Multiperspectivity and Curriculum Renewal of K–12 Islamic Studies

• In Event: Teaching Islam in K–12 Schools: Possibilities for Curriculum Renewal When Academics and Educators Collaborate

Abstract

1. Objectives or Purposes:
Irrespective of whether research is related to faith forming Islamic Studies taught in Islamic schools or phenomenological, non-confessional teaching about Islam in public school settings, the emerging discourse remains consistent across both sectors, namely Islam is taught without recognition of differences and diversities of Muslim communities (Abdalla 2018; Jackson et. al 2010; Winter 2016).

In his study of syllabi and textbooks that teach about religion in the United Kingdom, with a particular focus on Islam and Muslims, Thobani (2017) argues that what is most commonly used is the “five pillars approach.” This approach emphasizes foundational beliefs and ritual practice commonly held among majority Muslim communities and is equally reflected as the normative approach in Islamic school settings and Islamic Studies curricula. However, the “five pillars approach” largely overlooks the “denominational, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity among Muslims…[and] historical and political considerations related to interpretations of Islam” (Thobani 2017, 615). Essentially, it avoids what the The Toledo Guiding Principles for Teaching Religion refer to as “multi-perspectivity” that calls for being “responsive to different local manifestations of religious and secular plurality found in schools and the communities they serve (Toledo Guiding Principles 2017, 13).

The objective of this paper is to analyse the existing “five pillars approach” in relation to what a “multi-perspectivity” approach entails and the possibility for curriculum renewal in teaching Islam.

2. Perspective(s) or theoretical framework

I draw upon Nasr’s (2016) conception of divergence and convergence to argue for a way forward. He outlines interplay between divergent approaches of Islamic education and yet a tradition of teaching and learning that offers a unifying convergence. He explains, that Islamic education has historically always celebrated divergence in “curricula, disciplines, and academic structures” and yet there are “convergent ways in which these ostensible differences become secondary to what may be thought of as a continuing theme or ‘pattern’ to Islamic education” (17). Nasr’s conception of the Islamic tradition which is describes as a tree – rooted in founding principles and yet diverse manifestations as branches - will be drawn upon to explore what he refers to as the necessary “unifying inheritance” that has the potential to align both a “five pillars” and “multi-perspectivity” curricular approach.

3. Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry
This paper is a conceptual analysis of the extant research in three areas: (1) Research on teaching Islamic studies in Islamic schools; (2) Teaching Islam and/or multi-faith education in public/state schools; and (3) the educational philosophy of Seyyed Hossein Nasr as the theoretical framework for analysis.

4. Conclusions / Scholarly Significance
The majority of research in the field of teaching Islam separates the experiences of learners in public/state schools from those in Islamic schools. This paper argues that the ways Islam is being taught in both contexts share common challenges and that discourses of pluralism and multi-perspectivity in one schooling context and a “unifying Islamic tradition” in the other have much to offer each other.

Author

• Nadeem Memon, University of South Australia