ABSTRACT
Empirical evidence from early postcolonial Indonesia, India, and Singapore suggests that Islamic and Christian schools have historically not been the natural opponents of secular education and, hence, secularism as a project. Muhammadiyah's schools were basically of two types: more conservative, religious schools, and general schools that primarily taught secular subjects besides religion. After independence, the significant track record of Muhammadiyah and other Islamic organisations continued as the postcolonial government allowed the establishment of a full Muslim educational system under the directive of the Ministry of Religion. India should remain a secular country, "secular in the sense that its Government is not guided by any religious dogma and all people, irrespective of their religious belief, can enjoy equal opportunities for advancement". Teachers of secular subjects did not respect teachers of religion, as the former considered the education of the latter to be inferior and thus not adequate to meet the new educational standards.
