The history of Islamic religious education in Malaysia before independence
The history of Islamic education in Malaysia dated back as early as 13th century when Islam first came to this region (Abdul Halim, 1995). Islamic education can be divided into four stages :

i. Centered around teachers' houses
ii. Centered around mosques, suraus and madrasahs
iii. Centered around religious institutions called 'pondok'. (literally , Hut school)
iv. Centered around religious institutions called 'madrasah' schools

i. Centered around teachers' houses

At the early stage it was carried out in a very informal way suitable to the environment of that time which it centered around teachers' homes (rumah-rumah guru). Students came to the teachers' (normally known as Ulama) homes to learn reading Quran and fardhu Ain (basic Islamic teaching).

ii. Centered around mosques, suraus and madrasahs

Due to the increasing number of students flocking to the teachers' homes where the later could not accommodate all of them, then came the idea of religious education to be centered around mosques, suraus and madrasahs. The teachers used to sit with their students in circles. These teachers were easily received by the society even sometimes they were called to palaces to teach the king of the state and their relatives.

iii. Centered around religious institutions called 'pondok'

Subsequently it centered around religious institutions called 'pondok'. (literally, it means hut school) Pondoks are traditional religious schools which dominated the Malay world education system in the earlier part of 14th century. i.e pre colonial and even during colonial period. The pondok institution was the first and most influential legacy in Islamic education in both Malaysia and Indonesia (called Pesantran).

The management of these pondoks differs from place/center to another place/center and there was no standard set of syllabus. However, the mode of instruction was similar to that practised in Makkah and Cairo before the advent of modern methods of teaching. Rosnani (1996) mentioned that many scholars have discussed the origin of Pondok institution in Malaysia, whether it originated from Sumatera, Indonesia or Pattani, in Southern Thailand. However, she argued that one cannot dismiss the possibility that the pondok institution was an influence of Makkah education of that era because the content and the teaching methods in pondok institutions were comparable to those in the Al Haram Mosque in Makkah and many pondok teachers had taken the pilgrimage to Makkah and deepened their knowledge of Islam. Some of the famous ulama (Tok guru) in the middle of 19th century were Tok Selehor, Tok Kenali, Tok Kemuning, Tok Ku Pulau Manis, etc.

Although there was no standardised content and no limitation in the years of study. The pondok curriculum shared some common features of the subject. All pondoks usually include the basic disciplines such as Tauhid, Al-Quran, Fiqh, Hadith, Nahu, Sarf, Tasawwuf and Akhlaq. After years of study and considered as 'alim' or knowledgeable by their 'guru' these students will come back to their respective villages to teach and some may go abroad to further their study to Makkah, Cairo, Pakistan or India.. When these students went to Al Azhar University and other Middle East countries they were taught and trained with the curriculum of that particular place of study and easily got influenced by it. Thus, when they returned to their home countries they usually joined the existing pondok or established a new one. They would planned and implemented either totally or partially the curriculum they had went through in their early days as students. Thus, it was not a surprise to find out that many pondoks or madrasahs curriculum were the 'carbon -copy' of Al- Azhar and other Middle East countries. This situation continues until now since the academic results or certificate given by these pondoks and madrasahs are not generally accepted by mainstream universities, many of these students have to continue their education in locations such as Pakistan, Egypt and other Middle East countries.

iv. Centered around religious institutions called 'madrasah' schools

At the end of 19th century especially after World War 1, with the influence of 'Islah movement' led by reformists Sayyid Jamaluddin Al Afghani (1839-1879) and Muhammad Abduh, (1849-1905), many religious 'madrasah' schools were established in many places in Malaysia as alternative to pondok school and also to compete with the secular school. The Malaysian reformists ideas came from Sheikh Tahir Jalaludin and Shiekh Ahmad Al Hadi who were very much influenced by Al-Afghani and Abduh (Al Attas,1972). With these Madrasah system, Islamic education not only focus on spiritual, fardu Ain and Tauhid but it became more comprehensive, it include other subjects in the curriculum such as Arabic language, Maths and Geograph.

Islamic Education during the British Period

Japan conquered Malaysia (1941-45) and was defeated to the British. The British then made few educational reformations starting with Barnes Report and Fern Wu Report. Briefly, the Barnes Report stated the lack of religious instruction in schools had led Malay parents sent their children to learn religion in the afternoon sessions which were very tiresome. The committee suggested 'jawi' be omitted and religious instruction be taught instead. Barnes Report also suggested only one system of primary education (national primary school) to be held. Fenn Wu Report suggested and supported 'trilingual' where Malay, Chinese and English languages should be encouraged to be the medium of instruction. As a compromise, the government passed the Education Ordinance 1952, where the promotion of national school system by gradual introduction of English into Malay Vernacular schools and Malay and English languages into Chinese and Tamil Vernacular school and also recommended the maintenance of English national type school. Interestingly, it also recommended that religious education be provided to pupils either within school premises or in suitable premises close by as part of the school lessons ( Hussein Onn,1957).

During the British period education was divided into religious and non religious education. Here has the beginning of the secular education in Malaysia. Secular schools in Malaysia were largely an innovation of British colonial government. Many of the earliest schools in Malaysia were started in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Melaka, and Singapore. The oldest school in Malaysia is the Penang Free school, founded in 1816, followed by Malacca Free School later changed to Malacca High school in 1978. While the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) was established in 1905 based on English Public School. Many of these schools still carry with them an air of prestige although there is no formal difference between these schools and other schools.