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ABSTRACT
This article examines the representation of Islam in four of the most popular and current Religious Education textbooks in England. The aim is to identify the extent to which the curriculum content is aligned with the aims of Religious Education in England. The textbooks content is reviewed using three frameworks available in literature, two of which are directly related to analysing textbooks on Islam while the third is a general set of curriculum guidelines on making textbook content inclusive. Based on examples extracted from the textbooks, it is argued that the representation of Islam in the curriculum lacks diversity, is stereotypical and promotes an essentialised view about Islam as a religion. The article further uses the case study of jihad to propose the use of hermeneutical approach in writing curriculum content about Islam using sources of authority and historical and literary perspectives to combat the issue of monolithic, absolutist, and fossilised representation of Islam in textbooks.
Acknowledgments
The author acknowledges the rich discussions during the writing of this article with Faheem Hussain who works as a Teacher Educator with the Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP), which is a collaboration between the UCL Institute of Education, SOAS University of London and The Institute of Ismaili Studies.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Hina Amirali
Hina Amirali is an independent researcher interested in the fields of curriculum studies, Islam in secondary school curricula, Religious Education, and diversity and inclusion. She is a graduate of the Institute of Education, University College London with degrees in Masters of Teaching and MA in Muslim Societies and Civilisations.