The Status of Family System in the Middle East Crisis and the Role of Comparative Education

The Status of Family System in the Middle East Crisis and the Role of Comparative Education Abbas Madandar Arani, Ph.D. Regional conflicts have greatly increased during the last two decades, a trend that is the outcome of the type of relationships among civilizations. Considering the political, social and economic relations between Muslim and western countries majority of these conflicts have taken place in the Middle East. In such a situation, surely family and educational systems play a vital role in alleviating human suffering. These two social systems can increase common understanding among intellectuals and people in the involved societies. On this score, comparative education can promote intercultural understanding in the diverse world of the twenty-first century. The present paper endeavors to briefly compare educational viewpoints held by three Muslim pedagogues- Al-Farabi, Avicenna and Al-Ghazali – with those of three western pioneers in education–Locke, Rousseau and John Dewey- via historical comparative research and demonstrate the fact that common educational viewpoints can reduce formation of prejudiced attitudes and boost intercultural understanding at national and regional levels via family system. Key words: comparative education, great pedagogues, family system, the Middle East