Discourses in Islamic educational theory in the light of texts and contexts

Abstract

Abstract The historical variety, richness and complexity of Islamic educational tradition raise questions concerning the underlying reasons for this diversity. It therefore becomes important to explore the debates that British Islamic schools draw upon to understand their educational aims as well as any future directions that they may take. This paper has two main aims. First, to give an overview of the institutional contexts of Islamic education and how they are linked to contemporary types of Islamic schools in Britain. Second, it provides a sketch of the attempts made towards the development of an effective Islamic curriculum based on debates around educational aims and learning priorities. Consequently, the paper has three main sections. The first gives a brief description of Islamic educational institutions up to the present day. The second part traces the evolution of theory in Islamic education and highlights its path through different contexts. The third section interweaves the contemporary and historical threads present in the educational discourses in British Islamic schools. In so doing, the paper suggests that development in the curriculum and the structure of Islamic schooling is continuously adjusting to the available contextual knowledge and educational structures, and the British context is no exception. Keywords: Islamic educationIslamic schoolsMuslim schoolsIslamic philosophyIslamisation of knowledge Notes 1. A version of this paper was presented at the AERA Conference, Denver, Colorado, on 30 April 2010. 2. It is worth noting here that the word madrasa refers to the upper tier. Currently, in the Arab world the term madrasa simply means school, whether secular or more Islamic. In South Asia the word madrasa generally refers to a school that promotes Islamic curriculum. In Britain, the word also refers to mosque Islamic Studies classes. The date for the initial emergence of madrasa is contentious, Riaz (2008) argues that its initial existence was well before the celebrated Nizamiyya madrasa in Baghdad. 3. However, Makdisi (1981) believes that mosque–inn complexes, i.e. places that were built attached to mosques for law students, existed before the madrasa system. The famous Nizamiyya madrasa in Baghdad was established in 1067 by the Seljuq vizier Nizam al-Mulk (Makdisi, 1981). 4. Commonly called madrasa amongst the Asian community in Britain. 5. Praise be to Allah. 6. A response to my confirmation probe of her mention of Islamic education as an initial aim for setting up the school.