Rear-mirror view: representation of Islam and Muslims in the RE textbooks

ABSTRACT

In the article, ‘Agreed Syllabi and Un-Agreed Values: Religious Education and Missed Opportunities for Fostering Social Cohesion’, Panjwani (2005) presented a case study of Muslim representation in the selected agreed syllabi and RE textbooks in England and Wales. The present article aims to provide a rear-mirror view, reviewing the representation of Islam and Muslims in the agreed syllabi, examining the trends since the 2005 article and offering curricular approaches that can lead to a way forward. During this period, Islam and Muslim representations remain a public concern and its teaching and learning continue to be a matter of debate and reflection in Europe and elsewhere. The paper starts by outlining some pedagogical movements within Religious Education (RE), of which Islam is a part, that have gone through several developments in recent decades. These new directions to approach the study of religion include the understanding of religion as a concept category, religious literacy and hermeneutical approach. Drawing upon these approaches, the later part of the paper reviews selected textbooks and agreed syllabi and proposes a way forward in light of the recent developments in the field.

KEYWORDS:

• Religious education
• Islamic education
• textbooks on Islam
• teaching religion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author did not receive support from any organisation for the submitted work.

Notes on contributors

Faheem Hussain Sabzali

Faheem Hussain Sabzali works as a Teacher Educator with the Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP) at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. Two areas of his research interest include sensory approaches to the study of Muslim past and the analysis of history and RE textbooks to better understand narratives presented by religious communities and nation states.

Farid Panjwani

Farid Panjwani is Dean of the Institute for Educational Development, Aga Khan University, Karachi. In 2012 Professor Panjwani founded the Centre for the Study of Education in Muslim Societies at the Institute of Education, University College London (UCL). He is particularly interested in education about inter- and intra-religious diversity, interface between religious and citizenship education and the philosophical questions posed by the need for social cohesion in contemporary multicultural societies.