Egypt and Turkey: Music Education in Two

Since teaching in a girls' high school in UK with nearly 90% Muslims, I have become interested in issues concerning teaching music to Muslims. In an attempt to understand the concerns that many Muslims have with music in school in the UK, I have visited various Muslim countries looking at their music education (Harris, 2003.) Egypt and Turkey present two interesting cases because although they both have a predominantly Muslim population, Egypt is ruled according to Islamic principles, whilst Turkey has a secular constitution. In looking at the music education in each country I aim to understand something of the culture of origin of some of the Muslims in Britain. This is part of a research project, the aim of which is to find a way in which music in schools in Britain can be more acceptable to Muslims, without violating their principles, whilst at the same time fulfilling the requirements of the National Curriculum.