Religiosity as a mediator of forgiveness among educators and parents in seven Muslim communities

ABSTRACT

Drawing on empirical data collected in 2018-2019, this article shares the results of a study on values including religiosity, empathy, forgiveness, and community mindedness among parents and educators in seven communities in Muslim countries. The goal is to contribute evidence-based knowledge on the importance of the above constructs in these unique contexts. The results suggest the three primary variables, empathy, community mindedness and religiosity were all statistically significant in predicting forgiveness, with empathy having the largest effect. The degree of religiosity didn’t mediate between empathy, community mindedness and forgiveness. Statistically significant differences when controlling for demographic variables such as gender, age, country, and education were not found. The results contribute to the empirical evidence on Muslim communities in the contexts of Bangladesh, Bosnia, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Uganda, and Tatarstan (Russia). The study also provides direction for interventions in education in these communities to promote human development and universal values.

KEYWORDS:

• Muslim societies
• Empathy and Forgiveness
• Religiosity and Muslims
• Community mindedness and Muslims

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1. CITI Training is a requirement of Indiana University Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ilham Nasser

Ilham Nasser is an educator who spent over twenty-five years in research addressing children’s development and teacher education and professional development. She completed a Ph.D. in Human Development and Child Study at the University of Maryland-College Park and spent several years as a classroom teacher and a school counsellor. In addition, she was a Faculty of teacher education at various universities and spent the last twelve years at George Mason University in Virginia, The U.S. where she was promoted to Associate Professor. Her research includes studies and publications on teaching and learning as well as curriculum development in sociocultural and political contexts and ways these influence children’s outcomes. She has published peer reviewed books and journal articles and contributed book chapters in education such as on teaching for forgiveness in the Arab and Muslim world. Currently, she is the director of the empirical research in human development, part of Advancing Education in Muslim Societies (AEMS) initiative, at the International Institute of Islamic Thought.

Jehanzeb Cheema

Jehanzeb Cheema’s research focuses on quantitative analysis of demographic differences in student literacy in areas such as reading, science, and mathematics. Jehanzeb holds a doctoral degree in education from George Mason University and in economics from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He currently teaches courses in applied statistics at George Mason University.