There are three main ways that Muslims approach modern education: appended curriculum, informal teachings, or curriculum integration.

In the appended approach, which is by far the most common, the mainstream secular curriculum is used along with separate Arabic, Quran and Islamic studies classes. This method isolates the study of Islamic knowledge from all other sciences. It can lead children to compartmentalize teachings, and to learn to view religious teachings as irrelevant to 'real' life. They may come to believe that the secular curriculum—which is more dominant, consistent and overreaching—as better equipped in helping them make sense of the world. They are likely to end up with two incompatible worldviews.

In informal teachings, there is often a focus on character or value-based education and Muslim culture. By relying on general principles, the hope to circumvent the issues that arise from isolating the Quranic and other Islamic sciences from the rest of the student's schooling experience. These methods are meant to introduce Islamic teachings through informal opportunities and teaching moments. This could look like, for example, highlighting the importance of Muslim 'scientists' and their inventions in a science or social studies class, calculating the distance between Safa and Marwa in a math class, or reflecting on signs of Allah in nature for science class. Since this approach is constrained within the secular curriculum, it is inherently very difficult for Muslims to organize a cohesive, consistent, and meaningful Islamic education over the span of a student's school life.

The third approach, curriculum integration, is the most recent and most ambitious attempt to integrate Islamic principles, values and teachings into modern education. The goal is to redesign the curriculum at the level of lesson plans, objectives, and assessments for the purpose of providing deeper and more meaningful learning experiences. In principle, curriculum integration offers several advantages over the other two approaches. However, in practice, most run into insurmountable difficulties in attempting to implement it sustainably and effectively across the grades. 

It is not just the tangible secular curriculum that is problematic.  We have to grapple with the intangible culture inherent in the design of the modern education system. It quickly becomes evident that conventional education, as is, cannot accommodate other perspectives, at least not in a cohesive and meaningful way.