarian and deeply religious roots that prescribe blind obedience to people in authority and their elders, and the demands of open-mindedness, critical thinking and also solidarity required for democratic citizenship. A particular pedagogy was used…

This article reviews a series of ten books entitled "Tas-heelul akhlaq wal aadaab [Morals and manners made easy]" that were produced by the Jamiatul Ulama (Council of Religious Scholars) in Transvaal in South Africa. They are designed for children between the ages of six and fifteen and are increasingly in use in the "makatib"…