Sacred Circles, Transformative Spaces: Halaqa as a Model for Decolonial Education

• In Event: Beyond Extraction: Islamic Community Practices as Liberatory Research

Abstract

Objectives
Using Liberatory Design, MusCrit, and narrative inquiry, this research study aimed to empower Muslim public school educators to share their authentic identities, practice mindfulness, and build community, leading to the creation of their own ummah, a network of support and reflection.
Theoretical Framework
Liberatory Design is “an approach to addressing equity challenges and change efforts in complex systems” that is meant to investigate “deeper causes produced by systemic oppression” (National Equity Project, 2023). MusCrit is “a means to explore the experiences of Muslim Americans with a CRT [Critical Race Theory] lens by sharing six tenets that are unique to the lived reality of this demographic” (Ali, 2022, p. 343). Researcher Farah Ahmed (2014) states that halaqa honors the sacred, spiritual, and transformative nature of ‘ilm, or knowledge, valuing Muslims' beliefs, cultural aspirations, and collective autonomy.
Research methods and data sources
In this intervention, the researcher used practices from restorative circles, affinity-based spaces, and traditional halaqas to create a halaqa for Muslim public school educators. Six educators participated in six halaqas. Halaqas had a storytelling theme, ranging from sharing about the past, exploring present experiences, and collective dreaming. Data collection methods included empathy interviews, analytic memos, halaqa as a research method, and qualitative interviews. Using narrative discourse, a manner in which stories are told and presented, the researcher wrote narratives for all thirteen empathy interviews and six halaqas (Alleyne, 2015). The researcher used analytic memos to explore positionality with the data, focusing on four categories: mindfulness, halaqa storytelling, inclusive facilitation, and identity and postionality as a researcher. The researcher also used MusCrit to develop an observational field note to code halaqas.
Results
Using the MusCrit observational field note, the researcher identified themes of transformative knowledge. The researcher defined themes of transformative knowledge as repeated main ideas and concepts that reflect the human condition and demonstrate the collective and personal growth of Muslim educators and the knowledge co-constructed by Muslim educators in the halaqa space. Themes include teaching as dawah, knowledge and empowerment, anti-Palestinian Racism, sisters ummah, and collective healing.
Signifcance of Work
This research reveals exciting potential for decolonizing educational research by demonstrating how methodologies, such as narrative inquiry and liberatory design, can center Muslim-American voices. This research with MusCrit and halaqas mirrors Wilson's (2008) Indigenous research paradigm (2008) in that both seek to reclaim scholarly spaces, center marginalized experiences, and create models of transformative knowledge that honor cultural integrity and community wisdom. Rather than relying on hierarchical knowledge transmission, the halaqa embraces collaborative storytelling and co-construction of knowledge. A decolonial future of education, as suggested by halaqas, would center diverse cultural and religious perspectives in curriculum and pedagogy. The halaqa itself demonstrates how community-based support systems can counter isolation, empower students and educators from marginalized backgrounds, and create spaces for the authentic expression of identity and challenge dominant historical narratives. The halaqa model—emphasizing community, storytelling, and genuine expression—offers a powerful template for reimagining more inclusive, equitable, and decolonial educational spaces.

Author

• Ambereen Khan-Baker, National Education Association